Simon

Still can't believe I am having to blog about this, but yesterday, we had to go put Simon down. Now he is pain free, running the fields with Roxy and Sadie. 

The last few months have been rough for Simon and us. He started peeing in the house a lot more often, to the point where we needed to watch every move he made, so we could get him outside. He was also getting old, which meant his hearing was going along with his eye sight. 

We originally thought the cause of him peeing in the house was due to his old age, but when he went to the vet, they noticed a lump on his bladder. We were given medicine to help reduce the size, but after a month he went back and we found out that it was a tumor. The tumor on his bladder was painful for him and causing him to not have control of himself peeing in the house. 

The vet told us that Simon would only be getting worse and we didn't want that for him, so shortly after finding out about the tumor, we knew it was time to make the horrible decision to put him down.  It was the best thing for him and we know that, even though our hearts are breaking right now.

McKaila woke up early, so she could spend time with Simon before she had to go to school

We wanted to give Simon one last meal before we had to bring him to the vet, so we got him some french fries. He was down to only a few teeth, so we knew that would probably be the best thing for him since he couldn't chew all that well. 

Simon enjoyed fry after fry until his belly couldn't handle anymore and then it was time to get our last cuddles in. It was like he knew what was about to happen because he just kept giving us kisses and crawling into our laps for cuddles. 

Simon, he pissed me off so much with his angry ways sometimes, but I knew I could always count on that dog to be there for me. 

It was Simon who would cuddle with me when Courtney was gone for 8 1/2 weeks at BMT and the weeks after when he was in Biloxi for training. Simon is the one that helped me the most to get through having Courtney be gone. 

It was like that from day one, when meeting Simon. I remember very clearly when I meant Simon and Roxy for the first time. Simon was so excited to see me. He instantly became my cuddle buddy. Always digging under the blankets and cuddling next to me, even when there wasn't much room for him. 

I am going to miss you so much Simon, probably more then you'll ever know. But, I know you are so happy, running around pain free with Roxy and Sadie!! 

I LOVE YOU SIMON!!!

YOU WILL BE FOREVER MISSED!!!

McKenna Lost Her First Tooth

It had only been a few weeks since we had noticed that McKenna's bottom tooth was starting to get a little wiggly. And from there, McKenna was bound and determined to get that tooth out. 

Every day she would come to me and show me that her tooth was that much closer to coming out. She would use her tongue to play with her tooth, which made it get wiggly and McKenna more excited about it coming out. 

A few days prior to her tooth coming out, we knew it wouldn't be much longer. She did whatever she could to get that tooth out. It literally was barely hanging in there come Sunday night. So, Monday morning, she came to me about every half hour to hour asking me to try pulling it out. I didn't want to pull to hard, knowing this was the first tooth to come out, so I gently tried each time. Until she came to me and said she was trying herself to get it out, so I knew I had to get the tooth out this time. It didn't take much at all on the last try and it was out. 

McKenna was so brave, not even flinching, like her sister did. She was so excited and had to FaceTime daddy at work to tell him the exciting news! 

When McKenna's tooth came out, she knew just what do to since she's watched McKaila do it so many times. She went to her room, got her tooth fairy pillow and put her tooth inside. What was funny is that she didn't want to put her pillow back in her room, she needed it with her most of the day, so she could keep looking at her little tooth. She was just so proud of herself!

But, come night time, McKenna was eager to get that pillow by her bed so the tooth fairy could come. She did keep telling me through out the day, that she was going to pretend to sleep so she could see the tooth fairy, but that didn't happen. She was fast asleep and the tooth fairy was able to come get her tooth and leave a surprise without ever being spotted. 

Enjoying Life in Wyoming

We now have been living in Wyoming for about 3 months and I think we are all starting to feel more like this is our home and that we are meant to be here right now. 

We've been getting used to Courtney's schedule of having down Fridays again and really enjoying having his work closer to us then before. He works a couple miles from home, so we are always driving by and sometimes even stopping by for a bit to say hi and deliver some afternoon coffee.

We are also enjoying our new surroundings. I got to say that being able to see the mountains in the distance every day is pretty awesome. After moving to San Antonio, I never wanted to live in colder weather again, but to be honest, it really hasn't been too bad here. The snow isn't fun, but usually it's gone the next day or two so it really isn't all that bad. And I love the fact that I can wear my hoodies every day!

Excited about Coco

Like we do in every new place, we like to do a lot of exploring. We like to drive and go find something new to do. Here it's mostly driving into Colorado. I love the drive in Colorado, it's beautiful seeing the huge mountains covered in snow. It's a very peaceful drive. 

We spend most of our time in Loveland, CO which is about a 40 minute drive or so, but we have now gone into Denver a couple different times, now. We have come to really like the Denver area, so I think this summer we will be traveling there so we can walk around the city instead of just driving around. 

60 degree weather!

Postcards from Grandma and Grandpa Kuipers. 

McKaila loves that the new American Girl doll is training to be an Astronaut and now wants one

Pebbles and Simon cuddling

We are looking forward to it warming up around here so we can start doing some more hiking and exploring. Along with planning a trip to South Dakota to see Mount Rushmore. McKaila and I are really excited about that! 

I see a lot of adventures ahead for the Polnicky family!