a wonderful surprise....

As many of you already know, Sophia, one of our cats (David's favorite, but don't tell Reilley), has been missing since last Friday morning.  David has walked the neighborhood many times, looked in ditches, walked around the pond, gone to the former house, called our old neighbors asking them to keep an eye out for her, filed a police report, notified the humane society, and called and called and called her name at all hours of the day and night. No luck.  


We were really feeling quite good about how well all of the animals had adapted to the new place, especially Sophia, since she is such an escape artist when it comes to getting outside.  But, from the first day here, she has always been at the door when she wanted to come in.  That all came to an end last Saturday morning.  We left for Chicago for the birthday party feeling certain that she would be on the front porch when we returned----but she was not. So, needless to say, we have been very concerned and worried, wondering what happened to her---did she get hit by a car, did someone take her, did she try to find her way back to the old house, etc???  She has slipped many collars in the past, and she had no collar or ID.  However, she is microchipped and licensed, but someone would need to take her to a vet or the humane society to get the chip scanned.  We were giving up hope.


Last evening, David had gone to bed, and I was watching the news in the 4 season room.  Some movement at the patio door caught my eye---and there she was!  (She had never used this door in the past.)  I opened the door, she sauntered in, went to the food dish, ate, and then promptly went to bed----as if she had never been gone.  She appears to be the same weight, she is clean and just as relaxed and loving as ever.  We are back in the old routine.


If she could only talk....


This story reminds me of a song Zachary sang years ago with the Huntley Elementary School choir.  I don't remember all of the lyrics, but I do remember these lines:


"The cat came back.  We thought she was a goner, but the cat came back."

We are joyful and thankful that she is back with us.  Thanks to everyone who asked about her and worried with us.  She is fine----and so are we.  Welcome home, Sophia, from wherever you have been.

a BIG 1ST BIRTHDAY party.....

Saturday, the 22nd of May, included a day trip to Chicago for the best birthday party ever.  Addison, our granddaughter had turned 1 year old on the 17th, but the celebration had to wait a few days.  The weather cooperated--a few showers, a nice breeze and then the sun appeared. What a great time we had!  Meredith and Kevin did a wonderful job of planning with great food, beer, games, music, balloons, decorations, and many photo ops (some of which are included here.)    Since Meredith and Kevin live in a rather small apartment, Joann and Kenny (Kevin's parents) were willing to provide the house, chairs, etc... for the occasion; and they were a great help to Meredith and Kevin as well. 

The birthday girl was all dolled up in a tutu provided by her grandmother,  Joann.  Addison was a little overwhelmed at first, but she soon got into the groove and joined the party with great enthusiasm.  Kevin has a large family, most of whom are from the Chicago area, so there was no shortage of people who wanted to hold Addison and she was a good sport.  There were a few out-of-town guests, Kevin's sister, Kristin, who lives in the DC area, Meghan and her friend, David, from Milwaukee, and those of us from Appleton. 

The first casualty happened before the party got under way.  There was a little "counter surfing" by Ike, one of Ken and Joann's dalmatians.  That cake just looked too good to pass up!  Ike was found in the dinning room just licking his lips and, Minnie, their other dalmatian, didn't even get a crumb.  While this was very upsetting initially, it was repaired with a little bit of extra icing by Joann.  This event will be something that will remind us all of Addison's 1st birthday party; and will be a "remember when" moment with lots of laughs.  The cake was delicious, by the way.

The "repaired" cake---good as new, almost.

Kenny with Addison in her tutu

Great Grandpa, Ed, with Meghan

Kristin, Kevin's sister, with her friend and son

Something is really interesting----Addison and her bestie,  Aunt Meghan

Kevin's father, Rich

"I'm having a great time, Dad!"  (Kevin and Addison)

Addison with her Great Aunt, Nettie

Reece, a friend, was a very good helper when it came to opening the gifts.

Addison could not be distracted when she was eating her first OREO ever!

What do you think of my tutu?

Kenny and Minnie---a true love affair

another view---am I cute or what?

This is the "smash" cake, made and decorated by Meredith.  Addison could do whatever she wanted with it.  Initially, she didn't think too much of it; but, as you will see----she "got into it."

Kevin's mother, Joann--- a great hostess

Getting her first taste of the "smash" cake----not too sure---it really feels funny

 "I'll see if Dad thinks that the icing tastes good."

"I think that I like it.  Might as well dig in with both hands and my foot!"

"I gotta tell you; I am not fond of the hat."

"Opening those gifts was a lot of work, but I loved all of them.  Thank you!"

Kevin's dad with Reece, Addison and Meredith.  We were glad that he could come to the party.

There were cameras going off all afternoon, and these are only a few shots.  We want to thank everyone for including us in the party.  We are sure there will be many more parties to come, but the first birthday is always special.  We thought for sure that Addison would surprise us all by taking her first steps sometime during the afternoon.  What is a better time to start walking than at your party in your tutu?   But----she is saving that moment for another day.

HAPPY FIRST BIRTHDAY, ADDISON!!

we have had our first overnight visitors....a big celebration

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ANNE!  This birthday celebration was about 6 months late.  Anne and Mike (David's sister and brother-in-law) were planning to visit us for Anne's birthday in November, but the house had not yet been started.  So...we had her birthday party in the new house late, but it was still a great party.  Meghan, her friend, David, Meredith, Kevin and Addison were all here as well.  Of course, the birthday girl got to wear the "special hat."  There were games,  food, walks, a little shopping, meeting friends from Door County, and, of course, good food.  We spent some time looking for the pelicans that come to the Fox Valley every summer, but there were very few.  It was a joy to be able to share our new home with everyone, and we had a great time.  We should have requested better weather for those visitors from Tucson; it was a tad cold and rainy for them, but we had a good time in spite of the weather.

Keeping the "hat" on during the gift opening was a little tricky.

Meghan and her dog, Cooper

Meghan

obviously an "intense" game of Sequence...for Anne and Meredith

hum...did I get the joke?

patty cake is a great game...

Addison showing off her pearlies..

Anne

"Mom, you are soooo funny!"

Addison got "dressed" for dinner in her birthday dress; a gift from her Aunt Meghan.  She was the most stylish person at the table.

Getting the "hat" to stay on proved to be somewhat challenging.

Addison loves spending time with "her bestie", Aunt Meghan.

Instead of a cake, we had delicious strawberry-filled cup cakes from Meghan and David.

This game of Sequence seems to be a little more instense

"How do I look with my sweater over my dress, Dad?"

Addison enjoying a moment with her Great Aunt, Anne.

 We are thankful for this opportunity to spend a few days with our family.  Thank you to all who made the effort to be part of this celebration.