Norwegian Holiday

We were so lucky to have our dear friends, Pat and Vanya, come for a visit. They were on holiday from Norway, so they were able to squeeze a long weekend in with us before heading out to California (or The Homeland, as I prefer to call it). They also brought along their charming nephew, Sebastian, whom we were delighted to meet for the first time.

Pat used to work with Brad back in the day at the Cal Poly Organic farm before I worked there (and before he had even met Vanya, for that matter!). I met Vanya at a dog park event and eventually trained her in dog behavior. So, as you can see, our history runs deep.

We had such a great few days showing them around Tampa that we completely forgot to take pictures until literally fifteen minutes prior to their leaving. And even then I forgot my nice camera, so my phone was all we had to prove they were ever here.

Sebastian fell in love with the new popsicle place in Ybor. 

Popsicles!

Our crew.

Much of photo time was spent coaxing Will to sit still. But this is the only good photo of Sebastian that I was able to get.  

Better.

I'm not really sure what's going on here.

Will took a real shine to Pat.

Harper was inconsolable when they left.

Look! I got in one, too!

Well, two.

 



Thank you so much for coming all this way to visit, Pat, Vanya and Sebastian! Looking forward to popsicles in Norway with you!

Ordinary Life Photo Challenge Day 5

I was challenged to post one photo a day for seven days showing the world through my eyes. I also have to nominate one person a day to do the same. 
This one is entitled "Guess Who We Decided To Keep!"

(Spoiler: this guy.)

Yes, it's true, our former foster pup is officially a foster fail. From the minute he walked in here he just seemed to be part of the family. It was like he just knew how things went and that was that. Willa loves him, Mayflower ADORES him, the cats seem amused to toy with him, and the kids can't live without him. So, you see, the decision was really made despite Brad and myself.  

The only hard part was choosing a name. As you may remember, the Bookers were in a four way tie. I loved the name Argus, while Brad had a visceral reaction and winced every time I said it. Brad opted for Johnny, which offended every creative bone in my body. Harper liked Puppy or Junior, so she went for the hybrid and hyphenated the two. Will, my adorable little wordsmith, was sweet on Cute.

So, after much deliberation, we finally agreed on... KILGORE!  

Yes, Kilgore. Kilgore as in Kurt Vonnegut's pseudonym, Kilgore Trout (thus keeping our literary-themed naming streak in tact). Also Kilgore as in "Kill" and "Gore" mashed together to make one super-violent name (which, I think, was the main selling point for both Brad and Harper). 

So here they are, our THREE (ohmygoshhowdidthathappen?!?!?!) dogs, cozy as can be. How lucky we are he has found us.

Puppy

So, Father's Day morning Brad went for a run with Mayflower and came home with THREE dogs. One belonged to a neighbor but, so far, no one has come forward for this guy.

 

He looks pretty much how I would expect May and Willa's offspring to look. He's maybe seven or eight months old, and has a beautiful fawn coat, but pretty small at just 25-ish pounds. He's nice, and has fit right in with the dogs/cats/kids/general melee. Plus he has good house manners and is walking well on leash with our pack.

 

We're calling him Puppy, because we're not keeping him. So now my backyard looks like this...

 



 

... or sometimes this:



 



 

He didn't even bat an eye when Will grabbed his tail. He just smiled at him and licked his face (side note: kids are terrible to pets).

 

 

Harper: "Can we have a puppy?"

Me: "You have a puppy! May is a puppy! She's literally right next to you!" 

 

I can't figure out what his story is. He's well fed and nice, has good house manners and complains if he's alone, which would lead me to believe he's been an indoor dog.

 

But he was a MESS when I got him: covered in fleas and tar and fly bites, and his ears were DISGUSTING, plus his tail is scarred (likely from a flea allergy) like he's been a yard dog his whole life. Also, he has old and healing bite wounds on his face and sides. And no, I don't think he was a "fighter" or a "bait dog" (cue rolling of eyes). He is GREAT with dogs (very relaxed) but unsure about new people, which makes me think he's been kept with a pack of dogs in a yard and hasn't had much exposure to people (although he has warmed up very quickly). Anyway, we'll probably never know.

 

May is just thrilled to have him around to play with.

 

So let me know if you have a wonderful family in mind looking for a petit, handsome little "pit" mix. I just happen to know of one who fits the bill.  

 



 

Wedding Roadtrip 2016

Happy news! My youngest brother, David, got married in Connecticut this past weekend to his wonderful bride Kate, so we decided to make it into a week long road trip and see the east coast. 

After countless hours of calculating and innumerable spreadsheets, we determined that the cheapest/easiest thing to do was split the trip up. So Brad drove up in the van and met me and the kids at the airport in Harford the next day. Besides Brad being exhausted, it was relatively painless. We got in Thursday night, and the rest of the Bauer family arrived in Old Lyme, where the wedding would take place, throughout the day on Friday.

Old Lyme is picturesque, to say the least. Pretty much the entire place is a postcard. It's nothing but beautiful historical buildings, perfectly groomed gardens and stacked stone walls.

