We ADOPTED!!!

The Gardner family has grown! After some research and seeing how many families have been adopting, we decided to prepare ourselves for adoption. With some changes around the house, we made preparations for the new member of the Gardner family.

Today while shopping, we came across a couple selling a dog out in front of Sportmans Warehouse. Catherine has been talking about getting a German Shorthair for years and was quite interested in this one when we saw him. We talked to the couple with the dog for about 5 min and the whole time the dog was just snuggling with both Catherine and I. He isn't papered, but is a pure breed. We paid approximately the price of a large bag of dog food for him, which is a good deal for a pure breed.

The couple that owned him had rescued him from an abusive family. They've had him since last Fall, but due to money getting tight for them, they needed to let him go. He's very thin, so we need to fatten him up and get him healthy. He is shedding a lot, the previous owners say it's due to a recent diet change and feeding him cheap food. We're going to take him to the vet this week, get his shots updated and give him a good checkup.

He is soooo friendly, almost to the point of being annoying... he loves to cuddle, he'll just rest his head on you and hang out there. So far he and Daisy, are getting along great. He's very vocal too, talks often and we've yet to hear a bark. He's very mild-mannered, hopefully that will rub off on Daisy.

Catheine named him... Rosco, after Roscoe P. Coltrane! Daisy's full name is Daisy Mae Duke, so you can see what direction we're headed. So without further adieu, here's some pics of our newest family member. -

the infamous waterproof hiking shoes

So about 5 years ago I bought a pair of hiking shoes the week before I met greg. I bought them having talked with greg on the phone and through email. I knew that he loved the outdoors and that i would soon be sharing this love of his. My mom went with me and i'm sure she thought i was crazy.
Throughout the years I have used these shoes almost weekly. Greg and i have always "discussed" how waterproof these shoes are. I try with all my might to convince him that they are in fact waterproof and he persistently denies such a claim. This last weekend we went camping with some friends and it rained every night. One morning i woke up to place these shoes on my feet and noticed that they had a little bit of water on them. Horrified that i might be wrong i quietly slipped them onto my feet without letting greg know how cold and damp they really were. When the morning fire was lit i sat next to it with one shoe on and trying to dry the other. Greg noticed and made a comment about how i was drying them out. I tried to convince him that i was merely trying to warm them up in the morning air. They were completely wet steaming against the fire.
Once again i succeed to greg. He is right. My shoes are not waterproof.
I thought about this and realized is this such a bad thing? No, I say not. Now i get to shop and buy another pair of shoes.
This time they will be waterproof.