Capt'n Jake (November 17, 2000 - August 23, 2013)

I’m way behind on my posts.  I still have about a half dozen from our time in the US and right now we are in Croatia but this post takes priority over all others.  We seem to have some bad luck when it comes to summer vacations and our beloved pets.  Three years ago when we were on vacation in the Costa Brava, our Sailor became incredibly sick and upon our return, we had to make the decision to put her down at only 8 ½ years old. 

This vacation unfortunately seems no different.  Jake has been ill for a number of months now with struggles with his breathing.  He took a turn for the worse around April and since then, we’ve known his time with us was limited and that likely he would not see his 13^th birthday in November.  I had a dream the night before we left for Croatia that he died when we left – who knew that that would be a premonition of what was to come. 

Within 2 hours of landing in Split, Croatia on Thursday morning, as we made the 3 ½ hour trek down to Dubrovnik via car, we had a call from our dog sitter, Linda.  She was concerned about Jake’s breathing and he had vomited a number of times.  We weren’t sure what to make of it.  Was she blowing things out of proportion or was it worse than the times he had done this for us?  And yes, this is what we had progressed to with him.  We knew he wasn’t healthy but we assumed much of this was related to old age and our vet had not indicated otherwise.  He never seemed to be in pain and he never had the "look" in his eyes that others had told us about where we would just know that his time had come - so we had just continued on, knowing the inevitable was not so far away, appreciating just each day that we got with him.

Linda pressed us to have him brought to the vet and we eventually agreed knowing the moment was likely upon us.  We were hesitant at first only because we figured that the breathing issues and vomiting he had already been doing was no different than what he did with us and that the vet wasn’t going to be able to fix it.  It turns out that his condition was worse than we realized and it’s not for lack of good veterinary care because we have a great vet – it’s just that the medical care is different here than in the States and in order to avoid invasive procedures we just took our vet’s word that the problem was his trachea. 

What we weren’t aware of is that the flap of skin covering his trachea was no longer opening and that he was unable to breathe properly.  This flap of skin closes to prevent food from going down your trachea – however, when not eating, this flap needs to open to allow air to enter the trachea and into your lungs.  He had been struggling to breathe before and we’d had an ultra sound done on his heart and his lungs and eventually the diagnosis was related to his thyroid (which was already an issue for him) and that because his thyroid was malfunctioning, he was then having issues with his breathing.  We’d been working on regulating his meds to find a happy balance for him.   

Linda brought him to the vet (not ours as he is away on vacation) and he was immediately given a sedative and an oxygen mask.  His being alone without his family was torture to me and the thought will haunt me for a long time.  He stayed overnight and I received a call from Linda Friday morning that Jake did not have a good night and that things seemed to be progressing quickly and that we could not wait until we are back in Barcelona in 9 days – we had 3 options – 1. Surgery that he would likely not live thru or could have potentially fatal side effects, 2.  Return to Barcelona immediately to put him down or 3.  Stay put and have the vet put him down.

None of these options are / were appealing in any way.  We found a compromise that still doesn’t truly work for us but hopefully would help us make peace with our decision.  We decided to skype with Jake (what would we do without technology?) – we knew he wouldn't get it but hopefully just hearing our voices and if he can, see our faces, would help him to know that we were there with him, even if we weren't physically there and that we love him so very much. 

For the kids, it would hopefully give them closure to see him alive one last time.  Aidan was distraught because in our rush to leave at 4:45AM Thursday morning, he did not kiss Jake or say goodbye to him.  He was very emotional knowing that he had not said goodbye and that he missed what would be his last opportunity to do so. 

Unfortunately neither of us had a good enough internet connection to make the skype work.  But we had reached the point of no return and at this point we had to do what was right for him, not about us.  Linda said he did not look good and his breathing was very labored and that it might not be good for the kids to see him that way.  As it was, hearing Aidan's voice crack as he said good-bye and I love you to Jake was enough to break my heart in a million pieces.  We just couldn't stop crying as we said good bye to our sweet sweet boy.  

It pains me to know that I couldn’t hold him like I did with Sailor as he passed away.  But knowing that he is no longer suffering or in any pain will have to make up for that.  We couldn’t possibly make him hold off until we got back – it would have been selfish to do so and would have only tortured him. 

