What's Wrong with the Status Quo?

So, I was sitting and musing about what my next blog should be about when I came to the realization that nothing has happened worth blogging about since my last blog.

Life is just kind of following along the status quo. Work, school (started on Wednesday for Geoff), caring for the dogs, cleaning, cooking, fro-yo, and the Food Network fill most of the hours of the days.

However, I also find absolutely nothing wrong with that. Routine and consistency (at least for me) are great things. So, power to the status quo!

And for your viewing pleasure, a few more vacation photos:

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2 Years

It has been ages since I blogged. My apologies to the 4 people who actually read my blog. ;-)

A lot has happened in the past little while. Romulus came home from the hospital for good. He'll be hitting the 13-week-old mark on Saturday and is happy as a clam. He is getting so big! He's as tall as Rubio now (although he's about half the length). He's got quite a personality as The Engebretsen's can attest. They watched the dogs while Geoff and I went on a 9 day fairy tale vacation to California.

And while we were in CA, we did about everything you can imagine! It was amazing, fun-filled, sun-filled, and just wonderful.

Here's a quick rundown of what we did:

Friday, August 14 - We took a flight to the Oakland Int'l Airport where my awesome sister-in-law, Lindsay, picked us up. We went back to her and Matt's place and did some shopping while we waited for Matt to get off work. We all went out to dinner and fro-yo. All the while, Mama G was texting us with clues about the surprise activity they had planned for us on Saturday. After about 10 clues we figured out we were going to see Wicked in San Francisco!

Saturday, August 15 - We met my parents in San Francisco for a day down on the piers followed by Wicked downtown. The show was amazing and I'm so glad I had the chance to see it! What an amazing surprise.

Sunday, August 16 - After church, we made the 3.5 hour drive up to my grandparents house in Redding, CA. On the way up, my mom needed our advice. Lindsay's mom had chosen the "nickname" that she wanted the grandkids to call her someday. So my mom was torn about whether or not she should be grandma or come up with something cuter/more unique. Geoff and I determined that Mama and Daddy G are far beyond "grand"parents and that they should be the uberma and the uberpa. Regardless of what Matt's kids call the parents, our kids will definitely know them as the uberparents.

Monday, August 17 - We head out to Lake Shasta to rent a patio boat for a day on the lake and boat camping. More details about this whole event to come in a future post.

Tuesday, August 18 - Our 2nd Wedding Anniversary! The two years have just flown by and Geoff and I are more in love today then we every thought we could be. We went out to the best Thai food we've ever had and then shopped and hiked up to a gorgeous (and very private) waterfall. We ended the evening taking a late evening stroll across the Sundial Bridge in Redding that is an actual working sundial that crosses over the Sacramento River.

Wednesday, August 19 - We drove back down from Redding in the morning. In the evening, Geoff and I went out to dinner at Guy Fieri's (if you don't know who he is, go watch some Food Network) restaraunt Johnny Garlic's. It was great. Then dad rented an on demand movie for us all to enjoy.

Thursday, August 20 - River Rafting down the (very tame portion of) the Russian River. We had so much fun - despite Geoff's broken seat about a mile in and resulting full leg sunburn!

Friday, August 21 - In the morning, my best friend in the whole wide world, Amanda D, came over with her nephew Matthew. It was so great to catch up with her and finally meet that little charmer. In the afternoon, Geoff, Daddy G and I went to Scandia to play Mini Golf, Bumper Boats (we got SOAKED), batting cages, and the arcade. It was a downright blast.

Saturday, August 22 - We piled into the Civic yet again for a little road trip down to the beachside town of Santa Cruz. We ate a picnic lunch on the beach and watch Geoff boogie board the freezing waves of the northern CA beach.
Later, we got passes for the rides on the boardwalk and had a blast riding them together. Note to all: Don't ride the log ride with the two Gamblin men unless you want to get REALLY wet.

Sunday, August 23 - After church, we packed up all our stuff and after a lovely dinner, we head out to the airport to come back home. We were glad to see our doggies, but sad to see the vacation end.

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And the dog came back the very next, next, next, next day.

Well, Romulus is home (for good), finally.

He beat Parvo. Against the odds, it would seem, for a guy of his size and stature. He's SO happy to be home. Even though he has spent the majority of his time as our dog in the vet hospital, I think he has grown even more attached to us. He's so happy to see us and just wants to crawl up on our laps whenever he's got the chance.

This morning when we went to pick him up from the vet, there was another couple waiting for their dog. When the brought her out, it was a full grown minature schnauzer. It was so fun to see what Rom will grow up to look like. He's going to be such a great addition to our little family.

I guess we are done adding dogs, though, if we're gonna spend that kind of money on medical care, might as well be a baby. :::wink:::

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The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

The Good: Rom is doing better. The Urgent Care vet (UCV) said he was able to get him to eat last night and the dog didn't throw it up or diarrhea it back out. Yay! Haha. He's still spending the day at the regular vet, but the hope is that he'll be able to come home tonight - if he remains able to eat and to keep food down (or, rather, in) for the rest of the day.

