Can you believe it? A 7-foot Newfoundland?!?!?

September and October have been a whirlwind of activity... and Brian and I are really hoping for a breather. I never thought I'd be hoping for a weekend of errands and chores, but at least we'd be hanging out at home instead of being on the road.

I actually just returned from a [once-in-a-blue-moon] business trip. And the destination was an interesting one to boot. I went to the Netherlands. The last business trip I went on was in 2005, to Washington DC, just a month after Brian and I got married. And I have to admit that, although it was tough to be apart then, it's even tougher now. It was my first time in the Netherlands, so sure, the novelty of a new city to explore was fun (at least for the first couple days). But being apart and not having Brian be just a quick phone call away was a huge bummer. Plus we've always shared our European adventures together, so touring the city alone just wasn't as fun.

On my first day in Amsterdam, with only a couple hours of sleep on the airplane behind me, I forced myself to stay awake. Walking through unfamiliar canal roads was enough to keep me up for most of the day, as I tried to stay alert enough to remember exactly which 'straat' and which 'weg' I needed to take to retrace my steps back to the hotel. Some words of caution for those who might find themselves in Amsterdam in the future:

1. 'Coffee shops' don't really serve coffee (go to a cafe because there IS a difference!).
2. If you treasure your life, stay off the bicycle lanes.
3. If the pedestrian light says don't walk, don't walk! Cars, scooters, and bikes come from EVERY direction.
4. Beware of the city trams. According to the locals, they're known to be killers of unexpecting, unaware tourists.
   

The floating Bloemenmarkt had such beautiful flowers and the historic buildings and canals were such a sight.

We took a family road trip to Houston over the week and had a few cheesy-goodness moments, all involving our silly Newf.

Firstly, 4 paws up for Aloft Hotel for welcoming us AND our sweet Rosie to their hotel. If you're a big dog owner, you know how hard it is to find dog-friendly accommodations. But Aloft Hotel (thanks to assistant general manager Neil) was really understanding of our circumstances and allowed our Rosie to stay with us. How much damage can a dog sawing logs 23 hours a day really make?

Rosie gets called a bear a LOT! We're asked "Is that a bear?" on any given day, whether it's by a neighbor that's never seen us around before or by someone driving on Camp Bowie who stops in the middle of the busy road to check out the bear on a leash. So we had to take a picture of Rosie next to these stuffed decorative bears (I assume it's the equivalent of flamingo yard-art in Texas).

Bear cub twins

Rosie was definitely bigger than the cub but not quite as big as the mama bear

"My mom is a total paparazzo!"

Photo Title: Man and His Dog

Rosie hanging ten (i.e. walking on the boat ramp)

"Those were some mean waves, they messed up my 'do!"

Now, more than ever, I treasure just being able to enjoy a slow, uneventful evening with Brian. It's the simple things that are always the best. Just being able to do them together, with Rosie on our tail, is what makes every moment special. From our evening walks around the block, our trips to the dog park and the lake, our competitive Blockus and Bananagrams games, our travels and adventures together, even to our low key lounging around the house, I treasure them all.

It was our '3 year anniversary' with Rosie last Sunday. To celebrate, we treated her with her own personal seared steak dinner. Despite our good intentions, it (literally) backfired 5-fold (and I do mean 5-fold). Rosie has thanked us back nicely with not one, not two, not three, not four, but five offensively disgusting cowpies. And you guessed it, big dogs make BIG cowpies. Needless to say, despite multiple cleaning sessions, our carpet is in a disgusting state and our home smells like it's been sprayed with Eau de Poop room spray. Ugh, I can't live like this.