Friday, April 20, 2012

Decisions, decisions.....


Yes, important decisions.

Life altering, really.

And I can't make it alone.

So I need y'alls help.

Are you ready for this?

....

........

..............

Wait, you sure?

....

........

..............

I don't think you're ready.

....

........

..............

Ok, maybe now.

This is serious, people.

Put your game faces on.

I just can't make up my mind.

....

........

..............

What do I do??????!!!!!!!!

....

........

..............

Here it is:

....

........

..............

What nail polish do I wear next?!


From left to right.
Purple Crush?
Figure of Art?
OR
Dazzle?

I know, right?!
How do you chose?!?!?!

I think i'm going with Figure of Art bronzy awesomeness for my toes.

Thoughts for my fingers?

Bronzy again?

Or the pinky fabtasticness?

Or silvery Dazzle? Just the name alone makes me all giddy inside.

Your asses need to get on here and comment back so I know what the green hornet balls to do!!!!
Right.
NOW!!!!

BTW, I shall be painting said nails........on my deck........in 65 degree sunny bliss weather............with a frosty beverage VERY near by.
Don't hate.

BYOC-Bring Your Own Crazy!!

It’s Friday – so it’s time for BYOC – Bring Your Own Crazy, brought to you by my lovely friendy Draz!! We answer 5 questions to get to know each other better and to give our blogging brains a break! Copy to your own blog and enjoy!

1. Do you have any siblings? What is your relationship with them? Good, bad, ugly?

Yes, I have 3 siblings. I have a biological brother, who is 2 years younger than me and a big pain in my ass. No really, he's cool. He's just the biggest smart ass and hilarious person you'll ever meet. We've got a semi-decent relationship, basically I see him every couple months, but we rarely talk on the phone.

Then I have a step-sister, who is my age....31. And while she only lives 2 hours away, we rarely talk and see each other. Which makes me sad. I really need to be a better sister.

And last I have a step-brother who is a few years older than moi. I get along with him fine, but he lives in Colorado and doesn't get the best cell reception, so we never talk, except at Christmas. Like, I haven't seen him in almost 2 years and just found out at Christmas that him and his girlfriend were having a baby (and they were 6 months along. 6 MONTHS?!?! Ya, that pissed me off that I was the last to know. But what can you do.) and the baby is actually due today, or Sunday depending on what the doc says. So i'll be another Auntie, which I love!

2. Let’s talk pizza. Do you prefer homemade or restaurant? What toppings are your fave?

Iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiieeeeee................am going to order pizza today. Yup. That's how I roll. Let the fat-cation continue. I like Dominoes with pepperoni,  jalapenos and onion. All dipped in a gallon of Ranch dressing. Mmmmmmmmm.

3. When is the last time you cried – in sadness and in joy?

I have no idea actually. I can't at all remember when I cried for joy. But I think crying because of sadness was a few months ago. But I know for sure it's going to happen in the next few months, because the anniversary of my dad's death is fast approaching. But that's ok, I think crying is good for you. Like a release.

4. Do you own a gun – one that is specifically yours? Do you know how to use it?

As a matter of fact......I do!
I own a Remington 1100 shotgun. It was my dads, and given to me a few months ago.
Check me out:
 That is me when I was trying to do a 'mean' face. Jesus, Mary and Farts.

And that is my Mother's 'mean' face.  Nice.

And this is what we do at Thanksgiving.......Every. Year:
So, yes, I clearly know how to shoot. And know how to dress to shoot, apparently.
I've been shooting all sorts of guns since I was old enough to carry a beebee gun and shoot birds in our back yard. Yup. That's me.

And to give you a clue into my family's obsession with weapons, this is what we do when we go to my mom's house:

Lovely, aren't we.
Yes, that is my mom's boyfriend, blowing stuff up. In her yard. For shits and giggles.
That was a small explotion too, the first one literally shook the windows in the house.
We are so redneck.

5. Repeat question. Summarize your week!

Oh my. It's been a week, that's fo sho. Planning a baby shower, work sucks blue donkey balls, yard work to boot, eating like a heifer, loafing like a slug. Just to name a few. Oh, and we're laying people off today. FML. Don't worry, I'm safe, and my department is safe, but a lot of people are losing their jobs today and it makes me sad. I don't know if the recession is just hitting us now or what, but it sucks ass.

