Penny [a story]

My whole life I have wanted a dog. My family has always had dogs, but not one that I was completely responsible for on my own. Yes, I rescued a dog without telling my parents when I was twelve [and Abby turned out to be the sweetest, best companion I could have asked for], but she turned into the family dog. 

As I was moving to Corvallis to attend Oregon State University, I set a goal for myself: upon graduating I would get my very own dog.  The opportunity arose for me to strike a deal with my mom, the net of it being I would join a sorority for her, and in return she would buy me a dog for graduation. I spent the next four years seriously researching every single dog breed I could to figure out the best fit for my lifestyle, my personality, etc. I had my heart set on getting a Vizsla, a fairly rare hungarian dog breed similar to Weimeraners. As my graduation date got closer and closer I realized that for most Vizsla breeders there is up to a three year waiting list! 

I decided to go to my plan B, a golden retriever. I looked for almost six months, researching breeders in the area, looking up specific temperaments and colors and body styles of different goldens, making sure I found the perfect little puppy. After one breeder fell through, and another, and another I was really down and started convincing myself that maybe I should just wait to get a dog. 

One day, I stumbled across an ad for a litter in Roseberg, Oregon of ten week old golden retriever puppies and I just had a feeling. I called the number attached immediately and found that they only had one puppy left, the runt of the litter, and they weren't sure she was going to live. They told me that if she made it through the next few weeks that I could pick her up! I had all of the pictures of this puppy, had a name picked out, bought bowls and a leash and collar and a dog bed- I was so set for this little nugget. 

About a week and a half I called the woman back to check in and see how the pup was doing and got some incredibly bad news- although the puppy was alive and healthier than they thought she was going to be, they had decide to keep her and raise her as their family dog. At that point, I pretty much gave up. I was sick of being let down by breeders, specifically this one because I had my life so set on this little pup. 

That weekend, I went camping with Paul and all of our college friends at Lake Billy Chinook in Culver, Oregon. We had a fantastic time and I completely forgot how upset I was about the whole puppy situation. We were out of cell phone service for almost four days, and when we finally got back to the city I had about five emails and missed phone calls and voicemails from the woman- they had decided not to keep the puppy after all!!! I called her back immediately and said that I could be in Roseburg that evening! Although I hadn't slept in about three days and hadn't showered in just as many and was completely exhausted, nothing was going to stop me from driving to Roseburg to pick up this puppy before they changed their minds again!

I drove the three hours down to Roseburg and after watching a very uncomfortable goodbye between the family and this puppy [who they had named], I got to take her home!!! I had absolutely no idea what I was getting myself in to, and over the next two months I probably slept a total of six nights, but it was the most worthwhile impromptu trip I've ever taken!!

So there it is, the long-winded story of how Lady Penelope Louise came into my life!

[Taking Penny home; May 26th, 2013]

Her favorite things include: ice cubes, carrots, socks, socks, and more socks, as many bones as we'll let her have, turkey, and cheese. 

She is obsessed with playing frisbee and catch, but she doesn't quite understand that to keep playing she has to bring the toy back to us [we're working on it]. 

She has some very weird habits, like crawling under our bed and getting stuck, and some really sweet habits, like trying to sleep under the covers with her head on the pillow right next to me [every night]. 

Penny is now ten months old, and the most kind-hearted, spunky, cuddly, excitable, loving pup I could have ever asked for. Though most of the time she forgets that she weighs 65lbs and jumps on me like she's still 8lbs, she's just simply the best. 

Penelope Lousie

Born March 17, 2013

one very long drive

Hello again :). There is not much do say about our road-trip other than it was very long, car-trouble filled, and that we probably took the most indirect (but gorgeous) route all the way from Portland, Oregon to Scottsdale, Arizona!

 >The first day we left my dad's house at about four in the morning in North Plains, and fast tracked down I5 to highway 97 for a little detour to see my Aunt Gail, Uncle Fred, and Grandma Bobby in Klamath Falls! Even though we were only with them for one very short hour, it was so amazing to be able to see these three people who are incredibly special and precious to me (and who are obsessed with Paul)!! We had a little Southern Oregon welcome, courtesy of my Uncle Fred who is a true Southern Gent, and they had coffee and breakfast all ready for us! We got to fill them in on what we were actually moving for, and the route we were taking. I love you three so much and I'm so grateful to have you in my life!

