This week, I'm thankful for the firefighters that protect our community. Yesterday, there was a big grass fire in the nature preserve less than a mile from my house! It happened while I was at work, but I could see the big ploom of smoke in the sky from my office that's 15 miles or so away. The nature area is one of my favorite places to go running and biking and it's surronded by homes. If it wasn't for the quick response and hard work from the firefighters, surely homes would have been damaged. The news story from KSTP says that at least six fire, police, and other agencies battled a massive grass fire in Shakopee.
My house wasn't in any danger (in fact, it didn't even smell like smoke at my house as the wind was taking the smoke a different direction.) The fire would have had to cross a whole different neighborhood, some woods and most of my neighborhood to get to my house. And I understand that it's part of nature's life cycle for prairie fires -- but still, this hits really close to home.
I have school tonight, but tomorrow night, I'm going to have to explore the nature preserve and my running/biking trail to make sure the tar path didn't melt.
Here's a news story about it...
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
A real Easter egg hunt
Easter Sunday, we were over at my parents' house. My nieces were late, because they were flying home from their spring break trip in Mexico with Becky and Steven. My mom put together some eggs and candy for the girls to find, but misplaced the bag of eggs, so she asked us to find the bag before the girls' arrived. There was even a prize involved!
So the four of us (me, Dave, Rachel and my mom) get up and start looking. We're pretty competitive, so we're running all over the place opening cupboards and closets trying to be the first to find the eggs and claim the prize.
But we couldn't find the eggs. We searched and searched. In the kitchen. In the living room. The laundry. The garbage. The garage. The basement. My parents' bedroom. Everywhere. We exhausted every possible hiding place and couldn't find the eggs!
We even asked St. Anthony to help us.
We questioned whether or not my mom really put together the eggs or if she was delusional.
We questioned whether the dog, Nels, stole the eggs and ate the candy.
We questioned whether my dad stole the eggs and ate the candy.
My nieces arrived and we still couldn't find the eggs.
Dave asks, "So what's the prize?"
He's backing up towards the laundry room, saying, "I have an idea." (My nieces are playing school down in the basement.)
He comes back out of the laundry room with a bag of eggs. "So what's the prize?" he asks again and smirking.
Did Dave find the eggs earlier in the day and kept us all in the dark?!?
He says he didn't....but I have my suspicions.
And the prize was....well, there was no prize, except the satisfaction of saving the Easter egg hunt for the girls!
So the four of us (me, Dave, Rachel and my mom) get up and start looking. We're pretty competitive, so we're running all over the place opening cupboards and closets trying to be the first to find the eggs and claim the prize.
But we couldn't find the eggs. We searched and searched. In the kitchen. In the living room. The laundry. The garbage. The garage. The basement. My parents' bedroom. Everywhere. We exhausted every possible hiding place and couldn't find the eggs!
We even asked St. Anthony to help us.
We questioned whether or not my mom really put together the eggs or if she was delusional.
We questioned whether the dog, Nels, stole the eggs and ate the candy.
We questioned whether my dad stole the eggs and ate the candy.
My nieces arrived and we still couldn't find the eggs.
Dave asks, "So what's the prize?"
He's backing up towards the laundry room, saying, "I have an idea." (My nieces are playing school down in the basement.)
He comes back out of the laundry room with a bag of eggs. "So what's the prize?" he asks again and smirking.
Did Dave find the eggs earlier in the day and kept us all in the dark?!?
He says he didn't....but I have my suspicions.
And the prize was....well, there was no prize, except the satisfaction of saving the Easter egg hunt for the girls!
Monday, April 13, 2009
We did it!
We survived our first family trip! It actually went much better than I anticipated. I was worried that the dogs (especially Otis) would keep trying to climb in my lap during the car ride. I was worried that they would bark when we left them in the motel room. I was worried that the barking would cause other guest to complain. I was worried that they were going to spend too much time alone in the motel.
But none of that happened!