Well, I'm off to order pizza. Because I like to eat my feelings.
And then I am going to drink A LOT tonight.

Cheers Lovies!!!

Thursday, April 19, 2012

Ten Things Thursday

Another round of randompantsness (it's a word) to just brighten your soul. You're welcome.

1. I'll start your day off right (Cat!) with a little Wyatt action.

This is what I've gotten to wake up to the last 4 days:
Yup. Don't be jealous.

I wake up, stretch, turn around and there he is. All snoring and soft and cuddly.
So then we spoon.
And I scratch his ears.
And tell him he's the best puppy in the world.
'Cause that's what normal not-at-all-obsessed-with-your-pet dog lovers and owners do.

2. This day was starting out so nice. I woke up refreshed. Had a semi-peaceful drive into work. Was kinda excited to actually do some work.

Then the one person that I butt heads with comes in to my office. First thing in the morning. And wants me to modify a product that we are NOT approved to do (by the FAA). Sure, we can just get parts in and just change them up however we want and just put them back on an airplane. Lickity split. No problemo.

Sometimes I just want to pull my hair out and run screaming from the building. Or drown myself in a keg of beer. And it's only 8:51am.

3.  This week has been a rough one for injuries. Seriously. My left hand is all tangled up.
First was the tragic window washing injury:
Which left the above bruise on my wrist. I know, I know, you can barely see it. But trust me. It's there.

Then the other night I decided that ironing shirts wasn't good enough, and decided to see what ironing my hand would look like, because I'm cool like that:
 Purdy, huh?

It's a wonder how I've made it through life with only minor scraps and bruises, seeing that me and Mrs. Clumsiness are clearly besties.

4.  Another week has gone by sans dreadmill action. I know I keep whining about this, and you're probably like, 'Laura! JUST.GET.OFF.YOUR.FAT.POOPER.AND.WORK.OUT!', but I just have no energy to do so. It's sad, really. Like, sad and pathetic. That's me. Mrs. Patheticpants McGee, here to chug beers and eat crap and watch her glorious muffin top grow.

I've made the decision that Monday is my day. My day to start fresh. I've got a really hectic weekend coming up and I know I'm going to have zip for willpower, so I'm going to start fresh on Monday.
No eating crap.
No smoking.
No drinking during the week.
And I will GET MY ASS ON THE CONVEYOR BELT OF DEATH!

So there.

5.  Have you guys seen this stuff:
Seriously, it's kinda like a rice cake, but not, it's better. And look at how good it is for you!!! No fat! No sugar! All natural! 15 Calories! Woop woop!

I originally bought it to dip into hummus, but I didn't like it all that well. So now, I've been dribbling some raw honey on it in the afternoons and it completely takes my sweet cravings from Hell away! OK, lets be honest here, it doesn't completely take them away, because the last 2 weeks I've been acting like a psychotic crack addict when it comes to chocolate. But, if I wasn't a psychotic chocolatecrack addict, it would totally work for my gigantic tyrannosaurus rex sized sweet tooth. So if you see some at your local shoppy shop, pick up a bag. They have different flavors too. Like cinnamon and onion, but not together, of course. Which I will be trying too. Soon.

6.  So, my friendy Jordan and I have been planning and working on our other friendy's baby shower, that's happening this weekend. (Hence the cleaning of windows and ironing induced injuries stated above, and the hecticness.) And you would not believe how fun and exhausting it is!! OMG. Fo'realz. But I completely blame myself, because when Jess asked me if I'd host her baby shower I was like, "YESSSSSSS!!!! It will be amazing, and fantastic, and down right the best damn baby shower of this century!" And I'm sure she was thinking, just a simple BBQ, some friends, and a few laughs. But OH NO sista! We got to go all out with this shiz! So that's when I went out and started doing all these crafty things, and baking things, and more crafty things. Luckily, well, maybe she doesn't think she's so lucky now, but Jordan volunteered to help and has taken a huge chunk of the crafty projects and completed them herself. Thank you baby Jesus for Jordan!

