No More Cleo

Well we no longer have our dog Cleo. There were several reasons for getting rid of her but the biggest one was that she was locked up too long while we were at work. So Jake put an ad on craigslist and we got a response back from a guy who lives outside of Maricopa. He lives on a ranch and has over 100 acres (30 of which are fenced so Cleo could run around outside!) He has a little 3 year old and a baby on the way so he wanted to make sure Cleo is good with kids, which she is! He also wanted a guard dog, and we told him Cleo pretty much growls or barks whenever she hears people outside. He came by last week to see her and she wasn't shy at all, which was a first. He was really nice and Jake and I both felt good about letting our dog go with him. Even though she was frustrating at times it is still hard to say goodbye to a life you have been responsible for.

The guy texted Jake a couple days later and said that Cleo was doing great. She runs around all day chasing lizards! So everything has worked out really well. We are really happy for her and grateful that she went to such a good home. Now my job is trying to keep Jake from convincing me to get another dog (I didn't even make it a month last time!). I told him the only dogs we are ever getting again are chihuahuas. And as much as I would love to have one, there are several factors that keep me from wanting one at the moment.

So now we just have our cat (who is sick and Jake hand feeds everyday!). Cats are easy though and even though they aren't as entertaining as dogs, it's nice to have her around. Ok I'm done for the day. Stay tuned for a picture of our newest piece of furniture, designed and created by my wonderful husband!

2 Years of Blissfulness :)

I'm not sure if blissfulness is a word, but it describes Jake and I perfectly! Extremely happy and a little crazy. I can't believe it has been two years already. We've had so much fun! This year we both had to work on our anniversary. Rarr! But we just got back from our UT trip and we didn't want to take another day off. So we celebrated that Saturday by eating at Buca Di Beppo (because we had a sweet coupon and wanted to try some place new) it was really good! They serve things family style which is a little different, but that just means we had tons of left overs the next day. They put us in the love booth where we were surrounded by pictures of all the famous romance singers like Elvis and Dean Martin. There were also a lot of pictures and weird sculptures of dogs. After that we walked off our meal at the mall and headed to the theater to see Robin Hood. Such a good movie. Like wo. We love epic adventures and classic stories.

All in all it has been a wonderful two years. I don't think we've even had a real fight yet (knock on wood!). Jake is an amazing husband and my favorite thing about him is that he is always trying to make me laugh. We have so much fun together and spend all our free time together. I am so grateful and so blessed to have him in my life. And I love knowing he is mine FOREVER! I'm so excited to share life's greatest adventures with this wonderful man. Happy Anniversary Jake!!



Pictures from our first date/s

Little St. George

My mom's family (the Little's) had a family reunion type thing in St. George a couple weeks ago. Jake and I drove up there after I got off work at 8pm. We were supposed to get there by 3 AM, which isn't too bad for us, we're usually up until 2. But we didn't get there until 6 AM. We missed the exit to Vegas and ended up in CA. ARGH! Poor Jake drove the entire time. He's so amazing! Activities started at 9 the next day so Jake was running on 3 hours of sleep that day. What a trooper!

The trip consisted of hiking, talking, more hiking and eating. We went to Zions because I guess my grandpa used to drive the tour buses through there. The next day we hiked up through a little canyon with a river. It was really beautiful and made me appreciate the desert again (see previous post...). Before we took off we were able to visit Jake's cousin Roy and his cute little family. Jake and Roy used to sell alarms together so we know them pretty well, it was nice to catch up with them again.

I love my family (on both sides!!) Family is what makes life worth living! Here are some pictures from the trip!

This picture perfectly shows how tired he was!

First stop on hike #1 @Zions. We are standing under a waterfall.

Everyone has such funny faces in this one!

Stop #2 at the middle pools. I can't believe I didn't take a picture of them.

Stop #3, upper pool.

Cliff Dweller :)

One of my favorite parts of the trip was playing with Emery! She is so cute! And the funniest thing she did all weekend was scream at Carson. If he ever walked too close or tried to hold her she'd scream at him! It reminded me of the bird Kevin from Up who is always screeching at the dog.

