R.I.P.

I found Zoomer hard as a rock this morning with his eyes open. It was pretty strange. I called Elle up to her room and told her that he had died and she cried and cried.

Little does she know that her sister flung poor Zoomer last night across the room and he hit the wall. Emme is a little rough with them. Anyway, she went with Abby this morning to get another one. Hopefully this one will make it more than 5 days at the Ratliff house.

Also, today is Elle's 5th Birthday, what a way to start the day!

New Furry Friends

We got the girls Guinea pigs this weekend. They are so cute and the girls love them. Elle cuddles with hers (named Zoomer) and Emme is a little loud and rough with hers (named Pacey). Actually, as I type this blog, I have Pacey in my lap for some "social" time. The guy at Petsmart said to get atleast 1 hour of social time in a day. It is amazing how the little guys just stay in one place, they literally don't move.

On another note, Abby's last day is Thursday and it is one of those things we are trying not to think about. She has been so perfect for our family and really know that she was God-sent. The good news is that we hired a new nanny - named Vanessa. She is 21 and lives close by. She is full of energy and into swimming, arts and crafts --- all of which are Elle and Emme's favorite hobby's.

March is almost gone -- it's been a great March, alot of fun things and some upcoming changes for our family.


Abby is leaving us after almost a year... but we kept her alot longer than we ever thought, so we are very happy for her and the start of her new future. We will continue to be great friends with her and Cody. So, now the hunt is on. We are already talking with two girls we found on enannysource.com and seem to be really sweet. This week we will have some phone interviews and then meet with them and hopefully her first day will be April 5.

March was awesome -- strange weather -- but some really fun times. We had Spencer and Carlee Jo over for Camp Uncle Joe -- and we made hobby horses, pizza, rainbow cupcakes, swam and just played and played! Here are some pictures.

Joe is so crafty -- he cut these horse heads out of cardboard and then covered with this plastic stuff Here are the girls ready for Rodeo Day with their horses.

Here is Rodeo Day at school. These are Emme's gal pals... apparently they are all very close! We are trying to have them over for playdates. We had Aubrie (far right) over last weekend and she was so cute and they had a blast. sweet emme girl

Here is Elle and her friends. Same thing with Emme, we are trying to have these girls over -- where the moms just drop them off and the play dates are going so well! I love seeing my girls in their environment and with their friends.

While Joe and Me ran the St Paddy's day run, Elle was at Momo and Joe's for her Special Weekend. They had so much fun. I love this picture of Elle about to get on the train - she looks so grown up!

This is a classic Grandpa picture!

Papa Joe got into the "Tea" Spirit, surprising Elle with dressing up as a pirate!
Steve and Meredith brought home these cute outfits from China and so we had a Chinese Tea Party