Mr. & Mrs. Dustin McCown

We had a busy last week and weekend as Courtney's cousin Dustin finally married his woman. Dustin and Monica got together a month before Courtney and I did in 1994 (can you believe it?)and 14 years and 1 son later they got married on July 26, 2008. We went to Salina last Wednesday and stayed with Courtney's dad and step-mom. On Thursday was the bachelor party. The bachelor went home by 11:00 and, of course, my hubby, his dad, and his cousin Curtis partied without him until 1:00. You know me - I can't sleep if my husband is gone so I stayed up and waited. I think I forgot to mention that we are babysitting Curt's dog, Cricket, because he's getting ready to head to Colorado Springs to taxidermy school (I know - what?!). We took all 3 dogs home so when Curtis showed up at Calvin's we were anxious to see Cricket's reaction. Yeah she's pretty pissed at him! She would walk over by him and then keep on walking to me or Courtney. Imagine what she'll be like in October/November when he gets home and comes to get her! Friday morning came way too early and the dogs were anxious to get outside so I was up by 7:30 after getting to bed at 2:00. We ran all around doing random things on Friday and then had rehearsal that night. Saturday we helped Dustin get their 900 beers (yes, 900!!!) on ice and then drove him to Minneapolis to get ready for the wedding. He was actually pretty smart to get can beer because what happens if you don't drink all of a keg? Anyone? That's right - it goes flat! Now can beer on the other hand you can put in the fridge and drink as you want. How smart! We were at the church in time for pictures and I ran around taking all sorts of pics (I may quit my teaching to become a photographer....) and then I videotaped the wedding and parts of the reception. Yesterday we came home and went to bed early because Courtney started a conference this morning in Olathe. I start meetings tomorrow (thank goodness they're only half day!) and I start with kids 2 weeks from today - the summer's over already?!?! I'm pretty damn stressed right now because my classroom is filled with boxes and furniture from the preschool class that has been there for 2 years. I can't even get to my stuff yet!! How can I get ready for the school year??? I guess I'll figure it out!! Here are some pics I took at the wedding. Let me know if anyone needs pictures done - I won't charge too much...



Word of advice: never tell Courtney your room number for your wedding night!












I love this picture of Dustin and Grandma Charlotte!










Thank goodness they didn't let him escape.












No, you're not seeing things. The ushers (Curtis in blue) wore the tuxedos from Dumb and Dumber!












One of my favorite pictures!












My, my, who are these lovely people?!












Fourteen years for both of these couples!











Me & Nicole Noon hanging out at the reception.












I stole this picture of Alta from Nicole's computer...isn't she pretty?















I also have a new cousin!! David and Jen Cole welcomed #3 on Friday morning. Courtney and I saw him that morning. His name is Walker Curtis Cole and he weighed 6 lbs 5 oz and was 19" long. Jen is the master of giving birth: induced at 8:00, started pushing at 10:28, had the baby at 10:31. I told her to knock it off and give someone else a turn!

Dave & Buster's Fun

We met up with our college friends for a night of fun at Dave & Buster's last weekend and then this weekend was spent with some PR friends. We've been busy! We met John & Mary, Travis, Justin & Sarah for dinner and games. Kate - Mary tried your virtual jump rope game and it's hard!!!

Killing the evil Zombies
















Travis challenged Courtney to a "dance off" - which Courtney won! We have since been dancing on our own Dance Dance Revolution pad at home.














The boys were thrilled to find a Madden game on the BIG screen. It was Travis & Courtney vs. Justin & John. My hubby and his teammate won!!















The gang: Courtney, Justin, John, Mary, Sarah (due in a few weeks!!), and Travis.











This past Sunday Tori and Tom from Puerto Rico were in town! They were headed to TX where Tori will be teaching from Chicago. Tom leaves in a week to go back to the island for his last year. It was fun to catch up with them.

