Three Dogs and a Baby

Goodmorning Midland! I drove up with Sampson for one last weekend in Midland before Nathan's internship ends. This summer is just flying by! We got there late on Friday night so it was straight to bed for all of us. We woke up and went to Omelete's and More on Saturday morning for breakfast. Omelete's and More is right on Main Street. I ordered the stuffed wheat wrap (eggs, cheese and bacon) with a side slice of french toast. Nathan orderd the chorizo breakfast burrito with a side of pancakes. Check out all the food that we got. Midland's serving sizes were CRAZY this weekend...more of that to come.





The french toast was seriously delicious! Oh my goodness...if you're ever at Omelette's and More in Midland get the french toast...you won't be disappointed!



Nate was so excited for the pancakes...almost too excited to wait for a picture. What a good sport. P.S. I think he looks like an Ament in this picture...for those who know what that means, do you agree?



After breakfast we walked around Main Street and down to the Farmer's Market. The last time I was here we had Sampson with us and puppy dogs aren't allowed at the market, and THIS time it was already closed by the time we got there. Bummer. So we headed back to Espresso Milano for coffee and a delicious peanut butter brownie. We ended up freezing the second half of it...Nate says it was just as good if not better when it was frozen!






We ended up meeting our friends Marc and Carmina at the dog park. Bonus: we got to meet their little guy while all of the other little guys played together at the Midland Dog Park.

Here are some shots of Killian, Wayne and Sampson after they'd played for awhile.





And here starts the photos of Morgan. He was such a sweetie. Marc and Carm are such good parents...it was so fun to finally see them in action!



Note: the slobber Marc is not from Morgan, but it is from a certain puppy that I love dearly, even when he slimes our friends. Good thing Carm and Marc love Sampson too...he slimed their baby.









He is such a blend of Carm and Marc. He's got Marc's head. Carm's cute button nose. Marc's chin. And Carm's eyes. Check out the curling toes.



Two hours later ALL of the boys were pooped.



Killian was fake sleeping. He would dig with his feet and then stop when he thought Carm or Marc were looking. So funny.

Sidenote: Carm and Marc have all the same letters in the name. Weird. Just noticed that.



After the dog park we took Sampson to PetsMart for dog food. When we walked in the door this is what the lady checking out said:

Lady: Whoa! That is a BIG dog! In fact, I think that is the biggest dog I have EVER seen in my WHOLE life.

Nate: Thanks?

Ha...people say that all of the time. Sampson got stopped by at least a dozen people in the store. What kind of dog is he? How much does he weigh? Wow...he's so calm for such a big dog! etc. I love parading him around the store. All of the other dogs go crazy while they're inside but Sampson just walks around with us paying no attention to the naughty dogs around him. What a good boy.

For dinner we went to Genji. It's Hibachi grill and it's just like the one we used to go to in Charlotte. It was absolutely delicious and made us miss Charlotte even more. The only bad thing is how full you get when you go there.

First course: Sushi. California roll and Nate's favorite - tuna, salmon and yellowfin.

Second course: Miso soup

Third course: Ginger salad (or italian if you're picky like me!)

Fourth course: grilled shrimp made on the hibachi!

Fifth course: grilled vegetables, rice and the meat of your choice. We both had shrimp and filet. D-licious!

SIXTH course: Green tea or red bean ice cream. We got one of both and shared. I preffered the green tea and Nate loved the red bean. But of course we had to keep trying the other kind too, just in case!



We went home and watched the movie "The Golden Compass" which was recommended by my mom and Aunt Mary. We really wanted to go to the movie theatre to watch a new movie, but sadly Midland doesn't seem to get all of the "new" movies. Oh well. It was an early night again but we ALL needed it.

Here's how we left Sampson when we went to meet Carm, Marc and Morgan for breakfast. Silly guy. We had a great time with them again. It's so fun to know someone in Midland. Marc's parents happened to be staying at the hotel next to the restaurant so they ran to say goodbye and left us with Morgan for a little bit. Not even a minute after they left the following happened:

Random stranger: Oh, what a beautiful baby! Is he yours? (to Nate and I)
Nate and I simulataneously: NO!!!!!! We mean, no. He's our friends.
Me: We're just borrowing him. I mean, watching him. His parents are right there. (pointing in Carm and Marc's direction.)

Marc had the funniest story about a total stranger talking to him. Apparently the baby got fussy at dinner the night before so Marc took him outside to just calm down a bit. A random guy walked by and proclaimed "Way to go man! Keep doing what you're doing! It's totally worth it." I love that random strangers try to cheer on new parents. Plus, it makes for a funny story.

Pizzah. Pizzah.

Meghan hosted "The Last-Last Supper" on Wednesday night. We decided to all bring our favorite pizza. It was delicious. Fun. And oh-so-filling.

The Gaucher's dining table covered in 'Za.



