New Shoes

We bought the boys some new shoes. Chief and Tucker's feet bleed in the snow, so we decided to break down and buy them some shoes. Unfortunately, we waited too long and the ones we wanted were sold out. I did luck out and find one pair, but that leaves 6 feet unaccounted for. We tried them on and the boys were so funny. They definitely don't love them, but I think if we put them on outside they will figure out that it is better than the cold snow.
Here are some videos of Tucker and Chief (Chief only had on one shoe because it was too small and it was way too much work to get two of them on him)!!!

Santa Paws 2009

It's that time of the year again....Santa Paws. It has been tradition for as long as I remember, for my dad and me to take the dogs to Zamzows to see Santa. And every year we are first in line and every year they aren't quite set up yet. This year was no different and I even got Jonathan to come down and help us. They all did really good!!! No marking the tree, and no fights.

Before we left the house, the boys knew that they were going somewhere exciting. We made them stay in the living room, but you could still hear the excitement (turn up the sound on the video). And needless to say, they were just as vocal in the car...the whole way there.
(The reason they sound so good is because they practice pretty much every evening. They somehow know when I'm getting ready for a walk and this is there way of letting me know that they are ready and want to come too. They are so thoughtful like that)

Our ride home was much more pleasant...and after a short walk around the block, our afternoon was just as pleasant.

Iowa Wedding

My mom and I flew to Iowa November 11-13 for my cousin Stephanie's wedding. My other cousin, Jami, met us at the airport and chauffeured us around for the weekend. Friday night we went to the rehearsal dinner and it was a good time to get to talk to all my relatives. Saturday we just hung out until the wedding. It was a nice ceremony and Stephanie looked so beautiful!!

Grandma, me, and mom

Mom and me on our 6:30 am flight!!

Thanksgiving

Jonathan and I hosted Thanksgiving this year. I was a little nervous because I had never done a turkey, but it ended up being great. Joan has a great smoked turkey recipe and it was a big hit. I did have one faux pas...I couldn't find the giblets before I cooked the turkey. I searched everywhere and finally just decided that they had forgotten them. After we cooked it and ate it, Jonathan found the bag of goodies. Good thing we don't eat them anyway.

My mom ended up bringing pretty much everything else, but I told her that each year I will make one more thing and then eventually she won't have to make anything at all.

Joel and Lindsay also came with Duke. The boys sure enjoyed playing in the back yard.

Also, on Wednesday, I had a fun centerpiece waiting for me on the front step. My god-mom had it delivered. It looked so good on the table. We also got to use our serving pieces from the wedding. Who knew the gravy boat would be so useful?

Jonathan walked the dogs while I was finishing up the potatoes and rice. It's not something you see everyday, so I had to take a picture!

Finishing Touches

Jonathan and I made yet another trip up to the cabin the first weekend in December. The previous owners had taken the kitchen light and there wasn't a lot of light in the main room, so Jonathan fixed that. It looked a little bit sketchy, but we wedged the ladder between the beam and ceiling it he somehow managed to get it all hooked up without falling. It looks so good and it is so nice to have light in the kitchen.

While Jonathan worked on the light, the boys and I put up the tree and put our presents around it. It is just a small tree, but it looks so good at night and it adds some holiday cheer.

My handsome little helpers (Chief was sleeping).

Painting Party

A few weeks ago we recruited a painting crew. The moms were definitely more helpful than the dads, but we still appreciate the help. Mom, Joan, and I worked on transforming the "kermit room" into something a bit more natural. And Jonathan covered up the red in the kitchen with a grey. Everything turned out really nice. And the guys did install a light outside.

Here is our bedroom. Jonathan has since put up some curtains, but I love the armoire that he found on craigslist!

On Sunday, we walked down the the river with Joan, Cam, and the boys. From our backyard it is a steep climb down and across a stream before you get to the river. Jonathan thought it would be fun to walk along the stream bed...and then Joan broke through with one foot...and then Cam broke through with both foot. Luckily it wasn't very deep, but it was hilarious.

You can see Cam's wet legs in this picture!!