Anyways, I don't want to show you all the amazingness we have planned (I know, I'm such a tease), because I know the soon to be new mama reads this, but I will definitely have pictures for you guys next week! All I can say is there's going to be a lot of 'Ohhhhhhhhhhhh' and some of 'Ahhhhhhhhhh' going on up in heeeere.

7.  About a month and a half ago I had to go take pictures of the cutest little button. It was torture, I tell you. JK! As soon as I found out my cousin was pregnant I nearly tackled her to get her to let me take the newborn photos. They are my fav!!!
Meet Mr. Cale, my cousin's brand new bundle of joy!!!


Isn't he just adorable?!?!

And I get to take some other friends newborn pics this next weekend! I can't wait!
And I took my other cousin's engagement photos, so as soon as I get a sparrow fart's moment of time I'll get those finished and put them up here too.

8.  Can I just share with you a little thing.......

I'm just loving these. Straight up love them. Borderline obsessed.
And I've gotten so many compliments!

Next up for challenge winnings are these:
Orrrrrrrrrrrrr, these:
The black sequin's are $89 (ouch) and the ivory's are $80.
So I need to work out......A Lot.

You can all thank Vicky for this shoe porn, because she posted about her Wedges, and that led me to obsess about my future Wedges.

9.  Sooooo, my mother in all her infinite wisdom decided to give Ryan and I her old 4-Wheeler. Brilliant. It's an oldie, but a goody. Since my mother and her boyfriend had 3......yes, THREE...... 4-wheelers just sitting around, they were running out of storage space. Hence the giving away of one to us.

I'm pretty sure Ryan is in 7th heaven. He's been outside cleaning, tinkering, polishing, washing, working, and more tinkering on that thing all week. Which has been soooo nice. Because he's been out of my hair of course. hehe.

So even though we live in town, have no where to store this thing, and can't really ride it anywhere......we now have a 4-wheeler. Lucky us......I mean Ryan.

10.  I just pulled these outta my desk:

The chocolate monster from the depths of Hell has no boundries.
Ughhhhhhh.
That's ok, a few more days to indulge and then bye bye chocolate!

Wow, you guys got shoe porn, food porn, and baby & puppy pictures all in one!
You so lucky!

Cheers!!

Wednesday, April 18, 2012

WTF Wednesday

So, I read Draz's WTF Wednesday and decided that I wanted to bitch a little, so I thought I'd share with y'all my bitches. You are so lucky.

  • I don't want to work today. At all. Not even a little bit. But people keep bothering me with stupid shit, like 'Where is this product?' and 'When will this be done?' and 'I can't find this, do you know where it is?' Um yes, I know where everything is. Because I'm a genius. WTF! Stop bothering me!! Can't you see I'm busy pinteresting?!?!

  • On the lines of work bullshit, I mentioned to our 'Safety Coordinator' the other day (who does happen to be a friend of mine, and by friend I mean we are so sarcastic to each other that people think we hate each other, it's fun) that since I've been employed at my shit-stain from Hell job (I really don't mean that, I love my job, but I'm in a pissypants mood right now so I hate everything), we have never, not once, had a tornado drill or fire drill. WTF? Probably, just might be a good idea, hmmm???? Anyways, he comes up to me the other day and says, "I got your tornado deal figured out, you need to go outside and into another building's basement, mmkay?" Um no, not ok. Not at all. GO OUTSIDE?! During a tornado?! Spank you very much but I don't think so. I'll curl up under my desk before I go outside and things get all Wizard the Oz on my ass.

  • I have only run 3.1 miles in 1.5 weeks. WTF is wrong with me? I tried to get up this morning, but then slept in till 7am. People, I have to work 30 minutes away, so that left me with 30 minutes to get ready. Needless to say my hair looks like a crack whore's, with an extra sprinkle of messy toddler hair added. But seriously, why am I not running? Why?! Maybe tomorrow.......

