Hometown Visit

That title makes me think of the Bachelor and all those shows where you take a guy home that you've been dating for 3 weeks to meet your family. That's not what this post is about though...don't worry!

Last weekend, the dogs and I packed up and went to Abilene for a long weekend, and just like always, it was just what the Dr. ordered. I feel so relaxed when I go back...the pace is just slower and I LOVE that. I got to spend time with two of my lifelong friends, Holly & Thompson, and their sweet kiddos.

Holly, Davis, and London came over on Friday morning, and we had a great time playing with Brad's old Tinker Toys, looking at mom's kaleidoscope collection (which Davis remembed from the last time he was over...smart thing), and playing with my puppies. I'm sure Jack and Harley were thrilled to have Davis around because he didn't tire of playing fetch as quickly as I usually do. This was the first time I had seen London since she was just a couple of weeks old, so I was amazed at how fast she's grown and how much personality she has. I wore lots of Holly's hand-me-downs growing up, and a strawberry outfit was one that I remember, so London wore a super cute strawberry outfit especially for me! (Thanks, Holly!!) Here are some pics from our morning of fun!

I also got to see Thompson's cute house (FINALLY) and catch up with her and Caden, who is also growing like a weed. His shirt said "heartbreaker" and I have to agree. He is too cute for words! I love having friends that are so easy to just hang out with, and Thompson & Holly are both like that for me. Even though we don't see each other enough, we can always pick up right where we left off the last time we saw each other.

A Much Needed Vacation

I haven't fallen off the face of the earth...but I have been to Wyoming and back! I have been looking forward to this vacation since before Ryan and I got married, and we finally went a couple of weeks ago. My mom grew up vacationing at the Grand Tetons near Jackson Hole, WY when she was young, and then she introduced my dad to her favorite place when they got married. Of course, she couldn't wait to take her own kids there, so Brad and I spent a lot of time there growing up. Our family has fallen in love with this place because it is SO relaxing and beautiful. I can't think of a more gorgeous place in the USA...and I really have seen a lot of places! Anyway, my parents, Brad & Kendall, and Ryan & I all packed up and drove, yes drove, 20 hours (over 2 days) to our favorite place in America in hopes of making believers out of Ryan and Kendall. And I think we did. We hiked, climbed (some of us more than others...ahem...Ryan), fly fished, shopped, went whitewater rafting in 40 degree water (little bit chilly), picnicked, went to a chuckwagon dinner & show, played games, went on a breakfast cruise to an island in Jackson Lake, saw lots of wildlife (several moose, elk, 2 bears, and other critters), and altogether had a fabulous trip together. I think I can even say that we all still get along and weren't ready to kill each other by the end of it. I'd call that a success. Here are some of my favorite pictures of the 500 (not kidding) that I took. I got a new camera for an early birthday present before the trip, so get ready...there's lots!

I have to brag on Ryan...this picture was taken at the top of Rendezvous Mountain. He climbed all the way to the top (notice the sheer cliffs in the background). At one point he had to ski on his tennis shoes because there was so much snow! The rest of us rode the ski gondola up, and he climbed "down" to the lodge to meet us for a drink once he had reached the top. Let me just say that Ryan brought a new dimension to our family vacation.

How cute is this moose?!?

My mom caught these prairie dogs in the midst of an all out brawl for a chip from my Dad. These aren't your typical Abilene Prairie Dogs!

This is the picture I'm most proud of. I caught this family of ravens teaching their young how to fly. All the babies wanted to do was eat. This nest was in the tip top of a dead tree REALLY far away, so I was thrilled that the picture turned out so well. National Geographic anyone?!?

The Chapel of the Transfiguration...I think I'd have a hard time paying attention to the sermon with a view like that!

Fly fishing on the Snake River.

