Yoo 699 - Car Maintenance Fun

The RAV4 has been trying to steal the show away from Skylar the past couple weeks. It's still a great car and I love it, but the odometer just went north of 100,000 miles and we decided it was time for a quality tune-up and some minor repairs. So $800 later we were left with just the routine maintenance, which we usually do ourselves to save some money. But are you really saving money after spending $800?

Yes.

Because the shop wanted to charge us $75 to change the cabin air filter. And we did it for $20 and 5 minutes worth of work. Including looking up an instructional you tube video on a slow Internet connection.

And by we, I mean Greg. Greg did all the work. I kept Skylar alive and fed Roscoe ice chips.

I love how impressive his teeth look in this "action shot". Maybe he does have some guard dog in him...

Close-up on the thighs. They're progressing! Half of me wants to cry and the other half of me wants to beam with pride. And eat them? Being a parent is so weird.

We utilize the shop at Greg's work and camp out for hours while the oil gets changed and the fluids get topped off and the tires get rotated and on and on. And then we wash and detail the car. I actually mostly do that part because Greg's attention to detail isn't his shiniest pearl. It's not bad, probably a normal level of attention to detail, but he married me. And I'm anal. So things get noticed. Like when one of the knobs on the dashboard gets cleaned, but the one on the other side doesn't.

It's fine though! We know which parts we need to play. I camp out in the suffocatingly hot car scrubbing the leather and picking fur from every nook and cranny while he does all the dirty work outside the car. Also, he wants me to draw special attention to the rims (top photo) because he did those himself and he's super proud of how shiny they are.

In the end, it was a fun day and we like working together. Even more so with a dog AND baby to keep us company now! Last time we did this Skylar was maybe an inch long?

Roscoe still doesn't love the fact that he has to share the backseat.

And more baby photos to take us out:

Always getting that hand free. Even in the pea pod.

"Mom, I am thinking." The face she makes when she's trying to decide if she's done nursing or not. This is always followed by her either passing out or aggressively attacking the boob again with her focused face.

Super Skylar! Watching her post-nap stretches is one of the highlights of my day.

And I'm going to be so sad when she no longer curls her legs up like this!

Crazy hair. I love this baby. Three weeks and we're all still alive!

Have a great day :-)

Yoo 691 - Camping at Garner

In January we took advantage of Greg's day off for Martin Luther King day and made a weekend camping trip to Garner State Park. Pregnancy did not dim my love of camping. Though I will admit that a queen-size air mattress and electricity went miles in making it a super comfortable trip. And I especially loved the cold weather...though my throat would argue otherwise. Breathing in cold, dry air all night gave me quite the cold that lasted well into the following week.

But I'd do it again.

Minus setting up camp in a wind storm. I hate the wind.

My favorite part of the trip was finding out that Greg didn't bring any warm clothes other than a hoodie. No pants or coats, nothing. Because he didn't think it'd be "that cold".

Then it dipped below freezing both nights. He survived. Though something tells me he wasn't as comfortable as he claimed to be.

Bacon-wrapped potatoes in the Dutch oven. It's a winner dinner.

Pups in the tent. He's probably just yawning but I think this is how he feels about the tent always. Like cry howling.

These lemon blueberry biscuits were worth writing home about. They're becoming a camp food staple.

Pups is wondering where his plate of bacon and eggs is...

This is what we call "gator dog". When he sticks his face between the seat and the wall with a big gator grin on his face and starts panting on your arm.

We went to church on Sunday and he spent most of the ride like this. Weirdo. The fun part about going to church was getting ready to go to church. This involved taking a shower in a freezing bathroom and trying not to hate the experience.

I failed.

Though church was worth it. We drove into Uvalde to attend the ward there and I love going to small country wards. Reminds me of home!

And then Roscoe got to fetch in the water and he loved his life.

Twenty-nine weeks.

Sunday afternoon was glorious. We found a patch of river all to ourselves, well away from people, and let Roscoe run and fetch until the sun went down. A slice of heaven.

No burn ban! Camping is so much more fun with fire. Especially when it's cold enough that you can appreciate its warmth.

