Living in the Pacific Northwest with our two beautiful little boys. There is SO much to share and so little time. We love life and we are so blessed. Hopefully this blog helps us to capture and share exactly that.
It's sort of been going around here in Rota military housing. Pink flamingos, that is. The first time I saw them crowded around the front yard of someone's house, I laughed. The second time I saw them, I was confused. The third time I saw them (at a new house each time, by the way) I was CURIOUS! Who was sneaking in during the night and bringing their flock of pink lawn ornaments? Why? Was I going to be "flocked" next?
Well, when my neighbor found herself flooded with flamingos one morning, I finally got my answer! It's a "Relay for Life" fundraiser for the American Cancer Society and once you're "flocked," you've got all sorts of options including donating (to get the lovely, attention seekers off your lawn), paying to have them moved to someone ELSE'S lawn you'd love to target, or doing nothing (poo poo on you). Anyway, I just loved this idea and had to share with my fellow blog readers. I stealthily snagged this midnight photo shot of our neighbors lawn. I spotted them out my window upon going to bed and just HAD to sneak out to get a pic. Hahaha! Already in bed, they had NO idea what treat they were going to be waking up to that next morning!
The POD for today is a photo from about 3:30 this morning. That's right people. Three-thirty AM. I, being the fabulous wife that I am, agreed to go to bed early and get up with Matty at 3:30 to watch the live broadcast from Houston of the March Madness championship game. (*Pats herself on the back*) Here's the photo of Matty and his husky compadre cheering on the boys at the start of the game. I must admit, I waivered in my decision to watch this showdown. Why? Well, it's just that everytime one of our teams find themselves in a game that matters, and I FINALLY sit down to watch... they lose. :) It's a curse and you can count on it. If I'm watching... we're losing.
Nevertheless, I got up and watched, hoping to break this dreaded curse. After the piss poor performance of both teams in the first half (lowest scoring championship game since the 40s) I considered going back to bed! The curse could not be broken! Still, I was not giving up. I stayed up for the second half, and although the scoring didn't improve much, UConn managed to get a FEW more bricks in the basket than Butler. ;) Hahaha Halfway thru the second half, when Butler FINALLY scored their FIRST points of the game from inside the paint, I even told Matt "Wow. Somebody get that kid a medal."
As long as UConn won, Matt didn't seem to mind how dull the game was. I felt it was a bit boring and sort of hoped for some more action. HEY... it was 4 o'clock in the morning! What do you want from me?!
I am happy to announce (incase you somehow missed the headlines) UConn won the dogfight! :) YAY! AND I got to go back to bed for 3 more hours. YAY AGAIN! :)
SO, from the Thomsen household, we gotta give a big shoutout to Takoda's family. GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO HUSKIES!
Ahhhh spring in Spain. Tis the season of sunshine, beautiful 75 degree days, fresh cool breezes coming off the ocean, parakeets squawking in the palms, lounging in the hammock (if I can get comfortable) and grilling. Oh wait... I forgot something. It's also the season of dog hair. Piles and piles and piles of dog hair. Dog hair and mud. Doggy dust bunnies the size of small creatures that leave me with no choice but to ignore the doorbell when it rings. "Ohhhhhhh no. I am NOT letting anyone step ONE foot inside this house right now." Yeah... it's bad. People ask me, "How do you keep up with all that hair!" HAH! I DON'T! I have a hard enough time keeping up with it when i'm NOT huge and tired. SO just a warning for the next person who rings my doorbell. Don't expect me to answer it. ;)
So this is why I insist on being first in bed. Usually I have NO problem beating the boys to bed what with my current "condition." ;) However, there ARE days when I get busy and next thing you know I hear Matt telling the boys it's time for bed. Of course there is NO way I can beat them considering I'm the only one with an evening bathroom routine. SO when I don't beat them... this is what I come in to find.
Really? Really? As if we don't ALREADY have a problem with space. Double bed + 1 man + two extra pillows + pregasaurus = NO SPACE. Add a Husky to the mix and it's just trouble. No joke, I think Takoda is smiling.
Of COURSE this picture made it as the photo of the day! Are you kidding? How could it not? This batido (aka shake) is the BEST I've had since arriving in Spain and you can find this icy delight at Bombay in Rota. :) Of course I had to have Rocio, my spanish chica friend, take a picture of the dessert masterpiece. Little did I know what a hillarious picture it would be.
Side note: Things that are wrong with this picture... 1. The shake came with two straws. Ummm apparently I'm supposed to share? 2. I made the mistake of leaning my upper body away from camera, only emphasizing the largeness of my lower region. :) 3. It's my "bad side." Yes folks, now that I have bangs, I have a bad side. Which is the bad side? The side that gives you a sneak peak of the forehead. 4. My head looks too small for my body. :)
Today is a sad day. A very sad day. Today I was told by two different people that it's time to throw away my boots. MY boots. My favorite boots. But how could I possibly part with a pair a boots that are simply irreplaceable?