The drama that is Miller's life

Poor Miller! He's had a rough time of it lately. First he was having problems with his claw. We think we let them get too long when we moved back because our clippers were packed away and when we was digging it just split open. I took him to the vet and he put Miller under and clipped it back as far as he could and filed it down. I sat at the vet's office for 2 hours for the surgery and then his recovery. That was a trip! When he "came to" they got him standing up but he wouldn't walk. They called me back thinking if he saw and heard me he might start walking. I got back there and he could hear me but he couldn't focus. He looked like my very own Stevie Wonder dog! Then when he started getting feeling back in his tongue he kept sticking the tip of it out. It was kind of cute! I got him home and we babied him for the rest of the night. The doctor said he needed to keep the bandage on his paw for 5 days but of course we didn't think he would wear it that long. That was on Wednesday. Then on Friday we went home to Minneapolis to help mom and dad with moving the rest of their things from their house. We were staying with Sharon & Wilbur because my parents stay with Grandma and there aren't enough beds for us also. Sharon & Wilbur live on the "outskirts" of Minneapolis - basically in the country. There are all sorts of critters at their house - not counting Curtis' now 7 dogs. We had let the boys run around outside with Curt's and Travis' dogs when we heard a terrible noise. We ran out to see what was going on and that's when we saw the mountain lion. We had heard these hung out in that area but had never seen one. We tried to get the dogs away from it but you know Miller! We sent Curtis in to get a shotgun while the rest of us threw things at it. Next thing we knew Miller was racing towards it. It was crazy! It really felt like a scene from a movie! By the time Curtis got out to shoot it Miller had gotten too close and that damn lion got his ear! We had to rush him to the vet to get bandaged up (hence the bandage on his ear). Of course he was pretty bloody on his face and head. So now he had a bandaged head and paw. He was such a good boy and kept the bandage on his paw for the full 5 days. I would say Miller had a bad week!
























My bad! It was Odie, not a mountain lion!!

Royals game

It's been a while again. I am guessing posts will be a little farther in between since we're back home. I'll still try to put up some interesting things but I'm afraid our lives are a little boring now! Last week we went with some friends to a Royals game. We had a blast! Keep in mind though that we were at a ROYALS game which means they lost. We kept tying up and then leading, but in the bottom of the 13th (yep, 13) we were down 1, we got the bases loaded with only 1 out. We brought out the big guns - Grudz...something. I asked Courtney if he was a good hitter. "Oh yeah, he'll do great!" And then it happened. Double out. How are you gonna double out with bases loaded and only 1 out?!?!? The game started at 7:05 and we were finally headed home at 11:45. Damn Royals!!! Here are some pics from that night.

The Marshes at the game - Ben let me wear his hat because it started raining.














The gang's all here!! The 14 (counting photographer Courtney) of us at the game.













The largest screen in the MLB. Everything's bigger in Kansas, not Texas! (Although I think technically we were in Missouri)














Jorge - do you play for the Royals? We thought this guy looked like our little Jorge!














This is Baxter, one glorious hound.

Finally Moved

Well we did it. We officially moved into our new home in Leavenworth 1 week ago. After a crazy few weeks of thinking closing wouldn't happen on the right day we finally got it all worked out. We closed on Thursday, June 26th, and drove to Salina that night to stay with Courtney's dad and step-mom. Then on Friday we went to see if we could get our U-Haul a day early so we could load some stuff Friday and get to LV earlier on Saturday. We got the truck on Friday about 2:00 and by 7:00 that night we were COMPLETELY loaded!!! Not just 1 storage unit, not 2 storage units, but 2 storage units, a table from Grandma's, misc. items from mom and dad's house, and many misc. things from Courtney's Aunt Sharon's house. We really worked our butts off and got it done quickly. I felt like I was in the way most of the time but I did help some. My husband is a very picky packer and mover so I mainly tried to stay out of the way with my mouth shut. Saturday morning we got up, picked up our lawn mower from the shop (we got a bagger for it), and were headed to LV by 10:30. We got there and got unloaded in just about 2 1/2 hours. Yes, I was a little freaked out about my husband driving a 26 foot truck but he did it like a champ. My mom & Grandma, and Courtney's Aunt Sharon & step-mom really helped out a lot by unpacking and washing everything for our kitchen. Then they worked on getting sheets and towels washed because we had everyone from Minneapolis spending the night. Sunday morning mom and I went groccery shopping and I spent all of her money!! Aren't I a sweet child? Sunday afternoon and evening was spent doing more unpacking until Allyn (I'm calling him our son that I didn't have to give birth to and he's already 21) moved in that night. He's living with us while doing an internship with the KC T-bones baseball team this summer. The rest of the week has been spent unpacking and getting our house in order so we actually have some of a summer. Yesterday we got up and our fridge shot craps so after living here for 1 week we had to spend money on a new fridge....will it ever end?!?! We did however get a nice fridge that works very well. Last night we went to Olathe for an amazing dinner at our friend Jared's parents. Today was spent at Anna's birthday party. I can't believe she's 4 already!! I think this week we might actually get to take it easy...until the weekend when we go to Minneapolis to help mom and dad get the rest of their things out of the Minneapolis house. This summer is going so fast - in 3 weeks I'll be starting meetings to start the school year. Here are a few pics I got while we were moving. None of the inside of the house yet - I'm waiting until it's all put away. Katie got her job in Texas this week so we are excited to hear if they are finding a house yet. I'm so glad I'm done with that - your turn Kate!!

















