Rosebud.

Lots of American families would consider their pet to be a "part of the family". Since my fiance and I are anti-pet (and love it), one might think that the above-mentioned statement might not apply to us. And they would be wrong.

About two years ago I gave each of my children a stuffed animal. I had no idea at the time that my daughter, Riley, would fall in love with her puppy, Rosebud, to the extent that she has. On that day, our family of four became a family of five.

In less than five days, our family is headed to Maui for 8 nights/9 days of pure bliss. I have been stowing away new books and little toys to occupy the kids on the flight (5.5 hours each way... oh lordy) and realized yesterday that I hadn't yet picked up something for my granddaughter (she IS Riley's daughter, afterall). And with that, THIS happened:


Yes, that is a coconut-bra and grass skirt for a stuffed dog. And yes, this photo was taken in my master bathroom. My daughter will be getting this surprise gift the morning we leave, so I had to kidnap Rosebud and take the picture on the sly. Since Riley won't let Rosebud out of her sight for more than a few minutes, this was the only place I could get some privacy!