Lizzie

So, today cris and I were on craigs list and couldnt help but we got a new puppy today! haha, we had been looking for a puppy for toby to play and I had been searching for months and finally we found some that hadn't all been claimed yet. She is 6 weeks old and is a pitbull/beagle mix.

So it is my pleasure to introduce you to...
Lizzie Lisenby.

not alot going on right now.

So, it's been a little while since i've updated my blog. But there really isn't too much to write about. I finally have a new job at the military clothing store on base making $10 an hour, and i only have 2 days off a week. And I am slowly but surely starting to get things ready for my newborn business. Cris has been doing alot more in physical therapy so he is getting better, and all the leg muscles are getting strong again. Toby, has just been... Toby. Well he gives me something to write about now that i think about it. One day, Cris and I went grocery shopping and we have been leaving Toby out while we are gone because he has been getting better about not chewing on things. Well i went to work and when Cris got home, somehow, Toby knocked over our decorative tree and ate most of the leaves off of it and chewed up the branches. Yea. And about a week ago, he ate the heels off of my lepoard print $80 shoes, 9 MORE pairs of my underwear, another bra, his tennis ball, and parts of the basket our decorative tree sits in. He is truthfully and honestly the black husky mix version of Marley off of Marley and me. If you haven't seen that movie, you would have to watch it to understand how surprised Cris and I are that Toby hasn't chocked to death on something or has died from some stomache problem. We took him to a vet just in case and the vet said he's a very very happy and healthy puppy. We don't really understand how but we are happy he is healthy. Here let's recap EVERYTHING this 7 month old puppy has eaten...

- 1 decrative tree
- 11 pairs of my underwear
- 5 candles
- 2 bras
- 1 tennis ball
- 3 cell phone chargers
- 1 of Cris's METAL brace for his knee (don't know where the metal pieces went)
- 3 pads from Cris Army helmet
- 2 pairs of jeans
- 2 leashes
- 2 cell phone covers
- 1 of our neighbors cigarette butts from outside
- 1 FULL loaf of bread
- 1 empty bag of cereal
- 1 ball cap
- 1 pair of $80 high heels
- 1 of cris's shoe laces off of his tennis shoes
- And tries to eat the vacuum cleaner??

which is a total of: 38 things (not including the vacuum cleaner)
I PROMISE WE FEED HIM 2 AND HALF CUPS OF DOG FOOD A DAY AND HE GETS DAILY WALKS!
but who couldnt love a face like this...



Cris and I love him to death and wouldn't give him up for anything. He is Mr. Personality and knows exactly when to put on that little puppy face.

5 month Anni. and Toby gets a new toy!

Today, was mine and Cris's 5 month anniversary... and we still can't believe we are married, haha! Being married has (so far, lol) been and wonderful journey and an unforgettable experience. We've been together so long it seems like but after getting married we learn new things about each other everyday. Like Cris (for some odd reason) will put the syrup in the fridge!? Weird right?!? So to celebrate our 5 month anniversary, we went out to the mall, bought some new shirts for Cris, and dress and a cute shirt and some new underwear (due to the fact Toby has been eating my cute underwear.) and we went to Outback Steakhouse (had the alaskan crab and a brownie thing for dessert). Then we went and saw the new Star Trek movie! While Katy and Josh dog-sat Toby. We had a blast!! It was alot of fun to finally go out just me and Cris. We haven't been able to go on a date since the wedding because of the move and us being busy all the time.

And yesterday, Cris went to go grocery shopping and came back with gifts for Toby! haha! And he loves every new toy we bring home to him... he is definitely one spoiled (and more than happy) puppy. He doesn't know it yet, but on the 24th Toby gets one more new toy since it's is birthday! He will be 7 months old this month. And he has grown ssoooo much since we brought him home when he was only 5 months old (it really wasn't that long ago. lol)



Toby's new toy! He likes to support his Army daddy, haha!



Cris also got him some very much needed bones too, haha! he loves to play with his bone!