We have been so fortunate to have a dog like Jake.  He was our first “baby” and until our actual babies came along, he lived the high life.  Though I can’t say he lived a bad life even after the babies came along, just perhaps a more mellow life though - but not to shabby seeing he made a transcontinental move and went on a few trips to France.  I don't know many dogs that have done that. 

Aidan, Liam and Jake in Arles, France - Oct 2010

He loved the beach and loved swimming. He would swim in the Atlantic in the middle of February if you let him.  Back in November, when we got a car, the first thing we did was take him to the beach since he had not been in 3 years.  While he couldn’t swim like he used to, you could see the happiness on his face. 

Aidan and Jake in November 2012 at the beach

Jake and Sailor at the Knob in Falmouth - before kids

Jake the reindeer in Barcelona 2012

Aidan, Liam and Jake - 2008

Liam and Jake - 2009

Josh, Aidan and Jake - 2004

Liam and Jake on the Cape - 2008

Jake and Sailor - I think this was 2002

My favorite picture of my boy - also in 2002 I believe... so handsome :)

Aidan and Jake - 2004

Aidan, Josh and Jake - 2004

He was the most patient, loving and kind dog you could ask for.  Back before we had kids, the neighbor kids used to come over to ask if Jake could come out to play.  He was so gentle with them.  He never would nip or jump on kids, it was like he understood they were too little.  I wish I had some pictures of him back then but they were all pre digital camera and are in storage right now.  

Whenever someone would arrive at the house, no matter what country we were in, he would always rush to find a toy to bring to show them, as if to welcome them into our home with something of his. 

He loved to snuggle and though he seemed to want to have his own space in the last year with little desire to be on our bed (which in all fairness is a lot smaller than what we had at home, thereby making it so much hotter as well), he always loved to lay right on top of your legs, despite being a hefty 80 lbs.  He needed to touch you, to be right up close.  I will miss those snuggles every day.

And while he didn’t snuggle us a lot these days, Liam was constantly snuggling him.  The entire time we were in the US, Liam kept telling me how much he missed his Jakie.  And we all did.  When we would call Josh, we’d have him put the phone up to Jake’s ear so we could say hi to him.  And while he was close with both boys, he was especially close to Liam who has a way with dogs that is just so peaceful and calming to them.  He would lay with him constantly just rubbing him.

Aidan is differently emotional than Liam.  He tends to hold things in internally.  He has been taking Jake’s health very seriously and of course, at 9, has a much better understanding of what is happening than Liam. 

Josh and I, of course, are distraught.  It was a horrible day when we had to put Sailor down 3 years ago.  And having to do it again was not something either of us were looking forward to.  But she was a different dog than Jake – she didn’t bond with us in the same way - she was more of a dog's dog than a people's dog and that bond is what makes this day with Jake that much more difficult.  Because to us, he was practically human – I know that sounds weird and strange, but I feel that he understood us in a way that another dog would not, and there were days I swear he understood English. 

As Liam says a lot lately, I wish Jake could be a puppy again so we could have more time with him.  12 ½ years was not enough with this amazing dog.  But we are lucky to have had that time being his family.  We love you Jake and will miss you now and forever.

Jake and Liam - 2013

Jake and Liam - 2011

Jake and Liam - 2011

Jake and Liam - 2008

At his favorite place - Mashnee Island beach ... 

Besos,

Julie

Jake and the Beach

When we came to Barcelona almost 3 years ago we brought along our furry children as well.  After all, they were our first children and why shouldn't they enjoy this experience too?  Sadly, Sailor, who was not so healthy to begin with, only made it through the first summer before we had to put her down.  So for the last 2 1/2 years it's been the 4 of us and Jake.

And he lives the life here - after all, how many dogs do you know make the move to Spain?  And then while in Spain, do the occasional foray into places like France?  Most people I know don't get to do that.  He gets to live in a beautiful climate and while the summers can be a bit hot for him, he lives a nice life here.

However, one of the things we've really missed doing with Jake has been going to the beach.  Yes, I know, we live on the Mediterranean... why hasn't he gone to the beach?  Well put simply, we didn't have a way to get him there easily.  Notice I say easily.  There probably was a way for us to do it but required way to many steps and then packing up the kids, etc etc - it would have been a lot of work.

