KaiserTales

P-Town with the Hizz

Nate’s sister and brother-in-law made the plea waaayyyyy back in September: Who wants to watch Hazel the weekend of Oct. 24? They gave us plenty of notice, and at the time we didn’t have existing plans for that weekend, so we jumped at the excuse to play with our 1-year old niece for a couple of days.

Turns out, there was a LOT going on last weekend: 2 baby showers, a 1-year birthday for a friend’s baby (are you sensing a theme here?)… but we kept our commitment and headed south to Portland. On our way out of town we stopped by my grandparent’s place for dinner. As she answered the door, PoPo said to us, “I’m so glad you’re going to babysit. It’s good practice!” We told her shortly thereafter that we’re getting a puppy, to which she replied, “I knew it. All our grandchildren are getting dogs instead of having kids.”

I think Hazel still qualifies as practice, but I don’t think our new puppy will look like this after he eats his meal:

We had a great time. On Saturday we all got to play together, and since the weather was GORGEOUS, we went to play outside. The Columbia River Gorge is within a short drive from Portland, so we made for the hills… err… glacial-carved landscape.

Then we went to visit a prehistoric, gigantic fish named Herman. I kid you not. He’s old, he’s huge, and he’s ugly.

On Sunday, it was just us and the Hizz. We went to a coffee shop — she charmed all the coffeehouse guests. We carved a pumpkin — she wasn’t at all interested in the process. We took her to a minor-friendly bar — because we’re the aunt and uncle, and can do that

Nate didn’t get any work done, but he didn’t really expect to. And we had a great weekend in P-town.

Gorgeous autumn colors

Going Galt

I’ve been asking for a dog for over a year. Ask anyone. Friends, parents, siblings, even random acquaintances know it: Marissa wants a dog.

It probably started with Shacka, a rescued German Shepherd taken in by our friends, Rex and Sharon.

Shacka the dog

Rex’s daughter, Stephanie, ended up being the perfect parent for Shacka, but I seriously considered taking Shacka home. Nate and I visited the King County Animal Shelter on a couple of occasions, and while it’s a heart-warming experience to see how well these animals are cared for, it’s also a heart-breaking experience to learn about how they were abandoned… So many of them were pit bulls, over-bred and under-wanted.

Last summer, Nate looked at me after a returning from a trip to Texas and said, “I’ve been thinking… If you still want a dog, we can get one.” But the funny thing was, I didn’t really want a dog at that moment. Summer was upon us, and I wanted to pursue other things.

Then last weekend, as the fall colors and cool weather made it known that Autumn was squarely upon us, it hit me again: I want a dog! So we talked about it. Nate even went to the shelter again; too many pit bulls. And then I saw it on Facebook (the best medium for convincing one’s husband that everyone is doing it and we should too): Molly Smith picked out a golden retriever puppy from a litter of eleven. HOW DO I GET ONE?!?

To my surprise, Nate helped me contact the Smith’s, and Bob and Pan gave me the 4-1-1 on the breeder, the litter, and the their choice of pup. We were at the breeder’s within 2-days, picking out ours.

Ladies and Gentlemen, meet Galt:

Galt the puppy

Let’s hear it… Awwwwwwww!!!! I know. Too cute, right? Nate picked the name after a character in Atlas Shrugged: John Galt. If you didn’t know it already, Nate’s a bit of an Aynn Rand fan, libertarian values and all. He has another blog that he created and contributes to regularly: www.CallingJohnGalt.com <Leftist liberals beware! Content may ignite anger and frustration! –I should know. And I don’t even read it.>

But back to the puppy… err, puppies. HOLY MOLY, are eleven puppies cuuuuuttteee! The litter is five boys and six girls. Mom was looking trim and spry, especially for having birthed so many babies seven weeks prior.

Nearly weened, the puppies were all housed together in a warm shed. They’re up for adoption, but new parents will wait one more week before they can be taken home.

Since the Smith’s had picked out one of the boys, we had four boys and all six girls to choose from. “Galt” was already the determined name, so we chose our little boy, and damn is he a sweetheart. I’m sure he’ll grow up to be a well-behaved, masculine golden retriever (fingers crossed–we’re taking names for good trainers in Ballard), but for now he’s our sweetheart.

We bring him home on Friday. I can’t wait.

(Video disclaimer: the breeder calls our pup “Zeus,” so that’s what I’m calling him. This dog already has a history of strong names… and he’s only 7-weeks old!)

Post-vacation blues

We’re home… And it’s great to be home… But I miss Hawaii and the relaxation of the days in Kona. We had soooooo much fun on vacation, and I could go back in a heartbeat. I highly recommend Hawaii–any island in Hawaii–to anyone who wants a vacation. We spent three nights in Waikiki on the island of Oahu and a whole week in Kona on the Island of Hawaii.

Quick geography lesson:

Map of the state of Hawaii, in case you who were curious

• The state of Hawaii is made up of eight islands.
• Oahu is the island where the state capital is located (Honolulu) and the home of the world famous Waikiki Beach. Don Ho, the Society of Seven (shout out to my Uncle Wayne, long time band member!), and Japanese tourists reside along Waikiki.
• The “Big Island” is actually called Hawaii, so there’s Hawaii the island that’s part of Hawaii the state. Get it?

Nate and I visited Oahu, and then we flew to Hawaii. By the way, have I mentioned how much inter-island travel sucks? IT SUCKS. The planes all come in miniature… about 1/8th smaller than a regular plane, so there 1/8th less leg room, 1/8th less overhead space, and zero places for carry-on luggage. Which means you need to check them. Which means you need to pay to check them. We were frustrated to learn that our carry-on sized bags would still cost us $20, cuz their planes are “smaller.”

… I digress…

Once we landed in Kona, all frustrations with GO! Airlines passed (stupid Midwest outfit…) and we hopped into the Jeep that Brian and Jen rented. The Jeep kicked ass, and Brian and Jen kicked even bigger ass for choosing it over the P.T. Cruiser. We made a beeline for Costco where made the best investment decision of the trip: snorkel gear for $80. Hours of tropical fish, coral reef and sea turtle viewing pleasure: priceless!

So here are some pics of our good times on land. We don’t have an underwater camera, so there’s no pics of said tropical fish, coral reefs or sea turtles. Sorry. Deal with it. This other pics are still awesome.