Okoboji Hangover

We're back from Okoboji and still recovering...I think I'm going to bed soon (9:30 is early for me). We had a good time catching up with family, and I especially had fun playing with my nephew Little D. He was in a pretty good mood most of the time and it was a hoot seeing how big he's getting, and how many new things he can do.

Friday night the annual Bean Bag Tournament was held, and Brandon experienced the thrill of victory with my cousin Jeremy. They are both left-handed, so there were many "theories" expressed correlating their win with their southpaw nature. We enjoyed some time around the campfire and all in all it was a great evening, despite the COLD overnight temperatures. We definitely weren't expecting it, and sleeping in the tent was quite chilly. Between that and a leaky air mattress, we did not get a good night's sleep.

The weather wasn't extremely cooperative on Saturday, so that dampened the fun a little bit. Brandon did get out in the kayak for a little while with Dad and Jeremy, but it was still windy and pretty chilly out there. I never got the chance to go out, as it rained most of Saturday aftenroon into the evening. We were all crowded in the cabin, but took a break and went to Pizza Ranch in Spirit Lake. Later that evening Kristi, Emily, Tami and I (cousins) went to a bachelorette party for our future cousin-in-law, Allison. It was a good time and nice to spend some fun hours with my cousins.

Saturday night we slept better on a new air mattress (and with more layers on). Sunday morning we packed up, said our goodbyes to the fam, and had brunch and some nice conversation with Mom and Dad before heading home. Turns out the dog had a few mishaps while staying with the in-laws, so that was a bit of a damper on an overall good trip. All in all though, it is good to be home. Now off to bed I go...

And We're Off

We're leaving tomorrow to spend the weekend in Okoboji with my family. In the meantime, to keep you mentally stimulated while I'm gone, I am leaving you with this very informative and thought-provoking video.

Happy Weekend!

A Friendly Game of Slippery Twister, Anyone?

Tonight I wanted to do some baking, so on my way home from work today I stopped at the gas station to pick up some eggs. While there I noticed the frozen pizzas were on sale, so I picked one up to stick in the freezer.

While checking out, the cashier said, "wow, that's something I've never seen together before, eggs and pizza."

I didn't really think it was that weird, but I guess considering the location it might be a bit of an unusual purchase. Nonetheless it got me thinking about other strange purchase combinations.

One time that comes to mind is several years back when I stopped in the Indianola, IA Wal-Mart with a friend. He purchased three Twister games for a "human Twister" Halloween costume I was helping him out with. He was also doing some work on the vehicles at his dad's place, so he picked up a 5-gallon jug of motor oil, and we were on our way.

So there we were, a male and female going through the line to purchase nothing but Twister and a big jug of oil. I'll let you connect the dots there. Needless to say we got a raised eyebrow from the cashier.

Any weird purchase combinations you can share?

Senoritas y Margaritas

Lastnight I had "the ladies" over for a Girls' Night In. It's always nice to take a break from work, kids, etc. and catch up. We had a great time!

Adventures of Youth

They finally made it! Two recent high school graduates of Chaska High School here in Minnesota just finished a canoe trip from Chaska all the way to Hudson Bay. 2200 miles in 49 days...yeah, do that math! They duplicated a trip taken in 1930 by Eric Sevareid and Walter Port, which was chronicled in the book Canoeing With the Cree (which I think I'm going to have to read).

It's great to read about kids (or anyone, for that matter) who are ambitious and adventurous enough to take the time to plan and execute a journey like this. Between the chilly temperatures, the dangerous rapids, potential encounters with polar bears, and an exploding can of bear spray, I'm sure this is a trip they will never forget. What an amazing story they have to tell!

Read more about them here, and visit their webpage here. Be inspired!

And Another Year Passes...

I had a wonderful birthday weekend. I took Friday off from work and awaited the delivery of our new bed, which miraculously appeared in the early part of the 4-hour timeframe I was given, so it freed up the entire morning for me. I spent most of it putting things away in the bedroom and trying to make everything fit better, because the bed is HUGE! But so far, totally worth it.

