we adopted...

... a new dog! 

meet bear, the newest addition to our family! 

if you read a few posts below about the free dog wash service project we had at my house a while back, you might remember me saying something about the fact that i'm not a "dog-person." 

well, i think my good friend candace nailed it on the head when she told me what her theory is. she thinks that somewhere deep, deep... way, deep down inside of me, {and i'm talking extremely deep here people}, that i may be somewhat of a dog person. and you know what? after meeting bear, and quickly falling in love with him, i think she might be right. 

to be completely honest, {and maybe a little on the silly side}, i truly think that bear is an answer to my prayers. this is why: ever since ella graduated from kindergarten, i have been very worried about how life will feel once school starts again. i'm kind of funny about being alone and i really dread being home without anybody else here with me. it's too quiet, too lonely and it seriously causes me anxiety. {strange, i know... but that's just how i am.}

anyway, knowing that both of my kids will be gone in the fall... all day long... has left me dreading the new school year to start. for months now, i've been wracking my brain trying to figure out how to get over my fears and anxieties of feeling lonely and bored when i'm alone all day. even my personal training only lasts a few hours in the morning and then possibly another hour late in the evening... so that doesn't even help much during the day-time hours.  

so how did we come to even get bear the dog? well, i can sure tell you this... we were definitely not in the market for a dog! i mean, have mercy on me! we already have a cat, a bird, and two leopard gecko's... the last thing i thought i would ever want was a dog! besides, i am completely against animal fur and have already decided that if i was to get a dog, it would be a yorkie because they don't shed. {but let's be honest...  people... $1200 to spend on a puppy is, well... it's just way more than i'd want to spend on a dog right now that's for sure!}

anyway, a friend of matt's was moving, and needed to find a new home for his cute little puggle. {that's a mix between a pug and a beagle in case you're wondering}. he asked matt if we would be interested in taking him, but matt figured i'd never go for it. he didn't push the issue at all, and was taken completely by surprise when i was the one who kept asking questions about the dog. {i won't lie... i surprised myself by this as well. this is definitely not typical "liz" behavior.} 

after learning all the great things about bear, i asked matt if we could meet him. we did... and all of us instantly fell in love! i mean look at his face... what's not to love? we invited him over for a "trial run sleep-over" to see how we all did with him as a family pet, and by the next morning he was my new best friend! 

i even took him out on a walk that next morning and i'm convinced that he saved me from a crazy looney man that was hiding in the bushes and then randomly appeared on the sidewalk later on in my walk. {scary story, but bear started growling and barking at him and the guy backed off! it was awesome!}

so anyway, we are now living in a zoo with a dog named bear, a cat named tiger, a bird named sunny {although i'm starting to think we should change his name to lion} and two leopard geckos. 

i'm just excited that i have a little buddy to hang out with when the kids go to school in the fall! bear already follows me around everywhere and hangs out with me when i fold laundry, pick peas, type at the computer or mow the lawn. he is my new walking buddy... although he does tend to make things a little difficult since he always thinks he's sniffing out a crime scene. i have to keep tugging him along... unless of course the kids decide to come on their bikes. then he just chases them and literally pulls and drags me behind him until i'm the one panting like a dog!

it's awesome being a dog mom... and i never in a million years thought i'd find myself saying that! i guess it helps when the dog already comes potty-trained, polite and mostly calm. all the hard work is done! we get the easy part... which is to have a cute little animal who has humanistic characteristics to pal around with all the time, who makes us laugh, entertains us and gives us friendship. 

it's all about the shoes

posting pictures of myself on my blog, causes me some feelings of anxiety... mainly because i worry that people will read me the wrong way, or think that i'm looking for praise, attention... or even worse... think that i'm trying to be a "hottie-tottie" and show off. eww! {i'm not a fan of people who are arrogant. confidence in a person? fabulous! arrogant people? ick!} anyway, i just had to post that little explanation for my own peace of mind... because below, are lots and lots of self portraits that were taken for a little "mommy model" contest - which actually has absolutely nothing to do with your looks - but everything to do with your shoes! so please don't get the wrong impression here. i'm not out fishing for compliments or praise... i'm just sharing a fun experience i had. 

i have to tell you the background behind this little contest and why i decided to do it in the first place. last summer, while i was at swimming lessons with my kids, i was chatting with a friend about getting our family pictures taken. she told me about this great photographer... and when i looked up her website, i was instantly in love with her! the only problem was, she lived about three hours away! {total bummer!} well, i bookmarked her blog, and have stalked her ever since. {for the record, her name is emily clark and you can see her website by clicking here.}

anyway, last summer she started a "mommy model" contest where women were able to do a photo shoot with her, and then later people could vote on her blog for their favorite pair of high heels. and let me just tell you... when i first saw this super cute, super creative, contest, i wanted to do it so dang bad, i was tempted to drive three hours just so i could be part of it!!! {oh the things i am willing to do for a good picture!}

well the best thing happened a few weeks ago when i was looking on facebook and saw an update from one of my friends, saying that her sister-in-law was a photographer and was moving to this area. this very area! i checked out the link... and couldn't believe my eyes, when i realized it was the exact same photographer that i had been stalking and had been completely in love with for the entire past year! i seriously thought i had died and gone to heaven! 

