Random Ramblings

I have to respond to a few comments. Your stories about your kids are hilarious. You all need to have blogs (if you don't) so I can keep up on your kids. Also, I didn't say much about the house. We're renting since Chris' job is only guaranteed for a year. If Chris ends up staying here then we'll look around and find something to buy. And I start school Aug. 27 so I have plenty of time to blog right now!

Because we're renting, Murphy doesn't come inside much. She's just a puppy so I don't trust her by herself very long since she likes to chew and isn't house trained yet. She comes inside when there isn't any shade in the backyard or when we want to play with her. It's been so hot lately that she's been inside quite a bit. Chris usually lets her in when he gets home from work which is funny because he fought me for so long that the dog would NEVER be allowed inside. Oh, how time changes things.

The comment about a brittany - yes, Chris is still going to get his Brittany Spaniel. He wasn't sure how much time he would have for it right now so he's decided to wait until next year. Besides, by then Murphy will know so many tricks that hopefully it's easier to train the Brittany.

My brother-in-law John G. made the comment that Murphy may be rethinking her position on kids after this last weekend. For those of you who didn't see it, she got mauled by my nieces and nephews in Utah County. It was hilarious. The poor dog had half a dozen (or more) kids shouting at her to sit, shake, fetch, lay down, roll over and everything else. I was worried at first that she may get frustrated with one of them, but she was good with them. I would have left her alone with the kids no problem but I felt like she needed protection from them sometimes, not the other way around. They were really gentle with her though and didn't pull her tail, fur, or ears. One time, Chris was outside with all the kids while they were playing with her and he said she kept running over to him and looking up with these eyes that just said "Help me!" She'd also run behind him and try to hide for a few minutes. The really great part was that she was completely worn out by the end of the day. She also went for her first horseback ride up in the mountains but was so worn out 1/3 of the way through that I carried her the rest of the way. She didn't bother the horses at all though some of them didn't care for her. She got stepped on by my horse and limped for a few minutes but was fine afterwards. Nothing broken. The picture is Murphy with her favorite stuffed animal.

My old work gave me a $250 gift card as a going-away gift and we spent some of it on a set of power tools. We had big plans to build a doghouse but they have yet to come to fruition. I have, however, built nightstands (crude, simple ones) for our bedroom and still plan to build the potting bench my dad built for my mom. My dad sent me the plans in the magazine and it doesn't look too bad but I'll probably have Chris help me on a weekend. The tools are fun but I'm not very good with the circular saw. The edges are always crooked. The next tool we get might have to be a table saw.

Two weeks ago we went hiking with a group from the hospital. We went to a place up the canyon called Ashdown Gorge.

It was amazing. It was about a 9 mile hike but we went off the trail for about a mile to this waterfall. After the hike, we had dutch oven cooking waiting for us at the bottom. We were all very hungry and it was really good food. There were 9 of us that went so Chris got to know some of the doctors and other administators from the area.