Matt and Johnni

Baby Moses

2012-01-08T19:28:00.004-06:00

Grandpa and "Debbie Debbie" (aka Grandma Debbie) came to El Paso just after Christmas. They came to visit all of us, but mostly to hang out with Joella while Matt and I went to a conference in Colorado. I don't think she missed us much... sounds like they had a lot of fun.Joella LOVES reading her Bible. If she's bored, she'll most likely grab that and flip through until she finds her favorites. Samuel, the ouwie guy (could mean Goliath or the guy that the good Samaritan stops to help), Jesus on the cross or up up high in heaven, Noah, or a recent favorite, baby Moses.

For a while ALL she would talk about was baby Moses and she especially likes to get wrapped up like him or wrap a baby up like him. I guess it made her day when the monkey at the zoo looked like baby Moses too...

From the picture, you can tell that Joella's going to need some practice with that swaddling and holding before the next little baby joins our family. Yep - if you haven't heard, we're expecting this summer. Our best guess is early July (considering Joella went 42+ weeks). And no - its name most likely won't be Moses :)

Look What I Got!

2011-12-25T17:11:00.004-06:00

Look what Joella got for Christmas!

Just kidding... this was shortly after we got to El Paso. Just a long night in the ER and a night with a splint, but she was a champ. Too cute not to post... Joella swung her arm out of place jumping off a curb and got "nursemaid's elbow." The doc had to twist it around (looked horribly uncomfortable) and she was good to go in a couple days. We were thankful it wasn't anything more serious!

And a current one...

We hope you're all having a great Christmas. Love you and miss you!

Little Missy

2011-12-21T19:32:00.004-06:00

Well, I guess we haven't posted pictures of our little missy for a long time! We sold our big camera and got a smaller point and shoot. Turns out I use it a lot more (still not a lot).

Helping with the black beans.

Silly face - YUP, our floor usually looks like that. Kaeda's at Joey's feet like always.

Hanging out with Papa and Nana.

Twirling hair - watch out, it's either hers or yours!

Peace, ya'll!

p.s. Did anyone notice the obnoxiously bright coral color in Joella's room? It's actually pretty sweet. Even better, we found it in the garage when we bought the house!

Holiday Ball

2011-12-02T01:06:00.001-06:00

Johnni and I hadn't been to a military ball since I was in ROTC, but tonight I had my Battalion holiday ball. We dropped Joella off with some of our friends and went on a date of sorts.

Since we had a military ball every year in ROTC, tonight sorta reminded us of being back in college. Good times. Here's a photo from the last ball we went to in 2007. A lot has changed since then. Things like, you know, I had more hair back then.

When we looked in the mirror tonight before going out the door we felt a lot older. I guess a kid, a deployment, and almost 5 years will do that to you.

No news is good news...

2011-11-24T21:45:00.000-06:00

We are so far overdue for blogging...it just seems so overwhelming sometimes to think about all of the time we could put into keeping up this blog up to date. For today we're just going to do a quick post with a few photos -- hopefully we'll get back into blogging again pretty soon.

Here are a couple photos of our Thanksgiving. Johnni and I have really been enjoying our time here in El Paso. We feel like God is working on our hearts and changing our lives -- we are so thankful to have the friends that we have here and a family of believers in Christ who challenge and support us.

We had some of Joella's best friends over for lunch...it just so happens that their parents are some of our best friends here too! Here's Ittai, Joella, and Daniel before the feast.

We also got to catch up with Joella's grandparents back in Iowa. Sorry we didn't make the 24 hour drive back (ok, we're not that sorry!).

In other news....I've been working some really long hours lately at work, but hopefully that will slow down pretty soon. We bought a house down here, which is something Johnni and I thought would not happen for at least 10 years because of all of the moves we've had to do...but it felt right and we haven't regretted the decision yet -- ask us in a few years! We didn't realize how much we would appreciate the conveniences of a house after the 3 months of living in hotels.

That's all for now -- I don't want to get burned out after one post back!

Where in the world...?

2011-08-26T15:36:00.000-05:00

Am I the only one that watched Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego growing up? Loved that show...

Anyway, we've been on the move for awhile now. It's been great, but we're getting ready to settle for a bit. Just a few more weeks hopefully!