USOs..."Unidentified Swallowed Objects"

My weekend was spent at the ER...the Animal ER, that is. Caution: The following blog post may contain graphic references not recommended for the faint of heart...or stomach. On Friday evening, I got home and found (to put it mildly) about 10 places where one of the dogs had thrown up. At the time I didn't know which dog it was, but I soon learned that it was Jack, my 11 year old Jack Russell. He continued throwing up about once every 3 minutes, in between me calling vets (none of which were open) and cleaning up the previous mess. It was horrible. The weird thing was that it was all water...nothing solid. Then I found it...in the far corner of the guest room, he had evidently gotten rid of whatever it was he swallowed. It looked like a big pink eraser, but I couldn't imagine what he had gotten into. Well, I put it in a Ziploc bag as evidence, and whisked Jack and the Ziploc bag to the Animal ER. It was a LOVELY 15 minute car ride in which Jack managed to go through 6 towels. Could Ryan have possibly been in town for such an exciting event? Of course not. BUT, he did call at a really appropriate time..right when I got the estimate for the $3000 surgery Jack needed. I was a basketcase, which I know sounds silly, but Jack is like my kid. I know he has 4 legs, sheds a lot, and doesn't speak "human", but he is definitely my companion! Anyway, I signed the papers, and left Jack at the ER at about 1:30am. At 5:00, the vet called me to say that the surgery went fine. They found another piece of the same thing I had found, and called it the "Unidentified Swallowed Object", or "USO". They also found that his small intestine had severe scar tissue. Because of that, they couldn't just remove the USO. They had to remove almost 3 inches of his small intestine. There is a really high risk of infection when they have to do that, and they have to be extra careful that there's no chance of the small intestine leaking or rupturing later on. How scary is that?!! He has 2 layers of stitches and 14 staples in his little tummy. Poor baby!!! So, Jack spent the next 2 full days in the ER hooked up to IVs because he wouldn't eat or drink. I had to visit him in the emergency room the first 2 times, but after that they would bring him out to me in his own room. He would just lay there like in this picture. It was SO pitiful.



They wouldn't release him until he ate and drank, so finally on Sunday night, I was able to get him to take 3 bites! WOO HOO!! Luckily that was enough to get the vet to release him. Unfortunately, we got home and he refused to take his medicine by mouth. I literally tried everything for an hour to get one pill down him, but he wouldn't have it. So, it was back to the ER at 12:30am for him to get 4 shots. They threatened to keep him again, but I begged for them to let me take him home. I couldn't stand seeing him in that place! At 7:30 the next morning, I took him into our regular vet (since it finally wasn't emergency hours) and they gave him his medicine, took out his catheter and gave me the best animal product I have ever purchased. Ladies and gentlemen, may I present:



They are the only way Jack would take his medicine, which is saving me a TON of money. His shots were $30 each, and he was getting 4 of them three times a day. You do the math. Anyway, he has been on the up and up ever since. So much that he managed to pull out 3 of his staples today while I went to work for 2 hours. We just returned from vet appointment #4 because of it, so I'm praying that this is all until he gets his staples out next week. What a weekend!

The Letter Between "U" and "W"

My keyboard has suddenly decided it will stop typing the letter between "U" and "W". It just quit right in the middle of a sentence. Isn't that weird?! So, I thought it would be fun to do a post without that letter just to see if I could. I am going to need to use my imagination to come up with words that don't use that letter. And then after this post, I'll probably go to Office Depot and buy myself a new keyboard because this is really annoying.

Anyway, Ryan has been out of town for the past 2 weeks, and he called last night to tell me that he's finally coming home tomorrow! I'm really excited for him to get here becase I spent a TON of time working in the yard this weekend, and I want to show him all the new stuff. My sweet mother-in-law hooked me up with a Jeep-full of plants from her yard. That was nice and all, but it meant I had to come home and spend 6 hours Sunday afternoon planting all my new FREE plants...that I'm praying I don't kill! I don't exactly possess a green thumb. (By the way, I just had to use the word "possess" because I can't type the word H-A-(letter between U & W)-E... soooo frustrating!!!)

OK, I'm tired of this. I think I'll finish by listing some of the best things that use the letter between "U" and "W". I will use a * anytime the letter between "U" and "W" is to be used because it's getting annoying...

