Hannibal

Note: This post written by Hubs.

This was a very difficult day at our house. Our "firstborn", Hannibal, had not been doing well for several weeks. Despite the removal of a rather large adenoma, multiple trials of medications, and several visits to the local vet, his condition continued to deteriorate. After several days of tearful deliberation, today we said our last goodbyes and had him gently put down.

We adopted him at about 6 weeks of age, essentially a late wedding gift; he's been with us from the beginning. When we moved to Rochester he was eight months old; he loved scampering around in frigid cold weather with feet of snow on the ground. When I was working late nights (and occasional overnights) in the hospital, Hannibal was Meredith's constant companion. When I came home - whenever that was - he was always the first to greet me, barking and whining until I returned the greeting. When strangers came to the door, he was the guardian who scared off more than a few solicitors. And when we started to grow our family, he was the enthusiastic welcoming committee for each child when they came home for the first time.

He loved our kids, and they loved him. Near the end, even Garrett, who's just started talking, walked over to Hannibal when he was laying in the yard a little too much and said, "You otay? You otay Han-bal?" Up until the last day, he never minded when some kid (as long as it was one of ours) came up to him and yanked his massive ears or pulled his tail. His personality - easygoing, gentle, and deferent - was perfect for our growing family.

We were indescribably blessed to have him for a little over nine years, and those who loved him most were fortunate to have opportunities to spend precious moments with him near the end. Last night I sat outside with him and thanked him for everything he had done - and been - for our family; it took a while because there was a lot to cover. I reminded him of everything he'd destroyed as a puppy, like Mer's entire CD collection and my leather sandals (which I wore all day today). I told him I was sorry that with each new child Meredith and I had, he had been relegated down the ladder of importance; he seemed to say that he didn't mind. I told him that his pain would soon be over, and he said he was ready. Now it's our turn to heal, as all we have are memories that we will cherish for the rest of our lives.

All the way to the end, through all his pain and discomfort, even though he didn't understand everything that was happening - he was Hannibal. His personality never changed for second as he simply accepted whatever came in life, adapted, and moved on. "We're moving from Little Rock to Rochester? Let's go." "You're going in to work while she's staying here and going to bed? Whatever - I'll watch the house while you're gone." "We're moving from Rochester to Texas now? All right then - but you do realize that I have a permanent fur coat, right?" "We're going to the vet for the last time, aren't we? It's OK. You hang in there." Hannibal will be missed terribly, but we are extremely grateful to our Father who gave him to us for nine years and immeasurably enriched our lives through him.

Allie

Mary

Garrett

Runnin'

Spring is the season to "run." For the hubs that means running in the literal fashion and for me, it just means to "run kids here and run kids there.". We had one of those weekends where we did alot of both. The gparents came to town, and Pappy and Hubs ran a 10k together. Pappy is a marathon runner, so this was just a routine Saturday run. The hubs has been running routinely for at least a year, but this was his first race in a while. He did GREAT!!!!

The girls were excited to cheer them on.

GO GO!
Trying for a group pic. Sorry these are a little out of order.

The reason Bunny and Allie are cracking up is because Garrett just decided to step into the pic...very unusual! Love that Spring has arrived!

Half Pint

Today was character day at Allie's school. She's been reading the Little House on the Prairie series for a while now, so her choice was an easy one. She told me a MONTH ago, that I needed to sew a dress for her to wear. I gave the usual generic "we'll see", and FORGOT about it. She must have been reminded on Wednesday, and as soon as she got in the car started crying because she knew that I had forgotten.

I didn't have the internet to fall back on. What was a desperate sewing "challenged" mom to do with no fabric, no pattern, no TIME! I went to the party store here in much to my excitement, there was a prairie girl dress in a size small with a bonnet and apron for RENT! To live in a relatively small town, this was a very exciting find!

So I give you.... Laura Ingalls Wilder (AKA "half pint").


Allie told me a friend of hers was going to dress up as "Mary". She saw her get out of her car this morning, and screamed "MARY!!!!" Then she turned around to me and said..."Have a good day Ma!"

Make new friends, but keep the OLD

The kids and I headed out for Spring Break. Don't you LOVE seeing old friends...not that any of them are "old"...well maybe one...and I don't mean you Bunny! We went to visit my life long friend Beth Ann. We try to get together more often, but it's been almost a year! We go WAY back....further back than college...back it up past high school....back it up all the way to the bed babies at church I'm sure. She had ovarian cancer 3 years ago and THAT will bind a friendship. I've never appreciated her more, and love her to pieces!

