Water dog.

It has been awhile since I have posted a video or even just a picture of this thing that is so important in my life, Bailey!

Suzi's cackle almost seems a little too evil. Don't leave her alone with your pets...

Anyway, our goal was to slowly introduce Bailey to the water so that she might learn to like it. I've gotten to the point where she will walk down two steps into the water on her own. I of course used food to lure her in - the smell of a liver flavored treat is too pungent for her to resist! Soon she'll be doing laps!

Urbanathlon.

Suzi has convinced me, yet again, to do another challenge: The Men's Health Urbanathlon. It's a nine mile race with obstacles every few miles. A few of the obstacles are monkey bars and going up and down the stairs at Soldier Field. Here's the full list. Even though the challenges seem like fun now, I'm sure I'll be kicking myself for signing up for this while I'm crawling under a cargo net or scaling an 8 or 9 foot wall. Anyone else looking for a challenge?

Weekend.

I have been begging Suzi to come visit me in New Castle and she, Jon and PJ the pug finally did on Friday! Bailey was especially excited to have PJ to play with. While Bailey chased PJ around, Suzi and I made dinner while Joe and Jon played Boom Blox on the Wii. We went for a walk where PJ peed about 10 times in a half mile and then went and got some ice cream. The black raspberry was delicious.

On Saturday, we went to Volant, a small amish town with lots of eclectic stores. Suzi and I both bought some loose tea after trying a sample of it. After some more wandering about we headed back to New Castle. We stopped at a fresh produce stand along the way where Suzi and I bought sweet corn, fresh bread and homemade jam. Jon was off taking pictures of the country side:

New Castle.

Bailey and I picked Joe up from the Cleveland airport around 7 last night and headed straight home to New Castle. Joe hadn't been home for six weeks! It had been about three weeks for me. We are looking forward to getting back to our normal routines for awhile!

Porthouse

I went to the Porthouse Theatre with my parents last night to see a play called The Foreigner. It was a little slow to start out but got funnier along the way and was hilarious by Act II. The Porthouse is a neat place to watch a play since it is an open air theatre. Fresh air and a cool breeze add to the experience.

Separation.

Once again, Joe is staying out in Vegas for a few days longer while I'm back in Ohio. Joe's friend, Bobby, is having his bachelor party in Vegas this weekend. What happens in Vegas... Bob is a poker player and didn't get to play in the World Series this summer so I think he is looking forward to playing some live games. Joe will fly in to Cleveland on Monday and we will head back to New Castle.

Out!

Joe was knocked out yesterday. 7,319 people entered, 747 get paid and Joe was knocked out in around 990th. After over 3 days of playing, it was pretty disappointing to make it so far and not make the money. Maybe next year...

Time for me to head home tomorrow.

Down to one.

Joe was the only one to survive Day 2 - with 73k in chips, he will resume play on Monday. In the meantime, we are getting ready to golf at the South Shores golf course. Hopefully we won't melt in the 100 degree heat and unyielding sun.

Photo Booth

I had to share our photo booth photos from Nicole and Adam's wedding. We had a lot of fun doing these:

Back from San Fran.

We had a nice quick few days in the San Francisco area. Wednesday was a pretty busy schedule of work related items but Thursday we were able to spend enjoying the city. We walked through some of Golden Gate Park - the best part were the Japanese Tea Gardens. We had a good lunch at a Zuni Cafe. I had a delicious thin crust pizza - my mouth waters at the thought of it! We had just enough time to walk around Fisherman's Wharf before we had to head to the airport.

Day 2 of the poker tournament is today. Good luck to Joe and his Dad!

Update.

Joe and his dad both survived Day One of the Main Event! Joe ended with 56k in chips and his dad with 25k. Since there are 3 more Day Ones, they won't be playing again until Friday. In the mean time, we are headed to San Francisco/Santa Clara for some of Mr. Patrick's business.

We're Back, Vegas!

Joe and I flew in to Vegas yesterday afternoon. It was perfect since we were able to have a nice dinner and then watch the fireworks go off over Lake Las Vegas. The show wasn't quite as good as I remember Solon's to be, but it was still enjoyable. Joe, his dad and brother will be playing Day 1 of the Main Event of poker today. We hope they can all make it to Day 2!

Nicole (and Adam's) Wedding!

The past two days have been a lot of fun! We got our nails done on Thursday and then spent Friday getting our hair and make up done for the 4:30 ceremony start. The ceremony was just as beautiful as the bride and I was very excited to be a part of their special day. The reception was great - the DJ did a very good job and the food was tasty. My favorite part was the photo booth. Maybe Nicole can get married again soon...?