The Bonnie & Marie Show

Catch up time

2009-04-20T21:14:00.000-07:00

I have been a "blogger slacker" as of late. I was just reminded of that by Marie! I don't think she even looks at our BLOG very often but she did tonight. We are both just one wall away from each other on our computers and she voiced her concern through the wall tonight. She said that occasionally she does look at our BLOG to see if it needs any " editing". Good luck to her to figure out the password to log and and do this "editing" :)
We have been busy girls, I will attempt to get caught up. Buddy is feeling better, but we are still trying to be protective of what he does. The meds make him feel almost too good and then he makes poor choices like jumping off the bed etc. We know that at some time in the future we will have to deal with his back when his bulged disks become more of a problem or actually rupture. Until then, we just try to treat him with meds when things flare up.

A few weeks ago Crosby managed to escape from our yard. He has a very nice and large yard, why he would want to escape, we have no idea. We do think that the white kitty from a few doors down may have tempted him to flee his yard. Our neighbor two doors down found him for us and we were relieved. This event scared us, so withing the hour, a more permanent fence was under construction. We wanted one that we could see through so we did not loose our view of the "greenspace" behind our house. Here is our completed project.

Our next project was getting our greenhouse put together. We bought it last summer and we got the foundation for it built, but then ran out of time to actually assemble it. It was a kind of a pain to put together and it took us about two days, but in the end it was fine and we even had enough parts in the box to complete it. Don't you hate those items that have instructions that "kind of " tell you how to put it together. It is just a good thing that Marie is good at figuring stuff like that out. It turned out cute and she is having a good time getting our seeds started out there. She came in the house tonight and said that just today with the heat we had our tomatoes had grown a bunch today. Here are some photos from that.

Here are some of our little seeds coming up.

I decided that now would be a good time to put something in here for Marie to "edit"!! LOL This photo cracks me up. It just shows the true personalities of our dogs. This is one Saturday morning when we were trying to sleep in. You will note that Buddy is still in a coma and does not want to get up....Marie is right there with him in the sleepy coma. Crosby the wild man is standing on Marie and he will do whatever he needs to do to wake her up when he is ready to be up. She barked at her, he will sniff your ears and face, he will walk all over you and finally we give up and he wins and we get up.

I had an old friend from Dental Hygiene school find me on Facebook. We have not seen each other in the past 22 years, since we graduated and if I could pick one person from those twenty girls that I graduated with to see again, it would have been Julie!! She has family in Oregon and so she was coming to visit her family two weeks ago and we were able to have her stay at our house for two nights. It was so much fun to be able to chat and catch up. She is a very funny girl and she cracked up both up. We hope to be able to visit her and her partner Barb down in Long Beach some time soon.

Julie and Bon

Marie has wanted to build raised garden beds. We did not put the sprinkling system in at this house, so we have no idea where the pipes run and were hesitant to drop a roto-tiller in our yard. Raised beds were just a good answer and it will make it easier for us to take care of our garden as we will be able to sit on the sides. Marie truly amazes me how she can sketch something out on paper, make a supplies list, explain to me how we are going to do it and the we actually do it and it always turns out so nice. We only got one done this weekend, we are going to put two more in. They are 12x4 feet long so that will give us a lot of room to grown things. She is also going to put in a row of raspberries for me...I LOVE them. Here are some photos of building the first raised bed.

Today was a GREAT day. It was the day that Roz and Levi officially adopted Josh and Suzy. This day has been almost two years in coming. They are such a great little family and we are just so very happy for them. We were able to go down to the courthouse today and witness this great event. The kids were really cute, they would say that they were going to "the ceremony"! I know they have no clue what it all means now, but in the future they will realize how very lucky they were to have Roz and Levi take them into their home and give them a family.

I guess that about sums up our April.

Buddy Boy

2009-04-01T13:32:00.000-07:00

Our sweet little Buddy is having back trouble again, but it is getting worse. He was not himself two nights ago and seemed to have a little different stride. It was late so we put him to bed, next morning we could tell he was in a lot of pain. Marie cancelled her own PT appointment to get him right in to see the vet.

He has bulging disks, not ruptured probably because he can still walk. Right now we are keeping him on meds and trying to keep him from walking for the next 4 weeks or so. He is so hard to give pills to, he knows when we are trying to "con" him and I also think that he knows that we caused the groggy feeling he experiences after taking the pills and that makes him mad. We have joked that he was been giving us the "stink eye" the past two days. We are waiting for the surgeon to come back into town to see what his opinion is. Marie is working from home a bit so that helps and then when she does need to go in she takes him with her, we are just trying not to leave him alone.
I just hate seeing him in pain. Send good thoughts for him. We love him so much and he is so young to have such big back trouble.

Crosby's 2nd Birthday

2009-03-15T11:09:00.001-07:00

Crosby was our birthday boy yesterday March 14. The day before that he gave us a HUGE scare. Marie and Roz were here at the house working and we had all set down to have some lunch. I let the dogs out back to play in the yard as I have a million times before because it was a very sunny and nice day. I usually leave them out there 20 minutes or so and when I went to call them in Crosby did not come. This is not unusual, he really likes to explore out under the pine trees and behind the barn and he does not always come when he is called like Buddy does. I went outside and checked all of his usual spots and he was no where to be found. I ran in the house and got Marie and Roz to help me and I headed out to the front yard. Our neighbor three doors down yelled to me that she could see him but he of course was running from her. He finally made it down to our house where I scooped him up and then proceeded to cry. Our best guess is that he jumped the three foot plastic fence that we have along the back of our yard. He has never done that before, but we were reminded of when he was only 4 mo old he jumped out of a playpen we had him in. He did this only days after being neutered and he had a collar on. Right after this all happened I called our "helper" Robert and he came down and helped me get started on the permanent fence along the back of the yard. We are going to put in a 4 foot with that 2 inch horse wire. We don't want to block our view back there and so that will work really well and do a better job of keeping Crosby in his own yard. We got a really good start on it Friday, all the holes dug and two posts set but then it has rained all weekend and so we were unable to finish it. We will hope for good weather next weekend so it can be finished and the dogs can just run free in their backyard again.

This is the video from that little event!

Scrapbooking Bonanza!!!!

2009-03-15T11:00:00.000-07:00

Right after we got home from Santa Barbara we prepared for visitors. My friend Laurie and her friend Melinda flew up to go to the big scrapbooking convention with me. It was SOO much fun! We took classes, saw lots of new stuff and just had a very fun weekend. Some friends of Lauries own a paper company and they had a booth and they spoiled us with entrance to classes and paper and stickers.

Melinda, me and Laurie in an all day class.

The Paper Loft booth, they have a lot of great paper.

Melinda took this picture of Buddy watching TV.

The last night of the convention the girls packed up their booth and came down to our house for dinner and then they all headed home the next morning.

Santa Barbara

2009-03-14T16:39:00.000-07:00

Marie and I took a little vacation two weeks ago down to Santa Barbara. We chose it because we had a free plane ticket, it was warm and sunny there and Marie was raised there so she wanted to take me down there and show me where she grew up. We flew down on a Thursday night and spent the night in Hollywood. The next morning we got up and spent a sunny and fun day at Universal Studios. I wanted to go on some of those big rides so much, but I did not, I did not want to risk hurting my neck.

We left Universal Studios in the late afternoon and headed out on our drive to Santa Barbara. I thought the drive was so beautiful. I saw an oil rig out in the ocean and it was almost dusk and I told Marie "there is a big ship out there". She laughed and then explained how it and many other big "ships" out there were actually oil rigs and she told me how when she was a kid and would play in the ocean they would have to get the oil off of their feet.

Our first stop was to eat at Marie's favorite Mexican restaurant! It was "Pepes" and she was so excited to go there, it was fun. We actually ate twice during our weekend and so she was happy about that.

We found a cute little Inn to stay at, it was right by the ocean and they had a nice breakfast and cute rooms and it was CHEAP!
We spent the weekend exploring. I got to see the house Marie was raised in, where her dad worked at UC Santa Barbara, the mission, the courthouse, Solvang, Ojai, Firestone Vineyards and we got some time to just relax and laugh, that was the best part. We loved being able to get away for a few days, and we prefer just a few days because we miss our dogs so much, this trip was not any different. We have a great dog sitter who comes to the house to take care of the dogs and the cat and we are grateful for that. Here are a few more pictures.

Driving up State Street

Santa Barbara Mission

House Marie was raised in until age 14 when she moved to Seattle, Washington.

This is the trail that Marie would ride her bike down to the beach. After visiting this beautiful city I better understand why Marie is so "laid back" and why cold weather bothers her so much. What can I expect, she was raised in a paradise area and then had to move from there!

I thought the Santa Barbara airport was so cool! The luggage area was outside under two very nice tents.

Santa Barbara Courthouse

Solvang was a cute little town and we had a blast walking around all the shops

Love this Logo

Firestone Vineyards were a neat spot. It was warm, slight breeze and we were almost the only people there.

Stearns Wharf and the Harbor

Gate to Oprahs HUGE mansion in Montecito

We drove up to the Ojai Valley for the day. It was our only cloudy day but it was a nice drive. I loved seeing all the orange groves and the Avacado trees. As a kid Marie could just walk outside her door and pick those things, I had to go to a store. On the other hand, being raised in Utah I could walk right outside my door and get a snowball and she could never do that in Santa Barbara !

We had a late afternoon flight home so we had a day to spend down at the beach, it was a great day. We had a very fun trip and we were ready and happy to get home to the little furry people we left at home

This was the scene at the front door right before we left.

Four years ago this month

2009-02-22T11:06:00.000-08:00

I was just sitting here remembering what we were doing four years ago at this time. We were preparing for me to move to Portland and we tore kitchen and bathroom out in our house in Portland so that it could be all finished by the time I moved in June. It was a HUGE project, but it was fun and it turned out so nice. It was a big year for us, we had the house project, my move and Marie was also preparing the project of building the new Dove Lewis Hospital. We were not bored that year at all ~

Marie and Shawn preparing for the demo !

All cleared out.

Bon doing some wiring

Our makeshift kitchen was located in the office.

