August 1, 2006 - Meet Molly!

In honor of Molly's 4th birthday today, I thought I'd post one of the very first pictures I ever took of her! When we put Uno down, we had decided not to get another dog, at least not right away. But that very afternoon, when we came home to a dog-less house for the first time in over 14 years, we knew that we had to have another dog. Just three short days later, we brought home Molly. From the very first moment we laid eyes on her, all three of us were hooked. And now, almost four years later, we're still hooked. Sure, she's incredibly goofy (I mean, have you ever seen a dog that will not willingly go up or down stairs without a huge amount of coaxing?), and sure her nose has changed color (it's now a very light brown, almost pink), but she's our Miss Molly, and she's a huge part of our family. So here's to you, Molly! Happy birthday!

January 25, 2008 - Silly Puss (Part 367.2)

As my parents are now re-learning first hand, there's not much more entertaining in life that watching a cat, especially when they're exploring a new home. Such was the case with our own Missy Puss, Mia, when we first got her. She found the goofiest places in the world to "hide." One of them was inside (yes, inside) Erin's step stool. She was small enough to climb in one end and peek out the other. What you don't see in this picture, though, is that her tail never quite made it into the stool, so her cover was kind of blown. But as far as Mia was concerned, she was invisible. Silly puss!

December 30, 2007 - Brrr!

Montreal is truly an incredible and beautiful city to visit. It has so much to offer culturally, and its being a French-speaking city adds to the feeling that you're really in another country. However, if you're planning a trip there, take one lesson from our experiences: Don't go in December! We thought it would be a fun weekend getaway over a long New Year's holiday, and somehow forgot to factor into the equation just how cold and snowy it can be in Canada in the winter. Silly us... We still had an incredible time, all bundled up, and Erin swears she's never seen that much snow in her life. But next time we visit the great white north, we'll do it when it's not so, well, white. 

July 26, 2009 - New Water Fun

I'm always amazed at how easily Erin is able to do new things once she tries them. Last summer, we spent a few days with friends at Dana Point Harbor, and everyone (who wanted to, that is) got to give paddleboarding a try. I'll be the first to admit that I must simply lack a basic gene that would allow me to succeed at this activity. However, Erin must have gotten that gene from Jim's family, because she took to it right away! Within the first few minutes of trying it, she was standing up on the board, paddling around, having a blast. Jim, who (of course) was also able to do it, went along with her. I, on the other hand, was perfectly happy sitting on the sidelines, snapping pictures. The water's not warm enough quite yet, but Erin's already asking when we can do it again. Yep, she gets it from Jim, I guess! 

April 29, 2006 - A Sure Sign of Spring

When we first moved into our house in New Jersey, the previous owners told us that the scraggly-looking shrub out front was a wisteria bush that would bloom gloriously (if briefly) in the spring. It was really pretty ugly during the rest of the year, but we left it alone, figuring we'd wait until the following spring to see what it really looked like. The thing certainly didn't disappoint us! For about a week, it blossomed into beautiful and fragrant purple flowers that attracted more bumble bees than I've ever seen in one place, and then went back to being an icky-looking thing in our front lawn. I made sure to take pictures of it each year, and every time I'd bemoan the fact that it was there looking bare, I'd look at the pictures and be reminded of just how gorgeous it could be, even for those few, short days.

November 24, 2005 - It Takes Three

Have you heard the old joke, "How many grown-ups does it take to prep a turkey?" Apparently, in our family, the answer is three, especially where the turkey is going to be rotisseried on the barbecue. Doing a turkey on a rotisserie is tricky, as you have to get the balance just right or else it can go off balance, break the rotisserie motor, stop turning, and catch on fire. (Don't ask how we know this, just take my word for it.)  In our case, though, we had two engineers on the job, which could be very good of very bad. Obviously, at this point in the process, everyone was smiling, so things must have been going well. Oh, and in case you're wondering, rotisseried turkey is DA BOM!

August 13, 2008 - Yep, We've Officially Been to Hell

One of our stops on our Liberty of the Seas cruise in 2008 was Grand Cayman, where we took a tour of some of the island's not-to-be-missed sites. One of them, believe it or not, was Hell, a little town in what felt like the middle of nowhere, whose big claim to fame was its unfortunate name. I just couldn't resist taking this picture of Erin (I actually have one of her at the angel sign too, but this one is much more fun!). Some days I feel I should print it poster-size and hang it on her bedroom door!

January 3, 2004 - How to Make Kryptonite

There are very few foods in the world that Jim won't eat. Two of them happen to be hard boiled eggs and mayonnaise, which as everyone knows, are the prime ingredients in egg salad. So you can imagine his absolute dismay when Erin tasted egg salad and declared it delicious. He was horrified. Even more so when she kept asking for it whenever we'd visit my parents (because I knew better than to attempt to make it in his own house) and when my mom showed her how to make it. To this day, whenever we're with my parents for any length of time, Erin asks to make egg salad, and Jim turns the mildest shade of green. Poor thing...

