Happy Birthday Bear

Bear had his 1st Birthday on December 27th. With the holidays and getting back to school, I am just now writing this post...oh well, better late than never!

Dear Bear,
You are the best dog anyone could ask for. You have a very calm personality, even for a puppy. From the very first minute we saw you when you were 9 weeks old, we knew you were the puppy for us! You let us hold you and snuggle you for a long time while we talked to Terri about getting you. We came back and picked you up exactly one week later and you were finally ours. You slept on my lap, in the car, all the way home. I have to admit, those first few weeks with you were quite a challenge. You absolutely hated being in your little crate and would bark the entire time we were gone. You also didn't like sleeping in your crate at night either, you barked all night. I know now, because of you, that we will survive being parents.

Watching you grow from a fat little puppy to the big dog you are now has been amazing. You love going to the dog park and going on jogs with me. When we jog, you like to put your head on my knee every once in a while, like you're telling me "this is great!". You really don't like getting baths but seem to tolerate them because we feed you treats the entire time. And now that you are a big boy, you happily run into your crate when we are ready to leave...again, because you know you will get a treat. You always know how to cheer us up when we feel sad and you are learning to let us snuggle you for a long time. I know you will do great when eventually some little people come along.

You make us laugh every day. When you were just a few months old we were playing chase around the apartment. I ran into the bedroom and jumped on the bed and you followed me right up there!  Watching you in all this snow is completely hilarious. I think you feel like you are at Disney World. You gallop through the deep snow and love looking in the bushes for bunny rabbits. Although, I don't know what you would do if you actually found one, because you are kind of a scaredy cat. You are also a very smart dog. You know how to sit, shake, high five, lay down, stand, come, and leave it. You do the best at your tricks right before you eat. Other times, you are a little selective. Especially if you are laying on your big, fluffy, bed and don't want to move.

Happy Birthday Bear Branigan. We love you so much.

 The very first night we met you. You didn't quite know what to think of us...

 11 Weeks Old

 14 Weeks Old

 4 Months Old

 5 Months Old

 7 Months Old

And here you are at 1 year old.



Two Words...

Snow day. There is just nothing that beats that feeling when you wake up in anticipation, turn on the news, and finally see your district scroll through at the bottom of the screen. Sweet victory.

Actually it was more like, "thank goodness we finally have time to take down the Christmas tree." And that is exactly what we did today. We spent the day in jammies, taking down our Christmas stuff, cleaning a little, watching Ramona and Beezus, and mainly just enjoying the day!

We did venture out to let Bear play in the snow and he had a blast! I would throw snow up in the air and he would try to jump as high as he could to catch it!

And eventhough I don't want to be teaching too far into May...it sure would be nice to have another restful day tomorrow!

It's Time for Mistletoe and Holly

Chris and I just got home from spending eight wonderful days at home in Arlington with our families. Although there are many challenges to being a teacher, it sure is a wonderful perk to have two weeks off for Christmas!

This year we loaded up the car nice and early to head home, only to spend two hours waiting at the Honda dealership so they could fix a small problem with our car. We were on the road by 9am after that and in for a LONG trip. After 10 1/2 hours in the car we figured out that Bear does not travel well. Poor guy. He was very carsick and stressed. We made it to my house just in time for Christmas dinner and present opening.  Needless to say all 3 of us were ready for a good night's rest that night!

Once we settled in we had a wonderful time with both our families. We went to the Christmas Eve service all together. Liz, Kevin, Elise, and Jeremy even came too! We spent Christmas day at Chris's house opening gifts, eating, playing Wii, and eating some more!

Bear was really worn out from all the festivities! And apparently I was too because this is the last picture on my camera. The other important occasion we celebrated on December 27th was Bear's 1st Birthday! I know he's just a dog...but I can't believe he's already one year old. : )

We had a wonderful Christmas with our families and friends. It was great to see everyone and we can't wait to be home again soon! 