1. Cherry fla*ored *aseline (I MUST use it each and e*ery night before bed, or I can't sleep)
2. *alentine's Day (I know it's a cheesy holiday, but I lo*e ha*ing an excuse to be extra romantic!)
3. *odka with Cranberry Juice (my "signature drink" if I were to ha*e one!)

OK, it's harder than I thought to come up with GOOD words that use that particular letter. I can think of far more gross words than good ones, so here are a few off the top of my head:

*omit
*agina
*enereal disease
*enom
*ienna sausages (YUCK!)
*ulture

Geez...who needs the letter between "U" and "W" anyway?!?

New Babies...Old Friends

This weekend I got to welcome my lifelong friend Thompson's baby boy, Caden Thomas, into the world. He arrived on Friday afternoon and is just the sweetest, most precious little guy! I was at the hospital on Friday but didn't get to hold him but for just a minute, so on Saturday my mom and I went back and spent a little more time "ooh-ing and aah-ing" over him. Thompson looks AMAZING and Brent is one proud papa. I was so happy to be able to share such a special time in the life of their family. Congratulations Camp Family of 3!

Precious boy!

On Saturday night, I got to go to my friend Kristin's wedding shower. Kristin and I were BFF in the truest sense of the word when we were little. She and I wore each others first "Best Friends" necklace, went on family vacations together, and spent a lot of time just being silly. I cherish the memories we made so much, and I am so thrilled that we've recently reconnected and caught back up with each other's lives. And I'm even more excited that she found the love of her life, Clay, and that they are getting married in a few weeks! Here are some embarassing pictures of the 2 of us back in our prime:

Are we cute or what?! My family was planning a trip to Disneyland with another family that had a son my brother's age, but NO girls. I didn't think it was very fair for my brother to get to have a friend and me not to...especially since my 8th birthday was going to be during the trip, so I got to bring Kristin along. We had matching outfits for just about every day of the week...including these lovely Minnie Mouse shirts and some tie-dyed outfits that we made ourselves. Those same tie-dyed outfits got wet on the water rides and dripped red and purple dye down our legs. I can remember my mom drying them out for us under the hand dryers in the bathrooms while we waited in the stall to get our clothes back.

I truly think that we missed our calling in life to be fashion designers...I think we were pretty inventive to create those outfits out of bandanas! There are some more "questionable" wardrobe choices that we have pictures of, but I won't go there.

We've changed a little, huh?

Fellow bloggers...Sarah Beth, Kristin, Me, and Annalee

Mother-Daughter Picture

My Birthday Boy

Ryan was gone to Amarillo for work on his birthday...can you think of a more beautiful place to spend it?! You think he could've at least been out in the Gulf on the water or something, but no...Amarillo it was. So, we celebrated his birthday this past weekend. He keeps telling everyone that this was his "first" 29th birthday, because I guess he doesn't want to think about the big 3-0 creeping up next year. I think he's more afraid of it than I am! Anyway, to keep him feeling young, I surprised him with a "big boy toy"...a Play Station 3. And what good is a PS3 without a nice game of Guitar Hero to go with it? We had some people over on Friday night to cook out, eat birthday cake, and play endless hours of Guitar Hero. We are all totally addicted, but at least our house is the "cool" house now. Woo Hoo!! So, here's to Ryan and his perpetual 29th birthday...there's no doubt he will ALWAYS be young at heart.

And here is our one and only Easter picture that even remotely turned out...the wind was CRAZY! We were very "matchy-matchy" in our yellow and brown. Probably too much for Ryan's taste, but oh well!

