It's been an interesting week to say the least...

Our week started out like most other busy weeks. Jameson did GREAT at his soccer game, he really loves it. Every year he improves and gets a little more aggressive and scores more goals...

Then Nelly had a field trip at the Thanksgiving Point farm, we took the whole family and everyone had a lot of fun! Especially Chanel, she LOVES school!

There were LOTS of cute baby animals! Spring has sprung!

Then Ava got a fever... It actually started on Sat. it was a low fever of about 99 then by Mon it was at 103 or MORE?! I couldn't figure it out? She didn't even have so much as a runny nose? No teeth coming in, no sensitive gums. Nothing. I had no clue what it was but it wouldn't let up, we tried everything. Cool baths, Tylenol, Motrin, cold rags, ice cream etc. etc. etc. So I decided to take her in to see the doctor. They came up with nothing except one possibility... Roseola Virus. Sure enough today she broke out into little red bumps all over her body. But her fever is gone and she is happy as a clam all over again! Good thing about Roseola is it is not contagious and you get nothing but a fever and then this...

I couldn't get a really good picture of them.

Last week Rory thought it would be SO FUN to put up a zip line in our backyard. I fought this one, I really did. I told him no, I asked him nicely not to, I even yelled at him a few times. All he kept saying was to quit worrying so much and it would be fine! He put it up (sneakily I might add) and that was that. The kids of course loved it! We had people stopping and staring into our backyard all day every day. You could hear all the envious comments from every kid that saw it, wishing they could have one. I thought maybe I had over reacted. Everyone loved it and thought it was a wonderful idea... I didn't. On my way to the hospital with Ava I got a call from my mother who was babysitting the kids. I could hear the panic and terror in her voice when she asked me to come back. Chanel had fallen off the zip line, face first about 4-5 ft. on to some big rocks. I too started to panic, I raced home going about 90 mph. in a 40 the whole way! I was expecting the worse, I thought if one of her little bones weren't broken her face is surely hamburger. I was SOOOOOOO relieved when I got there 5 min. later (record time) to find she only had one good cut on her forehead...

She was so tough and she handled all like a champ. I am so proud of how my kids handle themselves whenever something like this happens, they stay so calm and so grown up. Actually the doctors say they act better then the grown ups they get in there!!

She kept peeking out when they were doing the stitches.

And here she is!! All sewn up and better! Her cut was so deep they had to do 2 layers of stitches, 1 to stitch up the tissue that surrounds the skull and one to stitch up the skin. All together she got 5. Needless to say the zip line is coming down!! You know how when your right you hate to say "I told you so" But at the same time you want to yell it in their face?! Well, that's how I felt. Rory got in very big trouble and I put my foot down! Now I'm the bad guy and I have lots of kids mad at me right now. But I will not take this chance again. We are really so lucky to have walked away from this with so little damage.

Sorry, I didnt get pictures of the zip line when it was up and running.

Then next day I was in such a hurry to get the kids to school and everything that I backed up out of our driveway (not looking behind me good enough) and I backed right into my MOMS car!!! As if this week couldn't get any worse. So now I will be paying to fix the damage done to both our vehicles. Now Rory can yell in my face "I told you so".

So what do you do when you have had such an insane week, and its only Tuesday? Well, you get something that gives you warm fuzzies inside and always makes you smile.

Say hello to Ziggie!
(he's the one on your left with 4 legs)

Our newest member of the Royce Family, he is so cute and fun! He makes us all happy! And you should have seen the face on Rory when I SURPRISED him with a puppy after he got home from work! Priceless, really.

Princess Parties & Easter Bunnies!!!

Our Littlest Princess...

The MESS the Easter Bunny left us with!! Darn that Easter Bunny, why would you fill eggs with confetti?? We will be finding this around the house for the next few Easters...

I love Jameson's big toe in this picture...

Ava LOVED her first Easter!!

The Easter bunny wanted them ready for summer with fun beach towels!!