It just so happens that Bunny and Pappy are on the way to Beth Ann's house, so we dropped in for a visit. Nice try keeping wild man in the pic. She gets an "A" for effort.
...and it ALSO just so happens that Bunny and Pappy had a prior commitment at their home the night we dropped in, so we snuck out to visit with my friend Lynette. I haven't seen her since she did my ultrasound while I was pregnant with Garrett. We met while I was in pharmacy school because we were in the same small group at church....so good to CATCH UP! She recently did my sisnlaw Katie's ultrasound, so I guess technically she's seen my nephew before I get to meet him.
Sorry not done yet. While on Facebook, I noticed that my friends Wayne and his daughter Ashley were to be in town as well (they live a plane ride away), so I messaged them, and they TOO were able to catch up with us. Isn't technology the greatest?! I babysat Ashley when she was 2!!!! Wayne "married" the hubs and I almost 10 years ago, and I spent LOTS of time with their fam growing up!
Finally! We had a great time with the other "White" crew. The kids had a blast, and we tore up their home and ate their food. Beth Ann did my laundry, and I slept in. Wow...that's what friends are for:)

Cheese!!!

My boy finally decided to ham it up for the camera. He just looked up from his high chair and started saying cheese, so I grabbed it! He's had a rough month of ear infections, but now that he is all clear, he is one HAPPY boy!

What's the big daffo "deal"?

There is a HUGE daffodil patch that we've heard about recently, so we had to check it out to see what the big deal was. As we drove through, Garrett yelled, "YEEEELLLLLLOOOOOO" The daffodil police were on the prowl, so it wasn't easy to get pictures as I was shuffling G around trying to remind him to be "tintle" (gentle) with the flowers. (Seriously there were volunteers there monitoring the golden beauties to protect them from families such as ours.)

Give me "S'more" Sand

Yee haw

It was COWGIRL time at our house this week. Mary's school does an annual program called Western Days every year, and so I galloped off to school on Wednesday morning to watch. It was crazy but fun as always.

I mentioned earlier that I was a big CHICKEN about skiiing in my younger years. Actually I was a chicken about everything. I remember screaming in my driveway as a brown, scary looking 15- pound mutt approached me while wagging his tale. His name was Digger, and he happened to be MY dog, but I was afraid. I remember watching my twin brother riding around the yard and driveway on his new bike lacking all training wheels. I was determined to ride mine. When a car drove by I acted like I was just about to get on and take off after him. The car would pass, and I would just stare at the bicycle...too afraid to even try. I must have been about 7 because I remember it well! I rode my first roller coaster on my honeymoon. I could go on and on.

Unfortunately, the "big chicken" gene has been passed along to my Mary. I feel sorry for her really, but she doesn't know any differently. Just like me, she doesn't know what she's missing!

Allie never complained of ski school. She loved it, and picked it up very quickly. I'd have to look back, but I think at 4 she was able to go up the lift and make it down the mountain with us. We ambitiously signed Mary up last year. By noon the FIRST day, the teacher informed us, that Mary needed to be moved to day care. Oh well...she's just 3.

This year we decided to ease her into ski school. She went to day care for two days, and on the third day, she boldly exclaimed, "I'm going to ski school, and I'm not EVEN going to cry." Lunch time came without a call, and I looked at hubs with a grin thinking...this is going to be the day. At 1:15, the school called and said that they had Mary in the TLC room waiting on me, that she was just too upset to go any further.

I made the decision to put her back in day care and not push the issue...afterall, now she's JUST 4. The funny thing is since we have been home, she has told everyone that she skiied all by herself! We had no photographic evidence of Mary even on skis much less skiing! I decided to look for evidence online. I did not find a pic of her skiing, but I did find a pic from the ski school.

There you have it. A girl who looks very happy to be in ski school. Poor poor Mary. Like me, she will have to endure years of trying to keep up with everyone...getting off every lift and wondering where they are going to take her next. I will stay with you baby girl...I totally understand!

We loaded up the girls last week and headed to Colorado! The hubs has been skiing for years, and so I have apprehensively followed in suit. It's not that I didn't want to ski; it's that I WAS a big CHICKEN! Of course, I did not share this with him when we were dating because I knew it was a very important qualification. We've been 8 out of the last 10 years that we have been married (both girls born in January), and I can finally say, "My name is Meredith White; and I like to ski." Watching your 7 year old squeal down the mountain with great accomplishment sure does help!

This year we went to Copper Mountain...a 15 hour drive. The girls have gotten very good at driving a LONG way. Thankfully we did not have to take G babe. My sister and brother-in-law either have a really hard time telling me NO, or they love my little man. I know the latter is the truth, and for that I am THANKFUL! Emily blogged about his stay earlier this week. Thank you to Abbott for putting up with your wild man cousin!

Did I mention that my brother and sisnlaw joined us! Hudson, Melissa, and two of their kids, Olivia and Maxwell, met us there. The kids had a great time with their cousins. They turned into awesome skiiers in 3 days! Thanks for going guys!

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