Cronies

Eclipse...
Once again my girlfriends and I immersed ourselves in the twi-hard, twi-mom, teen, tween and everything in between crowd so that we could be one of the first to see the new Twilight Saga: Eclipse movie at 12 AM on June 30. IT WAS AMAZING! I think this is the best of the three thus far. Don't get me wrong, I love my Twilight and New Moon movies but this one was...fan-freaken-tabulous! This time we did not get in trouble by a group of teens, in fact we were actually asking the teens in front of us to quiet down. Maybe in the past six months since the last movie we have grown more mature...or maybe we have aged enough not to act like fanatics. Probably neither. Before we went to the movie Sabrina had a Twilight movie marathon and hosted dinner which she and Mike made for us. It was fabulous. OM-Gosh, no...it was amazing! They are awesome chefs and I love going over to their house because they make the best food...I feel so classy. :) (Levi still raves about the truffles Sabrina made from scratch!) Mike made us dessert - crepes with berries - they were so good that I had to take a picture. Luckily I thought about the picture before I dug in...otherwise you would see an image of an empty plate to the right. : The movie was great and if you are a fan of the series you are going to love this new installment!

Tiffany...
Last weekend I was so lucky to be able to spend lunch with one of my oldest friends. Tiff lives in Arizona and so we don't get to see each other much, actually we only see each each other when she comes to town. (I need to make it out to AZ to visit her!) It was so good to catch up. She is such an amazing friend and it is always as though we just pick up from where we left off the last time we saw we saw each other. Tiffany is a constant. She never changes, only gets warmer with the years. She is an amazing mother to her two little girls and 10 month old boy. She is one of those friends that you realize how lucky you are when she is right there, but when she is gone it is like a hole in your heart for the void she leaves. I wish I could bottle up a little Tiffany for each one of you so that you would know how wonderful both she and her friendship are. Even though it would be just a little taste of the wonderful blessing I get to experience all the time, you would know what a blessing she is. I am thankful to God for the friends He brought into my life. Without those friends, past and present, and my sister I don't know where I would be. Ten years later, after graduating and going our separate ways (so to speak), Tiffany, Tess and I are still friends. (And by the way Tess you owe me a lunch :D) I love these girls because they are my past; they know me as the person I was and now the person I am. They understand me in ways others can't because they have seen the changes that come with growing up, moving on, and enduring life. They have whiddled their own niche in my soul that no one but that them can fill, and I wouldn't want it any other way. I love my Tiffany (and my Tess)!

Silence

The slumber party is over and our family is back to five. We managed to have only a few dramatic moments over the week. The most significant was with Butch; he became more edgey as the days went by and on the last day there was a scuffle. When Levi and I got into the back yard to break it up Butch had Champ locked down at the neck. Luckily Champ was fine and just shook it off. Butch was in trouble and separated from the group. It was meant to be punishment but I think he was actually relieved. : /

The puppy, Baker, was curious about everything. In fact she was so curious she chased after Aspen one night only to be met with a vicious hiss and claws. Baker never went near Aspen again. She tucked her tail and went back to the other dogs when every she saw Aspen after that.

Gracie was a sweet heart, only a spaz when you stopped petting her...but what dog isn't? And our Champers, well he was patient. Gracie would growl at him and get teritorrial, but he just looked at us like are we done yet? Baker would chase after him, jump on him and bite at his neck (sometimes actually hanging from him while he walked) but he just moved along as though it was nothing.

It was a definite adjustment getting used to taking care of four dogs, each with their special needs and different personalities. I have to be honest and say it is nice to have our home back to normal with the silence that ensues from only having our two dogs. With that said, I would do it again in a heart beat. I loved having our little pack of dogs. But silence is golden. :)

Slumber Party

For the next week, Levi and I have grown our household from a family of five to a family of seven! While Marilyn, Ron, Carolyn and Cliff are on vacation we have taken in their little buddies Baker and Gracie - both females. We now have four dogs and a cat under our roof.