We constructed an "arch" to seperate the kitchen from the breakfast nook.

Painting done and installing cabinets

Marie making our new countertops

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED !!!

Tearing out the bathroom. We had that gorgeous PINK tub refinished to white.

Marie changed the layout of that tiny bathroom by moving the sink to another wall so that it would all flow better and feel larger. It turned out so nice!

Our little Bungalow on 24th Street in 2005

What it looked like when we sold it in 2007. Loved that little house!

Update from Bella's new owner

2009-02-22T11:02:00.000-08:00

I just received this e-mail update from Bellas new owner. It sounds like she is doing great and she is really loved, made our day!

Hi Bonnie and Marie,
Sorry I was slow to get back to you. Bella is doing great. We are all in love. She does have a lot of energy, but seems okay with her crate time. It's hard to get her to lay down on the rug, she wants to bounce and chase her toy, so I have not been keeping her out too long. She spent a day or two trying to convince us there were no rules at your house and even put her paws in a few faces, but she is now accepting her place in the pack :)

She is doing great on a leash and great with extending her sit and stay. She was completely amazed to see our donkey. She's over 13 hands tall and Bella was nervous initially. But I've taken her to the barn with me for feeding the last 3 nights and she does great. She curious about the goats and no longer afraid of the donkey. She's discovered one of the great treats of being a farm dog, manure! She looked at me like I was a complete nut, when I asked her to not eat such a great treat. She is a fun dog.

I am nervous about her leg and probably will be till she is healed. We have a vet appointment Monday for her other shot and I will take her x rays and talk with him. I'll schedule the other two appointments for her x rays on Monday March 16th for 8 weeks and then if you think it's okay Monday April 6th. I think the 6th will be 11 weeks and 5 days. Does that seem okay? We will probably have Caden's birthday party the following weekend and it would be good to know if she can play freely. And my favorite vet works Mondays only.
Thanks so much for trusting us with her. She is truly a wonderful dog.
Ginger

Overdue Update Post

2009-02-22T09:57:00.000-08:00

I have not blogged in almost a month, started to have withdrawl. I think our January has been like most, not much going on! I will try to catch up on some of our happenings.

We fostered a German Shepherd pup for 4 weeks in January/February. Marie called me from work one day and said a dog had come in that had been hit by a car and the owner could not afford surgery and chose to have the dog put to sleep. Marie said she was such a sweet dog she did not want that to be her fate. I am not a fan of big dogs, my first answer was no, and then after a looong pause I said "I can't make this decision right now". I called her back and said that if she felt that strong then ok bring the dog home. Here is a photo of her the first night she came to our house.

She stayed in a dog kennel because she had to be still and not run around so her leg could heal. We would let her out at night for short periods of time to lay on the rug and play with toys but that was hard because our dogs DID NOT like her. They would bark and flip out at her and she would lay on her back and try to play with them, they would never cut her any slack.

Marie found her a good home through German Shepherd Rescue. A lady that lives up on Whidbey Island with two kids and ten acres came down one weekend to meet Bella, loved her and decided she would give her a forever home. Bella has been with that family for about ten days now and we get updates and she is doing very well and adjusting to the goats and donkeys and kids that she lives with. I know that once her leg is healed and she can run around all that she wants to that she will be very happy there.
It was a loong four weeks for me, having a huge dog to take outside, hair in my house and the tension between the three dogs. I told Marie that I was proud of her for saving Bella's life despite all she had to deal with me (my complaining).

Marie has had a lot going on at work, more than usual. They changed the name of the hospital from Emergency Vet Services to Columbia River Veterinary Specialists. They now employ three Specialists (Critical Care, Internal Medicine and a Surgeon) so they needed a more fitting name. She planned a big event at the Vancouver Hilton to celebrate the name change and the Specialists each offered a one hour CE course for area vets to attend. She then had a catered lunch afterwards, it was a good "free" deal for area vets. The attendance was good, but will be better next year, they have only been in business for one year.
Here is a photo of Marie and the three guys that she works for who own the business. Two of them work in Medford, Oregon and the other one works in Culver City, California.

Once we got that event done and Bella the German Shepherd in a new home, we were finally free to get down to Florence to visit Marie's parents and celebrate Christmas. We always enjoy our time down there and this weekend was no different. It was Valentines weekend so we all dressed up and went up to the Casino for a nice dinner. We helped put together some IKEA cabinets for Marie's mom to go in her craft room.

Our dogs continue to crack us up and just make us smile every day. Crosby and Stormy are such good buddies. They love to snuggle on our laps together and if we say "Stormy", Crosby is up and on alert to go find her and see what she is into. If we let her outside and he thinks she has been out there too long, he will camp out by the sliding door and then bark to alert us to let her in.
Buddy is still our TV watching dog. He loves it and he is addicted to it. He sits there every night and he has commercials memorized and he can be in another room and if he hears the commercial come on, he is there in a flash to bark at it. He gets in trouble for this so he will grab a toy so that he has something in his mouth to prevent an outburst. He really is a smart dog, certainly smarter than Crosby and he amazes us how he reasons things out.

We are headed down to Santa Barbara this week for five days, just for a little "get away". It is hard for me to leave the dogs, never thought I would be "one of those people" but I am. We have a good pet sitter who actually comes to the house and that has worked out well. We have taken a cruise the past two years in January, but could not do it this January with all that was going on and the weather so we are anxious to get out of town for a few days and hopefully see some sunshine.
I am just excited to have Marie to myself for a few days with no work, just us and a car and highway 101 !
When we get back from that trip, a day later my good friend Laurie is flying in to visit and go to the big scrapbooking convention that will be held in Portland that week. I am soo excited about that.

That pretty much sums up our past month. We are doing good, we are healthy and happy and life is good.

Shaka

2009-01-21T21:33:00.000-08:00

I received this cute e-mail from Marie's dad tonight.

This is a picture of President Obama and the First Lady, giving the "Shaka" to the Punahou High School Band, where he went to school, as they played "Aloha Oe" in front of the parade review stand as a tribute to him. President Obama, like many of you and myself who are included on this email were born and raised in Hawaii and are Native Sons and Daughters of Hawaii.
This email was provided by Mary Jane Balthazar, a Maui Girl.
Aloha
Joe

Bella the "foster dog"

2009-01-16T20:37:00.000-08:00

Bella is a dog we are fostering for a few weeks while we find her a forever home. She came into Marie's hospital last week after being hit by a car. The owners could not afford surgery and so they elected to give her up. Marie thought she was a really sweet and mellow dog and she could not bear to have her "put down" and so she wanted to pay for her surgery and then take care of her during her recovery.
I am doing my best with having her here, big dogs are not my thing. She is a sweet dog and she is nicer to our dogs than our dogs are to her. Our dogs really feel like she is in their territory and they growl at her and Crosby is so bold as to nip at her. I have come to realize that our dogs are spoiled little pups and they don't like to share their moms!
We are looking for a good home for her, her leg will be healed soon and she will make a great pet for someone. Please let me know if anyone you might know is interested.

Bella acts as if she does not know she has a healing broken leg.

Our couch potatoe

2009-01-15T20:04:00.000-08:00

View from the front

Buddy's view of the TV. I got down on the floor to see what his view of the TV really is. It has to hurt his neck to look up for hours at a time...made my neck hurt. That boy loves his TV.

Crosby LOVES the snow !!

2008-12-26T14:34:00.000-08:00

I took this video of Crosby about a week ago when the snow was not deep at all. He thought it was the coolest stuff and he was a wild man out there running around in it.

Christmas

2008-12-26T13:53:00.001-08:00

Our Christmas plans got changed this year at the last minute due to the weather. We have had storms the past two weeks and this city just does not have the manpower or the plows to take care of all the roads. We decided on Tuesday afternoon to start driving on our 3 hour drive down south to Marie's parents house. We were not going to leave until Christmas eve, but more snow was predicted for then so we thought this would be our one and only window of opportunity.
We headed out and as soon as we got outside of the city limits the Interstate was a mess. I am talking about 3- 7 inch ICE ruts on the Interstate. Cars would slide around and begin to spin if they attempted any lane change. Cars were literally 12 inches from each other in many places which did not leave much room to slide around. At one point we realized that the traffic was five lanes across and we were actually driving in the emergency lane. It was crazy but we kept going and just figured that we had 4 wheel drive and chains and we would make it eventually.
As we sat there, me nervous and Marie was not nervous we heard on the radio that in 30 minutes the Interstate was going to be shut down two miles in front of us for plowing of the ice. We could not cover that 2 mile stretch in 40 minutes so we got off the Interstate along with a million other cars. We took a smaller road that went South and figured that we could pick up the Interstate further south maybe ahead of the plows. Great idea on a sunny warm day, but not that day, the roads were snowpacked and ICE. We ended up turning around in Wilsonville with is about 30 minutes from our house on a normal day. It was a mess and we were stuck in traffic there that was at a standstill waiting to get back on I-5 southbound when they opened it back up, this was a time period that NO ONE had a clue of when it would re-open. We elected to head back to Portland and getting home was not easy at this point either. This whole trek took us 5 1/2 hours, it was pretty crazy.
We were disappointed that we did not make it to Marie's parents house to spend the holiday with them, but , we had very nice "snowbound" Christmas at our house. When we got home we found out that some of our friends and neighbors were also home, so we had a potluck on Christmas eve and played games and then had a nice Christmas dinner last night. It tunred out to be a very nice holiday.

This is what it looked like when we woke up Christmas morning, it was gorgeous !

Santa brought Marie and Expresso maker, she loves her new toy. Santa brought me a new alarm clock that projects the time on the ceiling...love that feature. Santa also brought me some noise canceling headphones to wear and watch movies on airplanes.

Santa brought the dogs some new toys. Buddy flips out over new toys and he appreciates every toy he gets. He is a hog with them, he collects them all around him and will leave one or two for Crosby, fortunately Crosby is usually content with whatever he can get.

