My Furry Chidren

Since Jacob should be here any day (fingers crossed), I thought I should blog a little bit about my furry children who are about to get a wake up call.  When we got our cats four years ago (I can't believe its been that long!) we never thought we were cat people.  They were strays and offered to us for free, so we took them in.  We had no idea how much our lives would change! So it has been four years, 3 moves, two kitty surgeries, multiple shoe laces, hairbands, and pant strings eaten, 2 almost escapes, and many hours of cuddling.  They have kept us laughing the whole time... here are some recent pictures as they have prepared for baby Jacob also.

So this is Bagheera post landing in Mike's hot chocolate.  Bags was trying to drink the hot chocolate, so Mike tapped him on his belly.  Well Bags got startled and went about one foot into the air and his back foot went fully into Mike's mug.  I think Bagheera ultimately won this battle because he got to lick the chocolate off his leg for a good 20 minutes.

My next story doesn't have a picture because I was a little nervous.  Baloo got into the garage and my waddling nine month pregnant butt could not catch him.  Well, I tried to bribe him in with treats which didn't work.  He found a sticky mouse trap which got stuck to his foot... needless to say he was panicked!! I finally got it off him, but the sticky stuff was still on his back foot.  He kept sticking to the ground or if he walked over papers they just came with him. It was pretty funny.

Here are just some funny photos of them...

Needless to say we are very glad to have gotten these creatures by accident.  We love them very much!

Steve-O the Horse

Where to begin with the start of this past weekend's adventure?? Well we left for Mammoth at five in the morning on Saturday, got lost a few times, but managed to arrive by eleven.  When we arrived we knew that our luxurious cowboy weekend was out the window. We were shown to our trailer... now it doesn't look so bad from this picture.  However, it was slanting to the right and when we walked in there was a steak knife on the floor.  That's when we started getting butterflies!! after be shown to our humble abode... we were told to get ready to ride (4 hours)!!! I decided to embrace our conditions and dress like a cowboy... boots and all!! But before we rode we had to have our cowboy lunch (half way cooked Top Ramen noodles) mmmm mmmm good...lol. Then we met our horses, Kim got the coolest and most steadiest horse, Tori got a horse named Mike, that started growling towards then end of the trip, and I got Steve-O, which by his name you could figure out that he was a little different.  Steve-O was a big eater and not a very good listener.  To make him do anything I wanted I had to make sure he had a mouth full of whatever greenery was around.  On our way up Steve-O and I were both stung by wasps, and let me tell you a horse freaks out more than a human does!! Let's just say I was a little nervous!! After we got to the top of the mountain and walked around a bit, it was time to get back on the horse. Well I was the second one to get on, so I had to wait for everyone else to get (which takes some time)... therefore by the time everyone was on Steve-O had a fine patch of vegetation way off the path we were supposed to be on, and he refused to leave!! The guide had to actually come over and drag him away!! Coming down the mountain was so painful and uncomfortable.  I almost fell off once, but I just bit the back of Steve-O's neck... so that saved me...lol!!  When we got to the bottom and off our horses, we were so sore!! That's when we decided that we could only ride for one day and that we aren't very good cowboys.  We stayed the night in about 60 mile an hour winds (thinking the whole time our roof was going to fly off or that we were going to tip over).  Needless to say we woke up inspired by Dorthy and wore our hair in pigtails for our hike in Yosemite....

Here is a picture of Kimmy riding her horse... it was a really beautiful ride through dessert, trees, and water.

I had to chase down this horse before riding.  His name is Trigger and he was really nice.  However I learned that tying a horse knot so they stay is nothing like tying a shoe (even though that's what they will tell you)

Here is Tori on her horse!! This is Mike and he gets crabby when walks/hikes are too long, just like the real Mike ;0)

P90X..

is as hard as it sounds!! We only stuck to the routine for a few weeks because then I had knee surgery (again).  Anyways, it is a serious exercise routine that totally kicks your butt!! Sam and I don't use any weights, but Mike was feeling strong one day and decided to be creative with the weights, since we don't own any!  Baloo became an active participant in the P90X workouts...

Its funny because he doesn't seem to mind the workout...he never even tries to get away!!