 >After that amazing pitstop, we hopped back in the car with Penny and got back on the road. We wandered through the northeast corner of California before entering into Nevada, and made it to Reno to spend the night. We had originally planned on driving further that day, but we [Paul] was sick of driving and we were both exhausted. Luckily my dad and GiGi, his girlfriend, were just a phone call away and found us a dog-friendly hotel in the heart of Reno in about two minutes. Thank you both, again, for doing that for us! We hunkered down for the night with one very happy pup and got a good nights sleep before hitting the road again in the morning.

>We got up and left Reno for the day around 6am, and started the longest day of driving. ever. There isn't much I can really say about Nevada except that it is very brown and much more hilly than we knew, and apparently is a bad-luck zone for car trouble! We had a few scares with my car because the Uhaul was way to heavy for it to pull, but fortunately they got sorted out before we were stranded for too long!

 >We drove past Area 51 [which was verrrrry erie and awesome], tons of army bases, a lot of nothing, Vegas, and finally the Hoover Dam before crossing the border into Arizona around seven at night. Finally! We made it into Arizona! I think Paul and I both thought that once we made it into AZ we were home free, but we soon found out that Scottsdale is a lot further South than either of us knew. We rolled into town at around 2am, and decided to stay at my cousin Scot's instead of looking for a hotel that late at night.

 >Early Early Early the next morning we drove over to our new house [finally!!!!], signed the lease, and were able to unpack the Uhaul in about 1/5 the time it took to pack it in the first place!

[our last glimpse of Oregon, the frozen Klamath Lake] 

 [Penny and I clearly tired of being in the car]

 [somewhere in the middle of nowhere, Nevada]

 [Finally! Home Sweet Home]

[Penny was so happy to be out of the car that she fell asleep.. on our bed]

Then the unpacking fun really began...... Until next time!

a beginning

Hello, blog world!
Because of the 1000 changes going on in my life {and because I have been telling the same stories over and over to different people every day} I decided to make this little bloggy to keep everyone informed without me getting laryngitis ;).
A lot has happened in the last three months, and most of it was in the last three weeks! Here's a "condensed" recap of our holiday adventures, what felt like a million (worthwhile and amazing) trips over the pass and back, a fantastic christmas, the most low-key new years ever,  a looong road trip and finally arriving in Arizona [and then the million things that have happened since then]!
>>
To start off all of our holiday madness, Paul and I went over the pass to Redmond to see his mom for a night, and have thanksgiving at his dads house! We had such a good time seeing everyone even though we were only there for two days (downside of working retail: no time off during the holidays). We got to catch up with Paul's Granny Ruth, lots of family friends, and spend some time with his sister, Chrissy.

 View of Mt. Hood from our first trip of the season over the pass

Paul's dad's house is an actual log house. So. Cool. 

>Black Friday we jetted back over to Portland for a belated thanksgiving with my parents and the Newcoms, our closest family friends. This one was extra special because Nick, the younger Newcom boy had just flown home from Army training less than 24 hours earlier! It was definitely a day to be thankful for.
>Over the next two weeks, Paul finished up college {WAHOO}, and I worked my last few weeks at Nordstrom. We flew to Arizona for a long weekend to find a house [which we did, more on that later], and to spend some quality time with my cousin Scot, who live in Scottsdale!

>The day we got back to Portland, Paul and I had to move him out of his Corvallis house, and completely pack up and vacate our apartment in Beaverton. It was a veeery long day with more haul trouble than we ever thought possible but somehow we got it all done just in time! {Thanks dad, by the way, for letting us store a whole house's worth of stuff in your garage for a month!}.

