HAPPY BIRTHDAY ERIC!!

Oh Eric. I haven't known this fellow for very long, but I will be the first so say he's an incredible person. Chad and Eric grew up together and have so many stories of their experiences together. Eric currently lives in Montana and joined us for our Wedding Cruise back in March. I LOVE this kid. He has such a good personality, he gets along with everyone, and his story of conversion to the LDS church is spritually touching. I am so excited that Eric decided to come spend a couple days with us - it is perfect timing for Chad. After moving, working, getting Dexter & studying all summer he has been so excited for this week of no responsibilities and is planning to go to Big Trees to Long Board, Wakeboarding, Golfing, maybe Rafting and Santa Cruz....so It was perfect Eric was going to be able visit this stressfree week! We found out that it was Erics Birthday today so I made a banner and put it up at the house, and blew up some balloons with the helium at work to pop out of the trunk when we picked him up at the airport....


(YEP. Still addicted to Instagram.)
HAPPY BIRTHDAY ERIC!! Can't wait to spend a couple days being crazy with you!



Looking through all the cruise pictures made me miss it SO much. I wish I was back there with the tanning oil, family, food, cuddling, and hot tubs.

Cuddle Time

I love these two little furries.

DAT results!

My handsome husband did it! He did very well on the exam and I am thankful to say he is DONE studying! He is going to go be crazy this week before school starts up again. Then we will be sending in applications to about a dozen Dental Schools: some in California, Arizona, Nebraska, Washington...and Pennyslvania. Hm. I am very proud of Chad - and so thankful the stressful 4 hour practice tests...me hushing our furry kids in the bedroom are over. GOOD JOB BABY!

Test Day!!

Chad takes his D.A.T today at 1:30! He has been studying so hard for this test, and I am such a proud wife. Please send your prayers his way....he needs all the positive vibes he can get :) Poor guy is too hard on himself! We will update you later today with results!

Glue & Rolo's

I used today to catch up on sleep, with like two long, okkay, 3 naps.
I got to work on a lot of my homework, play with Dexter....I started a pinterest project
found here, I chose to use a red dye, and used lyrics from Taylor Swifts, 'Enchanted'...


The shirt is drying outside right now, and hopefully I will be able to dye it tomorrow, maybe Sunday. Kari and I have another shirt dying project to do :)
Made dinner for my handsome hubby who is taking his Dental Exam tomorrow!! And I made these Rolo Cookies I found on pinterest, of course...The recipe says, "sprinkle with powdered sugar.." I covered them.
They are DELICIOUS. Good day off...Back to work tomorrow...and Chad takes his DAT at 130. EEK.

Time for the Vet!

This morning was Dexter's Vet visit! This was his 3rd puppy visit, and I was super nervous because of all the shots I knew he had to get! He did GREAT!!! He was such a good puppy, and the only time he nipped at the vet was when his temperature was getting checked. She said he is "healthy as a horse!" , the only thing we are watching for is his eyes, she said they were a "little cloudy" but he is still too young to be able to tell if anything is wrong...I was able to ask her a lot of questions, which was really nice. 4 weeks until his next visit, and then we are able to take him to the dog park, and out on walks (we had to stop because of all the risks of infections...). I am so glad he is so healthy, and such a good puppy! I love this little 2.5 lb guy!

just another manic monday...

Mondays aren't really Mondays for me. Since my week is shifted in days off, Monday is actually Wednesday for me; if that makes ANY sense. I started classes today, I am taking online classes through the local community college. I am taking an English, Math, Astrology, and Business class. Ug. Big load of classes. Thankfully, I think I've bribed Chad to take my Math class for me. I would rather work two full time jobs, then take a stupid math class. I despise math.
On my lunch break I started teaching this little man how to 'sit'. He hasn't really gotten it yet. But I am so confident he will. I have been watching some Cesar Millan (recommended my Hilary..) and am hoping to become a good pack leader to Dexter. I want him to be such a good dog, that we can take him anywhere and I won't have to worry about him doing anything embarrassing or destructive. Not that he can do much at 1 lb.

