Miscellaneous Doodads...

Just catching up with some pictures of our excitement...or lack there of...

Steve is Tomato King...enough to feed the whole neighborhood and then some!


Home away from home...Gampy Jim and Steve work on the new tree house at the cabin...it's a toss up if this is a hideaway for Alix or Gammy.


Mr. Penz's friend and college professor (along with his lovely wife) stopped by our home on their way to Russia for a little cruise. It was wonderful to meet them!


Pics of our lovely Dino Boy...he is pure cuteness! (We have since graduated to off leash roaming at the Doggie Park.)







Alix and her friend Frances getting into the Swing of things at Nativity County Fair.

Crowded House????

Crowded who? Well,thanks to Steve and some "friends" I got my first Crowded House experience. What can I say?....not much ;) Supposedly they were big in the 80's...go figure. Luckily it's not the 80's anymore...'nuf said.



Seriously though...don't tell Steve (it'll ruin my cover)... but they were actually kind of good.

Bellus-Penz 1st Annual Back to School Blues BBQ

I now know a few things for sure...

*A hangover lasts longer at 34 than it does at 24.
*Gin should not fill 1/2 the glass
*Running for an icee can be a dangerous endeavor
*Steve has brought a lot of wonderful people into my life.
*smores are most yummy when they are burnt
*roasting smores with a metal sign post supposedly gives the best results.
*showing up fashionably late is still fashionable
*when you're in charge of the party you often forget to take pictures

Dino boy dislikes Thursdays

Dino boy...what a cutie he is...what a trouble maker he is! Last Thursday he managed to poop and pee (three times in 24 hours) in the house. This was uncharacteristic of him so we we took him to the vet. Nearly $200 later we found out that there was no medical reason for our concern...he was probably just mad at us for crating him during the day once I went back to work. All seemed fine this week, until...don don da...Thursday arrived. This Thursday I come home to poor dino boy in his crate, both him and the crate (and part of the floor) covered in poo! I'll leave out the rest of the details, but let's just say it was not pretty. Hopefully all will go well today. I just can't wait to see what next Thursday brings!

Dino Boy!

Dino (Dino boy as I call him, Deeners as Steve calls him--how is this dog ever going to learn his name?!) is here...the newest member of our family! He has a long and crazy road from KY to MN rescue to Juliet Ave, but he arrived safely with us this past Saturday and now has a forever home. He came to us through a rescue called Homeward Bound and we were honored to have a rescue dog become the next Bellus-Penz. He is a 1 yr old golden retriever/sheltie mix and weighs in at about 35 lbs.

We are still getting to know each other, but some things we know for sure...a 3 foot fence will not hold this puppers in! He ran away the first night we had him (an open gate?!) and even after many hours of searching (in the dark cold rain) we couldn't find our new furry friend. We tried again the next morning and were searching the neighborhood when we got a phone call from a wonderful young woman who had run down our Dino (he is fast and quick!) and given him a good snack of cereal. The next day we made sure the gates were all closed and went out for some yard time, but he jumped right over into the neighbors yard...luckily that's as far as he made it this time! We have since bought a tie-out, and although not ideal, will have to do for now...whew, this pup is high maintenance! We also knows he is not so fond of grown ups--was not treated well in his past home, but is getting better at trusting Steve and I. And much to Alix's dismay, he is very attached to little humans...follows her EVERYWHERE! I think she thought it was fun at first, but now that it's been a few days I think Alix finds it more annoying than anything. So far Dino has not found his bark--not one peep since he's been with us, has not peed on the floor, has only chewed a little fur off of one of Alix's teddy bears (bad-dog!), and would rather run away from the cat than chase her. It will be interesting to see how he grows/changes over the weeks, as he gets more comfortable in our home and as I head back to work. Right now though we are just so happy to have such a great new member of our family!!

Sometimes it's hard bein' nice...

I'm not very good at being nice when I don't feel like it...I wish I were better at faking it. My poor husband, daughter, and friends...they must be very patient to deal with me :)

Doggone it...

