Day 2: Family Day in Connecticut

Thursday began with daily mass. This is not something Jacob and I normally do and at first we were hesitant to attend because we had hoped to sleep in that morning. However, we are both thankful that M&M encouraged us to attend mass because it started our day off on a positive note (and mass was only 30 min. long). After mass, 13 of us (Michelle, Manuel, Mary, Stan, Danielle, Stanley, Emily, Abby, my mom, my grandma, Brittany, Jacob, and I) headed for New Haven for a scavenger hunt inside the Knights of Columbus museum. After the scavenger hunt we had several delicious pizzas at Bar. The pizza crust was thin and crispy and the toppings were mouthwatering (i.e., nice and greasy). Yep, we even tried mashed potato and bacon pizza, which was good but confusing for our mouths. Ultimately, our favorites were the cheese and the pepperoni pizzas.

After our pizza lunch we headed back to Trumbull to decorate Mary and Stan's backyard for the reception. The rain never let up and after a few hours of wrapping tulle around the tent posts we headed back inside drenched with water. I know this in probably difficult for our San Antonian friends to comprehend since we're in a drought so to put it into some perspective, we were wearing rain coats, rain shoes, jeans, sweatshirts, and carrying umbrellas, and still our jeans were soaked up to our knees. It felt as though we had gone to Schlitterbahn with our winter clothes on.

Day 1: Heading East for Manuel & Michelle's (M&M's) Wedding

On Jun 17' 09, we boarded a plane and headed for LaGuardia, NY. Since we don't travel much, we arrived at the airport so early that we were the 1st people in line and we waited 1 1/2 hrs before the check in counter even opened.


Manuel and Michelle immediately greeted us upon our arrival at LaGuardia, NY. From there we headed to CT in Michelle's mom's minivan. During the drive, we celebrated M&M's upcoming wedding with sparkling grape juice.

After checking into the Hilton Garden Inn in Shelton, CT, we headed over to Mary and Stan's house (Michelle's mom and stepdad). Michelle's family greeted us with open arms and made us a spectacular dinner! The dinner consisted of a salad, chicken tarragon on garlic toast topped with gravy, pork tenderloin, rice, and steamed broccoli. For dessert we enjoyed carrot cake and tiramisu. We felt as though we had just dined at a 5-star restaurant! We can definitely see why Tommy (Michelle's brother) is pursuing a career as a chef.

Monica's b-day

On May 24th, we celebrated Monica's b-day at Maggiano's where I attempted to eat a HUGE bowl of pasta that lasted for 2 additional days!

Monica


Jacob & Me


Matthew, Jacob's mom, & Jacob's dad

Beto & Monica

Monica blowing out her candles (Beto gave her a delicious Tres Leches cake & Maggiano's gave her a plate of refreshing lemon cookies)

Jacob (not so) busy at work

Jacob spent part of his day in a dunk booth for his school's fun and fitness day on Apr 23 ' 09. His students jumped at the opportunity to dunk him.

A Better Mouse Trap

We just spent 2 hours trying to build a "better mouse trap." Okay, it was more of a barricade with an opening to allow Chloe and Crystal access to the bathroom while keeping Casper out of it.

Yes, we did consider several options but each option came new problems:

Option 1: Lock the cats in the bedroom with access to the bathroom during the day.
Problem: We worry that the cats may retaliate and protest by not using the litter box (yes, this is the exact reason we need the barricade to begin with).

Option 2: Lock Casper in the spare bedroom.
Problems: It sort of defeats the purpose of having an indoor guard dog if he's locked away in a room all day.

Option 3: Leave Casper outside all day.
Problems: We live in TX and after all of his practice of getting through a barricade we also fear that he may be able to climb fences. Basically, we love him too much to risk leaving him outside all day.

Option 4: Get rid of one species (either both cats or the dog).
Problems: We made a committment to the animals when we first adopted them and will only give them up if they become aggressive or if we can no longer provide a good home for them. Again, it comes down to us loving them and them not doing anything that truly warrants us giving them up (yet). After all, it's separation anxiety that has caused Casper to resort to drastic measures and seek out the bathtub as a safe haven while we're not home.

Option 5: Put a cat hole archway in the door.
Problems: We might not install it or create it correctly. We may not build the opening large enough (our cats love to eat). We'll need to buy a new door if we ever sell the house.

Option 6: Keep trying to build a better barricade.
Problems: It takes time to set up in the morning and we need to build it strong enough to keep Casper out but still safe enough to prevent him and the cats from being injured if it fails.

After considering all of our options we determined that option # 6 is the best one.

After numerous failed attempts of building a barricade with a baby gate and other random materials we have around the house, we finally succeeded (we think). The barricade consists of 2 sturdy cardboard boxes, 2 shoe racks carefully positioned on their sides, and a baby gate to top it all off. The true test will be tomorrow. Hopefully, it works!