Flaming Gorge Family Camping Trip

We took a family camping trip to Flaming Gorge UT the last weekend in August. Even though it was still very hot while we were there, we all had a great time. My parents brought their boat, we had a blast on the water tube and the wake board. We were celebrating my sisters up coming trip to Spain, as she will be going off for her study aboard experience. I do have to say, I feel my age after camping and sleeping on the ground for two nights. How did we ever sleep on the floor every weekend when we were young? Great time however all around!!

Grand Teton and Yellowstone Weekend Adventure

Here are some more pictures from our trip to Yellowstone. There is something to be said for those who adventure out with 4 dogs in tow. We are either really patient or completely nuts. HAHA, actually for as long as we spent in the car driving around and sight seeing they were all very good. It does help that they had the entire back of the RX with blankets and foam padding to ride on. Nothing beats riding in style. I do have to say, we have learning a few things from this trip. One being, you can only trust a dog for so long not to follow his nose. We happened to buy some really great buffalo jerky early in the day on Saturday. Well we made a stop at about 3pm to take some pictures, left the dogs in the car for less than 7 minutes. We come back to No JERKY and Mata trying his hardest to get into the chocolate covered grahm crackers. I guess there is a reason we call him "the nose".

Grand Teton and Yellowstone Weekend Adventure

So this weekend we decided to drive and spend some time in The Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks. What a great weekend, not only was it a FREE weekend to visit, but it also turned out to be a lot of fun. We took off late Friday Night, and arrived in camp in Grand Tetons National Park around 2am. At about 8am we started out and ventured through both parks. What a fun day. We saw everything, Geysers and hot springs and a petrified tree. We also saw Bison, Elk, and a GRIZZLY Bear! The weather was great for most of the trip, we did get some rain late Saturday night, but by that point we had seen almost everything we wanted to see. If you have never been to these two great national treasures, you should get out there and see them.

Landscaping Project

Well we finally put the finishing touches on our Backyard Landscaping project. We added 3 different types of shrubs to the back flower bed. Makes all the difference in the world back there! Now we can sit back and enjoy the backyard as the summer passes on through! I am glad we are done, what a lot of work!

Let the Landscaping Begin

Dave and I started our Backyard Landscaping project last weekend. Its gone well so far, we took this weekend off to recover. We were both still slightly sore and exhausted from the effort. Here are our plans, in the backyard we have a flower bed that outlines the entire fence. So we decided that we would put some stone edging all the way around the rock flower bed to give the yard some curve, design and structure. So we measured the yard and decided we needed about 575 stones to complete our project. So Saturday, Home Depot delivered 4 pallets of stone edging to the house. Well needless to say, 4 pallets is a LOT of stone. 4600 LBS to be exact, now you understand why we needed a full week to recover! Whether rain or shine we were getting this project finished, so about 5pm on Sunday night, the rain finally broke through. We had most of the edging wall completed, with the expection of a few feet. This we completed later in the week. We also planted a Weeping Cherry Tree in the front yard and a Kwanzan Cherry Tree in the back yard. Now all we have left is to plant the shrubs and flowers in the newly structured flower beds and one more big tree for the main part of the backyard. We are hoping the weather clears up next weekend so we can take a trip to the nursery. I have attached a few pictures of our brick wall in the back yard for everyone to see our progress. More pictures to come as we progress with the project! Hopefully our bodies hold out so we can actually enjoy the backyard this summer!

Online Ebay Store!!

As many of you know, Dave has been searching high and low for new employement. With our struggling economy, he took a big step and has started his own business. He just recently opened his own store, Jeronimo Outfitters on Ebay. Please take a look at his site, he has a variety of outdoor and camping equipment as well as items for the hunting enthusiasts. We both want to thank all our friends and family for all your support during these tough times! I have listed the link to his site below, and you will also be able to access it from the left side of the main page of our blog.

Love to all!
Kipling and Dave

http://stores.shop.ebay.com/Jeronimo-Outfitters

With the addition of our new puppy, Mata we now have two PINS. They have become the best of friends. They play non stop, sleep together, and cause trouble together! I think the addition of our new family member has been a great thing for all of us!

I just wanted to give everyone an update on our new adventure. As you all know, we had to make the hardest decision of our lives this past September with Sasha. Since then the guilt of that decision and the emptiness left in our hearts has dwindled a little but nothing will ever replace her. Due to that emptiness we found ourselves exploring the possibility of bringing a puppy into our lives and hearts. We searched numerous rescue websites and did countless hours of research for the best breed possible for our situation and our doggie pack. In the end, we still migrated to the Min Pin. They are small breed, with big dog attitude. If you have met Austin, you know what I am talking about.

Through the International Min Pin Rescue Association we find a 9 month old male Min Pin name Chip. He was an owner abandon, who was left in a Dog Shelters Over-Night Drop Box. We fell in love with this little guys eyes and story and thought we might give him a chance at a new life in our home.

Well little Chip, now renamed Mata which means Gift from God. However he seems to like us to say his name twice, so MATA MATA it is, a name so nice you say it twice. He is living up to the Min Pin Breed as we find ourselves with a very Hyper and Mischievous little guy. Since coming to the rescue a few weeks ago, he has been in 4 foster homes. So potty training is our number one priority along with table, couch and leash manners. Some unique characteristics is defiantly his incorrectly docked tail, it is too long and curls up towards the sky. He also has unevenly cropped ears; whoever did the cropping was not a professional. One ear curves in, one ear curves out!

We introduced the pack to Mata one by one, which worked out great. Austin took to him right away, and instantly had a new playmate. We then introduced Jinko, he was a little unsure at first thing started playing with him as well. We then introduced Uno; she sniffed and ultimately didn’t seem too interested. Then we put them all together out in the yard, on man it was a boy play date all the way, with Uno laying calmly watching the craziness unfold.

Today has been a very busy day with the addition of the new puppy but has settled in nicely with the pack and is trying to figure out where his space is in the house. We are setting up a crate for him in hopes he will find it comforting and his own space. So our one week trial starts before the adoption would finalize. We will keep you up to date as we progress through the week; I have also included a few pictures we took this afternoon!

I know you must think we are nuts!

Beware of Styrofoam Cups

I am sure all of you are aware that certain places still use styrofoam cups for drinks. This is not a good idea for two reasons. First they are not environmentally friendly, and secondly they are prone to puncture! This is a bad combination if you happen to be in your vehicle when the cup puncturing takes place. David and I had just visited one of our favorite Chicken places and ordered a couple of drinks to go. I was driving and Dave proceeded to insert the straws in our drinks. The next thing I know Coke is squirting all over me and the car. In his shock he tries to plug the massive hole the straw has creating in the side of the cup. When that doesn't work a look of pure panic crosses his face, as we are in my car. Finally through all my laughter I manage to get the window down so we can get the coke hemorrhaging cup out the window. At this point I can barely see through my tears to drive and park the car. I do finally manage to pull over and we start to mop up the full cup of coke. Unfortunatley the Resturant only gave us 2 napkins, so we are left with a full front seat covered in sticky coke and a long 5 minute drive back home. So beware, styrofoam cups lead to sticky cup catastrophes.

Our little niece is growing up way to quickly. I visited this past weekend and all she did was run. She does not walk anywhere, she has to run. So funny watching her padded little bum wiggle when she gets going to fast. She is pure entertainment!

Here are some pictures from our Wedding. It turned out to be a beautiful day!