Well, Otis did try to climb into my lap in the car, but we invested in a travel hammock to try to keep him in the back as well as keep the car a little cleaner. It didn't work perfect, but it slowed Otis down enough (although he could still jump over).
I was most pleased the the dogs seemed to behave when we left them in the motel room. It probably helped that there weren't lots of people staying there, so it was pretty quiet. I'm sure the enjoyed watching CSPAN while we were out (had to find a channel that didn't have dogs which Otis likes to bark at).
The motel also had a great path that went down to a beach that we could let the dogs run free on.
The whole purpose of this trip was to celebrate Jim's 30th birthday. It was our first time at Jim and Aimee's house in Frazee, Minn. It's a really small town outside of a little bit bigger (but still small town) town called Detroit Lakes. The town is so small that the restaurant in town is called, "The Restaurant," because it's the only restaurant in town. You may have heard of Frazee because it's home of the world's largest turkey....lol. Yeah, probably not. But it was a very nice small town, indeed.
After seeing the turkey (and Jim isn't the world's largest turkey), we went bowling with a bunch of friends that were all there to celebrate Jim's big 3-0.
That evening we went to the Easter Vigil to see Aimee get baptized, confirmed and have her first-communion, which was followed by a late-night venture to Perkin's (drove up to Detroit Lakes).
In the morning, we went to brunch with Jim and Aimee and their family at The Restaurant and then drove back home to go to my parents' for Easter dinner.
There wasn't any drunk stupidity, wild, crazy, party happenings to report. Guess that's what happens when one turns 30. Things slow down a little. Yet, it was great to see friends celebrating life, Easter and faith.
Hope everyone had a great Easter!
But none of that happened!
Well, Otis did try to climb into my lap in the car, but we invested in a travel hammock to try to keep him in the back as well as keep the car a little cleaner. It didn't work perfect, but it slowed Otis down enough (although he could still jump over).
I was most pleased the the dogs seemed to behave when we left them in the motel room. It probably helped that there weren't lots of people staying there, so it was pretty quiet. I'm sure the enjoyed watching CSPAN while we were out (had to find a channel that didn't have dogs which Otis likes to bark at).
The motel also had a great path that went down to a beach that we could let the dogs run free on.
The whole purpose of this trip was to celebrate Jim's 30th birthday. It was our first time at Jim and Aimee's house in Frazee, Minn. It's a really small town outside of a little bit bigger (but still small town) town called Detroit Lakes. The town is so small that the restaurant in town is called, "The Restaurant," because it's the only restaurant in town. You may have heard of Frazee because it's home of the world's largest turkey....lol. Yeah, probably not. But it was a very nice small town, indeed.
After seeing the turkey (and Jim isn't the world's largest turkey), we went bowling with a bunch of friends that were all there to celebrate Jim's big 3-0.
That evening we went to the Easter Vigil to see Aimee get baptized, confirmed and have her first-communion, which was followed by a late-night venture to Perkin's (drove up to Detroit Lakes).
In the morning, we went to brunch with Jim and Aimee and their family at The Restaurant and then drove back home to go to my parents' for Easter dinner.
There wasn't any drunk stupidity, wild, crazy, party happenings to report. Guess that's what happens when one turns 30. Things slow down a little. Yet, it was great to see friends celebrating life, Easter and faith.
Hope everyone had a great Easter!
Saturday, April 11, 2009
Another first for Cooper....and the family
Today, we're going on our first trip together with all the dogs! We've done a couple with just Otis in BC (before Cooper). Now it's time to do an adventure with the whole family!
We may need some prayers! I'm not sure how this is all going to go. (Thankfully, it's just one night...just in case the boys misbehave (i.e. bark tons)!
Stay tuned!
We may need some prayers! I'm not sure how this is all going to go. (Thankfully, it's just one night...just in case the boys misbehave (i.e. bark tons)!
Stay tuned!
Friday, April 10, 2009
Getting back in shape. With a new running partner. A stranger in a car pulls over to talk to me.
Intrigued by my titles? You have to read this entire post to get it. :)
Yesterday it was time to face what I'd let myself become. Out of shape.