Finding my place in this world

So, a few days ago, I was thinking about what exactly I want to major in, in college. I couldn't decide if I wanted to be a vet... or a graphic designer. And a watching Animal Planet, the Dog Whisperer (like I do every other day at 10am) then it hit. I'M GOING TO OPEN MY OWN PET BOUTIQUE! It's graphic design mixed with the love of animals! My mom owns her own business so I know that it's gonna take hard work... but when you work really hard for something when you accomplish your goal it is so much more rewarding than anything! So I've been brainstorming names and doodling logos and making rough sketches of the stuff I want to make. I've decided to start small (bandannas and name tags) but eventually I'm gonna be making dog beds and designer bowls and everything else you could ever want to spoil your four footed baby! I've got my name of the company and working on the logo. So watch out business world, Sam has got an idea!

Cris is on Staff Duty...

Today, Cris is on staff duty, which means he's on a 24 hour shift doing... whatever his sergeants tell him to go, I guess. It's kind of weird being home with just me and Toby but surprisingly I've been getting alot of stuff done. Like, I finally took pictures of the downstairs with everything unpacked!



Here's the Living Room (my favorite room in the house.)




This is the view of the TV on the couch. (nice, huh?)
(Thanks mom and dad :])




This is the Dinning Room. (at the moment its the computer room. lol)




Here is part of the Kitchen.




This is the other part of the Kitchen.
Surprisingly, this is the most used room in our house. lol!

Poor little Toby :/

Yesterday, Toby went to the vet to get neutered. We took him about 7:30am and he was all excited about going someone where in car. So we dropped him off, he whined a little bit as we were leaving but seemed to be okay and the vet let us know that he would probably be ready around 1pm. So Cris and I went home and did some yard work and house work. It was really weird to not have him in the house and I was missing him already. Then around 10am (2 hrs later.) the vet called and said he was done and was asking to call his mommy to come get him, lol! When Cris and I got there he was howling and whining and was, if not the only one making noise, the loudest. The vet told us she tried covering his cage to help him get some rest but he just howled louder, lol! Then she went to get him and a very groggy but very happy to us Toby came stumbling out to us. Then entire way home he was out like a light. And pretty much for the rest of the day.

Vet Orders:
-No rough play for 5-7 days
-Only small handful of food for the first day or two
-No licking the incision
-Cannot be outside unsupervised or for a long period of time

Dozur was not happy with the Vet orders. But we said it was okay to come visit Toby. Dozur tried, and tried to play with Toby by grabbing toys putting them in front of him and hopping around him and barking but poor Toby wasn't feeling up to it. I felt so bad for doing this but it had to be done. He is starting to eat a little bit more but his energy level is still way, way down. He will ask to go outside and he'll go out, pee or poop, then instantly ask to go right back inside. And I don't know alot about how they do neutering, but I'm a little worried about Toby's. His incision is pretty red and one side of it seems to be very swollen.

Hike up Flattop Hill

Yesterday, was probably one of the coolest days ever! We decided with our friends, Amanda, Katy, and Josh that we would go on a hike up Flattop hill with our dogs, Bandit, Dozur, and Toby. It was so much fun but the higher we got the colder it got. It was about an house hike up and an hour down. Yes, Cris came too and actually did very well. He really didn't want to miss out on it and is glad he didn't stay home. The scenery from up there was absolutely amazing. And we had a great time. Ask for Toby, he was in doggy heaven. He stayed up front and lead the pack foward through everything. I was very proud of my little trooper and my other trooper Cris for sticking with us. The pictures don't even come close to explaining how awesome it was and the experience itself was just unexplainable.

It was alot of first for Toby and Dozur. This was the first time they have ever riden in the bed of the truck. I think they kind of enjoyed the wind in their faces. lol!

Bandit on the other hand, had done this before, lol!

We were only a quarter of the way up here. And it already looks amazing, so we decided it would be a good spot to stop, eat, and take some pictures. :]

This is me, Cris and Toby


Here is Josh and Cris.

