#14

We enjoyed our 14th anniversary by doing what we love the most--spending the day with our furry kids.  We love finding a swimming hole/creek to go splash around in and frolic until we are worn out.

We found a great state park to go play.  We were hopeful that Jessie would finally learn to swim.

Here are the kids when we arrived at our destination:

Keystone was the only one with a clue

We were able to walk out to the water.  Jessie thought she could just run around without getting wet.

Aren't you going to get in, Jessie?!?

Keystone LOVES to swim!

Joey loves to swim too!

Jessie sort of...

... skips along ...

      ... the surface!

 

Eventually, we found a spot deep enough, where we all waded/swam across to the other side, leaving Jessie all alone.  Would she do it?  Would she swim?

Come on, Jessie!  You can do it!

The answer is YES!  She DOES swim across!  She was very hesitant about it, but she figured it out.  Finally, all of our dogs are water dogs!

This part was deep for a few paddles

It was so fun walking up the very shallow "shelves" of water

Here are more of my very favorite random pictures from our day.  It was the best anniversary day ever.

 

Jessie "the bullet" takes the lead

Having fun running up the shore

My Keystone

My goofy puppies

We went to our favorite local Italian restaurant for dinner.  Had an amazing meal.  I'll have to share pictures of what we had soon.  We had a very adventurous day!

BnB '13 the Fall Edition Finale

What a great visit Tullybird and I had.  It was great for her to experience another season in the Midwest.  It was fun to see someone observe things that I take for granted.

Cicada's are in full chorus in the trees.  I love the sound of those awesome little (actually, not so little) bugs.  It's like Mother Nature's white noise to me.  Next to softly falling rain, it can lull me right to sleep.  I really wish she could have heard the screech owl.  That would have been a real hoot.

The highlight of our time for me was the horseback trail ride.  We started the day with a tasty breakfast sammich.

Grilled homemade bun, crispy bacon, cheddar cheese and an over-easy egg = yummy

The day was beautiful and warm.  Not too hot, not too cool, it was just right.  I got to introduce Tullybird to my boyfriend Jake, and she got to see all the other animals too.  Here we are on the trail.

I know you're thinking of the theme music to Bonanza

Cowgirls!

Our horses casually walked the hour long ride.  It was just long enough to make our tail bones remind us that they are there.  This was my view on the trail:

There were just 5 of us on the ride

Towards the last part of the ride, we went through a grove of trees.  All the other horses were hanging out there since it was nice and cool.  The guide had instructed us to keep our horse on the path following the horse in front of it, and don't stop.  This picture is really blurry, but you can see the horses on the far edge. We had walked right by them.

I hope you're not adjusting your glasses, this isn't meant to be in focus--I was ON A HORSE!

We were almost out of the "forest", and the "lead" horse, the top dog, the alpha male, the #1 Kahuna, decided to "play" with us.  He came up and stood right in front of my horse.  HOLY COW.  So I told Cheyenne (my horse) to Whoa and stay.  The lead horse wasn't moving out of my way.  The horse in front if it, started to act like it wanted to kick back.  That made the lead horse act like he wanted to kick my horse!  So, I kept mine still and didn't move any closer.  Then all of a sudden, the lead horse walked in line, like he wanted to go on the trail ride with us!  We all walked a little ways, then he just went on his merry way.  It was intense--and SO COOL!!!!  

Horses mystify me.  They all have their own personality, just like dogs.  They are huge, playful, beautiful, vulnerable, and strong, all at the same time.  I am so enamored with them.

After our ride was over, the other couple had brought apples and carrots to feed the horses and let us have some too.  It was funny to see which horses did not like apples, and which did not like carrots.  I believe most preferred the carrots.  Our trail guide was actually Topgun (and his owner).  He's absolutely magnificent.

Topgun, you melt my heart

After our morning equine adventure, we planned to stay in that area.  We went to a farmer's market type of store, only on a farm.  I am happy to report, it is officially PUMPKIN SEASON!!!!

