Update II for weekend

Aside from the waterproofing blog below, we do have fun in CO.

A week ago we took Elvis and Sadie to the nearby State Park. We had heard there was an area specific to pets where they don't have to be on leashes, etc. Our intention was to allow Elvis and Sadie the opportunity to learn to swim.

Sadie has no fear of water and darn near drowned herself while retrieving the tennis ball 10 ft. off shore. She doesn't understand if she loses sight of the ball that she can't breathe underwater while submerging her head looking for it. I'm not sure what was more funny, that or Jeremy tossing me his keys thinking he would "save his little girl." I laughed knowing that she would sink him before accepting help. Stubborn girl!

Elvis headed into the water and quickly retreated.....chicken! He's a lab and is supposed to like water and swimming......we laughed comparing the two dogs! Elvis decided it was only okay to go in the water but only ankle deep....dare devil.

Sadie still dislikes car rides....Elvis loves them....especially in Jeremy's Jeep (a new adventure).

Of course we forgot the video camera and regular camera for the adventure, but next time we'll grab some shots and post them.

Waterproof

Homeownership is fun.....that's what we're calling it.

We're beginning to think our house is jinxed when it comes to water....any sort of water.

As you may remember our Water Pressure Valve went out earlier this year and has now been replaced twice because we've had continued challenges with it.

As of this weekend we started having pressure valve problems again and......we found out when we get 3 inches of rain our house is no longer water proof. Yep, instead of the water running down the outside of the window it runs down the inside (I'm guessing that's not a good sign). Also, Saturday morning while Jeremy was traveling back from Panama I noticed that our front area rug in the foyer was damp and looked up to see paint bubbling/running down the wall above the front door covering a 6 ft. area....hmmm....I don't think Plumbers fix this like the pressure valve. So after grabbing all available towels in the house and moving the rug the day was spent swaping towels in and out of the dryer. We've decided that when Jeremy travels to Panama that's when the challenges occur, first Sadie now this. We've also agreed that the previous family sold at the "right" time! Anyway, it'll be taken care of and hopefully is the last serious home improvement project for the year.

Aside from that, we have a wedding in IA this weekend so we'll be on the road for a couple days. Hopefully we'll have some fun photos following.

Fishing and Visitors

Jeremy and I gave fishing a try this past weekend. Granted, we only went to a reservoir close by so we haven't hit the true mountain streams yet. That may be this weekend's adventure. Anyway, the photo above is representative of the success we had.......or lack there of. It was fun through.

We also had visitors again. It's a good thing we bought a house with extra bedrooms because they have been used multiple times this summer. I think this was our 5th set of house guests. We could almost run a bed and breakfast at this rate. Anyway, my cousin Amy and her 3 kids, Trey, Megan and Claire stopped for a night while driving from Sedona, AZ to Greenfield, IA to visit her dad (and my uncle) Ted. We went to the indoor "kiddie" swimming pool, complete with a hot tub, climbing thing, lazy river, and come rope/log contraption. After feeding the kids it was off to bed. Trey was delighted with all the He-Man Toys that were Jeremy's growing up. He thought they were the coolest thing ever (hence the photo above) and all the kids were fascinated by the basement. Living in AZ this was the first basement they had seen. So to be "underground" to them was great! Jeremy missed the visit since he was in Panama on work. So Amy is yet to meet him which means we'll have to meet up again.

The last photo is of Amy. I made sure I had a bottle of wine chilling for her arrival. Traveling across country with 3 little kids would drive one to request a glass of something. Nothing like pizza and wine......I'm sure they go together somewhere.

We'll post again next week.

Chicago

Sorry for such a delay in our posting here. However, better late than never!

It's been busy around our place. I was in Chicago for a girls weekend with some friends from college. It was a hoot and I don't know the last time I laughed that hard for that long. The trip started off shaky and almost was a "no-go" for me when my flight was cancelled on Thursday. So, thanks to frequent flier miles I re-routed to go through Moline, IL (yep, I stopped by home for 4 hours) then drove to the suburbs of Chicago to meet up with my friends Carrie and Melissa. We rode the train downtown, went to a Cubs game (which they won), Visited Navy Pier and took a Segway tour of the city. I even sat next to someone famous on the "L" after the game; his name is Jeff ? but he sang the 7th inning stretch and is in movies such as Daddy Daycare, WallE, Rocker and some comedy show. I was the nerd who didn't know who he was until everyone else started making a big ordeal out of it.....then I felt obligated to ask for a photo like a crazy woman. (I posted the photo above, maybe you know him) It was a great weekend and I needed a nap when returning home! However, there was no time for that.

