My search for snow

After our Thanksgiving dinner, Jed and I decided to take a drive up through Sun Valley and the mountains. I wanted to find some snow, since there is none where we live! (New York is hogging it all!!!)


Of course, Izzy had to go too!




On our way to Sun Valley.




In Sun Valley. Izzy's saying, "Dad, where are we? This isn't home!"




The Sawtooth Mountains.




So pretty.




Climbing through the mountains. This view was breathtaking. We are at about 8,000 ft. It was quite brisk up here but I got my snow!!! :)




In Stanley, Idaho. We were surrounded 360 degrees by snow covered mountains, very cool!



















It was dark on our way home, but Sun Valley was all lit up...hard to tell, everything is a blur, but there is a lot of money invested in lights in this town. Every single tree lining the road was lit up, even all the side streets. (PS-notice my chips ahoy? YUM!)



















One tuckered out pup. Guess she wasn't cut out for life on the road!

("Thanks for my bandanna Gramma!")

Happy Thanksgiving

So far, the holidays have proved to be somewhat of a trying time for me. This is the first year I have had to spend away from my family. We went to Jed's boss's house for Thanksgiving day, which was very nice. Good food, good people, but my heart was definitely in Hallsport. I decided to put together a small Thanksgiving feast for Jed and me the Saturday following the holiday. It was my first attempt at a Thanksgiving meal and I don't like to toot my own horn, but TOOT, TOOT! :)



Taking the cornish hens out of the oven.




Standing next to my masterpiece! Love my apron! :) I'm starting to fit in around here!



I think Jed is ready to eat!



The feast!



The aftermath.



The kids all got a little taste of the feast afterwards too, of course! :)



Ness loves cornish hen!




"Can I please have that, mom?"




Fat and happy! (Raja has bald spot...poor girl is pulling her hair out and it's stressing me out! My poor baby!!! Guess we'll have to go to the vet and get this figured out! Ugh!)




Now, who is going to help me with all these dishes?? What a disaster!

While the cats away...

While I was visiting back home, Jed called me....from a furniture store! (I was shocked too!) He was browsing around Cain's, which is a furniture store going out of business and is having some great deals. Anyway, to make a long story short, he ended up getting a great deal on a coffee table, 2 matching end tables and a guest mattress and box springs! (So, please come visit!) I can't wait to see what he buys next time I go away! :)



The new coffee table, Jed did a pretty good job! And cat tunnel fits perfectly underneath...Ness loves it! :)



One of the very few fall/harvesty decorations....thanks for the leaves mom! :)

Santa came early...

Gramma and Grampa C. sent out an early Christmas present for Izz.







What is it Izzers???


Raja got a tad jealous and apparently thinks that all presents are for her! HAHAHA!



"This is great....what is it?"



"This is nice!"



"I think I'll have a nap now. Thanks Gramma and Grampa!"

Back to my stomping grounds

On November 7th I packed up a few of my things from my home away from home and traveled east, to my home, home!


No, unfortunately Ness didn't come with me, although she tried! :)

I left a few rules for Jed for taking care of the kids....and he did take very good care of my babies!

I came home to a sleeping Joey (Bo)...


A sleeping Mimi...

(Yes, that perfectly round black blob is Mya Bea)



And SNOW!!! I was hoping for snow while I was home. It made it sooooo cozy!!! It felt almost like Christmas morning!



So to Gramma's house we went! For coffee and good company that I've missed sooooooo much!

We did a little playing in the snow!







It was cold in Ford Lane!



I also worked on my 2nd annual gingerbread house! (It takes a lot of concentration as you can see....haha)

TADA!





A little surprise on the backside...and so true! I had a wonderful time when I was home (I missed Jed Daniel and the kids terribly though!) and I'm going to miss everyone very much especially going into this holiday season. It won't be the same without family to make it special! Love everyone very much!

Tornado!!!

Just kidding! But it sure did look like one had gone through our backyard when then lawnkeepers had left. They were "trimming" (more like hacking...) our trees and shrubs. Needless to say, they weren't so good at picking up after themselves.






Izzy and Coal thought it was great! Izzy is part beaver. (The second animal I own that is part beaver....Nessie can chew through unopened soda cans and water bottles!) Izzy was entertained for hours chewing through these sticks and dragging the trees around the backyard.







Izzy wore poor Coal out!

She's too cute.

Forgetful Laura strikes again!

So, I'm back in Idaho and I have lots to post, but silly me, left my bag with my camera (and books and ipod, everything to keep me entertained while flying) in it back at home in NY. Oops! Kind of like tonight when we went out to eat at Chili's and I walked out of the restaurant without my purse. Haha! It's like Dad (and probably Mom) always said....I'd forget my head if it wasn't attached! :) Mom and Dad are sending it out so new pictures are coming soon! :)

Bird on the Brain

Originally, we had thought that JJ would be making the trip out to Idaho with us. However, the morning before we left, we were packing some last minute things. Unfortunately, a miss calculation was made and there ended up being no room for JJ. I was very sad and I still miss him lots! He's a dirty, grumpy old bird, but his chirps and screeches were a normal and sometimes soothing noise for me. Sometimes, when I wake up, I think I can hear him chirping...:( So, he's still in New York, torturing dad and being very well cared for by Mom. I'm not quite convinced that Jed didn't pay Dad to leave him behind....

Miss you J bird! :(



(This is him eating one of his favorite pasta mixes I cooked for him. He would always bury his beak in it and make a big old mess!)

Somebody got her stitches out!

Today marked two weeks since Izzy's spay. We were supposed to take her back to the vet to have her sutures removed, but seeing how it doesn't take a rocket scientist to remove them and she's not exactly the most well behaved dog in the car, I took them out here. Now we can FINALLY give her a bath! She really reaked!!!

Rub-a-dub-dub, Izzy's in the tub!

"I'm a really good girl in the tub!"

"I'm a clean fluffy puppy! Mom likes me better when I don't smell like cow poo!"

Nessie is watching the dogs very closely...sometimes I wonder what goes through her head when she watches the dogs play. I think it's along the lines of, "What the heck is wrong with them?! They aren't very smart!" (Because seriously dogs are not as smart as cats...I used to think this, but I didn't have anything to back it up, being that I only owned cats. Now, owning a dog....I can definitely back it up. Jed can too, but I'm not sure he would admit it! Haha! We love Izz anyway!)