This is Katy and Josh.

Amanda, Katy and me.

Amanda, Bandit, Katy, Dozur, Josh, Cris, me, and Toby.


This was the easier part of the hike. The rest was stair-like and rock climbing. After a while everyones knees where hurting and it started to get really cold but when we got to the top... it was more than worth the knee aches and stinging skin. lol!


This was from the very top.
Cris and I would like to take Toby on a monthly basis because goin up the mountain he was in front leading the way the entire time and he seemed to be in his element and was loving every mintue of the clumb.

Sick Days

ugh... for the past two days... i've been sick.
it started with Josh one of our neighbors and we've been hanging out with alot and then amanda our other neighbor that hangs out with us... and now me.
this royally sucks. i think it might be just a cold, but like the Alaskan Cold... the worst type of cold you could get. lol

well... gonna take more medicine now... and probably take a nap.

Toby and Dozur

When Cris and I started meeting our neighbors we also met their dogs. Seems like everyone on our street has at least one dog. Amanda has Bandit and Smokey, a jack Russel terrier and a miniature dachshund, Katy has Dozur, a 6 month old German Shepard/Husky mix. And when our friends come over to hang out their dogs come with them and when we go over to their houses we bring Toby with us. Dozur and Toby are the exact same age and most of the dogs are older, so they have bonded quit quickly and love to see each other everyday! They are hilarious together, they even share the food bowl without growling or anything. Their battle buddies! And everyday is a play day for these two trouble makers, lol!

So Cris and I finally got our household good!! yayay! lol, and i was sooo excited until the movers left and i started looking around at how much crap we had!!! I DIDNT EVEN KNOW I OWNED THAT MUCH STUFF!! lol!



And you definitely dont want to even know what the upstairs looked like! haha, but cris and i are getting everything unpacked and as soon as everything is done we will take more pictures or the finished product.

Im really glad our stuff is finally here, cause its really starting to feel like 'home' to me. And our house is filling up almost daily it seems like lol! Im really starting to love it here. :]

Easter Boxes!! :]

This was Toby's first Easter! And thanks to my mom, he had a great day!

He had lots of little goodies in his Easter basket!

<------ And this rough looking guy here is Ducky, Toby's easter gift from my mom ( his Nanie, lol ) and his new favorite toy/obsession! He carries it around, plays by himself with it, plays tug-o-war with it, fetches it (...sometimes), and even sleeps with it. I took this picture only about 30 mintues after he got it... and he already tore it up, lol! And Cris and I got more plates (yay!!) and some of mama's homemade chocolate chip cookies! They were kind of crushed from the apparently rough ride in the mail from Texas to Alaska but they were still very very good! Thank you so much for the easter boxes, Mom! We all appreciate it very much... especially Toby haha!

And this is one of Toby's new easter outfit, lol!------->

The house is starting to come together <3

CRIS AND I FINALLY GOT BOTH OF OUR COUCHES!! :]

And boy it wasn't easy getting the bigger one in... we actually had to take our front door off the hinges and put it in the kitchen for the moment... hahaha!!

And then squeeze the big couch through the front entry way, and then through the kitchen and dinning room! Thankfully our friends/good neighbor, Bruce, came over to help :]

And as soon as they got it in, Cris tested it out too see how comfy it was. lol!!



And here is our new TV... (with cable :])! the TV stand belongs to Barbie and Bruce, they are just letting us borrow it til we buy a new one!

