Projects

Believe it or not, I am better at "posting" than writing in a journal. Pathetic, huh? So not too terribly much has has happened in the last week or so. Jade's been working hard, as usual. Unfortunately that means he's gone a lot. I decided it was basically pointless to get a summer job, since I just barely finished summer school, and since fall semester starts in less than a month. So my busy worker bee has been gone, and I've taken up several projects to keep me entertained for the 5 or 6 weeks I'm free for the summer. Currently I'm finishing up my mom's scrapbooking. Chaz is done, JC is almost done, and Cheyanne has about 20 hours of scrapbooking before she gets caught up. Can you tell she's the baby? I've also taken to reorganizing the house. Those of you who know me well now probably think I've lost it, since we all know my house is already alphabetized and color-coded. Other projects I've taken up are scanning all my wedding pictures, so I can put them on a CD "just in case" something happens to my scrapbooks and wedding photo albums. Yes scrapbooks and albums, plural. There are 5 so far. I'm relearning to golf, which is incredibly frustrating. I finally had a really good hold of the sport in ninth grade, then didn't play for 6 years. Needless to say, my talent has digressed. Also, I am a full-time babysitter. Tink is in her autonomous phase, where everything is super interesting, and she feels the need to do 10 things at once. She will get out every toy in her toybox (I know, our dog has a toybox, we're pathetic). Seriously, every toy. Then she tries to find new toys in the form of mommy's shoes, kitchen utensils, office supplies, basically anything she can get her little paws on. I still love her. Jade is on his way to Montana as we speak, he's river rafting for the weekend. I definitely didn't want to participate in that activity. Unfortunately, he leaves for a week long business trip on Monday, so basically I'm all alone from today until next Sunday. Anyone want to play? Let me know!

Idaho, Oregon, Vegas and Salina

It's been a busy few weeks for Jade and I. In the end of June, Jade, Tink and I got to go to Portland for the annual Thelin family camp-out. Traveling with Tink was kind of a nightmare- there were so many complications; we couldn't fly her as checked baggage because it's summer, so we had to ship her as cargo (you don't want to know how much that cost), we had to get health certificates last minute, and if it's 85 degrees or hotter in either city, she's not allowed to fly. We said prayers that she wouldn't get stranded in either city. Thankfully, she made it, and we had such a great time. Tink is certainly her mother's daughter. She didn't much care much for the dirt. She wouldn't even eat her treats because she didn't want to lie in the dirt. Pretty funny. Needless to say, she was excited to get home, bathe and see Roxy (my mom's boxer we babysat for a few weeks). This month was the first time Tink's been around other dogs for extended periods of time. First Roxy, when we babysat, then Remy, her cousin in Portland, then Roxy again and Louis, my mom's Yorkie. She didn't want to share toys or treats at first... I think she had only-child syndrome. "I never have to share." Now she's pretty lonely being by herself. After Portland, we came home and my family stayed with us for a few days. We went to a water park, shopping, dining out, the movies, and some other fun things, then we headed to central Utah for the 4th of July. Salina, UT everyone. Anyone heard of it? It was a really fun, small-town celebration. We went to the fair, parade, and the rodeo. Guess what the highlight of the fair was... riding the mechanical bull. Chaz, Jade and I were the only ones who wanted to try, and the boys put me to shame. My mom says that even though the boys stayed on longer than me, I looked the best while riding! There was a young girl, no older than 10, riding the bull STANDING. She put all of us to shame, even the real coyboys that gave it a go. It was a great 4th. Then Jade had a work conference, and trip to Idaho, so I went to Vegas and spent time with my family. We had a blast. We golfed, went to the gym together, swam daily, celebrated JC's 18th birthday (can you believe that- 18!!), and had a great week. Jade came and met me on Friday, where he was a substitute for my mom's BUNCO group. Jade played with me, my mom, and 10 other 40-something women. He'll never admit it, but he had the best time of anyone. He was laughing and cheering louder than any of the ladies, and he even won a prize. I was told that I better keep an eye on him, because he was flirting with other women! We all had a great time. We left on Sunday and came back to Utah. It's good to be home. Well, it was good to be home. Today we came to Idaho for a short trip. We're going home tomorrow, but we have had a nice time in Rexburg. So here's a funny story... It's BYU-Idaho graduation, so every hotel in this small town is completely booked out. It's a real miracle that we found a room today, and an even bigger miracle that we're allowed to have Tink in our room. When we got to the room, we unloaded, then Jade went to get a few more things out of the car. When he came back, he couldn't get back in the room. I was locked in, and he was locked out. It was about 10 minutes before the guy came to help. His solution- i had to unscrew all the bolts on the lock from inside with his leatherman, then they pushed. Classy joint, don't you think? We're hoping no one tries to break in tonight, or we're really going to be out of luck. Anyway, it's been a busy few weeks, but really fun!