This extra tall pumpkin made my heart happy to see its beauty

Two more pumpkin beauties

We visited a local winery, ate at their restaurant, and did a little shopping in the little town.  We returned home to have a wonderful prime rib dinner.  I can't believe we hadn't prepared this for her yet.  I made a homemade raspberry dressing that turned out pretty good.  We dined like queens and a king that night!

Beef!

The next day, we went shopping on The Plaza.  We had lunch at our favorite burger place Blanc Burgers & Bottles, and had martini's.  Now, that's a good day off!

Our lunchtime 'Tinis

Tullybird loves their Homemade Pickle Martini.  My Strawberry Blonde Martini was just alright.  It needed to be sweeter.  It had limon vodka, strawberry vodka, and strawberry puree, and probably something else that I don't remember.  It was missing something, but I still drank it!

I hadn't had seafood in awhile, so I opted for the Salmon Burger.  I heard it was great.  It was very nice and light.  I was not overly stuffed and miserable after I finished it, but I was very full.  I enjoyed every bite, and the Asian slaw was brilliant.

Yep, I gave my pickle to Tullybird

Smoked Gouda, bacon, an onion ring, some fancy ale BBQ sauce, those were the highlights of her burger

Tullybird's burger looked incredible and she loved it!  I'm having that one next time if I am in the mood for beef.  We had sweet potato fries, and OMG were they tasty.  I really loved them, especially with the slightly spicy aioli dipping sauce.  My mouth was on fire, but I didn't care.


We had chicken stuffed Mexican style Giant Marconi peppers for dinner.  We had watermelon margaritas for our evening beverage.  Hey, it was her last night, so we had several watermelon margaritas!

My cheesy chicken stuffed Giant Marconi pepper

Very tasty way to eat watermelon

The next morning, we actually got to stop by a garage sale in my old neighborhood.  Tullybird got to meet the old 'hood.  Then I dropped her off at the airport.

It was back to reality for her.  Luckily, I had a few more days off.  I can't wait for her next visit!  We have So. Much. Fun.

BnB '13 the Fall Edition

Surprise!  Tullybird came for another visit this year!  She wanted to experience another month in the Midwest besides May.

We started her visit off with an excellent lunch, at Oklahoma Joe's.  I tell ya, at 3:30pm, this place was still hopping.  But it was a manageable size of crowd.  We opted for the dine-in experience, since she has never eaten inside a gas station.  It was tasty.

The Z-man sandwich.  Amazing.

The evening of her first day, we had on the agenda "meatloaf surprise" for dinner.  

Meatloaf surprise (cheesy hotdog), roasted root vege's, homemade bun, and salad with fresh raspberry dressing

Todd always puts a river of mozzarella in the middle of his meatloaf.  And he hides something.  This time it was mini cheesy hotdogs.  Yum.

Oh yea, and we had PB&T's for our beverage that evening.  We had a version of this drink last year, but I believe it was even better this year with a few changes.

PB&Ts

 PB&T's, the enhanced version:
2 parts Sprite
1 part Grape Juice
1 part PB&J Vodka (yes, this is peanut butter and jelly flavored vodka)
1 part Raspberry Liquor (like Chambord)
1/2 part Raspberry Vodka

These should mix like a martini.  However, if you serve them in a beer mug, I suggest that you limit consumption to 3.  Because 4 is just 1 to many.

This morning, we had a puffy pancake that I call a Dutch Baby Pancake.  It was sooooo good!

It's a MAGIC pancake!

Breakfast also included eggs and bacon.  It was tasty.

Blueberry butter on the pancake was great--it looks gross before it melted, but it was wonderful

We had a Mexican fiesta tonight, but I forgot to take a picture of Todd's awesome chili Verde.  That man can cook some pork!  We skipped the margaritas though, because we are waking up early tomorrow to hit the trail.

I leave you with a picture of the kids from a few weeks ago.  Aren't they precious?

Bye bye!

Cowgirl At Heart

My department had a team building event a few weeks ago.  It was so cool that I have to tell you about it.  It's by far the best day "at work" I've ever had.

