Boo's Blog

For some reason, Kevin said that Kera needed a picture of this, so here it is. Around 7:00 a.m. this morning Cassey came in to see me to be let out (she sleeps in the bed with Ari when Katie is away). The first thing I noticed was her colorful nails.


Cassey apparently doesn't like getting manis, but she loves the attention (especially from Kevin) when she looks pretty.



I know Jack will kill us the next time we see him...especially if Cassey gets a mani for him.
The funny thing is, is that Ariel has matching nails...

Today we went to the Orange County Animal Shelter and picked out Cali (short for Caliban).


(Cali at the pound - a little blurry, but she was excited to be with us).

Here is her web site from the pound. I don't know how long this will be up.
http://www.petfinder.com/petnote/displaypet.cgi?petid=11685265


She is a hound mix and is about 6 months old. We will set Feburary 24, 2008 as her birthday - exactly 6 months from Ariel's birthday.
Her name is Cheta on the web site, but we are changing it to Caliban and will call her Cali. Caliban is a character in Shakespeare's The Tempest and we felt it was appropriate to have another family member named from our favorite Shakespeare play.

Cali immediately drew my attention and we were debating about visiting with her or the puppies in the kennel beside hers (you can only visit with one puppy or litter of puppies per day in order to avoid spreading diseases). Ari was more interested in the younger puppies, but then this one barked at us to let Kevin and me know she really wanted a chance to visit with us. Kevin and I couldn't resist that little bark, so we chose to visit with her. After a few minutes of playing and tummy-lovin', we knew this was the dog that would join our family.
She will have surgery and an identifying micro-chip installed on Tuesday, and we will pick her up on Wednesday.

Today was our last day of travel, and our last chance to get a Rotier's Cheeseburger. We checked out of "Chateau Wonderful" around 9 a.m. (Central Time) and headed for Nashville. We arrived at Rotiers at 11:30 and there was no closed sign! We ordered milkshakes, cheeseburgers and fries (I know, my doctor would not approve). There was a problem with the milkshakes - I think the ice cream had melted during the time they were closed - so we ordered diet cokes and unsweet tea instead (see, we can be healthy when we try). Anyway, we had a great time, and got our cheeseburgers.







Judy had stocked us with snacks for the ride home (THANKS JUDY!!!), so we didn't need to make any prolonged stops the rest of the day. We rolled into Statesville around 8:00 p.m. (Eastern Time) and were weary and tired. We were really ready for a good night's sleep. I did my night-time routine, crawled into bed with my book and my iPhone, and promptly the smoke alarm went off...AGAIN! The only thing we can figure is that there is a new CFL bulb in the lamp beside my bed, and it must be giving off some gas or something and setting off the smoke alarm. Anyway, after a little poking around, we all went to bed (with a new bulb in the lamp) and had a good night's sleep after a wonderful Thelma and Louise adventure.

Today we left Hannibal after saying goodbye to Katie, Kera, and some random guest that honked and waved goodbye as they were leaving. Kevin drove us to St. Louis (about 100 miles from Hannibal) where we toured the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial (commonly known as the Gateway Arch).


It takes about 4 minutes to get to the top. The top of the arch is 630 feet tall. Who can find Desdemona (the new Jeep) in this picture???


The three of us (or Thelma, Louise and Brad Pitt) at the top of the Arch.


Ari sitting on the observation deck (literally).


This is the pod that took us back down to the bottom of the Arch. It seats 5 people and takes about 3 minutes to descend.


The three of us at the base of the Arch.


We drove Kevin to the airport in St. Louis and sadly said our goodbyes. It would have been great if he could have stayed, but he had to get back to work. Ari and I headed out to get some miles behind us and have ended up in Paducah, Kentucky. There is a good chance that we will finish our trip tomorrow, so we splurged on our room tonight. We arrived at the hotel just in time for hot cookies and milk time (being served in the lobby), then Ari and I took a soak in our in-room hot tub while watching the Olympics. When I told Kevin about cookies and milk and the hot tub, he said "Where are you staying? Chateau Wonderful?". Actually we are staying in a Holiday Inn Express.

(Ari watching the Olympic Swimming Events)

Today is Kera's wedding day! We saw The Future Mrs. Rolsen down at breakfast this morning and Clyde (the office Monkey) was able to get a quick picture with her.


We headed out early this morning and went into downtown Hannibal where we went to the Mark Twain Boyhood Home & Museum. In the Interpretive Center Kevin found this quote, which sums up how I feel sometimes.

("Now and then we had a hope that if we lived and were good, God would permit us to be pirates." from Life on the Mississippi)

We toured the Huckleberry Finn House and the Boyhood home of Samuel Clemmons. We walked down to the Mississippi where I got to spend a few minutes sittin' on the river.

(Ari is sucking on her Huckleberry Lollipop. Kevin and I had already finished our Huckleberry Chocolates).

We did some browsing on Main Street, then climbed the stairs to the Lighthouse where we had a great view up and down the Mississippi.


(Tom and Becky. I didn't realize Becky has such fashionable sunglasses...)

After lunch, we headed out to the Mark Twain Caves. These were really fun to go through. At one point the guide turned out all lights and we were in total and complete darkness. I couldn't see the hand in front of my face, because, well, I tried.


The wedding was just perfect. It was held in the gazebo at the Garth Mansion in Hannibal. Kera was absolutely beautiful, and John is a lucky man to have met her. The reception was held in the Mansion and we were able to enjoy time with friends & Katie's family.