And tonight for dinner I made lasagna (yummmm), biscuits and some corn....and then for dessert. My cousin's made this for a dessert after a baptism and I about died it was sooo delicious. This picture doesn't do it justice. It is seriously so easy, and so lemon..ey. Yum.

If you want the recipe, let me know and I will email it to you!

Bath time!

Oh this silly puppy! I get to wash him once a week, so keep him nice and soft, and smelling ohhh so delicious :) I must have gotten some water in his ears, because he raced around our living room for like 30 minutes. straight. It was hilarious!


And then he slept alllll night :)

DAT

Chad was originally scheduled to take his DAT on the 17th, but because our trip to Disneyland got cancelled, he decided to push it back to the 20th. So one more week of crazy studying, practice tests, staying up till 3 am....and me reminding myself to be supportive and not to toss him over the balcony :) Kidding - he is the most stress free guy I have ever met, it makes me giggle and how NOT MAD he gets. What a lucky gal I am. Pray for us this next week, between potty training, feeding, not sleeping through the night in the kennel...and study time. It's going to be a long one...

Happy Friday!

Dang. I can't get over how much I LOVE days off! I think I am going to be a great 'stay at home mom'. I can't wait to run errands, and craft, and become more creative. (I know I will only want to work while Im changing diapers and feeding monsters...but for now, a girl can dream!) Today, I kind of slept in...Darn dexter and wanting to play at 8 am! I got to just kind of relax and post some of our old textbooks on craigslist, I also purchased some of my new textbooks for this upcoming semester that starts on Monday. Summer is gone. This afternoon I went to run some errands at JoAnns, Target, Winco, the College....it was nice to get out, listen to the radio, with the window down....and crossing things off my list.

More exciting news?
We have had Dexter for 1 week today! I cannot believe it! I am seriously so in love with this little guy. It is sooo nice to come home and have someone literally jumping to kiss me. (Alright, Chad does this most of the time too! <3)

Day Off.....Thursday

I LOVE days off. I get so excited when Thursday/Friday roll around, because I love catching up on sleep, running errands, and lately, spending allll day with my little Dexter. Today, we woke up...I cooked some French Toast, and then Chad and I went back to bed until 2 pm...OOPsies...Dex & Nemo cuddled with us the whole time...It was so nice :) Then we went to get some food at Petsmart, and to Lowe's to get some Bamboo to put up in the back patio, we purchased a Grass Potty for Dexter to use during the day while we are away, so we have to puppy proof the back patio (since we are upstairs) so he can't get out. We put the bamboo up, and in a couple days I am going to put some chicken wire up as well. While I was twist tieing the bamboo up, Chad got to study for his DAT, which he pushed back until the 20th.

Then, we went to the Lodi Street Faire/Farmers market

Dexter tried some treats from one of the vendors, (he goes CRAZY for Oscar Meyer Oven Roasted Turkey - so we are sticking with that)...and Chad and I got some corn & nectarines. I held Dexter as we walked the streets, and he got a lot of attention. I love having a cute puppy! When we were done walking the crowded streets, we put Dexter down and walked some of the Lodi streets with him.

He is such a good puppy, WITHOUT his leash he follows right behind our feet, (like our heels will kick him in the jaw if he doesn't pay attention)....We've heard this is how you are supposed to train them to walk, so that's great! He is only 11 weeks and walking right with us without his leash, I was trying to take a picture at how close he walks, but he stopped to wait for me....I love this little man!

He is such a good puppy, he just sleeps on my lap during car rides...

We are working on the potty training, and getting through the night in his kennel. I am taking him into the vet for his last puppy shots this upcoming week, and we are going to talk to the vet about using a shock/noise collar. We would really like to use one so he can let us sleep through the night, but we want to make sure it is safe first. Great day off!! xoxo

Lemon Pull Apart Bread:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY AMAZING FATHER! TODAY IS HIS 50TH BIRTHDAY!! I WISH WE COULD HAVE BEEN THERE TO SPEND THE DAY WITH YOU!!


