Moving to Colorado!!

Well by now you know that we are moving to Denver! This is a move that we have been open to if the right situation presented itself, and it did. Marty's company offered him a position out west and he really wants to go for it. As much as I'll miss those who I've grown close to in Liberty Township, this is not where my roots are, so it's not too hard for me. The kids are taking it well, Emma is sad to leave her best friends but she is excited for our new adventures. She has always made friends easily and I know she will be fine.

I've talked to people at some schools and we have decided to move to the suburb of Parker. I'm really excited to have found schools that are much like the one we are leaving, good schools are so important to me.

Beyond that, we have a lot of things to do with preparing for the move. Our home sold in under a week and while we are extremely grateful, we weren't prepared for it to happen so fast! We have to be out of here by June 25... Eeek!

Updates on the kids: LM is out of preschool...I can't believe our little man will be a big, bad kindergartener soon! He joined karate like EB, and he LOVES it. He had a brief, muddy spring soccer season and had fun. He really likes soccer and will probably continue in it for the next few years at least, I imagine. EB has a week left of school. She has mixed feelings, eager for summer and sad about it being the last days with her friends at Van Gorden. She is going strong in karate and was preparing to join the competition team for the dojo...she is sad about leaving that opportunity, but we know we'll get them into karate as soon as we get settled in Denver.

And I will be sure to post tons of pics!!!

Even though he's just turned 5...

Yesterday Marty jr. was chillaxin'...watching a little TV. A commercial for baby bottle pops came on. He declared, "I love baby bottle pops, I haven't had one of those in years."

Happy Day!

Today is a big day at the Brann house. It's Marty jr.'s birthday! He is the big 5 today. I can hardly believe how fast our kids are growing up. It seems like just yesterday he was a sweet, sleepy newborn....and in just a few minutes he's going to come downstairs to open his presents and blowout the candle on his birthday cupcake, and then quite likely request to immediately play his new lego starwars video game :)

And for our even bigger girl, tonight is her musical! The annual school musical is a big deal in this house. Each year Emma has tried out for a solo part and has earned one. She LOVES performing and this is a wonderful time for her, hence for us.

Grandma and Grandpa Brann are coming down to share the afternoon/evening with us. Emma was thrilled Grandpa came to watch her performance last year and is so excited to have them both come to see her musical. It's a long haul for them to come on a weekday evening and we're so happy they want to come celebrate with us.

Happy Day!!

Well said!

Emma (while looking through her microscope):

"I've learned something, camel hair is not very appealing."

Divisions

And while we're on the subject of values in the context of politics...I just had to head off someone from ranting to remind me of the flaws of the democratic party with regard to Mr. Spitzer and his indiscretions. Are you kidding me? I am so tired of hearing that democrats or republicans are this or that b/c of one party member's choice. We can line up the republicans who have made questionable choices too. It's just getting worse, this 2-party system. What happened to a gov't working together for the nation? I'm not seeing much of that in recent years...it seems to constantly be a race to the top. Unfortunately that isn't getting us anywhere.

The F word

With the development of having a woman run for president, I've been hearing the F-bomb a lot lately...feminism. I've heard ppl criticize Hillary and her supporters for being feminist. This makes me scratch my head. I know that most ppl with any college level education have to take some general social science courses in which the topic of feminism is discussed.

What do you think feminism is?

I have learned feminism to be the support of equal rights for women. Period. I've heard some ugly rants against women who are feminist and kinda shudder...do you know who you are talking to? Are you seriously suggesting to me that I don't deserve the same rights as a man? I don't think some ppl realize how offensive it comes across. While they are busy bashing an idea, they aren't taking the time to learn what it really means. Either that, or they do truly believe that women aren't equal to men. So when I ask a room full of ppl who here is a feminist, and notice that a lot of ppl, including women, do not raise their hand...I have to wonder, how many of us hang onto old ideas for dear life, just because we're used to it? And at what cost to society?

An example of why I love chessies...

http://www.vetmed.wsu.edu/features/Chocolate/index.aspx

Every once in awhile I'll recieve a link to a really heartwarming story about a chessie. Usually it involves them helping their humans in some way, this one just reminds me how smart these dogs are.

Good breeders advise that most ppl probably aren't capable of being good chessie owners. It takes a certain kind of leadership and high level of commitment to give them what they need. I have heard it many times, if you think you can handle this laundry list of things and take a chessie into your family, you will never want another kind of dog. Being newbie dog owners when Marty and I bought Kuma, we just jumped in. We didn't care and just knew we wanted a chessie, for everything about the breed standard was just what we were looking for. Kuma definitely gave us a run for our money, he exhausted us, and just when he was beginning to mature and we were about to reap the rewards (chessies tend to be a TON of work in the early years and then are known for being the BEST dogs after about age 3-4), he died.

Now Sunny is 3. We've been given a mega break with her. She has been sooo willing to do whatever we want from the beginning. She was a little overly submissive, expressed in the form of sprinkles, at times, but as she matures she is growing out of that. She is so loyal and an amazing companion dog.

Many of you who have met Sunny don't really see this side of her. Chessies attach to their pack and are very aloof with others. I wish you all knew how amazing it is to have such a great companion. The only way to really know is to have your own.

I love my brown velcro dog.