I got pictures of Curtis and his EIGHT (yes that's 8!) dogs last weekend. Let's see if I can name them all: the bull mastif is Odie, the medium sized one is Cricket, the one with no hair except for on her head, tail, and feet is Pop Tart (Princess Strawberry Frosted Pop Tart to be exact), and the basically bald one is Karma, and her puppies are Meatloaf, Harriet Tubman, Irok, and Piglet.

Isn't She Lovely....

Boredom, baby, and the boys

Yes people - I am bored out of my mind!!! We are staying in Leavenworth at Jim & Amanda's while they are on vacation and I am BORED!!! I'm getting frustrated with our house because we haven't heard anything about our resolutions (crap that needs fixed) or our loan. Right now I assume we will close on June 26th (still 2 weeks away!) but there's always a chance something will go wrong and we won't even get this house. We've been calling our realtor with questions today and he has not returned any of our calls. My frustration level is VERY high right now. I just want to know - either way - if I will be moving in 2 weeks or not. Things are definitely not going as smoothly or as quick as they did last time we bought a house. It's safe to say that once we FINALLY get moved in we will stay put for quite a while!! This week we've done, well, nothing except for going to dinner with mom and dad a few times and Travis, Nicole, and Alta stopped by on Wednesday. It was fun to show them the house and play with the baby. She's my girl! Also (you can now tell how bored I am) the dogs haven't made an appearance on the BLOG in a while so I took some pictures of them. This has been the longest 3 weeks in my life!!!


Winston's chair









Winston is loving having grass to lay on!











The Bridges's dog - Angus









Miller was feeling a little shy - HELLO!!! The camera is over here!!








Isn't she precious? Just a few days before she turned 2 months.






How do we look with a baby?!?!

Home Sweet Home (not yet but almost)

We had our inspection today so I finally got inside to take some pictures of our house empty. The people who lived there before us are the sweetest, cutest people ever! In the fridge were 4 beers, in the downstairs bedroom was a bed, and on the countertop was a book and sweet note. The book is all about the house, the neighbors, and everything I need to know about every kind of flower on the property - including pictures of each flower in bloom. The note was so sweet - those are the kind of people you WANT to buy a house from. They put so much love in to that house and I promise them we will do the same. I'll put up a few pictures for now and I promise I'll put up more when we finally move in. We're almost ready for visitors...
The pictures: 1 & 2) The front of the house; 3) the AMAZING deck (it's 2 tiers and has built in bench seating on the 2nd tier! We're gonna have some great parties!); 4 & 5) Apples, anyone?; 6) Where Chef Kelly will cook; 7) Whirlpool, anyone?





















I think that's good for now - oh I'm such a tease!! Our inspection went smoothly and hopefully the adjustments needed will follow just as smoothly. Our next step is getting insurance (decision to be made tonight) and then put the loan through! We're on the downhill slope leading to moving in!! I'll keep you posted (get it?)!

Goodbye Puerto Rico!

I've been putting off putting up a post with pictures about our departure from Puerto Rico. I guess I've done that because I was afraid it would make it real to me that we left - I was right! Katie put up a "final PR" post and that finally made it start to sink in so I guess I better get it over with. Our final week in Puerto Rico was really strange. The other teachers had a party for us on our last Monday and it was so much fun! They sure know how to party down there...and I like to think it's partly to do with us (that's my story and I'm stickin' to it!). I do miss those people already. I can't wait to go back and visit...or have some of them up here in Kansas (hint, hint). Here are some pics from our final party:





















We then had to go to work on Tuesday which we were not happy about because we had to leave at 3:30 Wednesday morning. On Tuesday we worked, packed, said good-bye to everyone, and (of course) cried a lot. On our last night with the Dills, Katie said we should have put our mark on Casa Benny so my husband got the marker and did just that. I forgot to take a picture but Katie did it the next day. If you've kept up with our BLOG you know how true the saying is. I hope it's there forever!!!















Katie and I had been dreading our good-bye for 2 years. I don't know if anyone can truly understand the bond we have with the Dills. It goes beyond friendship. They truly are our brother and sister and we miss them terribly!! The chord is stretched and it hurts!!! (Katie will understand!) It is so strange to have gone from seeing them daily (several times a day) for 2 years to maybe we'll get to see them 2 or 3 times a year if we're lucky. I know that they will be a part of our lives forever and I know that we will see each other as often as we can. I can't wait to go to Texas for a Cowboys game!!!

Our time in Puerto Rico may be finished but we will visit and the memories we made there will last forever.

We bought a house!