December 16, 2006

4 years ago, Chris and I said our vows. This weekend we celebrated by going downtown and listening to the Kansas City Symphony. We headed to the Mariott right after school and had a little time to relax in our room before getting ready for the night.  We took advantage of a large, flat screen tv and watched Oprah's Favorite Things. When we were ready for dinner we headed to the Prime Rib Grill which is a sister restaurant to the Hereford House. Umm, let me just say...YUM. I ordered cedar plank salmon and Chris had this amazing smothered chicken dish.  The waiter even gave us a free dessert since it was our anniversary!

 Here we are before we left the hotel.

 We have discovered that when there is only two of you, it proves a little difficult to get both people in the picture. Our solution...individual pictures!

After our dinner, we headed down to the Lyric Theater to listen to the symphony's Christmas concert. It has been awhile since we have been to a symphony concert and this one was amazing. They did some fun Christmas songs but also some songs like, Ave Maria. They had the Allegro childrens choir sing from the balcony which was just beautiful. They even had a handbell chorus.

A little blurry...but none the less...

On Saturday, we slept in and then had breakfast in the hotel restaurant. After we checked out we did a little shopping on our way home. Bear stayed at his doggy farm so we had one more night to ourselves which made it feel like a real weekend getaway! No one had to take the dog out at 6am in the freezing cold : ) We both laughed about how having a dog really is the perfect way to prepare for having kids.

I think one of the things that made this weekend so special was that Chris planned the whole thing completely on his own. He finally told me the surprise earlier in the week and I was thrilled. I am so thankful to have such a loving, romantic husband.

Happy 4 Year Anniversary honey and here's to a million more.

Thanksgiving

For Thanksgiving this year, we hopped on a plane and headed to Houston to be with  my family. It was definitely a climate change for sure! It was in the 30's here in KC and in the 60's in Houston. We had to dig out our shorts from the Summer tubs. We had a great time playing games, visiting with family, and EATING! On Thursday morning we woke up bright and early to do the Katy YMCA Turkey Trot. It was a great way to start off our day and helped us feel justified in eating a little more : )

 Here we are...all ready to go!

 The whole Thompson/Penland clan!

 We are ready to walk!

 We had so much fun walking together. The best part was when my Dad would cheer on the people who were supposed to be cheering us on! Very funny. They didn't quite know what to think of us!

 We finished and grabbed a few freebies before heading back to Grandma and Grandpa's house. After Thanksgiving dinner we took a few official family photos. Here is the whole Penland Family (except Kathy! We missed you!)  with smiling faces and full tummies! We are so glad to add Jenny, Jake and Nick to our family this year.

I think Thanksgiving is one of the best holidays to enjoy eachothers company and just focus on being together. We are so glad we were able to be with my family for this holiday and are anxiously awaiting coming home for Christmas!

Downtown Tree Lighting

Earlier this fall we moved from the Kansas side to Lee's Summit, MO. We are loving our new home and it's cute downtown! It has a real small town feel and they are always putting on fun events. Right before Thanksgiving, they had their downtown tree lighting extravaganza! We got all bundled up and went to enjoy the festivities! Bear even wore his snowflake bandana!

 He got so many compliments.



4th Annual Branigans in Branson

A few weekends ago, Chris and I met up with his family for our 4th Annual Branigans in Branson weekend! This has become a really fun tradition that I look forward to all year. We had a long weekend after parent-teacher conferences and headed to Branson early Friday morning. When we got there we went to the Fish Hatchery and looked at a TON of fish. We even got to watch a educational video about how they get so many fish for the hatchery. Those poor girl fish. This may or may not have scarred me for life.

 After the video experience, we went down to the river so David could do a little fishing. There were lots of people there fly fishing. Later we headed down to the Branson Landing to do a little shopping at eat at Famous Daves. YUM!!

 On Saturday we did a little more outlet shopping and then went to the Dixie Stampede! This is a Branigan Family Favorite. They were doing their Christmas show which is always a delight. My favorite part is after the show when you can go out and see all the horses as they put them in their stalls.

 Oh, and yes we did sport our Texas Ranger gear to the Dixie Stampede. Game 3 of the World Series was on later that night.

 Rangers WIN Game 3!!!

On Saturday night, after we came home from the Dixie Stampede, we built a bonfire and had smores. On Sunday we hung around the cabin, did a little more fishing, and then it was time for us to head home!