Four rainy days with Darwin

When Colin went to New Orleans for a conference last week, I was left by myself with Darwin for 4 full days.  It would not have been so bad if it wasn't for the bad weather.  I'll admit, it could have been worse (like getting the snow all our family and friends received up north).  But still, having a dog tracking wet, muddy paws in the house (a house that still has carpeting) is a challenge.

I kept trying to get him to sit still to wipe his paws each time he came in, but he loves to run full blast from outside - slamming the door open and bringing those wet paws with him.  I did a lot of vaccumming, and spot treating the carpet and exhibited a great deal of patience each time a paw print showed itself on the floor.  My type A personality was definitely put to the test!

I've also been trying to walk him in the mornings and after work to tire him out.  We have gotten into a routine of taking a 15-20 minute walk in the morning (the "take care of business" walk), and then a 3 mile (about 45 min-1 hour) walk in the evenings.

Darwin loves to carry the biggest stick he can find on our daily walks

Even with those walks, Darwin has what Colin and I refer to as "crazy time" in the evenings (usually closer to 10-11pm) no matter how much exercise we do during the day.  Our common joke when Darwin is passed out on the couch is that he is "resting up for crazy time."

The "resting up for crazy time" hour.

If you've followed the blog before or read some of my posts on Facebook, you know that Darwin has experienced some stomach issues on and off since September.  We think he's eating acorns in the back yard.  He loves to chew on elements of nature (sticks, acorns, pine cones), and he loves drinking water from puddles and the bird bath.  With the sticks and pine cones, he leaves a chewed up mess, but with the acorns we only find the outer shell. With all the rain, I also tried keeping him away from pooled water.  Although his stomach was upset 1 or 2 days while Colin was away, I am so grateful there were no messy crate cleanups.  A cleanup is definitely a 2 person operation. Colin's responsibility is to clean the crate and I give Darwin a bath.  For the past 9 months, I have frequently felt like we are caring for a young child!

On that note, I'll also share with you that Darwin just celebrated his 1st birthday on January 5th!  We hope this second year brings him out of the high-energy puppy phase.  I'm ready for the crazy time that includes chewing, barking, and sprinting to be reduced to a minimum (or at least earlier than bedtime).

One element of crazy time includes chewing. 

While Colin was away, the chew toy was the towel I used to wipe his paws.  I've been trying to get it on video, because it's actually pretty funny to see him grab the towel and jerk his head side to side with it in a very rapid motion.  I will admit we aren't the hardest disciplinarians.  While crazy time can be really annoying, it is often very amusing.

It's so hard to discipline this face too often!

An Aruba Wedding

Do you notice that  holidays seem to fly by? Last thing I remember, we were celebrating Halloween and BAM! Thanksgiving is here.  I'll try to post my Thanksgiving holiday soon, but with all the driving, I haven't had a chance to finish up the posts on Aruba.  So without further ado, here it is.

The much anticipated wedding day brought with it some morning clouds and showers.  At 10am, the guests were situated in the "church," ready for the civil ceremony to begin.  Thirty minutes later, we were all still waiting for the ceremony to begin.  At first, we thought everything in Aruba just took a long time (which had been our experience the first two days of our stay).  Unfortunately, we learned the necessary paperwork had not been completed by the man in charge because he had a stroke the day before.  After an hour wait and a bit of complaining, the ceremony was ready to begin.

 The bride and groom sit through the civil ceremony with their parents (the witnesses)

The bride and groom pose for some of their first pictures as "husband and wife."

As the day passed, anticipation grew.  The bride, groom, and about 30 guests arrived a little behind schedule to witness the final preparations to the ceremony site.  While there was much excitement, many of us were also getting nervous about the approaching dark clouds.

A beautiful sight, except for the dark clouds.

  I am showing my concern over the weather

 My "model shot" is actually my attempt to keep my hair out of my face - it was a bit breezy on the beach.

 The groom is ready as the first bridesmaid begins her approach.

This is about 30 seconds before it starts raining.

 Most of us got wet, but we did manage to take cover in the restaurant 

across the street from the beach before this downpour happened.

The bridge and groom were so cute, each one hoping the other was okay with the weather situation.  The wedding planner, who claims to have been doing destination weddings in Aruba for 10 years, did not have a "Plan B" in the case of rain.  To help out, some of us "type A" guests set up the restaurant to accommodate all the guests for a covered wedding while enjoying a round of cocktails.  Before long, we were again ready to see the bride - and she did not disappoint!

The beautiful bride is escorted into the restaurant by her father - and I have a front row seat!