After a few weeks of exhausting looks at houses and a few heartaches we finally found our home!! We had found what we thought was perfect a week ago (see the last post) but the people weren't very easy to work with. Long story short they countered by only taking $2,000.00 off the price....isn't that what you might do with a car?! We looked again and had 3 choices - in order. This was Friday and we couldn't get in to talk to our loan officer until Monday morning. We decided to take the weekend and not think about the houses until Monday. As we were driving to Minneapolis on Saturday our realtor called and said we had problems. Choice #3 went under contract, choice #2 has an offer in on it,and choice #1 had people looking at it. Uh oh!!!!!!! We talked about it and decided to offer choice #2 their asking price because we know we can afford it and choice #1 was the original house and we knew they wouldn't work with us. So it happened and we now have a house!!! We have an inspection set up for this Thursday at 9:00 am so I will be taking pictures of it empty to post. What a relief to finally have a place to call home! More info later and hopefully some pics. Hope you're having a great summer so far!

We're Home!!

Nothing real exciting right now I just thought I would let everyone know that yes we are home! We made it back to Kansas on Wednesday and began the search for our home on Thursday. We made an offer today so keep your fingers crossed!! We should know some time this week what's going on. I'll post lots more later - including pictures from our last party in PR...and what a party it was!

It's now or never!

First, I want to thank my wonderful wife for keeping this BLOG (and me) going for the past two years. I think all who read this would agree that she has done a wonderful job with both tasks.

So, I figure if I'm going to do this BLOG thing, I'd better do it now. I'm writing in first person singular because, while my wife may share these sentiments, they are my views, and not necessarily hers. The entire PR experience has taught me so many things, and I don't regret it for a second. I have learned to appreciate the innocence of children, the potential of humans, and the love of a good woman. I have learned that no matter what the challenge, it can be faced and conquered. I have learned that in this world there is no room for cowardice, and your destiny is what YOU make it. I have learned how much I love and miss my family, and how happy I am to be from somewhere where shit gets done. I have learned what it's like to be the immigrant and the minority, so be nice, many who read this will never understand what that's like. I have felt the other side of racism. I have learned that at the end of some days, there is no better remedy than a cold beer or a smooth rum. I have learned that my friends are the greatest a man could have, and don't even get pissed when I call them when I'm piss drunk and missing home. I have learned that PR is a beautiful place with limitless potential and limited ability. I have learned that the friends I have made here will never be too far away (yo soy boricua pa' que tu lo sepas cabrones!). I have learned that blood does not make family, and that I have a new brother and sister who I will cherish forever. I have learned my strengths, and been humbled by my weaknesses. I have learned how to lead, and when not to follow. I have learned the importance of sunscreen. I have learned that year-round summer ROCKS! That said, I still secretly miss snow. I have learned that only Americans can truly appreciate Johnny Cash. I have learned that I can live on less than I made in college. I have learned that it is difficult to teach a Russian how to play Uno. I have learned that there is nothing better than coming home to two wagging tails (that's even better than the rum). To sum up, I have now lived a long-time dream that sometimes seemed a nightmare, but has taught me so much more than is listed above. Thank you to everyone who has helped us throughout this journey, and followed it on Kelly's fantastic BLOG. I especially want to thank Kelly, her folks, my dad, my aunt Sharon, and everyone who came to visit us. What can I say about the last two years? The same thing I hope I will be able tlo say about all the years to come. I have learned...

Last Week in Puerto Rico!!!

I know people, I can't believe it either? Does it seem like we've been here for 2 years already? It sure doesn't to us! My how the time flies. From now until Wednesday will be a whirlwind of emotions. We're excited to come home and start our new lives but we will really miss our friends from here. At least none of them will be too far away and we can visit. Tomorrow the dogs fly home. We have to have them at the airport by 7am to fly to Houston where they will spend the day and then they get to KC tomorrow night. We leave San Juan at 9:00 am on Wednesday. Katie and Brent leave that afternoon so at least we're leaving on the same day. Anyway...

The last week has been a little crazy. Last weekend we spent a day at the beach with all of the dogs for a last time then Saturday night we drove to Fajardo to watch Matt in the All Star game. This week we had kids Monday - Wednesday until 11:00 and then work days in the afternoon. Pretty boring since we're already done with everything! Last night we drove to Ponce to get new tattoos and see Matt's team in the playoffs. Yep people, I said new tattoos! Katie and I each got one. Brent doesn't want one and Courtney couldn't decide what he wanted so he didn't get one. We both got a tribal sea turtle on our lower backs. They're so cute! A little sore today and a little red (I'm allergic to the adhesive on the tape they used afterwards) but they look nice! (Keep in mind that the pictures were taken during and minutes after the tattoo was done!) Here are some pics from our last week in PR. The next post will be a sad one....

















I almost forgot! We think we caught a Coqui last night!! We named him Tony. This morning when we got out we realized he escaped....darn you Tony! And Matt brought his dog Zoe over to meet the boys today. She's adorable!!