Sleepy Puppy...

Cooper and I spent some time at the dog park this evening. Cooper is very sleepy now! He's soo cute when he's asleep.

Mother Nature...

Yesterday it was decided that a couple of friends and I would head to a small lake in a county park in Iowa. It's only about 1/2 hour drive and the sun was shining brightly without a cloud in the sky. Perfect afternoon for kayaking. We arrive at the lake around three o'clock, launch and kayak around for a bit. A short while later, we see dark clouds pending. Ugh, rain? How can this be? The sky was beautiful and bright and now what?
So, we go to shore and decide we better pack up. While loading the kayaks, the sprinkles start to fall. But not for long, it started to rain....hard. We hadn't even secured the kayaks to the roof of my wonderful Element and we had to get inside. The rain was coming down fast and it was cold. Then, the hail fell. HAIL!?? So, with neither of the kayaks secured and the wind swirling, it wasn't long before my friend's kayak flew off the top of the car and landed next to us. Crazy times. I don't know why we even bother! Well, yeah I do, because it's FUN.
With the kayaks secure, we leave the park and head for home. The drive was nice, the sky was blue and beautiful. The sun was also shining brightly, no dark clouds to be seen.
Mother Nature can be a real bitch! Gotta love South Dakota/Iowa weather.
Notice the pending clouds in the first picture! Argh!

Sam's Smile

Nothing in the world can compare to the smile of my nephew. He had some work done on his chair yesterday and he was a little angel boy. He had a great time in the play room with his mommy and auntie. I am so proud of him!

who's visiting?

So, I added that there counter at the bottom of the page, scroll down to see it. I know people are stopping by, so leave me a comment so I know who my audience is! Is that so hard?
Thank you.

What's happened this week?
Saw 'Cars' on Friday night. Really cute. The only thing I have issue with is that Larry the Cable Guy is the voice of Mater. He's funny and adds to the flick, however then he adds a "Git 'r done." Can't stand this...partially ruined it for me. Bummer.
I went golfing on Saturday morning, the weather started out to be just fine, but by hole 9 it was sprinkling. The guy in the clubhouse said it was going to be a 30-second cell...he was wrong and we proceeded to play the next 9 holes in a steady rain-downpour. Ahh, the love of the game.
Saturday night I had dinner with my family at one of the best restaurants in SF. Ming Wah. Love it, if you don't that means you haven't been there or you've been there and gotten sick. Regardless of your experience, it's a family tradition. Then we hit up the Sculpture Walk...a wonderful addition to downtown SF. My family is fun!
Cooper was "locked up" for 7.5 hours today. I was so proud of the little guy. This makes me think he can go all day while I am at work. I hoped this would eventually be the case. I bought him a soccer ball, it was only $3 at Old Navy, tonight we played in the backyard until it got too dark. He liked it and has already chewed holes in it. He doesn't seem to understand the value of a dollar.
I have officially registered for the National Element Meet in St. Louis. What a dork I am. I look forward to meeting other people that are obsessed with their vehicles. Perhaps I need to 'get a life.' Anyway, I'll be heading to St. Louis in July...to sweat like a pig!
maybe something exciting will happen this weekend, who knows. I haven't gotten to kayak since I got back from the Hills. So hoping to get out there again soon.

Cooper's friend Kota

Watched my friend's golden retriever a little bit this past weekend. Cooper and Kota were at the dog park for about 2 hours on Sunday, then back to my house for some backyard play. They chased each other around and had a great time...few pics

babies, babies everywhere!!

Met some of my co-workers...wait...friends out for dinner this evening. 3 of them have had babies recently and one of the others is pregnant. There is something good to be said for sticking out like a sore thumb. Some of the conversations I was happy to not be a part of. For instance, hearing about labor, needles, and lots of breastfeeding isn't that much of a loss for me. I, at this point, have no interest in any of the aforementioned things. I am okay with this, thank you.
I do care about these people and the little people they have brought into this chaotic world, but sometimes I have a hard time relating to them.
I know some women talk about having difficulties relating to their friends after having kids or what-not, but I do have to say that being on the outskirts of labor/boobs/poop/bottles/feeding times/not sleeping etc, etc, is okay for me at this point.
Luckily, we had $2 margaritas that carried us all through. I guess good people and good friends can combat any differences.

Summer begins today...

Today, Saturday, is officially my first day of summer. My school year ended yesterday at 5:30 and I will start my summer hours at work on Monday. This means part-time throughout the summer. What a great idea. I think all jobs should be part-time in the summer.
I want to do a lot of things this summer. I want to motivate myself to clean my house, walk the dog more, go kayaking, see some movies, read a few books, travel, and much more. Today though, my summer vacation is plagued with rain, clouds and chilly temperatures. I guess there's always tomorrow.

I made it there...and back

Well, I made it home all safe and sound from my camping experience in the Black Hills of SD. The trip was very fun and we had excellent weather. I was sometimes whiny and a bit of a pessimist, but overall I think I was pretty fun! Our experiences varied from good ol' Wall Drug to Hill City on Friday, Saturday brought about Crazy Horse, Wind Cave National Park, wildlife and an afternoon of kayaking. 3 lakes in one afternoon! The whole group kayaked on Sylvan Lake in Custer State Park as that is where we camped. Then two of us ventured off to find another lake. We found and kayaked on Center Lake and had a brilliant idea to kayak a third. Our final lake was Bismarck also in Custer State Park. It was a lot of fun and I hope to keep finding kayak adventures. Then we headed out on Sunday and ventured through the Badlands for a couple of hours. It had been quite some time since I had last visited this part of the state and I love the scenery and history of the state! I have quite a few pictures and have only posted a few...I would be happy to email them out if you are interested let me know!