There's severalreasons excuses as to why I've stopped running the last nine months or so.
1) It's been really cold, and I don't like cold
2) I don't want to slip on ice or maneuver around snow banks
3) Running on a treadmill is so much harder than running outside
4) I haven't had a good running partner
Let's face it, Dave's in much better shape these days and I don't want to deal with the hard time he'll give me when discovers I can't run more than two miles. And I've parted ways with other running partners. Several of whom switched jobs (including myself), so we don't have the great running paths steps from our office). One of whom I don't even talk to anymore.
And then there's Otis. I tried being running partners with him before we had Cooper, but it just didn't work out. He poops way too many times (gets too excited about running w/ me) which end up bouncing around in the bags that I have to carry the bags around, which is a gross enough reason for me to leave him at home. But there's also the fact that he doesn't have a good sense of endurance. It takes him a mile to calm down enough to actual run next to me, and then by the third mile he's too tired and falls way behind. I don't want to torture him, so we end up walking back home.
After we got Cooper, I knew that it'd be impossible to try and get a run completed with two dogs. But this week, I had an epiphany. Cooper just might be my perfect running partner. He always poops before we start walks and usually always its just the one time. He doesn't pull like Otis and is generally happy just healing on my side. He's a little husky, so he could use a little extra exercise.
So yesterday, when it was warm and sunny and I had no more excuses for not running, I grabbed Cooper and we headed outside.
And he ran on my side just like that's what he was born to do.
The one time I stopped to fix his leash (surprisingly I didn't have to stop for shortness of breath!), he looks at me with his bright blue eyes as if saying, "Come on , Mom. We're not done yet!"
As we were rounding back into our neighborhood, a stranger in the car at the stop sign pulls down her window (shouldn't that have scared me off to run home faster?!). She says to me, "Your dog is so beautiful. He looks so happy."
And that pretty much solidified the fact that Cooper is my new running partner. Anything that makes my little guy happy makes me happy!
And don't worry. I took Otis on a walk when we got home from the run.
Yesterday it was time to face what I'd let myself become. Out of shape.
There's several
1) It's been really cold, and I don't like cold
2) I don't want to slip on ice or maneuver around snow banks
3) Running on a treadmill is so much harder than running outside
4) I haven't had a good running partner
Let's face it, Dave's in much better shape these days and I don't want to deal with the hard time he'll give me when discovers I can't run more than two miles. And I've parted ways with other running partners. Several of whom switched jobs (including myself), so we don't have the great running paths steps from our office). One of whom I don't even talk to anymore.
And then there's Otis. I tried being running partners with him before we had Cooper, but it just didn't work out. He poops way too many times (gets too excited about running w/ me) which end up bouncing around in the bags that I have to carry the bags around, which is a gross enough reason for me to leave him at home. But there's also the fact that he doesn't have a good sense of endurance. It takes him a mile to calm down enough to actual run next to me, and then by the third mile he's too tired and falls way behind. I don't want to torture him, so we end up walking back home.
After we got Cooper, I knew that it'd be impossible to try and get a run completed with two dogs. But this week, I had an epiphany. Cooper just might be my perfect running partner. He always poops before we start walks and usually always its just the one time. He doesn't pull like Otis and is generally happy just healing on my side. He's a little husky, so he could use a little extra exercise.
So yesterday, when it was warm and sunny and I had no more excuses for not running, I grabbed Cooper and we headed outside.
And he ran on my side just like that's what he was born to do.
The one time I stopped to fix his leash (surprisingly I didn't have to stop for shortness of breath!), he looks at me with his bright blue eyes as if saying, "Come on , Mom. We're not done yet!"
As we were rounding back into our neighborhood, a stranger in the car at the stop sign pulls down her window (shouldn't that have scared me off to run home faster?!). She says to me, "Your dog is so beautiful. He looks so happy."
And that pretty much solidified the fact that Cooper is my new running partner. Anything that makes my little guy happy makes me happy!
