Dear Dad,

Thank you so much for bringing me to Aunt Amanda's. It is soooooooo fun here. She lets me sleep in her bed, and lay on her couch. She even made pancakes for breakfast and I got to eat some. When I got here this morning I wandered all over looking for Sammie, and then I remembered about the terrible accident. The girls are still so sad that she is gone, so I am helping them. I follow them around, and sit right by them. I love it when they pet me so I nudge them when they stop. You take your time in Vegas, because really Dad, I am having the time of my life.
Love your son,

Toby

P.S.
They haven't even told me, "To get a life" once. It really is great here.

Is this for real?

I don't even know how to begin writing this, but I can't sleep and I have so much emotion running through my system maybe this will be a way to help me. Last night Sammie our dog was ran over by a car and died. As I write those words it is still so hard for me to believe it is true. Some of you are thinking what's the big deal, it's just a dog, and some of you are feeling our pain, knowing that Sammie was not just a dog, she was such a big part of our family.

Sammie came into our family on June 14th 2002, I was 4 months pregnant with MaKaya. Her mom Sadie was our dog, so we watched her be born. She melted my heart from the moment she was born. She was the biggest dog of the litter, she died weighing 90lbs. That is really big for a female chocolate lab. She had a such a calm patient demeanor. After kids got over her being so big they soon loved her. She would let them do anything to her, sometimes I thought she should snap at them, she never did. She loved to sit by me on the couch. She still thought of herself as the little puppy that always sat on my lap. She tried this often. She always wanted to be petted. If you would stop she would gently paw you to ask you for some more. Every morning when the girls would wake up they come and get in bed with me, Sammie was not going to be left out, she was right there with us. Lots of mornings it drove us crazy. She would be laying on one of us, or we couldn't get any covers, I would give anything to have her jump in my bed this morning. Soon I will tell the story of the amazing gentleman that helped my dog while she was dying, but I can't right now. My girls are heart broken as they have never been before. What will we ever do without our Samsam.

Do I have a fat lip?

My mom took the girls to the Owl's game and on the way in MaKaya was swarmed by some bees and was stung three times. Two on her arm, and one right on her lip. She got an ice pack and was very shy about showing anyone her lip. Finally Lexi got a peek and told Gran there was a problem. They took her to first aid, who then called an ambulance. With the sirens and blazing lights MaKaya didn't know what to expect. They checked her out and decided it best she go to the ER. I met them there and was shocked when she took her ice pack off. I didn't know if I should laugh or cry. I knew that she had been stung, but my mom left out the severity of it for MaKaya's sake. Her lip was enormous. I have never in my life seen anything like it. She was nervous but was very brave. As I walked through the ER doors Lexi saw me first and burst into tears, and then MaKaya did the same. For some reason things are always better when mom is there. After a dose of benadryl her lip resumed to its normal shape. She got a pack of skittles, a foul ball from the Owls' game and an ID bracelet from the hospital. She almost thought the bee sting was worth it.