Pet problems

So if any of you follow us on Facebook or Instagram, you may have seen our issues with the dog door installed this spring. We have had mice, birds, rats and unidentifiables brought inside from the cats and dog. Unfortunately we think it may have caused more of problem than just an unfriendly critter. Ronald got ill one night and didn't move from his sleeping position of over 7 hours when I decided I was going to take him to the emergency vet. His temperature was 106 and the vet stated he was in critical care. They wanted to keep him overnight but it would have cost $900 which we just couldn't afford at the time. I asked them to do what they could to make him last until morning when I would take him to our regular vet. They put a solution under his skin to rehydrate him and gave him a strong antibiotic. I put ice packs under the carrier he was sleeping in and set him up a living area in our big dog kenel. They stated I would need to check on him every hour. I slept by him all night, getting up every hour to see how he was doing. At 6:30 am I got up and drove him to our vet. They ran tests but couldn't figure out what was wrong. His temperature was still 105. They gave him two shots and an oral antibiotic for me to use at home. He's doing better now bit still not 100%. I may bring him back to the vet this week if he doesn't get better by Wednesday. The only culprit we can think of was a black bird Ronnie and Colby caught the previous Monday. Needless to say, the dog door is now closed up and will not be reopened until we can replace it with a high tech magnet activated door so only Cadence will be able to use it. The cats are annoyed with this decision. They spend hours whining at the door and hissing when we walk past them. They will get over it! I hope Ronnie gets better soon and we can return to saving up our money instead of paying vet bills! 

This is a mouse he caught this summer! 

Just hanging out. 

Pouting since I won't let him out :(

Busy, busy, busy.

Some say the hardest year of marriage is the first and some say there is a 6 year slump. I've even hear once your kids leave the nest you're likely to get divorced as well. Thanks for all the supportive advice world, but these two Shades are gonna make our own story up.

This year has had many challenges, but every one of them has made us stronger. Early this summer we said goodbye to my grandfather, Morris Burkett. I wouldn't say I was close with my grandpa but he was a constant in my life and he was basically my father figure growing up. It was hard saying goodbye. I wrote him a letter thanking him for truly living up to being a Christian. He wasn't judgemental of others lives, treated everyone with respect and although not affectionate, you knew he was there when you needed help. He was very fond of Jared and spoke to him more than he probably did to me my whole life!! They do have a lot in common. My grandpa taught computer and outdoor courses at Wabash Valley College, so needless to say they had a lot of good discussions. He had Jared working on his computer up to the weekend before he left this world. They were two peas in a pod talking about technology and the great outdoors. I'm so glad my grandpa was able to meet Jared and get to know him. I know he approved of my choice in a partner!

Last month we also said goodbye to Jared's grandfather, Oliver Junior Arnold. He, like my grandpa, lost his battle to cancer. Jared and his grandpa have the same witty personality and he always made us laugh with his honesty. I only knew Junior for a little over 3 years but I can tell he loved his grand kids like no one else. He was a hard working man. He had a garden and fruit trees and loved to hunt for arrowheads. He was so hard working he even threated to mow the yard two weeks before he passed, because Jared's sister didn't live up to his perfectionism... Hmmm sounds familiar ;) the funeral was hard but Jared was there for his family 110%. He has been helping his mother and grandmother with moving. His brother Kyle is in from Reno this week to help as well. His sister Lauren was a wonderful host and cooked for us while we were visiting. His grandmother is coping as best she can and is in the process of moving in with Jared's mother.

Saying goodbye is always tough but I'm thankful for my family. Everyone has been supportive. 

In other news, I started a new job on the first of June. I am now an Applied Behavioral Therapist at a clinic in Kentucky. I'm learning a lot and so excited to be working with kids. It's a tough job and I'm learning how difficult parenting is. I do feel I'm gaining knowledge on ABA therapy and feeling more confident in my new position. It's a rewarding job and I'm happy.

Jared is working at The Heart Group still and going to school as well. He has a class this month that meets on Saturdays, YIKES! He's a hard worker, that's for sure! This summer he did very well in mountain bike races. He received three 3rd place medals in cateory 2 and really impressed people with moving up a category and still getting on the podium. He also is getting a reputation for kicking butt on a single speed! He has trained our puppy Cadence to be a trail dog and she is a natural! Now when she sees a bike she gets very excited and wants to go for a ride/run. She's just like us.

It seems we are getting into the groove with our new schedules and working as a team! We really do have a partnership and work on most everything together. The first year is turning out to be great (knock on wood). We are so thankful for all our friends and family over the past couple of months. We love you all!!!

The pictures below are from our day hiking trip to Shawnee National Forest. We were testing out our backpacking equipment. :)

Housing Updates and Graduation

So as many of you know, Jared bought a house when he was in his early 20's. It went almost 10 years without much decoration... that was until Jillian came along and spruced it up! The house is coming together with a little TLC.

The most recent updates are the back yard and the kitchen. One weekend, while procrastinating, I decided to make a hammock, fire pit, new garden, and a tree swing. I really REALLY didn't want to write my paper for class. Jared helped with the concrete setting on the hammock posts but surprisingly I was able to do most of the hard labor on my own. It's years of being raised by two hard working women. It gave me such a sense of accomplishment and now the back yard looks fabulous. In fact, this past Saturday we had some friends over to enjoy the fire pit and cute Adirondack chairs Jared's mama painted for us last year. The kitchen got an upgrade this weekend too.... drum roll please... we got a dishwasher!!! I know I'm getting old when I'm very excited about a dishwasher!