We went to a local equine center and spent the day with animals.  We had a quick lesson on the different styles of riding horses (Western vs. English).  The horse trainer demonstrated some tricks.  Then, they let volunteers brush the horses before they showed us how to saddle them.  I ran for the brushes!

I've never cleaned a horse before, and I've always wanted to.  The instructor showed me how to use the double metal loop to gently brush with the grain of the hair, then follow up with a bristle brush.  They said how it's important to clean where the saddle will be so that dirt doesn't cause irritations to the skin.  I had fun cleaning Top Gun.  He was a big beautiful boy.  One of my co-workers cleaned Top Gun from the other side.  He must have thought it was spa day.

Then they saddled up the horses and asked who wanted to ride.  YOU BET!  Since I sort of started a relationship with Top Gun, I ran for him.  Wahoo, I got to him first!  I was able to get up without incident (hey, it's been decades since I've ridden a horse, and he's a tall boy).  They adjusted the saddle, and away we went.  We walked around with the instructor holding the lead.  He told me what to do, which sounded so simple.  What, wasn't I doing that?  Ummm, not really.  Ok, I see how I tried to use the reigns like a steering wheel.  Which only confused poor Top Gun.  Once I fixed that mistake, he was much happier.  Top Gun soon relaxed.  Then we were not only walking, we were trotting.  The trainer warned me that Top Gun has a bumpy trot.  He wasn't kidding.

Soon we were both at ease with each other, so the instructor turned me loose and told me to go wherever I wanted in the arena.  We not only trotted, we cantered!  It was so cool to ride that big beautiful horse.  It gave me such a sense of glorious freedom.  It gave me the bug to go riding again.

Just starting to ride Top Gun

I monopolized about as much of Top Gun's time as I could, then decided that I should let someone else enjoy him too.  The instructor (Top Gun's owner) told me that he doesn't adjust well to following commands from other people riding him, and he did really good.  Glad he told me that after, or it may have made me nervous.  Which would have made Top Gun nervous!  I dismounted without a step just fine.  Whew!  I did it.  And I loved it.

So, I know what we are doing for my birthday this year.  Trail riding, and I can't wait.  The last time I rode a horse was in college with my college roommate, Jus, probably the summer of '89 or '90.  For something fun to do, we went on a trail ride towards the end of the school year.  Wish I could find the fuzzy out-of-focus picture from way back then.

I rode a couple of times growing up (as in single digits, not like I did it often).  The first time or two was on our family vacations to Colorado.  Here's a picture from when I was 10 or a little younger...

I guess I had a flair for wearing clothes that clashed on the weekends as a kid, too.

After riding Top Gun in the arena, I walked around and looked at all the other animals they have.  

Meet Ham (left) & Bacon (right), not their real names

The llama

Beautiful horses

And I met my new boyfriend, Jake.  He's a total lush when it comes to a butt rub, so we bonded.  Both of his eyes were brown/blue in each of his eyes.  I've never seen another like him.  

I'm a sucker for those eyes, and his hair

I have a weak spot for border collies/Australian shepherds.  But alas, I know that breed is not for me.  Not until I can devote all my time and attention to one, and when could that ever happen?!?  Not until I retire.  They are slightly smaller than a Golden, and their lifespans are longer.  And talk about smart.  Smart enough to get into trouble.  Every day, I'm sure.  So, I will admire him from afar, and visit him every chance I get.

Speaking of visits, Tullybird will be here tomorrow--in just a few hours as a matter of fact!  I have the week all planned out for meals/drinks/shopping, and... horse back riding!  We are going to hit the trail for a ride.  WAHOO!  I am so excited that she's coming for a 2nd visit this year!

Omaha: The Food Edition

A few weeks ago I told you how we had so much fun in Omaha.  I also told you about the best thing I ever ate in Omaha:  fantastic out-of-this-world ice cream.  Here's the rest of that trip, along with a wild and crazy unexpected find for the front porch.

