Parting is such sweet sorrow

Jackson hates, Hates, HATES being dropped off at the sitter when we leave town.

I just can't stand to have him upset with me so I bribed him with his favorite treat, McDonald's white meat (cuz I'm a good mama) chicken McNuggets.

Now he's is such a McNugget haze he'll forget to feel abandoned and I'm in the clear. I'll just have to deal with Rob's teasing me about treating our pup like our kid.

I don't care, it's SO worth it.

Bad

Apparently someone {ahem, Jackson} thought that since he was bored and home alone all day it would be a good idea to grab all the mail off of the coffee table and strew it all about...and then rip some of it up.

After an hour in time out {yeah, we're lame and put our dog in time out} and a day full of no treats, I hope think he'll steer clear of the mail next time he's bored. Hmmm, if only I could teach him how to dust or something.

Oh, and the bill for my student loan payment? My dog ate it, sorry.

At the lake

August seems to have slipped by without any blogging, meaning I don't think we did much of anything worth sharing. I did find a few random pictures from a picnic at the lake a couple weeks ago.

We had a streak of hot weather up here for a few days and thought that Jackson would be all over some swimming. Turned out he had to be coaxed a bit. Okay, he had to be dragged into the water. Completely against his will.

But once he got in he actually enjoyed it...for a little while.

Then he'd had enough of it and was desperately trying to drag Rob out.

I thought he was crazy. If I'd had my bathing suit, I would have gotten in and stayed in for a while. Someone keeps pressuring me to play hooky and spend an afternoon at the lake. I might have to give in soon!

My boys

I walked downstairs and saw them watching TV just like this.

Jackson likes to kick back and watch TV too, I guess. He isn't very modest though...we'll have to work on that.

At the races

Saturday afternoon we headed off to the track to catch some races...horse and weiner dog. It also just happened to be one of those rare Seattle days when the sky is clear enough to see Mt. Rainier.

There were about three horse races scheduled before the weiner dog races were to take place, so we got in on that fun too. I have a history of winning big at the horses, but I was too content kicking back in the sun to go place any bets. I'd regretted it after the fact. The horse I had my eye on {named Eyes on my Heart} would have made me some big money. Bummer.

There were three heats of the weiner dog races and each one was funnier than the last. These dogs were hilarious!

In the second race a group of them stalled and then started running back to the person that released them rather than to the person calling them at the other end.

I think that if Jackson would've been in the race he might have been one of them...or that he would have wandered off to smell the flowers {because that's the masculine kind of dog he is} but Rob kept insisting that if Jackson were there he would have cleaned the track with those other dogs.

Next year, I told him. Next year.

Get your vote in!

Jackson has become a finalist for the Weiner Dog Races being held next weekend. Highest vote wins the last spot in the race and he needs your votes. So do him a solid, head on over here and cast your vote...for him, not any of the other cute dogs.

We're Jackson is counting on you! Don't let him down. We don't want to have to deal with his constant crying if he doesn't get picked. Seriously, he can be such a whiner. ☺

Jam-Packed Weekend

Saturday morning started out bright and early with the Seafair Pirates landing at Alki Beach. The sun was out, but there was a bit of a breeze so it was nice to be outside.

We did the pirate thing and then wandered down the rest of the beach. There was a pole vaulting competition going on and a bunch of kids were taking advantage of the low water and doing trick on their boogie boards. It made me want to play in the water, but after glancing at the murkiness of it, I quickly changed my mind!

On the way back from Alki we stopped in Mercer Island and spent a few hours at a street fair there. Rob was into the 3 on 3 basketball tournament, while I was enthralled by these two little poodles that were dyed green and purple. From Mercer Island we headed down to Southcenter for dinner and then back home to rescue Jackson from his boring day at home.

Dog in tow we headed down to Lake Sammamish where Jackson had his first swimming experience. I thought I was going to have to pull him into the water but he walked right in. He didn't stay for long though...maybe next time.

Sunday was a camera free day, but pictures would have been great! We'd signed up for a 5K that was sponsored by a local community club. It was a little odd but we had a good time and met some very interesting people. They were 'courting' us to join up with them, but I think our one visit there was enough.

Post 5K we hit IHOP (of course!!) to get our carbs on and did a little house hunting...then went home to collapse.

hot, Hot, HOT!

Long time, no blog. Nothing blog-worthy lately, so I am going to resort to the boring-est of all boring topics - the weather.

This afternoon it was 100*. Last week it was 65*. Now, that is a big ol' swing in temps. I miss 65*!.

Jackson doesn't like the heat either so we've been cooling him down with sugar free popsicles. He just can't get enough of them.

We've got a 5K coming up this weekend and higher temperatures to accompany it. Let's hope the good ol' weatherman is wrong...I'd definitely rather get my sweat on in milder temps!!

México

Mexico was busy port for us. On the boat we'd met a group of ladies that lived by us (small world!) and had chartered a tour to Tulum, a larger set of Mayan ruins. They were so kind enough as to invite us to join them. We debated as to whether or not they could be crazy kidnappers or something and came to the conclusion that yes, they were indeed crazy, but not kidnappers, so we decided to tag along.

Our trip to Tulum started out by arriving in Cozumel, ferrying from Puerta Maya to Playa del Carmen where we boarded our van to Tulum. The van ride was supposed to be an hour long, but we had a super speedy driver who got us there in 45 minutes...we were glad because we weren't expecting to have a lot of time at the ruins, so his heavy foot got us a few extra minutes...and him a good tip!