Tonight, after work, and walking Dexter, I decided to try a recipe that I found on Pinterest for Lemon Pull Apart Bread. HOLY COW. She wasn't kidding when she said it takes 3-4 hours to make. I started at about 7, and got done at 11:30. I felt like such a little home-maker when it was done, and so proud of myself for actually making something that tasted delicious! Definitely worth the couple hours :) (Thank you Wierlo's for the Kitchenaid...it had the bread attachment included, and made my life easier!

The recipe can be found here...

(I apologize for all the recent Instagram pictures. I'm addicted)
Dexter taking a nap....

Finished dough....LOVE how this picture turned out, you can see the vineyards out our back patio....




Finished product: YUM!

The only good thing about making the bread, was the fact that I had two, 1 hour periods where the dough was rising, so I was able to walk/play with Dexter, and clean the place a bit.
**YAY for recipes that turn out, and that husband likes!**

Meet Dexter!!!

We got such a great response from Facebook, txts, emails about a name for puppy. During my lunch break on Saturday (when the videos were taken)...Chad and I had it narrowed down to Baxter (from the Anchorman movie) Romeo, and Chewbacca...Then Chad said, "What about Dexter, like from the series you loved!" and it fit. Perfectly. My little Dex. LOVE It. Dex and Nemo (my Gato) are getting along much better than we thought they would...Nemo is so lazy, so Dex just kind of runs around him and taunts him...its cute! We are watching him like a hawk, and trying to figure out potty training (totally feel like I have a kid!) hahah.. It's a great reminder of how I really am not ready to have kids.
Here are a couple videos of lunch play time!




We went over to our good friends the Harlows, to celebrate my Best Friend Kari's birthday, and Dex got to play with the family dog Casey. Casey is an old dog, who thankfully was very gentle with Dexter....they were so cute! There was a good group of people over there, and I LOVED that everyone loved Dexter. Everyone took turns holding him, and taking pictures with him. My good little Dex.

Little puppy...

Last night, while Chad was working, puppy and I went to get his food, some toys, a collar, food dish...It was seriously SO MUCH FUN shopping with a little puppy. He was such a good sport sitting in my purse, and being nice to all the kids/people that wanted to pet him! I was such a proud parent!
Here is a short video of puppy playing with one of his toys on the bed while Chad was studying...



Puppy on a walk:


Puppy's Pjs for bed:

Best Days Off!!

I rolled over yesterday morning to Chad looking at pictures of Yorkies on his phone....my first words that morning were, "Oh your looking at puppies, I want a puppy!". I mean really, why was he looking at puppies at 8 am? Haha. So today, after we slept in, and woke up...Chad told me that all he wants to do is make me happy, and that we have some extra money from his car insurance claim...and that we wouldn't have any extra money when Dental School starts, the whole tuition, having kids, paying for life thing...so he thought we should take the opportunity to look for a Yorkie! CAN YOU FREAKIN BELIEVE IT? Me either.

I dont' know where my obsession with Yorkies came from. It's the fact that I love animals, and little things, and happiness all packed into one. and baam. YORKIE. I've seriously gushed over these dogs for years... In my high little pitch voice I would tell every yorkie how much I loved it.

We drove up to Oakdale, and found him. A GORGEOUS, fluffly little playful yorkie. And we got him. It was love at first sight. More to come! We need a name!!

Parents & Twix

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY to my parents, who celebrate their 27th Wedding Anniversary today!

I am so thankful for my amazing parents, and the decision they made to make me :) haha. They are great people, who consistently give to others, without asking for anything in return. They are parents to children abused, neglected, abondened, troubled...and they have so much patience. They are parents to myself, and my two younger brothers, and have done such an incredible job raising us. I love them so much, and cannot even imagine the stresses I have put them through growing up.

On a lighter note :)

Because I enjoyed a stress free day today, I decided to make some Twix cookies, recipe found HERE....

They turned out okay. The cookies didn't burn (which I usually do)...and they are crispy, and gooey. But, they do NOT taste like the Twix I thought they were supposed to. I used 2 packages of Twix Bars (so 4 bars)....next time. If there is a next time. I will use wayyy more. But for now, we have got 2 containers full of plain tasting cookies. Hmm.