Our hotel offered complimentary shuttle service within 3 miles.  Well, sign us up!  There are a boatload of restaurants and stores within 3 miles!  So we get on the shuttle, and unbeknownst to us, there was a bachelorette party going to a Mexican restaurant for a few rounds of tequila who just boarded the shuttle before us.  We got on and made our way to the back, and Todd said "Don't I feel out of place?" to which all the girls laughed.  It was pretty funny.  They were all 20- or 30-somethings dressed up in heels and short skirts.  You know they were hurting the next day.

The bachelorette party on their way to "eat the worm"

We decided to hit a dive of a little seafood restaurant which got really great reviews.  Sounds fun, why not?!  We can have a steak when we get back home (at a fraction of the cost, and cooked to perfection with no worry of disappointment).

My blackened scallops with pineapple relish atop a bed of mushroom risotto.  Very tasty!

Not sure what my possessed look was about.

Todd's blackened tilapia:  spicy!

We had a fun evening sampling crab cakes, clam chowder, and lobster bisque.  Then we had our main courses shown above.  We were stuffed, so we ended up walking back.  Note: there is a prison not far from the Old Market area.  Just sayin' in case you weren't expecting it.  It put a giddy up in my step.  I felt better once we made it to the police station just a few blocks away.

The next morning, we went to WheatFields for breakfast.  I highly recommend this place for dining or shopping for baked goods.

Their "Roll sampler" was mini portions of 5 different delectable sweet rolls.  All for $3.99!

I had egg scramble with sausage, red peppers, onion, and monterey jack cheese

Todd had their "bruleed potatoes" (almost like mashed taters with broiled muenster cheese) and poached eggs

After a pants stretching breakfast, we discovered a gem of a store called Hollywood Candy which was open on a late Sunday morning!  It was a "candy" store FILLED with nostalgia.  And every single kind of candy you could possibly ever want from current times or your childhood.

The Reese's candy machine that looks like a soda pop machine caught my eye.

I cannot imagine how they visualized displaying ALL THIS STUFF before they did it.

Old time working soda fountain counter.

One wall was adorned with click pens.  CLICK PENS!

Every candy imaginable.  And tons of different soda pops in coolers.

This was a true museum documenting our candy heritage.

Their company vehicle.

I decided to purchase 2 strings of Zotz candies (blue raspberry and cherry), a Black Cow, and my favorite candy bar I loved growing up: the Curly Wurly which used to be known as the Marathon Bar.  The Marathon Bar was a braid of chocolate covered caramel with a ruler on the back.  It was the longest candy bar on the shelf.  So I thought I was getting more for the money.  I never understood why everyone didn't choose that candy bar compared to all the others--it was BIGGER!  Of course, I didn't understand net weight at the time...

We spent just enough time exploring the candy store, which had a movie theater and consignment shop in it, to find another store open full of outdoor art.  Iron Decor & More was a feast for the gardener eyes.  We found so many neat things there.  Garden arches, benches, metal signs, metal sculptures of every size and shape, wine bottle holders, beer pail holders, large metal flowers, small metal flowers (painted or not), holiday themed items, etc. etc. etc.  They had seen us looking through the windows before we found the candy store, and they opened just a little early, just for us.  They were happy to see us.

We were mesmerized by this unbelievable rooster.  Just look at the size of this thing!

OH LOOK, IT'S A CHICKEN!

We loved this big guy!

But alas, he was way out of our price range.  Not to mention impossible to transport.  But he was fun to look at, if only for a few minutes.  Who doesn't want their picture taken standing next to this mammoth rooster?

We looked around and found an awesome 4' wine bottle holder that goes perfectly in an empty corner that I wanted to fill.  We found a teetering rooster that swivels with a big rock, sort of on a pendulum to put by the front door.

AND GUESS WHAT ELSE WE FOUND?!?!?!!?!!!

A 4' version of that rooster--Oh YES we DID!

Meet Otto.  He's made out of recycled automobiles.  Hoods, roofs, etc.