The rest of the day I did some other things around the house and then went shopping. I had just gotten in the car to head back home when I got a call from Husband.

"What do you want for your birthday?" he says. "Do you want something practical or fun?"

"Fun," I said, "something I want but I wouldn't buy for myself."

"OK. I'll see you in a little bit."

So he came home early, and offered to take me to an early movie and then to dinner. When we got in the car, there was a CD sitting in my seat. It was a Bon Jovi greatest hits CD called "This Left Feels Right." (I had mentioned a few weeks ago after hearing "Living on a Prayer" on the radio that I wouldn't mind having some of those old songs on the iPod). We popped it in, expecting to jam to the soaring vocals of Jon Bon Jovi in the height of his 80s heyday.

Instead we heard this. Apparently this CD is some sort of experimentation in re-arrangements or mind-altering drugs, or both. It is just weird. The hits we all know and love sound like some kind of lame lounge singing and have been twisted into weird chords and melodic alterations that turn upbeat hairband songs into plodding, slow dirges. We had a good chuckle, but Husband was also a bit irritated because there was no indication on the outside of the CD, and he had been so happy thinking he got me something I wanted.

Luckily the theater is not far from home, so we were not subjected to the lounge singing for too long. I had been given the cinematic choice of Kung Fu Panda or the new Indiana Jones movie. I wasn't really in the animated feature kind of mood, so I chose Indiana. All I can say is, this movie is a stinker. Definitely not up to par with the the previous three, and as general movies go it was just bad. So Husband was feeling like he was striking out on the birthday extravaganza.

Redemption was certain at dinner, and we were not disappointed. We went to one of our favorite local Thai restaurants, Thahn Do. The food, as always, was excellent. Husband asked me if I wanted the rest of my birthday gift that night, since we had a wedding to attend the next day, on my actual birthday. I said sure, and he said part of the deal was that I had to do something for him when we got home.

We get home and I ask what it is he needs me to do.

"Dance for me," he says.

"Say what?!"

"Open your present and you'll see what I mean."

I was a little uncertain, but when I saw what it was, I got a big old smile on my face. My man bought me Dance, Dance Revolution for the Wii.

So now I am a 32-year-old dancin' machine.

Addendum: I guess I forgot to finish the rest of the weekend...on Saturday we went to my friend Eric's wedding to a super sweet woman, Gretchen. It was a wonderful celebration - they got married at a big downtown church and had a swanky reception at The Depot in Minneapolis. It was a fancy affair but also very sincere and heartfelt and FUN! I caught up with some old co-workers (was even serenaded 'Happy Birthday' by the group) and Husband and I had a dance or two and a drink or three. I was so happy for Eric and Gretchen, and it was a great way to spend my birthday. Today, for Father's Day, we were able to pick up Brandon and have brunch with Husband's family at Mystic Lake Casino, followed by a relaxing afternoon catching up with my dad, and my friend Kristy who is due to have a baby in about a week! In my opinion, the perfect birthday weekend!

Buddy Update

A lot of you have asked how Buddy is doing. Minus the infamous peeing incident, he's doing really well and has surprised us with how well he is trained – even knowledge of a few special commands, like "high 5." He generally minds very well and lives to please us, but can be stubborn on occasion when he doesn't want to do something. If other people or other dogs are around, forget about it. It's like he has no ears to hear what we're saying. He seems to especially like little girls - when our niece Miss H came over for the first time to see him, he made a beeline for her immediately from across the yard. He also loves the little neighbor girl next door, in addition to the lady cocker spaniel next door. I guess he’s just a ladies’ man!

He also loves to sit by the big bay window in the livingroom and watch whatever is going on outside. He also likes to take walks with me and is getting a lot better at not tugging on the leash. A tennis ball can entertain him for hours, and we've gotten into a good routine of dropping it, sitting on signal, and retrieving. He will also purposely push it under the recliner in the family room, just so he can paw at it and get it out. Apparently that’s fun for him, not so fun for the person sitting in the chair!