Picking out the Christmas tree with my family

>Two days after manically cleaning our apartment in order to get our deposit back, we headed back over to Redmond for Paul's birthday and to spend some quality time with all of his family! We had an amazing week with his mom Jeannie and step-dad, Larry, playing a ridiculous amount of boardgames (which somehow we never got sick of), and taking in the amazing mountain views (which you could never get sick of). We also got to see Paul's dad, Mike, and his step-mom, Kristin, and had such a great time catching up with them!
>Then, it was Paul's 24th birthday! We had a real lazy day (something we hadn't done in over a month!), talking on Jeannie's back porch over coffee and trying to soak up as much Oregon as we could. We had enchiladas and margaritas for dinner (Paul's favorite) and then the two of us went into downtown bend to meet some friends for drinks! It was really fun being able to meet all of Paul's high school friends (who apparently all go to the same bar), and I think it really made his birthday awesome.

told ya, lazy day!

downtown Bend for Paul's birthday

>The next day, we headed back to Portland to spend Christmas eve with my family! My mom was singing in her Church's choir for the evening services, and i think we were all impressed by how talented they are! Definitely the best church choir I've ever heard. You're amazing, mom! After Church we all went back to my Dad's house for an Christmas Eve Sleepover! I made cookies, which were as usual inedible (I cannot bake to save my life, but i love it!), and we all played Sequence. Christmas morning was spent with lots of smiles and laughs, lots of coffee and my mom's famous breakfast casserole, and Paul and I were way too spoiled with so many amazing (and practical!) gifts. We love you guys!

Christmas pic with my pops! Love you, dad.

>Mid-Christmas Day Paul and I loaded up the car (and Penny) and headed back over to central Oregon to spend Christmas day with his families and see everyone one last time before the move.
We went to his Dad's, where Penny had her first introduction to cowboys and horses, and I had a great time meeting all of their family friends and as usual, chatting with Granny Ruth!

Penny, meet Horse. 

>We left Mike's, and went to meet up with the other side of Paul's family at his step-sister's house with Chrissy, Paul's sister. We had a fantastic time at Wendy's, especially with Colton, the biggest dude of a four-year-old and the best nephew ever- watching Colton get gifts from Santa (including his very first big boy bike) was so much fun and really made the day special. We love you all and were so lucky to be able to spend a Christmas with you!! After Christmas was over at Wendy's, Paul, Chrissy and I went back to Mike's, and played poker (and drank) until the sun was almost coming up!!
>The next few days were spent in total recovery mode, hanging out with Chrissy and the rest of Paul's family. It was really special for me to be included in their holiday celebrations, but it was definitely bittersweet because Paul and I knew we wouldn't be seeing them for a long time. On the 27th, we headed back over the pass to Portland one last time...

Our last time driving over the pass

>When we got to Portland, the five days before we moved were spent packing, and repacking, and doing laundry and then doing it again. Luckily my brother Braden had been able to fly home from Chicago for Christmas, so its was really amazing to have my whole family and both of my brothers in the same place at the same time. Along with all of the packing, we tried to see as many of our friends as much as we possibly could before the big move. I loved being able to have all of my people in the same place for so long and it was a really special holiday season for me. New Years rolled around and my mom, being the amazing planner/person that she is, threw Paul and I a going away party/ graduation party/ new years eve/ open house so that we could see everyone before we moved! It was a really incredible (and sober!!) New Years Eve, and it was even more fun because Dave and Brandie Newcom had a sleepover so we got to spend extra time with them!

>New Years Day, Paul and I got our Uhaul and packed it up to maximum capacity! That baby was full! It took hours and hours to tetris it all in, and we had to leave a lot of stuff behind, but we were finally ready to get the show on the road and start our long road trip to Phoenix! That night, my dad threw one last dinner for all of our friends and family so we could actually say goodbye for the last time. All of my people were there, and it was a really special night for me. I love all of you!


Finally, at four in the morning on the 2nd of January, 2014, Paul and I started our move down to Arizona!

Only a true best friend spends the night and wakes up at 4am with you to send you off. 

Love you Schmitty

And here we are! Three weeks post-road trip with a new little pup, a new house, a new truck, new jobs.... new everything! Told ya it was a long story! More to come on the road-trip, getting settled in our house, getting our sweetest little Bear, and life in general!