Chicagoland Pet Expo

We had such a blast this past weekend! I took Friday off and spent the day with my friend Kendra, cooking for a Saturday night party. Her dog Basja came along and was pretty disappointed with the company: Reggie was too pooped from the groomer to put much effort into playing and Korina just wanted to rip her face off... so she spent most of her day in our bedroom.

Saturday we spent the day at Arlington Racetrack where the Chicagoland Pet Expo was going on. We helped represent AllSaints Rescue out of Milwaukee, WI. This is the rescue we got Reggie from and through whom we are fostering Korina. Reggie was in his glory. WHere else could he go and be loved on by HUNDREDS of people without having to do anything to earn it?

Saturday night our friend Debbie hosted a party at her house for all the members of an online forum for big dogs we belong to. It was so great to see all these people in person! People who you chat with almost daily, who know more about what is going on in your life than your next-door neighbors. I sang "The Gambler" with Lora and Adam dazzled us with a Rodney Carrington song.

We spent the night in the Chicago area and went to our friends Melissa & Dan's house in the morning. The plan was to let Reggie and their dogs acclimate, play a little, then put Reggie up in the spare room to sleep for the day (he was still worn out from all the petting on Saturday) while the humans went into Chicago for good food and some sightseeing.

All went according to plan until we got to The Field Museum and were preparing to go in. Melissa gets a call from her next door neighbor asking, "Are you missing a Saint Bernard?" Reggie managed to escape the spare room, the crate that was pushed up against the door, two baby gates AND a LOCKED front door to the HOUSE!

Luckily we have tremendous friends who, if they did mind having to cut the day short did not show it, brought us back to our pup, who was being watched by her wonderful neighbor. Dan IS a master of the guilt trip though and I suspect, plans to use this whole incident at every opportunity. I think he is hoping for a lot of free meals to come his way. ANd i think the kitchen remodel was mentioned as well...

Here is a slideshow of the pictures we took:

Wassa' Happenin' Hotstuff?

What a weekend! First, everything melted. WHich led to allllll kinds of water everywhere. And where did most of this water drain to? Our backyard. Which made for a big sloppy mess. However, that mess did not last long, because a day or two later, it all froze again. And what we were left with was a frozen pond in our backyard.






Saturday evening, we got a new member to our household. Her name is Korina. She came to us from a shelter in Merrill, WI. Her owner had turned her in because she was not getting along with the resident shitzu. After a few tenuous moments with Reggie, she seems to be settling right in. She needs a few good meals and some TLC, but we can certainly handle that. We will be fostering her until the right family comes around to adopt her.






And last but not least, Clare's INformal party. Her answer to all those people who had to get dressed up in pricey dresses and trudge out to the High School gym and sweat for 4 hours.

SOme of Clare's friends came over to spend the night, wearing some of the most anti-formal, outdated dresses we have seen in awhile. WOWIE! And they all did their hair and makeup to match. Here are the future beauty queens of America.

Winter, Round II

So a couple of weeks ago, we had a warm spell. It stayed above freezing for almost a week. It was wonderful! We ould go out and get the mail without 15 layers of clothes. The furnace did not run constantly. All the snow that has been gradually turning black for the last month or so finally melted.

And then it snowed. Again. The high today was 22 degrees and we have about 8 inches of snow on the ground. We are soooo ready for spring.

Today we met our friend Kendra and her beautiful Great Dane Basja for lunch. Afterward, we went for a hike in Rock Cut State Park. We let the dogs go offleash; Basja because she is well-trained and has excellent recall, Reggie because we were hoping he would just follow Basja around.

They played and cavorted. If you hold a snowball in your hand, Basja loves to jump up and grab it with her mouth. Reggie... he likes to watch.




By the time we decided to turn around and head back, Reggie was pooped. AT one point, he just stopped walking and laid down in the snow. Poor guy.

Kendra and Basja came over to the house for ahwile so we could visit. The dogs snoozed. And after they left, Reggie found his spot by the door and has been snoring ever since. And that is why he is the perfect dog for us.

Next weekend is the Winter Formal at Clare's high school. SHe has opted not to go. Instead, we are throwing an INformal party for a bunch of girls who are not going to the dance. They are all wearing the ugliest dresses they can find and we will give out an award to the one who looks the worst! Stay tuned for that!

Adam is on the Board

The Roscoe/Rockton Lions Board was chosen Adam to serve on its Board of Directors for the 2009 Season! He was interviewed this past Tuesday at FIBS (a local restaurant) and must have dazzled them with his brilliance because they made their decision that same evening.

I am not sure how many other parents applied for the two open positions but Adam feels like there were quite a few others interested.

We feel very honored to be a part of this organization. Everyone is treated with respect and there is such a love for the game of football. His first meeting is in February, as they begin preparations for this year's season!

Zeke Turns 9!

Happy Birthday Zeke! His birthday was on Monday, the 19th but we did most of the celebrating on Sunday because Adam was home.

Here is Zeke with his gifts:

On his actual birthday, we found a hill in Rockford to try out the inflatable sled:


In this one, you can't see them very well but you can hear their screams easily!


And a fun time was had by all!

Holiday Happiness

I apologize for the lack of updates. One part busyness and 3 parts laziness have kept me from my Blogging duty.

Christmas Eve and Day were pretty quiet in the May household, as weather prohibited any family travel. We DID get to video conference with Dad however. He got to watch the kids open their gifts, which was cool. God bless the web cam!

Mona, John & Jennifer came the weekend after Christmas and stayed for a couple of days. Everyone participated in Gingerbread Construction and it sure looked festive when finished!





Mom & Johanna bravely drove through treacherous weather to arrive shortly after Christmas. Jaime & Justin came shortly after and we all celebrated New Year's together, along with a few of our local friends.

Holiday Stuff

We went out to a Japanese restaurant, a Rockford Ice Hogs game (AHL), Chicago style pizza at Giordano's and we played a good amount of Rayman Raving Rabbids 3. A fun time was had by all. And now back to the daily grind...

Merry Christmas!

We wish each and every one of you a most happy and blessed holiday.

Zeke, of course, was the first one awake. He came in and snuggled with us until Paw-Paw called to tell us he was up and ready. Ready for what? you may ask. Adam had arranged for Paw-Paw to watch the kids open their gifts via WebCam and Yahoo Messenger. How cool is that? We love modern technology.

So presents were opened, the ham and rolls were prepared, muffins were eaten, coffee was drunk and now we sit in front of the fireplace, happy & content. It is -6 degrees outside. There is about a foot of snow outside and it is sunshiney.

We went to "midnight" Mass last night. It began with Christmas carols from 10 - 10:30. One of the choir members sang a solo of 'O Holy Night' (my favorite carol) which was beautiful. Here are some pictures of Our Lady of Assumption. We take pride in our church because we helped decorate it last Sunday. See that poinsettia on the ground? Yah, we helped move that. And those trees? Adam lifted those.


This evening we are going to our friend and neighbor's house to play games and hang out. Mom & Johanna are due to arrive here tomorrow night. We plan on assembling & decorating our gingerbread house Saturday with their help. We baked the panels and had some dough left over so Adam & Clare made gingerbread men. We had leftover crushed LifeSavers from the stained glass so Clare decided to use some red candy for her gingerbread man's smile. Instead of grinning, however, poor Mr. Gingerbread Man looks like he is bleeding from the mouth:

Mona, John & Jennifer wil arrive Sunday and Jaime & Justin will be here Tuesday. We wish you & yours a wonderful day. God bless us, everyone.