July 8, 2007 - The Magic Bed

On our first Royal Caribbean cruise, on the Adventure of the Seas, Erin was positively tickled to find that her bed would be above ours. On the first night that we got back and saw it all made up for her, she couldn't wait to climb up there and sleep. In fact, it took her quite a while to calm down enough TO sleep, she was so excited to be sleeping in what she dubbed the "magic bed." She kept leaning down to look at and giggle at us. For our part, having her above us wasn't that big of a deal except for the one night I forgot she was there and sat us rather abruptly, soundly conking my head on her bed. Ouch. Well, it's probably the closest to bunk beds she'll ever get, so I'm glad she enjoyed it!

January 8, 2002 - Hide and Seek

One of Erin's favorite games to play as a toddler was hide and seek, especially when the seeking party was Uno. Erin would hide in her play tent and make noises, making Uno a little bonkers as he sniffed at the tent. Then she'd reveal herself, all smiles and giggles, thrilled at foiling Uno's detective efforts yet again.

December 24, 2009 - Buds

Bronte is the daughter of our very good friends September and Cori, and Erin's known her since she was born. Erin's always called Bronte her "little sister," and it's been very cute seeing them grow up together. Even though there's almost 2 1/2 years between them, the two girls get along incredibly well, and always have a good time when they're together. Unfortunately, now that we live 3,000 miles apart, their time together is obviously limited, but we were fortunate to get to see Bronte and her whole family when we visited my parents in December, and the girls (along with Bronte's cousins, who are around Erin's age) had a blast hanging out together on Christmas Eve. I have a feeling that these two girls will be friends for a very long time, just like their mothers!

August 2, 2006 - Lap Dog

When Molly was a little puppy (and this picture is from when she was just 8 weeks old!), she decided that she loved curling up in my lap. I think it may have started when we first brought her home and I was holding her in the car. When she weighed just 16 pounds, like here, it was adorable. Now, however, she's 70+ pounds, and still thinks she can curl up in my lap. Some nights, I'll sit on the floor and she'll curl up in the V of my legs, just like she was a tiny puppy. We call it Labby Love Time. She snuggles in there, happy as a clam, and will lie there for as long as I'll let her. I guess she'll always be part lap dog!

January 8, 2001 - School Daze

After three months at home with her, Erin started daycare (or, as we called it, "school") on January 8, 2001. We had looked at a lot of centers before deciding on the Kiddie Academy right near our house, and felt good about the place. An added bonus was that they had video cameras in each room, and we could log in online and look at Erin during the day. Fortunately, she had hair, because that was usually what we used to differentiate her from the other babies in the room (this was a long time before hi-def video!). So on Erin's first day, we handed her over to Miss Denise, who would care for her, and waved good-bye to her through what they appropriately called the Bye-Bye Window. Then Jim headed off to work and I headed to the airport (no, not escaping, just a little business travel). Erin stayed at Kiddie Academy until we moved after pre-K, and it gave her a great foundation for lots of years of education to follow!

March 19, 2005 - Bouncy, Bouncy, Bouncy

Ah, the things one can remember from looking at a picture! For example, this picture reminds me of a long walk we took at my parents' house with the dogs. When we came home, Erin eyed the trampoline in the neighbor's yard, and she asked if she could jump on it. She was kind of timid about it at first, but after a while, she was bouncing like a pro. (You can even see that her feet are off the ground in this shot!) Not one to let the little kids have all the fun, Jim decided to give it a whirl as well. That's where the memories come in.  He climbed up there, jumped a few times, and decided to do a butt-bounce. And he'll never do it again. 'Nuff said. 

July 5, 2008 - Snuggle Time

As I wrote about in this post, Erin's relationship with Ann's dogs Harry (pictured here) and Lucy got off to a slow start, but improved greatly over time. The proof, as they say, is in the pudding. Or in this case, in the pictures. During a visit to their home in Baltimore in 2008, Harry obviously decided that Erin's lap was as good a place as any to take a snooze, and he curled right up on her for some cuddling. He's such a goofball... For a dog that can (and has!) easily upset the dining room table during vigorous playtime, he can be such a sweet lovey-dovey.

April 6, 2010 - Happy Mother's Day!

It's Mother's Day, and what better picture to use on this day than one of my Mom, Erin, and me! This was taken last month at the San Diego Wild Animal Park, and I love it because it's the three of us together. Ooh, how I miss being with my mom, especially today. But in just 58 days we'll all be together again, and we'll celebrate a belated Mother's Day then!  I love you, Mom!!!

