We had some amazingly beautiful weather today and we took full advantage of it by getting a lot of work done around the yard and the outside of the house. Lydia loved being able to be outside! There was a big ceramic bowl (Kaizer's empty water dish) that was outside under the deck and she would go back and forth from the rocked area by the trees to the bowl and put one rock in the bowl at a time. I think she really felt like she was being a big helper! She was so happy and proud of herself. Of course quite a few rocks and twigs had to go into her mouth and Daddy about had a heart attack each time but I think we will be okay. :)
The yard is now free of dog poop, leaves & twigs! It is mowed and trimmed with the weed eater and our front door is refinished with a fresh coat of poly. I also cleaned up the rock area of our back yard and got all the leaves and twigs and debris cleaned up and bagged. Hopefully we can make it to the dump sometime soon to get rid of everything.
We didn't turn the sprinklers on yet, I think Ryan wants to wait until the beginning of June to do that. I still need to tend my flower/rose bush area in the front yard too and get that all cleaned up. After the 1st I am going to take Lydia with me to go pick out some flowers so we can plant a flower pot outside together. I am sure she will enjoy smelling all the flowers. She loves to do that.
Hopefully we can fix our dead grass spots in the front and back yard too. It is hard in the back because of Kaizer. He has an area all the way in the back that he runs back and forth on and we can never seem to get it to grow there as well as the spot at the bottom of the deck stairs, even with high traffic grass. Ryan mentioned maybe just putting some stones down there or something. I think that is a good idea.
Next weekend we will be taking a trip to Denver to celebrate our 7th wedding anniversary (a little early I know), visit some friends and hopefully pick up an engine and transmission for Ryan's fixer upper truck. Ryan and I are going to take Friday off to pack and get everything ready so we can leave bright and early on Saturday morning. I made some calls this week to some kennels to see about getting Kaizer a place to stay but the two I was considering are booked so we are on a waiting list. The only place I really feel comfortable with him staying is the Camelot Pet Castle though. Its nicer and not so much like a traditional kennel. I think we will buy him a nice dog house and just keep him outside most of the time we are gone and have a pet sitter come and take him for a walk each day and make sure he has food and water.
We will be traveling to Laramie first where we made reservations at the Hilton Garden Inn. We got the Romance Package which includes sparkling wine and breakfast brought to our room. I also arranged for there to be a crib in our room when we arrive. This will be Lydia's first overnight trip. I am planning on bringing her crib sheet and bumper to put in the cribs at the hotels, it will give her a sense of comfort and familiarity I think, so I am hoping she will have no problems sleeping all through the night in the crib. We will be visiting our friends Michael & Lee Ann Lucas. Lee Ann just had a precious baby boy on May 5th and we are very excited to meet little William Anthony for the first time.
Sunday morning we will head to Denver and spend the day there shopping and having fun. We bought tickets to visit the Denver Zoo, I hope Lydia enjoys it!! I will be sure to take pictures of her reactions to everything. We will take her to the Children's Museum when we come back in July. Sunday night we will be staying in Westminster at the Westin Hotel. I can't wait to stay there, it looks amazing! We will have a really nice dinner at 7pm Sunday night at "O's" Resturant located inside our hotel. It has amazing reviews and I am excited to try it. If everything works out okay we will pick up Ryan's engine that night (also in Westminster) and then stop at Whole Foods on Monday morning and then head home. I am very excited about our very first family vacation and I hope everything goes smoothly. I'll be sure to post pictures when we get back. :)
