we survived week 1!

Week 1 with Miss Raleigh went surprisingly well. Goldendoodles are smart puppies but the thing that I failed to think about in this case is that they are so smart, you cannot let them get away with anything even once! They learn to trick you into things and then never forget the way you respond to their sneaky ways. Showing dominance has been key this week (and in the weeks to come). Once she learns we're boss, the better. The first few days at home, she was extra cuddly because she was probably nervous and just getting used to the new pad. Well, that didn't last too long and now she is a little TOO comfortable and thinking she owns the joint. We quickly figured this out and started limiting her space that she is allowed to roam on her own. If she comes in the back bedrooms, she has to stay by our side and sometimes even on her leash. At the beginning of the week, she had no idea how to walk on a leash and as of yesterday, she's a pro. This doesn't mean she always likes it but she's learning. Amy introduced us to the miracle of vinegar water. If she chews on anything or anyone (US!), a little vinegar water takes care of that right away. At first, she liked the vinegar so I had to spice it up with a little more vinegar and now she hates it. It seems to be a one or two time-thing because she hasn't had a repeat chew or bite on anything we've sprayed with the vinegar. Okay, enough about Raleigh!

This week, we attended two lowcountry boils. For those of your northerners :), this is basically just shrimp, sausage, potatoes, and corn all boiled together in a stockpot and dumped onto a table for everyone to go at it. It's amazing how many people it feeds, let alone how inexpensive & delicious it is. I can see why they're so popular. Along with the first lowcountry boil at the neighbors, we also steamed a huge pile of oysters and just cracked them open and ate them right off the table. I've never been a huge oyster fan but these were so naturally salty so the flavor was amazing. We are really liking the neighbors. They are so fun...Bucky (I believe his real name is something Bradley (or some B name) Goodson Dudley III)...true southerners, and his girlfriend Ashley. Ashley is from Illinois. Anyways, we had dinner with them at a restaurant down the road from us called Basil. Asian food is not a popular sight down here but this place was pretty delicious. Such a fun night with them. We also had the privilege of spending some time with one of Jeff's good friends from back home, Tanner Sutton. We first went to an Italian place with him downtown and then he cooked us dinner at his amazing townhouse right on the water. He has a beautiful home and some fun roommates. Melissa joined us with some delicious cream cheese brownies which topped the night off perfectly! 

This weekend, we carved pumpkins with Blake & Erin which was really fun (photos below!). It was the first night we've had guests over with Raleigh and oh how the dynamics have changed. I know it'll get easier but I continually had to leave our conversations to take her potty and she is a bit distracting when just trying to chit chat. It's cute and fun but it was one of her crazy nights because she had been home for the previous hours before that while Matt and I were at the other lowcountry boil so you could tell she was a little anxious to get out and play with us. I figured it's okay & that they will soon be in the same situation with their BABY! Erin finally blogged about it so I feel like it's okay to also announce :) I think most of you Seattlites know B & E...and yep, Baby Rasmussen is due to show his/her face in April...so exciting to be able to have a little munchkin around to ooh & aww over!

Well, I think that's about as far as the excitement goes around here. We're just trying to enjoy this fall weather, it has been such a welcomed change...today's forecast, 74 & sunny. Can't complain about that.

Next on the agenda, visits from Paul & Amy, Mitch & Brenna, and Dad & Jenny! Going to be a FUN & much needed November!!
Some photos of what's been going on...

The Schindlers were in town for the week and we got to play with Caroline!

little diva!

RB's first day at the beach!

Dream Home

Remember the house in Marley & Me? Well, it's for sale and I would like to offer any of you the opportunity to gift husband and I $1,250,000 to buy it. You could always come stay for free if you'd like to take advantage of such an opportunity! But really, I've always dreamed of living in a New England house. I know this house is in Pennsylvania and hence, not part of New England but I wouldn't complain about that. Can you imagine waking up to the changing colors of fall or winter snowfall & drinking coffee in this house? I sure can...it would be a dream.

http://hollygross.com/listingdetails.php?mls=5866627
Here are some photos & the actual listing if you're interested in dreaming with me:

 

 

Welcome home Raleigh Belle!

Yes, I think I might be that person that doesn't stop talking about their dog. I'm sorry...I'll just apologize now for that. But seriously, if you could meet her, you would understand why! Yesterday, Matt & I, along with our friend Kyle visiting from Seattle, drove to just outside of Clemson, South Carolina to pick up our baby girl. She is the sweetest thing. She snuggled up to me right away and stayed by my side until we went to bed last night. She is soft, sweet, fluffy, and weighs just under 7 pounds. I think she'll grow to be somewhere between 50-75 lbs...her dad is large but her mom is medium sized.

