Poor Doggie

We took Tobey to the Vet yesterday because his back feet have been swollen and he has a hard time walking and he can't jump. I have to say that the Vet here was nothing at all like my Vet at home. The Vet at home is caring and gentle and explains what is going on and how to treat the problem. The Vet here is supposedly a world renowned Vet and is supposed to be so good, but I was not impressed. He did not give any explanation as to what is going on, and prescribed a bunch of medication without any real instructions. I called my Vet at home today, adn he had some explanations and gave me instructions as to how to administer treatment. He believes, as do I, that Tobey has an allergy, but the medication that this Vet gave me is not for allergies. I guess I will be getting my money back and finding a new Vet here. My poor little doggie, he is just not himself.

I have an aunt and uncle here in AZ, so we are making plans to get together on Sunday. I am excited. We moved last Saturday, so there are a lot of things going on here. I will get some pictures of the new place as soon as I can.

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We witnessed the worst thing we have ever seen today. Scooter picked me up from work tonight and on the way home we saw an explosion right in front of us on the other side of the road. There was a van stopped engulfed in flames and a jeep careening out of control, also on fire. We could not see if there were more vehicles involved, but the thought kept going through my mind that if I had chosen to work late when asked today that could have been Scooter. It was the most horrifying thing I have ever seen. The explosion was huge. I called 911 and just as I hit send there was an officer coming up to the scene. Amazing timing for the officer to be driving up at that time. I told the dispatcher that there was an officer on scene. I just can not get that image out of my head. Scooter is shaken up too, I think it take a while to get over. It just keeps playing over and over in my mind. My heart goes out to the families of those people.

Anyway, we still do not have water. We thought it was fixed, but when Scooter got home from school yesterday he came home to another flood. Luckily someone came by and shut the water off while we were gone. The lights in here seem to be going out systematically, so we do not have much light right now. We are going to do as much home "fixing" as possible this weekend after I get off work. Then my glasses broke, and, well, you know, it's me, so......it never ends. Oh well, it could be a lot worse! I am just thankful for the good things in life. I can't tell you how much I miss being home.

Enough

Ok, enough is enough. Last night we were awakened by Tobey barking hysterically. At first I was annoyed, but then he had that tone-the one that says "somebody is here." He was right. It was 12:42 am, and someone was knocking. I jumped up to see what was going on, and I no more than reached the bathroom floor when i was rudely greeted by cold water on the floor. Yes, our water pipes burst once again. Someone was walking by when they heard the water rushing out of our camper. I am so grateful that they decided to stop and knock, or we would have slept until 5:30 without ever knowing. The bathroom, kitchen and living areas were completely soaked. The carpet may be ruined at this point. We will be spending our weekend working on this once again. Yay.
On a better note, a friend is on her way down here right now, and I can't wait to see her. She will be 3 hours away, but after work Saturday we are going to make the drive to visit. At least I have something to look forward to.

counting blessings

Yesterday morning I was getting ready for work, and I hard a loud explosion and then the power went out. I thought a transformer blew, and went outside like most of our neighbors. One of the neighbors was out on his morning jog and came running up to me. He was frantic. The sound and power outage was not due to a blown transformer, but a plane crash. A small plane crashed right across the street, luckily is a small section in between two other parks. There were suddenly sirens blaring and rescue personnel all over. They blocked off our street. The pilot was alone in the plane and did not make it. So sad. The story right now is that the engine died and that is what caused the crash. No one heard any engine sounds before the crash. We are all so fortunate that he managed to maneuver the plane to that spot. I like to believe that he did his best to guide the plane to a spot where there were no other people would get hurt.

I am thankful for all of the blessings in my life. I have the best family and a few good friends, and of course, my crazy and lovable animals. I have a home and a vehicle that runs, I have a job. Sometimes you just have to look at what you have an appreciate it.

We survived

We survived the storms all wee without too much damage. If you saw the weather down here then you know that we had 2 tornadoes - yes, TORNADOES -here in AZ. We had high winds and a lot of flooding this week. We were lucky enough to not live in the flood zones. Our street was blocked off Thursday night just beyond our driveway. The only damage we really sustained was that our camper leaks. We had to bring in the slide-out. One more thing that was supposed to be new on this camper that isn't. We were really lied to when we bought this camper. Life, right? We are still counting our blessings, though.
How about them Vikings? We should have had that game. I guess now we have a whole post season to discuss if Favre is going to come back. There is some serious depression in this house right now. Well, lets go Colts.

Missing Home

So today was our annual family "winter get together". I missed it this year. I called and talked to several people, but it just isn't the same as being there. While I have decided to make the best of being this far from home it is hard to not be able to be there to see everyone. I do not miss the harsh Minnesota cold, but the holidays just aren't the same without snow and being surrounded by loved ones. At least I have Scott and Tobey to keep me entertained. If only you could see them fight over the couch. It's a game that Tobey plays (he's doing it right now). How many people have seen a 12 pound dog push a person off the couch?! Ahhh, they keep life interesting. Anyway, I miss you all and I can't wait to see everyone again.

The Grand Canyon

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!!!

First of all, I have to say how much I loved having the moms here for a week. We did as much sight seeing as we could, there is never enough time. First, we stopped in Sedona, which is beautiful, and then we took that mountain pass up through Flagstaff. It wasn't snowing this time and there were some neat little Native American stands at the top of the mountains.

Next our journey took us to the Grand Canyon. We did manage to get some pictures, take a look:





I never knew that it gets that cold there. I snows, obviously, and it was only about 6 degrees when we were there. It was a gorgeous view none the less. That night we stayed in a hotel in Flagstaff, then we came home for the rest of the week.

The time went so fast, I wish we had more time to just be together. I have a new job that didn't provide us with much time for the rest of the week, but I am grateful for the time we had.

So, my New Years message to everyone is to cherish the time we have, I know it sounds cliche, but when you don't get to spend time with the ones you love every moment means so much. I miss you all. Love and Peace in the new year.