Columbus > Ft Myers

May 23^rd

Columbus > Ft Myers

Got up bright and early.  We had a 6am flight.

This was the first (and last) time the TSA agents were on my side.  They were ogling over the babies and were actually offering to help me.  Who are you people?

After getting thru security we sat at an empty gate for a little play time.

Then we stopped in the family bathroom so I could put their diapers on.  Again, I have no clue how they are going to act and what their little bodies are going to produce!

I begged politely with a fellow passenger to switch with me for the isle seat.  I needed to be able to get to the bathroom quickly in the event of a puppy accident.

Thankfully, the passenger obliged.

Thank God we got upgraded on both flights so there was plenty of room for the Sherpa bag under the seat.

They were complete angels!  I had to keep checking on them because I thought they might of smothered each other and died.

In Atlanta, we had a little over an hour.  Animals are not allowed in the SkyClub.  Even though I see them in there all the time, I didn’t break the rules.  I used the public bathroom.

We set up fort on the changing table…. had a drink of water, took diapers off, sniffed each others dry diapers, got lots of attention from others in the bathroom and then headed to our gate. 

On our second flight, we had little angels once again!

It wasn’t until we got in the rental car that they started to get fussy.

Mom and dad were at work, so we had the house to ourselves for a while to get acquainted.

We had the names, they just hadn’t been assigned yet.

Mom wanted them to be named after their heritage – Shetland Islands.

Hadrian – named after Hadrian’s Wall in Scotland.  A place mom and grandpa visited on their trip a few years ago.  

Hamish – because it was of Scottish decent in the baby names book and dad liked it.

We went out to the backyard for the very first time.

Food!

Nap!

Mom got home first to meet her new boys!  Lots of excitement.

Soon after dad arrived and even more excitement ensued.

In the evening, their names were assigned.

Hadrian has a longer snout and already shows characteristics if Rizon.  He will wear a red collar since his name has a ‘R’ in it.

Hamish has shorter, stubbier snout and is a total Madison,Jr.  He will wear a black collar.

We had to have a system because you have to look very closely to tell them apart.

Puppies!

The big day is here!  Puppy Day!!!

I had my friend Dave go with me so I could tend to the puppies during the drive home – it’s a little over an hour away.

We got there and there were pups everywhere!  A few weeks after the Sable & White, they had a TriColor litter.  Oh so cute!

They were quite yappy in the car for the first 20 mins or so.

But they eventually settled in.

Once home, they were a little timid about coming out of the carrier.

Lunch got them motivated though!

Followed by a nap.

They were stinky boys, so I gave them a bath.  I didn’t want to funk up the first class cabin in the morning.  I already was anxious over how they were going to behave, I at least wanted them to smell cute in case they didn’t act cute!

Clean puppy!

We had numerous potty breaks, but they didn’t go so well.  First time on a leash.

I had them gated in the kitchen.  They napped a lot.

They snuggled with me on the couch for a while in the evening.

I put them back in the kitchen and slept on the couch.  That way I would be able to hear them if they needed anything.

Whew, I am exhausted!!

May 20th-21st

Friday – Travel Day

Columbus > New York > Hempstead

Did something I rarely do – travel/work.  I have a busy travel schedule coming up, so the extra night at home was worth it.

Got to Hempstead with time to spare.  Even had time for breakfast.

Hofstra is the host for this Lacrosse Quarterfinal.

I like their logo – see how there is a male and female lion in it?

Their nickname is “Pride”

Saturday – Game Day

Double-header lacrosse on a nice spring day. Games went well.  Steph and I have this thing down 

We both had flights home so we raced to the airport afterwards. 

Another thing I so rarely do – but I have a very important mission tomorrow – it’s puppy day!

New Siblings!

May 15th

On Friday night, dad flew up.  I didn’t see him since I was in Oxford, MS but he wasn’t in town to visit me.  He was in town to pick out my new brothers!

On Saturday morning, he drove out to Wapokoneta to visit the farm that Madison came from.

When dad was up in March, he talked about being ready to have pups again and was curious if Madison’s breeder was still around.  I had sent her a letter and within a week I had an email back from her saying they had just had a litter of Sable & White pups on March 25^th!

The mother’s name is Maddie and she looks exactly like Madison!

It is a little soon – mom and dad were thinking late summer, but it just seemed like this was the right time.  We trusted Randi and she wouldn’t be having another litter for quite some time.  

In the weeks since, she has been email photos of their progress.

Anyway, dad spent some time out at the farm and made his selection.

They aren’t quite ready to move to Florida yet, they are only 7 weeks old.  They have to be 8 weeks to fly.  Plus, I don’t think dad has the patience to travel with puppies!

I will be making the voyage for him later in the month. 

May 12-14th

2011 SEC Softball Tournament

For the next few days I made the trip back and forth to Oxford; usually with friends, so that wasn’t so bad.

Was able to hit another one of my Oxford favorites on the trip as well for lunch – Volta.  It’s a Greek place.

A great week of softball and friends!  With a few rain delays mixed in.

Oxford

I have been to Oxford for football and baseball, but never softball.  I couldn’t find the softball stadium!  But I called the Operations Producer and he guided me in.

It’s HOT!

Everyone was making fun of me for wearing jeans and a lightweight jacket.  But we are working on my football truck and my seat is COLD!  The air blows right down on me and I freeze.  Most other areas of the truck are warn, so no one understands unless they sit in my seat.

One thing I love about Oxford are the Magnolia trees.