Here he is (pictured below) with his IV and enormous bag of fluids. I like the bandages they use to wrap his catheter, though. This morning he had one with purple polka dots and smiley faces.

The Bad: In the playoffs, with double-elimination the name of the game, "more summer fun" (the BYUB co-ed softball team) was eliminated from the competition last night. They put out a great effort, but just couldn't pull it through at the very end. I enjoyed watching Geoff and everyone play. I was on the DL (or, Disabled List for the baseball illiterate) and unable to play, but I think that's actually a plus for the team. haha. I DON'T got game.

The Ugly: The Canine Parvovirus is apparently quite a little monster. It first appeared in 1978 and spread worldwide in ONE YEAR. Yowza. I was dismayed and pretty grossed out to learn that it can live for months (up to 7) without a host.

The only effective killer: Bleach.

Needless to say, I spent the better part of yesterday night washing everything Rom ever touched in bleach. This included our bedding, throw pillows, leashes, toys, clothes, his kennel, floor rugs.

I'm sure I didn't get rid of it completely, but hopefully enough to protect Rubio and Rom from future attacks of this gross, strong-willed parasite (is a parasite the same as a virus? Probably not...if not, then I mean it in a "oh, what a parasite" kind of way and not a literal way...got that?).

Anyway, life is going pretty smoothly. The pledge drive starts tonight and I'm behind in my goals for the year, so here's hoping to much generosity from the hearts of PBS viewers everywhere!

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Big Sigh

Well, the barking has ceased, at least for the moment.

For those of you who know Rubio, you know he doesn't make any noise. Well, Romulus has spent the last 17 hours in the hospital, so his little grumblings and barkings have not been heard.

Much to our shock and dismay, Romulus was diagnosed with an extremely vicious and contagious virus yesterday: The Parvo Virus. This virus is relatively common in puppies, but is brutal and has meant Rom has been on IV fluids and medications since his diagnosis.

He's a trooper, but he's not having any fun.

Unfortunately, because it's a virus, there's no real treatment. They just try to keep the dog hydrated and infection free while he waits out the virus. This means he could be coming home as soon as tonight, but also means he could need up to 5 days of hospitalization. BIG SIGH.

Rubio, I've been told, should be okay because he's older. Nonetheless, he'll be getting a booster shot for the Parvo vaccine this afternoon and I'll be bleaching anything Rom has touched in an effort to rid the house of the virus (which, if you google Parvo, you'll find is pretty much impossible).

Keep your fingers crossed for little Rom that he will get better, and little Rube that he won't get sick.

I know I am.

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Here a Bark, There a Bark...

Quite unexpectedly this weekend Geoff and I gained a new member of the Parker brood.

Sneaking his way into our lives is Romulus Parker (named after the legendary founder of Rome, mind you, not the Star Trek characters - a fact Geoff so cleverly witheld from telling me about during the name selection). He's a salt and pepper colored Miniature Schnauzer. He loves to chase, chew, run, play, tumble, tossle, and snuggle. He's a sweetheart to be sure, and quite a little spitfire.

Rubio and Rom have been getting along great. The first day they couldn't keep their paws off each other, but things have calmed down and beside the occasional play fighting, they mostly mind their own business.

Rom and I had his first training sessions yesterday and I introduced him to "sit", "spin", and "up" (which really means stand in your hind legs). He's doing very well and we'll do the same again today. I'm the one who really needs training, though. I'm so used to a blind dog that I have to remember how to work with a sighted dog. It's an adjustment, but luckily and easy one.

His crate training is going exceptionally well, too. Mostly this is because he's a puppy. When we got Rubio, he was 6 months old and not crate trained, so getting him used to sleeping in his kennel was VERY hard, so it's nice to have Rom just go in and go to bed. We take him out at least once during the night, but he'll probably be able to start sleeping through the night in another week or so. Rubio still sleeps on the bed with us.

Welcome Romulus (also affectionately referred to as Romster -as in Monster - and Rombo - as in Rambo).

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Bowling is Good for the Soul

When Geoff and I first started dating, we went bowling a lot. This is primarily because he lived at home and I lived in BYU housing, so we needed a good place to go out without spending too much. A cheap-o bowling alley in Lindon (which is now a SCHOOL btw) did a 50 cent per game promotion every Tuesday and Thursday. My average score grew from a 68 or so to a 125 or so during that time.

Since Geoff's return from the mish, we haven't done quite as much bowling (mostly due to the aforementioned fact that the bowling alley is now an institution of learning for his younger brother). However, there is a bowling alley in Orem that does a $5 cover charge and 50 cent games on Tuesday and Thursday. Last Thursday, Stephanie and I wanted to go out to eat together and do something fun afterward. I remembered the cheap bowling and called Geoff to see if him and Scott wanted to join us (they did, of course). We had such a blast laughing and cheering and dancing and just being together. I haven't really had that much fun in awhile so I was really glad we did it.

Oh, and I did get the high score of the night with a 142.

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