Crosby love, love, LOVES the snow. When we first got him he would lay on the A/C vent and then I would make him ice packs to lay on, so snow is just a little slice of heaven for him. He discovered that he could climb over the 2 foot snow barrier that I had to keep him from the rest of the yard...I did not want to lose him in the deep white snow. He is was determined and he made it all the way out back to his beloved "hut" under the bottom of his beloved pine trees. He would be out there for a long time and then come back in with "snow-dreds) attatched to his legs and under carriage. I would throw him in the sink and melt them off of him with water so that I did not end up with puddles on my floors or couch.

Marie set a nice table for our Christmas dinner with Bob and Dan

Break from the storm until tomorrow.

2008-12-23T09:55:00.000-08:00

This storm has been kind of crazy. It is not much snow compared to Utah, but they are not equipped here to handle it and so it can cripple the city. I am off work again today because patients all cancelled. The airport is finally operating again today. I guess it never closed, but they cancelled hundreds of flights and hundreds of people had to sleepover there. I told Marie that I wanted to go and get a family and bring them home and feed them and give them a place to stay. Only problem is the roads were horrible to get there and it would be an issue to get them back to the airport the next day as we are down to one car in this weather. I am just glad that most of them might be taken care of today and on to their destinations.
They also re-opened I-84 this morning, it has been shut down since Friday night and the trucks were just stacking up in Troutdale. It may be closed again tomorrow because we are expecting even more snow tomorrow, but at least several of them can get through today.
We are headed down to Marie's parents house tomorrow for Christmas unless the snow is just horrible, we will decide in the morning. I want to wish you all a wonderful Christmas and holiday!!

Icy coat on the cars

it has been so different to have a blanket of white on our yard. I love the stuff if you don't have to drive in it. it is so much lighter at night due to the snow too. I was out walking the other night delivering cookies and it was just so quiet, crisp, white and serene.

Another day of it !

2008-12-22T12:33:00.000-08:00

We are still snowed in. We have been fortunate and not lost power at all yet, while many others have. I am off work again today. We bought chains for my Nitro yesterday and Marie made it in to work today. It is truly incredible, not just the snow but the ice. I am so glad we did not have plans to fly out for Christmas, we never would have made it. The airport has cancelled tons of flights since last Saturday and I-84 has been shut down since Saturday.

Snowed In

2008-12-20T20:52:00.000-08:00

The bad weather that they have promised us for several days finally arrived. It has snowed most of the day and it is still coming down. We just heard on the news that they closed I-84 through the Columbia River Gorge. We have stayed inside all day long and it has been nice.
Crosby loved the snow this morning when we let him out. He was running like a wild man in the back yard, of course that was when we only had about two inches and now we have about eight inches. Buddy on the other hand does not like the snow. He would not even get off the deck, he decided that he would just pee on the deck, whatever!!
I am excited for this to be Christmas week. I love my little family and I love just spending time with them.

Our "Shop Dog"

2008-12-18T09:48:00.000-08:00

This has been quite the weather week. They predicted huge storms and ice and while we did get some of both, it was not as severe as was predicted. When the weather is bad, dental appointments go out the window for people. We had TONS of cancellations this week, I worked a total of three hours. While that is good for getting my Christmas projects completed, it hurts the paycheck. I cannot do anything about it, so I am just enjoying and making good use of the time at home.

Buddy used to go to work with Marie every single day, he loved it. When she changed jobs a year ago, it was not possible and he stays home during the day with Crosby. It is not too bad for them because I come home everyday for lunch and most every day I take them for a walk at lunch. I was home yesterday so Marie decided it was a good day for him to go to work with her and Crosby stay home with me.
Crosby was lonely all day for Buddy and Buddy was happy all day at work with mom. Whenever Marie is working on a project at home with powertools etc Buddy is right there by her side and Crosby runs away because the sounds scare him. Buddy acquired the name "Shop Dog" and that is what he was yesterday with Marie, her "Shop Dog".

Suzy's Second Birthday !

2008-12-18T09:38:00.000-08:00

Suzy turned TWO today !! We got to celebrate with them. I laugh at this photo because as she was blowing out the candles, we all cringed a little because we noticed that it was kind of a "juicy blow" as she blew her candles out. This photo...is proof...note the "suspension" on her lower lip !! Made me laugh! She is a sweet funny girl and her vocabulary and command of the English language reminds me of Baylie when she was a baby.

opening her gifts

Sweet Josh

She did not needs gifts. She was just as happy toting these sacks around...I mean..her "purses" !

O Christmas tree and winter has arrived.

2008-12-16T17:15:00.000-08:00

We finally got our Christmas tree set up. We are spending Christmas at Marie's parents house, but we still wanted our house decorated. We love to sit in our chairs at night and have the glow of the lights.

Some favorite ornaments

We just stayed inside this weekend. The arctic freeze is here. We did not get much snow, but it is the wind and ice that are the problem. I have had a TON of patients cancel this week due to the weather...bummer.

The winds were so strong that we brought the boats inside, we were afraid they were going to fly off. I miss them already. I like to be able to look out the window and see if they are spinning.

Doggie Torture-TRIMMING THEIR NAILS

2008-12-13T11:52:00.000-08:00

I took the dogs with me to run errands and we decided to stop in to Marie's hospital. They have needed their nails cut and I am just not the best "holder". We got Roz to help us, THANKS Roz. Buddy does not like it, but he does not throw as big of a fit as Crosby does. Crosby performs a maneuver we warmly call "The Wild Monkey" ! He gets a crazed look in his eyes and he starts to maneuver like a snake and you can barely hold on to him.
Crosby had a rough night last night (not related to the nail trimming). He had issues "with both ends" and so Marie took him in this morning to make sure he did not have a blockage. His x-rays and blood work all looked fine so she gave him some IV fluids and a shot to help him sleep and during this injection....her performed the "Wild Monkey" again. He is resting right now and I hope he feels better by tonight.

Buddy did not throw as big of a fit as Crosby did.

Resting comfortably following their difficult nail clipping procedure !

March of the Canadian Geese

2008-12-13T11:46:00.000-08:00

This is a field near our house where the Canadian Geese gather. When I was driving by this week I noticed them all marching in rows, it was kind of cool. When I shut the car door they all flew up, I wish the camera had still been on !

My work Christmas party

2008-12-13T11:23:00.000-08:00

We had my work Christmas dinner this past week at the MAC Club. It was such a fun night. I am so fortunate to work with such fantastic people. Dr. B is one of the few dentists that does the best work, all of the time. It is not "hit and miss" and I never have to wonder. Trudy, Sue and April are just plain fun to be around everyday and we work so well as a team to get the job done every day. I feel so fortunate to work with all of them.

Sue and Dr B

Bill and Trudy

Michelle and April

Sunset tonight

2008-12-06T21:14:00.001-08:00

The sunset was so unique tonight, it looked like a painting. This photo was taken with my I-Phone so the quality is not the best. I knew if we turned around to drive home and get the good camera it would be gone, so we settled for this photo.

Some fun with imagechef.com

2008-12-06T19:13:00.001-08:00

My childhood dream toy

2008-12-05T16:44:00.000-08:00

I will admit it, I am one of those odd people who enjoys doing laundry and ironing. As far as I know, there is not cure for it, so I just live with it ! Last weekend Marie was looking through the sale ads and she brought this picture to my attention, my heart swelled ! When I was a kid, my parents always made Christmas very nice for us. I remember my favorite gift I ever received was a brand NEW Yamaha 80 motorcycle. As much as I loved that, if I would have received this as a gift back then, my joy probably would have been equal. That is very sad. LOL

Thanksgiving

2008-11-28T19:37:00.000-08:00

We had such a nice day. The day started off with text messages and phone calls from my family. I wish we all lived closer so that we could spend holidays with both of our families. It sounded like my family had a good day as well in Utah.
Marie's parents drove up Wednesday to our house. The drive takes three hours, but that day it took them almost six hours due to traffic. I felt so bad for them, when they finally got here they were exhausted.
Marie's dad made our traditional Thanksgiving morning breakfast which consists of Portuguese Vinga Dous. If you are not familiar with this..( I was not until 4 years ago) it is chunks of pork marinated for several days in vinegar, ALOT of garlic and hot peppers. It was so potent this year that I thought it may burn a hole through the plastic container he brought it in!! I actually like it and look forward to it.
The Elliott Family came to spend the day with us. Dinner was good, you cannot go wrong with turkey. Friday morning we girls got up early to go get some "Black Friday" deals. It was worth it, we scored some good deals and then we spent the rest of the day shopping. I always enjoy it when Marie's parents come and visit, they are just easy to be with and we all four have a lot of fun. I am soo tired tonight and glad we still have a couple of days to rest.

We played games after dinner. Playing BLOCKUS was giving me a brain cramp so I got CJ started on making a mini photo album to take home.

Josh, Katie, CJ and Jake joined us for Thanksgiving. It was fun to have them.

This is what I had staring at me tonight as I tried to nibble on some leftover turkey. you would think that they had not been fed in weeks with those pitiful looks on their faces.

Growing up soo fast !!

2008-11-16T18:51:00.000-08:00

I just received Baylie's eighth grade picture tonight. It just reminds me of how quickly kids grow up! She is as cute as ever and I am proud to say that she also received this past month an award for Algebra student of the month and the award for "Respect" shown to others. Way to go Baylie, I am so proud of you !!

Equal Rights Rally at Portland State University

2008-11-16T18:44:00.000-08:00

We want to be married, it is hard to be denied ones civil rights.

Rally at Portland State University, it was a nice warm day and it felt good to be there supporting something that means so much to us.

The rally was right by the Farmers Market

Got Puppy Rush??

2008-11-16T14:59:00.000-08:00

This video is pretty cute. Usually it is Crosby trying to get Buddy to play, today the roles were reversed. I don't think Crosby quite knew what to think of Buddy's puppy rush!

My thoughts exactly

2008-11-12T19:41:00.000-08:00

I came across this today. If I could have put words to what I have felt this past week since Prop 8 went through, this would be a good description. It is six minutes long, listen to it when you have time to watch the entire video. I know that blogs are read by anyone, but I also know that friends and family check out my BLOG, you are the ones that I would especially ask to watch this so you might better know my feelings on this topic.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cVUecPhQPqY

Three and a half year MYSTERY!!

