Logger the Destructor

Logger and I went to Green Bay this past weekend. And of course he was a naughty puppy. I tried to "Logger proof" my parents house. But Logger can always find something to "play" with.

He found my mom's crocheting basket. Logger LOVES yarn.

My Five Most Memorable Life Moments

On the radio this morning, they were talking about the 5 most memorable moments of their lives (inspired by an episode of "Lost").

Here is my list:

My Five Most Memorable Life Moments

1. My wedding. Specifically when Richard gave his impromptu speech. I have never felt so loved. Also, our first dance as husband and wife. We both cried and just smiled.

2. Antonio is born. He was my first nephew. I drove with my parents from Green Bay to Albuquerque just to be there when he was born. I remember just crossing the state line into New Mexico when my brother-in-law called to tell us Kim was in labor. We drove as fast as we could, praying Antonio wouldn't be born until we got there (20 hours later, he arrived!). I remember holding him just hours after he was born. So small and wiggly. Absolutely perfect. It was the first and only time I was ever afraid to hold a baby. And it was so strange to think he came from my big sister. I could never picture her as a mom until that moment. I remember how exhausted and beautiful my sister looked. She looked perfect.

3. The night my grandfather died. I had just returned from a first date with a guy I had had a crush on for two years. I went straight to bed. I rose the next morning still glowing from my magical high school date. I was halfway up the stairs when I overheard my dad talking on the phone. He was breaking the news to someone that my grandfather had passed the night before. I collapsed on the stairs. I gripped the flat stair spindles as hard as I could and I wept.

4. Walking the picket line with my dad. This is one of my first memories. I was about four years old (I think). My dad was on strike. I remember my dad carrying me. And I remember walking. But most of all, I remember the orange pop I drank afterwards. We went to the VFW and my dad gave me an orange pop. I don't know why this stands out so vividly in my mind. Maybe because we rarely got to drink soda or maybe because it was time spent with my dad.

5. The first and last adolescent hug from my sister. We had a huge family fight. At nine years old, I didn't think our family would make it. I was convinced my parents were getting a divorce. At the peak of the fight, my sister and were riding in the car with my mom. She dropped us off at the house and sped off. I was scared and upset. Kim just held me while I cried. I don't think she hugged me again until I was an adult.

PS: These are pictures of my backyard at sunset.

Only 599 months to go...

...until our 50th Wedding Anniversary!


Richard and I have been married 1 month. And my husband is on his way to Gary, Indiana. (only 1.5 more weeks of over the road trucking!)
It really doesn't feel like it has been a month. With the honeymoon and Richard being over the road most of the week, we haven't dealt with married life much. Of course nothing has really changed since we got married. I have yet to change my name. It is still surreal to introduce him as my husband. And I still get giddy when I think of Richard as my husband. I still can't believe I'm married to him. I'm overwhelmed with happiness when I think of us.

These things happen in threes...

It's 5:20 pm on Friday. I'm driving west on Hwy 94. Stop. Go. Stop. Go. Weekend traffic, cabin traffic, rush hour traffic.

I look to my right and notice smoke coming from under the hood of my car. My temperature gage is pushed past the "H".

I quickly merge two lanes and pull over. Panic sets in. Richard is 400 miles away in Iowa. My dad is 300 miles away in Green Bay. I am seven miles from home.

I called my father. I had only one choice: wait for my car to cool down. Then I could slowly drive it home, but if it overheated, I would have to pull over again. I pictured myself driving 500 feet, then pulling over. Drive 500 feet, pull over.

I called Richard. He scrambled to find someone to let Logger out while I was watching traffic pass by.

By 7:00, my car was completely cool. However, weekend traffic had picked up. 7:00 at night and traffic was getting worse!! I loathe cabin goers.

At 7:30, the brake lights had disappeared. I merged into traffic. I was instructed not to go over 50 mph. The speed limit is 70 mph. I got LOTS of dirty looks and probably a finger or two.

I made it home without having to pull over.

Richard installed a new fan motor in my aging Taurus today. It is back to running like a champ. 12 years old and 175,625 miles. Go Blue Velvet Go!

Soaking Up the Sun...with Sunscreen on!

We Y Mexico!

Richard and I went on our Honeymoon to Mexico on April 25 - May 2. We stayed at the Gran Porto Real Resort in Playa del Carmen.

We did a lot of relaxing. We also fell in love with a drink called a Miami Vice.

We took 2 day trips. We went on the Coba Mayan Adventure. This entailed going to the Mayan ruin Coba, climbing the Mayan pyramid, eating an authentic Mayan meal, and visiting a Mayan village.

Our tour guide was great! He was half Mexican, half Mayan so he was very passionate about sharing his Mayan heritage. He spoke the language and knew all about the Mayan customs and history. We climbed two Mayan "pyramids". The first one, "The Church", is only 32 steps high. "Coba", however, is 121 steps to the top! We did it! But Richard was hurting the next day. The second half of our day consisted of visiting a Mayan village. Many people think the Mayans are extinct. This is not true. They live in the same style house that their ancestors lived in for thousands of years. The one difference is they have electricity. It was interesting to see how they combined modern life with ancient traditions.

Our 2nd tour was a snorkeling adventure. We went to 3 locations: A sinkhole, a cave, and a lagoon. It was fantastic. Highly, highly recommend it. Absolutely beautiful. We saw a stingray and a barracuda. A few people in our group saw a shark, but I did not. The Lagoon opened up into the ocean. We swam out to the coral reef. Just amazing.

And now for the pictures:

Our Resort

Relaxing by the beach

The beach! Richard is dumbfounded by the enormous amount of Speedos present!

Relaxing by the pool

Coba! 120 steps up!

How much further do I have to climb?

The view from halfway up

We made it!

From the top looking down....looks a little steep

Mayan Food: Chicken cooked with peppers & paprika (and other spices), rice and beans.

Delicious!

A Mayan House

Electricity & Banana leaf roof!

Mexico's rivers are underground. The limestone wears away, creating these sinkholes. We jumped off a 20 ft cliff to swim in this sinkhole! Isn't it beautiful!

Don't we look cute? Awww...

The caves (underground river) we snorkeled in

The Lagoon with coral reef. Absolutely amazing!

Naughty Logger Comes Home

As soon as we left the Animal Hospital, Logger started tearing away at his bandage (where he had an IV in his arm).

I ended up having to help him get the last of it off.

Logger is doing well. He's back to being his crazy, hyper self. He is back to bringing my shoes from the foyer upstairs to the living room. He doesn't chew on them. He just wants them to be in the living room.

Yesterday, he brought me a dining room chair cushion. He's very sweet.

He's Lucky He's So Cute!

I came home Friday night from work to discover Logger had destroyed a bottle of Aleve and may have digested some. He seemed to be acting fine. He was his normal crazy, hyper self. By 8:30 pm though, I was hysterical. Logger was vomiting every couple minutes and he was becoming lethargic. Our friend, Kelli, rushed Logger and me to the Affiliated Emergency Veterinary Services in Coon Rapids.

I estimated that he ate 3 -4 pills. This was well above fatal and would shut down his kidneys if they didn't counter act it with other medication. Logger spent 56 hours in the hospital. He had an IV drip and a catheter (hopefully he will remember that before chews on something). The Vet said he was a rascal. He was barking non-stop. They were afraid he would rip his catheter out, so he had to be sedated.

We picked him up this morning and he seems to back to his old self (minus his front leg where they shaved his front leg for the IV!). He has become the most expensive pet we have ever had! But he's worth it.

More of My Favorites

These are some more of my favorite pictures from Molly's camera.