Thanksgiving in Iowa

It's been awhile since I've posted an update here! Things are going great in Indiana. Nick and I just got back from a holiday trip to Iowa for Thanksgiving, and now I am counting down the days until Christmas break! Only one week of classes and one week of finals til my first semester of Optometry school is over! Hard to believe it has gone so fast. For Christmas, I believe Nick will only be home the 22nd through the 25th. Then he has to head back for work. I am planning on driving seperately so I can spend a bit longer with friends and family in Iowa. Tentatively I will drive home on the 20th and stay til the 1st or maybe 2nd? Not sure yet!

Anyways, these pictures are from Thanksgiving in Iowa. Nick and I went to 3 Thanksgiving celebrations while we were home. The first was Wednesday night at Bill and Lisa's house (Nick's parents). We ate and visited with Bill, Lisa, Nick's sister Melisa, Nick's brother Nate and his girlfriend Heather. It was a great night with roast beef instead of turkey - a nice change so that all the meals weren't exactly the same. The second get-together was Thanksgiving noon at Nick's grandma Mary's house. There were around 25-30 people there and we had a feast - all the usual Thanksgiving items, I'm sure no one left hungry! I also got to play cards with all of the younger kids while the adults socialized - it was a fun time (the other picture here is of me with Nick's cousing Chelsea who was the flower girl in our wedding).

Then we headed to my parent's house where we had an early dinner with my parents, Grandpa, Aunt Terry and Uncle Joe, Aunt Barb and Uncle Mike, and cousins Kristine and Karen and her husband Adam. Another great meal and conversation time here! Plus Kinnick and Herky had the opportunity to meet their dog-cousins; Karen and Adam brought their greyhound Razzy and the greyhound Sophie that they are fostering.

We were also able to spend time with friends over break on Friday night, and had a great time eating at Zeno's in Marshalltown and playing darts and pool afterwards. On Saturday evening we were able to help my parents put up the Christmas tree and snap a few festive family photos in the process.

We are very thankful for the great time we had, the safe drive to Iowa and back, and we are also thankful that my grandparents (who were sick over break) are feeling better now! We are also very thankful that the dogs slept almost the entire 9 hour trip both ways!

Big Dog Park Adventure

We had heard about an awesome dog park on the north side of Bloomington, so we decided to take Herky and Kinnick there. Lezlie came along and brought her two dogs, Molly and Zelly. When we first got there, it seemed great: lots of grass to run and play, lots of friendly dogs and owners, and even a reservoir off of Griffy Lake to swim in. We soon found out that there was no fence seperating the park from the surrounding wooded area. So we had to watch the dogs very carefully so they didn't run off into the woods. Then as Kinnick was chasing another dog (way across the dog park from us) they suddenly got through a hole in the fence! The two dogs were running along the road! But luckily two other guys helped us and both dogs came right away when we called them. After chasing Herky, Kinnick, Molly & Zelly in the woods and on the road and thinking that we had lost them for sure - we decided to leave. Unfortunately, I don't think we will be going back anytime soon, not until we can be sure that they will come when we call them. It's really too bad we can't go back, because the dogs had a blast and it sure wore them out!

Halloween Party

We went to a Halloween party hosted by VOSH (Volunteer Optometric Services to Humanity). Many of the optometry students along with their significant others attended the party. We all had a great time! Nick and I went as pirates complete with a sword and fake hook. Nick even decorated his leg to look like a wooden leg! The first picture shows a group of friends that got together at Todd's apartment beforehand - he made us snacks including an awesome taco dip!

Welcome to the Family Kinnick!