24 hours after returning from my Chicago trip I hopped on another plane and headed to Seattle for our summer Sales Meeting. It was like any other meeting, rather boring.....but, we took a tour of the city on "The Duck." The Duck can tours the city by land and water. It was a new experience being in a car/boat in one. Good times. I returned home on Thursday.

Jeremy throughout it all was hanging out at work and home and "doggie-sitting." Sounds like he survived just fine. This weekend he saw the new Batman movie and went golfing. Overall, it's going well. He's off to Panama in a week. Nothing like spending an entire day of travel to spend one day working on site then turn around an travel an entire day. Sounds like fun, huh?!

Sorry our life isn't more exciting right now......the most exciting thing we have is a broken sprinkler system which makes our yard look like a true desert!

Shoe

Sadie chewed my favorite shoe........dogs!

Newport Beach, CA

First, let's clear the dog situation up for everyone. Sadie was released from "doggie hospital" on Saturday and allowed to come home with medicine which we are instructed to wear latex gloves when administering....it's potent. She's doing well and is a completely different dog now.

Our weekend consisted of traveling to CA for Ware Malcomb's Summer Picnic (Jeremy's company). We had a very nice time and found it to be rather relaxing. Instead of staying at the hotel by the airport we stayed at a Bed & Breakfast (B&B) down off the Newport Pier. The photos we've posted are the view from our room, the fish market and one from the beach. Right next to the B&B was a donut shop. We stopped at this place both morning because they were homemade donuts and we all know that the fresh ones rock! We went to the fish market.

The fish market truly was fresh fish every day. The "boats" (by far the smallest on the ocean I've ever seen) would come in starting at 6 AM and continued to until 9 AM. It was priceless, the locals were waiting in line, the place was seriously packed, the entire time. The prices were great! Heck, I'll include a few photos of the market.

Check out the Newport Pier. I've heard of people fishing off a pier but these people were packed in like sardines. It was nuts and very few were catching fish. I'm surprised no one hooked another person. For the people that did catch fish, they were the size of a sardine....that's like a miniature perch.

The picnic was nice and held on Huntington Beach. It's a nice beach but I must admit if you have a choice to go to a beach in CA, MN, KS or FL, I really don't think it matters. A beach is a beach, they all have sand and you end up bringing half of it home without trying because it's stuck to everything. However, when on Huntington Beach you'll notice one view shows a beautiful ocean filled with fishing boats and the other view (behind you) is a oil refinery. Who says you can't go on vacation and gain an education at the same time! Funny though, with CA having an oil refinery I'm surprised they never set up a deal to have cheaper gas.......it was $4.56/gallon....that's regular!

Have a great week

It can't get much worse for Sadie

This poor dog! By the time this is over she'll be listed as a medical miracle and she better not die for a really, really, really long time.

Yes, Miss Sadie isn't doing so hot yet. After she coughed up blood yesterday I was instructed to take her to the Doggie ER. After 3 hours, x-rays, etc. I returned home and Sadie spent the night in the hospital, which I just found out will be followed by a second.

This poor dog, by the time I left she was incubated, had an IV, Catheter, some thrombic paddle (continuous stimulation on the chest to loosen the "gunk"), hooked up to Oxygen, and was running a 105 temp. Yup, doesn't that sound fun. Overall, she has severe doggie pneumonia. Let me tell you how much fun this is. It sounds like we may get her back tomorrow, Saturday.

It's been fun this past week with her......I've slipped in some stuff she coughed up on the wood floor, been up over half the night with her wheezing/coughing, and administering meds to 2 dogs around the clock. I feel like a regular pharmacy.

And to think, we adopted this dog to give her a good home and a relaxing life......something about this isn't relaxing yet.

I'm ready to the weekend or maybe a margarita by a pool......I wonder if the association allows that?! ha :)

Miss Sadie

Poor Miss Sadie....that's all we can say.