You see, while the FGC here (like our commuter rail at home) allows dogs, the metro/subway does not.  At least not big dogs.  I see the occasional small dog that you could carry on the metro but Jake is pushing 80 lbs, I can't even attempt to pretend he's small - he's not!

And while the beach isn't all that far from us - just about 3 miles away... it's too long for a dog his age (12) to walk.  And maybe he'd make it there but there is no way after playing in the water that he would make it back uphill those 3 miles to get home.

So when I got my new car a little over a week ago, one of the first things I did was to take Jake to the beach.  It's something I've wanted to do for a long time.  And while he was a little confused when we got out of the car with him, the moment he saw the beach and the water a smile came over his handsome face.

However, much to my chagrin, three years has taken a toll on my little puppy who's not so young any more.  While at home in the States, Jake would charge the waves, even on a sub freezing February day... these days, with some arthritis setting in and some breathing issues, he wasn't 100% sure what to do.  He waded, he played, but he didn't really swim.

Aidan loved taking Jake to the beach... til he realized Jake wasn't going to chase the ball...that's when he told me he'd be over at the jungle gym...

He didn't really go any further than this...

But he looks so happy!!

My proud, handsome pup!

Hopefully, now that we've made our first attempt at going back to the beach, we'll have repeated journeys and eventually Jake will find his love for swimming again.  And if not, at the least, he can enjoy rolling in the sand, chasing a ball and wading around at the edge of the beach.  So long as he's happy, so am I.

Besos,
Julie

Jake's Arrest...

Over the years I've had times where I've wondered how Josh has stayed out of jail.  Not for anything bad, just young kid kind of stuff that all youths do.  And he and I have talked about that if one of our children ended up in jail, it would be Liam, hands down.  We never contemplated that it would in fact be Jake, the dog. 

If you saw my note on facebook yesterday or read my blog entry, you'll know that yesterday we returned from a blissful weekend on Formentera to a missing Jake.  We spent the better part of the afternoon searching the streets of Barcelona and making calls to those we hoped could help - a big shout out must go to Dosrosas Dog Hotel - the kennel we use when we are away.  Without them I probaby would still not know where he was.  They were amazing and immediately got on the phone with authorities trying to hunt him down. 

When the kids came home, they were pretty devastated that Jake was missing, especially Liam who is enamoured with Jake to no end.  They are inseparable.  With Josh still on the street hunt, I settled down to make some posters.  Sadly I had done this before for Sailor and knew just what to include, only in Spanish.  And apparently my Spanish wasn't quite right because Brian sent me corrections (which is exactly why I sent it to him!).  I started putting the posters up around 6ish, just wandering aimlessly around the neighborhood which Josh fed the kids dinner.

My friend Cristy had offered to come up to help me put the posters up so I figured I'd get a slight head start on some in my neighborhood and then we could spread out.  But right before she got to our place I had a phone call, in Spanish, from a woman whom I believe was telling me she saw Jake and that Animal Control had him.  I was almost positive that was what she was saying.  But to confirm it, I called Brian at Dosrosas and asked him to please call her just to make sure.  Great news is that yes, my Spanish is decent enough that I interpreted most of the conversation and did not miss out on anything such as he's been hit by a car and is dead because that would be pretty bad to misunderstand.  He told me that he was at the Protectora de Animales de la Rebassada, aka, the Pound. 

I was beyond elated as was Josh and the kids but at the same time we didn't want to celebrate anything til we had him.  All the signs pointed in the right direction - he was found less than 2 blocks from our apartment at 10:30 in the morning - he'd been lost right around that time.  Apparently his microchip did not have our Spanish information which would be my fault for not updating it and now we will actually get him a Spanish chip as well (scheduled for this week!).  He also was not registered here because of that which I was honestly unaware of - I had stupidly assumed that the service we paid to bring Jake and Sailor here had to register them in order to bring them in the country.  But apparently not.  So I will take care of that as well (thru my vet hopefully). 

The pound didn't open til 11 this morning but my good friend Cristy offered to join me once again to try to collect him.  I didn't know what to expect since now that we knew he was unregistered, there was concern about having to deal with typical government beaurocracy and paperwork.  I brought a bunch of cash with me just in case they couldn't use a credit card and just kept my fingers crossed that not only did they have him (at this point no one had actually spoken to the pound since they were only opening at 11 for the day) but that they would release him to me.

