Howling in the Rain

There are several things I was planning on blogging today, our trip to Washington D.C., fixing the hole in the ceiling, having fun with our friends at a Labor Day BBQ, but this trumps them all.
Olive usually wakes up when Paul gets up for work. That means around 6 a.m. But if he is home and sleeps in, we can expect her to cry to be let out of her kennel about 7 a.m. . On days like that one of us gets up and lets her out the back door. We then go back to sleep. Today was one of those typical mornings. I let Olive out at about 7, and went back to bed. When I woke up at 8:45 I noticed it was still very dark outside. Paul got up and opened the back door to let Olive in so she could eat breakfast. This is what he found: Apparently somewhere in the 2 hours that Olive was outside, it began to rain...hard. Any intelligent dog would go find some shelter. There are a couple of options in our back yard. Option #1: The brand-new dog house purchased for just such an occasion. Option #2: Large bushes that have space underneath them for even a human to sit. Olive chose Option # 3: Sit on the porch in the pouring rain until Paul and Bel get up to let her inside.

She was soaked to the bone, shivering and whining. So much for that awesome dog house.

Home Un-Improvement

Chapter 1 :
The Bed Chamber

It all began on a dark and stormy night.... As rain pelted the windowpanes, Mrs. Thayn, looked up from the pages of the classic romance she had been reading. "Why, Dr. Thayn! I do believe we have a leak in the attic!"
There on the ceiling of the bed chamber, was the unmistakable mark. Damp and yellowing, the spot was a blemish on Dr. and Mrs. Thayn's newly acquired estate."Do not worry yourself, my dear," said Dr. Thayn, a hardworking, intelligent man. "I will venture up into the attic myself and discover the origin of this mysterious leak!"

Chapter 2:
Snow Indoors

Light bobbed from the lantern which adorned Dr. Thayn's forehead. Inside the attic he slowly made his way to a pipe which snaked across the room, eventually exiting the attic directly above the bed chamber.
"Aha!" cried Dr. Thayn. A bead of water hung on a bend in the pipe. "Just as I had suspected! Wont Mrs. Thayn be glad to hear that the mystery has been solved!"
Dr. Thayn turned to exit the attic. Making his way back was like a tightrope act across wooden trusses. Suddenly, halfway to the exit, Dr. Thayn lost his footing and, POP! It snowed white and pink in the sitting room for several moments. Mrs. Thayn, hearing the awful sound, ran from the bed chamber to see what had transpired.
When she entered the sitting room, her eyes fell on a large hole that now adorned the sitting room ceiling. Below was a pile of rubble and fluff. Mrs. Thayn called out in panic, "Dr. Thayn? Are you all right? I heard a most terrible clatter, and here in the sitting room is a large hole!"
Dr. Thayn's voice came from above. "I'm alright my dear. I slipped from the truss and my boot has gone through the ceiling." He was silent for a moment, partly in anger at himself, and partly in anticipation of how Mrs. Thayn would react.
Laughter suddenly floated up through the hole Mr. Thayn's boot had made. "Dr. Thayn," Mrs. Thayn said through her laughter, "Let's go to bed!"

Chapter 3:
Mistakes Can Lead to an Increase

The next morning the noble couple awoke with new perspective on their present situation. This was the perfect opportunity for them to purchase a ladder! Not only would Dr. Thayn be able to fix both the leak and the hole, but all his neighbors and associates would be in awe of his masculinity.
After a trip to the market in the family buggy, Dr. Thayn alighted his new ladder and began the task of repairing the sitting room ceiling. Though not planned, the hole became an opportunity for Dr. Thayn to hone his saw and drill skills. It was also a test of strength, as Dr. Thayn had to look towards the ceiling and hold his arms over his head for quite a period of time.
That night, Dr. and Mrs. Thayn sat in the dining hall together, reflecting on the day's events. They couldn't help but smile at each other. "I do appreciate your skill, Dr. Thayn," Mrs. Thayn admired. "But can I mention one thing?"
"Why of course!" Dr. Thayn replied.
"There is still a hole in my sitting room ceiling, and it's bigger than before!"

To be continued.......

5 Year Wedding Anniversary

August 7th was our 5 year anniversary. What a milestone! It is hard to believe it has already been 5 years! We have been on so many adventures! Some were a little on the crazy side, like the time we rappelled down Black Box to take our friend's engagement photos and tried to climb out when it was dark. Or like on our honeymoon when we went white water rafting and Paul rode the front of the raft like a bucking bronco through the biggest rapids. Or the time when we were tubing on Scofield Lake and Paul's elbow gave me a black eye. And my all-time favorite: Teaching Mortiz to rappel in Indian Canyon and getting my shirt caught in the figure 8, having to tear the shirt off with my bare hands (that's right, like the Hulk), drop it 40 feet down, and have Paul lower me to the ground and give me the shirt off his back so Moritz didn't see me naked. I kept my torn shirt as a memento.

This is a tribute to all the fun we've had as a couple these first 5 years of marriage:

We were married in the Manti, Utah LDS Temple on August 7, 2004

2 weeks later we were off to the island of St. Eustatius in the Dutch West Indies:What did we do there???

A lot of SCUBA diving.....

Island Hopping....

(Parasailing in St. Maarten)

(Hiking the highest peak in the Caribbean on Saba)

(Taking a boat to St. Kitts)

(Returning home from St. Kitts with 4 pigs tied up in gunny sacks)

(Visiting the Arecibo Telescope in Puerto Rico)

Community Service.....

Oh! And Paul managed to graduate from the 1st half of Med School.

In the past 5 years we have done many Thayn Family treasure hunts. They are always the highlights of family get-togethers!They almost always involve a cave, steep climb, chocolate, fake jewels and coins, and PIRATES!And, of course a treasure chest.

We have always had a knack for finding weird events to attend like the Hare Krishna Festival of Colors. We went home with rainbow hair and lungs that day!

And who can forget hiking? Some of our favorite hiking adventures have been with our awesome nephews, who we miss very very much now that we are separated the entire length of the United States! Here's hoping we can fill the next 5 years with as many adventures!!!

Look Who Got a Package in the Mail!

Wow! Thanks Grandma and Grandpa B.! I love my new toys!!! Especially my home-made ones! I played with them for an hour straight. That's longer than any other toy....EVER! Then I took a nap.

This is Olive's way of saying thanks: Eating the paper-heart card that we found in the box with the toys.

Olive is a Fast Learner

Garden Update

Despite the bunny's efforts, we do still have a garden. Check out how well everything is growing!

Meet Olive

There are those days that you take a deep breath and jump in with both feet. Thursday was one of those days. After about a year of "wouldn't it be fun's" and "I wish's" we finally did it. We got a dog.

This is our 7 week old female goldendoodle, Olive. She is a cross between a golden retriever and a poodle.

First things first, Olive has to learn how to go to the bathroom outside! Olive loves to run onto the carpet and leave little yellow puddles. I have to keep a good watch when she is loose in the house, so I can catch her before she does the deed. Hopefully routine will pay off soon!

Olive thinks Paul is the cuddly parent. After I chase her all day making sure she doesn't have to go to the bathroom or isn't tearing the rug to shreds, Paul gets to come home to a sweet angel of a dog! Lucky guy!

Some of Olive's favorite activities:

# 1: Chewing on anything that fits in her mouth (e.g., clothes, arms, ankles, toes, the rug, and sometimes her toys).

#2: Playing with her tennis ball. She loves to play fetch, and even brings it back sometimes!

#3: Oh, did I already mention chewing... never mind.

#4: Eating. We hope she doesn't grow too big, because she may eat us out of house and home.