Day Trip

Cabin fever led to an impromptu day trip to Salt Lake this Saturday. Buck dressed Mimi in her city sweater and Otis in his collar and we headed out. Speaking of a collar, Mimi seems to have grown an extra one (or two) this winter.

And, we can't pretend that our cravings for "In and Out" didn't play into our plans to visit Salt Lake. From the perfect display of a Double Double and a Cheeseburger wrapped snug in a perfectly folded tissue pocket side by side, to the crispy fries in paper baskets and a thick whole milk vanilla milkshake... Why there is not an "In and Out" in every city beats me.

"I've been waiting for you"

Mmmmm, The best thing Salt Lake has to offer

Cheeseburger in Mormon paradise

The remains

Keeping on

Settled into a more predictable rhythm of our life, it is comforting to have overcome the long distance season of our lives and have each other every day. Holidays feel a little different now that we have each other for every one of them, and coming home to the barn with these two pups and Bucky on Valentine's day was perfect.

Buck getting ready for upcoming trips with the flies he tied

Valentine's Day love with the kitty on the couch

Mimi was eager to watch the Regina Spektor DVD Buck bought me for Valentine's Day

Sweet hearts and Steak

the ying and the yang

Peek-a-boo

Otis and Mimi and I got out on Sunday when the temps reached 45

Mimi helped herself to an au natural slushie

Sunset and shadow

Mimi's glow

Home to finish the warm weekend on the front porch with the pups and a glass of red wine, waiting for Buck to come home from his fishing trip in Dillon

Winter... is it over yet?

Lava, Pebble and a New Kitty Trick

This weekend was more eventful than most as Bucky and I ventured outside of town to ski at a local mountain and take a dip in nearby hot springs. Even though these activities were enjoyable, they lacked the gratification we found in teaching Mimi a new trick.

Step One: "Sit Kitty"

Step 2: Tempt the little pig with a piece of rotisserie chicken from Costco

Step 3: Watch her dance

Mimi is a fickel pup and will only perform this trick when offered delectable incentives. Also, the window of opportunity to witness this performance is slim as she tires very easily and will resort to sniffing the ground looking for scraps or... sniffing inside Otis's ear looking for goodies (sick, we know)

Her symbiotic relationship with him is somewhat sweet, much like the remoras and the sharks. She gives extra attention to his ears and eyes.

He acts embarrassed when he is caught, and she retreats to cave under the coffee table

On Saturday we went to soak in the hot springs in Lava, Idaho. The crowd was similar to one of a water park: unsupervised kids pruned from sitting in the water too long and teenagers with tattoos. Lava Hot Springs has 5 pools that get increasingly warmer as you get closer to the spring source. We started at the furthest pool that was packed with kids and wondered how much their "body heat" affected the temperature. We quickly graduated to the next two pools, eager to get to the hottest one which offered the most space.

One of the warmer pools had a metal bar in it where you could hang and take a break from the heat. After waiting on a 7 year old to finish her turn, Bucky hopped on.

The 113 degree water in the last pool was almost unbearable but because we were only 2 of 8 people in it, we stuck it out... felt like a lobster boil

And to top our hot spring experience, we went to Pebble Creek the next day to ski. The weather was perfect and there were no accidents with any overly eager skiers plowing me down on their way to the bar. (I learned my lesson and stayed behind that unknown skier at all times)

The ski bum

This picture is for Meghan, wearing one of her favorite shirts: the Neil Young with suspenders

And home to the bashful kitty sunbathing on a sunny stair

Dog Days of Winter

This week has not been an easy one and Buck and I are counting down the days until our honeymoon in Mexico (57, if you're curious). Today, after another client canceled on me, I decided to have some time alone with the pups in the hills that surround the town. There is an easy hike that is a 10 minute drive "door to door" (as Suz says) and the weather warmed up to 29, which made it good enough time to take Otis and Mimi up.

The clouds have been racing through the sky the past couple of days, causing the light to constantly change. An inch of snow fell last night and made everything beautiful. I love crunching through the snow with the dogs.

The snow bunny

Winter Snow Dune

The predator

Corner Park

It was a brisk 9 degrees when we loaded up the pups and headed to the park. Ever since we left Otis and Mimi with a dedicated dog sitter who walked them twice a day, we have felt badly about not getting them out more despite the cold weather. This park is around the corner from our house but you have to be careful of bystanders who will confront you if you don't make immediate efforts to clean up after your pup.

Mimi does not prefer the cold and will stand, staring at you, shaking, and waiting for you to let her back inside. Most of the time you have to chase her to get her to move and stay warm. Come to think of it, whether it is cold or not you have to chase her to get her to move.

Guess who was the first to the car when we told them to "load up"?

R and R

It was nice to have a relaxing weekend back home.

Bucky made sure he had plenty of sleep before the big game on Monday night and even snuck Otis up on the couch for his nap before I could stop him. I needed to give up on trying to keep our cream colored couch free of black Otis hair; I've already gone through 2 lint brushes and started to feel a little like Annette Bening's character from American Beauty: " I will sell this house today!" but instead "I will clean this couch today!" Bucky laughs when he hears me "rolling" the couch, but as of Sunday I have given up my efforts to keep Otis off the couch and enjoyed napping with him on it instead.

Too sweet to say no