All Grown Up . . .

We shopped for a wedding dress today . . .

. . . she found the perfect dress.
But don't worry, it isn't this one.
You will have to wait until January to see it!

Samuel Robin a/k/a Sam

Pictures of a younger Sam and younger Joel and Levi too!

Too bad this picture is so blurry, but Sam is a hard one to catch for a picture.

Sam is our family's first best dog. He is about 13 years old now which makes him 74-76 in human years according to my internet research.

Here's a brief overview of Sam and his life in bullet form.

• History

Found in a box with his siblings outside of Walmart one early fall day
The box said Free to a Good Home
Original name was Adam
Had short, slick hair as a puppy
Ate at least three pairs of black dress shoes as a pup
Joel was 2 when we got him and was the only one of the kids who wasn't terrified of him - Joel would wrestle him for hours behind the dining room table
Sam caused Brian and I an extreme amount of marital conflict
When we moved to our current house, Sam became an outside dog
He carried off survey flags, 2 pair of gloves, and a hat from the man who put in our septic system
He is the best mole-hunting dog this side of the Mississippi

• Tragedy Sam has experienced:

kicked by a deer in the leg
lip busted by someone or something - He spent one whole winter on the basement couch recovering from this injury.
hit by a truck on the highway - We seriously thought he was dead! He laid on the couch for over 24 hours in a daze.
shot with a BB in the hip - He has almost recovered from this although the BB remains lodged in his hip.
the plague - I don't know what else to call this. He lost all of his hair one summer. He had red, scaly, and horribly itchy skin. This bizarre skin affliction was also accompanied with severe constipation - which is probably way TMI!

• Things Sam loves:

digging up moles
chasing butterflies
killing bees
riding in Levi's old truck
working outside with the boys
sleeping in the sunshine
the FedEx guy, UPS guy, and water company man - they all bring him treats
hotdogs
his other family
life

The retired couple that live down the road from us share Sam with us. This is really a perfect thing for all parties involved. They love Sam. We love Sam. They travel a lot and therefore can't have their own dog. We are in and out a lot during the day and appreciate all of the hotdogs, biscuits and gravy, and left overs they give Sam. And Sam loves us all!

Sam is just too good of a dog to only be loved by one family.

• Things Sam hates:

fire works
big birds
storms

Sam seriously hates storms.

Despite unfortunately going deaf this last year, Sam still somehow manages to detect a thunderstorm long before it ever thunders or lightnings. The local weather station should seriously think about hiring him.

He even can discern how serious the storm will be:

Thunderstorm - he is satisfied with laying on the floor in the middle of the basement bathroom
Severe thunderstorm - he insists on laying behind the toilet in the basement bathroom
Potential tornado - he knows the only place to be is in the shower of the basement bathroom

Sam also hates fire works.

One July he spent 72 solid hours hunkered down in a laundry hamper. You could only see his eyes peeking out.

I used really hot water to wash that load.

There is one kind of morbid theory at our house regarding Sam. It has been proposed that Sam is actually a ghost. Yes, a ghost.

It seems he can get inside when all the doors are closed - leaving no open door behind him.

Case in point - one morning Megan woke up with Sam in bed beside her.

She was very disturbed by this because Sam's last bath was 7 years ago.

He is not clean. His beard has turned into dreadlocks and he's been known to have more than one highjacking tick on his back.

I can see why Megan was upset.

Joel was once surprised to find Sam laying in a pile of clothes in the bottom of his closet. Just a dark pair of eyes peering over dirty socks and basketball shorts.

This however provided me with a good object lesson to teach Joel the dangers of having piles of clothes in the bottom of his closet.

Joel, however, wasn't nearly as grossed out as Megan was - I guess being a boy, Joel somehow understands Sam.

The crazy thing is that both times no one heard Sam come inside - no one let Sam inside - and the doors were all found to be shut behind him.

See what I mean about the whole ghost theory?

Bottom line is we love this old, dirty dog.

He is the Head of Lodge Security even though he wouldn't hurt a fly.

Just don't tell the bad guys.

Gone

We've been gone so much this week Scooby thinks he's an orphan.

Poor orphan dog Scooby - sweet puppy with no family to love him.

Sounds like the beginings of a book.

I would write it if I had time.

Mother's Day

Guess what two things are my Mother's Day presents?

Give up?

If you guessed the microwave and the nesting tea cups
from Star Bucks - you are right!!!

My kids went in together and bought me a brand spankin' new microwave.
It is black and chrome and it looks awesome in the kitchen
next to my new black stove.

Now if I only had a black refrigerator . . .
. . . just a not so subtle hint to Brian. Ha, Ha!

Brian was bidding on a Jadite batter bowl for me
but lost the bid in the last hour.
Oh well, it is the thought that counts.

BUT he did get me the super cute nesting tea cups from StarBucks!
In fact, I am drinking coffee out of one right now!

Megan made one of her famous homemade cards.
I absolutely love it.
I think she is an amazing artist and should pursue
publishing her line of people.
She captured herself and boys perfectly!

I have had a wonderful Mother's Day
because I have a wonderful family!