Holiday Greetings!
We’re hoping your holidays are snuggly and warm!
Growl-o-Ween
A couple of weekends ago, Three Dog Bakery hosted a Growl-o-Ween event. All four legged cuties were invited to the plaza for a costume contest, and trick or treating at participating Plaza merchants.
Being a Saturday in October, my work schedule was fully booked, but Pete, with the assistance of my sister, Lori, dressed up our cuties and headed out.
It was a beautiful day, and the kiddos had a blast meeting new friends, showing off their pirate wear and cashing in on the treats! Unfortunately, we didn’t have any contest winners, but they’re always winners in my book!
ARRR, MATEY!
Hand Over Yer Loot! Wishing You a Happy Halloween!
Love,
Pebbles, Bruiser, Joey, Brandi & Pete
Baby Bruiser
Is not so baby anymore! He’s about to reach the nine month old mark, and although he’s still smaller than his brother and sister, he is getting very close. I won’t let our groomer trim off all his crazy hair, so when you look at him beside his siblings, he appears to almost be the exact same size, but at least for the moment, it’s just an optical illusion.
He has a big personality to go with his big hair, and absolutely loves everyone! He’s always right there to greet you, tail a wagging, silly smile on his face. If you’re holding him, he’s pretty good about not squirming and just holding still. He loves to play fetch and tug-a-war…although torturing his siblings might be his favorite game of all. He’s constantly in Joey and Pebbles’ faces, barking, nipping and just pestering them until they play with him.
When he sleeps, he stretches out…many times on his back with his legs up in the air. He’s forever looking like he’s super exhausted, and just couldn’t go one more step! When in reality, he gets plenty of sleep!
He’s sort of trained! I wouldn’t say he’s a super dog, but he knows what to do, and the majority of the time he’ll do it. He’s definitely potty trained…knock on wood…it’s been awhile since he’s had any accidents. He knows sit and wait. He knows down, though his bootie appears to have a spring in it, because it’s forever popping back up. He walks nicely on a leash. He knows how to go get his toy, pick it up, bring it back and drop it…although sometimes he would rather play tug-a-war!
All in all, we are blessed by this silly little ball of fur we welcomed into our family! We couldn’t imagine life without him!
Thirty-Five
My best friend, my true love, my hero, my strength is turning thirty-five today!! For a whole two months, he will be two years older than me!
Happy Birthday, Pete! Make sure you get thirty-five good puppy kisses today!
A Little Slice of Heaven
You all know that my one major vice in life is Starbucks. Yes, I have an obsession…I’m fully willing to admit it. But, really, if that’s my worst obsession, how bad can it be?
Here we were, embarking on a seven day cruise. I knew the only place I was going to be able to get Starbucks was before we got on the boat in Fort Lauderdale. Unfortunately, no car was available to make this happen (we were taking the shuttle). I also happened to know that there was a Starbucks just off the pier in the Bahamas…but of course, we were only going to be there for half a day.
Can you imagine my delight, when I discovered that Royal Caribbean’s Oasis of the Seas served Starbucks?!? Nothing could be more perfect. The warm sun, the ocean breeze and a wonderful, just right, Venti Starbucks coffee!
Since Starbucks isn’t their flagship brand, Royal Caribbean doesn’t just brew Starbucks coffee. You have to order special coffee drinks. I’m a black coffee drinker, so foo-foo drinks don’t do it for me. The barista, doing the creating, suggested I try a Cafe Americano…espresso and steamed water. Let me tell you, I am never going back…I found my new love. Smooth, no bitterness, no acidic coffee kick, just smooth and delicious!
I’m in love and I can’t get enough. Now, if only I could have them all the time on a big ship in the middle of the Caribbean ocean. I need to figure out how to make that happen!
Setting Sail
To celebrate my Dad’s 60th Birthday, my family booked a cruise on one of Royal Caribbean’s largest ships, the Elite Class, Oasis of the Seas. The original itinerary was to leave Ft Lauderdale, have a stop in the Bahamas, a few days a sea, a stop in St Thomas and a stop in St. Martin. Seven full days of sun, ocean breezes, relaxation, eating, drinking and eating some more!
The trip started off perfectly! We left Kansas City on time, arrived in Ft Lauderdale as expected. I had a small moment of panic, when it appeared our last bag was MIA…but no worries, we did not have to experience a repeat of our San Diego trip.
We spent the night in Ft Lauderdale and woke early to board the ship. We were on board by 11:30 AM…some of the first people on the ship. Considering there are over 6000 passengers on board, along with over 2000 staff, we were quickly joined by many smiling faces! (Is there anything better than knowing you’re about to embark on seven days of vacation!)
Our first stop was in the Bahamas. We spent some time relaxing at the beach, basking in the sun and warm ocean waves. Check out the photo of our boat next to the other cruise ships at port. I’d say ours is a bit large!
