Might be part dinosaur . . .

Its been so long since I put some pictures up. So here are a handful of them. Scroll down and watch him grow! He is now taller than Copper and weighs 54 lbs. He makes so many funny noises I swear he sounds like a T-rex.


















This is his space heater. He sits in front of this all the time! He can't get close enough.






His paw compared to Rocks hand.

Our new Baby Boy!

This is Forrest. He is the newest addition to the family. He is a Harlequin Great Dane with bright blue eyes. Copper has warmed up to him really well, she lets him lay with her and gets excited to play when they are outside. He is 10 weeks old now. We got him when he was 8 weeks old. He has easily gained 6lbs since we have had him and is a riot when he gets to galloping and running around.

A & B in the North Country

Rock and I got to make a trip up to Canada to pick Alicia and Brady up in Montreal. Even though we were completely legal and had no plans of smuggling in illegal aliens, I was nervous pulling up to the border patrol, but no worries, we passed just fine. With our midwest accents I don't think they were too concerned.
We went on a really good hike. It was a good mile up, straight up, to a gorgeous view where we could see our very tiny car way down there. Huffing and puffing we made our way through the 4.5 mile hike which ended in a beautiful, huge waterfall. Copper was so tired she didn't even swim, she just laid in the cold mountain spring.
We ate at a local seafood restaurant that was delicious! I mean bacon wrapped scallops (yum!) and crab stuffed haddock with lobster sauce (double yum!).
A day at the beach was how we spent our last day. We drove over to Maine and went to Wells beach. I love the beach! The weather was perfect, but the water was on the chili side and when I say chili I mean COLD. Brady was braver than all of us and went in to play in the waves. It sure did look like a lot of fun B, sorry we didn't join ya, but our beer kept us warm.
It was a short visit, but we packed a good bit in. A & B got to see our new digs and we got to enjoy their company. They even got to see the start of the leaves changing. Thanks for comin! Love ya.

Brenna's first time in NH

Brenna was the first to venture out to the great northeast to visit us. We had a great time! We did have some rainy weather, but there were enough gorgeous days I think she got a good view of the mountains. We went to the Flume Gorge which is a pretty busy tourist attraction, but that didn't stop us from goofing around. We hiked up to the top of the water fall (scenery pics) which was pretty cool, and at the top was a "bear cave" (lucky there were no bears in it!). Brenna couldn't help herself and had to climb through the small hole and go off path through the woods (true to Brenna's style).

There was another cave along the path, but this was a wolf cave that we were able to climb through. Although I do believe that this was an attraction for the kiddies as we tried to squeeze through the small opening and my backside about got stuck!

There are, however, dangers to being so adventurous! We did find ourselves hanging on for dear life. Note the panic stricken faces! Very scary! (No one was injured in the taking of theses photos. The two stunt devils were touching ground the entire time). I think we deserve an Emmy!











There were really some beautiful views. Once we hiked up the trail to the waterfall there was a path through the woods took you by other small water falls and this bridge. And yes, I am looking into a career as the new Vanna on Wheel.
Although, we almost got kicked out of the park as Brenna wasn't so as gentle and nearly squished the bridge with her mammoth hands.


We drove over to North Conway which is a really cute tourist town with tons of outlet shops, craft shows, and little souvenir shops. There is also a scenic railroad you can ride. We choose to go in luxury and take the first class seats and settled in preparing ourselves for a breath taking ride through the mountains and valleys. We were disappointed when our view consisted of trees, backyards, and a glimpse of a river. Our path took us right along the highway we had just driven. Lovely! It was our first train ride, which was actually very soothing as we all fell asleep on our 2 hour ride.



We did some hiking. Played in some rock bed creeks. Nearly fell into the rock bed (Brenna!) and meet a bear. But that is another blog!














This is Mount Washington resort. It is a huge hotel sitting in the mountains. If any of you like ghost stories this place is pretty cool. TAPS is a ghost hunters show on SciFi channel. They actually came to Mount Washington and did a show there. It just aired April 28, 2008. Go to youtube.com and search it, you can see the whole episode. We we walked through all the floors in hopes of seeing a ghost, but to no avail. Don't worry Brenna, I won't tell everyone that you got scarred in the circle room with all the doors :)



We did a zip line on Wildcat Mountain, but next time we are going to do the full zip line course that consists of 7 zip lines and bridges through trees!