We went to lunch at Ajax in downtown Oxford.

I tried to warn everyone that it was not a good idea to eat lunch there, but I was out voted.

Don’t get me wrong, I love it!  It’s just that it’s all southern, fried, heavy, comfort food.

I had the meatloaf, mashed potatoes and mac & cheese.  It was delish as usual!

In the evening, I skipped hanging out with everyone and went back to the hotel to meet my friend Amy.  She had gotten in earlier today – she will be doing (my job) the first two games tomorrow.  I haven’t seen her since last August.

So we had a nice dinner catching up and such.

She had an earlier crew call, so we had to part ways kinda early.

Columbus > Memphis > Batesville, MS

I tried to switch to a later flight because I had a lot of stuff to do at home.  But it wasn’t possible.  So I was on a 11:50a flight to Memphis.

Got to Memphis, got my rental car and then headed to Tom’s BBQ & Deli.

It’s a “Diner’s Drive-In’s & Dives” place that I had been to in football season.  It was still super yummy!

From there, I headed down to Batesville. 

Batesville is about 30 minutes outside Oxford.  We are staying there because there aren’t enough hotel rooms in Oxford.  With 7 softball teams, a baseball team, 2 ESPN crews and it being graduation weekend…..  (There is a baseball game on Thursday night; hence the extra team and crew)

Got checked into the hotel and got settled.  

It’s a Holiday Inn – but it’s truly not bad.  I have stayed here before.

Ended up taking a little nap.

I needed to go to Wal Mart, so in the evening I ran over there and then stopped at Chili’s for takeout.

Later, I went and hung out with a few of my friends, Steve, Heather and Mike.  It was so good to see everyone again!

May 5-7th

Thursday – Travel Day

Columbus > Raleigh > Chapel Hill

Oh what a nice day!

It finally stopped raining in Ohio – for a day at least!

Dave did a quick mow, while I picked up sticks and did a prelim weed pulling in one of the beds.  Felt so good – wish I could of done it all day!

But, it’s time to get back to work.

Thankfully, I had a 4:30p flight, so I had what seemed like, a free day!

Got to RDU around 6pm.  Traffic was rough – got to the hotel just before 7p.

I sat on the balcony for about 30 minutes reading my book…  “The Help”  ….  I can’t put it down.  It is just awesome!

Made a few phone calls and then went downstairs for dinner.  Read while I ate.

Exciting life!

Friday – Game Day

Notre Dame vs North Carolina Men's Lacrosse

I forgot to take photos.  

All in all, a good day of lacrosse.

Saturday – Travel Day

Raleigh > Columbus

Uneventful travel home.  

Nice to have a Saturday at home!

Fort Myers

Nothing like wrapping up my Spring Break with a day on the boat!

Lunch at Doc Ford’s.  

Owned by local best seller author Randy Wayne White.

It has been a wonderful week of relaxation, but it’s time to hit the road again!

Bahamas Vacation - Day 5

Got up bright and early.  Went for our walk, then showered and headed down for breakfast.

Went back to the room, gathered our stuff and then headed out to wait for our turn to get off the ship.  While waiting, Stanley got into a little more trouble.

Eventually got off the ship, cleared customs and then got our luggage.  Headed to the parking garage and made the drive back home.

Even though we had a few disappointments, it was indeed a wonderful week of doing nothing.  A much needed break for sure!!

Bahamas Vacation - Day 4

Thursday morning we got up early, got all packed up for the beach and headed down for breakfast.

Afterwards, we came back to the room, got our stuff and headed to the gangplank to the tender that was taking us to the beach.  Grand Stirrup Cay – NCL’s private island.

All the paperwork had said to not take any valuables or money because there were no lockers.  And that beach chairs were first come, first serve.  Hence the reason we made sure we were on the 2^nd tender.

Got over there and realized that no one else followed the “no valuables” rule – plus there was a straw market (they shipped some locals in to sell their crap) that only accepted cash.  So much for leaving our wallets on the ship.

Oh well.  Didn’t really want any of the stuff.

You would of thought there was a fire when we got off the tender.  Mom high tailed it to the beach to ensure we got chairs.  She knew that I would be cranky pants if I had to sit in the sand!

We picked our spot and got her snorkel vest rented – all snorkelers must wear a vest.

Got settled in our chairs and sat for about 40 minutes.  Decided we should get in the water because more and more people were coming; which meant more and more people kicking up the sand.

Water was cold.  And we had issues gearing up… but we eventually made it out to the couple of little reefs.  It was ok.  You could tell the fish were accustomed to being fed because they came right up to me…. Like inches from my face.

We spent about 45 minutes in the water and came in.  

Took a bit to figure out where the shower was…  got the gear cleaned up and then we showered.

Headed back to the chairs and sat for about 1.5 hours.  When we started to get a little munchy – we headed back to the ship.  We knew I wouldn’t eat the BBQ they were prepping on the island, so no sense in wasting our time.

Got back on the ship and it looked like Stanley and our stateroom attendant had been up to some mischief while we were gone.

We ordered room service for lunch.  Surprisingly, excellent!

Went back out to sunbathe on the deck for about an hour.  I felt like a rotisserie chicken and declared I was done with the sun!

Headed back to the room and showered.

Then napped for a while.

Needed to get packed since they take our bags from us tonite.  Looks like we get kicked out of our rooms and 9a and off the ship at 10a.

We enjoyed our last sunset at sea

When we got back from dinner…  Stanley had been a troublemaker again.