wil and kris (and gracie and ava)

it’s been some time since a post…well it’s been some time since i’ve actually had a chance to sit down for more than a few minutes. i can’t believe it’s already october (ok, almost). upon walking into kroger last night, wil and i saw a huge display of christmas. what?! but more so, i just can’t believe it’s already saturday. this week has flown by- it seems like i was just having dinner with mom.

we had a great weekend- i loved having mom here, and even though we didn’t do anything too touristy or out of the ordinary, it was so nice that she just lived our daily life with us a for a while. having our good friends cassie and mike over, shopping, sitting out with gracie at starbucks, taking a walk to the dog park, going to church, and meeting our community group, among other things. mom- i am so glad you hopped out here for a bit. i loved ‘hosting’ you (even if gracie had to be your roommate) and had a wonderful time!

one day while mom, gracie and i brought dinner to wil at work, a dog on a motorcycle pulled up to the light where we were sitting…ok there was a man on that motorcycle as well, but it was hard to not laugh and gasp at this sight- a dog, with goggles, balancing without a belt or seat, looking at us as her owner sped away. we found out as they waited she’s traveled 16000 miles, at only a year and a half old! i’d say you had to be there- but alas, she has her own website. it was too unique of a sight to not tell anyone.
anyways, once a guest leaves, it’s nice to have a day or two to get things back to normal- do some dishes, put the house back in place, follow up on some laundry, etc. i feel like i am just now able to do that this weekend- with a few days in a row where i was out the door at 9 and not home till 10. on top of my full days, wil worked a few nights in a row, leaving gracie at home to entertain herself. finally last night wil and i got to relax and enjoy the evening in the kitchen, baking,- all the while gracie kept looking at us like, “you’re finally home again?”

and now, as gracie sleeps, exhausted from playing at the dog park to immediately being thrown in the tub, i am making my to do list for the rest of the afternoon. laundry, picking up the house, and a bit of homework seem to be the major things. oh what an exciting weekend.

-kris

p.s. our new windows are in! well, all but the sliding door, and they also have to be finished out on the outside, but otherwise they are fantastic!

Edit: I got the video hosted on Google Video… which is probably the safest and fastest version.  here is the link… enjoy the video!  -wil

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=5758376983283377743&hl=en 

I decided that i would sit down and compile some of the videos kris and i took of gracie. She is such a nut and does some pretty dorky, and sometimes pretty cool things. Take a look, and let me know if it doesn’t load or something. I uploaded the movie to google video and it should be available in a couple days; i’ll also tell kristen to post it in her youtube account. I’ll let you know when those are up and where they can be found.

-wil

for windows users:

gracie.avi

gracie.wmv (windows media)

gracie.mpg

for those mac users:

gracie.mov

go usc!!! wil and i finally got ourselves some t-shirts to represent…you like, dad?

A few days ago kris noticed something perched on the wall, watching our every move. A cricket was just hanging out checking on us. He must’ve found his way inside somehow and has been perusing about ever since.

I usually find him crawling around at night on a wall, the cieling, the kitchen floor…. and the coffee table. I was watching SNL tonight when something hopped up onto the table to join me. He walked around on the table before finding the ice cream dishes for a midnight snack. I decided to snap a few pictures before heading off to bed and bidding goodnight to our new pet. I hope to see you around soon, friend.

-wil

I was perusing around the internet today and i came across a video. Now, i’m not one to rise up for my country in a patriotic way, and i don’t get teary when they sing ‘God Bless America’ at every single baseball game… but this video was incredible. On the 5th anniversary of 9/11, this couple decided to release a video of what they saw from their window. It’s the same scene we’ve all seen a thousand times by now, but from a very new perspective. Be aware that the images you see may bring you distress. Here are a few words from bob and barb:

5 years ago today, we watched and filmed the attack on the WTC out of the window of our home, 36 floors up and 500 yards away from the North Tower. Releasing this tape was a difficult decision for us because of its emotional and personal and the potential for misuse. We feel, however, that our uniqe perspective has an important historical value, and shows the horror of the day without the sountracks or hype often seen in other accounts. Please be respectful of the contents of this account and be aware that some may find the scenes on this video very disturbing. Please share only in its entirety. -Bob and Barb

here is a link to the video

here is where you can download the video

thanks for all your concern…grace is doing great. she’ll be a bit of a “special needs” child for a while, but as of today, she’s doing everything the doctor said she’s not allowed to do (run, jump, play, etc)!!! she’s also seem to forgotten the “rules” around the house, since she was treated like a queen for the last 3 days…(”huh, what does ’sit’ mean?”, “what do you mean stop barking?”, “what’s this familiar word ‘no’ mean?”) but hey, if she plans on acting like a normal healthy dog again, we plan on treating her like one!

but here’s the big change since starting the medicine…before (our paralyzed pup!):

and after (so much for a good shot- she is jumping at me and the camera right here):

and just to report, since gracie’s issues have taken the front burner…wil and i are doing great.

*what we thought was a uti was much more…after back and forth visits to the vet with gracie only getting worse with more pain and “lameness”, and after bloodwork and xrays, we found out she has been diagnosed with HOD. although incredibly heartbreaking to find out (it was the worst of the three scenarios we thought might be plaguing her) upon finding this out and starting her anti-inflammatory meds, she is doing beautifully. based on the way she’s acted the last few days, when i received the orders from the vet to keep her rested with no running/stairs/jumping i almost chuckled to myself knowing it would take every effort to just get her to get up. but from the moment i picked her up, to coming home, seeing wil and re-discovering the house, she’s been so perky, happy and energetic! it’s made both wil and i feel sooo good to know that even though she’s got some serious issues to control, she’s no longer in such pain and is on the road to stomping this thing out. let’s hope the recovery continues like tonight and she gets better and better every day! we will try and keep her progress posted…thanks for all your online concerns for her!* (that’s the end of the update….old news below)

wil and i had a bit of a scare last night when gracie decided to stop moving and not get up when we called her…only getting up if we lifted her up and put her on her feet. of course, worried about every worst case scenario i caught myself watching emergency vets and looking online to see how she might be dying.

i took her to the vet today and found (although not completely confirmed by test results in the office) that she was running a fever of 104 and has a urinary tract infection. after a shot of antibiotics and a packet of more to take over the next few days, we left the office with instructions to just keep a watch on her.

with a bit of focus on what her symptoms are, and some research online, we’re pretty convinced of her diagnosis. she’s burning up, pretty immovable, and straining to squat… but we’ve seen her tail wag a couple times today, so we think that’s a good sign! please keep our gracie in your thoughts as she has truly become our baby!