Happy Birthday Bindi!

Yesterday was Bindi's 1st Birthday!

We actually don't have an exact date of Bindi's birth since she was born under her breeder's house and they think the pups were a few days old when they found them... so we chose the 29th (close enough, right?) to celebrate because it's also the anniversary of the day we met...through our second favorite Border Collie Nel!

Follow me?

I'll break this down by pictures:



So this is me three years ago with my puppy friend Nel. Some friends and I decided to be sneaky and use a puppy to make ourselves stand out at a regional YSA activity. Come on, there was going to be hundreds of people there, gotta make a statement...



...and it worked! He asked me "her name", I said mine, and the love story went up from there! This picture is also from that night...little did we know we just met the person we were going to marry!



A couple of years later, we decided to honor the border collie that brought us together by getting one of our own. We saw this picture in a KSL ad for border collie puppies and just hoped the one in the middle was still available...



...and we adopted her and named her Bindi! We were supposed to wait until Christmas to take her home, but that was too long so we got her Thanksgiving weekend 2009. This picture was taken at Bindi's first Flyball Tournament (love the pink poodle scrubs!).



And now Bindi and Nel are besties! Well, kind of. They're on the same Flyball team and we've babysat Nel and her brother Roo, so they do see each other quite a bit. I think Nel sees Bindi as the annoying little kid that just bugs her, but now that they're competing with each other as teammates, I hope they get along better!

So Happy Birthday Bindi! We love her so much and are so happy she came to live with us and be our pseudo-kid. And yes, make fun of me all you want, but I did wrap her present, make her homemade dog treats, and invite our friends Rebecca and Jared over for dinner so they would bring her friend Alfred to play with!

Answers to that awkward question...

"When are you having kids?"

This question comes in two forms. The first form, I don't mind. "When are you having kids" is a genuine curiosity, much like "Where are you from" or "Where do you work?". The reason I don't mind this version is because when I give the typical "after we graduate," people usually respond positively and tell us we're smart to wait. The joking variety of this is okay too, I can laugh it off.

The second form drives me nuts. "When are you having kids" can really be interpreted as "Why haven't you had kids yet?" This version is asked by those who are concerned for the welfare of your soul, because obviously if you don't have kids at this very moment, you're not on par with "The Plan" (LDS lingo, but I'm sure other religions have something along the lines of it). Or they're just nosy and judgmental elderly Relief Society ladies.

This version also bothers me because it is insensitive to those who may be struggling with infertility issues. There are actually people out there who believe the parents must be sinners if they don't have children, and considering there is a large amount of people who really cannot have children, this is a rude way of thinking and not Christ-like at all.

The longer Judd is and I remain childless, the more often I hear this question. And after talking to many friends, both married, engaged, LDS, non-LDS, I've decided it's a nagging epidemic. It's even an issue for my friends who have at least one kid, people are so anxious for them to have more! So I decided to write this blog to provide some clever responses for my friends and for myself!

So..."When are you having kids?" (the naggy, you're an awful person for not having kids at the moment version)

~"What is your Social Security number?" This can be substituted with "Are you happy with your marriage" or "How much do you weigh," any super personal response question works. Thanks Mr. Geiger for that little gem!

~"Obviously we're not doing something right, can you give us some tips or suggestions?" Awkward, but this one came from my dad, who apparently actually used this all the time before I came around.

~"We're practicing." Everyone's heard that one, but I would love to actually see it used.

~"I'm really busy raising a puppy, three sugar gliders, and two turtles. They're like my practice children." I actually do use this either jokingly with friends or when my school excuse doesn't fly over for those who don't value the education of women.

Alright, so before my mom friends get upset and tell me that children are the greatest blessing and that I'm a rotten person for even posting this, I'll throw in this disclaimer: I do really want kids someday. Really, I do. But I made a promise to myself years ago that I MUST finish school. I was even hesitant to get married before I graduated (but Judd was too cute and I wouldn't do it any other way!). So my philosophy says that now that I'm almost there, I would like just a small amount of time to use that very expensive piece of paper for what it's worth. I would like to support Judd in finishing school the way he supported me.