2008-11-07T12:37:00.000-08:00

Three and a half years ago when I was preparing to move to Oregon, Wendy offered to help me pack my closet. It turned into such a funny night for us because I had dresses from college, bridesmaid shoes I wore to Patti's wedding almost twenty years ago. Wendy tried to be polite with her bouts of laughter when she would say "maybe this one could go to the DI". She made me narrow down my lighthouse and Canada shirts to about a half dozen and she also informed me that I could have been a elementary school teacher with the amount of sweater vests and matching turtle necks that I owned. I LOVED those! LOL
I felt very accomplished that I weeded out so many clothes that I did not wear and donated them to the DI. I did not know until after I moved that Marie and Wendy has snuck into one of those packed boxes of my clothes and took a shirt out. For the past 3 1/2 years every once in a while Marie will say "are you missing a shirt". It has driven me crazy because no matter how much I demanded which shirt or shirts they stole, she would not tell me.
Halloween night the mystery was solved. I was playing a round of guitar hero and I remember Wendy saying she was going to get another shirt to put on. When I was done reading "song failed" on Guitar Hero LOL I turned and saw Wendy sitting there in my FAVORITE Canada shirt of all time. I screamed "that is my shirt"!! Wendy and Marie then proceeded to roll on the floor laughing because they were so proud of themselves. I demanded the shirt be left with me this visit, Wendy obliged. I promise I won't wear it out in public Wendy, just as a night shirt or around the house!!! You two are brats!! LOL

I looked over and this is what I saw!! Mystery solved !

They were so proud of themselves!

Halloween Fun at our house

2008-11-04T21:57:00.000-08:00

Crosby, Stormy and Buddy all ask that burning question..."do we have to answer the door when trick or treaters come, or can we just stay right here"

We had a fun night of food, laughs and Wii competitions !

Wendy was in town and spent Halloween at our house, YEAH! Here she is holding a grumpy Buddy who did NOT want to dress up.

Roz and Levi have been the foster parents of Josh and Suzy for the past 15 monthes. It has been a loooong road but today they got official word that they have been chosen as the adoptive parents!! We are all so thrilled that they will be a legal family! It is now a lot of paperwork and lawyers but the adoption should be complete by next spring. Congrats Cambell family, we love you !

Suzy and Josh's cute costumes.

Suzie was such a cute little kitten. This costume was heavy and warm that when they were out trick or treating her mom took the hood off of her head and she said there was steam! LOL

Steve & Barbara Young-Way to go

2008-11-01T14:49:00.000-07:00

Former 49’ers football star and prominent Mormon Steve Young has some surprising signs in the windows of his house and on his front yard.

CBS Television Station KPIX, shot video of two official “No on Prop. 8” signs in windows of the Young family home in Palo Alto, California. The video also shows three Halloween themed signs displayed on the lawn. Those signs urge people to vote against Proposition 8, which seeks to ban gay marriage in California.

In addition, the television station reports that Young’s wife Barbara, made a $50,000 donation to the “No on Proposition 8” campaign. It is also reported that in an e-mail to the gay advocacy group Equality California, Barbara Young made the following statement: "We believe all families matter, and we do not believe in discrimination, therefore, our family will vote against Prop. 8"

A spokesman representing Steve Young contacted 2News after this story originally aired. Kirk Reynolds says Young has not and will not endorse the campaign against Proposition 8. Reynolds explained that Barbara Young has a brother who is gay and that is why she does not support Proposition 8.

In a follow up statement forwarded by Reynolds, Mrs. Young says, "To expand on my earlier email, I am very passionate about this issue and Steve is completely supportive of me and my work for equality. We both love our Church and are grateful that our Church encourages us to vote our conscience. Steve prefers not to get involved politically on any issue no matter what the cause and therefore makes no endorsement."

Reynolds said Steve Young would not disclose how he planned to vote on the proposition.

Will Carlson, with Equality Utah, called the Young family’s actions a “Pleasant surprise”, given that the LDS Church urged its members to do whatever they could to help the passage of Proposition 8 on Election Day. Carlson says, “What you see with the members of the LDS Church coming out on both sides of this issue, not just for Prop.8, but against Prop. 8, is that it’s a complex issue and there’s not one clear side.”

Carlson says the advocacy group here in Utah has not taken an official position on Proposition 8 and did not intend to get involved. But, since so many Utahns have given so much money to the campaign, Equality Utah’s head Mike Thompson, is in California right now volunteering for the “No on 8” campaign.

Recently, a group of Mormons marched to the LDS Church headquarters in downtown Salt Lake City, to urge church leadership to stop their involvement with the issue. On Sunday November 2nd, a group of Mormon mothers will hold a candlelight vigil at the plaza at the Salt Lake City Library in support of gay people and civil rights. The event starts at 6pm.

Early Morning visitors !

2008-10-28T20:57:00.001-07:00

I let Stormy (our cat) out this morning and I was about three steps from the door when I heard HISSING ! I went back and threw the sliding glass door open and there was Stormy almost cornered by two raccoons. I stomped at them and scared all three of them off the deck, my heart was pounding. I called to Stormy and told her to come back and she did very quickly and ran in the house. The raccoons would NOT go away, they sat there and actually stood there for a long time while I ate my breakfast....it really freaked me out.
So now we cannot let the dogs out at night unless they are on a leash and actually in the mornings it will be the same way.

Russell Jesse White

2008-10-23T13:59:00.000-07:00

Russie would have been 24 years old today. He was just over two years old when he passed away. I think about you little man every October 23rd and every March 2nd. I LOVED you and you made me laugh. I know that if you had stayed with us that you would have grown up to be a handsome, very smart and funny man just like your brothers and your daddy.

Russie driving me around in the "Bon-2" mobile while Todd surfs along on the bumper.

Second birthday-1986 Such a cute baby boy! He got his cowboy "boops" (if I remember correctly that is what he called them.

Few days off=getting some projects completed!!

2008-10-19T20:26:00.000-07:00

We both took a couple of days off so we could have some time to finish up some projects. We put the loft in the barn and started moving things in. We are still working on finishing up running power out there and organizing the garage so we can actually park our cars in there.
It has been nice to have a few days to sleep in, watch movies and spend some time just being at home.

Robert helped us out again this weekend. He helped us put the loft in the barn and then he put all of our "beach house" furniture up in the loft. He is soo strong. We had the recliner in the back of the truck and he lifted it above his head, stepped of the tail gate of the truck and then easily lifted the chair into the loft.

No on 8

2008-10-15T20:50:00.001-07:00

Home Grooming

2008-10-12T16:55:00.001-07:00

This weekend we decided that we could save some money by grooming the dogs ourselves. Marie actually did all of the trimming and I did all of the holding. You will notice that there are only photos of Buddy being groomed. Crosby has no such photos because I was unable to hold him ( he required a bit more of this than Buddy did) and take photos.
Crosby really was pretty good, he only went into his crazy mode that we refer to as "wild mustang" a couple of times. I think Marie did a great job on them and Crosby actually looks better than after our regular groomer gets done with him. She always cuts his face so short and we always say "oh well, it will grow back".

Go to your box !

2008-10-12T16:46:00.000-07:00

Buddy loves to watch TV. He get really "reved" up when there is a commercial for Ceasars dog food (there is a white dog in that commercial that looks much like him) or the new movie "Beverly Hills Chihuahua" throw him over the top and he puts his paws up on the TV. He knows he is not to do this, so when he does we send him to his box which is in the bedroom. He can be worse than a teenage kid as he is walking in there grumbling at us for sending him there. It usually solves the problem and then he is allowed back into the living room after about two minutes and then he picks up a toy to chew on to help him control his anger issues.
Yesterday there was a dog training show on and he flipped out and DID NOT want to go to his box so when we told him to go, he quickly went inside his little tent which is right by the TV and then just looked at us like "is this good enough". We laughed so very hard, he is such a funny dog,....and yes, we let him stay in the tent.

Our walk today to see the leaves.

2008-10-10T16:11:00.000-07:00

Fall is here. The dogs and I went for our walk today and it was just so peaceful and colorful.

They LOVE their almost daily walks.

We have "Fusion"

2008-10-09T17:59:00.001-07:00

It has been almost five months since I had the surgery on my neck. I went in for my final x-rays and checkup today. Dr Fleming said it is healing well. I have an extra curve in my neck and he said it is likely that I will have trouble with more disks in the future, but right now it all looks good. This x-ray is not from today, this one is from June but I just quickly took a photo of the x-ray he had up on the viewer.
I assume that that now if someone tells me "you have a screw loose", they could be correct !!

Rainy weekend

2008-10-09T17:49:00.000-07:00

We had a mellow weekend last weekend and it was nice. Marie had to work most of the weekdend and while she was in the office working the dogs were not far from her feet. She called me in to look at them. Buddy usually hogs the bed near the window and so it was pretty cute to see them sharing it. They love to look out the window and alert us of any suspicious activity or dogs or people walking by.

This is a nightly sight at our house. The minute Marie sits down in her chair to check her e-mail Crosby jumps on her lap and wants to cuddle. He does not mind sharing the area with Stormy, but Stormy is not allowed to be near Marie's face, that is his spot. He will nip at Stormy and push her away and he will crawl around her open lap top to get where he wants to be. It is pretty comical to watch, he knows what he wants and he goes for it.

Sunday drive through Camas,Washington

2008-10-09T17:40:00.000-07:00

We stopped at a Sonic Drive In. The dogs love the concept that you push a button and a guy brings them a hambuger!! There is a closeup of the collars we bought them when we were in Phoenix. They are "Life is Good" collars.

Nice view of Mt Hood from Camas

Four Years Ago Today...

2008-10-01T22:43:00.000-07:00

Four years ago today, my life started. Marie and I met in person four years ago today. She flew to Utah for the weekend. She was very busy at work and also working on her MBA. Days after our meeting she included me in her decision to take the job as the Project Manager of the new Vet Hospital. We both knew after our first meeting that our lives were no longer going to be "me" or "I", but "us".
When people talk about the feeling that you love a person more every day, week and year...I get that.