Brenna even got to touch the top of a mountain!!





Good Times!!!

A toast to one year anniversaries!

I thought I'd give a tribute to Beth and Birch Roybal. They are coming up on their 1 year wedding anniversary. Congrats! One whole year already :) On that note I'd just like to say a huge thanks to them because at their wedding is were Rocky and I officially met. It's crazy to think how fast time goes, but it's so good to have memories like these. We are surrounded by so many great people. Friends we consider family and family we also consider friends. We are truly lucky. I think about that everyday and smile. I just want to thank everyone for that . . . for just being our friends. Sorry, got sappy for minute, I'm done.
A brief list of wedding highlights (and pics of course):
1 - beautiful bride and a beautiful ceremony
2 - A very happy couple!
3 - Birch is Mexican (a red haired Mexican) so . . . mariachi band!
4 - April serenaded by the mariachi band - still have no idea what he said to her!
5 - Cigars, ritas, beer, and dancing
6 - Mom showing us all how to shake that ba-dunk-a-dunk
7 - The masters of air trumpets demonstrating their skills
8 - Emilee walking out of the bathroom at the bar after the wedding with the back of her dress tucked into her undies (yes, people were laughing and pointing. No, none of those people told her. And no, you cannot see that picture).
9 - Rock and I finally having a conversation after 2 years of going to the same small school and never talking. Look where we are now - weird how those things work out.

The Infamous Hike

I wanted to fill you all in our first big adventure . . . it all beings one beautiful evening in the mountains of New Hampshire. Brenna was here for her first visit and being the adventurous ones we are, we decided to take a hike through the wilderness. Rock, Brenna, Copper, and I were making our way through the woods. We played in a beautiful waterfall bedded with rocks so the water was crystal clear. We played the name game while laughing and carrying on. We decided it was time to head back as the heavy tree cover was making our surroundings appear darker than it actually was. With Copper and Rocky in the lead we were about a 10 min walk from the jeep.
The next thing I know, Rocky is yelling . . . "there's a bear!" as he is sprinting by me and away from the bear leaving me and Brenna to fend for ourselves. That's my brave man :) Sure enough I look ahead just in time to see the back end of a decent sized (looked huge to us! probably the biggest there is!) black bear 50 yards in front of us crossing the path and heading back into the woods. Then, of course, Copper takes off after the bear to protect us from the monster. That's my brave girl!!! (brave, but dumb - that bear was huge!) Well, since Rock is running away, I turn and run away after yelling for Copper, my baby, to come back and Brenna, finally realizing what was going on turn and followed suit.
We get down the path and around the bend away from the
bear . . . I'm still freaking out cause my dog has yet to return, Rock's eyes are about to pop out of his head, and Brenna is looking for a tree to climb. Luckily, our body guard comes trotting back down the path towards us with her ears perked up and her tongue happily hanging out of her mouth (if dogs could smile, she would have had a huge grin on her face). Even more luckily, the bear did not follow her back to us.
Now that I have my dog back in one piece, I am able to relax and rationally say, "lets just wait here for a few minutes, Copper probably chased it farther into the woods, so we'll just give it time to move on." With Copper in the lead (on a leash this time) followed by me, then Brenna, and Rock not far behind, we made our way down the path toward the jeep. The 3 of us probably looked like sneaking burglars from the Disney workout video we did when we were little (does anyone else remember that or is that one my solo childhood memories). Hilarious!
Well, obviously we all made it out alive with no physical scars. Once we got to the jeep Brenna and I busted up in tense laughter while Rocky complained of a stomachache from swallowing his chew. Once home we looked up what exactly to do in the event you encounter a bear - and surprisingly enough - we did everything you are NOT suppose to do.
What to do when you see a black bear: carry EPA approved pepper spray, do not run - bears can run 35 mph, if they come toward you get big and make noise, hit them with a stick or gouge out their eyes (yes, it really said to do that - and told you how), do not climb trees.
What we did: Ran, yelled for Copper, looked for trees to climb, had no pepper spray, and peed our pants!
Rocky's explanation for running was that even though a bear might (yes he said "might") be able to out run him, he could out run both me and Brenna. Awww, that's my brave man.