Dad

8th grade Dad's Night at Sacajawea Middle School

1998 Sevilla, Spain

August 5, 2005...a very bittersweet day for both of us

I wanted to take some time today to give my dad his own special place on our blog, which has become a some-what diary of our married life for Steve and me. My dad has been a steady rock in my life- always someone I can count on and look to for guidance. I spent many years dating guys who were direct opposites of my father because that is what I thought I wanted and needed for my future. I ended up marrying Steve...my rock, but not my first rock. Steve is more like my dad each day I spend with him and I am thankful for that.

My dad is an honorable man who many count on for advice and support. He is trusted for his business practices and valued for his ability to plan an outstanding trip to Vegas for the Shmucks. I am very proud to call him my father and know that I am envied by many people in my past and present. Not many people are lucky enough to have a father who not only is a great teacher, supporter, cheerleader, and financial planner, but also a great friend.

My dad has been there for me as a softball coach, a math tutor, a waterski instructor, and my silent supporter from afar. He has also been there when I have needed a disciplinarian and advice giver. Through it all, I realize what a truly amazing person my father is. I hope he knows how much he means to me and how grateful I am that I was chosen by God to be his daughter. I love you Dad.

Luz de Vida

Lucy's full name is Mack's Luz de Vida, which translated into Spanish means (Mack's = last name of the breeder) Light of Life. One of our favorite teachers in Mexico was Luz, who was definitely one of our more lively instructors and had a flair for fashion, which I envied greatly. She always had a new pair of shoes or sunglasses and had a jacket for every outfit. Lucy is a great tribute to Luz as well as my dog Max, who died last year at 15 years of age. Hopefully Lucy will be better trained than Max, but just as full of personality.

Our instructors in Mexico. From Left: Alejandro, Carlos, Luz and Lupe

Lucy turned 10 weeks old this last Wednesday and she is growing like a weed. Her first vet appointment was on Wednesday and she was treated like a celebrity. They were awed by her beauty and funny personality. She managed to get stuck between the cabinet and the wall (going after an electric cord) and didn't want to come out in reverse, so she managed to get herself turned around. She received her second round of shots and had the rude awakening of having her temperature taken in her back side. The vet made up for it with plenty of cookies- she's now 14 pounds and getting rounder by the day.

Lucy is now sleeping through the night most nights and we are thrilled to be back sleeping regular hours as well. Her number of accidents in the house have decreased and she seems to know her name. She's doing better walking on a leash and has learned "sit", but has not yet mastered "no bite". Thankfully, someone was brilliant enough to invent bitter apple spray (Steve learned the hard way that it doesn't taste at all like apple) and Lucy absolutely hates it. It actually made her puke the first time I sprayed it into her mouth. Now, just shaking the bottle usually does the trick.

During the last week, Lucy met her first dog friends. Bill, Tracy, Kate, and Megan (Happy 3rd birthday Mego!) were kind enough to let us bring Lucy over last Saturday and she did a great job of taunting their 9-year old English lab, Boone. Boone is very patient, VERY well trained, and seemed to enjoy Lucy's visit. She spent 3 hours hiding behind the furniture where Boone couldn't fit and then pouncing on him. All 3 of us slept for 3 hours when we got home.

Lucy taunting Boone

Yesterday, Lucy met Samson, who is my friend Laura's German Shorthair. He seemed to also enjoy Lucy, but seemed a bit more annoyed by her antics. Nevertheless, he was extremely patient with her. Our friend, John Kuhling, is bringing his dog Aspen over tomorrow and she will be spending the night with us. Should be interesting!!

Lucy wants to play and Sam wants to hide in the bushes....

Steve is currently at a seismic engineering conference in Corona, CA and I am excited to have him back. I'm definitely not bored like I usually am when he's gone, but I'm looking for some relief with Lucy when he returns! Steve has been wonderful at relieving me when he comes home from work. Some days can be very long running after and watching over a puppy with an attention span of 2 seconds.

We're still fixing up the house and have almost finished painting the baseboards after having our floors refinished. They look great and we're thrilled that we decided to go through with it. Now that we have beautiful floors, the rest of our house looks a bit shabby. We're hoping to redo our kitchen before long, but Lucy is causing everything to slow down a bit.

I'm currently on break between spring and summer quarters at Seattle U. Summer quarter starts next week, so it was quite a short vacation! We're heading to Spokane later this month for Hoopfest and then we'll spend some time at Chelan with Britty and her mom. It will be Lucy's first time in the water. She'll get another chance in mid-August when we spend a week at my parent's cabin at Newman Lake (outside of Spokane).

Although Lucy's not human, her needs and schedule seem to be very "baby-like". Maybe it's good we didn't know what having a puppy entailed until we were in the middle of it. Her favorite activities are waiting to be fed, going to her "condo", and napping. She also enjoys digging up my hostas, chewing on bones, and curling up on our laps for naps (can there be a 60 pound lap-dog?).

