Jim Tressel Resignation: Our Official Statement

My mother called us this morning to tell us that Tressel resigned. Our initial reaction was what the @#$%!? We immediately turned on Sports Center and wondered if maybe this was the Rapture day that got botched a few weeks ago. Then we had some coffee and thought about it. . . 

Tressel really could have handled the whole fiasco better/differently so maybe this is for the best. He's going out with a good record and up until now we thought he'd go down in Buckeye history like Woody Hayes. That will not be the case, but we're OK with that. He'll have his own special place in the What the Hell Hall of Fame. We're also confident that we'll still beat the stupid state up north with the interim coach in place. That said, this is not good because we'll miss the sweater vest, but worse things could happen to the school or team *cough* USC*cough*.

And don't worry we're yelling at every sports messiah, god and krishna that will listen to us that the slime bucket from Florida, Urban Meyer, doesn't find a new home in Columbus at The Shoe. Should Urb come to OSU, we'll be screaming "Go Badgers" and rooting for Wisconsin.

Let Cookout Season Begin- Part 3

Today was cookout day! The first one of the season. All 8 of us and the dogs got together again today for a cookout at Cody & Trista's. The food, as always at any event we have, was fantastic. Cody did burgers and pulled pork and we brought sides. I made Cody's birthday cake- banana cream cheesecake- per his request. We couldn't help but keep eating. As I'm typing this I'm hoping the majority of the food chilling out in my stomach digests before bed! 

Indy ran all weekend long with his friends and was wiped in the car on the way home, but is now sitting at our feet whining. We think it's because his friends all went home.

Sleepy, and maybe sad, dog

Sunday- Part 2

Sunday we made our way back from Fort Collins and when we got home Indy got a bath and we did some yard work, cleaned the house and made dinner. 

We ate dinner outside for the first time this season! We didn't do anything fancy, just grilled veggies and sirloins.

 

Just a few pictures from Sunday. . .

Indy fluff drying in the sun after his bath

Memorial Day Weekend - Part 1 - Fort Collins

The rain finally stopped and we were able to get out and enjoy the weekend! On Saturday we made our way, with our friends- Cody, Trista & their son Hudson, Scott & Heather and Joe & Laura, along with all of our dogs, up just north of Fort Collins to Wellington, Colorado. Joe's parents own property there and they have a huge house and private pond. We stayed the night and ate like kings! Joe's dad, Tim, makes a mean juevos rancheros :)
Some pictures of the property are below.

The smoothest dirt road I've ever been on!

It was a little windy and gray when we arrived, but we hoped any rain would hold off {it did until dinner time}. The boys ended up going one way, the girls another and the dogs another. The boys spent their day fishing the private pond which is stocked with 16"-20" trout. Funny part- only Cody & Joe caught a fish all day. 

While the boys fished the girls hung out in the house, munched on awesome food, ooh'ed and ahh'ed over Hudson and then left the house to head to downtown Fort Collins for some wandering around, cupcakes and pedicures. 

A really funny sign I saw while we were wandering around Fort Collins. I laughed and had to get a picture for Eric.

German Chocolate cupcake and Red Velvet with Cream Cheese Frosting cupcake. . .oh.my.god. They were SO good!

All the while the dogs swam in the pond and ran around the property. The dogs were in heaven! Although they smelled like fish when they got back to Denver and were promptly given baths by their respective owners. 

Indy & Randall

Bottom to top: Chloe (daschund) Dayton (chocolate lab/pit mix) Boone (vizla) Indy and Randall (chocolate lab)

Indy making his way into the pond.

The Befores. . .

This year we are determined to get things planted around this place and make it look nice. So I took some before pictures of the front and back yard and I'll take some pictures during and after as well. The front isn't too bad, but the back yard is quite sad looking.

The plan: flower pots on the front porch and some small shrubs in the brick beds.

In the back yard we are hoping to do a little bit more drastic planting and renovating. We of course need our land lady's OK to do the renovating in the back yard because we want her to pay for it :)

While I'm typing this out I'd like to bust a myth: 

"You're better half is a landscaper!? Your yard must look fabulous!"

Truth: Ha! He works on all everyone else's yards all day- he doesn't come home and want to work on our yard!

Ideal: The patio gets moved to this side and it becomes all paver patio.

Ideal: If we can move the patio to the other side we want to make this whole side turf and fill the beds with plants. We're pretty sure Indy will never come in the house if he has an entire grassy side of the yard to himself.

 A few things to note about turf:

1. The turf I'm talking about is not football field astro turf. It's soft and made of a composite material that looks and feels like real grass

2. It's great for pets. It drains well since it has a mesh bottom and it's easy to pick up "other messes" from.

3. It's color safe and guaranteed for wear for 20 years, so it won't look worn out and white until we're long gone from the house. 

4. It's not the cheapest stuff on the planet- the nice stuff is about $3/sq. foot.

We'll let you know what we can do and keep the pictures coming!

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day to my mom and all the moms reading this!! I hope you have a great day!

Let the Planting & Growing Begin!

It's finally gorgeous outside and I was able to get a few things planted this morning! I got a few strawberry plants in; Eric grew up with strawberry bushes in his back yard and I have only ever eaten them from containers from the store, so I'm excited to see how homegrown berries taste!

Strawberries!

 

I also planted the herbs. We {Eric} love to cook with fresh herbs in the summer. Our herbs did very well last year all planted together in the pot, so I figured we'll stick with what works. 

Basil, Parsley, Rosemary, Thyme, Sage & Cilantro

We spent oodles of time and money planting the beds in the back yard last year, but everything managed to die. I don't know how, but it did. The only plant that survived and came back in full force was this columbine plant. Once it blooms it will have bright magenta flowers on it.

April Showers Bring. . .

Very few blog posts! I realize we have not posted anything new in 2 weeks, but we have done nothing worth noting. April weather in Colorado is truly the worst weather of the year. It's 70 and sunny one minute and hours later it could be 30 and snowing {It's truly hell for anyone prone to sinus issues!}! The weather has somehow managed to turn to crud as soon as Friday at 5PM hits. So the past few weekends we have  stayed in and done nothing but cook and be lazy. 

Hopefully in the coming weeks we can do some work in the yard and go on some hikes and get back to regular postings.