The local schoolhouse. Seriously. The entire town looks like this. 

 

We had lunch and ice cream at the Old Lyme Ice Cream Shoppe and Café. It was great. And adorable.

   
Living in Florida has been a little isolating. My family had not seen us since Harper was eight months old, and my brothers Jared and David had never met my family, nor had I met David or Jared's wives, and no one had met Will, so we were really looking forward to seeing everyone. Harper and Will were especially excited to see their cousins. Except for my brother Jared, and the bride and groom (who were busy with wedding stuff) we all got together for a short tour of the Florence Griswold House museum and gardens, which once served as a boardinghouse for artists.

The Florence Griswold Home

Old Lyme, CT

(Left to right) niece Harriett, niece Maggie, sister-in-law Bess, sister-in-law Anna, mom, dad, niece Hazel, brother Micah, nephew Henri, Harper, Brad and Will.

Acquainting themselves.

This was carved from a dead tree.

Harper was inspired by all the art to construct a turtle of her own.

"These girls are crazy, dad. Let's go!" 

Hazel was fast and loose with the peace signs.

The girls.

"It took us a few minutes to become best friends."

We decided to host a pizza/pool/movie night for the kids while the adults attended the Welcome Dinner that evening at the Old Lyme Inn. I am so glad we did! The kids were great and had a wonderful time getting to know each other better. By the end of the night they were thick as thieves.

The Old Lyme Inn

Old Lyme, CT

Post-swimming pizza!

Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.

 

The wedding was on Saturday and was held at Kate's parent's home not far from town. I hesitate to refer to it as a "home." Probably "estate and grounds" is more appropriate. It was about fifteen plus acres of the most beautiful, green, rolling gardens: an absolutely perfect location for a wedding. (In retrospect, I should have gotten a lot more photos of the gardens.) 

 

Harper and Maggie were flower girls so we got there a little early to help corral the girls for pictures.    

 



Flower girls.

Beautiful Kate and her attendants.

Beauties.

 

The ring bearer (Kate's nephew) was sequestered safely inside the main house.

I love this one.

Waiting to start!

There were no photos allowed during the ceremony so I tried to get a few at the reception.

Bess and coy Henri.

Kate was kind enough to provide art supplies and puzzles for the kids' table.

Stunning Hazel.

Harriett was goofing around.

Henri, if you make weird faces every time I try to take a picture of you then I will post a photo of you making a weird face.  

Will was a dancing machine.

In all the jubilation and merriment these were the only pictures I got of my brothers David (the groom, left) and Jared (right) with his wife, Anna.  

My mom told me to get a picture of my dad, so I took this one. Then he threatened me. No more pics of dad.

My guys.

The girls took a break from their official duties to hang out in the hammock for a while. 

Micah, Bess, and their beautiful family. (Got you that time, Henri!)

And, of course, this happened.

The Booker Pack, June 2016.

All done.

 

The next day we started on our long journey home. First stop: New York City!

 

It was blustery and dark with thunderstorms throughout the day, but somehow we finagled Brad's old marine buddy, Bill, to show us his hometown.   

 

I was beside myself with excitement to be in The Big Apple. It was my first time in New York and I wanted to see EVERYTHING. Unfortunately, we didn't have a lot of time, so we decided to see Central Park and visit the American Museum of Natural History, which was AMAZING (truly, if we lived in New York I'd take the kids every day). It was also where Bill's mom was a docent for several years, so it was a kind of second home to him. 

 

Boat races in Central Park.

The park had amazing views everywhere you looked.

 

And... this is where Harper wants to spend the rest of her life. On a side note: that's a LIFE SIZED blue whale affixed to the ceiling. People just lie on the floor beneath it in awe.

Obviously, I had to get a photo of this. 

The next day we headed to Washington D.C. The mall and capitol were both under construction so it was hard to get good pictures of anything.

The sculpture gardens, however, had lots of great stuff, like a thinking hare...

... and a metal tree.

 

Then we stopped for popsicles (warning: gratuitous snacking series follows).

 

We did the Smithsonian's Museum of Natural History and the National Air and Space Museum.

 

 

Smithsonian Museum of Natural History

Washington, D.C. 

  

This elephant is in the lobby to greet you.

 

They also had a whale. Harper's second favorite place on Earth.

 

Learning about our ancestry.

Contemplating.

Harper took this one (I absolutely love it!)...

... and this one.

That night everyone was pretty exhausted.

The next day was Savannah. Our five hour trip somehow turned into eight hours, so we got in late and hungry and grouchy and ready to stretch our legs. We walked around for a couple of hours, threw in the towel and went to a nice hotel for a swim and then straight to bed. Maybe another time, Savannah.

We were here.

 

I really wanted to get a nice picture of this bridge., but by the time we passed it, it was too dark.Oh well.

Savannah had beautiful trees.

My new favorite family portrait.

 

Thank you for inviting us to your beautiful wedding, David and Kate! We will miss you both and all the Bauers!