After a few weeks at Ft. Hood the "can't believe he's home" thoughts transitioned into a "new normal" as a family of three again. Of course the new normal included mastering our sneaky ninja skills past 9pm when Joey went to sleep. Everything and everyone piled into 1 room is a bit cluttered, but it's "fun" and works for now. Not many pictures on this post (more to come) but this one pretty much sums it up. Life in a suitcase, the best toys being things like daddy's belt and anything within reach in the hotel room... Living La Quinta style once again...
After catching up with friends from Alabama who were also at Ft. Hood this (Trisha and her girls), we loaded up for an awesome week in Canada with our great friends, Ben, Chelsa and their family (including Aubrey aka "Aubwee" of course). "mo aubwee, mo aubwee" first thing in the morning, right before/after naps, and before she went to sleep at night. Poor Sage got called Aubrey later on in our travels too! To say that Lyle & Deb (Chelsa's parents) were "welcoming" is a vast understatement. Deb watched the girls for us so we got some time to hang out, and by the end Joella was calling Lyle "bapa" (same word she uses for Grandpa or Papa).

This started off our round of amazing hosts. Some much needed time to get away and relax. We couldn't have asked for a better way to do it! Flights weren't the most fun, but Joey was super cute when she showed us how to yawn / fix her ears like Daddy taught her.

We had just a few days in Iowa. So nice to see the people we did, but we felt a bit rushed and didn't get to spend as much time with everyone as we would have liked to. We picked up Kaeda, a trailer full of stuff, packed Jane & Jerry's truck FULL, and started the journey south again. Matt got some golfing in, and we stopped by my family reunion where I learned that my cousins think I'm a "cool adult." Not sure where they get that idea, but a shout out to them regardless.

We got smart and stayed with friends both nights on our trip back to TX this time which made a WORLD of difference. I tease Amber that we owe them about a month's worth of rent by now, as many times as we've crashed at their place...

Seeya later, Iowa. How's it going, Oklahoma? I guess we're "home," Texas... We couldn't believe that Kyle and Kayle hosted us just one weekend after moving into their house. We were impressed! There house is now dog and baby proof - I guess we had the pleasure of breaking it in for them.

We were at Ft. Hood again for about a week and got to catch up with Rich and Ruthe and their kids. They are an amazing family that took us in the day they met us last year and did the same thing when we were back in town this time around. They are up to some awesome things! They are preparing to move to Papua New Guinea as missionaries where Rich will serve as a helicopter pilot flying Bible translators into different areas. We are praying that they raise the rest of their monthly support needed to send them before their deadline in the next few months.

We didn't get to see everyone we wanted at Ft. Hood. Before we knew it, everything we owned was once again packed up in the moving truck (most of which has been in boxes since we moved from AL a year and a half ago), then on the move again for El Paso.Thanks to that same cousin that agrees I'm kind of cool (Amanda), we met a pretty great church family right away. Within the past week week we have already joined a small group, been invited over for lots of dinners, gone camping in New Mexico, and gotten hooked up with a place to live. We have driven around the city a LOT. Even as direction-challenged as I am, I have a clue where we are most of the time if that tells you anything... Joella has been a trooper, but we are all ready for some down time and "normalcy" to our days. Just a few weeks and we'll be out of here I think. Until then I guess we'll enjoy the pool outside our room :)

So, we're not exactly world family travelers like B&C or B&K, but that's what we've been up to.

Where in the world is Carmen Sandiego...? I don't know, but we're in El Paso.

Hot Days

2011-07-15T13:45:00.006-05:00

Not much new to update really. Still here at Ft. Hood. Matt gets off at a decent time each day and Joella and I keep ourselves plenty busy until then. Everything takes a little longer since we walk outside and around the building every time we want to use the community kitchen or check on a load of laundry. Keep in mind we walk Joella pace, so it really does take awhile... :) Plus we oftentimes get sidetracked by the park on the way back.

There are lots of people in transition here and it seems like we came relatively prepared. Eating out every night would get old, so I'm thankful we planned ahead with simple things like a pan, cooking utensils, etc. so we can make dinner instead when we want. I felt a little guilty last night for any innocent laundry-doer that got a whiff of our homemade brownies. We keep that place smelling good...

Joella is getting her fair share of the pool too. We walk there a couple times a week (1 car for now so we don't go far). She's not a huge fan of swimming yet but really likes going "uP, dewnn, uP, dewnn" on the steps leading into the water.

We get to catch up with some friends this week which is exciting. Crazy that we haven't seen them for a year - it will be fun to see how much their kids have changed too.

Joella being Joella...

He's Home!

