Missing Abby

Its been a week since we said goodbye to Abby. Its been a week since I last held her, gave her a hug and a kiss. Its been a week, but it feels like yesterday I was just bringing her home for the first time. And we were just teaching her how to sit, speak, dance and give high fives. I will think of her every time I eat peanuts, popcorn or french fries. All her favorites.Oh, and we cant forget the pizza crusts. She loved her treats! After a while she thought she deserved a treat for just playing with her toys with you. When she was done playing she would run straight to the pantry like "ok mom give me my treat now". I remember one time I was throwing old bread into the yard for the birds. Well I was standing in the door way when I did so and I saw this little red flash dart between my legs and by the time I looked up into the yard I saw Abby out there eating ALL the bread I had just thrown! She rarely barked and that caused her to get trapped in closets a lot of times. You'd happen to walk by and hear this tiny little scratch on the door. You'd open to find an excited Abby so overjoyed to see you that her butt was shaking faster than her little nubbin of a tail. She LOVED blankets. Anyone with a blanket instantly became her best friend. She was good at finding the perfect spot too, might not be comfortable for you but that's just how it went. She would climb all over you especially while you were sleeping, to get snuggled in. She really was the best snuggler, Id give all my possessions to just snuggle with her again. I know she is in a safe happy place now, but that does not mean that I don't just want her here with me. My brother said "Nico I dont think we found Abby, I think she found you. She was looking for someone to love her like you did." I don't know how such a small creature could love us all that much. I still have so much more love to give her. She came into my life when I needed her the most and she was a bridge to a happier fuller life.I was 19 years old with so much growing up to do and she was there thru it all. She was there thru the bad times and the good. She was there for my travels, life changes, marriage, first home and when I gave the exciting news to Greg that we were expecting. She was always there.Memories and pictures of Abby are like gold to me. I never took her for granted and I was always sure to say goodbye and that I loved her because I never knew. She was a fighter and there were a few times that we thought we were going to lose her. But she fought thru it and came out stronger. If she could of stayed another 60 years I know she would have. She really gave me some of the best years and I will cherish them forever. I love you Abby. We all do.

Europe (opps forgot to post this in 5-2010)

There is so much to talk about when it comes to Europe. I have posted so many pictures on Facebook so I apologize that I wont be posting as many on the blog.
We started our trip by flying into Paris France, We enjoyed a nice picnic at the Eiffel tower around sunset with a bottle of wine we snuck in. We spent a lot of time at the louvre museum visited the Notre Dame Cathedral checked out the Rodin Museum (the thinker). We also visited the Palace of Versailles. It was so sunny and hot the few days we were in Paris! We were really looking forward to the cool weather in Germany.
We took a train to Munich Germany.We walked around the Marienplatz the central square of Munich.We ate at the Hofbräuhaus brewery twice. Once for dinner and once for lunch. We made some awesome new friends which we plan to meet up with in DC soon. The liter steins gave us a work as we drink to every new Bavarian song played! Our hotel said it had AC, but AC turned out to be the smallest little fan in the corner of the room. Thankfully with the rain we didn't need it we had a nice cool breeze. We spent a day hiking around the neuschwanstein castles!We took a tour of the castle Disney based his castle for sleeping beauty off of. It was enchanting;)
We took the most luxurious short flight into Austria and then headed to Italy!
We loved the historical feeling all of Europe had but it was really an awesome feeling to witness things that you read about and studied as an Art major to see in life! Greece was just as amazing and we were sure to drink to poseidon, that became our long running joke and still makes us laugh now!

Abby does not like Plate music

Finally we have rain!

It was exciting to see after dinner last night that it was actually raining outside! So Greg and I pulled the patio chairs up to the edge of the patio and just sat out there and listened to it rain. You cant help but love the smell of rain, hot cement, but still:) Made for a very nice evening.

A grand adventure is about to begin

Coming soon
A sweet surprise with lots of coos and cries to some very proud parents-to-be on or around February 17th 2011.

The never ending yard

We were tired of our ground coverage getting tangled up in the backyard bushes. So I took matters into my own hands and made a few adjustments;)
The top picture is one of the bushes before and then after.
It only took about half a day to do all four but it was worth the cuts and scrapes;)

Happy Mothers Day

Happy Mothers day Lynn and Jan. We hope that you both have a very special relaxing day today.

