Another Day in the City

Day 2 of our vacation to San Francisco: Enjoying the view from Alamo Square (I didn't know what Alamo Sq. was either, but recognize the houses in the background? Here's a hint: Everywhere you look (echo) there's a face, somebody who needs you...) riding the old fashion cable cars in the rain, and then a trip out to Alcatraz Island--also in the rain. We had a beautiful sunny day yesterday to walk around the town, but today turned into a typical, rainy and foggy day on the coast of Cali. It really didn't damper our plans too much, just made it a little more classic San Fran. The rain definitely set the mood for our trip out to the infamous prison. The audio tour was surprisingly interesting but we were very glad to get out of there and back into warm clothes on the mainland. Dinner and a movie wrapped up a great day 2 of vacation.

The San Francisco Treat

Today's technology is amazing. I am writing this post from our hotel room in San Francisco. Matthew and I are here in California on vacation. We have just spent the day driving and walking around this beautiful city, and are now taking a short break before heading out to dinner in China Town. So while Matt's in the shower, I'm using this little wireless computer card to share our day with the world. I don't have a clue how it works, but it's cool! And crazy!

We already love it here, and we've had a great first day. We found a really cool church to attend this morning, walked the famous Golden Gate Bridge-(not really golden, folks) and then had lunch at a cafe in this little town over the water called Saulsalito. We walked the piers, laughed at the seals, and drove the crooked street. In fact our hotel is just up the road, on Lombard St. I forgot how INCREDIBLY steep the roads are here! We love it. Here's a shot of us on the bridge this afternoon and one down on the waterfront at sunset. More photos and thoughts to come.

Animal House

We love being pet people! Here we are with our two favorite dogs, Jackson (L, male) and Peyton (R, female). Moseley (fat cat) won't come near us when we have Jackson, so he didn't make this photo shoot. I'll get him posted one of these days soon.

Dog days of summer

Look at that mug--I'm in love! I have been able to get out of school rather early each day this week, and with our beautiful Florida weather, I have had no choice but to come home and let the dogs play outside in the yard for an hour or so before dinner. It is so much fun just to eat a bowl of icecream on our porchswing and watch the dogs play as the sun sets slowly. Jackson and Peyton are so cute together, they love chasing each other around and fighting over squeaky toys. Every so often Peyton gets extra feisty and tackles Jackson into the dirt. Today I found out that Jackson likes to eat dirt--yes, actually eat it, he had it all over his tongue. The best part of it all is having a husband who comes home, notices how dirty the dogs are (for some reason), and gives them both a bath. Life is good. mjh 

 

King of the House

If this isn't the cutest puppy you've ever seen...

Introducing Jackson, the latest and bravest of the Hawkins' household. Don't let that sweet face fool you- this dog is simply fearless, attacking any and all person, animal, pototo or plastic waterbottle that may get in his way. Matt and I are thoroughly scratched up from his enormous paws. We've had him for 5 weeks now, and in that time, he's literally doubled his weight and size, tipping the scales at around 22 lbs. And he's only 12 weeks. Our vet figures that full grown, this puts him roughly at....75-80 lbs. Yikes! We're hoping his weight tapers off soon.
I have to be honest and say that Matt and I HAVE wondered a few times --each day--what in the world did we get ourselves into?!? We adopted Peyton when she was 5, so we've never really experienced puppyhood before. Besides, this makes 3 animals living under the same roof (--we have no fenced yard! ) Jackson really has been loads of entertainment though. The dogs seem to be doing rather well--Jack takes on Peyton all the time, and they have become quite the pals...well, let's just say Peyton puts up with him most of the time. But the puppy wants to play ALL the time... He sees the cat as a live toy to chase. A day or two ago, on his way to go potty, Jack accidentally tackled Moseley (the cat), pinning him to the ground for a brief moment before he realized what he was doing. Then the next min. he went on his way. Now Moseley is a good 15-17 lbs. himself, but I've NEVER seen my cat look so terrified in his life. More stories to come, for sure.