Meghan's favorite: Marco's Hawaiian Pizza



Jenny's favorite: California Pizza Kitchen's Milan Pizza



My interpretation of "It's not delivery, it's DiGiorno!" Meghan stole my favorite so this was the next best thing I could think of...it was well received. NOT.



Sara's favorite: Anthony's Ala Giardinera (I think...whatever it was it was delicious!)



We had a great time watching Michael Phelp's and eating all different kinds of pizza. If you're ever in the mood for an easy but tasty dinner party have everyone bring their favorite pizza. Except me, I'm not good at it.

Yoga Time

Tonight my summer friend, Sara, invited me to a yoga class with her. I used a bright yoga mat just like these, except mine was purple, and not mine...I borrowed it from the teacher. I was very nervous as it was my very first time going to a yoga class. This particular class is only offered every once and again. The teacher actually runs her yoga class in the basement of her home. The walls are all painted a beautiful shade of green and lights are all inset and on a dimmer. These two things alone, along with the comfy carpet, make for a very relaxing space! The class itself is almost two hours long. We held every pose for about five minutes which doens't sound too bad, but sit Indian style and lean the entire top of your body forward stretching out your arms. Stay like that for five minutes. Then tell me it's not that hard.

I really enjoyed myself and would definitely consider taking a class once a week. It is very calming! At the end of the class you lay on your back legs and arms spread hip width apart palms up. Then the teacher comes around and pushes you into the ground a bit (which feel AMAZING) and massages your head for a bit. I am getting sleepy just thinking about that part.

Splurge

We finally purchased a Wii! Not only have we been trying to find one since they came out, but we've spent the last 18 months scamming on any friends that own one so we can play it. Just kidding. Anyway, when I went to pick Nate up in Toledo yesterday we stopped at Costco and they had five left. We threw one in the cart and immediately called Nate's sister Marissa to see if she thought it was a good deal. Marissa and her boyfriend Pat were one of those crazy couple you saw standing in line for hours waiting to buy one when they first came out...minus the crazy of course. Anyway, we still felt apprehensive in buying something that expensive while we're in business school and decided to walk around Costco with it until we decided what to do. Well, one full cart of laundry detergent and yogurt later we still couldn't decide. So we bought it. We also decided not to open it until Nathan comes back from his internship (in just TWO weeks!!!!) and if we still really want it then we'll keep it. Otherwise, we can always take it back, right? Yeah, right.

SO...starting August 25th anyone who's interested in playing Wii at our house come on over! :)

Too-dill-ee-doo!

Today Nathan, Sampson and I went to Toledo. Sampson has been really sick since Monday so he had to see the vet this morning. Nate had a bachelor party tonight as well, and all of the boys were meeting at 3pm in Toledo. So, we made the trek to Toledo for Sampson's 10:30 appointment and planned to spend the rest of the afternoon putzing around Perrysburg until 3 when he was supposed to meet all of the other guys.

After Sampsons appointment (more info to come on that below) we decided to do something really fun to pass the time. Get my car an oil change. Woot. Woot. After the very exciting oil change we decided to drive to my old house and look around the other neighborhoods. On the way out to the house we passed Fort Meigs. As we drove by we noticed a lot of cars and excitement and figured it was another "fort-ie event"...not so! The Wood County Humane Society was hosting the Mutt Strutt! We turned around and headed back to take Sampson! What great luck for us. The Mutt Strutt was going on today from 10-2...perfect place for us to "spend" some time.

Here is the scene we walked into.



After we registered our big guy we got to visit all of the tents boasting everything from doggie day cares to homemade treats.



Sampson checking out all the puppies around him. He was so calm the entire time which made us VERY happy considering how wacky some of the other dogs were. Our 145 pounder puppy was better behaved than some of the older dogs!



We walked around the entire perimeter of the fort. Sampson was a real trooper the whole time. Nate and I hadn't been inside the fort since the ghost walk they had back in high school. It was a beautiful day and they had little stations all along the route with water bowls for the dogs to hydrate themselves on the walk.



Sampson hanging out with Nathan under the shade of a tree after our walk around the fort. Check out that tongue!



Our very own "branch manager" leaving the Mutt Strutt.



Nothing like a refreshing bowl of water in the car after a long afternoon in the park.



Sampson's very first ice cream treat and at Mr. Freeze no less...a doggie dish as they call it! Vanilla ice cream with two doggie biscuits.



Do you think he likes it?



He ate the whole thing in less than two minutes! Here he is still licking the empty dish next to the Mr. Freeze sign.



Once he figured out that white styrofoam holds ice cream he wouldn't leave either of us alone. He never licked the dish, whined or stuck his face in it. BUT he certainly leaned into use the whole time we were eating our treats!



Told ya.



We had about 30 minutes before Nate had to leave so we decided to visit our park bench. Sampson had never been before and we like to think it's a special place. First kiss, engagement...you get the drift.