Her previous owners dropped her off at a pound where she spent one week in a kennel before we "rescued" her. Then, she was spayed and had a hernia fixed before we could bring her home. We get her home and find out she contracted Kennel Cough at the pound. Her immune system was so supressed that it spread a little further and we are now trying to fight the onset of pneumonia. We've been to the vet twice this week with Miss Sadie, so she's now on 3 different meds and running a 105 fever.......and trying to fend off Elvis and Dibs from their desires to run and play with her. She also hasn't eaten since Saturday. She's in great shape....can't you tell?!

Poor Miss Sadie, the dog has no spunk and coughs up "gunk" all day long. It's thrilling. I'm tell you, if I think this is bad, we definitely are not ready for kids. Dear God, I think I've slept minimally this week since she's up half the night coughing up and wheezing. I love dogs!

PS. Jeremy picked a great week to travel to Panama. Ha Ha....lucky. :)

A week ago we went kayaking. Here's a photo from our adventure

One more

She loves to pose for the camera. You turn it on and she sits immediately and looks at you like this. She could almost be a model - perhaps a past career.....

Smiling Sadie

Welcome Sadie

Why wait 9 months for a kid when you can adopt.....

.....yes, we adopted today. It's official, Elvis and Dibs now have a sister. Yes, another female joined our family today so I am not the only one. The little one has a ton of hair, golden color, and dark brown eyes. She's not a newbie, but a 2 year old. We may be entering the terrible twos (as they're called). From what we know she likes to chew and has thus far stuck to the bones. Outside, she is addicted to any ball she can find and will gladly bring it to you if you'll throw it for her.

We know you all were wanting us to add to our family so we did. A child is a big commitment so we thought a second yellow lab was the logical thing to do. Elvis and Dibs are adjusting well and learning that she's a "sister" not a "girlfriend." Elvis welcomed her a bit to much by licking her face and then licked her mouth, which she in response barked at him for.....we tried to explain you never go for a kiss on the first meeting.....especially when she's your sister, duh! However, we feel she will be a great companion for Elvis.

We have photos but I won't be able to upload them until tomorrow. For now, this is a picture from my phone.

Weekend 'O' Fun

We just completed our "Weekend 'O' Fun." What more can we say aside from..... it was fun!

We realized we hadn't really had a weekend since we got engaged, last August 25, that was completely free. Free from the feeling we had to plan a wedding, visit family, or buy a house. I must say......it was rather relaxing.

We did a whole-lotta-nothing! Well, I guess we bummed the city a little and went kayaking and golfing. We classify that as fun though. By the way, I'm not ready for the LPGA yet. Jeremy, on the other hand is a very good golfer, so good he lent me some balls and tees after I lost my 9 balls......5 on the same hole. We did see a coyote on one hole; we didn't bother him and he didn't bother us. I think he's taken up residency there.

Next weekend, we may try fishing in the mountains on Saturday morning. Heck, Elvis may get to join in and even go for a swim. We'll leave Dibs at home to "guard the fort." We'll let you know how that goes.

FUN....FUN...FUN....

(Pictures to follow)

Vino

We leave our parents alone for 5 hours and we return to 3 empty bottles of wine......kids!

Elvis posing for the camera w/ his tennis ball....time to play fetch!

A change of pace...

So usually our blogs are full of smart remarks and are very light hearted.

However, I think it's time to really think about how fortunate many of us are. Right now many people are fighting mother nature and unfortunately, it's seems like an endless battle. 1 month ago an earthquake flattened a school in China and took the lives of many children. Today, levy walls are caving and the lives so many have spent years developing are being washed away.

Take a moment and just think....
What would it be like to watch your house get swept into the river?
Would you sit and cry for the loss of material possession and photos which cannot be replaced?
What would you do? Who would you turn to? How would you grasp the severity of the situation?

I think sometimes we get caught up in life and the daily rat-race trying to "get ahead." I think we find a way to see the wrong in situations and forget that other's may "have it worse." I think we forget to be truly grateful for the here & now, for our family, for our friends, for the little things as simple as a smile from a stranger.

Sometimes putting things in perspective takes our focus off the challenges we all are facing. Everyone is worried about gas prices and the economy, but do you think someone sitting in a hospital next to a child with cancer is worried about gas prices or are they focused on the well-being of their family member.