2011-06-30T21:51:00.001-05:00

Home as in - he's with us again! Matt traveled 26 hours or so on his way back. The update that made me laugh was his e-mail saying that he was finally out of the "stan" countries (he spent a LONG time in Kyrgyzstan after leaving Afghanistan). His flight got pushed out a day so we were here a little earlier than needed. It was nice to have all the packing and driving out of the way though so no bid deal. Bad news is that he already has to go back into work tomorrow. Weird, I know - right! Oh well. That's how it goes around here! Good thing for a long weekend :)

Below are a few shots from yesterday. There were about 150 soldiers returning and LOTS of little kids. The part that hit me was how many parents had to be away from their kids for the entire year. Bummer! The ceremony was short and sweet though and I'm glad we got to be there for it. If you can't tell, it's HOT...!

Right now we're hanging out hotel style and won't be settled for another couple of months at least. We're in the Ft. Hood / Killeen area in between some travel plans and our next move to Ft. Bliss / El Paso. Details details. What's important is that Matt's here!

Countdown Begins

2011-06-11T22:05:00.006-05:00

Well the countdown begins... or does it? Matt gets back (to Texas) in roughly two weeks but we don't have a definite date, so we can't actually count down :) We will be transitioning a lot over the rest of the summer. Two moves within a couple months and a LOT of driving... Blogging might take a back burner for now, but check back to see what we're up to. We have had a good year but can't wait to be our little family again!

This is really old, but I just found a picture of one of the few times we got to Skype with Matt. Christmas day and he had to go outside to use internet. You can tell it's freezing by the hat, and I remember seeing his breath the hold time. Poor guy!
My mom told me that today Joella saw a guy in ACU's in the grocery store and said "dada." I'll give her some credit though because I get confused myself sometimes. I have a hard time picking Matt out when I see a group of soldiers in their uniforms too, especially from a distance. Looking forward to having that "problem" soon!

In the meantime, some of Joella's favorite ways to help in the kitchen these days...

Pinching the skins off almonds

The newest favorite - washing dishes. She LOVES it.

Rainy Days

2011-05-26T12:22:00.005-05:00

Lately Joella's days consist of playing at the park, going on walks, sliding, or swinging (probably her favorite). Pretty much anything outside!

Good thing Grandma Debbie is willing to play outside in the rain!

Next rainy day that you need a good book to read, check out one of my new favorites, Half the Sky. It should be at most public libraries (returning my copy today in CF) and it's also available at World's Window.

p.s. Joella got to hear Matt's voice yesterday when he called. You can tell she gets excited about it. I can't wait for her to get to hang out with him again! It's going to be an entirely different family dynamic than we've known so far but it's going to be so much fun. Oh, and Matt's a captain now - woo hoo! It's pretty much based on time in service, but I can still be proud :) Sounds like he's learned a lot during his deployment and has really improved with his flying. Also, I wouldn't recommend sending any more boxes (he's moved again) & he'll be headed this way before you know it (not soon enough - still about a month out)! Hmm - long p.s. I guess!

Fair Trade Gnome!

2011-05-13T15:39:00.001-05:00

Yikes, I live with a colorful little gnome...

who loves her fair trade jacket from World's Window (awesome Christmas present -- THANKS!)

and also likes to play with her fair trade soccer ball (close call though - Kaeda might like it more)

doesn't get much cuter than that...

Although functionality wise I'd give it a 7/10.

Darn hood doesn't stay up very well.

But she loves it anyway because that means she gets to play outside!

Happy Fair Trade Day tomorrow, everyone!!!

Fair Trade means that the people who make what we buy are treated fairly. Fair Trade promotes environmentally-friendly production and organic farming.

If you want to see some more neat fair trade items and have never been to World’s Window in Cedar Falls, find me. I have a 15% off 1 item coupon just for you (limited supply)!

Plus, if you are free Saturday, check out The World's Window Facebook page for more details of what's going on including fair trade coffee & food samples and a drawing for a $25 gift certificate.

p.s. Hopefully you don't take this post as fair trade snobbish. I just recently learned about it and am doing what I can to make simple changes in my purchases going forward. Joella just happened to be showing 2 of them off at once :)

Gotta Love It

2011-05-07T21:27:00.002-05:00

She gets glasses

2011-04-28T09:56:00.003-05:00

Well, 3D glasses at least but now we know if she ever does need real glasses they'll look cuter than ever!

And a couple just for fun...

Yup - still has the "Joella factor" if she gets mad about something.

...a new creation: the OLD has GONE, the NEW has COME!