Today, Cris, Toby and I all experience something we have never experienced before. Around 12 today, there was an easthquake about 20 miles outside of anchorage, and our house shook hardcore and it felt like a car ran into the side of our house but the ground was shaking too... the werid part it that it only last literally for 2 mintues. Totally crazy, right?!?!! But right after that the day went on like normal. Something that really sucks that you have to do living on base is clean you parking spot... and that means to chip and scoot the two inches of pure ice that built up through winter.... gay!!! And my arms are sore.. thankfully our neighbors, Barbie and Bruce came over to help. :)

Cris also had his second physical therapy and was pretty sore afterwards, but he's doing good, and his knee is getting better :)

Yesterday, I had to go to target to get milk and take back some sheets that Cris and I got that weren't the right color. And since petco was just across the street i decided to take Toby with me, lol! Boy was he excited... he didn't where we were going but he was excited to go! Haha! So he after I got out of target I took him into Petco. He was so funny, he was so happy and smelling everything (and everyone) and picking things up and carry them around and playing with the other puppies we saw there. So I had to get him something... the picture explains it all. Hahahaha!

He was one HAPPY puppy! :]

QUESADILLAS!!!

Last night I was very proud of myself! I made quesadillas for the first time!! And they were actually really good!!! haha! I surprised Cris... well i cant take ALL the credit... i called my daddy first before i started to make sure i knew what i was doing. Haha, and the first one i actually burnt pretty bad, but after the first on i was on a roll!! haha! ( Thanks daddy :] )
It was pretty easy too, all you need is flour tortillas, butter, and shredded cheese of your choice and basically make it like you would make grilled cheese sandwhiches... now if you dont know how to make grilled cheese sandwhiches i wouldnt advise making quesdillas until you know how to make grilled cheese sandwhiches. Haha, jk! Next time I'm going to buy some shredded beef and try to make beef and cheese quesadillas! Wow... i should write a cook book called... "Cooking made Easy for the Young and Dumb" hahaha!

TA-DA!! :]
tee-hee.

Oh, and this morning i made pancakes!! lol. Surprisingly i actually am starting to like cooking... its better than eating PB&J's and Ramen everyday. lol!

A Day at the Hospital

Cris had his stitches out today from his surgery. He was kind of nervous at first, but it actually didn't hurt at all... until we went to his physical therapy appointment. That was pretty painful for Cris, and the most nerve racking part was that was just the evaluation! Well, looks like we are gonna have a few days of pain for Cris. He will be okay though, I'm going to take really good care of him, lol! We were at the most pretty much all day doing stuff for Cris and getting his appointments in line and everything. He's going to be going to therapy once a week for the next few months, but he's really looking forward to getting better.

And tomorrow I have a job interview at PacSun, so wish me luck!

Love,
Cris, Sam and Toby :)

We got our Care Packages! YAY!

Today I got to sleep in pretty late, lol, and who doesn't love to sleep in? When I woke up, Cris was downstairs on the computer playing his favorite online game... W.O.W. Personally, I think it's a pretty awesome game myself. I like to play too, lol!

Then we went to lunch with our friends, Barbie and Bruce. Since Bruce had to go back to work right after lunch, Barbie went to the mall with us. We had to go get new phone chargers... because Toby ate our other ones. I wonder what the vet is gonna see if he takes an x-ray of Toby's stomache... haha, he would probably see some antlers from his first and favorite squeaky toy that use to be a moose but now looks like a mole. And parts of mine and Cris's phone chargers! Haha!... Anyway, after that we came back home and Barbie and I went grocery shopping... DUN DUN DUN DUUUNNNN! haha! I ended up almost walking out with half of what the entire PX had! Ok, not really but I ended up getting alot of stuff!

But the most exciting part of the day was that Cris, Toby and I got my moms care packages!! YAY! LOL! Toby loves everything my mom sent him... especially the bones... we gave him one and he's had it in his mouth pratically all day! He tries to hide it too... haha, he buried it in the laundry and was trying to hide it behind doors too! Then a few mintues later he would go get it and chew on it some more. Haha! And in mine and Cris's box we got kitchen stuff!! We got the coolest looking red and black plates and cups and bowls! We absolutely love them! (Thanks Mama! We love you!)