Lucy in her "condo" (the bottom shelf of a bookcase)

Lucy waits for her next meal... She likes to pretend we starve her

On a funny note...Lucy's food bin sits outside our back door (since our house is lacking in space) and holds 40 pounds of dog food. When taking Lucy out in a morning a few days ago, Steve found her food bin in the yard with racoon prints and teeth marks in it. They didn't get it open, but it wasn't for a lack of trying! Her food bin now comes inside at night...yikes!

Lucy and her food bin that was carried away by bandits.

A Night with the Brookses

Almost the entire Brooks family was at our house last evening for a BBQ and to be introduced to the newest Brooks, Lucy. Lucy did great and didn't even have an accident! I think she was a bit overwhelmed by the Brooks girls and their numerous dance numbers, but she definitely held her own and even warmed up to Megan by the end of the evening. Lucy is still recovering from all the excitement. Here is a great picture of the West-side Brooks clan. We don't get together as much as we should, but we had a blast being all together. Courtney is sure a great addition to all the craziness! Lucy is loving the crazy chicken!

Yesterday it rained almost all day and she wasn't too keen on getting her paws wet, so today was much more pleasant due to warmer weather and being able to spend time outside with her. She is getting much quicker and loves exploring our large yard and is very fond of the hostas, which are the only plants in the backyard. A few leaves have been ripped out, but she isn't yet able to do much damage. That time will come...

Lucy is here!

We are proud to announce our newest arrival. Please welcome Lucy Brooks also known as Luz (light in Spanish), Lucy Lou, Lucinda, Lucille, and at times, Lucifer. Wednesday was the lucky day when we got to bring her home. This was also the day we were moving back into our house after having our hardwood floors redone, so it was quite the day!

So far, she is quite mellow and we're having a blast with her. We definitely understand why new parents can't seem to get anything done and are so forgetful. Since we haven't been sleeping much, we tend to be a bit single-minded. Hopefully that will pass in time!

She is usually awake for about 30 minutes at a time before she has to take another nap. Steve is quite proud that she is now sleeping in her crate with the door open. She's only had one accident today, which is another achievement for both of us.

Lucy has already learned to climb the stairs on the deck and fetch a few times. Her favorite toy so far is a papertowel roll- not the various toys we have bought her.

Lucy's first TV show: Oprah.

Lucy found a comfy little spot on my legs while I was setting up her baby gate. Pretty cute, eh?

One of Lucy's napping spots. She pretty much just passed out on the floor.

Lucy's first visitor...Aunt Courtney- Courtney made quite an impression because she brought Lucy a chicken that makes noises. Lucy is still not quite sure about it.

Puppy Update - Week 6

I have a feeling we are going to track the growth of our puppy in a way a new parent of a human might. That being said, we have more pictures of our puppies to post! We just got back from seeing them today and man are they cute. Five week old little bundles of fur and already full of personality.

We picked out our puppy and clipped her hair to make sure we can tell her apart. Our little Lucy is curious, playful, and not too agressive. She knawed on my finger like a good teething pup, and calmly snuggled in my lap and was perfectly content to cuddle in the warmth. As soon as the food came out, she made sure she got her fill and kept her head right in the middle of the pack as they filled their ever expanding bellies.

Bloomsday

We had a great weekend in Spokane! We had the chance to spend some much-needed quality time with our respective parents as well as some large group together time to celebrate Bill Sr.'s birthday with a steak dinner. Yum! I also got the chance to visit with Cari Morton and her family, which was a big blessing.

The weather in Spokane was gorgeous for Bloomsday. The bands and nuns were out to help us along in our quest for this year's shirt. Steve is quite proud that he "won" Bloomsday (and knocked over all the Kenyans) even though quite a few people finished before he did. He actually finished in 12, 989th place (1:30). He walked the first two miles with my dad and me and then ran the rest. He is a bit sore today to say the least. Bill Jr. was the quickest of the group at 1:07 and my dad and I were the slowest at 2:18. Not bad for walking and talking! For being among 40,000 people, we sure saw a lot of friendly faces! Shout outs to Pat and Colleen Casey, Don and Carol, Dorothy, Don, and Joan. For more info, visit www.bloomsday.org

Jenny and Wayne are in the bottom left corrner. Can you find them?

Happy Birthday Bill Sr.!

Steve drove over this morning and I'm flying over to Spokane tomorrow to help celebrate Bill Sr.'s 70th birthday. Steve's working on the boat with his dad and spending some good quality time in the 'Can. We'll also be partaking in Bloomsday on Sunday, which is (or used to be) the largest timed road race in the world. It's 12k and quite crazy with tons of people. Steve and Bill Jr. are running and my dad and I will be walking and talking. We're both looking forward to this weeked with our families!