A Great Day to be a Kid

Today was Natalie's turn to bring her pet for show and tell. Harley was pretty mellow, but I could tell by all the hair she shed on my shirt, she was pretty nervous as well. Natalie just loved showing her classmates her cat Harley...and they all went crazy (in a good way) when they saw me come in with a cat.
Then after we picked up Zander from school we went back to Natalie's school to buy some books from the book fair. Natalie bought a book about the Little Mermaid with some money she had been saving. It was buy one, get one free, so we also got a book about penguins for Zander.

After lunch I put Hayden down for a nap, then I finished getting the pool ready to play in (aka dumping $135 worth of powdered chemicals into the pool). Half and hour later, the kids were ready to dip their feet in and splash around. The water isn't warm enough for me to get in, so I layed out next to the pool while they played.

After a while I was ready to go in the house and clean up a bit, but the kids didn't want to come in. It was such a beautiful day, I didn't have the heart to insist...so we changed gears and I taught them how to fly a kite. They were frustrated at first, but once they got the hang of it, they had a great time...especially Zander. He got so excited whenever his kite would soar, he started singing encouraging songs to his kite. "I have the best kite...it flies up so high...I love my kite...it's the best kite in the world..." I'm sure his kite appreciated the songs and in turn, it flew up higher and higher. Zander kept running all over the yard, until he ran out of umph. His cheeks were all rosy and he was tuckered out. Flying a kite can be good exercise!

Now Dan is home from advising at the college, so I guess it's time for me to make dinner.

Picture of the Day 11-24-06

The Cat Came Back!!!

We returned in the dark after spending time with family at my brother's in Portland. As I was unlocking the door I heard a very familiar "meow." I looked down and it was Harley! I was so excited to see her. For the past 6 days or so, I was worried for her, constantly checking the door, expecting her to show up at any minute. This morning when Dan and I headed out, I mentioned that I wondered how long it would take for me to stop looking for her every time I went outside. I was pretty bummed, thinking she was gone for good. I teared up a time or two because it seemed very unlikely that we would see her again. I don't know where she went exactly, but it seems logical that she got trapped in a neighbor's garage or out building.

She was actually gone a whole week, so when we brought her inside she ate and ate. In fact, she is meowing again, so I think I will go down and give her some leftover chicken...her favorite treat!

Harley is Missing

I haven't seen Harley for a few days now and am starting to think the worst. With all the rain we have had, it isn't like her not to be inside.

The last time I remember seeing her was Friday night when I let her out for about 3 minutes...then she decided she wanted back in. I was relieved to have her in the house again as Dan had heard coyotes a few nights before. I'm not saying she got taken by one, but it really has me worried. I don't know how long to wait before telling the kids. What do you say to them? Natalie, will take it the hardest. She loves her kitty so much.

Harley was a stray kitty when she came to us on a cold February night going on 7 years ago. I let her in, fed her and she has been with us ever since. She is a great cat that loves to curl up on your lap, she doesn't claw the furniture or climb up on the counter and she has put up with three todlers pulling on her and learning how to pet kitty "softly."

Harley adjusted to the move great and has loved running and climbing all over the big new yard. She has even made friends with some of the neighboor cats. I have a pit in my stomach and find myself checking the back door every 15 minutes... I hope she is okay, but as more time passes, I don't think she is. This is the last picture I took of her. Natalie thought it was so funny that she was trying to crawl on the table, something she never does.