Boys Will Be Boys

I may have been the odd man out this weekend but our furry friends helped balance out the genders. A month ago Pat planned to have "the guys" down to the creek house in Beaufort to watch basketball. A few weeks later it changed to "couples weekend" then everyone bailed so it became "dogs weekend." Brad, Jesse and his dog Tule stuck out the rainy weekend with us. 

Saturday afternoon shaped up to be nice so Pat and I took the dogs for a walk. When the tide is low the marsh is a playground for them, Maggie loves it! Molly is not the active dog that Maggie is, she is more low key and cuddly (which I love) but after some observation she joined her big sister running and sniffing.

 

After our walk we started a fire and hung around outside as long as the weather would permit. This is when I learned that boys will be boys!

Exhibit A: Who Can Climb the Highest

I missed the beginning of this contest but once Pat started up the giant live oak I decided to give it a try myself. When he got to the same point as Jesse he decided to break the tie by jumping from one large branch to the other. I said "Wait we need the camera first!" And the next thing I knew he on the other branch....and then he wasn't. He slid off the branch! I looked down just as Jesse extended his arms to catch him (yeah right Jesse, but good try!). The impact of the 10 foot fall knocked them both down and they fell in opposite directions.

As illustrated in the diagram, Pat went from point A to B and finally to C. It was hilarious!! We would be $100,000 richer if I wasn't in that tree and had caught it on video....priceless!

Exhibit B: What Does a Shock Collar Feel Like? 

 Exhibit C: Log Splitting  

I think Brad came out on top with his one arm swing.

Oh boy, will boys be boys! Luckily everyone made it out unscathed!

Sunday afternoon the neighbor kids knocked on the door to see if they could take Maggie and Molly for a walk. These same neighbors fed Maggie, Ginger as they called her, and gave her shelter under their deck before we discovered her and took her home with us. The little boy and girl next door have loved her ever since. Maggie loves to roam the point and we always know when she is spotted, "Ginger, I mean Maaagggie!" It is so cute!

We enjoyed a good time with old friends while our furry companions had a good time with new ones. Molly and Tule have the potential to be best buds....if Tule can reduce her speed by 100 mph and Molly gets out of my lap long enough to run after her.

Spring Has Sprung!

We are not the type that spends our weekend at home. We are usually on the go or out and about but this weekend we enjoyed the nice weather from our own house! We opened the blinds to let the sun in and kept the back door open so the dogs could come and go as they please.

"Are you guys kidding me? This is just plain embarrassing!" - Maggie

The last two weekends I have planned meals and made dinner. Thursday night I even made an apple pie! Not that I am bragging though, those few meals have amounted to more than I have cooked in the last year...it's hard to find the motivation when cooking for one! I joked that my maternal instincts kicked in when we got the puppy! :)

I ran out to grab some groceries and noticed a familiar yellow powder covering my car. Oh no, pollen! I popped a Zyrtec and tried not to think about the symptoms to come. What promoted my trip to the grocery store was the idea of enjoying an afternoon in the backyard, eating something cool and refreshing. After a short time in the kitchen I joined Pat and the dogs outside while the blackberry frozen yogurt churned inside!

The first batch we made was so good we couldn't stop. We decided that the apple pie would be even better if we had vanilla frozen yogurt to go on top...and we were right!!!

This morning we met up with Jon at the property that will one day be the new Stier Supply Company. Maggie tagged along as they walked the property, during which time Molly and I explored everything the fenced-in area had to offer.

Now I am sneezing, sniffling and wiping my eyes but I couldn't think of a better way to spend this holiday weekend than hanging with St. Patrick himself!

Wealth vs. Generosity

Wealth isn't something Pat has an abundance of; his generosity on the other hand is busting at the seams.

This weekend he entered another chili cook off to benefit breast cancer awareness but this time it was a cause closer to our hearts. It was in honor of our friend Amy who lost her battle with breast cancer a few months ago.

This competition required the participants make at least 5 gallons of chili. Friday night we went to Whole Foods and bought the highest quality ingredients they had to offer. We, oh excuse me, I spent the rest of the evening chopping, dicing and measuring while Pat supervised and "got his mind right."

We served a lot of people and had some repeat customers, many saying they liked Pat's the best! It wasn't the most organized competition, we were told to have our chili ready for judging at 1:00 but they didn't come around to collect our entry until 3:00. Pat was disappointed because after serving so many the temperature is hard to regulate but he won 3rd place anyway! He wasn't thrilled with the results but he did great and won $100! I was pleased with the 3rd place ranking but not the fact that the winnings didn't cover the cost of ingredients! But it was all for a good cause and we got our monies worth in enjoyment.

Weekends like these remind us not to take life for granted and to seize the opportunity to give back...even if it leaves your pockets a little lighter!

4 in the Bed and the Little One Said

...THANK GOODNESS!! That right, we are a family of 4! Last Thursday we adopted 16 week old Molly.

 You may be thinking that I mistaking put up a picture of Maggie but nope, that is Molly! A few weeks ago I spent my Saturday morning browsing pet adoption sites. It ended in tears as I looked at all of the poor doggies with no place to live. One thing led to another and we were on our way to look at 'Cinnamon'. She was very cute and very tired. We decided we would wait until after our weekend away in Charleston to make a decision. The following Tuesday I wanted to look at her again so I pulled up the site and was devastated to read "Cinnamon has been adopted!"

To make a long story short, I continued to check the site and in a week she was back! I'm not sure what happened with the other owners and I don't care because now she is ours!

Sisters!

Everyone was a little worried about how Maggie was going to react. She had her momentary breakdown but everything seems to be on the up and up. The first night we broke the rules and let Molly sleep in bed with us; it was a little crowded but I loved it! Since then Maggie has been enjoying her nights alone in the bed while Molly cooperatively sleeps in her crate.

Cousins sharing Papa Jon's chair.

I can't get enough puppy love.

And neither can he!!

If she continues on this path I may be able to say she is the best puppy ever. She hasn't had any accidents outside of the usual excited/scared moments and all of my shoes are still intact! Although, as a friend pointed out to me today, chewed shoes or no chewed shoes the love is already there.