Don't forget about this little guy!!

BIFF

Walked into the spare bedroom (AKA Joey's man room and Biff's room) and this is what I saw!

It looks like he is sitting down and trying to look out the window!! Such a cutie!

Finally--he's starting to get it!

Since Duke has been a puppy we have been trying to play fetch with him but he is not interested. He will run after what we throw but doesn't bring it back or if he does he runs away from you!

This past week, Joey had taken Duke outside when all of a sudden I hear him yelling my name. I run out on the patio and Joey says, "watch this." He has a football, which is throws and Duke chases after it AND yes he brings it back!!!! Very exciting for us! Another thing for us to do with the little guy that tires him out!!

Duke

So yesterday, Duke had a doctors appointment. The last time Duke went to the doctor he weighed 28 pounds and that was a week and half ago. Yesterday the big boy weighed

34.1 pounds!

He is getting so big so fast!

Here is a picture of me holding Duke right before we left.

Here are 2 pictures of me holding him now so you can see just how big he actually is getting!

Overall, Duke's doctor appointment went well! He got 4 shots, including his rabies! The doctor said we have a very healthy puppy!

Some other big news about our little buddy, is that he has lost 4 teeth with 1-2 more loose! He is already starting to get his grown-up teeth where he lost his baby ones! He lost the 4 that kids usually lose first too, the ones right in front! He is super nuts, drooling and always needing to have something in his mouth-including our hands!

AND

About 3 times now we have witnessed Duke lifting his leg when he goes pee!! Haha--he really is growing up!!

Ross's come for a visit!

As I said in the last blog, the past week has been filled with friends, family, and lots of exploring: the best part family!

The Ross's came to visit us this past week and it was AWESOME!
It felt so GREAT to be around family again, hard to put into words how AMAZING it felt!

We had so much fun exploring, but the best part was just hanging out and laughing together!

It was so great to see Mom and Dad Ross so relaxed and so excited to be here with us! We had a very busy week showing them the many sights of TX. We of course went down to the riverwalk, walked around & took a boat tour which was very cool. And of course had a few margaritas. You can't go down to the riverwalk and not have a margarita, it just isn't right!

Some other things that we did were:
-took Dukey swimming in Austin and to the doggy park
-went to the San Antonio Zoo..very cool

-went swimming in our pool with drinks in our hands

-went out to eat to the best Mexican restaurant and to a pub
-saw the Alamo

-took some walks.

The only thing that Mom did not get was her cowboy.

As great as the visit was it unfortunately came to an end! It was very difficult to see them go! Even Duke had a hard time, he kept going to the bedroom door and whining! He missed his Papa who became his buddy instantly!

Thanks for such a great week Mom and Dad Ross! We miss you and love you lots!

New Friends

So the past week and half has been filled with new friends, family, and lots of exploring!

Joey and I with Shamu

First, the weekend before last Jared, one of Joey's friends from Washington this summer came for a visit! He lives in Houston and is a Chaplin in the army and is studying to become a priest! He was so awesome to hangout with, which shouldn't of surprised me because there hasn't been a friend of Joey's that I haven't liked.

Because he was born and raised in Texas he was very familiar with the San Antonio area and showed us some really cool spots and gave us a list of fun things to do in the area!

We had a very busy weekend of going down and having fun on the riverwalk, SeaWorld, and lots of margaritas!

Weekend in Austin

In about a month and half, Joey and I will have been married for 1 year!!! AHHHH I can't believe it! So because on our anniversary Joey will be just starting his next phase of training and my parents will be here as well. So I decided to surprise him early with tickets to the Texas Longhorn Football Game in Austin, TX as an anniversary gift. Since I have known Joey he has always been a big fan of them and so I have been planning on doing this for him since I found out that we would be in Texas on our anniversary! Unfortunately, it ended up not being a surprise because he was looking at the bank account and found out! Oh well, still fun!

Because we have Duke I knew we would need to get a hotel because it would be to long for him to be in his crate. So I planned out the entire day and night to be spent in Austin. There is this park that I had heard about in Austin that is a dog park but is by water too. So I planned for us to leave early on Saturday to take Duke to this park so we could really tire him out and take him swimming again as well!