Obviously, if a baby comes along before that, GREAT! I can't wait to have little Judds and Kristens! I'm not anti-kid by any means. I know it's worked out for people who didn't "wait", and it has worked out for people who did. I would never judge anyone who wanted to be a parent first, that is so unselfish and really honorable. When it comes down to it, it's really a personal decision between you, your spouse, and God.

So when are we having kids?

When we know the time is right!

Dog Park Nazis

This is dedicated to the Other Kristin (note the "i" instead of an "e") who requested I write this blog

Lately, whenever I take Bindi to the dog park, I've noticed that there are several people that I lovingly have labeled "Dog Park Nazis". They are generally older people who tend to have little nippy dogs. I always used to wonder why they even came to the dog park, because their nippy little dogs just sit on the table with them instead of running and playing like dogs should at the park. But I have now determined that they are there solely to judge other people and their dogs and they live off the good feelings they get when they feel superior to others.

For example:

~If a dog does its business, they will immediately bring it to the owner's attention over and over and over again until the owner goes and takes care of it. I watched this happen to a family who was in the middle of their picnic and for obvious reasons, weren't rushing to pick up after their dog. Come on, they were eating. But the DPN continued to cackle about it until these people relented, which brings me too...

~...food. Apparently bringing food into the dog park is like the ultimate sin, next to not immediately cleaning up after Fido. Judd and I have brought pizza in there before, which I have heard is "the stupidest thing ever." I know it's not the smartest thing to do either, but a polite "I'm concerned that my dog might eat your food, do you mind eating it outside and then coming in" would be more appreciated.

~DPNs all want to know how you got your dog, and it will be one of the first questions they ask you. 10 points if you rescued it from a shelter, with another extra 3 points if you drop in a side note that your dog was "abused" by its former owners. 5 points if you bought it from a breeder, but 0 points if they sense that it was a "backyard breeder". -100 points if you admit you bought it from a pet store, and after getting a lengthy lecture about the horrors of puppy mills, you will be snubbed to the opposite side of the field.

~Next to your dog's origins, DPNs want to ensure that your dog is healthy and well-taken care of. I let it slip that Bindi got into brownies a few weeks ago, and the lectures I received on the dangers of chocolate made me wonder if they weren't already secretly dialing Animal Control under the table. I was a veterinary assistant for three years, so I could easily tell them off for how overweight the little nippy dogs are and all the fun health problems you get with that...but I'm nice.

~You may think you are at the dog park to socialize your dog, you know, with other dogs and people, but according to DPN, you are there to bond with your dog while trash-talking those pet store buying, non-organic feeding losers in the corner with the designer Malti-poo. Eating McDonalds. I actually got told off for not playing with Bindi once. I scanned the park, expecting to see a bored Border Collie (crazy, I know) by the lady's tone of voice. Instead, I see my pup happily catching a toy that a nice older gentleman was tossing to her. But since I wasn't the one tossing it, I was a bad owner.

~What else makes you a bad owner? Having a badly behaved dog, or at least one in the eyes of DPNs. Now with this, I can agree sometimes. People with overly aggressive dogs shouldn't be at the park, especially when the dog is trying to rip my dog's head off. But when the dog's only crime at that point is jumping at, not on, but at someone, an angry yelling of "YOUR DOG HAS BAD MANNERS" isn't necessary. Especially when the culprit is a happy puppy who just barely entered the park. I take great pride in all the training that has gone into my dog, both professionally and through Judd and myself. But we know she is an excitable puppy who makes mistakes. It is our responsibility to discipline her though, not a DPN.

And really, it's the dog park. Dogs are there to have fun. We're there to have fun and watch our dogs play. No need to be rude.

Labored

NO, we couldn't remember the exact posing of Charlie's Angels, but we're cute anyways.

My Labor Day started bright and early at 4:00 a.m., where I woke up to go to work. I figured it would be a chill day, who wants to commit crime on a holiday? The scanners were pretty quiet for the majority of the morning. I got a few phone calls complaining about Days of Our Lives being canceled for an all-day showing of a tennis match. I ate a healthy turkey wrap that our morning guest brought in to show parents how to make healthy food.

8:30 a.m.: I'm due to leave work in a half an hour, when I hear this on the scanner:

WE HAVE A 442 TWO MILES WEST OF THE EXECUTIVE AIRPORT.