My vote is NO on Proposition 8

2008-09-25T16:49:00.000-07:00

I feel very strong about this issue. I spent my first 39 years looking for my soulmate, I found her. My whole life all I have ever wanted was to find the perfect person for me and spend our life together. I was able to do that, I am one of the lucky ones and I know it.
I am not a second class citizen and I do not appreciate not having the same rights and security of "marriage". Marie and I celebrate 4 years together next week. We are both better people as a result of being in each others lives and having a loving and committed relationship.
.
We work hard every day at our jobs, pay our taxes, own a home, love our families and try to help others. That is what life is all about. We deserve the same Constitutional Rights as any other couple, "seperate but equal" does not cut it.

Homosexuality is not natural, much like eyeglasses, polyester, and birth control are not natural.
Heterosexual marriages are valid because they produce children. Infertile couples and old people cannot get legally married because the world needs more children.
Obviously gay parents will raise gay children because straight parents only raise straight children.
Straight marriage will be less meaningful, since Britney Spears's 55-hour just-for-fun marriage was meaningful.
Heterosexual marriage has been around for a long time, and it hasn't changed at all: women are property, Blacks can't marry Whites, and divorce is illegal.
Gay marriage should be decided by the people, not the courts, because the majority-elected legislatures, not courts, have historically protected the rights of minorities.
Gay marriage is not supported by religion. In a theocracy like ours, the values of one religion are always imposed on the entire country. That's why we only have one religion in America.
Gay marriage will encourage people to be gay, in the same way that hanging around tall people makes you tall.
Legalizing gay marriage will open the door to all kinds of crazy behavior. People may even wish to marry their pets because a dog has legal standing and can sign a marriage license.
Children can never succeed without both male and female role models at home. That's why single parents are forbidden to raise children.
Gay marriage will change the foundation of society. Heterosexual marriage has been around for a long time, and we could never adapt to new social norms because we haven't adapted to cars or longer lifespans.
Civil unions, providing most of the same benefits as marriage with a different name are better, because a "separate but equal" institution is always constitutional. Separate schools for African-Americans worked just as well as separate marriages will for gays & lesbians.

Buddy's new "Lazy Dog/Boy" Chair

2008-09-25T16:10:00.000-07:00

Marie found a very cute chair from LL Bean and we decided to get it for Buddy to sit in while he watches TV. If you have followed our earlier posts, you know that our Buddy Boy LOVES his TV. The chair came, or what we thought was the chair. It was actually only a chair cover. If you wanted the actual stuffing for the chair, well that was apparently extra, even though it did not appear that way on their website. We had it monogrammed with his name, so we figured they would not let us return it, but they said we can return it since it was a "mix-up". Heaven forbid that they offer us the "chair" portion for a reasonable price, they would rather have a chair cover with the name "Buddy" on it returned instead.
Last night we decided to try and stuff it with pillows and blankets and just see if Buddy would like it. I think the stuffing turned out quite well and we were so excited to see his reaction because a few years ago when we got him a car seat he loved it. He has not had the same reaction with his "Lazy Dog" chair, it was kind of disappointing. I guess we will give him another day and see if he changes his mind before we sent it back.

This is what I observed today. Crosby dares to sit in the chair and Buddy appears to just be pouting! We cannot figure it out, he LOVES his carseat and we thought he would love this to sit and watch TV in.

Phoenix for the 14th International Veterinary Emergency And Critical Care Symposium

2008-09-25T15:19:00.000-07:00

Marie had to go to a Vet Symposium in Phoenix last week and I was able to go along with her. We had a really fun time, even though our purpose there was for "work" and not for "play". We were able to see several friends from Dove Lewis. Marie said the classes were good and she was glad she went.
I made a huge mistake in only taking sandals instead of my shoes with arch support. By day three I could barely walk and I crawled into a shoe store to buy some running shoes with some suppport. I had a severe case of plantars fasciatus two years ago caused from spending an entire summer on the concrete floors of the hospital that Marie was finshing up. I have not had any trouble for a long time, but just three days in different shoes and I am back to square one with pain and inflammation.

We went to Phoenix for the 14th International Veterinary Emergency And Critical Care Symposium. Marie had meetings and classes to attend at the Marriott. The grounds of the hotel were so beautiful. I had fun walking around taking photos. I was a little disappointed that there were no "dog toy" vendors giving away free stuff. It seems that all these vets care about are equipment, books and instruments!!

The desert can be so colorful.

We went on a tour of Taliesin West. Marie LOVED this house. Frank Lloyd Wright was an odd guy, but a genius when it came to design.

We missed Buddy and Crosby so much. Laura did a great job "dog sitting" for us. The dogs were as excited to see us as we were to see them. We found them some fun toys to bring back but the HIT prize was the deer antlers we gave them. That was some good chewing!!!

Marie's mom in the Suislaw News !!

2008-09-23T19:57:00.000-07:00

This article ran in the Suislaw News in Florence last week. Marie's mom is running for a second term as City Council President.
Xavier runs for second term on city council
Posted: Friday, Sep 12th, 2008
Story and Photo by Shawn Penrod

President of City Council Nola Xavier
Current council president to begin second term in January.

When you ask Nola Xavier what she thinks makes Florence such a unique community, her answer is quick and simple: the volunteers.

“There is such a sense of community here in Florence,” said Xavier. “This community thrives because of the volunteers.”

Xavier is currently the Florence City Council President. Her current term ends in January 2009 and Xavier was one of only two residents, the other Dave Franzen, to turn in applications for two open council seats.

Community involvement is important to Xavier and that involvement is one of the reasons she and her husband Joe chose to retire in Florence.

The Xaviers found Florence by accident. They were living in Bellevue, Washington, and preparing to retire. Nola and Joe stopped here during a trip down the coast to visit their daughter, who was living in Port Orford at the time.

“We were looking for a place to retire and knew we wanted to live in a coastal city,” said Xavier. “Compared to other towns on the coast, Florence seemed to be thriving. There was a new library, a new justice center. We loved the fact there was an events center.”

Xavier said that the day after she retired, she and Joe loaded up their two cars and headed down to Florence for good.

“We’ve never had a second thought,” said Xavier. “We have loved Florence.”

Xavier believes that the experience and involvement by the retirees in the community really makes Florence a special place to live.

“They bring a wide range of experience,” said Xavier. “We benefit from having this wonderful diversity. I feel its somewhat unique to this town. It must be in the air.”

Xavier’s experience comes from being a stay-at-home mom and from her years working as an employment specialist for the Mormon Church.

“It was really rewarding,” said Xavier. “Especially when you work one-on-one with somebody and see the positive changes in their life.”

She said that she has always volunteered and believes it is important to teach the value of volunteering to children.

Running for city council, Xavier said, is a way for her to give back to the community.

“I’m not a politician,” said Xavier. “I’m a volunteer. I do what I do because I love this community.”

Xavier said she was very surprised that more people did not apply for the open council seats, especially considering some of the contentiousness over the last couple of years.

She believes, however, that emotions have calmed.

“In the end, we all want the same thing,” said Xavier. “We all want Florence to be the best place for us to live.

“The decisions we (the council) make won’t please everybody. But as a council and a city we need to be responsive. We are elected to represent the citizens, and that means listening.”

Xavier believes that tracking water quality is an issue Florence should be addressing and that old septic systems north of town are a concern.

“We’re probably past due on water quality testing,” said Xavier.

She said that concern regarding septic systems, however, does not equal forced annexation.

“There is no hidden annexation agenda with the council,” said Xavier.

According to Xavier, code reviews and revisions are an important challenge the city is undertaking.

“Frustration has come from the code revisions taking too long,” said Xavier. “They’re important because they will ultimately determine (Florence’s) growth.

“People are concerned Florence will lose its identity if it grows too much. We have to grow smart within our geographical boundaries. I don’t see or want runaway development.”

Keeping a sense of what attracts tourists to town is important to Xavier.

“We need to protect Old Town and not forget what makes Florence so charming,” said Xavier.

The lack of affordable housing and living-wage jobs is also important to Xavier.

“Being a retirement community has provided a certain level of economic steadiness,” said Xavier, “but attracting businesses to our area has been a stumbling block.”

Xavier said that finding a good school for her children was her number-one priority when she and her husband were looking for a place to raise their children after Joe got a job with the University of Washington.

“We have good schools here,” said Xavier, “but we need to support them.”

One of the things Xavier finds most enjoyable about serving on the council is people approaching her when she is out and about.

“Total strangers come up to me and say they feel they know me from the TV broadcasts and feel free to say, ‘I like this or don’t like that,’” said Xavier. “I want to listen whether it be good, bad or otherwise.

“That’s one of the reasons I live in this town.”

Day trip to Long Beach

2008-09-14T21:52:00.000-07:00

We love to grab the dogs and head out for the day. We love the drive up to Long Beach, that is the way we headed. I pack a small cooler, grab the IPOD and we go. It was a relaxing day, we love it up there. One of those days when the "to do" list is long, but it can wait. Need to enjoy all this gorgeous sunshine.

A sunny Saturday on Long Beach

Looking towards Astoria, Oregon from Chinook, Washington.

flavourspot.com

2008-09-14T11:17:00.000-07:00

We finally tried the little waffle hut we had heard so much about. The waffles were delicious, what a great idea they had. I would love to have one of these little waffle huts out at the beach, it would be a hit ! You can look at their menu at www.flavourspot.com

Waffle with fresh strawberries....DELICIOUS !

Waffle with ham and gouda

Amy Grant -Simple Things

2008-09-13T00:11:00.001-07:00

I love this video. We celebrate four years this month, this song kind of sums up our life together.

Harvest time of year

2008-09-07T21:12:00.000-07:00

I love this time of year because the peaches are ripe. I went out to Sauvie Island and got a case of beans and two cases of peaches. I got them bottled this weekend. I also bought some raspberries so I could make one of my favorite treats, a bowl of fresh peach and raspberries, YUMMY!