Well, Cris and I just got done watching Bolt... love that movie lol! And we are getting ready to head off to bed. I have a surprise breakfast for him tommrow! lol I can't wait!

love, Sam

A Day a the Park with Toby :)

Today, Cris and I decided to take Toby to this park that's at the end of our street. Since it hadn't snowed since early that morning and there wasn't a single cloud in the sky, the sun was out and even some of the ice on the roads and sidewalks was starting to melt! And it really wasn't too cold outside. The park was pretty much an open field and a little playground in the middle of a forrest with a fitness trail that goes around the field in the mist of the trees. It's a perfect place to take an energetic 5 month old puppy! He jumped and ran and rolled in and through the snow, even though it came all the way up to his belly! lol! I think thats the husky part of him that loves being in the snow. We tired him out, as soon as we got home he flopped on the floor and fell right to sleep. As he was sleeping Cris and I went over to our neighbors house and played a few board games before coming home to go to sleep ourselves.

Toby LOVES playing fetch and playing in the snow!


I had alot of fun too! :)

Regular day in Alaska

Today, Cris and I just basically had a pretty relaxing day. He got to play WOW while I read my book and took Toby out for short walks. It was also very cold today and suppose to get below freezing by the end of the week! It snowed almost two feet today and it's going to continue tonight! Well gonna go ahead and head to bed... Cris and I have a few things to do tomorrow! :)

Love, Sam

One Stinky Morning

This morning was a stinky morning.... literally...

Apparently, when I got up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom... I forgot to close our bedroom door... to keep Toby, my 5 month old puppy, in one room for the night...

This morning we find that he had eaten Cris's, my husband, phone charger.... and everything in the trash and part of Cris's brace for his leg. And something he ate last night gave him diarrhea, he pooped two times in the dinning room and once in the living room. We were so mad! But there wasn't anything we could really do except clean it up. But Toby has been good so far throughout the day... I just have to remember to close the door at night. lol! Having this puppy is starting to make me feel like we are learning more from him than he is from us! lol!

Well other than that, today has been pretty normal. Cris and I might call some of our friends and see if they want to go to the movies with us tonight... but it depends on how I'm feeling... I'm kinda starting to feel a little under the weather. If not Cris downloaded some new movies so we just might camp out on our living room floor with Toby and watch some movies here.

Well Cris and I have to go to the mall now to buy him a new charger.. since Toby ate his, lol!

Love, Sam

Me and my husband, Cris, have been married for 3 months now, we dated for about four years. We are highschool-sweethearts! Cris is a solider in the Army and is Infantry. Basic Training was a true test on our relationship... Thankfully we past, lol! We use to live in Texas, but we now live in Anchorage, Alaska on Fort Richardson Army Base. We now have a house, a 5 month old puppy named Toby and not very much stuff to put in the house, lol! Being newlyweds has been very exciting, but moving from Little Elm, Texas to Fort Richardson, Alaska was almost like entering a completely different world! And Alaska is actually considered "across seas" and up here, people call all the other states "the lower forty-eight". Cris and I are loving it though. We may be far away from family and long-time friends, but being away from everything we know helped us learn more about the world and each other. Our life has been very interesting, and completely unpredictable. Especially with Cris being in the Army, we never really know where or what we will be doing next. Well, that's pretty much all there is to know about us... so we will get to the recent events in our lives...






Cris tore his ACL back in December and had surgery on the 17th and is at the moment on con-leave, recovering. I just moved up here with him on the 11th. It's so nice to finally be moving in with him and being with him everyday! Anyways, then after that we moved into our base-house 23rd, the got Toby from the shelter on the 24th. So our lives here in Alaska are quickly moving along. Now we are getting by saving money for furniture to fill our slightly empty house, lol! Cris and I were laughing because one day, Cris was on the computer and I went into the kitchen and I yelled from the kitchen reminding him that he couldnt leave the milk out and it would be nice if he closed the cabinet doors... Cris and I began laughing when Cris said, "So, this is what married people talk about." We love the married life, haha! Well I need to go shovel our walk-way, it snowed about a foot and a half yesterday. But here are some pictures of our little family.... Thanks for reading :)



Love, Sam