We got a DOG!!!

I never thought I'd see the day when I would have a dog as a family pet in my home. I never thought I'd allow more than a fish or some other caged creature. But...after years of persistent prodding, I finally gave in to my husband and son. We were able to "rescue" an 11 month old female Bernese Mountain Dog. Rhett initially saw the post in the online classifieds and contacted the family who was trying to sell her. They had to move fast b/c of military reasons and couldn't take the dog with them. Before we got far with communications though, they moved and gave the dog to Azure's Safe Haven Rescue who promised to find a great home for Zoe (the dog). They had over 1000 hits on the ad they posted and even though we wanted her, it took quite a bit of persuasion for them to let us (non-experienced dog people)adopt her. The clincher happened at the "meeting." When the handler showed us the dog, she took right to my husband in a way she did with no one else she met. He loves her (as do our kids...especially our 6 year old) and is so glad to have himself a dog. (Even though I made him promise to be the pooper pickerupper, the dog walker, the mess cleanerupper, etc.) He's willing to do it for the chance to own a dog...especially a Berner (nickname for Bernese Mt. Dog). They are a very large but very gentle breed and she is stellar in manners. We still have a couple of things to work on with her, but she's smart and I'm just glad we didn't have to go through all the major puppy stages (just the latter ones).

This is my husband and the Rescue Worker who lobbied the committee to choose us for Zoe. She's in love with Zoe and promised she'd be bringing a Christmas present for her.

This was soooo sweet. Our oldest, who is usually terrified of dogs, quickly warmed up to Zoe. Neither of them even noticed when I snapped this picture.

Our 6 year old loves to play tug-of-war with Zoe...the 60 pound dog always beats the 36 pound boy. Imagine that.

Tagged by my Sister-in-Law

So now I'm supposed to fill this out I guess...Leah, since you read this, you have to do it next...TAG YOU'RE IT! These are obviously questions about me and my spouse.

WHAT IS HIS NAME:
Honey (to me anyway)

HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN TOGETHER?
11 years in February 2008

HOLD OLD IS HE:
33...two years older than me.

WHO EATS MORE:
Probably him...especially when it comes to ice cream.


WHO SAID I LOVE YOU FIRST:
I'm sorry to say I don't remember...do you, honey?

WHO IS TALLER:
He is by far...I'm a shorty

WHO SINGS BETTER:
Probably him...although neither of us are soloists

WHO IS SMARTER:
Him on some things, me on others. And these days, probably mostly him...my brain has turned a bit mushy since I've been on the elementary level with my kids for the past 9 years.

WHO DOES THE LAUNDRY:
Me....

WHO DOES THE DISHES:
Me (mostly)...except on Sundays, usually do them together

WHO SLEEPS ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE BED:
Him

WHO PAYS THE BILLS:
Me...

WHO MOWS THE LAWN:
Whoever can't stand it looking bad the most...more him than me

WHO COOKS DINNER:
Me, except for Sushi...he does a great california roll

WHO DRIVES WHEN YOU ARE TOGETHER:
Him always. He gets nervous when anyone else is driving.

WHO IS MORE STUBBORN:
He would say me...I would say mostly me...but he can have a great streak of it too.

WHO IS THE FIRST TO ADMIT WHEN THEYRE WRONG:
He usually calls me to it...then after I argue about it, I sometimes relent. I'm kind of a know-it-all

WHOSE PARENTS DO YOU SEE THE MOST:
His...they live a mile and a half away and mine life more than 3 states away

WHO KISSED WHO FIRST:
He did. But it takes two you know.

WHO PROPOSED:
He did. Very well planned, on my birthday, under a lunar eclipse.

WHO IS MORE SENSITIVE:
He is...I grew up with 6 brothers, I'm not very sensitive inwardly or outwardly.

WHO HAS MORE FRIENDS:
Probably me.

WHO HAS MORE SIBLINGS:
I do by far. He has 3 and I have 8.

There...I did it. :-)

Park City Trip

Friday night we took the kids and some friends up to Park City to the Westgate Resort. We get deals on rooms there. Anyway, we had a "Grand Suite" complete with 2 bedrooms with a King bed in each, a full Kitchen, a living room and 2 bathrooms and a kitchenette. We got there about 5:30 and made dinner. After that we all headed down for a dip in the indoor/outdoor pool. We had a great time swimming...even outside in the 45 degree cold. It felt warmer in the inside pool area after you swam under to the outside area. Our little daughter quickly rediscovered her mermaid side after a timid start and all the kids got good and tired out. After quick showers, we let them watch the rest of a movie and hoard around the popcorn. It was funny, like a feeding frenzy.

And the boys played Gameboys of course.


Then we sent them to bed and had a little adult chat and game time. Our friend Rob is really funny...quite the story teller.


In the morning, the kids all kept cozy while we whipped up French Toast for Breakfast.

On the way home, we stopped in Heber to visit our friends who moved this last summer. Here's our daughter and their son dressing up...dog and monster.

Field Trip

I've just been "trippin'" all over haven't I. These are pictures from my 1st grader's fieldtrip last week to the greenhouses and to Thanksgiving Point animal farm. They had a great time and he was so glad I could come along with him.
Planting at the Greenhouse

Buddies

Petting the Bunny

Hayless "Hayride"

The Duck pond

Piggies

Horses

The kids were put in "jail" until they sang a song to the tour guide.

Road Trip

I went down to my Aunt's and Uncle's house in Overton, NV last weekend. She is an AVID road cyclist and promised to show me the ropes a bit more on my bike. My husband finally relented and let me get away for the weekend, taking charge of the kids at home. He did a great job and I had a great time. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU hubby, Auntie and Uncle John. BTW, my aunt said we had to make this a yearly thing. Just a warning to my hubby. :-)

I rode 24 miles with my Aunt each day (Friday and Saturday). We rode from her house out to Elephant Rock in the Valley of Fire and back. I climbed some pretty long hills and some steep hills too. The last push to Elephant Rock

is a real doozie especially if your Aunt has to stop at the outhouses before heading up...you lose all momentum and it's like climbing a wall. But I did it and loved it. My Aunt is 20 years older than I am but can kick my butt on the bike any day. She does that ride plus some 4-5 times a week. She's put a lot of miles on her bike. Someday I'll be that tough. She loaded me up with a ton of her riding clothes (that she's too small for now) and has me outfitted to ride in the cold back here. Now I just have to get the rain and wind to stop.


Friday night she and I went into Vegas and shopped and ate. Then Saturday night, we went to see Gladys night and "The Saint's Unified Voices" at an LDS Stake Center (Church) in Vegas. It was inspiring to hear her conversion story and she has a WONDERFUL voice. But it was a little odd to hear an electric organ and "Gospel" Music sung in an LDS chapel. The choir was even dressed like a Southern Baptist Choir and clapped and swayed as well. But as Gladys herself said, we are a worldwide church, music in it is as diverse as the culture is now. We don't sing the same hymns, tunes, or words Jesus and the Hebrews did. But we sing our praises to Him according to our culture and spirit within. Here's a really bad audio clip of two songs just to give you an idea...I just wanted to let my hubby hear what I was talking about when I was explaining it to him...not trying to bootleg a CD or anything.