Top 5 Most Wanted Puppies

Alright everyone, first I'd like to apologize for the super depressing Dewey post. (It's all out of my system!)

Since Dewey's passing, I've had an unquenchable urge to get a puppy. I know, I know...it's a bad idea. All they do is poop, bark, eat, chew EVERYTHING,...and love you to pieces! Baah! It's ridiculous how bad I want a dog. I've even purchased two books to prepare me for motherhood...of a baby puppy: "Training Your Labrador Retriever", and "Labrador Retrievers for Dummies." They're actually pretty interesting books.

And so I've compiled a list of my Top 5 Most Wanted Puppies:

5. English Mastiff

Big, huuuuuge dog? Yes please! For some reason I've always prefered big dogs to little ones. Maybe it's because I associate little dogs with excessive barking. Also, my next door neighbors own 3 little yappy Yorkies. I'm always tempted to drop kick them when they start barking...which is ALL.THE.TIME. Mastiffs are normally good natured, calm, easygoing, and surprisingly gentle for their size. Bryant seems to think it would be "awesome" to have a dog this big. I think it would be a great dog, if we had a pasture for it to graze in. Also along with having a big dog, so goes the saying, "The bigger the dog, the bigger the poop!" Also, could you imagine how expensive it would be to feed that beast?

4. Great Dane

I guess I'm continuing on with my large dog obsession. All of the problems that go along with the Mastiff would be almost the exact same with a Great Dane (minus the obsessive slobber). I attached the picture of the Great Dane and the chihuahua to show what it would look like when Emily Gladfelder's puppies play with a Great Dane. Great Danes are adorable though. (Who doesn't love Scooby Doo?) Another downside to large dogs: Shorter life expectancy: Somewhere around 8 years. :(

3. It's a Tie: Alaskan Malamute & Blood Hound

Ok, I actually know where the Malamute obsession comes from. When I was little, maybe 4 or 5, my aunt and uncle lived in Alaska. One summer when they came to Idaho to visit, my uncle brought me a t-shirt that had a pack of Malamute puppies on the front that said, "Almost a Team" or some other cheesy line. I looooved that shirt. I thought it was the coolest thing ever...then I discovered "101 Dalmatians" and that started a whole different obsession, but that's another topic. A few people have mentioned that Utah's climate is too hot for a Malamute. Are you SERIOUS? Have you ever been to Logan? The warmest it ever gets is low 90's and that's only for a few weeks in July. The rest of the time it's somewhere in the 40's from September though May. (That's not even an exaggeration.) So as much as I'd love a Malamute, they are very athletic dogs and require a lot of exercise. For that I'd get the "PetZen Dog Tredmill." Great idea, right? :)

The other dog that is a definite tie for 3rd would be the Bloodhound.

Look at those ears!! And that wrinkly skin! Ahh, so cute! When I was growing up we had a Red Bone hound named Daisy. She was the laziest dog you had ever seen, but she was also the cutest!) The problem with hounds is their loud, distinct bark. And they're nocturnal. I could just picture being all curled up in bed in the middle of the night and having my hound freak out over any noise. Not a great idea. And again with the slobber. Yuck.

2. French Bulldog

Meet "Princess Ruby Beth", named after my niece: Camri Beth (see photo), who was named after her mother, Reesa Beth, who was named after her mother, Ramona Beth, who was named after her aunt...Beth. Random? Most definitely. But Ruby has quite the pedigree! French Bulldogs are super fun as pets. My sister has had both English and French bulldogs and I seem to like French a little more. They're obviously a lot smaller and more energetic. The biggest problem with French Bulldogs is the price tag. Most go for $2,500+. Maybe my sister will let me have a puppy for letting her stay at my house while she brings Ruby to Orem for her vet visits? (HINT! HINT!!)

And the number one spot goes to...(shocker)

1. (Yellow) Labrador Retriever

You have no soul if you look at this and tell me it doesn't make your heart melt! Yellow labrador retrievers aren't the most popular dog choice of families for no reason! They're mellow, super loving, good sized, and the best dogs ever. I don't care what anyone says. I'm right.