2011-04-24T20:56:00.000-05:00

~2 Corinthians 5:17 ~
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!

Pretty self-explanatory... Initially I thought I'd trim a few inches off since my hair was getting TOO LONG. Almost hazardous when it came to changing dirty diapers. No, it's not the "mom cut" - I figured I might as well donate most of it instead of letting half of it go to waste. Just hair - it'll grow! Even better, turns out I really like it!

Ok, not trying to turn a verse into something that it wasn't meant to be but God has totally flipped me around this year and showed how how blessed I am. I feel like a different person than the girl who started this deployment. Good changes I think -- Hopefully Matt recognizes this wifey when he gets home in a couple months!

p.s. for those of you who are wondering, I DID run this by Matt prior to the cut. Good news - he likes it too!

My trip to the ER - nicest staff ever

2011-04-21T12:22:00.002-05:00

I had some kind of weird stomach thing yesterday. Long story short, I couldn't stay ahead of it by pushing fluids & I got hives from whatever meds urgent care gave me. Ended up getting an IV in the ER last night so I'm mostly just taking it easy today...

Coolest part of the night was the staff. I have never been so impressed by an entire team of nurses / doctors in a hospital setting before. Unfortunately it took them 6 times to get my IV in, but guess who did it successfully? A RETIRED FLIGHT MEDIC! I personally thought that was pretty neat :) That's basically the reason for this post. They must have some well-trained guys in the military... (wink wink)

Drum Roll Please - Introducing...!

2011-04-12T20:48:00.003-05:00

Introducing Emerging Eden: Modern Inspiration for Wholesome Living!!! This is a joint blog one of my best friends, Chelsa (who I've mentioned often), and I are working on. A little about her...

Check our blog out to learn more about us and our goals for this blog. In short, it's a place for us to share info that we find as we learn about it. We know that a lot of our friends & family want to check our personal blog for pictures of the little ones, and not necessarily hear more about fair trade, organic food, or Norwex (although no promises that those topics won't come up again)!

Keep in mind that we are just getting things rolling, so there will be lots of changes to come. We figured why keep people waiting on us to get it "just right?" It's never going to be perfect -- always a work in progress (just like us) so read along as we figure things out :)

Really?

2011-04-10T17:43:00.003-05:00

Really it was THIS warm today...? Crazy!These pics are mostly for Matt. I've been a bit distracted from documenting day to day life for him lately...

Simplify this weekend

2011-04-08T14:00:00.007-05:00

Last weekend I headed to the Natural Living Expo in Des Moines to check out all the cool companies there. I convinced a few awesome friends to go along and probably stayed way too long talking to about everyone there... (Thanks for your patience, ladies!)

THIS weekend I'll be running my own Norwex booth at the 2011 Child & Baby Expo of Iowa.

Sullivan Brothers Convention Center, Downtown Waterloo
Saturday, April 9th: 10am - 5pm

If you are in the area, I would love to see you. At my Moms' Morning Out group today, we talked about simplifying things. One of the things I love about Norwex products is that they do just that - simplify. We also talked about how less is more and how cluttered our lives can get. On that note, I hate to tell you to go out and buy more stuff, so no pressure whatsoever - just stop by to say hi and check out the other neat companies in the area :)

Tent Living [Part 2]

2011-04-05T19:57:00.001-05:00

Welcome back! This is part two of where I've lived since coming to Afghanistan. Originally this was all going to be one post, but the more I thought about all of the quirks with the locally built tents, the more I knew it would need to be a separate post.

When I left off last time I told you about the tents that were built for us as part of the "Afghan First" initiative. I'm excited to get to tell you a bit more about these tents and why they were such a bad solution. At first glance they don't look too bad, I guess. Here's a view from the outside:

A few notes:

Watch your head going in and out. That door frame is about 5'5" tall. I was bleeding after several encounters.
What's with the death-stakes holding the tent up? In the middle of the night, when you trip on a stake, the thought that goes through your head is not "I better catch myself or I'll hit the ground hard," but rather something along the lines of "This is it. I'm going to impale myself on the next stake, it's going to puncture my lung and I'm going to be laying there, unable to call for help, bleeding out on the gravel of Afghanistan."
Can these things possibly be waterproof? The answer, we would soon find out, was a resounding "No."

At first they weren't too bad, though. We had a TON of space and with the moderate temperatures of fall the HVAC system kept up nicely. We were even able to hang rings from the center support, a great way to practice our muscle-ups!