This park is AWESOME!! We love it and wish we could take Duke there everyday! It is an absolutely perfect place to take your dog when you are just starting to get them used to water! Duke gets nervous when he is around water, he is not sure what to make of it. But at this park he is so busy running around chasing other dogs that when they jump in the water so does he! Freaked him out at first, but eventually he got used to it! Very fun to watch him because he just bounces around everywhere, he could of stayed there all day!

Here are some pictures of our big swimmer!

Then that night we went to the Game. They ended up winning by a lot and we had a blast! It was our first college football game and it was awesome! Loved it...we hope to someday be able to go to a Wisconsin game now!

Here are some pictures from the game:

Doggy Park

Taking Duke to the doggy park is probably one of my favorite things to do here so far! I love how excited he gets once he knows we are there, he pretty much drags us to the gate. It is so fun to watch him explore, play with other dogs, and just watch him interact with other people.
It is also the one place that he does not care how hot it is outside, he just plays!

On our way to the park!

Duke now loves to stick his head out the window, but we have to hold onto him because I am pretty sure he would jump out!

1st thing Duke does as soon as we take his leash off is run to the water bowls. Before he can play he has to take a drink from every bowl and there are usually at least 5 right by the water fountain. And he does this of course because the water in one bowl might taste completely different from the others. Such a goof ball!

This is one of the obstacles they have at the park for the dogs to play on. When we first started coming we had to lift Duke up onto it, but now he can jump up himself as long as he starts from where he and Joey are standing. Every once in awhile though he will try to jump up from the side and he doesn't make it and falls back. Funny to watch because he thinks he is such a big boy and you can see his confidence go down after his tumble. The other day he had his 1st boo boo, he bit his tongue all the way thru and was bleeding for awhile. 1st accident at the doggy park!

We love our Dukey Duke!

My Rock

Everyday I fall more and more in love with Joey! But I am not going to lie I have had a very hard time adjusting to this very different lifestyle we are now living. I was so excited to start this adventure that the last thing I expected was for me to have as difficult as a time as I am having. We are about 1500 miles away from WI, still in the U.S. but I sometimes feel like I am living in a foreign country. Everything seems so different to me from what I am used to. But the one thing that stays constant in my life is Joey. We have always been surrounded by family, which is awesome and what I miss the most for sure, but the one thing I am learning is that Joey is MY FAMILY. Sure I miss our parents and family tons, but home is where Joey is! No matter how tough this transition is for me, there is no place I would rather be then with Joey! He is my family, my life. The one thing that I am learning is that sure we are away from our families and friends, but now Joey and I can concentrate on us and making us a family! We are each other rocks and he has definitely been mine through this major transition, he has been so patient and I am so thankful for him, not sure how I got so lucky. But everyday I thank God for bringing him into my life and everyday I fall more and more in love with him! Thank you Joey for everything!

Best day of my life, because I married my best friend! I can't imagine life without you!

What do I do????

So I am sure that some of you wonder what I do during my days when Joey is at work? Well believe it or not I actually have kept very busy so far. Duke definitely keeps me very busy with all of his energy! Here are some of the things I have been doing to keep me busy until it is time to pick Joey up from work!

• My favorite is definitely taking Duke to the doggy park! Very fun for him and it tires him out!!
• Make lots of phone calls--taking care of business
• Take Duke for walks
• Lots of unwanted visits to the dentist because I cracked my tooth & had to get a root canal--terrible
• organize the apartment--clean apartment
• drop & pick Joey up
• Duke and I meet Joey for Lunch
• At about 3pm a couple times a week, our neighbors who have 2 small kids, their 2 years old knocks on our door to see if Duke can play! So Duke chases him around the complex while I get to talk to someone! We plan to hang out sometime without the kids and dogs! But I really enjoy this time with them! My first new friends in TX.
• Sometimes I go to the pool and lay out, swim, & read in the pool
• I also try to go and work out

So those are some of the things that I do to keep myself busy! I have applied for a few jobs and hope to get a sub job so I have a flexible schedule for when our parents come to visit!

Duke playing at the doggy park! Couldn't figure out how to get in but once we put him in there he loved it and goes in here a lot! Goofy dog!

And this is why I take him to the doggy park & on walks because he sleeps after for a long time and I can get lots of stuff done!