Viva Las Vegas

Well, tonight we leave for Las Vegas...after a year of anticipation since our last trip we finally get to go back! We are going with our good friends Chip and Shierine, who are celebrating their first wedding anniversary! We are very fortunate that we got to attend their wedding, one year ago on July 1st, in Las Vegas, ceremony performed by Elvis himself!

This year we are staying at beautiful Harrah's Las Vegas, and we are hoping to win enough money to pay all our bills when we get back! Yeah!

To all of our peeps who can't make it this year: We will miss you! And we apoplogize for any wierd, silly phone calls you might get in the wee hours over the next four days. But it's just because we love you!

Happy Anniversary, Chip and Shierine, and many more!!!

Blooms

I just had to take a picture of this. The hostas are blooming right now and they are so pretty! Also I found the perfect spot for the fern that my sister-in-law Jennifer got me. It is thriving. I only hope when I bring it inside this winter I can keep from killing it...

The fern is sitting on the bench that Joe made me for Mother's Day.

Father's Day

OK, so I found the camera cord, too!

Here are some pictures from Father's Day. We went to visit Dad, Karen and Marilyn out in Polk County. It was fun, we got to go out on the pontoon boat and then we cooked out. Unfortunately, we didn't get to grill any fish , as none of us caught any. Maybe next time!

Scout

OK, so it wasn't that the scanner wasn't working, it was operator error.

As you may remember, we had been tossing around the idea of getting another dog. We had been visiting the humane society (I tried to keep it a secret from Joe but Eli told on me), and the CARE shelter. Well, the humane society is just a depressing place all around. The conditions of that place aren't that great for those dogs, and the cat house had been shut down completely due to a viral outbreak. (They had to euthanize almost 200 cats). Not that we were cat shopping, but who can resist going to look at the kitties? There were some cute dogs at the CARE shelter, which is a much nicer place, and a no-kill shelter to boot. But all 3 of us liked different dogs there. I liked Audrey (who was super shy), Joe liked Arthur (who barked the entire time the boys and I were there), and Duncan liked Wriggly (Wriggly was pretty cute). Eli didn't really have an opinion, he just kept putting his hands over his ears.

Meanwhile, in an e-mail my sister had sent me, she again brought up the idea of us taking in one or both of her pets. As some of you may know, Julie and her husband Charlie are preparing to move to China for at least 2 years. When she had asked me previously, I said no. I had been set on not getting any more pets. But now, since the landscape of the situation had changed, I thought maybe it could be a good idea. We would be getting a friend for Te-Te, and also helping out Julie and Charlie. So I asked Joe, and he wanted to see some pictures of Scout. So I e-mailed my sister, but Joe went ahead and said OK before we even saw pictures.

So now we are very excited about Scout's impending arrival. Julie and Charlie are coming up in July to visit, and they will be bringing her.

The picture to the right is one we took about 2 years ago when we were visiting Julie and Charlie down in Florida. The main thing I remember about Scout is that she kept licking my toes. I asked Julie if she still does that and she said yes. I guess I'll just have to get used to it. Or maybe I'll just put some tobasco on my toes.

Incidentally, they also have a cat, Olivia. I told my sister there really was no way we could handle another cat right now. So they are still looking for a home for Olivia. If there would be any family or friends reading this who might be interested in adopting Olivia, let me know.

frustration

Well, I finally find time to work on my blog, and guess what? Well, the scanner isn't working, and I have a photo I need to scan in. And I also have pictures to download from the digital camera, but can't find the cord I need. Argh! I don't like computers. Please stand by....

VBS

We are having Vacation Bible School this week, and it's wearing me out! I'm helping out in the arts and crafts room, and it's really fun. So far we have made necklaces with strips of bandana fabric and charms, and prayer journals. So hopefully soon I will get some photos downloaded and get caught up with my blog.... Talk to you soon!

Charlie

The other morning I got up for work and when I looked across the half dark room, without my glasses on, I thought I saw Charlie laying on the floor my our bed. Well, it turned out just to be a pile of clothes that I needed to put in the washer (but not quite yet as Te-Te was sleeping on them). It's been almost 6 months since Charlie passed away, just right after the ice storm. I still find myself really missing him. When I sat on the couch, he'd always sit at my feet. At night, he'd sleep on the floor by my side of the bed. I just got used to stepping over him every time got up. He was the only one of the animals that I could completely trust around the boys. They could do anything to him and he would just look over at me like, 'here they go again!". I always loved every summer when we would get him shaved down, except for his fluffy tail. You could tell how good he felt, he would come home and prance around the yard. My only complaint is that during the later years he developed an annoying crayon-eating habit. I had to buy more than one pack to make up for the ones that fell on the floor and got eaten. On the other hand, we always referred to him as the clean up crew. After supper, we would just let Charlie in and the floor would be spotless. This was especially helpful as we had children.

Joe always said after the animals we had were gone, no more. But it didn't take long for him to suggest that maybe we should get a friend for Te-Te. I said no way, two animals are enough. But before I knew it, we both have started making trips to animal shelters scouting out a potential new boyfriend for Te-Te. I don't know, I still have mixed feelings about it. It is really nice only having two animals. But I visit the shelter and see all those poor dogs and think, well, maybe......

I guess we'll see.