Hike #2 Red Cliffs in Leeds, UT.

My favorite picture from the entire weekend. Oh brothers.

Arthritis Walk

Several weeks ago Jake's work sponsored an arthritis walk at the Phoenix Zoo. Jake signed up because we'd get free t-shirts, but BONUS! We also got free admission to the zoo all day! The walk was probably just about a mile, and it took us on a loop through the zoo. It was awesome being there so early because it wasn't hot yet and most of the animals were still active (like the big cats who normally just sleep all day). So here are some pictures from the walk. We want to go to the Wildlife Zoo sometime soon, so if anyone wants to come with us just let us know!

Learning to Appreciate the Desert

Sorry it's been so long! I have tons to blog about, but I have the hardest time motivating myself to do it. So I'll try to knock one out each day until I'm all caught up.

I wanted to write this post before it gets too hot here and I change my mind! But I've been trying to be more optimistic about living in the desert. A few weeks ago Jake, Cleo, and I went hiking up South Mountain, on the Mormon trail! It was super fun! Cleo did really well and it was nice to do something different. I also started to pay attention to the terrain and found some interestingly pretty flowers. So I took lots of pictures in hopes that they will remind me that there are some good things in this ridiculous climate we live in.

Allergies=Suck.

I NEVER had allergies growing up. I think they first started when I moved to MA, but they have never been this bad! Jake and I both hate taking any kind of medicine (unless absolutely necessary), but last week I had to give in. Itchy eyes, itchy throat, frustratingly annoying runny nose, everything was so fuzzy!! So now I basically can't get through the day without some form of allergy medication. I hope this allergy season is almost over. On the bright side, allergy season brings beautiful things like this...

These pretty trees were all over our complex a few weeks ago, and I couldn't help taking a picture. This desert of ours will only be pretty for so long!

Cleo Complex

So... we got a new dog a few weeks ago. I've delayed blogging about it because it's still sort of up in the air if we will keep her or not. We found her at a shelter and instantly liked her. She was loving and happy and liked lots of attention. She was listed as a Chinese Shar pei mix, but we can't see the resemblance. So Jake and I decided that she looks more like a mix between a border collie and a pharaoh hound. We named her Cleo (Cleopatra) because of how Egyptian she looks. She really is a gorgeous dog.


Well about a day or two after we got her I started having second thoughts. I don't think I was ready for a new dog (I still miss Jitters) and especially not a bigger dog. I was having the hardest time adjusting to a big creature that I couldn't pick up and move it where it wouldn't bother me. I hated taking her outside because whenever we saw a dog she'd freak out and jump all over the place. I didn't enjoy playing with her, because she could jump high and nip at me (where the worst Jitters could do was scratch at your shins). I couldn't sit on my couch because she was constantly in my face, and whenever I pushed her away she would think I was playing and came back for more. And to make matters worse our cat hates us again. I knew that getting a bigger dog would take some adjusting, I just wasn't willing to do that.
On top of that, I lost my job a week after we got her. So we had a dog I didn't want, and we couldn't afford.
Things are slowly getting tolerable. I started a new job yesterday working as a receptionist at a cosmetology school (so there goes the "we can't afford her" excuse). And she is getting better. Or maybe I'm getting better haha. The only thing that really bothers me now is how she reacts to other dogs. Whenever a dog gets too close she nips at them. I also miss my cat. She lives under our bed these days.
So if any of you out there know of anyone looking for a dog, we've got one for ya! She really is super sweet and loves to play. And I know that over time I'll learn to love her but right now she just seems like more a burden or a chore. I think she'd do better in a house with a yard, and someone who could give her lots of love (now that both Jake and I work nights she's locked up all night). But for now I just need to suck it up and learn to live (and be happy) with this decision we made.

This is my favorite thing about Cleo. Her ears! She is a short haired dog, but her ears are really fuzzy. It's cute :)