Babysitting

2008-09-07T21:06:00.000-07:00

We babysat for friends this weekend. Jake is 8 and CJ is 5. We went to Red Robin and then out to Jantzen Beach to ride the Carousel. We came home and let them swim around in the hot tub. It was a fun night with them and I had "deja vu" of when my neice and nephews were younger as I tucked Jake and CJ into bed. They were excited to sleep over and yet when it came time to go to sleep I know CJ was a bit nervous. She asked me to read her a story and then check on her in ten minutes like her mom does. She also warned me that she might come into our room in the night to tell me that she wanted her mom. I told her that would be ok. When I checked on them ten minutes later they were both asleep and they stayed that way the entire night.

Buddy and his TV watching!!

2008-09-07T21:00:00.000-07:00

Buddy and his tv watching is getting to be quite comical. He loves to sit in front of the TV and he just takes it all in. When a dog comes on the screen and I can tell you that a dog comes on the screen at least 4 times an hour no matter what program you are watching, he has a little barking and scratching at the tv problem! We have to send him to his box for a couple of minutes to settle down and then he comes back out until the next time.
This night was funny because he put this stuffed animal right by him to watch TV with, we cracked up! They almost look alike and we laughed because they both have their heads tilted to the side.

Bruce and Brad and boating on the Columbia River

2008-09-07T20:43:00.000-07:00

Bruce has been doing a total re-model on the inside of his boat this summer. He finally got it done and invited us out for the "maiden voyage". It was not a very sunny day, but it was warm and we had fun. We were able to pull the boat up and park right at the Deck restaurant on the river.
Marie and Brad protecting her from the rain!

It was kind of a cloudy day but it was warm. This was my view of Mt Hood as we flew down the river!

There were so many neat homes on the Columbia River, it was fun to float right down past them.

Waterslide party with the Sumners

2008-09-07T20:31:00.000-07:00

We had the Sumners and Bob and Dan over for a barbeque. It was such a fun day for everyone. We had good food, good conversation with good friends. We played Wii Fit and loved watching Silas do the ski jump.

We made yummy smores over the firepit.

Silas and Penn in midair !

Josh's third birthday party at our house.

2008-09-07T20:12:00.000-07:00

Josh turned 3 on August 28th. Roz and Levi brought bratwursts to barbeque and a delicious lemon cheesecake for birthday cake.

We wanted to get one last waterslide party in because Josh LOVES it.

Josh and Suzy ready to party!!

Happy 3rd Birthday Josh!!

Hot Tub

2008-09-07T19:24:00.000-07:00

Marie found us a great deal on a hot tub on Craigslist. It was located in Oregon City which is about 40 minutes from our house. We hired these guys to move it for us. The two of them lifted it on to their dolly and then on to their truck, it was a chore for only two guys. We have really enjoyed having one again, we really miss not having one after we sold the last one with the house.

lowering the tub into place

I was up in the attic getting heat stroke and trying to string the heavy wire from the fuse box in the garage to the back of the house where the hot tub was. We used a "fish" and I fished it down the wall to Marie and she had to find that through a very tiny hole in the side of the house and through all of the insulation. When she said "I got it" I was SO relieved because I truly thought my head was going to blow off in that attic from the heat, not to mention trying to balance on the beams up there. She then tied this string to the fish wire and I pulled it back up into the attic and then attatched the wire and she pulled it back down to the outside.

The jets are a little bit different from our other hot tub, we like the foot jets on this one better and the lounger.

This moment was BIG...it meant we wired it correctly.

We needed something to cover the tub until next year so we settled on this Gazebo. It will work fine until we can build a more permanent solution like we did at the last house.

2008-08-26T21:22:00.000-07:00

CONGRATULATIONS Ellen and Portia !!!

Mitchell and Baylie's visit

2008-08-12T21:11:00.000-07:00

Mitch and Baylie came for a visit this past week. I was able to schedule them at my office so that I could clean their teeth. This was a treat for all three of us, I miss being able to do that for them.
We enjoyed them so much. We relaxed and enjoyed the waterslide and did some of our usual things like eat at the Kennedy School and visit Powells books. They are just easy to have here and always make us laugh.

Baylie got a cute new hairdo and highlights. She is growing up!

Baylie has been taking sewing classes this summer from her grandma Thompson. She has really enjoyed it and has made alot of cute things.

Baylie made some darling fleece blankets for Buddy and Crosby and she also made one for herself.

Baylie and Marie always go get pedicures whenever Baylie is on town. Mitchell decided he wanted one this time too, they were a little bit scary due to wearing flip flops all summer. The lady who was working on his feet asked him "have you been camping"? I was sitting out on a bench waiting for them and Mitchell was texting me telling me what she was saying. We always joke that those little ladies sit there and speak in Chinese so we cannot understand them and the whole time they are talking about you and how gross your feet are!!

Mitchell is always so willing to help us with projects when he visits. We decided to put a greenhouse next to the shed. He helped us with the very heavy task of compacting the rock with a compactor.

Baylie and Suzy playing out on our deck. We had Roz and Levi and the kids, Bob and Dan and Josh and Katie and their two cute kids over for a barbeque and to slide on the waterslide. I LOVE summer nights and especially enjoy spending them with friends.

Suzy's new favorite word is "what"? She has quite a "tone" when she says it and it is pretty funny to hear that coming from such a tiny girl.

We have had a TON of fun with the waterslide. Suzy and Josh came over and Baylie helped them up to the top of the slide. They got the hang of it quick and had as much fun playing with the water cannon as they did sliding down the slide.

Waterslide FUN!

2008-08-03T20:43:00.000-07:00

I found this waterslide and I thought it was soo cool. I debated on whether or not to get it, then I had a coupon, then I knew Baylie and Mitch were coming and so I talked myself into it. It is so cool We had some friends kids over last night and they had a blast on it. Baylie is a little fish, so she will have fun with it when she visits this week.

Buddy is addicted to TV

2008-08-03T20:13:00.000-07:00

Buddy loves to watch TV. He is getting better about not jumping up and scratching the screen after being sent to his box numerous times for this offense. Marie has taught him that when he gets the urge to scratch the TV to grab a toy and chew on that. We knew he had a problem when one morning several weeks ago I was in the kitchen making breakfast and he parked himself in front of the TV and barked at me to turn it on. We are not ruled by our pets so don't even entertain that crazy thought! LOL

If it looks like Stormy is totally laying on Crosby that is because she is . Crosby loves Stormy so he did not mind, if it was Buddy he would have been growling at her. Crosby loves to let Stormy know he is the boss of her and yet he will let her totally crush him.

Family visits.

2008-08-03T19:48:00.000-07:00

We had a real treat this past week with visits from two of my neices and a nephew and their families. The came from Utah on their way to Washington for a family reunion. Erik and Malena and baby Noah stayed with us for two nights. Shaylie and her baby Eli stayed for one night. Phillip and Crystal were only able to spend one day with us but I was grateful for that. Phillip and Crystal actually were here a day ahead of the others so I could not get a photo of us all together.

Shaylie's baby Eli looks just like her with matching dimples.

Noah and Eli playing. Noah has the arm to Mr Potatoe Head in his mouth

Noah and Eli in the bathtub

Phillip brought his entire external hard drive so that I he could give me his family photos that he has taken. He said "I brought this just for you because I knew you would want it". I was thrilled and proud. He had some great photos and this was one of my favorites. This is of Kurt and Travis holding Noel when he was a newborn. Great photo.

Phillip and Crystal were driving from Utah to Washington to attend a family reunion. They stopped at our house and spent the day, it was so much fun to visit and spend some time together. It was the first time that I saw their baby boy Noel who is 6 mo old.

Kylie and Noel. Phillip and Crystal's cute kids

How to build a shed in one day.

2008-08-03T18:30:00.000-07:00

We decided that we wanted a shed so that we could store several things that we are currently storing in our garage. Storing this stuff in the garage has prevented us from parking our cars in the garage. We decided that if we built the shed ourself it could take all summer so we decided to have Tuff Shed build it for us. It is a 12x16 shed and we are going to put a loft in it ourselves and wire it so we can run power out to it eventually. Marie said that "it will be a nice place for your dad to stay when he gets old". Made me laugh!!

Site all cleared

Robert dug up a whole truck load of grass where we want to put the shed. We then put down landscape fabric and next will cover it with rock.

Robert unloading the rock. Poor "Brownie" our truck had her shocks tested.

Buddy and Crosby were afraid of the scary load compacting machine so they hid in the truck.

Tuff Shed guys arrived in the morning to work their building magic. They brought the bottom walls already built but did the rest on sight. We were impressed, they did a good job. We had to sign a sheet saying that you would stay 50 feet from the jobsite. Marie laughed as this cramps my style of watching them close and telling them how to do their job! I just told the salesman that it had to be done right the first time and it would save us all alot of time and energy. We had a neighbor that had a bad Tuff Shed experience and I did not want that but this crew was grea. I kept treats and cold drinks coming out to them. When I took them I out penetrated the 50 foot mark but they did not seem to care when you are bringing a cold can of Coke over to them.

Toby Keith Concert-July 18th

2008-08-03T11:54:00.000-07:00

We went to see Toby Keith in concert July 18 at the Clark Count Amphitheater. We have seen him three times the past three years and usually really enjoy his show. This year it was just so/so. The "Trailer Choir" was one of his opening acts and we really liked them. We had never heard of them so it was fun to hear them live.

Montgomery Gentry was the opening act for Toby Keith. They are not one of our favorites but we were both amazed at how many of their songs we both knew and sang along too.

Toby singing "Should have been a cowboy"

K-9 Pet Tax Return

2008-07-17T20:27:00.001-07:00

I found this in one of the kids magazines at work. It MADE ME LAUGH SOO HARD!! Double click on it so you can read all the details of this tax return. If you own pets, feel free to print this off and get it turned into the IRS before the October extension deadline !!

My berry picking days on Sauvie Island

2008-07-17T20:17:00.000-07:00

The new bridge to Sauvie Island was just completed this month. It towers over the old bridge.

