Our Puppy Dog

Tucker is still 100% the center of our attention down here. He is always happy, always eager to play, and constantly keeps us on the move. We have explored most our neighborhood, parks, and lakes; mostly do to Tucker. I still think it is one of the best things to come home to: a happy puppy with a wagging tail.

Due to the extreme temperatures here in South Texas (which I hear most of you in MN have been experiencing  this summer as well!) we have to find ways to keep him cool  getting him enough exercise.  Thanks to the lovely golf course (and hole 16) in our backyard, we can make that happen. Around 8-9 at night, once the golfers clear off for the evening and the temps finally are in the low 90s, we head out on the course. Kyle and him play fetch. Not just any fetch. CHUCK it fetch. Kyle launches the ball...we usually cannot see where it goes, but Tucker always comes back with ball in mouth, running full sprint towards us. We have found it is one of the best ways to burn off most of his energy.

Due to the fact that it is still in the 90s, Tucker gets HOT after playing fetch. And pants. A lot. Enter our kiddie pool! This is a very common site after we play fetch. Tucker lays in the water and laps up drink after drink.

This is the next best thing to our cool tile floor in the house!

Another new purchase for us is an outdoor bed for this guy. Since it is so incredibly hot during the day, and I can only imagine how comfortable that rock-sidewalk is, we decided to give this a try. It is an outdoor-mesh-breathable bed. So far, Tucker LOVES it. The indent on the bed is quite noticable when we get home at the end of the day. (I think it's safe to say he likes it, too!)

Biggest puppy eyes ever. Watch out, he's a professional!

As you can see, this little guy still gets most of our undivided attention. He has perfected cuddle time with me and fetch with Kyle. He listens so well and always finds a ball to play with - no matter where we are or what time of day. What can I say, I love this little guy!

Sunshine & Summertime

Nothing marks the official start to summer like Memorial Day weekend. Something about that one day off symbolizes warm weather, grilling food, and fun with friends and family. Even though Kyle had to work most of the weekend (boo!) we did find a day to spend some time with friends. At a pool. In the amazingly sunny weather. Thankfully our friend decided to throw a birthday party at his pool...we took full advantage!

Nova and me at the pool!

Dan and Kyle wanted to bust out the volleyball net. I think they had more fun than the girls did!

Tucker even joined in on the festivities. Busted out his aviators!

Birthday boy! This picture sums up the entire day.

Kyle and I enjoying some time together <3

I would also like to say THANK YOU to my dad and grandpa, my friends and other family members that have served. I appreciate all they did and all that the current active members are doing for our nation. Thanks to all of them we can enjoy our freedom.  THANK YOU!!!

Still Here

I know it's been a while. We haven't been up to much. Two weeks ago (the last time I posted) Kyle was sick with THE cold that has been making it's way around to all 2 million residents of San Antonio. Then after a week of making him tea and sending him to bed at 8, I got the much dreaded cold. So the last two weeks have been low key, hot tea, and lots of needed sleep.

Over the weekend, as I was finally feeling more like myself, we made the short 11 minute drive up to our friends new house. (Way better than the old 45 minute drive!) We saw their new place, helped do a little painting and raking, and even helped them enjoy their first meal in the house...Pizza Hut! It was a gorgeous weekend hanging out in the 60/70 degree weather. So nice in fact that our [crazy] friend Dan jumped into the pool at our friends house. (I swear he was a fish in another life.) To give you an idea...pools are not heated down here. They rely soley on the sun. BUT, compared to up north, it was about the temperature of the lakes in the early fall. So it wasn't super cold, but chilly enough. Oh Dan.

We documented it.

Action shot...CANON BALL! January 21, 2012

Sunday before the football games we did some much needed yard work in shorts and a t-shirt. It felt more like Spring than the dead of Winter this weekend...but I'm not complaning!

Is everyone happy with the Super Bowl teams? We had one very upset friend that the 49ers choked in overtime, but overall they were some pretty good games!

Hope everyone is happy, healthy, and enjoying their winter as much as we are here :)

Only in TX

Just when I think I have seen and heard it all, something else down here amazes me...

Last Saturday Kyle and I went to a pool party sponsered by Dan's apartment complex. We spent the afternoon in the sun and pool, talking and hanging out. It was a great afternoon. But while we were floating around, Dan and I got a huge craving for Chicago-Style pizza. We figured there HAD to be a place in this city that had some, and we found one! Once we convinced Kyle to go, we were seated in a mom and pop shop waiting for a pizza.

