Canine Spotlight

A continuation of a series I started long ago...

In the Spring of 2007 we were blessed with the addition of Miss Cookie to our canine brood. She was adopted as a puppy by my Brother-in-Law Michael and his family. But what they thought would be a smallish lap dog quickly became bigger than they bargained for. Though they loved her dearly, they didn't have the proper yard and time for a feisty 60lb dog with lots of energy. So, they began looking for a better home for her. Having met Cookie, her sweet disposition tugged at our heart strings. We knew we could give her the life she needed. Lots of love and room to run. We couldn't bear to let her go to anyone else.And so entered into our lives a wild and crazy 6 month old mutt with too much penned up energy. Hence the nickname, Cookie Monster. The next year would bring with it all the typical costly puppy hood charades. Our favorite had to be the hot tub cover that she completely destroyed. Of course, the deck took it's share of abuse as well with Gabe having to replace more than a handful of rails.

But, we take the responsibility of animal ownership very seriously. They are as much part of the family as our children are. We wouldn't get rid of our children for destroying a hot tub cover. The same goes for our animals. It is just part of the deal.


Eventually, Cookie calmed down. Once she was able to be trusted to run the property without running away, we saw a huge difference in behavior. She quickly made friends with the neighborhood canines and exerts all her energy playing and running all day long.

Three years later, Cookie has turned into an exceptional dog and a terrific addition to our family. She is sweet, loyal, friendly, protective, and well mannered. We didn't put her through much training, but she still seems to always know what you want.

She lost a good friend when Linus died. But she has since created a pal in Mia, who calls for her each and every time we come home from an outing.

We can't image our lives without our Cookie. Her sweet face melts your heart.

Mia Cam

For your viewing pleasure...

Pic(s) of the Week: The Chair

Last weekend, we bought Mia her very own pint size lawn chair.

I think she likes it.

Because this is what we have done every day since then...


But yesterday, there was this...
Priceless.

Green Thumb

For the last three years we have tried to grow our own garden. Tried and failed.

The first year, we planted seeds in the garden bed. Then a huge biblical rainstorm came through. After what seemed like 40 days and 40 nights of rain, the garden was completely washed out.

The second year, we grew plants indoors from seeds and Gabe planted them in the garden bed. This time, however, he planted them in mounds so that they would survive any big rainstorms. It seemed to be going well, but the plants all eventually died never producing any fruit.

The third year, we didn't even try. With the new baby, it was too much to think about.

This year, though, Gabe had a brilliant idea to make raised vegetable beds. Making the bed frames was easy, but the filling with dirt was a long, hard process.
But all the hard work seemed to pay off. We cheated a little bit and bought plants, instead of growing from seed. We started small this year, planting tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini, a couple of pepper plants and a rhubarb plant. They came out looking pretty good.
That was April.


This is now...
This was part of the blood and sweat we shed last week, but I think the garden looks darn good!


And here is the tomato bed. We bought around 8 plants thinking we would lose some of them, but they are all thriving. There is going to be a lot of pico de gallo this summer.
Oooooh, I can't wait!

Here is the squash/cucumber/pepper bed...
I can't wait to get my hands on these zucchini. My favorite!!!
It is just so amazing what comes out of these plants in such a short period of time. That Man Upstairs is pretty cool.
Yep, after years of shattered hopes, disappointment, and disaster, we are keeping our fingers crossed that this is our year for garden success.

Memorial Weekend

So, what kind of person has a fantastic, fun filled weekend and doesn't take a single picture?

That would be ME!

We had a crazy weekend. And I guess in all that craziness, I didn't think of the camera once. Okay, I thought about it briefly when I stuck the batteries in the charger, then proceeded to completely erase any thought of cameras from my mind.

Oops.

That's okay, I will tell you about it anyway.

Our holiday weekend was centered around the big backyard BBQ we had on Sunday. All last week, after Mia went to bed, we spent our evenings working outside, weeding, planting, cleaning, and anything else that needed done in preparation for our big shindig. There is nothing that motivates more than having a bunch of people over. We now have great tans, but sore muscles and a couple of bruises here and there. But it was well worth it. The place looked great and the party was a blast.

Friends and neighbors converged on the Schnelle house on Sunday afternoon for what turned out to be a very hot, humid, but perfect BBQ day. We ended up having about 15 adults and 9 children. To me, that is the perfect size. Not to many, not too few. I like to be able to spend time with everyone, and too many people makes it difficult. Then I spend the next few days feeling guilty about how I didn't get to talk to this one or that one. I don't know what it is about kids, but I LOVE it when there are lots of kids around playing and having a good time. Gives me warm fuzzies. Unfortunately, Mia came down with a fever the night before and spent most of the day napping so she missed out on most of the fun. Today, I found out that she has Roseola - poor bugger.

Anyway, we had a great time celebrating the holiday. The rain that was forecast held off and it remained sunny and hot. Turned out to be a beautiful evening to hang out on the porch. We have been really blessed to have great neighbors and meet wonderful people in the four years we have been here. It was great to have them all together and enjoy the day.

With all the hard labor and partying, Monday was spent recovering. I ended up coming down with a crazy cold, and Gabe was suffering from a bit of Beersheimers. However, we always take the time to reflect about the true reason for celebrating Memorial Day, which is to remember those who have served our country. My Grandfather, Father and Uncles all proudly served in the armed forces. My grandfather especially saw the trials of war, having been in the thick of WWII. Thankfully, all returned home safely. But on Memorial Day our thoughts turn to those who were not so lucky, but have given their lives for our right to live free in this wonderful country we live in.

We salute you.