Now I just need for people to help me convince my mean husband to let me get a puppy. :) Any help is greatly appreciated. :)

"Dewey Dog"

On Valentines Day of 2000, my dad surprised my mom and I by bringing home the world’s cutest yellow Labrador retriever puppy. He had gone out to a farm in Hyrum, Utah to pick him up and he had even purchased a big red bow to tie on his collar for presentation. While driving, the puppy was barking like crazy inside the cardboard box he was in. My dad decided to let him out and the puppy proceeded to crawl over and put his head on my dad’s lap while he drove the rest of the way home. That was the beginning of their 11-year friendship. (I’m DYING to insert the picture of the puppy and I from the night we got him, but I can’t find it!! BAAH!! It’s driving me crazy!) **This is basically what he looked like...

Our family struggled for a few days trying to decide what to name the puppy. One afternoon we discovered that he had broken into a case of Mountain Dew cans, carried one out into the yard, and began to drink all of the contents. The obvious name choice was “Dewey”.

During the time that we had Dewey my sister Josie had a Siamese cat named Princess Fuzz-e. It was seriously a possessed cat! (Yes, even feistier than Edgar!) One summer she had had a batch of wild kittens and it was time to try and get rid of them all (And by that I mean take them to a loving, caring family…). My dad and I were out in our garage trying to catch the little buggers when Princess attacked my dad. Dewey was observing and he quickly attacked Princess in response. My dad later proclaimed, “Dewey saved my life!” He also added, “Dewey is #1 in my book.”

Every summer when I would mow the law, Dewey would get super excited. Once our trailer behind the four-wheeler was full of grass clippings I would go across the farmyard, through the gates leading to the pasture and Dewey would run beside me every step of the way. He loved to chase the cows out of my way, and then go for a quick swim in the canal before we would head back to the house.

Sunday afternoons during the summer would generally lead to my family all lounging out on the front porch while Brock would play with the grandkids and Clay would hit golf balls into the surrounding hay fields. Most of us would end up sitting on the grass. Dewey was quick to slither up next to you, wait for the right moment, and then proceed to nudge his head into your lap in hopes of you scratching behind his ears. Everyone would get annoyed with him and tell him, “GO AWAY, DEWEY!” He’d slink away to the flower garden, wait a few minutes, then belly-crawl back to try again. (It was probably the cutest thing he did.)

One Spring my mom and I decided to take Dewey to the vet for his annual check-up. We had him in the back of my dad’s truck while driving on the main highway from Preston to Richmond. Once we had passed Pepperidge Farm someone caught up to us and told us to pull over because our dog fell out of the truck a little ways back (while we were going 60 mph!). We were positive he was dead on the side of the road. After we circled back, we drove for a ways and we never saw him. We decided to go over to the smoking area outside Pepperidge. There we found our sweet Dewey, loving all the ear-scratches and attention from the ladies outside. (No physical injuries were sustained in his fall; he timed it just right and rolled into the tall grass off the road.)

A few weeks ago my parents found Dewey lying dead on our neighbors law across the farmyard. My dad took him down over the hill to the area of trees where we kids used to play in our tree house when we were little. There he buried him and spoke a few words (since my dad has had plenty of experience conducing funerals in his +18 months as Bishop). “You were a good dog, Dewey. You never met a person you didn’t like. You’ll be missed.”

V-Day #3!

Happy Valentine's Day to the BEST.HUSBAND.EVER!

Love You, Bry!

Do the Creep

Saturday Night Live is the GREATEST! (Specifically Andy Samberg.) I officially have a new favorite music video!

"So get your knees flexin' and your arms T-Rexin'!"

Scruff McGruff

A few weeks ago Bryant and a few of his law school buddies decided that they were going to put together an intramural basketball team. Their awesome name? "The Officious Intermeddlers." (Apparently the team captain read it in one of their cases and got a kick out of it.)