Truly, it's easy to become distracted, but put everything into perspective. Be grateful for what you have, be willing to help those who "have-not," and remember there is a reason for everything. It may be difficult to accept that at times, but every difficult situation eventually passes and a positive one follows.

You can call this a rambling blog if you'd like, but it's just full of thoughts.

The Parents Came to Visit.........

So our parents came to visit.....yes, both at the same time and everyone survived!

It went very well actually and I must admit they emptied 1/2 of the wine cabinet with us. It was great! I knew we gained our appreciation for wine somewhere. Anyway, here is an update on the visit and our accomplishments.

They arrived on Tuesday and we did a ton while they were here. We landscaped the back yard, our dads powerwashed the fence, they built a workbench/shelving unit in the garage, our moms set up a garage sale, we hosted a garage sale, they planted flowers, we had a grill out with 50 of our friends on Saturday and the men went golfing on Sunday (as an early Father's Day treat). It was busy!

We thought since they helped so much they deserved good food. That's one thing you can be guaranteed when visiting us, good food. We made some homemade spaghetti, a beef tenderloin, steaks, grilled chicken, etc. Nothing like roughing it while in Colorado. I'm guessing everyone took a day or two of fasting after they left to develop hunger again. HA!

It was a great visit and we really enjoyed having everyone here. We can't wait to see them again.

And seriously, we did empty over 1/2 of the wine rack......is that a bad sign? Nah..........just quality control.....

I'll post a few photos this week for you to see all our work.

E = Empty

A forgotten blog, but definitely a necessity......

2 months ago while driving back from IA, following our wedding/honeymoon, we had a bonding experience. We were driving along I-76 in CO, towing a U-haul, and fighting 60 mph winds and Jeremy commented that we had ~70 miles to empty. I asked if he wanted to stop for gas and he said he thought we could make it further. Oddly though, while driving we noticed that the miles to empty odometer dropped about 2-3x as fast as the distance we had actually driven.....meaning, we would probably not make the next gas station. Suddenly we were down to 20 miles to empty, then 10 miles to empty and then when we hit zero miles to empty the mountaineer turned off......yes, we were out of gas. The car did not lie, there was no reserve. We coasted to the side of the road and just starred......3/4 of a mile ahead we could see the exit and the gas station, so close and yet so far away. Jeremy looked at me and just said, "looks like I'm running" and took off. He got the gas station, filled a gas can and asked the state trooper sitting there for a ride back. It only delayed us 40 minutes but it was a priceless experience.

The most entertaining part was that morning before departing IA, my parents were talking about the 2 times they ran out of gas and to make sure you never do, especially on the roads we travel....there is absolutely nothing in NE Colorado.

A bonding experience.

Our First House Guest

We had our first house guest this weekend.....John Bonnett!

John's quite lucky in my opinion, he was the first to meet me when Jeremy and I were dating and he was the first to see our house and spend a weekend with us here.

We had a great time. The first thing you should know is when we entertain we focus on the food. SO......Saturday night we made Chicken & Mandarin Oranges; a true favorite. Sunday then Jeremy made his signature omelets (yes, the guy who doesn't like eggs now loves omelets and makes them to order). We then headed to the driving range and mini-golfing. Mini-golfing was going well until we hit the 14 hole. That's when we all were dealt a surprise......a snake.....yes, a snake! I was walking by and heard a hiss which caused Jeremy and I to jump 10 feet in the air. John went up to investigate and we then learned it was not a rattler snake, it was a bull snake, so not harmful......no offense, but a snake is a snake and whether isn't poisonous or not, I just don't like them. So we left the 5-6 ft long snake alone and I rushed to finish the remaining holes. 1 snake is 1 too many for my liking. Anyway, it was an adventure and a fun time overall. Jeremy won with a 51 and John came in a close second with a 53.......I just was happy to finish after seeing the snake. Sunday night we made some amazing steaks, potatoes and corn. Nothing like a good mid-west meal while living in Colorado.

Tomorrow John, takes off for home. It was great spending the weekend with John. He's a great guy who works harder than anyone I know. I thinking driving long distances is difficult after a few days and he does it day after day. We love this guy!

As for this week I'm sure we'll have plenty to write about. We have both sets of parents coming to visit and help us with our First Garage Sale and First official grill-out. So many first are happening.....whatever will be next?