Ah, I see what you're thinking. Boots are replaceable. Apparently you haven't met my boots. Allow me to explain WHY I cannot bear to part with these boots.
Numero uno: They were a smokin deal. Just upon arriving in Spain, these boots were my FIRST gypsy market purchase at a measly 15 euro.
Numero dos: They don't feel like boots; they feel like slippers. When I slide my feet into these amazing (yet mildly stinky) botas, it's like they're giving my piggens a big, warm pleather hug.
Numero tres: No blisters, no pain. That's right. I can wear them for hours upon hours exploring the hilly, cobblestone streets of Spain and I can forget the ziplock bag of bandaids and tylenol.
Numero quatro: They're cute! It's not that often you can pair the words "cute" and "comfortable" in the same sentence when describing only ONE pair of shoes.
And finally...
Numero cinco: They've officially earned a place in my heart. I mean, we've shared some REALLY special times together. Need I remind you?
Surprising Mom on her birthday in Maine Denmark Sweden England Italy Let ALONE all the other streets they've explored in Spain. Sighhhhhhhhhhhh. SO as you can now clearly see, the decision to finally part with my boots(which have already been professionally repaired once) is a difficult one. Maybe rather than tossing them, I'll just stash them away in the closet for a while until the lone Rota shoe repairman doesn't recognize them anymore. That sounds like a GREAT plan to me!!!
So boots, it isn't goodbye, but instead, as they say here in Andalucia, "Hasta Luego." :)
The POD for today is just a shot (okay... a couple shots) from this weekend. Matt and I brought the pups down to Rota for some late morning, low tide exploring on the beach. I'm not sure who had more fun searching for fish and strange critters in the tide pools, Takoda or Matt. Sultan, on the other hand, isn't much of a "searcher." He prefers throwing himself off the groupings of rocks into pools with depths of... well, he never has any idea. Could be a puddle, or surprise!... he might just be going over his head. Entertaining? I'd say so. :)
Happy Presidents Day! Ahhhhhh what a relaxing four day weekend we had! We took it nice and easy and didn't venture too far this weekend. We enjoyed the great weather with a little beach time, doggy time and of course, a combination of the two. Since we didn't travel this weekend, and since I'm a bit behind on my posts, I'm going to share the photos from our last getaway!
We had three days off last month for Martin Luther King Day so we decided to pack up the pups and spend two nights in the mountains of Spain (foothills of the Sierra Nevada range). The pup-friendly hotel, "La Viñuela," looked great online but it was even more tranquil and inviting in person. The view from our balcony was great and the puppies weeeewy wiked it. Koda was also happy we brought his favorite squeaky ball. If only it didn't keep rolling under the bed. :) Our first morning there, after a nice breakfast, we took the dogs for a walk on the 44km trail that surrounds the lake. No. We didn't walk 44 km. Need I remind you that I'm pregnant? Anyway, the trail was quiet, the lake was quiet and the sights were spectacular! The water was like glass... that is... until the doggies found it. Sultan's first big trip, he was a little confused as to where, when, and how he was to "download." After a day and a half, Matt and I started to get a little concerned that our backyard brown-mountain-builder (no joke, I think more comes out than goes in) hadn't gone numero dos. Thankfully, after a good swim and some fierce playtime... he was able to push through his performance anxiety. Matt was very excited. Towards the end of our stroll, we discovered this amazing old farm with far too many sheep to count. I was OBSESSED with the sheep. As you can see, they were pretty obsessed with us too. Matt and I decided that they would be talking about us for weeks. :) My two favorite sheepy tidbits: Each sheep had a bell on it's collar. Each sheep had a tail. YES a tail. Sorry for those of you who grew up on a farm and are thinking "Well, DUH!" but I had NO idea sheep's tails are cut off! I thought they were born without tails! I even had to take a video of these curious lil critters. Check out the cutey patooties.
After our nice morning walk, we spent the afternoon lounging in the warm January sun. We ordered room service, played some cribbage and watched the sun set. Evening time at the hotel was just as beautiful and peaceful as during the day. We REALLY enjoyed our relaxing weekend away with our little family, but eventually it was time to hit the road and head home. Atleast we had a beautiful drive. :) Yes, these mountain-climbing fellas had bells too! As soon as I cracked open the car window I could hear them!!!
Just a simple POD of the cute lil springtime flowers we have growing on our bush in the backyard. They are REALLY tiny and hard to see from a distance, but they are perdy up close. :) The butterflies love them.
A couple days ago, I dropped off my car for an oil change and I had a little time to blow before a friend picked me up. I decided to bring my book and relax in the corner of the soft leather sofa at the new library coffee shop. While ordering my fresh squeezed orange juice (yum), I contemplated the goodies in the window. Hmmmmm, crossiants, donuts, pastries... wait... what is this unusual danish???! :) CLOW danish?! (For those of you who are confused, Clow is my maiden name.) Anyway, I have a feeling something went wrong in the translation of "claw," but nevertheless, I thought it was cool enough to make it my POD. ;)