This weekend also marked a big event for the two Shades. I finally graduated with my MSW from USI! Although I have until July to officially claim victory, it still feels wonderful! My important assignments are done- capstone poster and paper! I will take a substance use class, management class and finish up my internship this summer. Then it will be on to studying for my LSW exam! Oh what an adventure social work is.

Jared will hopefully graduate this time next year! I'm sure he is more than ready to have that BS degree. He is going to be taking summer classes but seems excited since they are more hands on and all about computers. The light is finally in sight.

This weekend we were able to enjoy family and friends. Friday night was graduation with my family and we went to Zuki afterwards to celebrate. Saturday Jared had to work but at night some friends came over for a campfire. We were able to meet Chantel and Mark's beautiful baby girl. On Sunday we went to Olney Illinois for one of my co-heart members graduation party. Nicole had a great party and it turned out to be a beautiful day. After the party we went to visit my grandpa Burkett and Jared worked on his computer and we talked about ancestry. We decided to buy the DNA test kit and once it comes in the mail we are going to visit grandpa to see if he will swab his cheek. We are all interested in how much native American blood we have in our family. Grandpa stated Cherokee Indians have swirls in their finger prints. My mom and I both have one index finger with a swirl so maybe we are 1/10th Native American... get it? One out of ten fingers!?

Our Western Adventure

Life has been crazy for the Shades lately but we wanted to update everyone on our trip out West and how our spring is going so far. We had the opportunity to visit Kyle and Kelsey in Reno Nevada during the first week of March! We had an absolute blast and now have Western Fever to move out that direction. Jared and Kyle had a great time bike riding in the mountains while Kelsey and I were able to hike and have some quality best friend time.

We enjoyed the healthy lifestyle which is more welcome and normal out there than in the good ol' Midwest. People are very active and looking for new activities to participate in. I personally loved Lake Tahoe! Of course I would because I have expensive taste but I love being near water. Reno was really fun and interesting but I don't know if I'm a desert kind of girl. Put me near the ocean, lake or river and I'm down to party. As Jared always says- he's the rock and I'm the stream!

Jared and I gambled a little while in Reno. We won nothing but only spent $20 a person. I had a lot of fun pulling the levers. Jared tried his luck on the Roulette table. We just don't have that kind of luck. It was fun to feel like we experienced every part of Reno. We also got to go out on the town with some of K&K's friends who were very friendly and entertained by our "southern" accents... I don't think I have one but sometimes Jared sounds more... "Jennings county". ;)

The best thing we did while we were out there was the high ropes course in Tahoe! It was scary, funny, and awesome- I hurt my abs from laughing so hard. Of course Kyle and Jared were better at it than Kels and I however, I think us girls had more fun (as always). I think I'm gradually getting over my fear of heights.

While we were gone our friend Cordaro watched Cadence for us and we are so grateful! Cady loves spending time with Cordaro's dog, Duncan. The two puppies are friends for life. I did miss our puppy girl while we were gone! I'm glad to be home but hope we can visit our family out West again soon.

Puppy Love

Puppy love!! After two years of begging Jared for a canine fur baby he caved. On Saturday we went to the Vanderburgh Humane Society and fell in love with this little girl. She is part lab part border collie and 100% smart. While visiting we were able to teach her to sit and retrieve. She loves to play. We will have our hands full for sure. We already have an idea on taking her to puppy school. Jared really wanted a dog with a bicycle-ish name and that is how we landed on Cadence as our new family members name. Cadence will be getting spayed tomorrow and then we can finally brin her home!! We are ao excited an can't wait for our new adventure. I wonder how the cats will respond! 

Jared's 30th Birthday!

I can't believe Jared celebrated his dirty thirty this week! Thanks to all who helped us celebrate. On Saturday night we met up with friends and family at Turonis Pizzeria in Newburgh. This was the first time we had gone to the Newburgh location. Normally we like to go to the Forget-me-not Inn on Weinbach but thy don't take reservations on Friday and Saturday. We had fun but they atmosphere didn't have that old tavern feel we love so much. After dinner people  came over for drinks, cake and Jell-O shots! Chris and I made some awese rum and coke Jell-O shots. Made with 1 cup coke, 1 cup rum and a small pack of black cherry jello. We had some lanterns we were going to send off but it was raining and we're unable to do so. Now we need to find an excuse to use them! On Jared's actually birthday we made homemade pizza. It was a successful celebration. Now here's to another 30 years! 

The Shade WedIt Wedding Video

On pinterest I found a pin about an alternative to hiring a videographer for your wedding. WedIt is a company that will send you iPods in the mail, which you can hand out to guests at your wedding to take video. After the wedding you send the iPods back in and for another fee you can have their IT genius minds create a video. I however, knew a little about Microsoft Movie Maker and decided to take editing the film into my own hands.

It took about 7 hours of work but I'm pretty pleased with the product. I thought I'd post our video for family and friends to view and anyone else who is interested or thinking about renting WedIt cameras for their wedding. Here is a tip- don't waste your time taking pictures with the iPod cameras. We were disappointed in the quality. The video turned out better than the photos. Enjoy :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QyVNw51nfRI&feature=youtu.be