Who Wants a Cheeseburger??

The birthday boy does! We heart our animal son just as much as anyone else in our family. We've learned a lot about ourselves and what it takes to make a family work. So grateful for our sweet boy and look forward to adding a human brother or sister to the family one day. For now, Stewart's our only responsibility and we like it that way.

Today he and his twin sister (Mia) celebrate their 2nd bday-- ahhh the teenage years! On the menu tonight: cheeseburger from the drive through. Shhh don't tell our trainer : )

They grow up so fast....

Howdy Ya'll

Sorry guys..we couldn't resist. Might be a preview of what's to come for our Christmas cards. YES it is only May and Jessica is already thinking THAT far ahead.

Dogs and then Some

After a night on Lady Bird Lake last we were inspired to (finally) head over to the hike/bike trail area to see what all of the hype was about. Let's just say that this place did not disappoint!



We spent the late morning doing a some errands and grabbing a quick lunch before heading over there. Although we (Jess mostly!) were a little apprehensive to bring Stew we knew that it was totally not fair to lock him up in the house all day with the GREAT weather we were having today. With our bag packed with toys, water, and all of other other essentials (is this what it's like to have kids to ready to go out for the day??!!) needed to make sure that we have control over our son, we drove down towards the lake.

The Austin skyline behind Lady Bird Lake

Not too soon after parking were we greeted with runners, bikes, and dogs running everywhere ---OFF LEASH! Not sure of how Stewart would respond, this was Jess's worst nightmare. Since it was our first time here we decided that we would give it 10 minutes to see how he responded. As we kept walking closer towards the water and the off leash dog park area Stew started to calm down and become submissive to the other dogs. We tried to get him to play fetch with the sticks and tennis balls that we brought, but he didn't seem too interested. We even got Stewart to get his cute little paws wet! For those of you who know him, this was a big day in our books. Below is a collage from our playdate at the lake...

Happy Sunday from our family.....

to yours!!!

Box of Chocolates?

Jessica came home from work today only to find that our files had been strewn all over the kitchen floor among an eaten and completely eaten box of chocolates. Luckily the box wasn;t full, not even by half. Anyone who knows Stew knows that he's never been one to be afraid of getting into trouble. Not like we are making excuses, believe us we would love not to come home to chaos, but this time he had crossed the line.


After a few crazed phone calls and some research, we decided to monitor Stew to see how he was. Allison, Jake's sister, told us that her pit ate about 10x more chocolate than Stewart did and was completely fine. She just that he was running up and down the halls and monitored him closely. Besides the trashed kitchen, he's been acting totally fine so far. Chasing balls, crunching ice cubes, barking, and begging for food, yup sounds about normal. Keeping a close eye on him and watching for and signs of irregularity. Nothing odd to report at the moment.

Hello Mom!

Yes I'm fine! Now let me go play...

Unfortunately this happened on an afternoon when Jake wanted to be sweet and leave some flowers and a card for me on the counter. What a sweet husband!


We think that this gave us a hint of what it might like when you have kids and an emergency comes up. The money and anything else no longer seems like a big deal. Having kids is still in the future for us, but it was definitely an experience that made us grateful for all that we have.

Too Good to Pass Up!

Thought we'd share what we came home to late one night. Guess he was mad we didn't take him with us?!

Our Graduate

(Jake and Stewart far right)

(Jessica and Stewart far right)

(Jessica and Stewart left center)

(Jake, Jessica, and Stewart right center)

(Jake, Jessica, and Stewart center)

(From bottom to top: Beginner, Intermediate, Rocket Recall, Advanced, and Intro to Agility) We are SO very proud of Stewie and the strides he's made in training. He's still not the best with new people, but he has made some big changes (you wouldn't believe the chaos when the a box was delivered!). Yes, we have become one of those people who love their dog like a child- no costumes or clothing though! We are forever thankful to J9sK9s and would encourage anyone looking to have some fun with their pup to take their dog/s there. Janine, the owner, is absolutely amazing and has helped us and Stew immensely. We will definitely miss her and her crew when we move.