Wedding Bells

The Three Musketeers--Brad, Clayton, & Chad

This weekend, I got to witness the last of the "Three Musketeers" getting married. Brad got married in 2006, Clayton in 2007, and Chad in 2008. Clayton & Chad have always been like my own little brothers, so it was kindof surreal to see these 3 best friends all officially grown up now. I was so honored that I got to play for Luke (Chad's oldest brother who is MY life-long friend) to sing in the ceremony. Chad played baseball at DBU, so the favors were personalized baseballs...too cute! Unfortunately, Ryan was out of town for the wedding, which also happened to be his 29th birthday, so we'll have to wait to celebrate. Anyway, since Ryan was out of town, I played 5th wheel to my parents and Brad & Kendall, but oh well...they're pretty fun to hang out with.

Mr. & Mrs. Longacre

Brad says that Kendall and I look like we could be related in this picture??

Luke & Me

Mom & Dad with their Groupies

"Sugar and spice and everything nice, that's what little girls are made of."

This weekend, I got to meet my life-long friend Holly's little girl, London Jane. Oh my goodness...she is the sweetest, most petite, baby girl I've ever seen! She just slept in my arms for about half an hour and made the cutest little baby noises. Adorable. I also got to meet London's cousin (Holly's sister Emily's little boy) Jared Patrick. He is the happiest baby ever, but unfortunately he likes my Mom better than me...most babies do. He would just laugh and laugh at her, and then when he came to see me, he spit up all over me, and then kept laughing at my Mom. I guess she is pretty funny. I wish I had a picture of Big Brother Davis too because he is all grown up now that he's got a little sister to take care of. He was proud to show off his big boy room since London took over the nursery. What a precious family they are to me! Here are a few pictures from the weekend. I'll be posting more from the rest of my weekend and Thompson & Caden's shower as soon as my mom sends them to me. I was hurrying to get out of town to beat the snow storm on Thursday and left the house without my camera!

Tag, I'm It!

I forgot I was tagged by Molly last week, so here goes:

10 years ago: March 1998 was my senior year of high school. I don't remember what month Senior Musical was, but it was around this time...we did "Annie Get Your Gun" and it was SO much fun! If Molly says that the Football Banquet was that month, then I guess she'd remember better than me. I went with Zack Wristen, just as "friends". I think I was actually dating a different Zack at the time, but that's neither here nor there. OH! We went to London during Spring Break on choir tour, and that was an amazing trip. I remember bawling my eyes out through "Les Mis"...it was my first time to see it, and after the show, we were crazy fans and went to the back stage door to meet the cast. The girl playing the role of Fantine said that she remembered me crying on the 3rd row. How embarassing! Was I that loud and obvious?!

Things on my to-do list today: be productive at work, eat my leftover P.F. Chang's for lunch (YUM!), go to the bank, go to the grocery store because my husband is actually in town this week, so I'm cooking tonight! (He won't know what to do with himself!!), get started on our taxes, practice music for a rehearsal I have tomorrow.

What would I do if I suddenly became a Billionaire? Build our cabin on our lake property in Athens, buy each of my parents a new car, take Ryan to Europe, give lots to charities that I wish I could support more now...especially to the Wounded Warrior Project, host lots of fun parties, probably keep working because I wouldn't know what to do with myself if I didn't.

Three of my bad habits:
1.Re-setting my alarm at least 3 times each morning
2. Saying "YES" too often, when I really want to say "NO" (I'm learning, but I'm still not very good at it)
3. Leaving half empty water bottles all over my house and car. Drives Ryan nuts!!!

Five jobs I have had:
1. Church Music Adminsitrative Asst.
2. Accompanist/piano teacher
3. Retail merchandising at Magpies Gifts in Houston
4. Property management for an apartment complex (worst job I've ever had in my entire life),
5. Accounting assistant at HSU.

Five things people don't know about me:
1. I LOVE watching gymnastics...I DVR meets all the time and watch them over and over.
2. I'm actually a pretty good cook when I try.
3. My closet is organized in rainbow order...and I keep it that way ALL the time.
4. When I was little, I wanted to be a pathologist when I grew up, but considering I pass out everytime I go to the Dr., I don't know what I was thinking!
5. I've never seen the movie Ghostbusters...don't judge me.

I tag...Robin, Tiffani, Natalie, Kelby, and Brittney