Crushin'

Last week we watched a little Boston terrier named Lucy, and Sundance was beside himself with joy. When she arrived, he spent the next hour watching her, tail wagging, while she explored the house and tried out all of his toys. One morning while I was on the computer, he jumped up on the couch and starting chewing his white plastic toy. I could hear him chewing for the next five or ten minutes, and when I looked back over I realized Lucy had completely taken over. Lucy had settled down right in front of him and was chewing his toy while he sat there watching curiously, tail still wagging. He was so amused by her, I could just imagine him saying, “You can have all of my toys. Anything. Just please say you’ll stay and play with me forever.” Followed by a deep sigh, “My parents are seriously boring.” By the way, we’ve decided Sundance’s voice is like the awkward voice-cracking teenagers from Monsters, Inc. Can't you see it?

A sabbatical, if you will

Looks like I took an unplanned break from the blog. Let’s call it a sabbatical and then I won’t feel so bad. Actually, it has been a bit challenging to find bloggy inspiration in our new life in DC, which is quite a bit different from our life in Freetown. In Sierra Leone, stories were everywhere. Our days were less packed and I had more time to think and process. There are stories here too, certainly, but it is different.

Washington, DC is a beautiful city (or...district?) and it is beginning to feel like home. Shopping for fruit at Eastern Market, jogging on the mall past Lincoln and Roosevelt and MLK, growing tomatoes and peppers in my very first garden, getting to know all of the dogs in Capitol Hill (thank you, Sundance). This is a sweet place and we feel very blessed.

However, this summer has been a bit “extreme” in the weather arena. Heat waves, an earthquake, and then the hurricane this past weekend. I have to say, Irene was a bit disappointing after all the build-up. Sundance is definitely enjoying the aftermath of branches scattered about the streets- one of his favorite things is to try to carry branches larger than his entire body. One of my NOT favorite things is getting stabbed in the legs by Sundance's branches.

As a native Californian, one might imagine I wasn't too impressed with the earthquake…and one would be wrong. David and I were eating lunch outside when it happened. First, I thought it was just the large truck that passed by at that moment. After things kept shaking, I said to our friend, “Aaron, stop shaking the table!” Once I realized it was an earthquake, was there a rush of memories from years of earthquake drills in school? Crawl under the desk, cover your head, etc? Nope, not at all. Instead, “Earthquake??? WHOA! THIS IS AMAZING!”

It is September now, and a wave of fresh, crisp air is finally pushing out the humidity. We missed last fall while in Freetown, so for the past year my soul has felt like fall should be just around the corner. The other night, after David and I had said good night and started to fall asleep, I whispered in his ear excitedly, “Fall is coming soon.” Needless to say, he was a bit creeped out.

We are going camping this weekend in Shenandoah Valley- our first family camping adventure! More on that to come.

A few pics from our vacation in California:

(My sister Leslie and nephew Conor)

(View from the amazing house we rented in Sea Ranch)

(Jen, me, Dad, bro)

(Conor mesmerized by David's mustache)

(Relaxing in Sea Ranch)

(Breakfast with Meg and the Blainster)

While we were gone, Dancer had some super fun play-dates with Annie, his crush who lives upstairs. Doesn't he look sooo sad? Like he missed us soooo much?

Doggie friends

We made some good doggie friends in our 9 months here.

Bailey, the athlete.

Gatsby, the gentleman.

Bravo, the lion cub.

But it didn't make me miss her any less.

Sura, the queen of my heart.

Need a pick-me-up?

I did, so I went to this pic. Can you beat that face? I miss my Sura girl.

Sura the water dog

A few days ago we went to the creek with my sis, twin, nephews, and Sura. It was Sura's first time in a body of water, and after a few minutes of shyness she was swimming around like a real water dog! We were so proud. My favorite part was that the water made her look even more like Ed, the crazy hyena from the Lion King.

We'll miss you, Hannah

Sweet Hannah was put to rest today. She was an excellent pup, and dalmatians were better for having her around. Jen brought her into our family as a baby, and she quickly bloomed into a mature, patient, and loving dog who always seemed ready to give a listening ear. She will be missed.

Bishop's 2009

Today we finished day 6 of Bishop's Peak Challenge 2009. To complete the challenge, you must hike Bishop's every day for a month. And not one of those short months- a real 31-day month. You can only skip days if you're out of town, but you must make them up at the end.

According to Day Hikes Around San Luis Obispo County (one of the nerdier books in my library), Bishop's is 4.5 miles roundtrip. It is SLO's tallest morro, and "the classic backdrop of San Luis Obispo." From the top you can see the whole town, the ocean, the dunes, and all of the surrounding hills. It's beautiful.

To be honest, I invented this challenge as a way to trick David into being active. Contrary to his super-babe appearance and natural athletic ability, he would rather sit on a couch and cuddle than hike, any day. But when you give him a crazy challenge, with a hint of danger and the possibility of injury, he's all for it.

We took Atticus with us today, and I'm pretty proud of what he did. You won't believe it, but I'm going to tell you anyway. He peed, literally, 23 times. His previous records were 8 and 12. I think he caught on to the fact that we were counting, and he felt his own little challenge. At one point David said, "I hope he gets 22," and just then he stopped and squirted out a few drops for the 22nd time. Incredible.

(David and me at the top.)

We want to do something irrational

We want a dog. Not a puppy, but a dog. You see, we both grew up in dog families, and the Dogless College Years have been rough. Now that we're all married and old and everything, we might be nearing the beginning of our Dog Years- similar to Picasso's Blue Period but less wah wah and more woof woof.

At the Lauten house at Christmastime, you will often find more dogs than people. First, there's Hannah Denise, the matriarch. She's a dalmatian, but more than that, she's a lady. She looks at you with human eyes, and she has a strange fear of beeping sounds. We share a middle name.

(Gracie on Hannah)

Next there's Peja Stojakovic, the little prince. He is the apple of my eye and the one who will always come when you call. He could be sound asleep, more comfortable than ever, exhausted from saving the world, and he will immediately jump up and run to you if that's what you want. He would gladly take a bullet for any of us.

(Peja)

Then there is Gracie. Though she's calmed down in recent years, it is said that her full name is Gracie "Demon from Hell" Lauten. She's a major cuddler, and loves to burrow in bed sheets. One early morning I took her out to go potty, and when we got back in bed I found that she had brought with her a little slug. Thanks!

Sura may look like Ed, the goofy hyena from the Lion King, but I assure you, she is all girl. When she looks at you with those different colored eyes, right after she steals your spot in bed and lays her head on your pillow, you melt and say, "I never much cared for beds anyway."

(Sur Sur)

Chance is a proper young pup who would rather spend time with humanfolk than participate in frivolous "play" with the ruffians. He laughs at their lack of propriety, but only because he feels so sorry for them. He is quite content to sit in your arms all evening.

(Chance)

Dixie is David in dog form. She is more pony than dog, yet she has no idea of her size. One Christmas someone received one of those cans that has a snake pop out, and Dixie was so upset that she spent the rest of the night hiding behind the couch. Occasionally she put her paws on the back and peeked over to see what was happening.

(Dixie)

Take a look at their precious faces. How could you not want a dog when you're related to ones like these?