Happy Thanksgiving!

For Thanksgiving we were going to spend the day with our friends here in Dallas, but last minute there was a death in the family and they drove to Utah. Trying to decide what to do, my visiting teachers came over and said they were going camping--what a great idea! So we packed up the car, Nate planned our Thanksgiving dinner, and we drove to Lake Texoma in Eisenhower State Park.
It was so nice to get out of the city (especially when we found out Dallas is number 350 on a safety scale out of 355). Even if it wasn't a mountain, being up in the trees reminded us of Idaho--I would move back to Rexburg in a heartbeat.
Mackay had so much fun! Almost too much fun according to my standards and patience level. We picked up a new tent at Wal-Mart on the way, since the only tent we have is a two man for backpacking, and our sleeping bag is a queen size. (Last time we mixed this equation I got the cartilage in my nose dislocated). And it would be even worse with three of us. Nice, new, clean tent we layed out for the first time, and Mackay insisted that she had to walk all over it with her dirty shoes.
Once we got the tent up, Mackay insisted that she needed inside. "Great idea", I thought--keep her in one place. So, I took her shoes off and let her run around 'til her heart's content. Except for 5 seconds after I took her shoes off and put her in, she wanted to get out. So, I put her shoes on. 5 seconds after putting her shoes on and getting her out of the tent, she wanted back in the tent. This was a long process, so I finally let her keep her dirty shoes on and make cute little Mackay-size footprints all over our new tent.
Other fun activities were picking up rocks and throwing them and trying to touch the dutch oven and fire.
To get her energy out we went on a little nature walk. It was so beautiful!
When we got up there the weather was t-shirt weather, so that was so nice to have a warm Thanksgiving!
Unfortunately the ground was covered with leaves, and underneath was a very uneven ground.
For Thanksgiving dinner Nate made Cornish hens with Vermouth sauce in the dutch oven, potatoes, and, of course, stuffing. It was delicious and right before the rain started, so we were grateful. It rained all night, which was fun since we were in the tent, but when Mackay got up it was a different story. We left our chairs out overnight, so there was no dry place to sit. It was pretty cold, so Mackay wanted to be held at all times. She had to eat her snack standing up at the wet bench, and in between every bite she wanted to walk around. To get off of the cement platform that held the bench, Mackay had to lay on her stomach, and then scoot herself backwards until the edge. That worked fine the night before when it was dry, but when she tried it in the morning, she covered herself with mud. The rain started again while Nate was trying to make breakfast, so that was eaten in the warmth of the car.
Needless to say, we left a little earlier than planned. But it was so fun being in the outdoors again and at least feeling like we were in mountains even if we weren't. Mackay will be more fun to take in the outdoors when she is a little older or we have Chad with us. But until then, we will probably continue camping anyway.

"Say, 'Cheese!' Mackay!"

Vail 2008

Finally I am posting photos from our Vail trip! We had a great time spending time with Nate's family, and it was so relaxing!

We tried to get a picture of Grandma and Grandpa with the grandkids. Here are our results:

Mackay and Emilie played a bit better since they are both getting older. It was cute seeing them run around together.

Mackay loves the swing for about 1 minute. But that 1 minute is so cute!
Nate loves to throw Mackay high into the air. Nate's mom hates it, but Mackay likes it okay. We tried to catch a picture, but Mackay was moving pretty fast.
Nate and Mackay
Mackay and Emilie in Vail Village
The girls with Grandma and Grandpa
The kids did a Halloween craft. Mackay loved her hat, but eventually her favorite part became pulling off all the stickers she put on.

One favorite tradition in Vail is to go to Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory. Mackay loved it, naturally.
That would be a toy car stuffed in her mouth.
Mackay kept wanting to put on my swimming suit, but I wouldn't let her. Later in the day she came downstairs wearing it.
Thanks for a great time in Vail Grandma and Grandpa Barker!

Another Photoshoot

These are more pictures from the group taken that are listed below the Adoption blog.

Nate has gotten pretty good at figuring out how to use Photoshop. Mackay has also gotten good at praying on demand. In these pictures we said, "Mackay, say a prayer!" and she folds her arms. It makes for a cute photo!
This was Nate and Mackay interacting lovingly. I love the windblown look in Mackay's hair, and how she uses Nate's face to stand up.
Mackay has the cutest scowl that she has perfected. Here she is saying "No" to Nate about something.
There's that cute smile!

