The one and only Chloe Jo

Such a hard post to write, but Chloe definitely deserves it! I'll start at the beginning...

We had been noticing that Chloe was losing weight for the past year or so. This summer the vet switched her food because honestly I thought she was just getting sick of her food. She seemed way more interested in other dogs' food so we thought it was a taste thing. That went okay for awhile and then she got sick of that too. I took her in November 1st for a weight check. The vet decided to do a blood draw, but was pretty sure nothing was wrong with her. She was bouncing around the vet like a puppy and was super happy. Well, the blood work came back that she had kidney disease. We switched up her diet 6 times over the next 6 weeks....she would like it for awhile and then refuse it after a week or so. We also started giving her an antacid. She did pretty well over the next weeks and we were just hoping to keep her eating and happy. When I would take her into the vet they would tell me that she did not act like a typical "kidney" dog because they are normally very depressed.

Fast forward to last Sunday. She had been puking up food once every few days, but nothing super regular and she has always been a puker. She started throwing up all of the food she was eating and then on Tuesday started refusing food all together. I took her in Thursday. She was still acting okay...not tons of energy, but was excited to go in the car in the morning and stuff like that. When we got to the vet, she had lost another couple of pounds since the last visit. They drew some blood and then we made a plan for how to get her to eat with meds. After that, her blood work came back and the numbers were through the roof. They had quadrupled since November 1st. We still had a tiny bit of hope that she would take the meds and hold on for a little longer. She refused the meds that night and again Friday morning and that's when we decided it was time. From that point Friday morning until Saturday morning at 10:00am, Chloe went way downhill. I could not believe it. It was almost like her way of making sure we knew we were doing the right thing. Saturday morning when she went outside to go to the bathroom, she laid down in the snow (-12F) and couldn't get back up. Chris had to carry her back in. We all said our goodbyes (heartbreaking) and then Chris took her into the vet. He said it was a really nice set up for her, he had some private time, he brought her bed for her to lay in and had a really peaceful experience.

We will miss her so much. We got her on December 15th, 2004. 12 years to the day that I took her into the vet. Chris wanted a dog and I wanted something to take care of. I saw a picture of a golden puppy in a downy ad and told Chris that's what I wanted. We picked her out of a litter of (I think) 11 goldens. She was born on a farm in Milan, Illinois. I remember painting one of her nails so that we could identify her when we came back to get her a week or so later. She lived in Moline, Cedar Falls, Dubuque and of course Edmonton. She loved all people...but of course her family the best. The anxious look on her face when we would get ready to leave somewhere and she didn't want to be left behind was both heartbreaking and heartwarming. She was patient, gentle and loyal...basically the three traits you hope/wish for in a family dog.

I have literally hundreds of photos of her. The reason? She was everywhere we were. If the kids were outside having a lemonade stand, she was there. Wrestling? She was there. Playing in the snow, she was there. Eating, drinking, sleeping, playing, watching tv, driving, walking, watching soccer, opening presents, cooking, cleaning, etc. SHE.WAS.THERE. The list could go on and on. The other reason I have so many pictures of her is because she was so damn cute.

It's weird because at this very moment, the things that drove me crazy about her are the things I'm missing the most. The fact that we could never put anything on "her chair", the sound of her claws on the wood floor when you're in the basement, the dripped water all over my kitchen, the constant swiffering (btw..I'm going to sell my stock in swiffer now):)There is so much more and I know and trust that we'll think of her often.

Chloe was my first dog (I need to finish up here because the tears are welling...) but hopefully not my last. Man oh man I loved that girl. I planned to write more about the kids and everything, but I can hardly write about myself let alone my precious kiddos and their relationships with their dog. Maybe someday I'll be ready! For now...a few pics:)

Murrieta

After we left Disneyland, we headed south to Murrieta to stay with Tara and Tony for a few days! They moved there in August and we were anxious to get there to see them and the girls. Our first full day there was Ivy's birthday. She started the day off with a bowl of cookies for breakfast courtesy of her Aunt Tara. I won't forget that someday when I get to be with her girls on their bithdays! Later that day we went to the pool in their neighborhood and enjoyed some very cold swimming and a nice warm hot tub:) We made homemade pizza that night for dinner and enjoyed a cake that my mom ordered from a local grocery store for Ivy!









Saturday Tara organized a little horseback riding adventure for my kids. They got to learn a lot about horses and enjoyed riding in the ring. Pretty sure Max was picturing himself galloping along a trail on his own horse for a couple hours, but this wasn't quite it. There's a lot to learn about horses before you get to that point! It was a good experience for the kids and they are still talking about their horses. That night we invited Chris's cousin Joel and his wife and son over to Tara's house for a barbecue. We hadn't seen them since our wedding so it was great to catch up! We had a wonderful night...the Iowa win over Michigan didn't hurt.