Planting flowers in the Desert

I have to agree with Greg's comment, planting flowers in Phoenix AZ is much different than planting flowers back home in the Midwest. In the Midwest you could plant flowers anywhere and know that the soil is rich and that there will always be rain and moisture in the ground. Now here in Phoenix you plant flowers where you know you can hook up to the drip system or plan to spend a few hours attaching additional hose for the drip system;)

Greg and I spent last Sunday morning doing just that. We extended our drip system to the side of the house to plant our new afterglow bougainvillea bush. We set it up so eventually we can add more flowers and ground coverage there. I have to say it was a major work out though, I raked rocks and softened the ground while my sweet sweet husband shoveled dirt;)Of course later that day was the windiest day we've had in a while but our lil bougainvillea held its ground.
I recently saw my bottle brush bush bloom for the first time. They say that it will attract butterflies. Apparently it attracts dogs, and tastes good too I caught Schroeder (Mike and Maras puppy) eating the blooms and I watched him eat them a second time as well;) Gold star for the day:)
My parents were out this last week for a nice visit. We were able to take them to cavecreek Friday afternoon and do a little shopping at the iron works store. Of course there were about 20 different things I would of loved to have. Thanks to my parents for our new garden art. We placed the iron cactus in between our two palm trees and it seemed to be the missing piece to our garden. It adds height and character.
Id say I also had a pretty good 30th birthday month. We celebrated with Gregs parents at the Dubliner, a nice Irish pub and than again with my parents at Rustlers Roost. The Dubliner was a hit with Greg and Tony, I mean the waitresses were wearing barmaid outfits. Rustlers Rooste is up a pretty steep hill that overlooks cambelback mountain. I was surprised with a cowgirl hat and a chocolate Sundae.
I finally hiked camelback mountain with Greg and the view took my breath away. We had a nice little snack up top and just relaxed on the edge of a rock enjoying the view.
Greg is approaching finals. Actually he had his first final last night. I am confident that he will ace his tests. I know he is looking forward to celebrating and relaxing soon.
The countdown to Europe has begun! Who knows if we will even come back!We will send a ticket for Abby;)

Its bath time

Little Abby Chillin in her bubble bath;)

The Amazing Birthday Celebration in Boston

My husband is a great man;) He surprised me a few months ago with an early birthday present, a trip to Boston. I haven't been to Massachusetts since we moved when I was about 15. So I was excited to go back to possibly visit with friends I haven't seen in a while as well as show Greg around since he has never been to New England.
We flew out of Phoenix March 17th (St Patricks Day). We were hoping for decent weather and a safe flight. The flight was great. We were able to watch satellite TV and keep tabs as to what states/Country (Canada) the plane was flying over. It also told us exactly how many minutes were left on the flight.
We took the Subway to our hotel in Cambridge. We stayed at the Royal Senesta. It was right on the water and directly across from a train station and the Cambridge mall. I don't know that we could of stayed at a nicer hotel. There were always door greeters. Our room had the most comfortable hotel bed Ive ever slept in. We unpacked, starred at the breath taking view of the water from our room, played with the room gadgets, towel warmer, floor warmer, drape opener etc and headed out to a recommended bar to celebrate our first night in Boston and St. Patricks day!

We walked all over the faneuil hall marketplace and decided on Bell in Hand Bar. It was jam packed! All the bars were located in this nostalgic cobblestone area and they were full of St. Patricks Day characters! The Green beer was flowing! Everyone was in good spirits. We hung out upstairs and listened to a live DJ and then headed downstairs for a fun cover band. Pretty much danced like fools until it was time to walk back to catch the T and head to the hotel.
With the three hour time change and celebrating St Pats Day we had a late start on Thursday. We caught a train to Boston Commons (Americas oldest Public Park)and started the Freedom trail tour. If anyone is ever in Boston I highly recommend this. To be surrounded by such dramatic history was really over whelming and strengthen my love for our country. The trail is only about 2 1/2 miles long but it took us a majority of the day with all of the stops.
We toured the Granary burying ground, the last resting place of the patriots.It is the resting place of Ben Franklin's parents, Paul Revere, John Hancock, Sam Adams and victims of the Boston Massacre. They said Mother Goose may also be buried there.
We toured the Kings Chapel, which is still in use today. The chapel also had a burial ground and they said they often ran out of space and sometimes up to four people shared a grave. You can see in some of the pictures how the tombstones are right on top of each other. There were about 2000 tombstones but they estimate there are double the amount buried.
We passed the old City hall and book store and took a tour of the Old State house, where the child Independence was born;) We were able to view the drawing Paul Revere provided of the Boston Massacre and actually visit the site. You do have to feel bad for Ol Caldwell, he was just the innocent stranger from out of town.