  • I have decided that 79.6% of Wichita drivers have not taken a real driver's ed course. I'm pretty sure they just learned to drive by having their 105 year old granny show them in her turtle slow 1930 crank up Model T.  Wichitan's can't use proper turn signals, can't pass other cars, can't drive even the minimum speed limit, and don't know the proper use of the LEFT LANE! Listen up dumbass Wichita drivers: The left lane is used for PASSING another vehicle. It is NOT used to go 12 miles below the speed limit, just like the other two cars in the next two lanes beside you. And you SHOULDN'T drive like that for 86 miles while there is a build up of 908 cars behind you, riding your ass, and waving their arms like a lunatic (not that I ever do this) until you finally get the point and move your ass over. Oh, and one more thing: don't get all sassypants and flip me off, you brought this on yourself, buddy.

  • Why can I not say no to sugar? WTF is going on with my mental capacities that I feel the need to shove pound after pound of sugar in my hole all day long??? Seriously, yesterday I tried to go the whole day sans the sugarDevil. I made it till 1:03pm and had to go to the vending machine to get cupcakes. Gahhhhh! I need an intervention.

Draz is right. I feel so much better now.

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Let's Jog some Dogs.

Y'all are going to have to bare with me, because I injured my wrist last night while cleaning the windows. Tragic, I know. And it could only happen to me. I'm completely taking it as a sign that window washing shall now be preformed by my husband. For the rest of our lives. Anyway, typing is kinda a crap shoot. If I type fart instead of farther, now you know why.

OK, Dog-N-Jog Weekend Replay!!!!

The weekend was funtastic! We traveled the ohsolong distance (2 hours) north to my mothers home on the Indian Reservation. Yes, she really does live on 'The Rez'. We are these people, folks. The really weird, totally random, slightly hickville, have lazy-susan gun racks in the dinning room type of people. It's fine. Anyway, Ryan said his Hi's and Goodbye's and went in search of the Thunder Chickens (aka turkeys; yes, hunting season is upon thee and I will now become a hunting widow till May, don't be jealous).

Soon it was dark and our first batch of spring storms rolled through:
It was all southeast of us, so we didn't even get a drop. But it was a purdy show!

Saturday morning came WAY.TO.EARLY. The race started at 9am, and we were about an hour away, and we needed to pick up my SIL and her two adorables still. Oh, and we had to get them plus all the dogs loaded in my mom's boyfriends super large truck. Like seriously. It's huge. I tried to find a picture, but I don't have one. Sorry. Anyways, we had to wake up and get on the road by 6:30am. Boo.

We get on the road, dogs loaded, kids loaded, us loaded, gear loaded, stroller loaded and head to KSU Vet Med School (where the race starts). Do you know what it's like having your 5 foot 5 mother, who barely can see over the steering wheel, try to park a pickup with tires the size of Texas? Pretty much hell. And does she pick a spot that has space open on both sides.........ohhhhhh no. That would be two easy! We like a challenge in our family. She picks a spot next to the itty bitty four door car with this little college girl sitting in it, wide eyed and about to cry because she just knows her car is going to get straight up ran over. But! Mom did it. She parked it. ThankyouJesusThankyouLord.

It was only after parking that she ended up damaging the poor girl's car. Trying to get chairs out of a pick up bed that is 2 feet above your head is a wee bit challenging. But instead of WAITING till I pole vaulted into the back, she just pulls the chair over and it lands on the hood of the poor girl's car. Christ. I can not take this woman anywhere. Luckily there was no real damage, and she told me later that she's praying for hail so she can get a new car, so one little scratch wasn't nothin'. Dodged a bullet there, mother.

Next, we herded over to the registration, dogs, kids, mother in tow. I drop all the excess baggage off so they can set up 'camp' and I head to check in. Easy peezy.

Let me introduce you to the group:
From Left to Right: Julie(mom), Corn Dog (Seranade), Me, Wyatt, Adorable Trinity, Brougham (dog not looking), Jennifer, and Adorable Kyron.
We are quite the group.

And I got a pic with Corn Dog and Wyatt:
Wyatt and I right before the race started.
It's almost race time, so Corn Dog and I head to the START line. Leaving poor Wyatt behind. He was NOT happy. Not happy at all. Apparently, once I left, he just turned to face this really big tree, and put his head down. My poor SIL thought there was something wrong! Then my mom said, "oh no, he's just pouting." I've apparently got a jealous little animal on my hands! Don't worry, after I returned he damn near pummeled me and then never left my side, telling me that everything was A-OK.