After visiting our neighbors for a crawfish boil & some frogmore stew, we put her in her crate at around 10:30, she whined for just a tiny bit and then fell asleep. With just one middle of the night potty break, she woke up around 5:30 ready for the day. This schedule works great because it follows Matt and I's normal weekday routine. The weekends will be a little rough having to get up that early but hey, we're parents now, we better get used to it! I told Raleigh that she is going to have to learn what day it is so she knows to sleep in on Saturdays at least.

Here are a few photos that Kyle took (thank you, thank you!) from yesterday...

just meeting for the first time :)

meeting daddy

car ride home...felt like I was bringing a baby home from the hospital!

passed out in car...big day for Raleigh!

Well, stay tuned! I already emailed Amy asking like a thousand questions this morning :) Thank goodness for her...now I just need her to live here so she can take care of both Raleigh & I!!

fall in Charleston

September 23rd officially marked the first day of fall and I promised myself that I wouldn't wish for fall weather until then. And I'm happy to report that we are definitely getting some fall weather! Right now, it's actually 3 degrees cooler in Charleston than in Billings and only 2 degrees warmer than Seattle. The best part is that it is chilly in the mornings and evenings and heats up just enough during the day to head to the beach. Yesterday, it was in the upper 70's so Melissa and I spent the afternoon at the Isle of Palms chatting about life and talking once again about how random it was that we are here together. Matt's season in Alabama seem like such a mystery to me because we weren't dating at that time in his life so it's fun to hear Melissa reminisce about their year there.

Last Thursday, we finally moved into our new house! We are renting a small, 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom house in Mount Pleasant that is approximately 5 minutes from the beach. It's perfect. It has a fenced yard for the puppy and a one car garage which will primarily be used for storage (such a blessing beings Matt has so many outdoor items that don't need to be inside). People have been asking to see photos of the house but for now, I'm just going to post one of the house from the outside. I will post photos of the inside this weekend but I need just a few more days to get it all put together!

This is the photo that was on the MLS listing...that's not our car in the driveway :) 

I promise to give you the full tour this weekend! In other news, we picked our puppy from the litter we had put a deposit on! The breeder performed the temperament testing of the 11 puppies this past weekend and paired us up with 3 dogs that matched what we thought we wanted in a puppy...so here she is, meet Raleigh Belle :)

Raleigh Belle @ 6 weeks

Here is the lowdown on Raleigh according to the breeder:

Pink (the nickname the breeder gave her) is our “sweet puppy”.  Abigail has adopted her as the mascot puppy from this litter. Whenever anyone new pops in for a visit that hasn’t met the litter, she brings Pink out immediately to meet them and says, “She’s sweet, cuddly and playful like a puppy should be.” She loves to be petted and especially loves sweet talking. When you scratch under her chin she will lift her head up and look in your eyes. Eye contact is a very important tool in training and this should help her learn quickly. She is also a people pleaser which goes a long way with basic obedience training. She really loves people and plays nicely with the kids and other dogs/puppies. She has soulful eyes.

This puppy’s temperament testing indicated that it will accept human leaders easily with regular training and exercise. She is a good prospect for the average owner and is a bit more submissive then some of its litter mates. She adapts well to new situations but will look to you for leadership at times. This puppy is generally good with children and the elderly. She usually has a common sense approach to life and trains well.  This puppy scored well in the social attraction categories and may be more easily taught to come and is cuddly and friendly. Its interest in people can be a useful tool in training.

Pink has a curly coat.  She is apricot in color. She has a boxy head and short muzzle and her build is small to medium. Currently the pull test for shedding was positive for possible mild shedding (1-2 hairs were removed when a small area above the base of the tail was pulled firmly.) Remember the pull test is a guide only and may not always be accurate we have seen dogs in the past go either way but we like to use it as a general guide.

I am SO excited to go pick her up next Saturday. In the meantime, we'll be finishing house projects and enjoying sleeping in on this last weekend without having to get up to let the dog out for potty time! 

Lastly, I wanted to share this little project that Matt designed this weekend. We are trying to be creative with storage space in our kitchen. We have a lot more space than we did in Seattle but we still have SO much kitchen stuff that it's pretty ridiculous...we do use it all though so I don't want to get rid of anything. So...Matt came up with this! We went to this antique store just to look around and found this ladder. I wish I would've taken a picture of it before Matt broke it in half but I didn't...

still trying to be creative with the hooks...using wire hangers for now :)

This date is written on the underside of the top of the ladder...it's also the date that Raleigh was born, just in 2011

And using the other half as his night stand

 Pretty creative, eh? So glad to have a handy husband.