It was a little weird that we had to stop and pick up his girlfriend (who we were fairly certain was underage), and even weirder that Rob had to ride between the two, but it was an interesting ride nonetheless.

Tulum was really exciting! It was a lot different than what I had imagined. It was located right on the water and the place was packed! Lots of the tourists were hanging out at the beach and swimming, but since we weren't aware that the ruins were so close to the beach we weren't dressed appropriately. We actually thought getting to the ruins was going to involve some hiking so we were all dorked out in hiking gear.

We really enjoyed the ruins and would have liked to have more time to spend there. It was so hot out, but we sprinted through the place to make sure we got to see it all before heading back. Seeing these ruins made us regret not seeing the ruins in Belize. There are some more Mayan ruins further West of Tulum called Chichen Itza, but our stay in port wouldn't accommodate a visit there. Next time we're in Mexico, maybe?? ☺

Here's an aerial shot of the site that I found online...just to give you an idea of the layout. Pretty spread out. Amazing.

Back at Playa del Carmen there were a bunch of military guys with big ol' guns all around the ferry loading. I thought it was weird, but had to document it. I am way too big of a wuss to take a full on shot, so camera in hand I folded my arms, guesstimated what angle my camera was at and took a shot. Luckily I have mad camera skills and captured a great picture. Rob thinks I am a nerd for doing this. And maybe just a little stupid. My words, not his...but I could see it in his eyes. ☺

We did have some time to shop and beach hop in Cozumel before the ship left. We came across this store that had a bunch dog t-shirts. We aren't ridiculous enough to actually buy one for Jackson, but we are ridiculous enough to take pictures of them (and to later have wished we would have bought one).

That was Mexico, and our last port of the cruise. I still have loads of pictures to post from our actual time on the ship, plus our time in Miami before the cruise, along with our few days in the Keys after the cruise. Yes, this vacation is going to drag out forever, blog-wise.

We're expecting

I'd like to interrupt the very important posting of vacation pictures to announce some incredibly exciting news. We've been suspecting this was the case for a little while, but have just received confirmation in the form of a positive test.

In just a short time we will be surrounded by the pitter patter of little feet.

The pitter patter of a lot of little feet actually...puppy feet to be exact.

Yes, Jackson is about to be a Papi. Apparently while he was staying at Rob's Mom's house for those two weeks while we were on vacation he just couldn't manage to keep it in his pants (kidding, of course...I may dress him in shirts and sweaters, but I would never put him in pants) and he's now left Maggie (Rob's Mom's female dachshund) in a family way.

Looks like in a little over a month and a half we'll be overflowing with puppies. This addition to our family is unexpected and we definitely aren't ready to turn our home into a doggie daycare, so...put in your orders now. Who wouldn't want a loverly little puppy to snuggle with all day?

Seriously, who wants a puppy?

Ears and all

Happy Easter, from us to you.

I won't try to pass the blame of this onto Rob. These bunny ears were all my doing.

I am awesome. ☺

We'll be spending our Easter brunching at Barking Frog, doing the dog park thing and wandering Alki Beach. Hope you all have a wonderful Easter.

Spa trumps Kennel

Next weekend we are going to have to board our pup for the first time, so I've started to search out a place to plop him for a couple days.

Now at first, I didn't think much of it, but after looking into it, I don't want to put him just anywhere.

I used to see those pet hotel and pet spa places and roll my eyes at the thought of the yuppies that think their pets need hotels and spas.

Well, what do ya know...turns out, we are those kind of people.

Ridiculous, I know. I blame Rob.

Day of Love

Our Valentine's Day started out with a heart themed breakfast, courtesy of yours truly. It got rave reviews. Naturally.

Jackson even got in on it a little...dogs can eat turkey bacon and heart shaped eggs, right?

Following breakfast we lounged around and watched episode after episode of Millionaire Matchmaker...does anything say 'true love' more?!? We then felt way too casual to follow through with our initial romantic date plans, so we threw on jeans and sweatshirts then headed to trusty ol' Burgermaster for a delightful Valentine's meal, shakes included.

Next up we visited a favorite area pet store to snag some goodies for the furry little loves in our lives. We wrapped the glorious day up with a viewing of Valentine's Day at our local theater. It was better than expected..full of laughs.

So there ya have it...V-Day 2010. Until next year...

and it gets even better

Lindsay just texted (or is it just 'text'??) me this picture and it made me laugh.

I forwarded it onto Rob, but then realized that he won't take it as a joke...he'll probably pick one up on the way home from work tonight.

Then we'd be a big ol' happy Snuggie family...we just need one for Sox now.

Doesn't that sound like a great picture for our Christmas card next year!?! Oh, and did you catch my sarcasm there? ☺

13 days and counting

Yes, there is a countdown in progress!

To a birthday? No.

To a vacation? No.

To the end of an incredibly long quarter of school? Yes!!!!

I honestly don't think I've wanted a quarter to end as badly as I want this one to. Not because it's been particularly miserable or anything, I just really want a break from school!

Being gone until 10:30 every night for weeks upon weeks upon months can really take their toll on you! I am looking forward to being able to come home after work and just be.

Apparently I've been 'neglecting our family' as of late due to school. Yes, that is an actual quote from Rob. And the family he is referring to...him, and the pets. Yes, pets are family too, if you ask him. ☺

So yes, 13 more days of late night classes and weekend studying and I'll be off for a month to renew the bonds with my 'family'.

Can't wait.