Over time, though, things started happening. Pieces started falling off:

The tent also started breaking/ripping/tearing when helicopters would fly overhead. Granted, this is more of an issue with the German pilots flying too low, but these tents were built for the military which has..you guessed it..a lot of helicopters.

Not too much later the weather turned cold. These tents each had one heater that was not designed to withstand Afghan winters. Many nights the temperatures outside would drop to -5C (about 20F). Inside the tents the temperature stayed at a warm and cozy +5C (about 42F). That's a cold tent to sleep in!

Not long after that we started getting into the rainy season. The tents leaked. Badly. One such night my tent-mates and I became overly dramatic as we surveyed the damage (and came up with our own methods to mitigate the effects):

It wasn't long after the rain came, along with a little bit warmer weather, that black mold started growing inside the tents:

Thankfully we were able to move out before the snow collapsed them!

And now, after moving several times and enduring an Afghan-winter in an Afghan-tent with Afghan-mold, we live in much better conditions than I ever would have expected over here.

Our current setup is warm if we want it to be, cold if we want it to be, always dry, and we have plenty of space. I even have a real bed and space for a desk underneath. Can you believe it? It really is a good setup. Hopefully we stay put for the rest of the deployment!

Expo THIS Weekend!

2011-04-01T01:45:00.009-05:00

I’m headed to the Natural Living Expo this weekend in Des Moines. Check it out if you are in the area! Lots of cool eco-friendly things and some fair trade products as well. I'm especially excited that one of my friends will be selling Malia Designs products there. All her proceeds are donated to Pearl Alliance to help at risk kids and women surviving from human trafficking / the sex trade.

Saturday, April 2: 10:00 - 6:00 / Sunday, April 3: 11:00 - 4:00

Polk County Convention Complex, 501 Grand Avenue

Des Moines, IA 50309

If you like any of the Malia Designs but can't make it to the expo, I have some products available also. I love getting the word out that we can help make a difference in social entrepreneurship with the power of our purchases :)

If you see me around, ask me about my bag (above)... one of my new favorite things. You'll find that I'll be thrilled to tell you all about it!

p.s. "Tent Living Part 2" coming soon!!!

Tent Living [Part 1]

2011-03-28T22:32:00.000-05:00

Hey everyone, Matt here this time. It's been months and months since I've written my own post on this blog, and I think it's time that I finally catch you all up on what's been going on over here for the past 8 months. I'll try to break the posts up into interesting categories over the next few weeks. I have quite a few photos to share, most of which are of Blackhawks, and I look forward to sharing them with you.

For this first post I'm going to show you what my living spaces have been during this deployment. Things have gone from not-so-great to it's-so-bad-it's-funny, but they've finally settled at a point where I can honestly say that I have more than I ever could have expected.

This first photo is from my original bed after arriving to Afghanistan. I only occupied this from mid-July until mid-August when we moved away from where the rest of the brigade was located and out to our remote site to set up medevac operations. As you can see, I had a top bunk. I didn't mind living here and the month went by very quickly. The worst part was that there was not much space due to packed tents (they're still packed, a lot of people have lived like this the entire deployment).

After leaving MES for our remote site in Meymaneh, I found myself in a huge tent known as a DRASH tent. Here's what the outside of it looks like:

These are actually very high quality tents that came from the Air Force. When we arrived to Meymaneh there were three of them set up, two of which were designated for our use. At this point we thought we had it made as we had a lot more space, but instead of beds we were downgraded to cots. Here's what my space looked like (most people had two cots -- one to keep their stuff off the ground, and one to sleep on).

The DRASH tents were nice but they weren't a long-term solution. The generators that came with them and corresponding HVAC units were excellent machines, but we had no one to service them or fix them when they broke. The result was a few weeks without air conditioning, but at least the nights were fairly cool.

Some time in October we moved into tents that were built for us by local Afghans. The contract was part of an "Afghan First" initiative which, from what I understand, is a program designed to pour money into the local economy by awarding contracts to local contractors using locally made products and materials. The idea is probably a good one, but these tents were a several hundred thousand dollar disaster. Nevertheless, they would become our home for the next four months.

Check back in a few days for more details on the places I've lived so far...

Dog Video - Joella's New Obsession

2011-03-16T11:50:00.001-05:00

Really, she wants to watch it over and over... The obsession started when we let her watch videos of puppies and my mom found this one. She's mad at me as I type because I stopped the video to post this. Guess I gotta go!