Again with the confetti filled eggs. Come on now??

Our 3 princesses were invited to a soiree! Very fancy! So we went ALL out...

Here is a picture of our good friend Brady trying to get Nelly to dance.

Chanel's VERY BEST FRIEND London, and the birthday girl!! She was bustin a move...

Rori fell down and ALMOST broke her crown...

9 month and 2 year statistics...

Rori Ana went in for her 2 year check up!! I cant believe she is going to be 2 soon?! How did that happen so fast? She is getting so big and so smart. She decided a couple weeks ago that she didn't want to go pee and poo in the potty anymore. She thinks its much easier to run and play AND pee and poo at the same time!! So we are back to potty training and she is doing better and better every day. I was going to start keeping a log on here called 'Where Rori thought it would be fun to poo today' but then I decided that I better not. Nobody will ever want to step foot into my house again. She is talking more and more, not everyone hears her because she too got the raspy little Royce voice but if you listen closely and she feels like your worth talking to she does have a lot to say. She is by FAR my most stuck up child, she wont even give you a fake smile if she doesn't feel like it or if she decides she doesn't like you that day. And if someone tries to talk to her and she doesn't want to she will simply look right passed you as if you don't even exist. But I promise this girl is as sweet as sugar when she wants to be!

Rori is 26 lbs which puts her in the 58% for weight and 35 inches tall and in the 85% for her height!! I know she didn't get her height from me or my side of the family. I'm pretty sure all my kids will have passed me up by the time they hit 10 yrs old.

Ava Lyn went in for her 9 month check up too! She too is getting big, not very big but bigger than what she was. She is still very small for her age and developing at her own little pace but she is the sweetest little thing ever!!! She is not as far along as we would like for her to be so we may need to seek early intervention, but I know that she will get there when she is ready. She seems to do things a little backwards, she came out early because that was when she decided to come and now she will take things slow and enjoy being the baby of the family. She is still so patient and NEVER, EVER cries. She loves playing with her older siblings and being involved in everything. Shes obsessed with paper and balloons, I think that is the only way to make her cry is by taking those 2 things away from her. She looks like a bird to me with her big eyes and crazy, feathery hair and she is constantly bouncing and flapping her little wings. She even sounds like a little bird, she has a very raspy (again with the Royce voice) but squeaky, quiet little voice. And she eats like a bird, she wont sit down and eat a full meal but she snacks and picks at her food ALL day. Her laugh is so contagious because she squawks and grunts when she laughs and she will give anyone a big smile and a little giggle. She is such a joy to be around and everyone comments on how happy she is.

Ava weighed in at only 15 lbs which puts her in the 6% for weight and she is 27 inches long and in the 44% for height. She is going to be tall and skinny! Like I said, she is still very small but she is doing better, the highest she has been in is 3rd percentile since she was born so really we have doubled!!! Right? Its okay, with her being our last we are in NO hurry.

THANK YOU!!!