La Protectora is up in the mountain by Tibidabo, so at the north side of the city, out where there is grass and trees.  And no accessible public transit.  So we took the train as far as we could and then hopped into a cab hoping to get there ok.  Only there are 2 locations.  So we looked at the info Brian had sent and hoped we all had the right one.  Thankfully we did!

Upon arriving at La Protectora, I showed the person at the main desk the poster I had made of Jake.  Now I want you to remember that this happened to be the closest face shot I had of Jake and that it is several years old.  Most of my photos now have the kids and I really didn't want to plaster pictures of the kids around the neighborhood. 

This is the poster:

The man looks at it and says "no tengo", I don't have.  My heart started to race and I was freaking out.  This is where I was told to go and this is where he should be.  He starts typing on the computer and I don't think much about it til he turns the screen and shows me this picture:

It's then that I realized that Jake is much older than that picture I had put up of him and that I probably should take a more recent close up of him.  Yeah, can you see the difference??

I give him Jake's passport information and he also needed my passport information.  Should be interesting since I used my Irish passport and yet Jake arrived from the US.  But they can figure that out later.  He mentioned to me (I believe) that his chip didn't register with them and I tried to explain in my broken Spanish that I thought my service had done that and that I would contact our vet to get a new Spanish chip put on. 

He went outside and just moments later he brought Jake out.  I had tears in my eyes as I hugged him tight!!  I could tell he was happy to see a familiar face!  I also told him never ever to do that again!  40 euros and a nice donation later, we were on our way in a dog friendly cab (didn't even know those were an option til today - might have avoided bringing Sailor in a stroller to the vet when she hurt her knee if I'd known that!) heading home.  Our kennel had told me that we may want to give him a flea bath upon arriving back home since he'd been at the pound.

So happy to see my boy!!!

Ok, again I admit, he's older than the picture... look at all that gray :(

Me and my baby in the cab

Rather than bathing my 80 lbs dog in the tub myself I decided that we should go to the pet store where they have a grooming area, similar to Petco but on a much smaller and less clean scale. Cristy and I brought him in and tried to explain that he needed a bath and we thought he might have fleas. She went out back for a moment and then guided us out back.

After some explaining to which I was half listening and half trying to figure out how to say fleas, Cristy leans over and says "I think you have to give him the bath".  Even then I wasn't 100% with it and didn't quite get it.  After all, I'm in a grooming salon, why would I need to groom him?  If I wanted to do it myself, I'd do it at home  But as she said it again I realized she was right because the woman was explaining all the tools, etc.  And then she left - we were on our own.

We were laughing so hard over the situation that it made everything that had taken place in the last 24 hours such a good experience in the end.  We learned a lot, we navigated more than we could have even just a year ago, and in the end, Jake was safe!  And now he was clean too... from us washing him!!  The added insult to the end, she charged me 10 euros to wash him myself!!

My very patient Jake getting a bath

We were absolutely soaked by the time he was done, but hopefully he's flea-free now!

A special thanks to Cristy for coming with me today and for laughing thru all the ridiculousness that was the groomers.  All I can say on that one is Ahhhh Spain!  Jake it's good to have you home buddy :)

Love

Julie

Missing

I had hoped this afternoon to be writing an entry about our fabulous trip to Formentera this weekend.  But for now, it's going to have to wait.  The mood is just not there and to talk about something new and fun just doesn't feel right at the moment. 

When we arrived home from Formentera this afternoon Josh and I were greeted with an empty house.  Now we knew the boys were not home - they were on a playdate with one of Liam's friends.  But we were surprised not to have the pitter patter of Jake's paws to welcome us home.  My first thought was that he had passed away in the time the sitter left and 10 and we returned at 2.  After he is a month shy of 11 which is getting on in Labrador years. 

Josh called down to me from upstairs to ask if Jake was outside or under the patio table.  Our apartment is 1200 square feet and really has no hiding space, especially for an 80 lb lab.  He is normally in his bed upstairs, under the kitchen table, on the couch or laying on the patio outside.  Not only was he not in the house but his leash was still inside which meant that it was unlikely that our sitter took him with her and just forgot to mention it.

