In Memory of Rudi

We lost our family dog last night.  It was a very sudden, difficult, and emotional time for our family, especially for Halle.

The short story is the doctor at the emergency vet hospital believes he ate a poisonous plant from the yard which caused liver failure.  She also believes he aspirated some vomit into his lungs which worsened his condition.  There was no saving poor Rudi.  We are all deeply saddened, and poor Halle is taking it quite hard.

Halle and Rudi were best friends.  Technically, Rudi was Halle's dog since she got him for her birthday.  Halle has a HUGE heart for animals, and loved Rudi so much.  He loved her back just as much and would literally jump through hoops for her.  They kept each other company ever since she started homeschooling.  They hung out every single day, all day long.

Arden is having a very hard time, too.  She is trying to come to terms with how permanent death is, and trying to deal with the emotions of losing someone.

Rudi was a little black and tan dachshund/Chihuahua mix.  We adopted him from a Dachshund rescue organization.  He was lots of fun.  He was playful, loving, sweet, and protective.  He loved baby carrots for snacks.

He could also be stubborn and he barked a lot.  He would drive me CRAZY with his barking.  We got a letter from our HOA at our old house because a neighbor complained of his barking.  LOL.   But that was Rudi and we loved him.  He loved to chase squirrels and frogs and sometimes brought us "gifts." Birds especially.

Here are some memories of Rudi.

Rudi joined our family back July 2013.  He was almost six months old at the time.   His birthday was February 1, 2013.  His original name was Marty. 

Arden with Rudi.  We named him Rudi because we wanted him to have a German name.  

Rudi in his make-shift bed when he first came home

weenie dog eating a weenie dog.  

Jack giving Rudi kisses

Rudi checking out the snow

Rudi with his cool shirt that said "Loverboy" 

Rudi and the rest of the family on the way to New Mexico

Rudi's Halloween costume

Rudi and Halle swinging on our back patio

this picture was just taken last week.  I had to take them both to the vet.  I only had one carrier for the both of them.  Didn't matter because they were fine being in there together.  The veterinarian and vet techs were amazed that they hung out together and didn't fight.

Rudi made many many laps around the pool.  He would bark at the splashing water.  We used to make fun at how fast his little legs would go.

We love you, Rudi, and you will be dearly missed!  

Arden's 6th Birthday Week

Arden turned 6!  We asked her on her birthday what it felt like to be six.  She said she couldn't believe it because she still felt like she was five.  She said it would take a few days for it to sink in.  Haha!  Crazy kid.  She also said she was glad she was six because that meant she was closer to be a grown-up.  When she becomes a grown-up she wants to be a boss because she likes being bossy.  

Arden, in Ardenous fashion, planned out her birthday week in explicit detail..... she took me step-by-step of how her birthday was going to go, talking non-stop for about an hour, explaining every single part.  This happened one night about a month beforehand.

First of all she requested that on her actual birthday she was to get off the bus, play with her friends for a while, and then we as a family were to head to Cici's pizza for dinner.  Aunt Sarah and Uncle Adam joined us.

Cici was her restaurant of choice because they have the famous mac-n-cheese pizza.

She can eat her weight in macaroni pizza!

When we returned home we gave Arden her presents from us: new tennis shoes, a tether ball set, and tickets to Disney on Ice-Frozen.

Her sister surprised her that morning with cupcakes for breakfast.  Arden likes vanilla cupcakes so that's what Halle made.  She's such a great big sis!  Halle made enough for Arden and her friends to enjoy at the bus stop.  Whatever the kids didn't eat at the bus stop, Jack polished off.  

The next day, Wednesday, Aunt Sarah was waiting for Arden when she got off the bus.  They spent the entire evening shopping for her birthday presents.  Arden got spoiled with clothes, shoes, and toys!  She has grown quite a bit and needed new clothes, so it was perfect timing.  Arden also used her gift card that she received from Uncle Ryan and Aunt Beth while she was out shopping with Aunt Sarah.  

Thursday was her rest day.  This was not included in her plan, but she was worn out from all the excitement of Tuesday and Wednesday so I made her take a nap when she got home from school.  She then had to help me clean for her party on Friday.

Friday was the day of her party.  She requested that she and a few friends go to Chuck E Cheese for her birthday and then come back for a sleepover.  What inspired her to go to Chuck E Cheese was that it has a basketball game she loves.  She also wanted a basketball cake.  

I tried to make this basketball theme a little girly by adding pretty orange spring flowers.  :)

basketball cookies

I made this simple cake from the Wilton Ball cake mold, and covered it in Reese's Pieces.

Halle came up with the idea to make oranges look like basketballs.

Her friends arrived before it was time to go to Chuck E Cheese so they played a few quick basketball games.  The first was to try to catch cheese puffs in their mouths.  Here are their awkward pics.  :)

Myleigh

Maggie

Hailey

I found this game last minute, at the Science Museum of all places.  Jack and I were walking around the gift shop that morning while Halle was in her dissection class, and I found this.

you wear the basket on your head and try to throw the balls into the basket.

Time for Chuck E Cheese.  I originally intended to take the girls to Chuck E Cheese and just give them tokens to play a few games.  It practically turned out to be the same price to book a party for the small group, though!  What's funny is that I swore a long time ago that I would NEVER have a party at Chuck E Cheese.  It's always so crowded and chaotic and they rush you in an out.  Now here I was, technically having a party at Chuck E Cheese.  Ha!  It actually went really well because it was Friday night and not crowded.  There was only one other party going on, plus we got bonus tokens for booking on a weeknight.  SCORE!  The kids had a BLAST!

Arden got her own princess cut-out, tiara, and superhero cape.

this is the basketball game that inspired her party

playing a mean game of Air Hockey

ski ball

Jack and Brian playing race car games

at the table ready for pizza

singing Happy Birthday to Arden

Arden with ChuckECheese

doing the pinata.  They filled it with candy, tokens, and a voucher for more tickets

Arden in the ticket blaster.  She had thirty seconds to get as many tickets as possible.  She got the special ticket which was worth 1000 tickets!

combined from the pinata, ticket blaster, and the games they played, they had a total of 2,823 tickets!

the kids showing off the toys they bought with their tickets

We then returned home to get ready for bed.  It was 10:30 by that time and the girls seemed pretty tired.  They all made their pallets in the game room to sleep on.  I was so happy that they were settling in to watch a movie.  WRONG!!!!  They were back up running around, dressing up, and putting on makeup.  It sounded like elephants above me because the game room is right above my bedroom.  Then there was girl drama, mostly because they were tired.  I warned them several times to go to bed.  By 2:00 a.m. I was NOT a happy mom and threatened to send them all home.  They (and I) finally fell asleep.  I guess it's not a sleepover if you don't stay up way later than the parents allow and have a few girl fights.  :)  

Here's some pics of Arden's presents.  We had three tickets to Disney on Ice so we invited Myleigh to join us.  The girls felt so special that they got to go all by themselves (meaning without other siblings.)  

Brian and Arden playing with her new tether ball set.

Happy Birthday Arden!