McCall

Jonathan and I have made several trips to McCall over the last couple of weeks and I think we are finally settled. We kept all the spare stuff we had when we combined houses and Jonathan is glad to get it out of the garage. This weekend was our first night staying there and we were up till 4 in the morning organizing. The boys couldn't quite get settled so hopefully a few more trips and they will relax a bit more. There was snow on the ground and it was fun to have it feel like winter.

(Yes, all the boys are there!)

Zeitgeist

Alyssa, Joel, and Amber all ran in the Zeitgeist half marathon on Nov. 7th. My parents came and picked up Jonathan and I and we all cheered on the finishers. Everyone did so good and we ended up staying there most of the afternoon and having lunch.

Halloween

At work we dressed up like the Flintstones. It was a fun day and the patients really enjoyed it. For lunch we did a potluck chili.

On Saturday, we went to Joan's house for soup and to see all the kids. They were all dressed up and we even got to go trick-or-treating with them. Jonathan really enjoyed carrying Brylee to all the houses and she got so much candy. It was her first year and she had so much fun. It didn't take her long to figure out that she got candy at each door. As soon as she got her candy she would say "next house". Zayden even joined us for a little while since it was so nice outside.

sister-in-law-to-be

My brother finally proposed!!! I'm so excited for Lindsay to be my new sister-in-law, she is pretty awesome! I can't wait for the wedding.

Congratulations Joel and Lindsay!!

Jonathan's Birthday

For Jonathan's birthday, we decided to have a fondue party. It was a lot of fun and we had a pretty good turnout. Jonathan might have had a little too much fun and definitely paid for it the next day. (We also had icecream cake at my parent's house!)

Happy Birthday Alyssa and Welcome Back Chris

A few weeks ago, we went to dinner at Bardenay with Kelly, Nick, Alyssa, and Chris. We were celebrating Alyssa's birthday and Chris' return to Boise!! Yeah!! Jonathan was so excited to have Chris back and have a fishing buddy!

We had a fun night of catching up and good food/drinks. We will definitely have to get together more often.

See Spot Walk 2009

The first weekend in October is always my favorite time of year because it is See Spot Walk. My mom and I have been doing it for 10+ years. It is so amazing to see all the different kinds of dogs (and owners).
Me (with Tucker) and Mom (with Toby)

This year was our biggest year yet! Luckily we had plenty of dogs to go around for those not fortunate enough to own one of their own!
Kelly and Nick (with Duke and Toby)


This was Duke's first See Spot Walk and doesn't he look excited!! Joel and Lindsay were out of town and mom was babysitting for the weekend. Nick did a great job walking him!

Zac (with Rio) and Emily (with Remmy)

Jane, Greta, and Scott

Greta helped walk Barney and Audrianna was in charge of Toby. The girls both did so good! Although, Greta had a hard time figuring out that Barney was not the purple dinosaur that she was use to seeing on TV. I'm sure they will both be getting puppies for Christmas.

Our happy little family! Jonathan (with Chief) and me (with Barney and Tucker)

I don't know how they plan it so well, but every year, the weather is always perfect for the walk. We actually got hot walking. And all the dogs did so good! I didn't want anyone to have any bad memories of the walk (i.e. Emily 2 years ago...I think she might have vowed to never do the walk again) so I was on "poop patrol". Tucker carried the bags in his back pack, but, thankfully, we never needed them. It is so much fun seeing everyone out with their dogs.

After the walk, they have tons of booths set up and contests going on. There are always the most delicious cookies, but we couldn't find them this year. Instead, we found the free nail clipping booth and got all the boys' nails clipped. Emily and Zac ran into the lady that they rescued Remmy from and she was amazed at how much Remmy had come out of his shell and that he was at the dog walk (when they first rescued him, he was afraid of everyone and everything). And then, Jonathan and I saw the breeder where we got Tucker from. She recognized him as hers right away and she thought he looked just like his mom (not me...his dog mom). She even recognized Barney and Chief from pictures that I had sent her. It was so good to talk to her and be able to show him off!!

I had the best time and didn't want it to end, but hopefully next year it will be even better...and maybe even a bigger group. Here we all are (Nick is missing because he was talking the picture)!!!

Mom (with Duke and Sami), Kelly and Audrianna (with Toby), Anna (with Barney and Tucker), Jonathan (with Chief), Zac (with Rio), Emily (with Remmy), Scott and Jane (with Greta)