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New girl on the block

What is in a name???? Whenever we get a new puppy for Guide Dogs for the Blind we always see if we can guess the name before they get here. I always offer a prize ... but I don't think anyone has EVER been ever to guess one yet. But this one I'm sure we would have never came up with. Let's see if I can remember some of the names we guessed:

Scott said Nellie. Kate and John had a list, but Namby Pamby was their first choice. Melissa said Nala, while Amy and John guessed Nevada, Nelly, but Amy loved Nibbles etc, etc, etc. I personally was hoping for Natalya or Nadia .... BUT it never works out the way I think it should!

IT IS NIGELLA!!!! Now why didn't we think of that????!!!??? Named after a famous British food critic (female). She's on the food channel I guess all the time, but since I get to cook all the time, I don't really watch the food channel. The name comes from Nigella Lawson's combination of her fathers name, Nigel, and her mothers name Vanessa. Personally I think Nanessa would have been a better choice! I think Nigella sounds like something we saw in high school biology when we looked at swamp water under the microscope:(

But let me tell you she is a cutie. And here she is!

So of Bevy, Jean, Belinda, Amelia, Hailey, Violet, Adele, Thistle, Mollie, Dora, and Elena I think maybe Nigella is the most original (but Thistle was in the running also!)

they tie the knot (matador horns?)

On Wedding Eve in Cabo the Great Aunt Julie (which she loves to be known as) hosted a wonderful dinner at Mi Casa eatery. So much fun with Mariachi band, and the waiters really played it up by giving Amy a spanish conquistador hat and then made bull horns for John out of his napkin. Here are some of my fav pics of that night. Thanks Jules and Muriel ... so much good food and fun memories!

To the Dump

Look at my poor little car! This thing weighed a ton! Literally!!! It took 2 men to lift the 1 1/2 foot pieces of branch (so demeaning to just call it a branch). Zach called it family bonding. We love you Zach. Thanks for coming to our rescue. Even though we didn't let you use the chainsaw without health insurance!!!!

The BIG TREE

Grandpa has a tree. A BIG TREE!!! And let's just say the there have been few wind storms in the area lately. So when I walked around the back of his house .... I kept saying .... "This is a job for professionals!!!!! This is a job for professionals!!!!!" Why does no one ever listen to me????? Well here are the pros ... Scott, Zach and Kim to the rescue.

I had 911 on speed dial the whole time. Luckily I had to go get lunch at the very last couple of cuts or the 911 would have had to be for me. The diameter of the tree at its base is 27 plus feet.

This is the tree that has shaded all the family gatherings, the volleyball games, the river floaters, etc. In fact Kim said that growing up he never even thought summer was hot, because between this trees shade and the river that runs behind their house it was a kid's paradise. Unfortunately it had to have a major trim.

Next time we need to call the PROFESSIONALS. (I think it is testosterone or something that makes guys want to cut things up???? Don't get it! At all!!!

A Red Hot Time

We're winding down with the time we have with Elena and taking every moment to get pictures of her so we can remember how sweet she is. Last night we visited the local fire station as a puppy club ... at the end of the visit we had a photo shoot! I love this picture on the front of the fire truck!

Mean Mother Nature

Mother Nature played a mean April Fools trick last night, and here it is!

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