While there are several police codes to learn, there's a few that should always stick with me, because there's a BIG emergency.

442 is an airplane emergency.

We learned very quickly that a small airplane had crashed in a neighborhood by Silverado Ranch and Bermuda. Instantly, all our phones started ringing. We sent the nearest reporter in that direction while we frantically gathered whatever information we could to help her. Our helicopter went up. We cut to breaking news, infuriating everyone trying to watch the tennis match.

I juggled 4 phone lines, which included requests from CNN, Janet the reporter, Ian the producer, the police, witnesses who wanted to share their story, witnesses who wanted to sell us photographs (unethical, people!), and of course all the angry tennis people upset that they couldn't watch their game. Those people really annoyed me because I was trying to do my job and get information from witnesses and the police and get it to Janet and Ian and I would have to stop in the middle of it and get yelled at by a tennis fan!

Eventually we learned that the pilot was a hero. He landed the plane in the middle of the neighborhood street rather than hitting a house. Unfortunately, he passed away, but his three passengers survived. Neighbors were also heroes; they doused the plane with water and got the fire out before the authorities got there.

I got out of the newsroom at 10:00 a.m., with plenty of time to enjoy the rest of Labor Day. But this is why I love the newsroom, it's a super exciting place to be, especially when breaking news happens!

Later, we let off some steam and went shooting with Kim, Geoff, Amber, and Telly! Had to celebrate at some point, right? I'm no where near the shooting level of the guys (Telly's in the military, Geoff's a policeman, and Judd's just really good), but my trusty pink gun and I are getting there!

Revenge of the Brownies

They looked a lot cooler in person. Someday when I have a life outside of school, I'll take an actual cake-decorating class, but for now I'll just pretend =D

Judd wanted me to write "I re-baked them just for you, Love Bindi"...but who wants to think about dog barf while eating my delicious brownies?!?!?

There is NO WAY Bindi can reach these brownies now, right?


So just to wrap up our Brownie Drama, I finally got around to replacing all the brownies Bindi ate as well as giving our favorite Animal Hospital a thank you tray from us. Judd finally got his Birthday Brownies a week late, but better late then never, right? I dusted them with cocoa and powdered sugar and sprinkled them with flower sprinkles to make the dirt bikes look like they're riding in the desert hills (or dessert hills, HAHAHA...apparently I had one too many of those today).

Happy (late) Birthday Blog Judd!

Okay, so this blog is a week late, but since we celebrate birthday weeks in this family (according to Judd), that's okay.

Judd turned the very scary 3-1, but totally doesn't look it, feel it, or acknowledge it. If you ask him, he is eternally 27. I too have decided to take this approach and will stop aging after 23, just so you all know!

Not that birthdays are a bummer, but our two birthdays both fall right when tuition is due, so I always feel bad for having to keep it cheap. Someday when we're rich AND college graduates, we will have more spectacular birthdays, but for now, we'll keep it simple BUT fun! For a gift, he got himself a bunch of tech stuff, and I got him a bunch of fancy spices and sauces from Cape Cod to encourage some of his great gourmet/Giada style cooking! Plus that snazzy Enduro Cross shirt he's modeling up there in the top picture!

This year, we got a bunch of friends and family to go celebrate at Judd's favorite restaurant/former place of employment: Buffalo Wild Wings! Seriously, Judd can tell you everything you ever wanted to know about anything on the menu. Molly and Mike, Robin and Dave (and the baby ultrasound!), and Kim, Jeff, and Amber came along. Too bad they don't give you anything special if it's your birthday there, but we still had fun!

Afterward, Telly and our adorable British friend Rebecca met the rest of us at our house (which, coincidentally, was the first time we've really shown it off since we moved in 6 months ago!). Rebecca brought her new Wire-hair Fox Terrier puppy Alfred along to play with Bindi (who was sulking upstairs trying to rid herself of all Judd's birthday brownies she ate- see previous post!). We had a game night, where we learned that Kim is always a Mafia hit-woman, Molly is actually an innocent towns person, and quiet people are super suspicious!

So here's to another great year for Judd! Happy Birthday!

I love you,

me!