Still looking for just the right doggie friend. We were lucky enough to meet Craig this week and he was amazing...so sweet and gentle and good. After he left we had a little family meeting and decided that as much as we liked him we should look at some smaller dogs as well (Craig was a little over the top of our high limit). This whole process is much more difficult than I ever thought it could be. Since this is a possible 10+ year commitment we want to make sure that we are making the best decision for our family and of course for the dog...but it's also so difficult to meet a wonderful dog and then not just snatch him right up. I've come to the conclusion that finding a great dog is just not enough...we need a great dog with kids, with cats, for small cars, for a small yard, for an active family, for busy folks....so much stuff comes into the equation! But I know that in the end...whether it be sooner or later...we will have a great addition to our family...Stay tuned...

It's a dog eat dog world

Well, it's only been 5 days, but we have yet to hear anything about Smilin' Bob. We decided that it might be best not to throw all of our eggs in one basket and have thrown a application in with Retrieve a Golden of Minnesota as well. They seem to be much more responsive! We have already talked with various people there regarding the process and look forward to setting up a home visit soon. After that we can start the process of finding the right dog for our home. As a matter of fact I have already talked to one foster parent who is going to bring her dog by our home Monday for a visit. We wouldn't be able to take any action until after we go through the whole home visit process, but it'll give us a bit of a jump start. we are looking forward to meeting Craig on MOnday night! He looks like a beautiful mix and sounds like a great dog. They were ultimately looking for a home where he'd have a doggie friend, and we're not sure how he'll react to the cat, but we'll see...there are a few other furry friends we have our eye on too...who knows who will end up in our home...it's a dog eat dog world you know ;)

Here's a link to Craig's web page

Smilin' Bob

All of the pieces have finally fallen into place for us and we have decided that it may indeed be time for us to look into adding to our family. We have located a beautiful furry friend in need at the Midwest Animal Recsue Services and we are hoping to bring him into our home. Now that I am not a single mom and have a little help, now that someone will be around if Steve has to travel, now that Alix is old enough to have some ownership/responsibility, and of course now that we have a fenced in yard, we couldn't imagine a better time to start sharing our adventures with another family member. Both Steve and I think dogs are wonderful additions to a family, so we are crossing our fingers and hoping they find us suitable dog owners...how could they not?!--Steve makes friends with every dog he comes across (and even talks to them, "roowoooroo"), Alix walks the neighbors dog several times a week for fun, and I...well I haven't lived with a dog since my great pyrenesse friend a few years ago and I can't wait to have a partner for my walks again!

The application process is a long one, which we think is quite nice. The people at the rescue definitely have the dogs best interest in mind and that is quite important to us. It is also nice to know that the dogs have lived in foster homes...as it will give us quite a good indication about Smilin' Bob's behavior around other animals and children. We submitted our application for adoption just the other day and have yet to hear anything from them, don't think Alix doesn't ask every two seconds if I think we'll get the dog or not (she has been lobbying for this for years!) But we have our fingers crossed (and we hope you'll cross yours too!) that soon we can meet Smilin' Bob and see in person if this really is a match made in doggie heaven!

Smilin' Bob's webpage-click to see him

What is funnier than a killer bunny?

Perhaps a flying cow!

Steve and I went to see Spamalot for his birthday and found it lived up to the bill of being laugh out loud funny! It was extremely similar to the movie--which unfortunately I made Steve watch with me the night before we went b/c I had never seen it...so you know it's funny if you're laughing at the same jokes 2 nights in a row ;) Good ol' silly adult humor, there's nothing better. Unfortunately it's only in town for another week, but if you want to get in on the fun from home see if you can toss a cow as well as those crazy French!

click to play the toss the cow game!

Our wedding pictures!

Imagen International was our photographer and I LOVED them and their work....thanks Jen and Alex!

I wish you could see them all, but here are some of my favorites! (I am not going to put captions b/c I am lazy). No doubt if you are in my presence in the next couple of weeks you will be forced to view them again in person and to hear my commentary as well...lucky you ;)

The reception--candids in no particular order

The ceremony