A couple of months ago our family made a hard decision. We've had two cute kitties for about the last 10 years - Snoopy and Sissy. They've been good cats, for the most part. Sissy is afraid of people (thus her name) and mostly stays out of the way. Snoopy was curious (thus
her name) and cuddly. Through the years, we've snapped pictures of Snoopy now and then when she has done something funny or especially cute.
Unfortunately, no photographic evidence of Sissy being funny or especially cute exists, because she hasn't really ever
been funny or especially cute. She only likes Brad and I...and if she could understand English she would only like me because Brad thinks she is the product of in-breeding and tells her so regularly.
So, the cats are elderly at this point and Snoopy, in particular, began to have a lot of problems over the last year. The biggest of these problems being that she seemed to think the litter box was just for decoration...maybe just there in case she needed to pee and happened to be in the area. Using our own sniffers, we were able to deduce that Snoopy was suddenly peeing in some creative places within the house - in the dirt of the house plant, on top of the classic Super Nintendo system AND it's games, and, her favorite, on the clothes in the laundry basket! What to do? We put up with it for a good year, cleaning and disinfecting the scenes of the crime. But before too long, Snoopy began to behave differently. She'd get grouchy with the kids (even nipped at them a couple of times.) She'd wait at the back door to go outside, then, upon being let outside, immediately wait on the other side of the back door to be let back inside. Brad and I diagnosed her with Geriatric Kitty Dementia and decided that a family meeting was in order.
After many kid tears it was finally agreed upon that the time had come for Snoopy to be "put down". I was nominated as the parent in charge of overseeing the trip to the Vet Clinic (Brad is better with these things, but had to work) and let me tell you that I completely OVERestimated my own emotional strength! I cried from the minute they assigned Snoopy and I an exam room until she closed her little kitty eyes and breathed her last kitty breath! I cried so much that the Vet said, with concern, "Mrs. Nielson, do you need a few moments to yourself?" IT WAS HORRIBLE! Once the initial trauma subsided, however, I was fine. It was the right thing to do AND, as an added bonus, our house no longer smells faintly like cat pee.
So with the mysterious disappearance of her sister-cat, you'd think that Sissy, no fan of people to begin with, would be on her best behavior...an extra measure of fear-based respect for her human family and their household rules, RIGHT?
WRONG! I came home the other day to this:
Who does this cat think she is, hanging out casually in the kitchen sink?! Not to mention, this pretty much confirms Brad's suspicions that she's mentally impaired, right? Watch your back, Sissy. You could be next!
Our church's Fathers' and Sons' camping trip was a couple of weekends ago. The boys look forward to it all year long...and to be honest, I think that Brad does, too.
We had a little family party later that night. Jacob chose Tacos for his birthday dinner and wanted a cake with blue frosting. 
In other big boy news, Jacob got a bike for his bday, had his last day of preschool this week and kindergarten open house yesterday! He is feeling pretty grown up!
Amber had a bitter-sweet weekend as Saturday night was the final performance of her school's "Wizard Of Oz" play. She had such a fabulous time with this play and has definitely caught the acting/singing/dancing bug...which isn't a bug either of her parents have ever caught, so this is all new to us! We are glad she had such a good experience and made so many great friends. The play was fantastic - the witches and monkeys actually flew, Toto was a real dog, the costumes were great and the performers super talented! Our family liked it so much we saw it twice! 
Here are Amber and some friends in their Ozian (as in, "one from Oz") costumes.
Here is Alyssa with her favorite character in the play (aside from Amber, I'm sure) the Wicked Witch Of The West. This witch was so scary and had such an awesomely wicked cackle that Jacob closed his eyes and plugged his ears every time she took the stage!
And this is Amber with her awesome cousin, Juli. Juli was the stage manager of the production and is the one who encouraged Amber to try out for the play in the first place. She is a little bit emotional in this photo because, as a senior, this is the last performance of her very last Wa-Hi play. We heart Juli. A lot.
For my b-day Brad got us tickets to see Conan O'brien's tour when it came to Spokane! 
We've been Conan fans for years (long before the Tonight Show drama) - he was hilarious and did not disappoint. We had a blast!
Unfortunately, no photographic evidence of Sissy being funny or especially cute exists, because she hasn't really ever been funny or especially cute. She only likes Brad and I...and if she could understand English she would only like me because Brad thinks she is the product of in-breeding and tells her so regularly.
Who does this cat think she is, hanging out casually in the kitchen sink?! Not to mention, this pretty much confirms Brad's suspicions that she's mentally impaired, right? Watch your back, Sissy. You could be next!
Jacob, on the other hand, preferred the carousel.
