Parker's Birthday Party...and Other Things!!

The happy family on the fire engine. Boy do we match outfits well?? We are the busy shirt family.

Kind of blurry...but this is everybody on the fire engine!

Parker checking out the fire engine...

Sorry for the delay in posting. It has been quite hectic since Matt's parents left this past weekend. They came in town from Michigan to help celebrate Parker's 3rd birthday and it was non stop from the time they got here until they left. Needless to say, we all had a wonderful time and it was great to see them!

Parker's birthday party was a blast. We barely beat the weather but it worked out great because everybody who wanted to ride the fire

engine got a chance to ride a few times. All the kiddos were great and all had a fun time. Mollianne was not too hip on riding the fire engine but she loved watching it. Parker got some great gifts and fun was had by all. We are so thankful to have such wonderful friends!! We missed our friends who couldn't be there!

On a sad note, the night before the party, my beloved cat Merlin died. I honestly still think I am somewhat in shock from the whole thing. Merling was a big cat, as most of you who have seen him know (he was a 22 pound cat), but otherwise very healthy. He had shown no signs of any problems lately. Matt's mom, Parker, and myself came home Friday night from dropping off Matt's dad at Matt's work to find Merlin lying on the floor. Now this was not usual at all as Merlin was basically a sloth. (He was my cute fluffy sloth.) What was unusal was that his tounge was hanging out of the side of his mouth and he sounded like he was gasping. I ran to the phone and called our vet who had the emergency vet's number on there. Well the emergency vet was all the way off Greenville and 635...hello. So I called my Mom in a panic to drive me there...by this time Merlin had made his way to my bathroom floor. He was laying there, tounge hanging out, foam and stuff coming out of his mouth and gasping. I kept petting him and telling him to hold on...and then he died. All within a few minutes. I started crying. Not just crying. "Lifetime Movie" crying. How about "Steel Magnolias" crying. He was such a great cat and he was so affectionate. He slept with me every night and he had the best purr. My vet finally called me back because I paged her and after she apologized for not being able to meet me at her office (she was out of town) she said it is most likely a heart attack. I can take comfort in knowing that he wasn't in pain. I think he actually waited until I got home because it happend so fast soon after. I think part of it is that he misses his friend too. Our other cat Mikey, had to be put down in March. He was very sick and Mikey and Merlin were buds. At least they are together. Stack that on top of the fact that we put our dog down in February because he bit Parker a second time (he was a troubled dog that we had rescued from a no kill shelter 6 years ago) and the odds are not in favor for an animal entering our house.

I have had a cat as long as I can remember so now that I am without an animal it is strange. I am going to hold off on getting a pet for awhile. Merlin was only 10 but was with us since before we were married. It is so hard to replace an animal and I could try to being to. We got him at the SPCA downtown and he was great. Love you Merlin! I will try to find a picture for you guys.