You know the column in the newspaper where news items are listed  with a thumbs up or a thumbs down?  The list of what's in and what's not? Part of me wants to forget some events this summer but remember others.  It would be exhausting to catch up so here's my list of thumbs up and thumbs down events. 

Thumbs Down:
 Bessie (our rat terrier) was diagnosed with bone cancer in her leg.  The vet stated

 she would at the most have 2 more months.  I am not looking forward to the

decision of  when to put her to sleep.  I will miss her. 

Thumbs Down: 
Boone ( our dachshund) tried to bite 3 people in one week.  He did manage to bite
Nate although he was aiming to bite another kid and missed due to his blindness.  We
had to put him up for adoption, specifically with a person who doesn't have children
in their home. I miss my little shadow and foot warmer terribly.
 
Thumbs Up:      
Hailey graduated from Primary and is now in Y/W's.  She loves it.  She also attended
Activity Day Camp and loved shooting 22's. 

Thumbs Up:      
Eric has done a lot of fishing this summer and the freezer is filling with salmon and
halibut.

Thumbs Down: 
Eric has been fishing a lot this summer. 

Thumbs Up:      
Nate played baseball for the first time this year and loved it. 

Thumbs Up:      
Nate  attended cub scout camp.  He got his "whittling" chip and feels he  can whittle to his hearts content. (How many sharp pointy sticks does one boy need?)

Thumbs Up:   
 Carla visited with her husband Jason and their CUTE baby Owen.  We had so much
 fun with them.

Thumbs Down: 
They left us to go back to Denver, even though we lobbied hard for them to stay.  We
 sure miss the laughter that filled our home when they were here.

Thumbs Up:      
We have had some super sunny and hot days.  Nate actually got a sunburn.

Thumbs Down: 
It has still been a chilly summer and we are still all taking vitamin D.

Thumbs Down: 
Eric was bummed when he was released as Y/M's pres.   He thought very highly of
the Y/M in our ward.

Thumbs Up:      
He is now one of the Gospel Doctrine teachers.  I haven't been to his class yet, but
have heard he does a good job.  I'm not surprised, he has always been a great
teacher.

Thumbs Sideways:
I went from being the Activity Day Leader to the Cub Scout Committee Chair.
 
Thumbs Up:      
Have done some hiking with our little family and enjoyed this beautiful state.

Thumbs Up:     
 Hailey and her friend Aubrey decided to sign up for a local talent show.  In about 3
 hours, they made up,  and practiced a dance.  We sat through pouring rain to support
 them, and they were wonderful. 

Thumbs Down: 
I experienced the doldrums for quite awhile this summer and had a hard time pulling
out of it.

Thumbs Up:      
Yesterday there was no one at home...all day.  I opened the windows, and the
 doors to the patio, to enjoy the sunshine and fresh air.  I just enjoyed the fact there
 wasn't anyone asking me to do anything...well except for Bessie.  After pulling out
my sewing machine and finishing a quilt, watching a movie (that I wanted to watch),
taking a nice long walk, and a nice long nap, the doldrums lifted.  It was an
unexpected surprise and a much needed break. 

Thumbs Up:     
In one week, we were able to rescue three lost dogs.  One poor dog just wandered into
 our garage and refused to leave.  His last tag and phone number was a listing in
 Australia.   Although we were not able to track down the owner, I was dropping
 Tazzy off at a local vet just as the owner was calling that vet.  We were so HAPPY
 he didn't have to go to the pound. 

Two Thumbs Up: 
Nolan asked Shannon to marry him and she said yes!