I think we did a pretty good job setting up the restaurant 

so everyone could enjoy the dinner and dancing.

The priest, who also got rained on, took it all in stride. 

 

One of my favorite pictures of the bride and groom!

Neither showed any signs of frustration or anger during all the stressful moments of the day.

 All the ladies enjoyed seeing our friend and teammate marry the man she loves.

I would have loved to experience a wedding on the beach at sunset, but alas, it was not to happen.  The first destination wedding we attended, in Cabo San Lucas, also experienced one of its 10 days of rain per year on my friend's wedding.  Maybe the third destination wedding will be a charm!  Or maybe we just keep bringing the rain for good luck!

To Mr. and Mrs. Aldo and Veronica Eguia, may you enjoy a lifetime of happiness in each other's company.

What was the best wedding you've ever been to and what made it the best?

Visiting Friends and Family in the Northeast

After a wonderful day in New York City and a very enjoyable time with our hosts in Bayside, Queens, we drove the hour and a half east to the North Fork of Long Island.  Colin's law school friend, Keith, rented a house near the vineyards for his wife's surprise 30th birthday party and to show off their 2 month old daughter Mackenzie.

As we all contemplated how Keith was able to keep the party a surprise, their caterer served delicious appetizers and we mingled with family and friends.  Unfortunately, none of the other friends in the group from law school were in attendance, but we had fun getting to meet new people and trying to socialize Darwin. I should emphasize the word "trying" because Darwin literally laid down behind Colin's legs for a majority of the day.  We did make some progress when he finally opened up to Keith's mom when she fed him his food from her hand.

The women of the hour appeared shortly after we arrived and their arrival brought with it a heightened sense of excitement to an already boisterous crowd.  Elicia and Keith were both beaming with pride, and Mackenzie looked absolutely precious in her little dress.

Mackenzie looking like a doll

It was wonderful to celebrate such joy with Keith, Elicia and their friends and family.  The weather could have cooperated a little better so that we could have enjoyed the beautiful and spacious yard and gazebo, but you can never control Mother Nature when she wants the rain to fall.

The adorable family

As the party came to an end, we said our goodbyes, knowing that the next time we would see them, Mackenzie would look very different.  In a bit of a rush to catch the ferry (goodbyes always take longer than you expect), we made it to the farthest point in northeastern Long Island, Orient Point, with just moments before the ferry departed.  With a sigh of relief, we (minus Darwin) enjoyed the 1.5 hour ferry across Long Island Sound to New London, CT before driving another 45 minutes to my parent's house in RI.

I do believe we have to experience bad weather so that we can appreciate the good weather, and Mother Nature decided we needed 3 days of rain.  Our time in RI wasn't plagued with as much rain as we received in Long Island, but it definitely put a damper on the two days we were there.  We managed to take Darwin on a wonderful 5 mile walk along the bike path near my parent's house during a break in the rain and spent most of the trip indoors hosting lots of family members.  Colin's sister Karen, sister-in-law Carla, and our niece and nephew visited with us on Monday and Colin's parents visited on Tuesday.  It certainly made spending quality time with family easier to have everyone come to us.

Sisters-in-law and cousins (Darwin counts as our child)!

The Clemente's enjoyed having a house full of guests!

Darwin got to meet both sets of grandparents

We hadn't seen our niece, Isabella, and nephew, Brian, since they visited North Carolina last spring and seeing how quickly they change is always amazing.  Isabella, at 9 months, is now crawling everywhere, and trying to stand up and walk.  She is a precious little girl!

And Brian, at almost 7 years, is such a fan of his Uncle Colin.  They have the greatest time hanging out together!

There was lots to catch up on over the course of two days since we had gone all summer without seeing almost everyone.  And in my mom's kitchen, there is usually lots of food to be eaten!  My mom always has a stocked fridge and makes the most delicious meals!!  On Monday we had a salmon dinner with seafood rice and a salad, and Tuesday we had an assortment of entrees.  For many of our visits, my mom makes traditional Portuguese dishes, but my parents love to grill during the summer (even if it's raining).

Overall, we had a great few days catching up with friends and family.  I would have loved to take the whole week off and meet up with my friends and see the all the little girls I haven't met in Massachusetts, Vermont, and Delaware and celebrate weddings and engagements, but we had to get back for work.  The problem with having friends in all parts of the country is that it is difficult to see them for all the exciting life-changing events.  We made it to most of the weddings, but it has been extremely difficult to meet the babies.

How do you make the best of a rainy day when traveling?