Christmas 2010

Our pretty tree - Brooks picked it out

Brooks got a train/toy table from santa this  year and also some new trains from Mimi & Grandad to add to the ever growing collection.  We have not been able to rip him away from the "Te-Tes" yet.

Opening new clothes from Boompa & Moompa on Chrismtas morning.  Brooks is going to be one stylish little guy this year.

Trying out his new doctor set from Aunt Kathleen.  We promise richard does not bring work home, but somehow Brooks knew exactly how this thing was supposed to work.

Opening presents with Daddy

and then trying on Daddy's new boots before even he could!  perfect fit!

We finished the day with a wonderful dinner with friends, the McDaniels & the Woodalls and their 4 boys combined.  Oscar & Brooks played with the tools and also had a big game of basketball in the basement.

Brooks and his good buddy Elliott posing by the tree for one last pic before it was time to go to bed.  Love the pajamas!

Christmas Morning

A couple of videos of Brooks's christmas morning...more pictures to come but a turkey to tend to for now.

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Some more Dirk photos

I dug out some oldie goldie dirk shots -

This is from 2001.

Always a sucker for a belly scratch. Note the high class furnishings.

In 2003 Dad and I spent two nights and three days on the Ozark Highlands Trail and Dirk ran himself into the ground by the end of the trip.

Here he is in the car on the way to the Pecos Wilderness for a four day backpacking trip in 2004.  Unfortunately we didn't know that thigh-deep snow was waiting for us. But eventually we stopped messing with the topo maps and compass and just followed Dirk who always knew where the trail was (supposed to be).

Resting after a day of trailblazing. Note the bear bell.

Winter 2006 had the most snow in quite a while.

Always in the middle of things!

Missing the Dirk Dog

It feels like just yesterday I was blogging about our dog Arnie when we had to say goodbye to him last year.  And this week we had to say goodbye to our sweet Dirk Dog.  This one was definitely more surprising as we thought we would have many more good years with this amazing dog.  Dirk started getting a case of the dwindles about a month ago, and we have been in and out of the vet these last couple of weeks.  Last week we found out that he had a cancer in his belly and didn't have long to live.  On Tuesday night Dirk gave up his fight, and we miss him so much already. 

 

To say that Dirk was a good dog is a huge understatement.  He was the best dog anyone could ever ask for.  Although I only adopted Dirk in marraige, he was so special to me.  Richard adopted Dirk with friends in medical school and rescued him from a life on the run.  After his many escape attempts, a few electric fences, and eating through a few doors and having two teeth pulled, he certainly settled into family life with us. 

Our last day with Dirk Dog

Dirk was the sweetest dog with Brooks and really any other visitors that came to the house.  He loved being loved and often wore his "sweet face" as Richard's mom called it.  He was the ultimate companion, unconditional with his love, never demanding and so low key.  We always thought he would be the best dog to one day bring a new dog home to to train.  There will unlikely be another like him.

Dirk dog loved the outdoors, and we will miss taking him on hikes and snowy adventures.  In the spring we plan to give his remains a tribute in one of his favorite Colorado places. 

Early Christmas Presents and Fun

We enjoyed an early Christmas with Nana and Papa this weekend.  Brooks loved opening a few presents, and I can already tell I am going to have to start cleaning out older toys to make way for the next week!  Brooks is really turning into even more of a toddler, playing "baseball", basketball, building with legos and doing "work."

Our new favorite toys - a construction set from best buddy Xander.  We know Xander can teach us a lot about big machines and these tools will be so helpful for big jobs with daddy.  Thank You!