Autumn Awareness

The fall color scheme is making its way into town and I find myself being more aware than ever before of the changes going on.  Most noticeably, the air is more crisp and breezy and the colors more vibrant. Like in any change in season, I feel like a broken record, commenting every five minutes about how pretty it is outside.

Being the California native that I am (or maybe it comes with age?), I have never really slowed down to notice the beautiful changes that happen around this time of year because, lets be honest, California doesn't experience the drastic changes of the four seasons.  But I've heard that the DC falls and springs are to-die-for and I don't want to miss it!

So,  in an effort to capture the beautiful changes that are going on outside, I have decided to document the transformations.  It should be an incredible sight to see!  This is the first (hence the numero uno) of the fall eye candy going on in our neck of the woods.

Cone of Shame

Poor Louie got neutered yesterday and has to sport this cone for 10 days.  

Talk about robbing him of his manhood.  

Home is Wherever I'm With You

We have yet to receive the truck that has all of our stuff... the moving company has assured us that it is in route and should be here by Wednesday.  We're trying to be patient but sleeping on a mattress on the floor with an empty living room is getting old.  I'm tired of sitting on the floor and don't even get me started on how frustrating it is to not have a single item to cook with. Actually, I take that back... we bought a pot and a pan to use but you get the idea.

We have officially been here for two weeks, it's crazy how fast the time has gone by.  I thought moving here would be a life changer for us-- a new city, 2000+ miles away from home, and husband in law school seemed like enough to make me think that my life would be one hundred percent different.  But the truth is things have never felt more normal.  I guess what I'm trying to say is that home and my level of comfort is wherever Kevin and Louie are.  It sounds funny to include Louie, but he really has made this place feel more like home.

Never Again

We have a running joke that Louie is part poodle part bear cub.  It all started a few weeks ago when we were back home on a walk with Louie on 2nd St.  We passed a lady that said to her friend "look there's that bear dog again." He's definitely not comparable to a bear in stature, but more like a cub, so it stuck.

But yesterday after we picked him up from his first visit to the groomer he was void of all things bear-cub.  His face was shaved and his hair looked like a wispy, feathered hairdo from the 1970s. And for an animal comparison, think Lemur from Madagascar (the movie).   

All-in-all pretty horrific.  From now on we will do his grooming ourselves.

the butthead

While we're at school or work Louie stays home solo and prepares for his 5p.m. whirlwind.  Last night was his most intense yet--he is in full-fledged puppy mode: chewing, humping, and trying to eat everything in site.  I'm kind of sad to see his cute puppy phase broaden into hyperactivity.

Because he's so full of energy we're up to three walks per day: one in the morning, one when we get home from school/work, and the last right before we go to bed. And of course there is the usual sit-on-the-ground-and throw-squeaky-toys-across-the-house, which, I assume is similar to the ever-so famous "tummy time" for newborns/toddlers.  Case in point: at this very moment, Kevin is laying on the ground playing tug-of-war with Louie and his favorite rope toy... go figure.

Best of Provo: Station 22

Is there a word for pre-nostalgia?  If there is we have a case of it.  Our time in Provo (err, Utah) is dwindling down and we are trying to cherish our last couple of weeks here.  I never thought I could/would be melancholy about leaving Provo, yet eager to leave.

I'm looking forward to the adventure that Washington DC will be for us, but I will miss our usual small-town spots.  

On Friday night we met up with our besties for dinner at Station 22, one of our all-time favorite joints, for what was a pretty perfect summer night.  We walked there from our house with Louie in tow and enjoyed a fab dinner on the patio with the music from the Rooftop Concert Series playing in the background.   They make a great sandwich but their fries are to-die-for and have officially become our weakness.  Sometimes we'll stop by for a basket of fries on our evening walk just because... even after we've already officially eaten dinner at home.  They're that good.  And for the record: we went there twice last week.

                          

Louie

What kind of new mamma would I be if I didn't post periodic updates on our little man? I don't have stats or percentiles but I do have a few other points of interest (at least to me) that I want to share.

Lets face it... we have a little puppy on our hands and with that means pee and poop on them too. Turns out potty training a puppy is hard.  It's definitely easier said than done.  I have done a ton of reading on the best ways to potty train and, so far, nothing has worked.  Consistency, I've read, is the key.  But who has the energy for that?  Ha, it's been interesting to see ourselves react to certain situations.  Let's just say consistency, cruel and unusual punishment (aka. crate training), and patience are a work in progress for us.  Oh well, he'll get the hang of it some day.  I hope.

Life with a pup is definitely different.  We take evening strolls around the neighborhood, frequent the park, mop and vacuum at least once a day, and say things like: "I have a piece of poop in my hand where should I put it?!" all too often.  Not to mention how we freak out when he is out of sight for fear that he is off peeing somewhere. We often joke that this is great "basic training" for when we have a baby.

This weekend has been the challenge of all challenges, though.  Traveling with a un-potty-trained puppy is more high maintenance than I anticipated.  Lets just hope that housekeeping doesn't notice the yellow pee stains on the bedspread.

Per Kevin's request.

a whole lot of jibberish and some exciting news

Last Sunday I started to write a post about the weather and how beautiful the weekend had been.  The first sentence went a little something like this:"Some of the items from our "summa time" list are starting to creep into our reality! Following was the list with strikeouts through the things that had happened (ie. 1. snow cone shacks dot every corner).

Things were looking up!  We got our snow cone fix and rode our bikes all over town for a couple of days.  We even did a sweet ride up the canyon to Bridal Veil Falls on Sunday. But as it turns out I would have totally jumped the gun had I posted it.  Monday was the first day of the ongoing rain streak and today marks the 7th consecutive day of rain.  It has been a pretty wet and dreary week to say the least.

But there was only one thing that could have turned our frowns upside down...and it did. 

We have a new addition to our family.  Meet little Louie:

It's been a long time coming...we have both been antsy to add a puppy to our mix since we got married and finally decided to do it.  He's a 12 week old Aussie-doodle with so much love to give.  We love him!