I did not want to go out to Sauvie Island on the weekend, it is crazy busy with people. I decided to go on my Friday off and Marie had to work so she could not go help me pick or carry the containers. I took my wagon to pull my berries around because I knew there would be more than one flat. I like to pick TONS and make lots of jam. Marie teases me because she says that I get the berries for half price because I eat as many as I buy. :)

The Pumpkin Patch is my favorite place to go pick berries on Sauvie Island. The store is great and they have a little cafe where you can get a hot dog and corn on the cob and a GREAT strawberry shortcake made with their home grown strawberries.

Row after row of raspberries

Buddy and his "Comb Over"

2008-07-14T20:12:00.000-07:00

Buddy and Crosby were playing this morning pretty hard. I looked down and I saw Buddy with his ear flipped over his head...it looked like a major "comb over". It made me laugh.

Fourth of July!!!

2008-07-06T09:14:00.000-07:00

We had such a fun 4th of July this year! Our neighbor reserved two tables down at "The Deck" restaurant which is right down on the Columbia River. She invited some of the neighbors to join her there. It was so nice to visit with some of our neighbors that we did not know very well. We had a fun dinner and then had a front row seat to watch the fireworks being shot into the air from a barge in the middle of the river.

Waiting for sunset

Fireworks over the Columbia River

Jen and Kim visit from Austin, Texas

2008-07-05T14:44:00.001-07:00

Our friends Jen and Kim came for a visit from Austin Texas. We met them two years ago on a Caribbean Cruise and we have kept in touch ever since. It was nice to have them here and show them around our beautiful state. We had a great visit and had some time to chat and catch up. E-mail and text messaging are great, but in person visits are always the best!

Mt Hood from the back door of the Timberline Lodge

Timberline Lodge at Mt Hood

Approaching Mt Hood

Multnomah Falls

We drove up the Columbia River Gorge

We saw this at Cannon Beach a couple of years ago and wished we had bought it. We found it again this trip and got it to put out on our deck. It is just fun to watch the wind catch the boats and then the boats whirl around in opposite directions depending on the wind.

Buddy and Crosby LOVE that Tillamook Ice Cream

Gorgeous Cannon Beach

Crosby and Buddy hanging at Ecola State Park

Sunset over Tillamook Lighthouse

Marie and the dogs. Sunset at Ecola State Park

Painting and carpeting done

2008-07-03T20:27:00.000-07:00

We have been wanting to paint the inside of the house. We decided to start in the living room area. We had a really light carpet in the living area and we could never get the stains out of it so we decided to replace it while we were at it.

We put shelves in the dining area for more storage. Marie cut the two center sections down so that they would be lower and allow us to put a picture on the wall.

Looking towards the hallway. I love the big bookcases, I have a place to put all of my scrapbooks.

We got a new couch with a "hide a bed" in it. Marie's boat finally has a place to call home on a shelf. I have broken the mast to it about three times and so I am glad it will be safe on the shelf!

Marie found this frame at Pottery Barn. We put some of my photographs in it for now. You can add more bars to it and put all different sizes of frames in it so it will be fun to add to.

We want to put rock around the fireplace and replace that ugly white trim !!

Priceless

2008-07-01T21:16:00.000-07:00

I am now in the process of receiving and sorting through the bills for my neck surgery. The total for everything so far is 49,200, I was amazed by that. I was only in the hospital for about 30 hours and in surgery for three, I can only imagine what bills are like when people have much more serious health issues.

I had my five week checkup with my neurosurgeon and he took another x-ray and said all is healing well. He said that I have an extra "curve" in my neck area and that I might be seeing him again in the future. We will hope for the best. He was pleased with my progress and said that my neck numbness may never go away entirely. He asked if I could live with that and I asked him if I had a choice!! He said "no" , so I told him that yes I could live with it if I had to. Anything was better than the pain.

I am so grateful for good insurance which will only require that we pay a very small portion of those bills. I am grateful for the surgery itself. The fact that I can use my arm again, it is not numb and I am not in severe pain....that is PRICELESS.

Crosby chasing the darts!!

2008-06-16T21:15:00.000-07:00

We were out back eating tonight, slowly and trying to talk ourselves out of finishing up our painting inside. We delayed even a little bit further by playing darts with Crosby. He is SOO FUNNY! We shoot these darts out of this gun and he chases them down and sometimes he brings them back to us. He cracks us up and we get hours of entertainment doing this, he never gets tired.

Busy weekend

2008-06-15T21:41:00.000-07:00

We had a great weekend. The weather was beautiful and we both had Friday off! We have been wanting to start painting in our living area. We have all of our furniture now that we want and so next came getting the paint to match. Marie is our families "pro painter" so she took that on alone this weekend.
I am still limited in what I can do with my healing neck so I paid an old neighbor boy to come down and work in our yard with me. He is a great kid and a hard worker. He and I got the yard in good shape and got new bark laid down and it looked really nice. It was the big yearly cleaning that yards need after a long winter, so nice to have it done so that now we can just enjoy it the rest of the summer.
I did really well with my neck and I did not lift anything. I think that getting out doing more has really helped with my flexibility, it was just nice to be feeling better and be outside working.

We have lived here a year and it is time to get some different colors on those walls. Marie is my "pro painter" and even if my neck was not still healing she would still be doing all of the painting because she is so good at it. We are starting in our living/dining area and it is looking nice.

Bon's Birthday

2008-06-12T21:54:00.000-07:00

I had a really nice birthday this year. I got lots of phone calls, cards and e-mails and being the "communicator" gal that I am, I love it. Marie made my birthday so nice. I considered our trip up to Victoria, BC and the Anne Murray concert as my B-Day gift this year and was very happy with that.
Marie had some other ideas up her sleeve. When I got out of the shower I found a cute photo mug sitting on the counter with warm hot chocolate in it. Marie had printed off some of our photos, cut them to size and then wrestled them into the outer portion of acrylic on the mug. It was such a fun gift, I love it. I will have to take some photos of it and post them later.
She also got me a binding machine so that I can bind my own calendars and photo albums, the possibilites are endless with this little gadget. I was sooo excited. I am playing with it tonight and figuring out how to punch the holes in the paper evenly and then I am going to bind something, it might only be my coupons that I have ready to redeem at the store, but it will be SOMETHING!!!
Bob and Dan came over the night before and we cooked steaks and had cake and ice cream. Marie got a chocolate angel food cake because she knew I had fresh raspberries in the refrigerator and I LOVE chocolate and raspberries. I might have been asked that night if I wanted some cake with my bowl of raspberries!!
I got to go to lunch with my co-workers as well and that is always fun. I wish I had taken a photo of us all together, I need to remember to do that the next time we are all together.
I felt spoiled, it is fun to feel like that every once in a while.

I LOVE these dogs, they make me laugh everyday.

Crosby just got groomed today and he was feeling handsome.

Crazy Chicken torments Buddy and Crosby

2008-06-07T21:21:00.000-07:00

Kenny Chesney concert....ROCKED!!

2008-06-04T09:03:00.000-07:00

We had looked forward to going to see Kenny Chesney for months. It was at our favorite venue to go to concerts which is in Clark County, Washington. The concert and all of Kenny's concert was billed as "Hello Portland", which we find funny. Portland is a more visible town to put on a t-shirt than Battle Ground, Washington I guess!. It was a very chilly night and it was an outdoor amphitheater but it was covered. We had our coats on the entire time and Marie had her ears covered. I did ok for most of the concert.
I was glad I had my neck brace on to rest my neck on. The audience stood for the entire concert and normally we would have too but I just could not do it so I would just sit down periodically and rest and I was still able to see the jumbo screens. We LOVED the show, it truly could compare to a show you see in Las Vegas. Marie said several times "I have never seen anything like this". We love all of Kenny's songs and he sang for two hours, it was just a fun time to sing along and forget about everything else for two hours.
He did not have his stage that lifted him out of the center. I think that it was probably due to the fact that the stage at this venue might be smaller than other venues, or, he may have quit using it after the foot crushing experience he had several weeks ago! We love Kenny, and we had a great night ! Marie made a "cozy" for my neck brace out of beach material. Leann Rimes is one of my favorites and she was AWESOME tonight. These photos are not great, but it shows her in action a little bit. Our seats were not close so we sure enjoyed those huge screens so we could see all that was going on up there. Kenny singing "Don't Happen Twice"
Kenny singing "Never Wanted Nothing More"
Kenny singing and the crowd singing "Young"

Wii FIT

2008-06-02T13:10:00.000-07:00

We got the "Wii Fit" this weekend. I cannot do all of the activities on it until my neck heals better, but I am thrilled with it. It is amazing at how you can stand on that board and it gets your weight correct, it detects your balance etc. It was somehow easier to balance with a neck brace on, it improves my posture!
I have tried a few of the balancing activites. Mitch and Baylie were here this past week and were a HUGE help to me during my recovery. They played more of the cardio games and they just look like fun. I also look forward to the Yoga activities that it has so that I can get some more flexibility as my neck heals.
I am feeling better as each day goes by. I get really tired still but I guess that is to be expected. I cannot use a blow dryer very well, still pain when I lift my arms up very high. I hope I can blow my hair dry better within the week before I go back to work next week.
If any of you own a Wii, you already know how much fun they are and I would recommend the Fit board to anyone.

Bon's Neck surgery

2008-05-29T17:04:00.000-07:00

Wendy was in town and helped us celebrate Marie's birthday. Our neighbor made us two of her gourmet pizzas and we had a good time catching up with Wendy.

Mitch and Baylie flew up for a week to help me when Marie had to go back to work.

Healing well after one week

HATE things touching my collarbone

In the hospital

My surgery went really well. I have had some discomfort the past week, but none of the pain was as bad as the pain that the surgery cured for me. I no longer have the numbness, tingling or electric shocks down my arm.
I had my one week checkup with the doctor today and he said it is healing well. It was really something to see that x-ray and see that metal plate screwed into my spine.
I cannot go back to work yet and I have to be careful for the next four months but overall it all went very well and I am so happy to be out of that horrible pain.
Marie has taken such good care of me and then she flew Mitchell and Baylie up here for a week to take care of me while she went back to work this week. I am so grateful for all of them.

Marie's Birthday !!