Buddy loves to be with us, and any people for that matter. He adores attention and isn't shy in "asking" for it (i.e. nudging our hands or elbows). If he has a choice he will usually hang out near me, unless he knows I am mad; then he’ll sulk and give me the sad eyes (he’s good at that). Husband was sick this past weekend, and it seemed that Buddy knew something was wrong, as he parked himself outside the bedroom door where Husband was sleeping. When I got home from running some errands, Husband had moved to the couch and there was Buddy, snoozing on the floor right next to him. Very cute.

We visited the vet and he seems to be in great health. He weighs 52 pounds and apparently that is perfect. He does still have a bit of the sneezes, so we are watching that. It’s probably an allergy, because a bit of Benadryl seems to help (who knew dogs could have Benadryl?) The vet bought into the bulldog/shepherd mix, but said he may also have a bit of Labrador in him, by the way he was wagging his tail. Apparently Labs have “happy tails,” and that is definitely Buddy.

Overall he's a very sweet boy and loves anyone who will scratch his ears. I really look forward to getting home at the end of the day, because there he is, wagging his tail so hard his little butt shakes. He has brought a lot of happiness and laughter to our home.

I just wish I could get this song out of my head.

Proof We Know How to Grow 'Em

I keep telling you guys, the dandelions in our yard are major. Today we pulled one that was over 30 inches tall, and another that had 12 stems out of one root!

"Marking" the Occasion

Yesterday was our anniversary. We really hadn’t made any concrete plans, and the day before I had the opportunity to get some Minnesota Twins tickets from a co-worker. We decided that would be a fun thing to do, so we celebrated 2 years of wedded bliss at the Metrodome. We shared nachos. Very romantic. (Twins lost to Baltimore, 5-3).

The real excitement, though, came before we even left for the game. We were playing with Buddy a little bit, feeling bad about having to put him back in the crate so soon after we got home. Nothing gets his tail wagging more than a tennis ball – he loves for us to throw it down the hallway downstairs so he can fetch it and bring it back. Husband wanted to see what he would do with TWO tennis balls. It was quite funny; he would bring one back, roll it to Husband, and be off after the second one that was thrown. He was loving it, and it was pretty cute. He was really excited. So excited in fact, that when we stopped, he peed. On the carpet.

I quickly grabbed his collar and started dragging him toward the back door, zig-zagging all the way. Once we got to the door, he actually stopped to pee on the doorframe. As if we weren’t inches from outside. I got him out the door and he was still peeing. Apparently he had been storing it up! I put him on the zip line and shut the door so he would get the message I was upset and that is something he should definitely not do (the worst thing to Buddy is if you give him the cold shoulder – he loves attention).

Exasperated, I came back to the moment and heard chuckling in the background. Husband said “have you seen this yet?” I turned around slowly, and to my horror, there was pee EVERYWHERE. That zig-zagging I mentioned? Yeah, he was peeing the whole time. Luckily, minus the initial offense to the carpet, it was all on tile. I followed the trail around the corner and we both just bursted out laughing.

That was the first “accident,” and it probably could have been prevented. I know this because as we were cleaning it up, I asked,

“So did you take him outside when you got home?” (Husband got home before me and let Buddy out of the crate)

“Um….yes? I think so?”

Which in Husband speak means, “probably not.” Poor puppers! He’d been holding that pee in for so long, and the tennis ball game just got him too excited. So excited he peed his proverbial pants.

Safe to say we won’t forget this anniversary anytime soon!

Super Kid

Brandon is going to Valley Fair on the last day of school this coming week. So he and Husband struck a deal that if he pulled up all the dandelions in the front yard, he could get some spending money.

I've mentioned before that we have a lot of dandelions. The front yard is relatively small, and I think Brandon thought it wouldn't be too bad of a job. He and Husband went to Menards to get contraption that helps to dig the roots out, and he went to town. He spent at least a couple of hours yesterday afternoon, and about 2 more hours today. At the end of the day, we were all surprised at how many of those darn dandelions he pulled out of the yard...

Great job Brandon!