March/April....BUSY BUSY BUSY!!!

I know I have been MIA lately.
Life has decided to see how far we can stretch.
But let me fill you in on a few highlights of the past few weeks:

1. Spending free time at the parks

Nick and I are definitely fortunate to live near and work for Disney. We love to go and play in the parks on our days off together. We go to Magic Kingdom to catch the fireworks. We indulge in international cuisine at EPCOT. We  take a ride on Tower of Terror and Rockin' Rollercoaster at Hollywood Studios.

  We always take a safari ride at Animal Kingdom (plus, Expedition Everest is Nick's favorite).

We go mini golfing on at Disney's Fantasia Gardens Mini Golf.

2. Rilo is growing fast. I took her to the vet last week to find out she is 17 pounds heavy and perfectly healthy. 17 POUNDS?!?!?! I swear she doubles in size every week. We have been patiently addressing her puppy-biting problem. She is potty trained, crate trained, she sits and is learning to walk nicely on a leash.

3. My 22nd Birthday!!! Nick and I both had to work on the actual day of my birth, so when both of us were off we went to EPCOT and had dinner at Biergarten in Germany. It was Sooooo great!! I loved it! Then on Thursday, when both of us were off of work, we had some real fun! Breakfast in bed was followed by a little shopping and then a trip to the Bob Carr Theatre to see WICKED! It was a really thoughtful day and I love my husband for taking the time to make my birthday special. You really can't go wrong if you take me to the theatre. And Nick loved the show as well!

I received the sweetest card from my littlest sister-in-law.

Nick and I came home from dinner to find a cake and decorations made for me by our roommates.

Princess!!

 I love my Disney Birthday Pin!

 We are swamped and struggling, but we are making the best of it. School and full-time work, puppy and a house to keep clean, etc. are really challenging our patience. But we are taking everything one day at a time....and finding ways to enjoy life!

Our Newest Addition

Everyone, meet Rilo.

She is a 2 month-old Australian Shepard/Hound mix from a local shelter.





















Rilo is a ball of excitement, curiosity, and love. She isn't incredibly vocal, but she is teething....BAD. She must attempt to chew everything in sight. However, thanks to this she has become very familiar with "NO" and what it means.


We are crate training her. This is ultimately the easier way to potty train dogs. For now, we are still dealing with her lack of love for the crate. She would much rather sleep in bed with Mom and Dad. But I have started giving her meals in her crate and she has toys and a bed that go in with her.
























I find myself reluctant to leave her. Truthfully, I haven't. Not yet. Fortunately, I am in-between jobs this week so I have plenty of free time. And we are not the only ones in the house, so she will rarely be alone.

I can be very controlling. It is not a proud trait of mine. But when something is important to me, it is difficult for me to trust others with it. I have been very specific with Nick and our roommates about behavior that is and is not acceptable with Rilo. Everyone is on board and loves her already. How could you not??

Cute as she is, she is still really young and equally as exhausting. Nick has been great about sharing the responsibilities with me and allowing me to get the occasional break. Puppies are very time consuming, but Rilo is our family now. We love the joy she has brought into our home. She is a happy dog who is excellent at keeping us on our toes. 

I am really dedicated to training Rilo and having a well-behaved and social dog. I plan to keep you all posted on my progress with her.