I just want to say THANK YOU again to all of my wonderful friends and neighbors for putting posts of Jazmine on their blogs, for all the kind uplifting words, for all the flowers and goodies I could ever want, for saying goodbye to Jazmine and letting her know one last time how much you guys cared about her. I also want to say I'm sorry if I didn't tell you before I did it, or if you didn't know and didn't get to say goodbye and wanted to. It was really difficult for me to talk about it and even though I would think I had composed myself, as soon as the words came out of my mouth that we were going to be putting her down I would start to crack and by the end of my first sentence I was usually in tears. It was a very difficult decision deciding if it was time for her to go or not. I never imagined that kind of decision would be in my hands, usually Great Danes only live for 6-8 years and then they will go peacefully in their sleep because their heart just cant keep going. That is how it is for most large breed dogs and that is how I had played it out in my head, out of my hands. But Jazmine was far to faithful and loyal to just give up. I think she felt like she needed to be here for us, to keep us happy and safe. She would have lived forever because of how loyal she was. But I could see her quality of life slipping away, she no longer enjoyed all things she used to. She lost control of her bladder. She couldn't run and play anymore, her arthritis got the best of her and her feet were swollen all the time. Recently her hips didn't want to work anymore either. On the day she died I tried to take her for one last walk to take Jameson to school, it is only about 2 blocks away but on our way back her hips gave out and she fell down. She couldn't get back up so I had to lift her rear end for her and Rory ended up leaving us and going to get his truck to pick us up. When we got home she got all the treats she could handle, a nice steak lunch and we laid out in the sun together just like we used to. She loved laying in the sun on her back, legs wide open. Not the prettiest sight, trust me. I used to tell her she looked like she was posing for "PlayDog"! But, I could tell she was in a lot of pain that day, I feel like that was the sign that it really was time. We didn't want to take Jazmine into the vets office to do it, I wanted her home where she belonged and where she was comfortable and happy. The vet came to our house and I sat in her bed with her. Telling her thank you and what a wonderful life we had together, I told her how much I loved her and who would be waiting on the other side and that I will be there soon enough. I told her to be happy and it was okay to go now. She died with her head in my lap, hearing my voice and feeling my touch. She went peacefully to sleep and then we laid her to rest in our back yard. We made a beautiful headstone out of a cement stepping stone and put her paw print in it so I will always be able to see just how big my gentle giant was. This was the hardest decision I have ever had to make, but I am at peace with it. I know she was hurting and I know she wasn't happy anymore. I will always miss Jazmine and I will always be sad when I think of her not being here. But I will be happy knowing she is happy now too. Thanks again to all of you for all the nice things you have done! I really appreciate it so much!!!

