Experiments in Life

Whenever we go out of town over night, we take the dogs to a place we lovingly call Puppy Camp. Our first Valentine’s Day after we got married, Ashley and I gave the pups to each other. The first few times we went back to Columbus after that, the dogs came with us; they were puppies and were still relatively small. At this time, Ashley was writing her thesis. As a reward for finishing it, I was going to take her on a trip to the mountains. Well, by mid-July, Ashley had finished her final edits and we turned in the thesis and were ready to go. Obviously, we could not take the dogs with us this time, so we decided that we would have to board them.

Ashley looked around at several boarding facilities in Huntsville, but we finally decided that it was more cost-effective to just board them at the vet’s office. Now, at the time, our vet’s office was a good half-hour drive into town from our home. That seems silly in retrospect, but it was the vet that the dogs were used to from the time they were sick before we got them. So, the morning that we were leaving for the mountains, we loaded the dogs into the car and dropped them off at the vet. On the half-hour drive back to the house, Ashley was simply heart-broken that she was having to leave her babies. Until this point, the dogs had never been away from us at night. She was worried how they would get along without her and how she would get along without them. She was afraid that they would be miserable at the vet with no one to play with or love them. So, I came up with a brilliant idea that has stuck ever since. “Do not worry about the dogs — I am sure that they are going to have a great time at Puppy Camp this weekend,” I said. Amazingly, those few simple words seemed to help her get through the weekend without the dogs. After all, if she had a great time at camp when she was a kid, then the puppies must be having a great time at Puppy Camp!

It has been two and a half years since the concept of Puppy Camp was born and we will use it whenever we talk about boarding the dogs. However, this does make me wonder what we will come up with to get through leaving The Little Monster at daycare or with a babysitter.

Wow! I can’t believe we’ve been married for 3 years already. Where does the time go. I remember that day so clearly…

It was a rather stormy day in May. In fact, there was a tornado or two… just for us I went to the salon and had my hair done along with a few of my bridesmaids. Then we all went to the church to get dressed. My soon-to-be sister-in-law did my makeup. Then came the dress. I don’t remember exactly how many people it took to get me into my dress, who knew wedding gowns and slips and special bras could be so hard to get into Once we were all made-up and dressed, it was time for pictures. Jonathan and I opted to have all of our pictures done before the wedding. We took our separate group photos first and then it was time for me and Jon.

I’ll never forget seeing him for the first time. He was so tall and handsome in his tux. All I could think about was that he looked good…and he was mine! The photographer gave us about 10 minutes together before the pictures started. It seemed like forever. I remember his face as I walked in the room. He was grinning like an idiot! But then again, so was I At first, all we could do was stare. His eyes spoke volumes as he looked at me. There are no words to adequately describe what I saw in him that day. From that moment, I knew that I would always be loved and always taken care of, no matter what happened. There wasn’t a tear to be shed, just goofy grins, I love you’s, and don’t step on the dress. It was a lot of fun. Then, more pictures.

The pictures finally ended just as a few people began to arrive. It was almost time. I was ushered away deep into the church so that no one could see me. It seemed like I was back there forever. Then my mother came in, and I found out that some of the decorations caught fire. My mother was so afraid that I would be upset, it was all I could do to stop laughing. It was great. Then it was finally time to lineup and get ready to go in.

I was never really nervous. And I had prepared myself for a small wedding, especially because of the weather. I remember my thoughts exactly as the music began to play and my father and I stepped into the sanctuary. “Wow!” The church was packed! It was standing room only, even in the balcony. I couldn’t believe how many people had come. There were rows and rows of Jonathan’s family, followed by at least two rows of MSMS folks. There were so many faces. But all of that was forgotten when I looked down the aisle and saw Jon for the second time. It was just as special as the first. Only this time, we would leave as husband and wife. He was still grinning like an idiot

The wedding went on without a hitch, he didn’t run and I didn’t trip down the steps. All in all, it was a pretty good ceremony if you ask me. I don’t remember much (that’s what the video is for). One thing I do remember is looking up at him throughout the ceremony with the biggest smile on my face, and him smiling back at me. It was truly one of the best days of my life, and one I will never forget.

So today, my husband, I celebrate my marriage to you. I love you more with each day we spend together. Who knew I could love anyone as much as I love you. I feel truly blessed to have you in my life. You are my knight in shining armor, my protector, my rock, my partner in all things, my soulmate.

I’m so glad we found each other…again…Old Man

Hey look! We know somebody who plays in a Veronica Mars episode.

We are way cool

Anyway, we went to church with this guy for several years before he moved out to CA to become a famous actor. Looks like he’s on his way. He can now be found on IMDB.

Check it out I figure a little more press can’t hurt him any, only help

Some people fight for honor. Some fight for glory. Some fight to save a princess. I am the third kind. I carry a sword. Now it is time to venture into the mystical land of Hyrule once more to battle against the forces of evil, old school.

It took me a while, but I finally was able to get my hands on a copy of the Legend of Zelda: Collector’s Edition for the GameCube. Now, I have the two NES Zelda games and the two N64 Zelda games for the GC. I was a little disappointed that it did not come with the SNES version of Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, but since Ashley’s SNES still works, I may see if I can track that down at some point. After an 80’s retrospective conversation with some friends on Thursday night, I felt a need to play some classic Zelda again. I have not played the Wind Waker version of Zelda for the GC yet, but I will probably pick that up this summer to prepare for the upcoming release of Twilight Princess this fall.

Games have come a long way in the past 20 years.

My mind never truly shuts down. On the nights that I do not feel like sleeping, my mind tends to wander all over — past, present, and future. Tonight it is time to set the wayback machine to early July, 2002.

Ashley had the better part of the week off from working at Girl Scout camp and had come out to visit me during my last summer cooping in Huntsville. We had not yet been dating for a year and were soon to become engaged — the ring already being at my father’s store, and all. It was a beautiful summer day and Ashley wanted me to experience a little bit of her world. Having not been much of an ‘outdoorsy’ child, I had never truly been hiking before, but I knew of some trails on the mountain so I happily agreed. Forty-five minutes later, we were getting out of my car and setting foot on the hiking trail.

Ashley was like a kid in the proverbial candy store, totally in her natural element. I enjoyed being out in the woods as well, but I think I was just happy seeing how much Ashley enjoyed pointing things out to me as we moved along the path. Now, it being such a nice day, we thought that it would be no problem to follow one of the longer trails since we had nothing else to do that day. Thirty minutes into the hike, the heavens opened and rain began to fall. “Not to worry,” I said, “surely there is not much farther to go. We might as well push on until the end.” Two hours later, we finally finished up the trail back where we started, at my car. The rain had stopped possibly an hour before — long enough ago that we were no longer drenched, but recently enough that it was still hot and muggy. With all the rain and misery of hiking farther than we expected, we both still had a lot of fun that day just being with each other. On the long drive back to the house I was staying at, I looked over at Ashley and felt even more connected to her than before, having shared this time in the outdoors with her.