i immediately emailed her, {emily clark} scheduled my photo shoot and went to the mall the very next day to look for THE outfit. the stars in the heavens lined up, and somehow i was able to find the shoes, the shirt, and the skirt... within the first two stores that i went to... and they just screamed my name! it was purely miraculous!

so here are just a few of the pictures she took that day. it's not even a smidgen compared to how many she took during the shoot!! she posted more pics here and also included some interview questions and her hilarious perspective on our shoot. we had such a fun time while we were taking pictures... it was more like a party for the both of us! 

the final voting won't be until july, but here are my sweet lil' kickers for the contest! whoever wins gets to have a free family photo shoot with emily and gets their favorite print in a 16x20! oh. my. gosh. it would be my dream come true! {so don't be surprised if you see me doing a little bit of begging and pleading on my blog when it comes voting time... asking for a few spare seconds of your time to go vote for my shoes!}

daddy's girl

being the youngest in my family has naturally made me a bit of a daddy's girl. from the time i was a little teeny bopper, i have had a sweet relationship with my dad, that is unmatched. he has always been kind and gentle, willing to give out hugs and kisses, there with loving advice when i need it, and i know i have his unconditional support in what i do. 

to this day, whenever we see each other or say good-bye, my parents are the cutest at making sure they give us all hugs and kisses. even if we're just coming over for sunday dinner! it's just a regular thing. and saying "i love you" is just like saying "please-pass-the-butter" except with much more meaning behind it! 

i really don't think i could have been blessed with better parents and it was wonderful spending the day with my absolutely fantabulous father on fathers day! i love you dad! {isn't he such a cutie?! i sure think so!}

daddy matt

i'll be honest... there are some days when i start to wonder if my kids love matt more than me! you know, they always want him to tuck them in at night... or him to play checkers with them... or if we have to drive somewhere separately, they want to drive in his car! 

actually, it's quite cute... and i know that the reason why they want to be with him so much, is because they have to be with me ALL the time! day in, day out... no break whatsoever! so spending time with their daddy is extra, extra special to them, and that's just great with me! 

yesterday, matt was scheduled to work a 12 hour shift at the hospital, so we didn't get to spend much of the day with him, which was a bummer... but we sent text messages back and forth a lot of the day so it helped the time go by a lot faster. {thank goodness for technology!}

when matt got home from work, we gave him a few little fathers day surprises. his big fathers day surprise {a new laptop} is still on it's way here... so to tide him over, he got some homemade cards and fresh zucchini bread the kids and i made.

as amazing as matt is, sometimes i wonder if he is secretly wearing super hero underoo's underneath his pants... because honestly, i have no idea HOW in the world he is such a happy father, a loving husband, a hard worker, a good student, a thoughtful friend... not to mention a completely cheerful and patient care tech at the hospital!

happy fathers day matt! the kids and i sure love you!

free dog-wash

i wouldn't say that i'm much of a dog person. it's not that i don't like dogs... i'm just not one of those dog lovers who has them as pets or as best friends. i'm sure they are great for some people, but my first experience as a dog owner was by default when matt and i got married. 

blitz was a big old hunting dog that happened to be part of the package deal if i was to marry matt. every time i'd walk outside, he would run full speed ahead and jump up on me, almost knocking me over and getting his dirty paw prints all over my clean clothes! {matt found him a new home soon after we were married, and to be completely honest, i wasn't sad to see him go!}

several years later, when i surprised matt with a puppy for fathers day, i was completely stunned by how much poop i had to scoop up in my backyard! i was baffled by how often the dang thing peed when it got excited! and i was especially surprised by how it chewed up everything in sight - including my hands, my ankles and my small children! as much as i tried to love that little thing, we finally decided it would be better to find our puppy a new home with a much more patient mommy! 

so considering my past history with dogs, i'm not quite sure what was going through my mind, when i suggested to the activity day girls in my ward, that we have a free dog-wash at my house as a service project for our neighborhood! 

it sounded fun at the time, but as the day quickly approached, i started to dread my decision and worry that the worst would happen. i pictured dogs peeing on the girls legs, biting their hands, chasing my poor cat, tearing out my new petunia's, running off and getting hit by a car... oh, the images in my mind were endless... and i was really starting to worry! 

luckily though, the day went off without a hitch! the girls had fun... the dog owners had fun... us leaders had fun... and i'm pretty sure the dogs even had a good time! and at one point, i even caught a glimpse of my cat sitting inside the house gawking at all the excitement outside, acting as if he wished he could join in all the fun!