catch-up

Here are a few pictures from the past couple of weeks...

peek-a-boo!

the girls LOVE to splash in puddles

more puddle splashing at the school behind the house

a couple of weeks ago, my folks and I took the girls for a walk in the woods...Lilly wanted to hold Maggie's hand on the trail...

and then she had to have hugs!

last week, Leslie & I took the kids up to the Durham Museum of Life & Science...here are Maggie and Lilly in the barnyard looking at the pigs

entrance to the butterfly house

butterfly house

Eli and Maggie wiggling while I try and get a decent picture

they have an awesome dinosaur trail in the woods

more dinosaurs

dinosaur nest

Lilly loves outings like this, but she can sometimes be a handful...this was how she was most of the trip (scampering quickly in front of us, usually oblivious to the fact that we were even behind her).

they also had this cool play area w/ all kinds of windchimes, bells, and drums hung up along a big frame for the kids to bang on

 

 

cheese doodles!!!

cheese doodles!!!

sad news

We have a bit of sad news to share today...we had to have one of our beagles, Lexi, put to sleep this morning.  She has been very sick for the past few days, not eating, drinking, or even really moving more than a few inches.  She was so weak that Will had to carry her out into the backyard to go to the bathroom.  We thought she might have eaten a mushroom in the backyard, but after a few days of no improvement (and starting to have rapid breathing and just seeming miserable), Will took her to the vet this morning.  They found a large malignant tumor in her spleen, and because of the risk of surgery (which would likely only prolong her life very briefly), they recommended we let her go.  It all happened so suddenly, and it was the last thing we expected when Will left the house with her this morning.  She will be missed!!  I thought I'd share some of my favorite photos of her.

 

We adopted Lexi in January 2007 from the Triangle Beagle Rescue.  She was brought to the Rescue by someone who found her cowering under a bridge in Lexington, NC (hence the name "Lexi").  She was very skittish and shy when we brought her home, and it took several years for her to gain confidence.  But she was so sweet and proved to be a good companion for Snoopy.  Here they are lounging together.

 

She also proved to be a good rabbit dog, and loved to run and chase bunnies with the other Summer family beagles.  Here she is hot on the trail of a bunny with fellow beagles Maggie and Snoopy (Lexi is in the middle).

 

However, in the backyard she was completely oblivious...take a close look under the tarp in the picture!

Because she was adopted as an adult dog, we don't really know exactly how old she was.  When we adopted her, the vet thought she was about the same age as Snoopy (who recently turned 12 years old).  So we would just celebrate her "birthday" when we would celebrate Snoopy's birthday.  Here are Snoopy and Lexi having a celebratory treat on their birthday a few years ago.

Being so skittish, this was a big step for Lexi...being comfortable enough to let Maggie hug her and lay on her (I think Maggie was 18 months old in this picture).  Most recently, Lexi would get hugs and squeezes from Lilly, but unfortunately I don't have any pictures of that.

Lexi didn't seem to be too enthusiastic about some of the big snows we've had here over the past few years. 

But most of Lexi's days were filled with lounging around with her buddy Snoopy.