RIP Haley Waley

Being that I skipped an entire year of blogging, I never wrote about losing our family dog, Haley. Chris and I got Haley when we first started dating back in 2000. We bought her at good ol' Traders Village on a whim and she was with us for 11 years. Last summer, we noticed a tumor growing in her mouth on her gum. She also started to become withdrawn and just not her chipper self. After a few vet visits and some testing, we were told she had cancer :-( It ended up being a very rapid growing cancer, and within about 6 wks, she had to be put down. She was uncomfortable, not eating, becoming incontinent, along with other things that are not compatible with a good life. As hard as it was, it was the best thing to do for our Haley girl. Landon got a good 5 years with her and the girls got about 2. We talk about her and look at her pictures all the time, so I'm hoping the kids might have some memory of their first family pet. She was such a great dog...fun, energetic (yet not too energetic), loving, very tolerant of the kids, and just an all around good dog. We miss her lots!! She passed away on Aug. 12, 2011...just a few weeks shy of her 11th birthday. Her sweet vet office sent us a card in the mail with her photo, her footprint, a lovely poem, and signatures from the office staff. It was so sweet and thoughtful. Rest in Peace Haley Waley...we love you!!

Spring Break 2012

We stayed super busy this Spring Break. We hung out with friends and stayed on the go pretty much the entire time. We had tons of fun, but by the end of the week, we were all pooped! These pics are all mixed up and out of order. Actually, they're pretty much completely backwards. There were so many, I just wanted to upload them the easiest/fastest way possible. So there you have it...Spring Break with The Starks...backwards :-)

We took the majority of our Spring Break naps (on the days we actually got one) on pallets in the living room watching NickJr.

We hung out in the front yard most evenings riding our bikes and playing EVERY.SINGLE.SPORT imaginable. My 2 boys are sports fanatics!

We had picnics in the living room

We stood in our backyard. Sounds fun, huh? As you can see, our backyard is nothing but pool. We LOVE being back there during the summer...we grill out and swim just about every single night. But when it's not swimming season, our backyard is borrrrrrringgggg. So we hang out in the front :-)

We hung out at Nommie and Poppies

We went to the park with several of my girlfriends and their kids for playtime and a picnic.

We went to Creative Hands with most of those same friends to do some painting. If you're wondering why he's on the floorboard of my car...well, you'll have to ask him bc I have no clue :-) After Creative Hands, we met Chris for sushi. For some reason, he was hanging out on the floorboard while we waited for Daddy.

Not sure why I uploaded this pic, but I'll leave it here in case anyone wants to buy me some. I want the green ones :-)

We spent a lot of time doing artsy stuff. Paints, stamps, markers, crayons, playdough, you name it, we did it. I have to keep these three busy at all times or they'll start fighting. Sibling rivalry is out of control these days!

We baked some goodies.

We spent one morning at The Ft. Worth Children's Museum. Have you been there? It's awesome!! We have had memberships/season passes for the past year, so we go pretty regularly. This particular day was OUT OF CONTROL crazy crowded!!! I will NEVER go back during Spring Break. When you are spoiled to the museum with barely anyone there during the week, an overly crowded day sucks! I'm surprised I even made it home with my children. I lost them every 5 seconds. Anyhow...aside from the crowds and the whiplash I have in my neck from constantly whipping my head around trying to keep up with my 3, we had a great time with our friends :-)

Our anniversary falls during Spring Break every year. We've been married 8 years now!! 8 amazing years :-) Chris is the most loving, caring, even-tempered, patient, hard-working, generous, kind, and hilarious man ever! He would do absolutely anything for me and our children. I fall more and more in love with my husband every day. We decided to share our anniversary date with Landon this year. We thought about going as a whole family and bringing the girls along, too...but they are NOT fans of restaurants. Or eating at all for that matter. They can not stand to sit in a high chair and be forced to eat, so we spared them the torture and left them to play with the babysitter :-) Landon, on the other hand, loves going out to dinner! We went to Maggianos (spelling?) and I didnt get a pic of Chris and I, of course :-) grrrrrr!!! I've gotta start being that person who asks randoms to take a pic of us :-) Here Landon is doing some sort of balancing act on the fountain while we wait to be seated.