We get in line for the race, I forgot my MP3, so had to use my phone and my mom's earbuds, which didn't fit right and kept falling out, so I was trying to screw around with that, and hold Corn Dog while she's taking it upon herself to sniff any and everyone's butts, human and canine alike. OH, and I never asked anyone where we were actually going, so have no idea what the race route is. Awesome. Ill-prepared much???
The race started and off we went, with a mass of runners and doggies.
It was kind of a cluster because they didn't block off any streets, we had to use the sidewalks, and a 100 people and a 100 dogs all trying to fit on 3 foot wide pavement just don't work, mmkay?! So I braved the light traffic, and moved off to the street for more space. That's when I tried to pace myself and find my rhythm. Unfortunately that was starting at a hill. Damn Flint Hills in Manhattan!!!
After that monster it was then downhill forEVER, which was just sweet bliss. I picked up my pace and tried to make up some time. Mind you, I also forgot my watch, so I was having to look at my phone for the time.
Apparently she didn't like the hills either. Tongue a hangin'!

The route ended up going through KSU campus and right by some of the old buildings that I used to spend A LOT of my time 'studying' in.

Here is Willard Hall, where most of my photography and painting classes were:
All the buildings on campus are limestone, because of the surplus available in the flint hills around that area. Some buildings are also about 1,376 years old. Like Willard Hall. Makes it interesting to do art when it is -15 degrees in the winter and 128 in the summer. Joy, I tell ya.

Anyways, that was about half way, so I weaved my way through the sidewalks and roads till I finally came up to the finish. I knew that I didn't have the best time, #1: I was stopping to take pictures all the time, and #2: I stopped to see if Corn Dog wanted any water a few times too.

But here we come, barreling down the sidewalk:
I know the picture's blurry, I forgot to change it from Manual focus to Automatic for my mother.

But here's a few more shots post-race:
My time was probably about 30:45 or so, but I still don't know the real time, because I forgot to look at my phone. But it was almost under 30 min, so I'll take it!
My post race 'glow'!

Me and my running partner!! She did sooo good too. She only pulled a few times when other dogs went to the bathroom in front of us and she, of course, had to smell it. But other than that, she stayed right by my side and was always looking up at me to see what my pace was. She's going to be such a good assistance dog when she grows up!!

In case you don't remember what Dog-N-Jog is all about, it's put on by the Vet Med students at KSU, and half the proceeds go to KSDS, which is the organization that my mom participates in, by raising puppies to be assistance dogs for blind, deaf, disabled, nursing homes, etc. She takes the dogs from 8 weeks old, to about 2 years old and trains them to sit, stay, fetch, etc., all the 'basic' commands. Then after 2 years they go back to the KSDS facility to get formal training and to be paired with their 'partner'. Mom has done several dogs, two of which help two wonderful ladies now. Corn Dog has a few more months with us before she goes back and get trained.

Once we got cooled down, water in us, food in us, I paid more attention to my puppy, trying to make up for me leaving him behind.
Big smiles! So happy mom's back!

After the 5K race, we then participated in the 1.5K walk, which is what Mom usually participates in every year.

Off we go! Dogs, stroller, kids, mother, water, more dogs, more kids:
Jennifer, Trinity, Kyron, and Brougham before the start.
Walking through campus.
Wyatt, finally happy he gets to participate!
The race was a blast! And it was so neat to see all the dogs! I think I've talked my SIL to do the 5K with me next year!!! I definitely think this is going to be a yearly event for me!

After we said our Goodbye's, we piled back in the monster truck and headed back to Mom's.
And I got to play with this little cutey:
He just couldn't get enough of Aunt Laura! I was in heaven.

Oh, and he also couldn't get enough of this guy:
"Mom, tell this small person to quit picking on me!!"
Mr. Wyatt also got a little jealouspants when I was playing with Kyron. He kept coming up and nudging my hand and laying down practically on top of me next to me. So I cuddled with him and all was right with the world.

OH, I forgot!!!! Guess what I was wearing post race???!!!!!
That's right! I got my purple sparkly Toms! And they are perfect!  And I will pet them and cuddle them and I love them forever

My brother came to Mom's from work and first words out of his mouth were, "What the hell are you going to do Laura, click your heels back to Wichita?"