Tunnel Cat

Baloo and Bagheera recently got a tunnel from their Auntie Kimmy and Uncle Matty (because Emerson got stuck in it cause he was too big).  However, every day we go through the same routine... Baloo gets in the tunnel and pretends like no one can see him...

Then he lays in there a while relaxing... He looks a little high in this photo but I promise you we didn't give him anything.

Then once the high wears off the mania begins...

There is a hole in the side of the tunnel that he sometimes does sneak attacks through..

Needless to say they enjoy their tunnel very much, and yes Bagheera sometimes gets a chance to go in it (but he gets nervous approaching it because he thinks Baloo's in there about to pounce) Thank you Matt and Kim for the hours of entertainment!! The best two bucks ever spent!!

Empty Nest Syndrome

Since Kevin's departure my mom has taken to help care for a baby blue jay right outside the kitchen window.  So a few days ago the baby bird fell out of the nest and my mom heard the parents go crazy.  She went outside and picked up the bird and put it back in the nest.  Later that day, my mom was sitting in the living room minding her own business when she heard a knock at the window.  The mama blue jay was fluttering around the window and occasionally ran into it, to get my moms attention.  My mom thought it was a little weird, but didn't get up to do anything.  So the mama bird flew to the front door and perched on the window sill and started tapping the window with her beak.  My mom decided that she better go check on the baby bird, and of course the baby had fallen out of the nest.  She picked the baby up and put it back into the nest.  The baby has been in there since, until this morning.  My mom went to check on him and when she did, Joey went running to the bushes by the pool.  Joey started to walk through the bushes and before my mom knew it, a little baby blue jay pooped up from behind the bushes with dog in tow.  So she picked it up again and put it back.  This is the prime entertainment at my mom's house now...which I guess is a good thing now that Kevin isn't home very much.

The Academy of Arts and Sciences

We finally went to the new Academy of Arts and Sciences three weeks ago.  One word....AMAZING!!! We went to it on a Thursday night where it is only open for people over 21 because they serve alcohol. Everything was open, but we got there a little late sp we couldn't see the rain forest.... they close it a little early so the animals can sleep.  But everything there was really neat!!! They had an amazing aquarium and swamp section!! They also had penguins, which Mike loved of course. The living roof was really neat too... since it was night time they set up telesccopes and had them aimed at Venus and Mars!! But by far the best part of the museum is the albino section... they had albino catfish, turtles, and an aligator!! IT was crazy to see these animals because they weren't just a little white they were as white as a white-t.  Anyways I highly reccomend it to everyone... and its pretty cheap!!!

Here is a picture of the albino alligator... it was sooo cool!!!

I Think I'm in Love...

with a dog.  Yes Gabby, another post about a dog. I saw this dog at Petsmart on one of the adoption days and fell for her instantly.  She is four years old and she is part border collie and either Corgi (Emerson) or a basset hound!!! She is a little funny looking, but to me she is adorable. Its not for sure that we will get her, but we are still discussing it... keep your fingers crossed!!

Look at her stubby little legs!!! Oh she is so cute!!!

Also she is super calm and cuddly!! And does great on a leash!! Thats my mom petting her... notice the shoes Kimmy!! Thats where your boots ended up!! lol

Emerson the Wonder Pooch!!

Don't fall out of your chair blog readers (or Gabby), I am actually posting something to the blog. The reason for the post is that there is a new member in the Wood family! Meet Emerson the Wonder Pooch! Matt and I had been looking to adopt a corgi since we moved to our new house in Livermore. We choose the corgi breed because the dog had to be under 20 pounds and we of course drew inspiration from Mikey's love of corgis. Matt was the one who found Emerson on petfinder.com. We went to see him that night at the Oakland Animal Shelter and feel in love with his funny little furry sausage body and fox like face. He is such a little love bug but has A LOT A LOT of energy. The pound thought he was 2 years old but we learned from the vet he's more like 1 to 1 1/2 years old. Which makes sense because his energy is ENDLESS. This week we start dog training classes so all that energy can be channeled into tricks. I really want to teach him the "bang bang you're dead" trick so hopefully that's something he can learn. We have had him for almost a month and we couldn't be happier. Sadly we will turn into one of those annoying dog people who have endless pics and videos of their pet. Get ready for more photos of our little friend.