I finally texted her "Where's Jake?"  She immediately called, understandably confused because as far as she knew, he was in our apartment.  But the problem being, he wasn't.  And since he can push open the slider to our back patio, he isn't going anywhere - the lowest wall surrounding it is about 15 feet high and the only way out is thru our apartment.  And he can't open the door to our apartment.  We finally deduced that when she was getting the kids settled with Liam's friend's mom - she was holding the door open.  He must have snuck out.  I'd like to be able to blame her for not noticing but her focus was on the kids, where to be honest, it should be.  That doesn't mean that we are any less devastated.

6 years ago, we lost Sailor on the cape... for 5 days.  Thankfully she was in the country, in a dog friendly town.  And every single day I went out searching for her, refusing to give up.  It was a terrifying time not knowing if she was alive or dead and how she must have been feeling.  And now to be in a huge city, in a foreign country, where I can barely speak the language.  I never thought I'd have to relive that experience again and sadly expected that the worst would come when he was too old to go on, knowing that was probably only a year or three away.  Not a lot...

But I never expected what has happened today.  Josh and I immediately set out on a search for him.  I asked our sitter to please call the animal control or whatever they have here.  She reached out immediately and found out that they are not open to the public on Sundays and that I would need to wait until Monday between 11-2 before I could find out if they had him.  Josh and I searched for hours looking for him - but it was hard enough searching the countryside for Sailor, how do you search a huge city? 

He's a smart dog, I swear he understands every word we say... but my guess is that he doesn't know how to navigate the city streets or understand what it means to stop at the crosswalk.  I can only hope and pray that he was picked up by Animal Control and resting comfortably in a crate somewhere north of Tibidabo.  And that he's not crumpled up on a street somewhere after being hit by a car or that he's not dying for a drink of water somewhere, panting in the 80 degree heat.  I suspect that we won't know much before tomorrow unless he shows up on our doorstep, but rest assured, we won't rest til we find him... I refuse to give up!

Jake we love you!

Julie

Sad Goodbyes... Sailor Moon (Nov 29, 2001 - July 31, 2010)

Our vacation in Costa Brava was amazing, however, sadly we were contacted by a vet on Thursday to say that they had our sweet girl, Sailor, in their clinic (our kennel had brought here there out of concern) and that she wasn't doing very well.  I can't say we were totally surprised by this call since she had been in deteriorating health in the last few months, but saddened none the less.  The vet diagnosed her with chronic megaesophogeal disease complicated with pneumonia (our vet had misdiagnosed her with a trachea infection).  Today, Saturday, July 31st, we said goodbye to our Sailor Moon.

Josh and Sailor - the day we brought her home

Julie & Sailor on the day we brought her home

Hiding from the kids

Her favorite place to lay - on the couch... normally Jake would have gotten annoyed at having his "sister" so close but apparently he was tolerating her here!

Sailor has always been a "unique" personality for those that didn't have the luxury of knowing her.  We don't know if this is from the attack she suffered at the hands of another dog at 7 weeks old or if it's just who she was, regardless she was loved.  She had these idiosyncracies that made Sailor who she was.  Whether it was circling 50 times before going up the stairs in Attleboro or the little prancy bunny hop that she would do when she was excited.  The princessey look she would give you if it was raining out and you wanted her to go outside, like "I'm sorry, you want me to go out there?".  She loved to lick ears, especially Josh's whom she adored.  She loved Jake and if he ever left somewhere without her for more than a few minutes she would rush over to him excited to see him. She was also a lover of the beach and while she wasn't the most fantastic swimmer, the ocean was something that could get her excited any day!  On the flip side, she was also anxious all the time - a little OCD if you must.  She didn't like it if things were in certain places that she was accustomed to.  And while she did surprisingly well adjusting to life in Spain, she also wouldn't leave the living room other than to go outside (which is right next to the living room).  She had personality - spunk if you will.  And we will always hold a special place for her in our hearts. 

With Jake at the Knob in Falmouth (also my background on my computer instead of my kids)

Backyard circa 2002/2003 timeframe

Same day as above - pretty girl!

She was anything but an angel... up til now I suppose

Chilling out in her other favorite spot - her bed!

The beach!!  Often we'd hold Jake back to give her a chance to get the ball...

More of Mashnee beach - her favorite place

Going for her first walk in Spain... a worldly dog!