2008-05-29T16:59:00.000-07:00

Marie's birthday was last Friday. I knew that I would be "out of commission" so I tried to get things done ahead. I asked our wonderful neighbor to make us her gourmet pizza that Marie LOVES. She did this and brought them over that night. Wendy was in town visiting her dad and she came over that night to help us celebrate. It was a perfect birthday night !! I had a Baskin Robbins cake roll in the freezer and we enjoyed that later that night.

Gorgeous day in Portland

2008-05-17T17:01:00.000-07:00

Today the weather was so nice. We got up early and got our grass cut and trimmed and then went out to do errands and had lunch down on the river.
This picture is looking towards the Interstate Bridge.

As we sat outside and ate on the water planes were coming into PDX to land. The fighter jets were landing today.

The Deck Restaurant is down on the water. It is under that white tent in the middle of the photo.

Sitting in the backyard. Our Azalias are in full bloom.

Anterior Cervical Discectomy with Fusion will fix my neck!

2008-05-16T20:41:00.000-07:00

I saw the Neurosurgeon today and I got some answers about my neck pain. The problem is with two disks and they need to be removed and then he will place a "plastic lifesaver" back in the space. He told me that they used to harvest bone from your hip but he uses these and then he will grind up some of the bone that he removes and place it in the plastic unit and then fuse it all together from C5 to C7.
I will stay over night in the hospital one night and then will be home for two to three weeks. I am scared but I want it done because the pain is getting worse. He got me on his schedule really quickly, next Wednesday. He said that when I wake up the pain in my neck, arm and shoulder will be gone. That will be enough incentive to have me show up Wednesday morning.

Goodbye Victoria

2008-05-11T19:10:00.000-07:00

We had such a nice time in Victoria. We had a funny thing happen at breakfast at our B&B yesterday. We went down for breakfast and we were seated at a table already occupied by 5 women who were probably in their sixties. We got chatting and they told us that they were college friends and they get together and go somewhere together every year. They then announced that they were all Dental Hygienists. I lit up of course and said "so am I". Marie said "maybe I should go eat at another table". It was a fun breakfast. They graduated from Hygiene school 46 years ago and three of the five still work as Hygienists. It was fun to visit with them.
The ferry ride home was much nicer than the ride over. We all took Dramamine, we even gave the dogs some and they were asleep the whole ride which worked out just fine.

Anne Murray in concert with her daughter Dawn Langstroth

2008-05-10T21:10:00.000-07:00

I was so excited to see Anne and Dawn sing together. I got to meet Dawn after the concert and she signed some CD's for me. I have been to a lot of Anne Murray concerts (I saw my first one almost 30 years ago) but this was probably my favorite. Her voice still sounds as pure and smooth as it did when she started this "singing gig" 40 years ago.

throwing the yellow roses

Anne Murray's bus's and semi's outside the Save-On Centre where she performed May 8th.

New collars

2008-05-10T21:03:00.000-07:00

We found these cute dog collars. We went into a pet store and took the dogs in and Crosby promptly decided to pee on one of their displays!! You can dress them up but you can't take them out.

Buddy loves to ride with the window rolled down.

Butchart Gardens

2008-05-10T20:48:00.001-07:00

We were fortunate and had a sunny day to visit the Gardens. It was not very crowded and we just walked around for several hours enjoying the flowers. I had a lady ask me what time it was and I truly did not know because I did not have my phone attached to my hip. I told Marie it was nice not to know nor care what time it was.

Victoria

2008-05-10T20:35:00.000-07:00

Everything is in bloom

Prius cabs are EVERYWHERE here, Marie was loving that!

Empress Hotel

Ross Bay

Drive out to Sooke, BC

2008-05-10T20:11:00.000-07:00

We drove out to Sooke on Thursday. It was a nice day and a nice drive. We ate at a great little deli and drove around and took photos. We had such a relaxing day and then had time to take a nap before the concert that night.

Road trip to Victoria

2008-05-07T19:39:00.000-07:00

Waiting for the ferry

The dogs were very good on the ferry. It was a very rough ride. I got sick on the boat and my arm and neck were hurting and I was not a happy camper. Marie did not get sick thank goodness. The dogs were getting sick too and she just tried to comfort them. The boat was pretty big but the waves were so rough the water was crashing up above the level of the deck. We sat next to a lady who lives in Victoria and she was telling Marie "it is not usually this way"!

The B&B is so nice and in a quiet neighborhood. The owner loves dogs and he and Crosby became fast friends.

Helping me cut the grass.

2008-05-04T20:02:00.001-07:00

Marie was pulling the dogs around the yard in the wagon. Buddy LOVES rides in the wagon and Crosby was trying to decide if he liked it or not. Marie got a great idea to tie them to the back of the mower. It was pretty funny and they loved it. It was a beautiful day and it was nice to be out in the yard and sit out on the deck and soak up some sun.

Buddy and Crosby taking a break and running around the trees.

Fun week coming up

2008-05-03T20:19:00.000-07:00

It is vacation week at our house and we are excited! We are headed to Victoria, British Columbia for five days. We are going to drive and take the ferry and so we will be able to take the dogs with us and won't have to find someone to watch them.

My arm still has tingling and numbness and is weak. I am having an MRI done tomorrow and my doctor will get the results hopefully on Monday. I am hoping that she then can get me an appointment the next week with the Neurosurgeon and we can start figuring out what is going on. It is so irritating and just hard to clean teeth or type or carry any amount of weight with that arm.

More photos will come of the trip....of course!!

Kenny Chesney 08 Concert -

2008-04-29T21:33:00.001-07:00

When I first heard about Kenny Chesney hurting his foot, I am sad to say that my first thought was "he is still coming to Portland right"? We got great tickets and are soo excited to see him and OF COURSE hope his foot is feeling better.

One Year ago already.

2008-04-29T13:30:00.001-07:00

We were just talking about the fact that tomorrow marks one year ago we moved into this house. We cannot believe how fast the year has gone by. We were also remembering all that has happend in the past year.
We lost Liddle, and gained Crosby our sweet little puppy. We bought two new cars. We enjoyed a few fun trips to Seattle, Astoria, Las Vegas and a cruise to the Caribbean. Marie changed jobs. We were able to legally register as a Domestic Partnership. It has been a great year and we look forward to the next one!!

Backyard at new house

Liddle and Buddy were not sure what to think with all the commotion of painting and packing and moving.

Our cute little Bungalow house in Concordia neighborhood. We gave that house a major overhaul and breathed new life into it. It was hard to sell it, but we do not miss the stairs or the tiny rooms. It was a cute little house and it was our first home together so it will always be a special house. We drive by every once in a while and are happy to see that the new owners are keeping it tidy.

Backyard at Bungalow. We miss our pond and hot tub. We will do both of those things in our new backyard and add a firepit as well.

Our walks

2008-04-26T18:12:00.000-07:00

I try to take the dogs for at least one walk every day, as long as it is not raining. We have a Arboreatum/dog park at the end of our culdesac and it is just a great place. I love to watch them explore all the new smells and give them a little bit of exercise. I will just say "want to go on a walk" and it elicits turbo running around the house and they run to where their leashes are. It is pretty funny! Today was a gorgeous day, glad that spring might be here finally.

The apple trees are staring to blossom. I wish I had taken my camera on our walk this morning when the sun was out to get better photos.

Going back into the neighborhood. The Arboreatum/Dog park is six doors down from us and the entrance is in the culdesac at the end of our block. I LOVE having this area to take the dogs for walks.

One of the things I love about Portland....

2008-04-20T17:00:00.000-07:00

Are the Bridges. I love all the bridges and how they are all unique. I found this cool postcard that shows them all. Click on the image and it will make it larger and easier to see.

Grateful

2008-04-15T20:33:00.000-07:00

I have not posted anything for a while. Our life has been so busy lately with Marie's job but it is going well. I have had a pinched nerve in my neck and have been out of it for almost two weeks. I am on the mend but still have numbness in my arm and am doing physical therapy twice a week. The point of this is how grateful I am for so many things.

I am thankful for having basically good health. This has been a rough two weeks and hard for me to sit in a chair in pain and miss a week of work, but that is nothing compared to what some of my friends and family are dealing with. I have a wonderful job and co-workers who are so kind and caring and make it ok for me to miss a week of work.

I am so lucky to have Marie in my life. She is always so kind and loving and respectful to me just on an everyday basis. She got me to the help and doctors appointments that I needed and she took days off herself to be with me when I was in the most pain. She came home every day from her very busy work week to make me lunch and took care of everything around the house. She probably will be embarrassed that I am writing this but I am doing it anyway. I am loved and I know that and it is like being wrapped in a big warm blanket.

I am not a very good patient, and I am basically just not very "patient". I don't follow directions or advice on taking meds or staying down and resting. It is a good thing that she is patient and puts up with those traits of mine.

I am also grateful for my two cute little dogs. They knew something was up with me when I did not move for a week. They were always on my lap and would wake up occasionally to give me kisses on the cheek.

"Hoppy" Easter

2008-03-16T18:00:00.000-07:00

Crosby and Buddy wish you a "Hoppy Easter"

Crosby's 1st Birthday March 14

2008-03-16T17:50:00.000-07:00

Crosby LOVES to play with Adelaide so she came to his birthday party. It was exhausting to watch these two chase each other and play virtually non-stop for 2 1/2 hours. Adelaide can fits Crosby's head in her mouth and he just keeps going back for more.

Buddy Crosby and Adelaide sitting patiently waiting for their CAKE!

Crosby, Bon and Alicia celebrating Crosby's birthday

I get to see Anne and Dawn!!

2008-03-14T22:31:00.000-07:00

I am sooo excited. I was able to get second row tickets (from a fellow Snowbird) to see Anne Murray and her daughter Dawn in concert. It will be in May in Victoria, British Columbia!! I am excited because I have never been to British Columbia, it will be warm in May and I get to see Dawn in concert. I am very excited in case you could not tell !

Crosby's 1st Birthday!

2008-03-14T18:01:00.001-07:00

Crosby is a year old today!! We had a little party for him last night, I will post pictures soon. He is such a sweet little dog and we are so lucky to have him.