Aspen is not happy about this at all. When the dogs are out doors she sniffs their beds, then rolls all over them so that her scent is left behind - how ornery is that! She hisses at Gracie and Baker when ever they are in her eye line...she is so high maintenance. Butch was curious for about ten minutes but now he is over it. He looks at me like, "OK mom, you can send my friends home." Thankfully they are all getting along and it is fun to have a house full of little buddies.

Here are a couple pics...Gracie is in front of Champ and Butch (the rotti) and Baker is the 9 -10 week old puppy. She is a red healer that Marilyn rescued when she was left at a reservoir.
(I tried to get all four in the same picture, but Baker wouldn't listen and pose with the rest of the dogs...she is still a puppy after all.)

Let's Get Physical

Oh My Goodness!  This is the best thing to start your week and it will tickle your funny bone. 

While Levi and I were at his parents' house this past weekend, Ron gave him an old Iron Man magazine that talks about fitness and the body building competitions of the time.  This is easily from the 1960's, maybe even earlier.  (I can't find a date.)  Anyway, the advertisements and articles are so funny because the information is outdated and we know now that this information is no longer relevant or better things/ideas have come along.  Thank God, could you imagine everyone walking around with these shoes?  "I'm just getting my workout in for the day."  LOL!  I thought I would post a picture of one of the ads...too funny!

1. These are weighted shoes.                                                  

2. These are exercises for those shoes. Check out the bottom two where he is actually holding the shoes and doing upper body with them as weights.  They're versatile shoes! 

I hope you are getting as big a kick out of this as I did. :D

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Two Days!

In exactly 54 hours and 11 minutes I will be seated in a movie theater watching New Moon! I am such a dork I am following all the cast appearances this week on the shows, watching the fans sites like crazy and starting to countdown (I am turning into my mom!) to showtime. I am so excited and I absolutely cannot wait. I think I will be on such a high from the anticipation that I will probably fall asleep when the movie is about to start. Wouldn't that be my luck. Now we just have to make sure we all get to sit together. :/

Unexpected

Last night I was in bed thinking about the day when I heard some strange noises outside. I was scared someone was trying to break in or steal Levi's truck. So, I crept from my bed careful not to disturb my family (all four of them) sleeping in the same room. I tiptoed toward the door, the floor creaked, I winched looking back to Levi hoping I'm not waking him. He has to be up in five hours. Whew! He is dead to the world with his sleep apnea mask on, I breath a sigh of relief. I hear the pups move and I scurry without a backward glance out of the room. I made it! I'm in the front room and peek out the front window to see my neighbors moving cars, opening and shutting doors as if they are preparing to move in the middle of the night. Ah, it was nothing. OK, back to bed, I don't have to confront an intruder. I sneak back toward the room, round the corner and find this, my 120 pound pup squished up against the bed. There is another two feet to his left for him to sprawl out. I couldn't help but laugh, the picture doesn't do it justice! I cracked up and grabbed my phone to take this pic before he moved.

Earlier that night I was reading a book and I turned to make sure Champ hadn't wondered off into our room. If I am too quite in the house he thinks no one is home and takes a little nap on our bed. He is not allowed on the bed so it is funny that he decides he can sleep there when he thinks we aren't around. I turned and found him instead on watch with his sister. This was too cute for words and again the picture does not do them justice. Aspen never hangs out that close to the boys, not that they would mind, but it makes her nervous. Last night they were right there next to each other scooping out the neighborhood. I grabbed my phone before they moved and snapped this. Just love those kiddos! [I think Butch was taking the reprieve from these two not bothering him to hide and sleep. :) ]

Hit the Sand

Sand volleyball has arrived! Well, it has already been here, but our league is starting back up tonight. My last league ended six weeks ago and I am going crazy for a game. This league is so much fun because while it offers the competitive edge, it is really laid back...like you're playing at the beach, drinking a beer with your buddies. [Some people really do play better with the booze. Scary :\ ] After such a long week from work and a headache that won't quit I think some volleyball is called for. In another two weeks I'll be playing three nights a week when my indoor women's and coed leagues start up. You might be saying to yourself right about now, "Wow, that is one crazy chick!" Oh I'm crazy all right, crazy for volleyball!