My horrid attempt at a family portrait by the bench. I love going to that park. It really centers us no matter how we're feeling. *sigh*



We dropped off Nate and headed back to Ann Arbor for the night. Sampson needed to start his meds. He is now on antibiotics for a respiratory infection, special pills to help with his digestion. He has to eat ground beef and white rice. Drink pedialyte and, my favorite, eat two cups of yogurt with added active cultures a.k.a. "digestive" ingredients. He's eaten quite the kings diet...but he's feeling pretty lowsy. Have you ever had to wipe a 145 pound dogs nose? It's quite impressive. :) We decided that he's probably enjoying this "star" treatment despite how he's feeling.

He's a Star!

Sampson became a star today. Not only was he in the Ann Arbor Newspaper this morning he was also one of the dogs featured on the webcast Mlive. Mlive features all different aspects of life in Michigan, including owning your own business. Amy, the owner of The Naughty Dog Cafe where Sampson goes for Doggie Day Care and overnights, was interviewed about her life and career. You can see all sorts of Sampson footage here -> Amy's Interview

We're so proud! :)

Lilly and Mark Jensen

This weekend was quite the whirlwind for Nathan and I. We met on Thursday night at the Flint airport to fly out to Minneapolis. Bev picked us up at the Minneapolis airport and then took us straight to dinner. We went to Treasure Island Casino for seafood night. We had a great time and I learned a lot about how to peel crabs. Tasty. After dinner Nathan decided to gamble one dollar. As soon as he put the dollar in the machine stopped working. Ha. It came on just in time for me to get scolded for taking pictures in the casino. Oops.















Tank and Kaiser were pretty excited to see Nathan as you can tell. Nathan taught Tank to do this years ago and now whenever he sees Nate all he wants is to be held. Kaiser is a bit too big to be held, so he just likes to stand up on Nathan so he doesn't have to feel totally left out!





On Friday morning Bev headed to work and so did I...well, from home that is. While I was working Nathan made pancakes for breakfast. Rarely does he do this at home, but I swear, everytime we go to Prescott to visit he makes us a pancake breakfast!



Once Bev got home from work (she only worked a half day) she took us to lunch at Keys Cafe which is right near the church that she works at in Como Park. It was a really cute family owned place and the chocolate malts were pretty delicious!









After lunch on Friday with Bev we drove down to Decorah. The drive went really fast which was nice. We headed straight to the rehearsal dinner at Mark's (the groom) mom and stepdad's house. It was nice to see everyone and enjoy some yummy shish kabobs. We headed to a local Decorah favorite, T-Bock's for drinks with the family after. Pretty much all the fam was there so it was nice to catch up with everyone.



On Saturday morning Nate, my brothers and dad went golfing with my Grandpa and Uncle Tom. April, mom and I walked around Decorah window shopping at all of the storefronts. We met the boys at Mabe's pizza, another local favorite, and enjoyed some taco, garden and barbeque chicken pizza. Delicious!

By the way, Sampson turned one on Saturday! We were so sad to not be able to bring him with us but he had a great time at Doggie Day Care.



We all went back to the hotel to get ready for the wedding. We got to take a shuttle out to the farm where Mark and Lilly got married. It was a nice ride but complicated enough that we wouldn't have wanted to drive back alone! The whole fam hopped on the two o'clock bus and wandered around the farm chatting and catching up with the other guests, etc.









Nate and I waiting for the ceremony to begin. It was HOT!!!!


Sam walking Mary down the aisle.



The newly married couple! Lilly and Mark Jensen



The fam at the reception. This was after a great dinner and way too many ice cream sandwiches. Lilly and Mark had friends help make all kinds of cookies and then they had the local ice cream shop put vanilla ice cream in the middle of two cookies. At our table we tried: gingersnap, snickerdoodle, oatmeal chocolate chip, peanut butter, chocolate chocolate chip and heath. I liked the gingersnap the best. Nathan didn't seem to mind any of them. :)



Getting a little loopy after a long day.



Notice the sun burn. Ouch.



The Steinberg family (Lilly's other side of family) have a great tradition. When a couple gets married one of the aunts sends out a notice to all of the guests to take part in a quilt for the bride and groom. The only requirement is that it is a 10 inch square and that you send it to that aunt before the wedding day. This is Lilly and Mark's gorgeous quilt!



A close up of our square that we sent in (via my mom the seamstress)



Nathan was excited on the way home.



A little quality time on the bus ride home. We spent the rest of the night at the pool in the hotel with Andy, April, mom, and my Aunt's Dolly and Patty. It was a great ending to a long weekend.



Here's the barbeque that was smoking all afternoon with the dinner in it. YUM!



Here is a great photo of Lilly and Mark in the barn doors after the ceremony. They took some great photos including one of them jumping on a trampoline!



Here is a picture of the back of Luther's Campus. My old dorm is the second in from the left.