Love is in the air........

Ah, yes! Fruity drinks, exotic cuisine, salty ocean air, all things Amber and Sean enjoyed on their honeymoon to the Mayan Riviera. They shared their experience with all of us last weekend while they were home. Both of them burned so bad that they were still peeling 2 weeks after their return home!! They brought mom beach sand from one of the top 10 beaches in the world, Dad and Jamie each got tshirts and I got a hollowed out painted guord with the nativity inside. I am glad she is a jetsetter!! I don't think you could pay me to get on an airplane!! They had pics of parrots and monkeys, Sean doing some odd things with props, and a very funny video of Sean doing his best Mexican yell! Oooo and my personal favorite a slightly tipsy Amber trying to figure out the hammock!! They were able to see some ancient Mayan ruins and ride a ferry to Cancun from their resort. (Amber and Sean were literally green at the end of the ride and wanted to ride a dolphin back to the resort!!) All in all they had a really great time. She sent me some pics to put on the blog.

Gone to the Dogs!!

I love my dogs! They each have such a neat personality. Buddy Holly is the eldest of the three and although he may be a big dog (he is a chocolate lab possibly crossed with a giraffe), he is the most gentle! He plays with the other two and is so careful not to bite too hard. Sometimes he does elicit a squeak from the little one, but otherwise he is sweet. Speaking of sweet he has a TERRIBLE sweet tooth. When I first got him I decided to make banana bread. I made two loaves of the stuff and put it in the microwave to cool. Little did I know that my Buddy knew how to open the microwave door! He ate half of both loaves. Elvis comes next in my menagerie! He is a very sweet and spunky Mini Dachshund. He is larger than life. He really is the King of the house! The thing about Elvis is that we know he is a little dog but HE doesn't! He eats large, poops large, barks like a big dog, and chases cows like a blue heeler. I feel I should tell you that since Buddy (BIG DOG) sees Elvis (LITTLE DOG) on peoples laps, he fancies HIMSELF a chiahuahua! Ever had a 90lb dog jump up into your lap while sitting in a recliner?
Last but not least, is the baby of the bunch, Duke. He is a total sweetheart. He is very shy and I think he suffers from low self esteem. He heard too many people say how ugly he is. But he isn't ugly at all. He is a dappled little fella who fits right here. Elvis has taken over the position as trainer. He was trying to teach Duke how to use the footstool to get on and off the bed. Of course Duke knows the jump is too much for him so he whines until I get him up or down

Happy belated valentines day to me!!!!

Ok so I just know I everyone knows that David gave me a choice last thursday. Either a coffee maker or a new little doxy puppy. I DID choose the coffeemaker. Then, unbeknownst to me today, Dave surprised me with that same little puppy!! He is absolutely adorable!! Here he is!! We still don't have a name for him, but since we have Buddy Holly and Elvis, we are looking for another quirky name this little guy. I thought Ringo was a good name but so is Big Bopper or Fonzie. We are going to wait it out, see what his little personality is like. If any of you have any suggestions feel free to let me know!!

Valentine's Day 2008

So I have been asked by a few of you what I did for Valentine's Day. Well, David and his brother John had a meeting in Grand Forks about John Deere GPS systems. So, since Dave and John had ridden down to GF with Bernie from the Michigan Implement, I drove down and met them in the afternoon and picked David up. We went to fun places like Bearings and Drives, Home of Economy, Office Max, the mall for a potty stop, and Wal-mart for exciting things like toilet paper, doggie treats and an air filter for my car. Then we came home! No flowers--they just die! No chocolates--they just make my butt big! I did have a choice of a Valentine gift though. It was either another mini daschund or a new coffee maker. The puppy was too cute! But I need my coffee so I decided to get the coffee maker. It has some red on it!!

For those of you who haven't heard some changes are taking place at the Steffan Ranch!! David's brother John and his wife Brenda and their 4 boys are staying with Rose Mary during the week and going home on the weekend when another Steffan sibling arrives to relieve them of their duties. BUT John has begun some remodeling projects. SOOOOO David and I will be moving to the house John lives in--the one David lived in when I lived in Vi's house. We CAN'T WAIT!! A nice BIG bathroom downstairs with a place to store towels!! 2 bedrooms upstairs with their OWN bathroom!! A big kitchen ! A Huge laundry room! A GINORMOUS living room with lots of windows, hardwood floors and a HUGE fireplace!!! OH and Dave's favorite part---a man cave!!!! We do not have a move in date as of yet, but we hope to by Easter!!

My Dads Pickup

As long as I have lived on this earth, my dad has been fond of the color red for vehicles. He did have a green '72 ford pickup and and green '77 ford ltd car. Then began the string of red vehicles. He got a '86 Ford pickup with 4wheel drive and a topper. He was driving in style!! Oh, and our first van was a dark red Plymouth Voyager. How we loved the room we had in that!!! Soon it was time to upgrade again and He decided on a light blue Dodge Caravan with TWO backseats!! It was great until I rolled it--then it became a Bright blue with silver stripes. I still see it around Devils Lake. Then when I was a junior we had a another Red Dodge Grand Caravan I remember it was a brand new 1994!!! Dad upgraded his '86 Ford in 1999 to a 1995 RED and silver Dodge Ram. We loved that pickup! With the unique Dodge front-no one else had one around Niagara. Then in 2001, they traded the van on a '99 Chrysler Concorde. It had leather seats and a sunroof!! Unfortunately it didn't hold any value and they traded for my 2002 Toyota Camry which is what mom still drives. On January 4th, Dad got a new pickup which is RED. It is a 2005 Dodge Ram 1500 SLT Reg. cab. WOW is it nice!! It only had 24,000 miles on it and was a good deal! I think he needs flames on the front but grandma disagrees.

"He's not a teenager!" she says.

Christmas 2007

Christmas is my most favorite time of year! Red and Green are my favorite colors--and pink but that is another post!!! I thought I would post some pics of Christmas this year. I know you all had your own special Christmas but now you can feel like you were here too!! My turkey was so golden brown, Good Housekeeping or Taste of Home should have featured it!!!!

Buddy and Elvis were so excited about Christmas--They even had their own stockings!!

My pretty tree and the lights in my south window.

Don't you wish you were here? PS Thanks for the Thomas Kincade puzzle!! It was very fun and challenging!!!

I am back and I'm better than ever!!

As most of you know, I have been without the internet for over a year. All of that changed yesterday when Dave and I got broadband service with Verizon wireless. So, I am back. I want to keep family and friends abreast of life in rural North Dakota.

So news from January:
Dad got a 2005 Dodge Ram pickup.
David got a 2004 Ford F150 pickup. Dave's pickup & Elvis's butt on bottom.
Sean and Amber moved to Fargo. That is their living room on top.
Davids mom was diagnosed with early alzheimers.

These are all things everyone knows already but thought I would share them with you anyways!!

So now it is February and today Amber and Sean left for their honeymoon at Playa del Carmen on the Mayan Riviera in Mexico. Bet it is alot warmer there!!! I mean don't get me wrong--the pleasant (crisp) -54 degree wind chills are a blast but a sunny beach, a fruity drink with an umbrella in it sounds so much more, what's the word I am looking for........ah, yes, TROPICAL!!