Sunday, Chris, the kids and I packed up and headed south to La Jolla Beach. We enjoyed a tourist day in Sunny California and had a couple hours on the beach watching the surfers, the seals and playing in the sand. We had a great lunch of fish tacos after the beach too! After a crazy long drive home (due to a forest fire on the side of Interstate 15) we made it just in time to head out to the winery with Tara and Tony! We left the kids with a babysitter and enjoyed a quiet adult night. They live about 15 minutes from the wineries so I expect we'll be back there checking out more wineries on our next visit! In fact on our way out, Tara picked up the card of a limo driver so that we can do a whole day trip of it! That night after we got home from the winery, Tara and Max headed out to pick up some In-n-out burger...something we definitely needed to check off our California to-do list!













Monday was our last full day and Tony had to work. We headed to the pool and enjoyed a few last hours in the sun before heading back to the cold tundra! We loved our time there and can't wait to visit again! It was the perfect mix of activities and relaxation. We had plenty of time to sit in their gorgeous backyard playing cards and sipping on some adult beverages. It was hard to say goodbye to the girls, but knowing we'll see them in a month for Christmas made it a little easier! Thanks Tara and Tony for the wonderful hospitality!

Hockey

I knew we would be living in hockey country when we moved here 2 1/2 year ago, but I didn't have a clue how big it was. Everyone gets behind their team and the pride people show is unbelievable. Chris even tells me that the mood in the factory during hockey season is entirely dependent on whether the Oilers won or not! Last night I experienced something I wanted to write down so I will always remember.

I took Ivy to the kindergarten home reading kick off evening last night. The kids and teachers wore pajamas and the parents got to hear lots of tips for how they're teaching reading, we had a presentation from the Edmonton public library, got lots of hand outs, etc. Before it started, we were all gathered in the library and then a song started playing and everyone started singing along! It was a song about hockey that I had never heard. I told a friend sitting next to me that I had never heard of this song and she looked at me like I said I'd never heard of Michael Jackson. So I wrote down the name of the song and decided I would listen closer when I got home.

Fast forward an hour...I got home and was starting to tell Max (who was home watching the Oilers) that I heard a new song tonight in the library. He immediately knew exactly what song it was because apparently they listen to it on every game day at school! How awesome is that. He knew all the words:) Here's the you tube clip of "The Hockey Song"



Last weekend Max had his first hockey experience. A friend told me about this program for kids who have never played. It's sponsored by Canadian Tire (like a Fleet Farm) and Bauer. They outfitted the kids from head to toe...all included in the price of the 6 week program. He loved the drills and we were pleasantly surprised with how well he skated! We'll see if he wants to keep playing when this is over!

Disneyland 2016!

Time to cross some things off of my to-do list and post a few blogs! On November 8 we took off for some fun in California! We wanted to visit Tara and are unsure of what our spring is going to look like, so we decided to do it in November when the kids had a break from school. We went to Disney World in February 2013 and told Max and Mya at that time that we would go back to Disney when Ivy was 4. We came through with just 2 days to spare before she turned 5! Funny how Max and Mya seemed so big at 4 1/2 and almost 6 but Ivy seems too young for Disney at 5!

We flew into Los Angeles and spent Wednesday and Thursday at Disneyland. We went to California Adventure on Wednesday and had a great day despite it being 95 degrees and spending $70 on cold water! We got smart and bought water at walmart that night for the next day...24 bottles for $4. The kids did great on all of the rides...Ivy was a trooper and Max came through too. He is totally the kid that you have to drag on the ride and then when it's over he claims it was the best ride he has ever been on! Mya isn't afraid of anything so she had a blast. Our favorite rides were Soarin', Toy Story Mania, Radiator Springs Racers and Grizzly River Run. We also saw the Frozen Live show which was amazing. The night show "World of Color" was simply awesome and I highly recommend!





Mya and Ivy were tall enough to do all of the rides except California Screamin' and Tower of Terror. Next time!





















The next day we headed over to Disneyland Park bright and early at 7am! We hit up 9 rides in the first hour and then probably 9 rides the rest of the day! It was super busy and another hot day. The highlight was definitely Tara/Tony and the girls meeting us! The kids were pretty surprised as they didn't think we would see them until later that night. Quinn and Shae hung in there, but we all decided Disney is not a place for families with multiple small kids! We made the most of it for sure, but it was a bit too much for the girls. We left that night around 6pm and then dealt with southern California traffic for a few hours and eventually got to Tara's later that night!































All in all, a great first two days of the trip! And after that crazy election, it was perfect timing to be at the Happiest place on earth:)