Dog Lovers: our dog for a day

We had a knock at our door late Wednesday evening. A man had found a little female Puggle (a designer dog mix of a beagle and a pug) wandering in the park by our house. It was late, dark, and she obviously didn't know where home was. The man had Pit Bulls, so he couldn't keep the Puggle at his house.

We are suckers for dogs, especially dogs that are this cute! We said we'd keep her until we found her owners. Little did we know that we'd fall in love with this dog in a short amount of time. We let her play with Bert and Abby, our beagles. They thought it was great to have a friend over. While they were playing, Morgan named the Puggle "Emily" and got Abby's kennel all ready for her to sleep in. You can see the signs she made for the kennel; she also put a stuffed animal dog by the kennel wearing Cole's Gonzaga Bulldogs hat. You want the dog to feel at home don't you?

She spent the night at our house. She didn't make a peep and was so comfortable as a part of our family. Originally I'd told the kids we'd put flyers up right away... then I was even dragging my feet. This was the sweetest dog, really. We found out how to get around the 2 dog per house city ordinance. We also had our neighbors, Marcia and David, convinced to take the dog if we couldn't find the owners and we couldn't keep her. They wanted to name her Daisy.

Last evening, Marcia and David, along with Morgan, were taking Emily/Daisy for a walk to introduce her to their dog, Joe. Joe is the sweetest Boxer you've ever seen. As they were walking, a car pulls up and it was Emily/Daisy's owners! They were so thrilled to see her! They jumped out the car and snuggled her close. You could see the light in the dog's eyes and a smile on her underbite. We are so glad she was reunited with her owners. Her real name is Scooter.

She'll always be Emily to us. We were glad to have her with our family, even for a short time.

2008 BAJA CRUISE: debauchery on the high seas

"What happens on the ship stays on the ship." I think that's what they said, but sometimes it gets put into someone's blog. In the previous blog, we talked about our kids' fantastic weekend... now some news from the cruise.

Rich and I headed out from Los Angeles on the cruise ship Monarch of the Seas with about 30 people from Swire Coca Cola last weekend. Who knew so many people could have that much fun on a boat? We danced, ate, drank (some more than others), gambled, attempted to keep our dignity intact, and laughed until our sides hurt.

There were more incriminating photos taken, but I tried to go with the rated PG ones. You will see Rich dancing on another woman... woah... he was actually taking part in a sexy legs contest. He didn't win the grand prize, but boy did he have fun. The others are of us at the muster drill on deck, dressed up for dinner, and one of Rich and Amir.

Hanging out with Uncle Chuck, Aunt Linda, and Grandma Donna

How blessed we were this weekend! Rich and I got to spend a fun weekend together on a Baja cruise, and the kids got to play with Grandma Donna and Rich's Uncle Chuck & Aunt Linda. When Chuck & Linda heard that Donna was coming to stay with the kids, they asked if they could come, too (they drove 1100 miles one way). What a wonderful surprise! To say the least, the kids will not soon forget this weekend. They went to Antelope Island to see all the Great Salt Lake has to offer, Aunt Linda taught them some card tricks, they went to a carnival, Uncle Chuck saved their feet from the rough terrain around the GSL, and Grandma Donna didn't get lost. They even made it through homework time! We were honored to have them all at our home!

They grow up so fast

It is so true...when you have a baby, people say, "enjoy them, they grow up so fast". Here is a picture taken at the fair in Spokane in 2002, and nearly the same pose at Legoland this summer. Who knew that the moment I met Cole and Morgan, I'd never look at anything the same way again? They remind me to look at the big picture: to play a game, to sing silly songs, to run through the newly fallen snow, and to do it knowing that there will never again be this moment.

The boys and I

When we were in Montana this summer, I got to spend some fun moments with my brothers. A group hug, and laughter... always plentiful when we're together.

No More Flip Flops

My first blog! Rich set off for a week in Cheyenne, Wyoming this morning. I decided that, rather than doing my PTA stuff, or finally painting the ceiling in the living room, maybe I should create a blog. I'm actually trying to stay ahead of my kids with this computer technology.

Cole and Morgan are back in school and loving their days. Cole actually had homework this weekend (gasp!) and didn't procrastinate about getting it done. Maybe we're starting off on the right foot? Morgan was wishing for homework this weekend, but only had to do reading. I also taught her how to hand sew this weekend. My neighbor asked, "what's next, are you going to teach her to churn butter?". Maybe I will. She loved making a pillow that she put a face on and called it "Squishy-Wishy". She also made a pink and purple dog (sort of looks like a dinosaur) named "Comet".

We had a fun weekend- boys went hiking on Saturday to Mount Timpanogos with the Hatch boys and we "recovered" on Sunday. That evening we had a great evening with the Bayans family... I found out that I cannot be the drummer for Rock Band, but that Rich and Cole may soon be going on the road (Cole on guitar and Rich singing). Monday was spent doing chores around the house... we're going to winterize things a little earlier this year... hoping that no flood occurs this fall.

Getting excited for our upcoming cruise with some other couples from Swire. Grandma Donna had planned to come to watch the kids; then we had a great surprise when Uncle Chuck and Aunt Linda decided to join her on her trip to Utah. The kids will have a blast with them while we're having our mom and dad weekend.

It snowed in the mountains on Sunday night. I guess that means that Fall is just around the corner. I'm ready for some cooler weather... the only downfall is that I'll have to wear real shoes... no more flip flops.