August 4, 2007 - Sprinkler Fun, Doggie Style

In August 2007, we threw a big party to celebrate Molly's "gotcha day," the anniversary of when we brought her home. To help properly celebrate the event, we invited some of our friends and family, and some of Molly's friends as well, including her "cousins" Lucy and Harry, and another yellow Lab who belonged to one of Erin's friends. It was an atrociously hot, humid, New Jersey day, so we set up the sprinkler in the back yard for the kids and dogs to play in. Molly didn't quite get it, and thought it was an upside down water fountain. Well, it was effective, however she did it. If I remember correctly, too, she slept REALLY well that night!

June 27, 2004 - Sprinkler Fun

Growing up, one of my favorite things to do was run through the sprinkler on a hot summer day. Erin discovered the joy in doing this during the summer of 2003. On a hot, June afternoon, Jim set up the sprinkler in our side yard, and Erin, dolled up in her bathing suit (and old sneakers, because she hated walking in the grass barefoot!) blissfully dashed through the spray.  These days, what with water restrictions and the lack of a decent-sized back yard, sprinkler-dashing isn't really an option for us. But I'm really glad that got to enjoy this time-honored tradition on the East coast.  I guess these days, if we want to cool off, our best bet is to take a 5 minute drive to the ocean. Bummer...  ;)

August 3, 2003 - A Pillow of Portia

After yesterday's post of Erin with Portia, one of my friends asked me to post more pictures of the two of them together. This is the first one that came to mind, and truly, it's one of my all-time favorite pictures of Erin. She was not quite 3, and Portia was showing us just how sweet and tolerant she could be, letting Erin drape herself over her without so much as a peep. Do dogs get any sweeter than this? I don't think so!

November 23, 2002 - Nose-to-Nose

Big dogs have always been a part of Erin's life. We had our own (Uno, who weighed around 80 pounds or so when Erin was born), and my parents had two Akitas as well. One, Breyer, was not-so-fondly-but-quite-appropriately nicknamed the Man-Eating Beast, and nobody but my parents ever got near him. (That was actually a good lesson for Erin, in that she learned early on that not all dogs are friendly.) Portia, on the other hand, was a sweetie. She was incredibly gentle with Erin right from the beginning, and on the rare occasions that she'd come inside (Portia, not Erin), she'd allow Erin to lay on her, etc. When Erin was two, the two of them were just about nose to nose, and it was always cute to see them together. Erin adored Portia and would try to shower her with ear scratches and kisses. Portia, for her part, tolerated Erin's affections with a wag of her puffy tail. What sweeties... both of them!

June 16, 2009 - Mishpucha

We'd waited six LONG months for this day... the day my Mom arrived for her first visit to our new home in California. We didn't waste any time getting to the fun parts. The very first night she was here, we drove to the beach to watch the sun set and to get Mom her daily dose of "water feature." (And let's face it, there aren't many more impressive water features than the Pacific!) I just love this picture. I think you can really see how genuinely happy we all were to be together. And the really nice thing was that after two weeks together, we were still smiling like this!  Now if only we didn't have to still wait so long between visits. But at least, as I write this, I know Erin and I only have 63 days until we fly to Pennsylvania for our next dose of Formans!

November 22, 2001 - Wrapped Around Her Finger

Meet the main men in Erin's life. From a very early age, I think she realized that these guys would be the ones that would always be there for her, and also be the ones to spoil her rotten.  ;)  They were the ones who made her laugh, who played with and sang to her, who wrote her poems about practically-mythical dogs. They were the ones who were always happy to see her, who always smiled at her, and who always snuck her pieces of chocolate chip cookies. I'm pretty fortunate... They're also the men in my life! But I don't much remember the sneaking of cookies part...

June 16, 2006 - The Graduate

Erin was very proud on the day she graduated from Kindergarten. It had been a challenging year, and she'd learned so much that we were all amazed. On that day, she donned her cap and gown and joined her classmates in a demonstration of some of their new skills. Erin's part was reading a book to the entire group of parents and friends that were there - a huge group of people! She did great! She actually still has the cap and gown in her room, and each time I ask her if it's time to get rid of it, she gives me a look like I'm asking her to get rid of Lucky. I guess even all these years later, she's still really proud of that day!

October 16, 2000 - Swingin'

When Erin was an infant, one of her favorite places to hang out was in her baby swing, facing out the big windows we had in our kitchen. She'd hang out with me for a long time, gently swinging back and forth, happy as a clam. Even at a very young age, she seemed cognizant of the world around her, and sometimes I'd look at her and wonder exactly what she was thinking. I like this picture because she looks so peaceful, but still looks like she's about to say something. Or maybe she's just wondering, "What's with Mommy and that camera!?" Somethings never change...