Jazmine 4/11/1999 - 4/9/2010

April 11th 1999 - April 9th 2010

It was almost exactly 11 yrs ago that I told my mom I wanted a beagle, I got my love for animals from my mother so being a fellow animal lover she didn't even question me. She just gave me a look like "as long as you know what your getting yourself into". On my way to get the beagle a man called me and told me he had only 1 last puppy left, but these puppies weren't beagles, they were GREAT DANES!! I had always been interested in the breed, always amazed by their beauty, their size and most of all their personalities. I had only met a few but everyone I met seemed so wise, so confident, careful, sweet and loving. They really were gentle giants. SO I turned around and went the opposite direction and made a very spontaneous decision and went to go look at this puppy. When I got there he took me out to his backyard and that was the first time I laid my eyes on what would be my best friend. She came running to me, like she was waiting for me! She fell 4 or 5 times along the way, tripping over her ENORMOUS ears and her HUGE feet! So clumsy, careless, ditsy, not at all what I remembered of the breed. She threw herself into my arms and from then on I never let go, even when she didn't fit which was very soon after. I brought her home and immediately my mom said, this is NO beagle. What is this?? How old is this?? Why is it so BIG?? I told her it was a big beagle, it wasn't until later that I decided I better tell her I just bought a small horse. Jazmine grew and she grew. Come to think of it, I don't know if she ever stopped last time I weighed her she was about 160 lbs. And one thing about BIG dogs is when they go through the chewing stage they don't chew on a shoe or something small like that. She ate entire dining room tables, chairs, doors, basket balls, logs, couches, rugs, beds etc. etc. etc. I actually drove her to the dog pound TWICE when she was younger, telling her the whole way there that I couldn't do it anymore. I couldn't deal with all the mess she makes and things she had ruined. I went with full intentions of really dropping her off! But I would pull up and she would lay her head on my lap and look at me with those amazing, big, beautiful brown eyes and I know she was saying sorry. I know she understood me when I talked to her and I understood her. So we would go home and my mom would just laugh. This went on for years, her doing something naughty, me yelling and screaming, her looking at me and apologizing, me melting into HER ARMS because she was better off holding me instead of me holding her. She was with me through the most important years of my life. She was there when I was dating, then had boyfriends, through marriage, divorce, marriage. Through EVERYTHING! Jr. high, high school. She saw and did it all with me. She was with me when I got my drivers license and my first car and then she was with me when I got in my 1 and only car accident and totalled my first car!!! I remember jumping out of the car, a little dazed and not knowing exactly what happened and all I could think about was where Jazmine was!? I yelled for her and ran around the accident until I found her. She had jumped out of one of the broken windows and I could tell she was in a panic looking for me too! She traveled all over with my family and I. She probably saw more of this world than a lot of other dogs. She was so patient with me and all the crazy things I would do with her! Always putting total trust in me, but still looking at me with that questioning look as if to say... Are you sure? I brought home birds, reptiles, cats, dogs and she was so kind every life, big or small. I remember having a ton of Chicky's when I was younger and walking into the garage where we were keeping them in a HUGE cage. I saw her in the cage and went running over thinking she had either eaten them all or smashed them, she loved stepping on bugs and little things so I thought she had stomped them all. Only to find her laying down with every single little chick cuddled into her belly, not one was hurt! They were so happy there all warm and smashed up against her and she was happy to have them. And I remember when I brought Jameson home, showing her my baby and I know she understood. She stuck her muzzle into him and was so excited. She did that with everyone of the babies I brought home and she cared for them and protected them like they were her own. I never worried about the kids if Jazmine was with them, knowing that she wouldn't let anyone step within 15 feet of them unless they made it by her first. She was so loyal to us all, so respectful. Its hard for me now to drive up to my house and not see her. Every time, no matter what she would get up out of her bed and stand there to greet us, EVERY TIME! Even in these last days when I know it would hurt her so much to stand, and still there she was as soon as she heard us driving down the road. I would tell her, its ok and she doesn't have to do that anymore, I knew it was hard for her but she didn't care. She would just put her big head in my hand and say hello. I hate driving up and not having her here to greet me anymore. I hate not having my "nanny" to watch over my kids. I hate when I go to bed knowing she isn't downstairs guarding our house anymore. I don't feel as safe and secure as I did when she was here. One of my favorite memories is when I was home alone and a man came to our door, he was handing out flyer's. I had just moved into our house and I walked around the corner and I could see him through our door (our front door is almost all glass windows) I really didn't want to open the door to him. When all of a sudden Jazmine came RUNNING around the corner and JUMPED up on the door and barked her EXTREMELY LOUD bark and the guy jumped SO HIGH and through his flyer's all over my porch and went running holding his BUTT!! I think she literally scared the crap out of this poor man!!! She loved scaring people for some reason, I think she liked knowing that everyone was amazed by her size and how "ferocious" she looked. She was an amazing dog, the perfect dog, but she was more than just a dog to us. She was a big part of our family. Really BIG. She was my best friend, she chose me to be her mom and I was so proud of her. She was put here just for me and my family, she loved us so much and we loved her. She was so loyal, trustworthy, giving, and protective of us. She will be greatly missed by so many. I have felt such a tremendous amount of grief since she has been gone, she left a huge void in my heart and the house seems so empty now, I find myself constantly wondering what is missing and then I realize there isnt a horse in my house. But I am comforted in knowing that she is in a better place now. I know one day I will see her again and it will be just like the first time I saw her. She will run to me, with those big long legs and throw herself at me like she only weighs 10 lbs. and bury her head into my arms. I know she is comfortable now and can rest and run like she used to. She deserves to be happy and I know she is. It is always hard to say goodbye to someone you love so much, but I cant wait to say hello again. I want to say thank you to all the wonderful friends and family too that have come to say goodbye and sent all the wonderful gifts and for thinking of us! I know she knew she was loved by many and I know she will still be watching over all of us and will always love and appreciate it. Thank you for all for being there for me when the time came to say goodbye and thank you for caring for her so much.

I love you Jazmine! Thank you for loving me so much and for always being there for me. I will miss you, may you rest in peace now.