Watched this twice, HAD to post it

2011-03-12T20:26:00.000-06:00

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Married to the Military

2011-03-10T12:45:00.004-06:00

Well, I married this guy 4 years ago :) Below is a picture from the day we got engaged. I had NO idea what I was getting into, but am sure glad I decided to accept the proposal!

Here's part of Matt's e-mail to me today. It pretty much wraps up our life in the last 4 years.
~~~
Hey babe --

Happy anniversary! Four years! In some ways it seems like yesterday, in others it feels like it was decades ago. I guess time is weird like that. We have done a lot of things in the past four years...it's pretty incredible when you look back on all of them. 4 years ago you were working at Deere and I was getting ready for LDAC (Leadership Development and Assessment Course) that summer. You moved us while I was at LDAC and I came home to our awesome little apartment in Huxley. I finished up my last semester of school, branched MS (Medical Service Corps), and became a gold bar recruiter. I also had my flight physical denied, then later approved so I could put in my flight packet. I went off to BOLC (Basic Officer Leaders Course) just before our 1 year anniversary and spent the spring/summer traveling while you stayed back.

We met up again to go to Rucker. We got Chaz, and then I went to SERE (Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape), and you went to Iowa. Then we built a book shelf and for Christmas we went to Iowa together and bought Kaeda. We came back south and went to the bowl game that year with both families and both dogs. Then you got pregnant. We spent our second anniversary with no champagne and I was just starting to fly. Later that year I finished BWS (Basic Warfighting Skills) and started on SERE detail. While on SERE detail Joella came along. A few weeks later I started flying blackhawks, and then we went home for Christmas with a little thing and two dogs.

Not too much later we had our third anniversary, I was graduating flight school and we were moving to Ft. Hood. We lived in a hotel for a while. Then we found a home and barely got it. I worked long days and then we went back to Iowa for leave. A week or so later I cried when I said good bye to you and Joella as I deployed to Afghanistan. You sent me a lot of boxes, managed ticket sales, and I flew every once in a while. We thought I was coming back in October for leave but instead I got a new platoon leader. Then I came home on leave in January as you were starting up your business(es). Then we went to colorado together with my family. After that we were in CF and hung out with friends, went snow shoeing, and cross country skiing. Then we said good bye again and again I cried. Now I'm back here and you're back there and we're celebrating our 4th anniversary apart, the second time...
~~~

Wow, I read the book Married to the Military a few years ago, but I sure hadn't put it in this perspective before. I wouldn't change it though - we signed up for this life and are doing the best to live it fully. Love this guy, and love the relationship that we have :) Separation and deployment have just made it stronger so far!

PET PAL Rough Start - Did Kaeda Make the Cut?

2011-03-07T05:30:00.000-06:00

Well, either way, we know who's going to be a future Pet Pals volunteer!!!

Last time I left off talking about how right off the bat Kaeda "barked her bark that catapults her entire body about 3 feet horizontally." Well, immediately following, she ran toward the door and slipped out of her new color (royal blue to match the program colors). First time wearing it, so it wasn't sized right. Well, the silly dog didn't realize she couldn't run out the window, and you guessed it -SMACK! She shook her head and sneezed it off. I thought CERTAINLY this is going to be bad news bears...

I calmly went over and got things under control. Just then the nice lady with the Pet Pals shirt (Diane) came down the stairs to get me. WHEW, that wasn't just a test! I thought for sure it was part of the test and we were done for...

Kaeda went up the elevator and spent about half an hour getting petted, giving hugs, playing, getting treats, getting crowded, experiencing new things, wheelchairs, loud noises, etc. Kaeda sure knows how to put on the charm. They LOVED her. This dog thinks everything in the world exists to please her. She has some major cat-like characteristics and almost bats at things like tape measures, hoses, etc. Well, the playful and wiggly personality shined brightly and the eval team was glad to welcome her to the Pet Pals team.

Wahoo!

About 30 seconds after getting out the door Kaeda barked at a kid across the driveway (I'm not hiding anything --I was sure to let them know she'll do much better with adults than kids she doesn't know...). Go figure though!

And some pics to show off her colors (actually I'M the one who is supposed to wear the shirt, but you get the idea).

Update: went to our first visit at the Cedar Valley Hospice Home tonight. Kaeda was a bit obnoxious as expected. Hopefully she settles down a bit over time. We have some practicing to do, that's for sure but not so bad for her first time... hopefully the people we visited enjoyed her. They seemed to!

p.s. I'm not sure on the minimum age for volunteers but you better bet that as soon as Joella's up for it, she's headed out for the visits too!