a smattering of saturday

i want to start taking more pictures of randomness like i used to.  so expect to see a lot more of me and my camera, and a lot more pictures :)

there are several things i've been meaning to take pictures of and post lately, namely some of the really cool stuff anita has sent us, and a lamp that nina & john gave me :)

here are some of the things anita sent us for easter - really cool citrusy/fruit place mats (the grapefruit matched our candy dish perfectly!)  the flipside has a different fabric in the same color family for each of those little strips (you can see it better on the carrot below):

ps:  those cadbury eggs in that candy dish are the best easter candy EVER.

isn't she talented?  shouldn't she sell this stuff??

next, when john and frank drove down from PA they brought a few things that are harder to take by plane.  one of those things was a lamp that was previously at the river house in the room that nate and i stay in.  i love it!  it was previously nate's nana's lamp.

annnd finally, just a few random pics from our saturday.  cleo was particularly patient with my photos today. 

saturday is also a great time for a nap:

but once i left her alone, she headed straight back to her daddy!

and another random sidenote, april is my favorite month in the cleo calendar :)

cleo calendars have been shipped!

every year, i swear off even doing the cleo calendar because..let's face it, the dog only has one facial expression.  but i think this year is my favorite :)  and we already started taking a few photos for next year, so the plan is to do it for at least one more year!

happy birthday cleo!

for cleo's birthday, she received a 'pup'cake that sarah and i found at this cute little dog bakery and 2 new bones (one from us, one from aunt sarah & uncle ryan) :) she also got lots of attention from nate and i all day (like that would differentiate the day...) here is the pupcake:


cleo discovering what it is:


loved the frosting!


i think this is where the panic that we might take it away from her set in:


all done and checking for crumbs!


hope you enjoy your next birthday cake as much as cleo enjoyed hers :)

go steelers!

FINALLY today i'll get to watch my first game this season! (i've missed the past 4 games for a variety of reasons)

everyone in this family wants to be a guitar player...

cleo has a little box of nate's guitar picks in her mouth...she doesn't want to chew on them or anything, in fact they're only halfway in her mouth. she just wants nate to chase her :) which he is. she's hilarious :) they're both running laps around the house, we usually can't catch her without the help of the other!

she stole them while nate was helping me learn guitar ;) i better go help him catch her! goodnight! :)

miss bella boo

cleo's new friends

so it was a little difficult to get them to sit still, and i definitely didn't get a group shot, but here are the dogs that cleo's been hanging around with this weekend :)

colt:

and nittany:

dog central!

we're dogsitting this weekend for 2 dogs plus our usual resident canine, cleo. it's been pretty entertaining! cleo has never seemed to understand how to play with other dogs and she usually ends up growling and making a whole lot of noise that scares them instead of encouraging them to play with her. not so with this bunch! colt is a french bulldog and nittany is a mix of several things (i'll have to post a pic, she looks sort of like a tall fox). but because nittany is used to the frenchie growl, she just plays right along with cleo. right now they are chasing each other in figure eights around the couch. it's nice for cleo to have some entertainment ;)

nate's been out of town TONS lately! which is good that he's busy at work and that lots of that time has been in PA so he's been able to see family and friends. the only downside is that he's not here with me! i' ve been keeping busy though, been working late some and also working on catching up on photos. i also (and this is embarrassing) have been playing a whole lot of the sims2 and some stupid game on facebook that cassie and i have both reluctantly gotten addicted to ;)

this weekend, nate's brother (and lots of others from his company) will be in town for a conference. so we'll be spending time with him which will be fun :) i'm hoping to challenge him to a round of dr. mario! i think the band is getting together sometime today too.

have a great weekend!

i feel like ari's disapproving look is appropriate here ;) i am six months behind on pictures! totally unacceptable! i'm on a mission to get them all published asap so you'll see more action on our smugmug site than there has been in awhile! i'm working from current events and going backwards for now. have a good wednesday ;)

cleo digs the porch

she loves to sit next to us on the couch, or also the ottoman which we thought we purchased for putting our feet up but turns out to be cleo's location of choice when nate and i are both sitting on the couch :)

cleo and her party hat

if you haven't been to nate's blog to see his post about cleo and how she reacts to her party hat (i don't know the technical name, but the big cone collar they put on dogs so they can't mess with themselves) -- go watch the video! it's not action packed at all, but i've never seen that dog stand so still. as soon as we put it on her, she freezes and seems to only be able to go in reverse. poor thing! we only put it on her when she won't quit licking though, don't worry!

allergic to florida?

cleo has been super itchy and scratchy lately so nate took her to the vet this morning. apparently she could be allergic to dust... grass...her toys...we don't even know what! apparently the longer we live in florida, the worse it will get. we're supposed to spray her paws twice a day with some allergy stuff, give her benadryl, weekly baths, etc. hopefully she feels better soon!

i think cleo likes the band

nate and some friends have started a band, they practiced on friday night. cleo was particularly interested in the sound when they trilled on the keyboard ;)

cleo says hi!

cleo protects me when nathan is gone :)

like i could resist...

taking photos of miss ari ;)

i haven't forgotten about my favorite photo subject

miss cleo :)

happy valentine's day!

hmm.. does valentine(')s have an apostrephe? is that how you spell apostrophe? obviously i am tired. regardless, cleo wishes you a happy one, however you spell it!

ari, the new terror in the family :)

here's my new niece, ari-- more to come :)

this my friends, is a dog who loves her daddy