Roger and Week 3 of May

   The third week of May was a sad one at our place. We thought we were going to have to put Roger to sleep due to cancer. As it turns out he just had either a deep inner ear inflammation or something similar to Bells Palsy in humans. He is still not fully recovered and still cannot blink his left eye but he is home, happy, and loving life. He occasionally has a difficult time loading in the car and as he gets tired or hot he has more facial droop but overall he is doing so good. I didn't realize how much he brings to our family until he spend an overnight at the vet and I went to pick him up thinking I was bringing him home for a couple days. I was so happy to see him so excited to be home and the kids have enjoyed spending more time with him. Losing him will never be easy as he has been a part of our home since we moved here but we are blessed to be able to spend more time with him here on earth.
   Monday we took Rachel to school then dropped Roger off at the vet. We then stopped by Pat's cousin Milette's house to get some tomatoes, peppers, and onions for the garden. We took Becca to school then went to a couple different green houses to get the rest of the plants for the garden. With everything going on with Roger and the garden I totally forgot about Rachel's awards day for reading. I was so sad when I received a text from her teacher showing the award she won for reading. We worked so hard all year on reading she deserved the award I was just a little sad that I was not there to see her get it. After school we headed to town for Rachel's softball practice. Mike got home before we left for town so Alec and Mike stayed home while the girls went to town. After practice we dropped Elly off and stayed to play in the hole that Matt was digging for their new pond. The kids had such a great time we ended up staying until bed time.

This is the picture I got from her teacher.

The kids all playing in the sand!

   Tuesday we took Rachel to school then came home and set up a pen and stuff for Roger because the vet called and said that he had a bad night and was not doing well. He was not able to walk and was not eating or drinking. I really thought I was going to pick him up and bring him home for the kids to say goodbye. We took Becca to school at noon and headed to the vet. They had to help Roger out the door and into the car but he was so happy to get in the car. We came home and I helped him out of the car and he took off walking/stumbling. There was just something not right about him but he took a big drink of water and would not let me out of his site. Alec and I stayed outside and played with him until it was time to get the girls from school. Rachel went to Elly's after school and we came home and I planted the garden. Roger was happy to just lie outside and watch me. I sent a video of Roger to Justin and he sent it to his dad and they called me and said they thought roger had inner ear inflammation and would recover in a couple week. We borrowed a kennel from Michelle and kept Roger kenneled while we were away and gave him meds.

Alec loving on Roger

   Wednesday Rachel had a normal day of school and we just dropped her off and came home to make sure Roger was okay and comfortable. It was Becca's last day of school and she was excited and sad. After dropping her off Alec and I went to town and had lunch with Lisa. That evening we just stayed home and played in the yard with Roger.

Mrs. Cox

Mrs. McConnell

Best Friend Bree

Some of her friends from school

Helping me clean the kitchen table.

   Thursday was Rachel's last day of school and they got out at 11:30 so we celebrated with Troshynski's with lunch at Pizza Hut.  We came home that afternoon and evening and packed and cleaned so that we would be ready to head to Des Moines the next day.

Mrs. Thompson

The garden covered before we left for the weekend to be prepared for the snow.

Rachel and friends on the last day.

   Friday Mike had clinic in Cozad so we planned to pick him up at noon. His day went longer so after some lunch at Runza we went to Natural Creations and painted some things while we waited for Mike to finish up. We then headed to Des Moines and surprised Hanna and Dutch as Kate didn't tell them we were coming. The kids were all so happy to see each other.

The big Surprise.

   Saturday the guys had planned to golf and then we were going to go to Adventure land but mother nature had other plans so instead we all went to Chuckie Cheese and then had babysitters come over to play with the kids and we had an adult night out. It was so fun to spend time with the Raatz family again. Sunday we had breakfast and then headed back home.

Sunday before we left. They wanted to stay longer.