Sailor Moon, you were the world to us.  In your 8 1/2 years you had been thru so much and survived thru so much - showing just how strong you really were despite the odds.  Attack at 7 weeks, ACL surgery at 2, being lost for a week on the cape at 3, hip surgery at 4 with chronic hip dysplasia diagnosis and finally a move to Spain at 8 - that is a lot for one little dog to go thru.  Our lives are fuller because you were a part of them and our home, no matter where it may be, will never be the same without you here with us.  Your presence is already missed.  I hope you are in a better place and no longer in any pain.  Know that we miss you Sailor, with all our hearts.

Love, Julie, Josh, Aidan, Liam & Jake

Moving the Dogs Abroad

I almost forgot to add this post about the dogs.  The dogs were our first babies and while Josh and I disagree a little bit on this and I don't think he wants to leave them in the US, he's more flexible about the possibility than I am.  They are our family and like the say in Lilo & Stitch "Ohana means family and family means no one gets left behind".  I agree 100%.  If we make this move, Jake & Sailor come too and by no means do I expect it to be easy to have 2 dogs in the city.  But I didn't sign up to be their "mom" to just say when the going gets tough, let's have someone else take them.  So I'll take this one (along with everything else) and find a way to get them to Spain and keep them happy. 

I know that part of the reason we took the townhome was the ease with the dogs.  Right now we let them out the slider and they do their thing in the yard and they come back.  No muss, no fuss.  In Spain we were anticipating having to actually walk them outside to do their business.  Sounds even more like fun if you are on the 8th floor and need to wait for a miniscule elevator, doesn't it?  BTW, these elevators are like 1/2 the size of the ones in the US -it's crowded with 2 people!!  Good luck trying an adult, 2 kids and 2 dogs!  Anyways, this place is on the first floor with a huge patio area - perfect for the dogs and the kids!!

So once again I digress, a bad habit of mine I know.  Well, so we knew that we had to go thru some vet things and get sign offs from the USDA to have them transported to Spain.  What we didn't know was the cost associated with doing all of this.   Last Monday I had a call from our relocation people who for the most part seem to have their shit together.  Bob is super nice and I liked him right off the bat.  He asked me some questions about the dogs, age, size, breed,  etc.  Anyways, late that day he sends me this email - it's a quote to have the dogs shipped to Spain.  It's $5000 per dog.  No, I didn't accidentally put in too many zeros.  It's five THOUSAND.  Yes, I almost cried too.  Wouldn't you?  This just didn't seem realistic - too many people fly with their pets for it to be this cost prohibitive.  So how do I respond?  I put a post on Facebook - of course!  Thankfully my new friend Paul who lives in Switzerland and knows lots of ex-pats emailed a friend of his who said she brought her dog to Switzerland from Canada and paid about the same but that it's for a FULL SERVICE rather than just the flight.  These people take care of last minute vaccinations, forms, crates, pick up and drop off, etc.  Whew!!!  Of course a full day went by of me having a heart attack before I found out this info.  In the meantime Josh found out we can fly them Continental for around $1500 each - still expensive but significantly less, wouldn't you agree?  We're still trying to figure out which way we are going to go because of the timing of the vaccinations and forms and appointments and we got a few more quotes, one of which was closer to $4500 for both dogs, so about $1500 more than Continental but covers all those other items which would help.  Only then she added in that it could cost up to $1500 per dog for the entry fee into Spain.  If only there was some clear way to know the exact costs in doing this it would be so much easier!  So when I get back home this week, my latest addition to my to do list is to find out exactly how much it will cost, what is involved as far as forms and appointments and when I need to do them. 

Right now what I know is that the dogs need to be microchipped...check!!  We have those already.  Are they compatible with Spain's?  Yup, checked that too after an hour on the Home Again website.  Ok, one item down.  They need to be up to date on their regular vaccinations - ok, we're due for physicals Dec 1 - need to move that closer to mid Nov as they need to be done no less than 4 weeks before flight and that's cutting it close.  Check... appt set.  Now the timing issuue - I need to figure out when to make the appt with the USDA vet and they need forms completed no more than 10-15 days before our flight.  Not having our flight booked, I'm at a bit of an impasse here.  But it's all on my list... my ever growing, super long list.  Did I mention I still work???  And still plan to work?  I'll just give up my sleep...sleep is for wimps anyways ;)

Do yourself a favor, before you move abroad, talk to me... I can tell you every snafu you will run into, trust me...

Got to get ready for dinner and will try to add Day 3 later...

Julie