And don't worry. I took Otis on a walk when we got home from the run.
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Thankful Thursday...
Today I'm thankful for dry ground.
Last night we made our first venture to the dog park this spring season. We took a gamble, betting that the wet, muddy ground caused by the melting snow would be gone. It'd be a huge mess having to muddy and wet dogs, so we shy away from the dog park when the snow melts.
The bet paid off! The ground was dry! And the dogs had so much fun. We only walked around the park once, but the way the dogs ran (in circles around us the whole time), they probably did about 2 or 3 laps.
Now we can get the boys to the park more often, which makes them the happiest boys in the world!
The dog park trip wouldn't have been possible without the longer days we've been having. So I'm thankful for that too. It's so refreshing to be active outside in the evenings!
Not to get all philosophical, but when I wrote, "I'm thankful for dry ground," I couldn't help but think of dry ground metaphorically about my life. I'm thankful for the stability that Dave and I have in our lives -- especially as the world around us seems so unstable. We are on dry ground. Love is our dry ground. Our belief in God is our dry ground. The support from our family and friends is our dry ground. Our dry ground make the shaky days bearable. Our dry ground provides the path that we're walking and it's taking us where we want go. And that path that we're walking is so much better with the dry ground beneath our feet.
Last night we made our first venture to the dog park this spring season. We took a gamble, betting that the wet, muddy ground caused by the melting snow would be gone. It'd be a huge mess having to muddy and wet dogs, so we shy away from the dog park when the snow melts.
The bet paid off! The ground was dry! And the dogs had so much fun. We only walked around the park once, but the way the dogs ran (in circles around us the whole time), they probably did about 2 or 3 laps.
Now we can get the boys to the park more often, which makes them the happiest boys in the world!
The dog park trip wouldn't have been possible without the longer days we've been having. So I'm thankful for that too. It's so refreshing to be active outside in the evenings!
Not to get all philosophical, but when I wrote, "I'm thankful for dry ground," I couldn't help but think of dry ground metaphorically about my life. I'm thankful for the stability that Dave and I have in our lives -- especially as the world around us seems so unstable. We are on dry ground. Love is our dry ground. Our belief in God is our dry ground. The support from our family and friends is our dry ground. Our dry ground make the shaky days bearable. Our dry ground provides the path that we're walking and it's taking us where we want go. And that path that we're walking is so much better with the dry ground beneath our feet.
We're Newlyweds!
Ok...technically, we've been married for three years, but today we are Newlywed's. Dave and I are the featured couple on the Newlywed's blog. All my loyal blog readers, go check us out and also check out the rest of Jenna's Newlywed blog!
This is my first time being featured on a blog (besides my own, where I'm featured everyday. lol), so it's pretty exciting for me. Thanks Jenna for featuring me. It's really an honor!
If this is the first time to my blog, WELCOME! I've really enjoyed finding some great blogs through the Newlywed's weekly featured Newylwed couple, so I'm happy that you all have a chance to get to know me too. And you're pretty much guaranteed that if you leave me comments, I'll check out your blog too. Let's be friends. :)
One thing I should add: The photo that of Dave and I on the Newlywed's blog appears courtesy of my sis-in-law, Katie Mathews Photography. She's having a contest right now where you can win free wedding coverage from her. Sweet!!! Get contest details.
This is my first time being featured on a blog (besides my own, where I'm featured everyday. lol), so it's pretty exciting for me. Thanks Jenna for featuring me. It's really an honor!
If this is the first time to my blog, WELCOME! I've really enjoyed finding some great blogs through the Newlywed's weekly featured Newylwed couple, so I'm happy that you all have a chance to get to know me too. And you're pretty much guaranteed that if you leave me comments, I'll check out your blog too. Let's be friends. :)
One thing I should add: The photo that of Dave and I on the Newlywed's blog appears courtesy of my sis-in-law, Katie Mathews Photography. She's having a contest right now where you can win free wedding coverage from her. Sweet!!! Get contest details.
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