Pets and a Birthday

Hello again everyone,

Are you all thinking "Pets - how boring!"? I'm not an animal lover myself, but I don't mind if my brothers and sisters have them as long as 1) they aren't in the house! and 2) I don't have to take care of them. I do find it interesting to observe their personalities and watch how they relate to each other, though. Oh, and I do have a soft spot in my heart for cats that will come and curl up unobtrusively on my lap when I am sitting out on the swing to read. Observing animals has been especially interesting of late with the addition of two kittens and a white boxer. One thing I thought our family would never get is a dog! It would seem, however, that Dad has always had a liking for boxers (as a boy, he had one for a day or so before his mom found out :-).


Although birthdays are so frequent in a family of eleven people that they can become repetitive, some of my siblings do their best to see that each one is unique! If you enjoyed the pictures from the last party they hosted (the barn party), make sure you see these of the party they planned for Candace's birthday. :-)

New Pets

Dad is not a cat-lover, but he is a "rat-hater," which helped the

younger girls to convince him to allow two cats into our lives.

Holmes the sleuth.

Watson.

At first we were uncertain which to make the detective and
which to make his sidekick, but it seems as if we got it right.
This docile fellow is definitely the follower, watching Holmes
investigate all the mysteries.


"Classy lookin' brothers!"

Looking each other in the eye.

The cats were just getting settled in when...

...Blanche arrived.

Somewhat of a bully where the cats are concerned. :-)

Blanche to Cats: "So this is where you fellows live."

Watson: "Yes, and we didn't invite you for lunch!"

Blanche: "What if I decide to come anyway?!"

See the conquering hero eats!

A boy and his dog.

Another of My Creative Siblings' Parties

Take note of those hats! Charity and Faith poured a lot of time into them.

Birthday girl!

*shakes his fork* "I don't want this picture showing
up on the blog!"

Opening gifts.

My latest post (the one that included the barn party;-) provided
the entertainment for the party.

Candace's Second Birthday Party

Hey! You two are looking at the wrong photographer!

We had the Raines over, since Emma's birthday is very close
to Candace's.

Dad leads "Happy Birthday to you..."

Dad and the Girls Go China Shopping

She's a tomboy; it doesn't bother her if her hair is a complete wreck.

We arrive with high hopes of finding Candace some China dishes
for her birthday.

So many patterns to choose from.

Dad: "This is a very formal pattern, Candace."

Dad's latest infatuation is China. Recently he has been going

about turning up teacups to see what brand they are. :-)

The choices are narrowed down to this striking Old Country Roses

design or...

... the serene Rothschild pattern.

Decision time.

"Dad, what do you think I should get?"

All the accessories that could be collected in the Old Country Roses

pattern helped her decide to go with that one. Honestly, they even

had teacup-shaped nightlights that matched!

Now that that is over, we can enjoy the mall!

Thanks for stopping by!

~Carmen~