by sandra.

a few weeks ago we took schmoo schmoo to the pumpkin maize on sauvie island. this was his first visit and he loved it! we went through the corn maze, walked through the pumpkin patch, and checked out the farm animals — but his favorite was going on a hay ride. he sat contently throughout the ride and loved looking around at the fields and trees. the pup joined me at another farm in vancouver for monica’s 21st birthday and again he loved the hay ride. who would’ve guessed?

you can watch a video of our first trip here.

this past weekend we walked schmoo down the street to “trick or treat” in his pumpkin costume. he received many compliments from adults and many children stopped to pet him. he would’ve been happy just to lick some faces or chew on his costume, though.

by sandra.

with the temperature getting hotter everyday, frank and i wanted to get out of our stuffy house to somewhere cooler. today we headed to the gorge where’s it’s quite shady. first we visited bridal veil falls using a secret shortcut that we discovered. we had visited here before with the pup but this time he was much braver. he enjoyed splashing in the water and even went down the stairs (in army crawl position!)

we planned on hitting up some of the other waterfalls in the gorge but they were too crowded. we decided to visit the bonneville fish hatchery and i’m so glad we did. It was such a treat — large grassy areas for the pup to play, fish to watch, and a nice breeze blowing. we plan on returning another day to have a picnic and hike a nearby trail.

for lunch we headed across the river to stevenson, washington, to visit walking man brewery. we hadn’t been there before so frank was excited. the restuarant had a nice shaded patio area which i appreciated.

all in all it was a great day. frank, the pup, and i all had a lot of fun. it was a great reminder of how lucky we are to live in the northwest.

by sandra.

two weeks ago frank and i drove to hermiston, oregon, to pick up the newest member of our family. he is a 3 1/2 month old pug puppy that we’ve named mr. “schmoo schmoo” magoo.

we are VERY happy to have schmoo schmoo, but definitely feel like new parents. we worry about him when we’re not with him, get up with him in the middle of the night, and wake up at 6 AM with him every morning. oh, and we can’t get over how ridiculously cute he is!

schmoo schmoo is growing and learning every day, though. so far he’s experienced his first hike, learned to sit and fetch, and is getting better at potty training and walking on a leash. he’s also met my parents’ dogs, sugar and angel, and some of our friends’ dogs, millie and tosh. we’re so thankful that he “plays well with others,” although angel and sugar are still a little afraid of him. we still figuring out why, though, since angel and sugar are at least 3 times as big as he is.

we’re also getting to know schmoo schmoo and his quirks. so far we’ve learned:
-he snores when he sleeps
-he loves toys with strings on them
-our shoes are especially tasty
-he’s scared of heights
-he likes eating yard debris like rocks, sticks, bark, leaves, and rose petals
-his hobbies include sitting on the couch, chewing on toys, and sleeping
-he doesn’t like to be left alone

by sandra.

since we’ll be home-bodies (instead of world travelers) this summer frank and i have finally created a garden. we’ve been thinking about this for awhile now, but now have the time and space.

first we built raised beds so we could use the square foot gardening technique. (more about that here.) in short, you divide your garden into square foot sections. then you plant a different plant in each square foot section in a grid based on the size of the full grown plant. so a tomato will take up one square foot while there’s 16 radishes per square foot.

we decided to plant starters for our peppers, tomatoes, zucchini and broccoli. you can see those in the picture below. we planted the bush bean, radishes, green onion, basil, and carrots from seed.

we’ve already harvested some radishes and lettuce, and are looking forward to eating some tomatoes soon. yum!

Here’s the full playlist on YouTube of our 15 minute video, “Frank and Sandra’s Bulgarian Honeymoon.”