Well my birthday present came a little bit early! He is laying here beside me sleeping right now! Yep that's right, we got another dog! (No, I promise you we are not crazy!) It's kind of a long story, we knew we wanted to get another dog eventually, but we were planning on next summer... Well anyway, we have always enjoyed looking at dogs, and we decided that an older dog would have lots of advantages - already potty-trained, already had shots and neutered. We went to the humane society to look at their dogs and were looking at some around Herky's size, but they were all younger than we wanted (4-8 months). Nick really wanted to look at this male yellow lab mix named Curtis, but I thought he was too big. Once we got him out in the play area we realized he was a big goofball! He loves to play fetch and already knew how to sit. The humane society guessed he was around a year, but didn't know his history since he was a stray. It was obvious that he had been around people and had some training since he already knew sit and acted very well socialized. We decided to think about it and consider bringing Herky in for a visit. We ended up bringing Herky in the next day to meet him, and it went great! Herky was a bit overwhelmed since he was bigger, but they were soon chasing each other around! Just what Herky needs - an exercise buddy and some company. Since October is Adopt a Shelter Dog month, adoptions were half price! So he was $40 which includes neutering, shots, microchip, and a certificate for a free vet visit! Since he didn't know his name the shelter gave him (Curtis), we decided to change it and stick with the Hawkeye theme, so his name is Kinnick! He is working out great - needs a little work on the leash, but he has learned his name in less than 2 days, sits on command, and doesn't have accidents in the house (except when he first came home, only once). He had his free vet visit and the vet said he looks very healthy but needs to put on about 10 pounds (you can see his ribs now), and she agreed that he is between one and two years old.

Here's some pictures from Kinnick's first few days home!

Nick & Kacie Update

No pictures to share in this post, but I thought I would update what has been going on with Nick and I. I just had midterms, so it was a crazy week! 3 tests, 2 quizzes, a paper and the regular homework to keep up on! Lots of studying this week, but it went well and I am glad it is over! Now it is about one test a week until Thanksgiving. This week was also the equipment show, which is where major vendors of optometric equipment, lenses and frames come to campus. They have booths, hand out free stuff and give information to optometry students and local optometrists. I got lots of good information, some free handouts, and great discounts on glasses! We were able to buy 1 or 2 frames 40-50% off of wholesale price! Nick needed some new glasses, he got Nike frames (normally $245) for $45. I also picked out a frame for $35. We will order the equipment that we looked at sometime before Thanksgiving, so I need to make up my mind on a brand before then! Next weekend I am going to Indianapolis to walk in the VisionWalk which raises money for research to cure and treat blindness.

Nick says that he hasn't been doing anything...besides unsuccessfully cheering for the Hawks and the Cubs. At least the Cowboys are still winning! So I guess if you want to know what he has been up to, you will have to call him. We are planning to come back to Iowa for Thanksgiving, hopefully leaving on Tuesday night and getting home late Tuesday night. We should be able to stay until Sunday morning! We're excited to see all of you and miss Iowa!

Herky Update

Herky is still a growing puppy, he is almost 5 months old and has lost all of his baby teeth except his 4 big canines. He weighs 35 pounds now and seems to be getting bigger everyday! He went to the vet on Thursday and was neutered and microchipped. He stayed at the vet all day Thursday and I picked him up that night. He slept most of the night and Friday morning. Friday night he seemed to be a lot better and ate quite a bit of food. Today he seems to be back to his usual self, eating like normal and wanting to run and play! It is going to be hard to follow the vet's rules: he isn't supposed to run or jump for a whole week! No dog park and no walks! That means lots of extra energy!

Nick's Birthday

Nick's 23rd birthday was on September 28th, which was a Friday. That night we went out to eat at Grazie, an Italian restaurant that we had gotten a gift certificate for as a wedding gift (thanks Pat & Jessica!). The food was good! The next day we invited some friends over for a grill out to celebrate Nick's birthday some more. The food was good, but we had lots of extras! We ate outside because it was so nice, and as we were eating cake we decided to put Herky and Molly (Josh & Lezlie's dog) inside to play and kept Josh & Lezlie's smaller puppy Zelly out with us. Pretty soon we heard a big crash! Molly had reached up to the table and eaten half of Nick's birthday cake! Good thing we already had some! Unfortunately we didn't take any pictures of the people that night, but we have pictures of the cake and the dogs! Haha