Stake Conference

Okay, so I usually have my stuff together, right (we all know how anal I am)? Well Jade's out of town, and I guess I just crumble without him because today I got ready for church, made sure I was going to be 5-10 minutes early, drove to our chapel, and realized I was the only car there. Guess what today was... Stake Conference. Nice move Ash. My mind must go out of town on business with my husband!

Puppies

As you all know, Jade bought me a puppy a few months ago. Her name is Tinker Bell "Tink", she's a weimaraner, and she's almost 18 weeks old. She is like my baby. I'm a little obsessed, but hey, I know I'm not the only one who is overly attached to my dog [mom]. Usually Tink and I are best friends. Well, we've been babysitting Roxy, my mom's boxer, and now Tink is really paranoid she's getting replaced, so she's acting out... a lot. Okay so I know I haven't exactly had a baby yet, but I'm a big sister three times around, a real auntie, and an "auntie" to a few friends babies. I cannot for the life of me imagine a baby being harder than a puppy. I have backup from Jerai (Jade's sister whose puppy is only 3 days older than Tink) on this. At least you can pawn a baby off on a relative, friend, or neighbor for a little break. There are hundreds of baby sqings, chairs, and the like that will keep a baby pacified. If I put Tink in the kennel, she just barks and whines. She doesn't like to be left out of anything. I thought now that she was potty trained, the hard part was over and my life was going to be a breeze. Not so much. Tink rings a bell whenever she needs to go potty (I know- it sounds like a really great idea), however Tink learned to manipulate the system. We'll come in from going potty and literally seconds after we come in, she rings the bell again. Okay Tink, I know you don't have to go. I would leave her outside longer, but we can't just let her run around outside because our backyard is separated from the golf course by a mere 2 foot tall rock wall (By the way, she is getting plenty of exercise- every night we take her out running either at the park, on the golf course, or along side of us on the 4-wheeler). Tink's not the most coordinated puppy, but she can jump the tiny wall. So, every time I have to take her out, I have to put her leash on, and go out with her. This wouldn't be so bad, but I don't think her bladder has grown with her body, because I have to take her out at least hourly (unless I want potty all over the brand new white carpet). She also discovered that the same white carpet is also fun to chew on. Not only is the carpet tasty, but the baseboards, the wrought iron ballisters along the stairs, the wood that holds the ballisters up, any corners of our drawers and cabinets, and also mommy's shoes. I know all puppies chew, but cabinets and carpet- I don't think that's normal. I have to keep a really close eye on her 24/7 or else things get destroyed. Okay, so I'm done whining now. She really is a great puppy. She hasn't had an accident inside in quite awhile, she loves people, loves to cuddle, and she's a really fast learner. She can do lots of tricks: Ven Ca (in Portuguese it means "come here"), sit, down (when she's jumping on a person or the counter, table etc.), prison (she'll go to her kennel), kisses, cinco ("five" in Portuguese- she'll give you a high five), shake, and "get it" (when we play fetch). She also will "go potty" on command, which is convenient when I'm in a hurry to go somewhere. I shouldn't complain, I'm lucky to have such a sweet baby, but can't they just be born one year olds? That would make life so much easier, wouldn't it.

I'm finally here

So I finally did it- I created a blog. However, the word "blog" sounds a little scary to me, so I'm going to call it "posting" (thanks Kristen G. for giving me a better alternative). So, I'm going to try and post frequently to keep you all updated. This way, I don't crowd your inboxes with little tidbits every week, and I can save the mass emails for the really important stuff. Also, now I feel better about my lack of journaling, since I can't keep up with that to save my life. Anyway, I hope you enjoy, and also keep me updated on your lives as well. We sure do miss all you Vegas and Oregon guys and gals. We love you lots! Ash and Jade