Hater's gonna hate, Michael. Hater's gonna hate.

Next on my agenda was this:
My mother's AMAZING fried chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy! Yummmmmmmmmm!

And then I did a little of this, with Colt as my couch-mate:
But I soon needed to get up, and this is what happened:
Really Colt? Really?
He's just beyond ridiculous, that dog.

I did learn one very important lesson, from all my adventures this weekend: If you have a race, do not, I repeat DO NOT, drink about 6 beers the night before, then drink 12 sips of water the entire day of the race, eat only a banana, forget to stretch, before and after, then proceed to empty a 30-Pack of precious Bud Lights after the race. Not at ALL a good idea. Why, you ask? Because your body will pretend it's 87 and your thigh muscles will feel like an elephant did a jig on them for 12 hours. I just now can sit on the toilet without crying. It's been a rough couple of days, I tell ya.

All in all, great weekend!

Now I need to get my pooper on the treadmill and stop shoving donuts, hamburgers, fries, donuts, milkshakes, Thin Mints, beer, donuts, candy bars, more fries, and more donuts in my pie hole.
Ughhhhhhhh.

Monday, April 16, 2012

Nothin' like a good spring storm...

to get the blood a'flowin'!

Yes, we had our first big storm last weekend, here in little ol' Wichitity (aka Wichita, KS).

Breathe easy, I wasn't even in town when all the crazypants shit went down. I was up north. So, I.AM.OK. And thank my lucky stars nothing was damaged at my home.

Good news is no one was killed in Wichita.

Bad news is there is a lot of crap screwed the F up.

My work got hit. The air conditioners got blown off our roof, leaving a gaping hole for a lot of debris to come in. Just leaves and twigs and such. So we have no AC for a little while.

There's another building that got the garage door blown in and major roof damage too.

But we're all ok, and working in a functioning state..........damn it.

Here's a picture of the gas station that is 1/2 block from my office:
And the biggest hit was Spirit Aerosystems. We don't do any direct work with them, but they are a very large company here in Wichita. They took a lot of heavy damage:
That's just one of the several buildings that were hit.

Boeing also got significant damage, as did a few other areas. And a trailer park got completely wiped out.

But like I said, luckily no one was fatally injured. And we're all picking up the pieces today and starting new.

Thanks to everyone that sent their prayers and messages to me! Made me feel soooo loved! Heart you guys!

I have a super busy week this week, but tonight I will get my post up about my race last weekend! It was great!!!

Thursday, April 12, 2012

Ten Things Thursday-Wyatt Birthday Edition

Yes, yes. This little post is going to be mostly all about Mr. Spoiledpants Wyatt, all because he has turned another glorious year older!! On April 7th, Wyatt turned the mature age of 5!!! Such an old man!! And yes, Wyatt and I have the same birthday! It was fate I tell you.

(I would have gotten this done earlier, but work has been a suckhole from Satan's shitter, and I've had to spent my entire time this week trying.....and failing.....to make the high and mighty management cry tears of joy from all the great work I do for them. But, nope, they continue to hate life and blame me for all their problems. Stupid employment. Why oh why didn't I win the mega millions???? WHY!?!?!?!)

Moving on.

So here's my Ten Things!
(And Cat, try not to squeal too loudly when you see this!! lol Wouldn't want Robyn to think you've lost your marbles or anything.)

1. When Ryan and I finally moved in together, we both had one thing on our minds. Get your minds out of the gutter! Shame shame! We wanted a puppy!! We both grew up with dogs and knew that our lives wouldn't be complete unless we had a little furry bundle of joy running underneath our legs.

So the hunt began.

We knew we wanted a yellow lab, and Ryan wanted it to hopefully be bread for hunting birdies, so first thing we did was go to all the hunting/sporting goods stores to scour the bulletin boards for new batches of pups. Unfortunately, the pickings we're pretty slim. There were a lot of black labs, but hardly any yellow. We did find one breeder, but their pups were about 6 months old already and we really wanted one younger than that.