So yesterday was their second game of the season. 9 AM on a Saturday. (Awful, huh?) Bryant left the house around 8:30 and I slept until 10:30. (I definitely should win the "Most Supportive Wife of the Year" Award.) While Bryant and one of his teammates were checking in, the girl at the table informed both of them that they could not play due to their facial hair. If anyone has ever seen Bryant then you would know that the little facial hair he does have, you have to be in the right light to even see it.Do you see the scruff? No. No you don't. But what you don't realize is this a pretty scruffy picture of Bryant.

(Sometimes I tell Bryant he looks like Spencer Pratt in hopes that he'll get offended and shave. It doesn't work.)

Bryant and his teammate kindly asked the girl if she was joking, to which she responded that she was not and that they could play if they hurried and shaved. (Later Bryant told me he was thinking, "Yeah, I brought my toiletries bag along just incase I needed to shave before I played basketball on a Saturday morning!")

The two of them scurried over to the BYU Bookstore in hopes of buying a razor there, but it was closed. Finally they went back to the gym and the wife of one of the other players ended up having an electric razor in her car and she was kind enough to let them borrow it. They ended up missing 10 minutes of the game, and the game resulted in a tie. --That's after someone on Bryant's team slammed the ball and was issued a "Yellow Card", forced to sit out, and the team had to finish the game 4-on-5. (What is this? Soccer? Hockey? Since when is there a penalty box in basketball?!)

Since we've moved to Happy Valley I've been trying to have a positive attitude about BYU. I figure we have to be here for 3 years so I may as well enjoy it. But after walking around the student center and seeing just how much weirder the students are, going to the BYU-USU mens basketball game and having to deal with their obnoxious fans, and now the whole "beard" fiasco...Uggh. It's awful. Just AWFUL!

Cache Valley, (specifically the Sports Academy for Bryant)-- We miss you!

Cinnamon Rolls

When I was in elementary, anytime that I'd have a Snow Day and my mom didn't have to work, she would make me learn how to make cinnamon rolls. At the time, I hated it. I would try to wing it and she would tell me what I was doing wrong, which for some reason would make me really mad! [Hello! I was an EXPERT! Not her! :) ]

Nowadays, anytime I make some type of dessert I am always calling her to ask questions. My momma is the greatest cook EVER! So here is the final product!

One other random story about making these: While I was letting the dough raise, I wanted to hurry the process along. I preheated my oven a tiny bit so I could put the dough in to raise. I placed one of my kitchen towels on the bottom rack before I put my plastic bowl on it so the bowl wouldn't burn. Once I took the dough out I was in a hurry and forgot to take the towel out. A little while later when I was ready to start cooking them, I turned my oven on to

375°F. I was talking to my mom on the phone when I glanced over to see smoke billowing out of my oven! I ran over and flung open the door to find my towel on fire! At this point the kitchen was engulfed in smoke, about six different smoke alarms were going off, and Edgar had sprinted through his pet door into the garage to hide from all the chaos!

So this is what my white towel looked like after Bryant came to the rescue and threw it out into the snow. :)

In spite of this little incident the rolls turned out to be rather tasty! (According to Bryant, anyway)

BON APPETIT!

Edgar won the battle...I won the war!

Now I know what you're all thinking. "Why in the world would she give her cat a bath?" I'll tell you why! Since we first got Edgar for Christmas in 2009, I have successfully given him 3 baths. Granted, they were all when he was pretty small, but they did happen! Edgar has been shedding a lot lately and it seemed that no matter how much I brushed him, he would still shed! My mom and sister were talking about giving their Siamese cats baths and they made it sound soooo easy. I figured that was the solution to Edgar's shedding problem.

When Bryant and I moved from Logan, I drugged Edgar with "Calm Down". It knocked him out from Logan to Draper, then he meowed for the last 30 minutes of the drive. I thought I was brilliant by giving the same stuff to Edgar before his bath. It definitely didn't have the same effect this time around...

Here's the monster before his bath...

He shredded my glove while I was trying to put him in the bathtub. (As demonstrated in the video)

This is after the bath. You can see how happy Edgar was.

My battle wounds

Lovely, huh?

His next favorite part was the hair dryer.

The final product.

So was the bath worth it? No. Definitely NOT.