Our Week

This past week we've been in Coeur d'Alene visiting my family.  Daniel has had the week off from school for Spring Break.  (Is it Spring yet?, he asks).  We have been staying with my parents.  We have also been visiting my sister Cheryl, her husband Kent and her kids Justin and Emma.  It has been a nice week, although I have missed Jeff.  He was not able to come with us on this trip.  Maybe next time.  The boys have enjoyed spending time with Grandma and Grandpa.  It makes me thankful that we were able to move back to the northwest and be closer to family, not just Jeff's family, but also my family.

Our Visit to CDA 2 Years Ago

Figgy

I have owned a cat for as long as I can remember.  My first cat was Patches.  She was a calico, long-haired cat.  We got her before I can remember.  She had lots of kittens.  She was a very good mother and a good hunter.  She lived a full life and died of old age.  I can't remember exactly how many years she lived.  Then, we inherited an orange, short-haired male cat called Quimby.  He was one of Patches' kittens.  He was my sister's cat, but then she had to get rid of him, and she gave him back to us.  I adopted him.  We think he got hit by a car or died of unnatural causes, because one day he never came home.  He was probably around 7 years old when he died.  When I moved out on my own for the first time, I immediately got a cat.  His name was Drake.  He was a black and white, short-haired cat.  He went outdoors a lot and unfortunately was hit by a car.  He was only 4 years old.  After that, I swore I would never own an outdoor cat again.  Next, I was given a cat by one of my students.  Her name was Cleo.  She was a long-haired, all black cat.  She lived indoors with me, but died early, I think because of liver failure.  She just quit eating and lost so much weight.  We finally put her to sleep.  She was only about 5 years old.  Soon after that, we got Figgy.  She is a short-haired, calico.  We've had her since 2003.  She is a sweety and puts up with a lot of the boys' pestering.  Here are some of my favorite pics of her.

Checking Her Email

Doing The Dishes

Cat-Napping

Sisters

 Last weekend I had the wonderful opportunity to spend the whole weekend with my sister.  It was great to just hang out, talk, and spend time together.  A few years ago, we started doing an annual sister's weekend.  Here are some of the pics from years past.  I love you sisters!  And I hope we continue our long tradition till we're taking bus tours together in our assisted living centers!

San Francisco 2003

Seattle 2004

San Francisco 2005

SoCal 2006

Morro Bay 2008

Victoria, BC 2009

Portland 2011