The morning of our Bahamas stop, we learned that Tropical Storm Emily was headed to the St Thomas and St Martin areas, and we would need to be rerouted. Bummer, but I was completely okay with heading away from the potential storm and not into it! Our next two days would be spent at sea, as we made our way to Costa Maya, Mexico.
Days at sea are not such a bad thing…they include sleeping, laying in the sun (or under the umbrella in my case), eating, sleeping, eating, okay maybe a small workout thrown in…so we can eat some more!
Of course, being at sea, also means you can take advantage of everything the boat has to offer, which my hubby jumped at the opportunity to do. He did a little surfing…in case you weren’t sure, I think this is evidence that we live in a land locked state! A little zip line action across the ship, and even some rock wall climbing!
In Costa Maya, Mexico, we departed the ship and met up with a tour team. We were each assigned an island bike with pedal brakes, and set off on a three mile bike ride. At the end of three miles, we parked our bikes and climbed into two person kayaks. After about twenty minutes of paddling, we took a short, refreshing swimming break, before we turned around and did it all over again!
Our next and final stop was in Cozumel, Mexico. The family decided that taking a bus ride into the jungle, so that we could experience mosquitoes, mud and a motorized vehicle, was just the thing to do. For me – it was a once in a lifetime experience…I will never be doing it again! The memories still remain! Even with bug spray, I have over a dozen big itchy bites and some sore arm muscles as I tried my best to keep myself on the bumping, swaying and turning ATV.
Luckily the cruise ended with one more day at sea! I slept in, got a little bit of sun, ate some more food…including some custom made rice krispy treats. On a serious note, if you have dietary restrictions or food allergies, I highly recommend Royal Caribbean! They went out of their way to meet and exceed my expectations…bending over backwards to make sure I always had awesome food to eat!
Happy Birthday, Dad! Hope you had an awesome week! We had a fantastic time celebrating with you, and couldn’t think of a better way to have spent the week!
Growing Up
My little boy is growing up! Bruiser has only been with us for four months, but I can’t imagine our family without him! His big personality has meshed perfectly with the other big personalities in our home!
Whether Joey and Pebbles wanted him or not, he has snuck his way into their hearts. It doesn’t matter if they ignore him, growl at him or even pounce on him, Bruiser loves the attention and just keeps right on going back for more.
He and Pebbles are frequent wrestlers and chasers of each other. Pebbles puts up with all of Bruiser’s puppy behavior, from pulling on her beard and ears to swatting her in the face…she doesn’t blink an eye! To my complete amazement, she has become ridiculously tolerant of Bruiser, and definitely loves her little sidekick.
If Bruiser catches Joey at the right time of day, he can get a short wrestle out of Joey. When they’re outside, Bruiser is quick to follow Joey’s lead. Wherever Joey goes, Bruiser will follow. Left to their own, I know these two could get into some serious trouble together!
At seven months old, Bruiser now weighs in at 6.8 pounds! He’s still a bit shorter, both in length and height, than Joey and Pebbles. We’re waiting to see where his growth will stop!
A Good Challenge
What did I do with my holiday weekend? I attempted to get a new portrait of my three kiddos all together. Let me tell you, I’ll take photographing them individually any day! All three at the same time…AUGH!!
Ah, check out these two brothers! Only time they think about laying close together…when there’s a treat bribe!
Little B is growing up! He’s definitely getting bigger, but his size is a bit deceiving…a lot of his “height” is hair!
Have a Little Mud!
I took Saturday morning off to go watch Pete, my sister and my parents participate in The Dirty Duo.
We had to wake up before sunrise to pull everything together and get ourselves there on time. Which, if you know me, you know mornings are not my thing! It was definitely a slow and somewhat grumpy start for me!
We arrive at the Speedway, where the race is going to be held, and there’s a huge black cloud looming in the distance. The wind starts picking up, there’s a chill in the air, the lightening is not far off and they call a start delay. Upon hearing this news, I promptly took my stuff and went to take a nap in the car!
By about 9 AM the storm had blown through and the rain was trickling off…it was time to start the race. The race is done in teams. One team member bikes one mile, while the other team member runs the same mile. At the end of the mile, there is an obstacle to perform and then they switch up who’s doing the bike and who’s doing the running. By the end, each team member will have run three miles and biked three miles and done six obstacles.
Of course, the last obstacle, and therefore the name of the race, is also the reason I will never participate. You must crawl through a 40 foot pit of mud! They even string rope across the top, so you have to practically army crawl through the mud! Yuck, yuck, yuck!
The result – mud everywhere – eyes, ears, nose, even mouths and teeth!
By the end of the race, the sun was starting to peak out and the clouds were disappearing. The wind was still pretty fierce, but it was a lot warmer. Which was perfect, because we couldn’t miss the awards ceremony.
My sister Lori & Pete took second place in their age bracket for a co-ed team. While my parents took first place in their age bracket! Way to go family!!
And, no, I will not be participating next year!!