One drawback. They did not sell alcohol there. After a day in the sun that was a let down. But the lady said "for future reference, you can bring your own in if you wish." We all just stared at her. I was like, "We can literally bring in our own cans or bottles and eat here?" "Sure!" So Kyle and Dan were still looking dumbfounded, and I pointed out, "Don't we still have our cooler in the car from the pool party?" So Kyle went out and got our cooler. And we continued to enjoy some cold ones, while eating our Chicago-Style pizza in San Antonio, TX.

It was very good, too!

Puppy {Dog} Sitting

Remember a long time ago I introduced you to our friend, Jason, and his little puppy, Koda? We puppy sat for him way back when, like I talk about in this blog post. Well, Jason is in Houston for the week for work and his roommate is flying to MN for 3 weeks for work (Kyle, Everett and I are all jealous) so Kyle and I are on puppy watch again. Although this time it's not so much puppy. It's more dog (sadly). Koda is already 11 months old. He no longer has cute puppy paws and puppy wrinkles and even though he is potty trained now, he does like the random places. (Kyle took him on a run this morning with Tucker and Koda decided to deposit in 3...yes 3! places!)

So, back when we watched Koda we didn't have Tucker. Now, Tucker is 9 months old, Koda is 11 (where has the time gone!?) And they have become super good dog-friends. They kind have to be, because we do everything with Jason.

This weekend was oober hot. Like, 100+ in addition to humidity, it was too hot to even sit outside. So the puppies (even though they are dogs, I still call them puppies) took full advantage of our $10 Kiddie Pool purchase to stay cool throughout the day. Not only did they stay cool, they found dirt to lay in. So we had wet, dirty puppies all day yesterday.

It is supposed to stay hot all week (90s +) so hopefully they keep on enjoying the pool. Less bath time for us, right?

Here they are, fresh out of the pool/dirt right after a nap in the afternoon:

(Koda (11 months) is on the left, Tucker (9 months) on the right, in mid-yawn)

Here's to an interesting week with 2 puppy dogs!

Pool Time!

Even though it is only May, the temperature's have reflected summer heat. This week alone it has been in the upper 90s almost every day, along with humidity (usually around the 80% marker.) Sunday we were all baking, Tucker included, so we ventured out and bought a $10 kiddie pool.

We might as well call it "Tucker's Pool" becaues he LOVES it. The first day we had water in it he was walking in and out non-stop, drinking, and dunking his head in the cool water. It has stayed cool, even yesterday during the 100+ heat.

Hopefully the rain can stop up north and some heat can find its way up to you. We have a North wind today, and, miraculously the humidity is down and it is only about 76 degrees (at 9 in the morning!)

Here is a video of Kyle and Tucker playing fetch, incorporating the new pool.

I will be traveling this weekend, leaving Kyle and Tucker to hold down the fort. Hope you all have a wonderful Memorial Day Weekend!

Sunshine & Springtime?

You know the song, right? "Sunshine and Summertime" by Kenny Chesney? Well that is exaclty what it felt like this weekend, although it was only April 30 and not summertime. This weekend a friend came to visit who is moving down in June and we had a blast! Friday we enjoyed some BBQ outdoors and played some yard games and played the good ol' standbye, Catch Phrase. If you EVER need a laugh, play this game :) Saturday we went to the pool. It was 90 something or another, same as it has been for the past 2 weeks, so we decided to take advantage of it. We set up shop at our friends pool and had a great time! Sun, drinks, pizza, and friends...it was a perfectly awesome afternoon :) Sunday we finished up the weekend with a little shopping and playing with Tuker at the park and chilling with a new book and some xbox.

I hope it warms up for you in the north, soon!

Have I introduced you to the new clan? I've mentioned Jason before, but the guy sitting to the left of Kyle is Everett, the girl at his feet is his girlfriend Jenny. They are originally from Moorhead, MN and he is part of the traveling program with PCG. They have moved across the South so far and are now helping out at Kyle's branch. We think come June they will be moving on, but we hate to see them go. To the left of them were 2 more boys, but for family-appropriate reasons I cropped them out. One is Josh, from Boston, and the other is Dan, for Moorhead MN as well and starting full-time in June at Kyle's branch.

Our friend Jason is notorious for having random weird sunglasses, so since they matched my swimsuit oh-so-well, I decided to borrow them for the day. Josh, pictured above, is wearing his neon shades too, so that called for a picture :)

A couple of our friends also have boats, so I cannot wait until they come out of storage so we can hit the lakes up!