Roscoe going crazy dog in the morning.

Frosty grass!

Not pictured from the trip: the 1/4 mile hike to the bathroom. Three times every night. At least the stars were abundant and pretty.

Have a great day :-)

Yoo 690 - Relentless Birds and Poems of Pups

It's 3:30 in the morning and I'm up baking banana bread and making my way thru the "Needs Attention" paper pile on my desk. I blame this entirely on the birds right outside my bedroom window that have been communicating relentlessly since 2:12 am. It's a mixture of chirps, tweets, "ca-caaaaaws!", and whistling. And it's loud.

Of course this insomnia has nothing to do with the fact that I'm 39 weeks pregnant and kind of getting anxious for this dang kid sweet, innocent baby to decide it's ready.

Nope.

Also of note, Roscoe is "up" keeping me company as well. See above.

So, in this pile of "Needs Attention" paper work there's an insurance claim that needs to be filed. But that requires scanning a document to PDF with my printer and I lost gumption flipping thru the user's manual trying to figure out how to do that. Which brought me to these gems. They're poems that Greg and I wrote about Roscoe on a whim months ago that I didn't want to lose. And what better place to not lose them than on the blog.

Ahem.

Roscoe. A poem by Greg.

I love when he runs
     all over the place
Then hops on my lap
     and licks my face
He looks for a scratch
     when he lies on his back
Follows me to the kitchen
     to beg for a snack
I love my dog Roscoe
     I will for all time
In his presence I'm joyful
     I find the sublime.

Roscoe, the dog. A poem by Teagan.

Cold wet nose, seeking food always.
Copious cheeks, draped across resting paws.
Golden eyes, loyal and loving and wide.
Neck fat, begging to be squished between my hands.
Puppy paws, smelling like corn chips.
Chiseled haunches, backing into my leg for a massage.
Soft fur, all over my clothes and home.
Wagging tail, no affections hidden.
Floppy ears, whipping back and forth.
Crazy energy. Couch! Stairs! Bed! Again!
Roscoe, my dog.

And some pics of pups to take us out. We love this dork dog.

Have a great day :-)

Yoo 674 - Austin For A Day

In another attempt to create summer adventure while Dylan is here, we headed for Austin and Zilker Park. With a lengthy stop at the San Marcos outlets. I'd live the day again.

We finally had the fortitude to stand in line and wait for Hopdoddy burgers. Ok, Greg did. Dylan and I went in search of donuts.

The burger line took an hour and was worth it. Awesome awesome. Would do it again.

The donuts?

Not so much. We were complaining about how sweet they were! Is that nuts? Ok, Roscoe loved the bacon on the maple one. In fact, we all did. But other than that, no.

Mom, don't read this part...

We'd originally gone there in search of their hamburger served on a glazed donut bun. Unfortunately they didn't have them at that location. So we'll have to find the real donut store with donut hamburgers. Because donut hamburgers.

Ok, you can read again mom.

 Hastings, NE! Represent.

Picnicking at Zilker. Another dog buddy joined us! I don't know who he belonged to but he listened when I told him to sit so he got a treat and made friends with Roscoe for a while. Then we stretched out for a relaxing nap for a whole five minutes before Dylan got bored and wanted to go swimming.

I side more with Dylan. Greg can stretch out and enjoy a picnic blanket all day. But he was outvoted three to one. Really, Roscoe's vote is the only one with power.

Now, this is the best picture of my dog ever.

Just kidding, it's this one.

I guess this one's ok...

Another one? Well, if you insist.

Poor-man's Barton Springs on a busy day. Dogs can swim unleashed! I love this place.

And a Beagle puppy. It tried to hop from one rock to the next and we all about exploded with warm fuzzies. I can't handle things like that! Dog about got stolen by me.

Greg took the flower picture and he was super proud of himself.

The state capitol was our last stop. Dylan and I explored inside for a bit while Greg stayed with Roscoe, who insisted he'd rather sit outside and bark at squirrels.

One of our previous governors looks like Lord Grantham from Downton Abbey.

Dylan took the stairs all the way to the top. I stayed at the bottom and took pictures.

And that's that.

Have a great day :-)