The search continued. After a few weeks of no luck, we decided that we didn't want to wait till next year to get a puppy, we wanted one NOW. We started to be more open to different colors of labs. We found another breeder that had 2 black pups left, and they were about 3 months old, so we decided that we'd at least go look at them and see. Once we pulled up, we started talking to the guy and said how we really wanted a yellow, but just couldn't find one anywhere.

That's when the heaven's opened up and Fate graced us with her presence.

The guy said, "Well, I've still got one yellow lab left. I haven't advertised for him, because someone already put a deposit on him, but I've tried to contact that guy and he hasn't answered. I was going to wait another week before advertising on him, but if you guys would like to see him, I can bring him out."

WHAT?!?! YOU HAVE A YELLOW?!?!
Thank you baby Jesus!

The breeder went into the house and brought out the cutest little puppy I'd ever seen! He wasn't too sure about us at first and just tentatively walked around the yard. Then, slowly he came around and we got to cuddle and play and pet. Both Ryan and I were goners.

When we took him home it was a rainy afternoon in early July, he sat in my lap the whole way, crying and whining. It was so sad, but so cute at the same time.Once home, we went through all his papers, and that's when I found his birth date on papers.....April 7th?!?! It was just meant to be!

Ryan and I already had picked out a name. Ryan had always wanted to name his dog Wyatt after Wyatt Earp. Well, I had already had a dog named Wyatt Earp way back in early college (that had already passed away). Despite 'our' Wyatt not being the first 'Wyatt' in the family, we still decided to name him what we wanted. But instead of his middle name being 'Earp', I did a little research and found out that the human Wyatt Earp's original name was Wyatt Stapp. He changed it later in life. So we went with Wyatt Stapp Wiksten for our little guy.

Here is our greatest joy, on his first day home:
Just a little guy!

With big ol' paws! (Wyatt, not Ryan.)


(BTW, he's not potty-ing, even though it looks like it in this pic, that's a stain on the floor. He's just leaning over to sniff the shoe weird.)

So handsome!
2.  Wyatt quickly became the center of our universe. Shocking, I know.
Seriously, paws! What are you part bear?!
 
Ahhhhhhhh
3.  We eventually took him to the farm to see his skeeeeeeels in the hunting department.

Big smiles! Happy dog!
He wasn't too interested in training to find the birdies, but he loved the endless fields to run and jump and play and burn off all that puppy energy!

4.  And we all know who his favorite parent is:
Wow. Great picture of myself. I should be a model. Christ.
5.  This is one of my all time favorite pictures! I came in from the outside and found this when I walked in the door:
Both my boys.......pooped.

6.  And of course, us being lake people, we had to take him to the lake:
Such a good boat doggie.
 We quickly found out that the 'F' word is his FAVORITE game in the whole wide world. The 'F' being F-E-T-C-H. Shhhhh, don't say it out loud, he goes ballistic.

7.  We even introduced him to new friends:
Yes, Jess and Lindsay, that's Tucker and Scout tackling our baby.
And they soon became BFFs!

8.  Eventually he grew big enough to go out with 'Dad' and earn his keep:
But, he also liked to try other forms of exercise:
So proud.

And he loves his little kong ball:


9.  But he also is a goofball:
A big goofball. Little turd.

10. Getting Wyatt was the best thing that's ever happened in Ryan and I's lives. Well, besides getting married and all. He is our 'child', our love, and our favorite thing about coming home. He's been the absolute best dog I've ever had. I know people say that all the time, but it's true. He's never had 'accidents' in the house, doesn't dig, jump fences, chews up the furniture, or anything. He's mild mannered, calm, and very lovey. We try to cuddle in bed at least once a week, and he nuzzles into my side and we spoon. Don't hate. He's super smart and has learned all his 'tricks' very fast. He gets the Sunday paper for us every week, he can sit, lay down, and shake on command. The only thing that's a little tricky is the 'stay' for him. But it's just because he's so antsy to be right next to you! Or to fetch his favorite toy.

I have decided that Wyatt is going to live as long as I do. So, I can't wait to spend another 60 years with him!

To my puppy: Happy Belated Birthday!!!! I love you!!!!
"Moooooooom, you're embarrassing me!"
That's what Mom's do puppy, it's what we do.