Happy Halloween!

We had a fun Halloween this year! Luckily, Mackay still fit in her 6-12 month costume from last year, so we didn't have to stress about what she was going to be! Southwest Airlines had a huge (and I really mean HUGE) Halloween bash. It has become a tradition, which all started from a couple of people in a department deciding to dress up. They had shows and rides, and fun games and treats for kids. We went to the showing of "SWAma mia", which you would have had to endure to really understand the pride of a Southwest Airlines employee. We also went on the Indiana Jones ride put on by the Finance Department. I don't have the patience to go into details, but let me just say we waited in line for about 45 minutes, and the Finance Dept. easily wasted MONTHS of productivity to put this thing together. It was even officially a "ride", because there were crates on top of an industrial dolly that you sat on, and someone pushed you around. We had a great time.

Mackay was the shark, and I was the fisherman who caught her.
Mackay loved running around Nate's office, seeing what junk people had lying around so she could take it. I was chasing after her, and when she turned the corner she saw people, and immediately froze and tried to become part of the wall. It was so funny.

We introduced her to the wonderful world of pure sugar. She was really confused about the cotton candy, since it didn't look or feel like something you could eat. But with a little bit of modeling and prodding, she got the idea. Nate dressed up as Barney from the Flinstones. Other people in his department were the other characters, though since he hung out with Mackay and I all day, he looked a little out of place.

Adoption: Not what it used to be!

When I was a young seven year old boy, I had a surgery. As a consolation to having this surgery, my parents told me that I could get a present. I sorted through the "D" section of the World Encyclopedia and found my dream dog, a white Samoid. I negotiated with my parents for weeks so that I could get this dog, I put my heart and tears into the those negotiation--but to no amend. Days before I had the surgery my mother some how convinced me that my consolation present should be a $9.00 alarm from PACE (the local bulk grocery store...before Sam's and Costco).

I tell you this to emphasize how much I have wanted a dog over the years. My parents just wouldn't budge. Since we moved to Dallas and since we currently have a backyard we have played with the idea of getting a dog. I have spent hours at night searching Craiglist and Dallas Rescue centers for a suitable dog. This search was recently escalated when I read "Call of the Wild" and "White Fang" by Jack London. If you haven't read this American Classic I highly recommend it.

Here is a picture of Rio--a brazilian terrior which currently is living in a rescue less than two miles from our house.

After much debate between getting a large dog or a small pansy toy dog, we finally came to family consensus that Rio would fit in with our family. The day after I finished reading "White Fang" we went to PetSmart who was sponsoring the rescue. We played with Rio and had a great time. Then we filled out the adoption papers...all 5 pages of adoption papers. They asked all sorts of questions from personal references to whether or not we had paid the pet deposit.

The following Monday I got a call from the rescue and the inquisition continued. They drilled me about what "inside/outside" meant on my application. The lady was extremely rude. A couple days later we went to the rescue during my lunch break and played with Rio which reconfirmed our favor for him.

Then the bad news struck. On Saturday Kalli got a call from the rescue who told her that after much "prayer and soul searching" they could not let us adopt Rio.

WHAT? Are you kidding me. The excuse was that they did not feel comfortable having this dog in a home with a 20 month old. I just don't get it. We were willing to take this dog off their hands and pay the $200 adoption fee. The rescue itself isn't any bigger than our house yet they have probably 400 cats and at least 10 dogs. Rio himself was once on death row, on a 6 month tenure had been adopted once before and returned; yet, they wouldn't let a loving family take him in. These people have absolutely no idea what they are doing. But if they want to continue eating the cost of having an extra dog around I guess that's their choice.

So needless to say, we are leaving it at that. No Rio. In fact, the whole experience was such hassle and so frustrating the for the time being my desire to adopt a dog is delayed if not altogether gone. I'm pretty disappointed! Mostly because my pride was hurt.

Here are some pictures that have been requested by my mom. We took them a week ago as practice for Kalli's growing photography kick. Hope you enjoy.

--Nate