We walked back to the Faneuil marketplace (Quincy Market place) and viewed the New England Holocaust Memorial. Etched into the glass walls you will see six million numbers in the memory of the six million Jews who were murdered. The quote was "the Freedom Trail reminds us that the struggle for freedom and human liberties is never-ending".
We took a tour of Paul Reveres house and couldn't believe that he had 16 children! Eight with his first wife and eight with his second. They said that Paul waited 5 months after his first wife died before he remarried. That was a really long time to wait back then, normally they would re marry in one to two days to make sure someone was taking care of the children!In April it will mark the 150th anniversary of the Paul Revere poem "Paul Reveres Ride".
Paul Reveres house is in the "Italian District". It was just full of life and was everything you thought it would be. It seemed that everyone knew everyone as they passed by their shops, people were yelling at one another across the busy streets. It was an incredible experience. We walked into this pastry shop, mikes pastry's and saw some serious heart attack goodies!! With all the walking we had done by this point we could of spoiled ourselves with a treat but we didn't;)
We headed across the bridge to tour the USS Constitution.
We made it just in time for the last 330 touring. The USS constitution is the most celebrated ship in American history. It launched in 1797 and it is still an active commissioned ship today. It is also referred to as Ironsides because cannonballs bounced off of her live oak sides. We had an active duty sailor giving us the tour. The ship was amazing, we wished that we had a little more time to glance around, but the tour was only a half hour and it closed immediately afterwards.
We then headed to the Art Museum to check out the Secrets of the Tomb exibit. They did a wonderful job displaying the artifacts. It was interesting to see the similarities in our everyday lives, aside from the whole mummification bury your wife with you part;)They had a room built to the actual size of the tomb. I always imagined a HUGE space, but it just wasn't so.It was hard to imagine so many things,so well preserved in such a small space.
So now our journey begins. Greg and I had a long day and thought it would be fun and romantic to pick up some dinner and wine and head back to the hotel to relax and talk about our fun vacation so far. Well......we returned back to the hotel around 10pm, so the mall was closed and we found that there were no wallgreens, cvs stores or shops in general within 10 blocks of the hotel by using my phone and searching with google maps. The only business we came across was a petco that accidentally said "Tr eat your pets". Im sure they meant "treat your pets";)We got a little laugh out of that sign everyday. Now we've walked and walked and our feet are killing us, so we walked some more and decided to just head back to the hotel and ask. We were told that there was a Shaws grocery store that we could take a cab or walk to. Taking a cab would of been about 2o dollars and we couldn't see the point in that. So you guessed it, we walked. And as we were finally approaching the store we saw a liquor store on the same corner but thought, no biggie we will get what we need at Shaws. Wrongo...Shaws didn't sell alcohol we had to go to the liquor store which we found just closed as we were walking out of the door. So we had a romantic dinner of chewy chocolate chip cookies, fig newtons and water;) It was fun though and I will say I smile every time I think of our luck that night;)
Friday we stopped at dunkin donuts picked up our coffee and headed to the Aquarium after we were shot down at the Science Museum for Duck tours. Apparently they didn't start until Monday, though we watched two of them go by on the water from our hotel and drive past us in the street. We hung out with penguins, a couple of sharks and myrtle the green sea turtle that thinks shes queen of the tank. She has been there since 1969. Greg and I were able to watch as the divers jumped in and fed the animals. Every year they rescue between 100-150 sea turtles. The aquarium also has an Imax theatre, so we caught the viewing of the Hubble 3D. My jaw dropped when they showed pictures of orion's belt and we witnessed the birth of a star...I wish I could of somehow captured it on video.
We toured the waterfront and headed to Yawkey way to see Fenway Park. We had front row seats for lunch at the bleachers. Great food, Great view, Great time;)Now we will have to head back so that Greg can experience his first real baseball game:)
Later that evening we met up with one of my best friends from sixth-ninth grade;)It was nice that Jennie and her husband Chad were able to drive up during the week to Boston to have dinner with us. The last time we saw each other was back in 2003 when Jennie was living in L.A. Weve always kept in touch thru email but lately with Facebook its been really easy to stay in touch. We had a nice dinner at the sail loft which my friend Carrie recommended. Greg had his fresh sea food shrimp platter;) You cant visit Boston and not have seafood!
Saturday, our last day in Boston we found ourselves back at the Art museum. Its one of the largest museums Ive been to. I was just taking it all in. They paid so close attention to detail. Each exhibit was in a room that resembled the time period and really helped capture the emotion of the art work. They had an exhibit that was the "hall of the masters"and it was jaw dropping beautiful!
We accomplished so much in just a few days and of course there was so much more we would of liked to done, visit cape cod, see the Boston tea party ship, visit my old home town but in the end we were really happy with everything. We will just have to plan another trip back someday:)
It is definitely one of the most amazing birthdays Ive had. I will cherish these memories and always look back on this trip with a big smile. I am truly blessed with a wonderful husband that did such a great job planning this out. I really feel that he understands how special MA is. The atmosphere does not compare to anywhere else I have been. It is a city with a deep history. The nostalgic buildings and the living history create a strong sense of pride. It felt as though every house we passed or person we sat by had some show of patriotism. It might have been a bruins t shirt or flag in every window but you could sense it was there.
I hope you all enjoy the pictures as much as we do. If your thinking of a vacation spot I would highly recommend Boston! It is very safe and clean, thanks to Harvard;)

Spring is in the air

In a few months I'm sure we will already be well into our sizzling summer heat, but right now the weather is perfect. We have had more rain in the last month than we did all of last year. So its exciting to know that flowers will be blooming like crazy soon. Already Ive noticed my rose bush has doubled in size from last year and our flowers are already creating mounds:)We mow our yard year round, but for some reason the fresh cut grass smells the best this time of year;)

Abby the crummy guard dog II

Again Abby reinforcing the fact that she is above having to guard the yard. Notice the cat on the wall watching Abby.