In Case You Were Wondering...

Ray and Melissa in their back yard

Melissa and Ray

I did not fall off the face of the earth! Ray and I took a little trip south of here to Missouri to see our son Raymie and his wife Melissa (pictured above). It was a nice trip. We enjoyed the ample sunshine and warmer weather. We left a day early because of the pending flooding. We missed it by about 5 hours. There was flooding across major roadways in St Louis, but we managed to get out of Wisconsin early enough to get through the area before the water covered the roads.

We love going to visit Ray and Melissa. We especially enjoy their energy and fresh view of the world. They want us to move to MO, but I think I like it where I am. We were blessed by spending our Easter with Pat and Bill (Melissa's parents). They graciously opened their home and made room for us at their table. These people are a pleasure to be around. Pat truly has the gift of hospitality and Bill is witty and fun. We felt like family members. They taught us how to play Texas-hold-um. It was great fun.

Ray, me, Pat and Bill

This is Melissa in the middle with her mother and sister Anna

While we were there, we rescued this little guy pictured below. When Ray saw him he knew instantly that we needed to adopt him. We named him Bruiser, A.K.A. Puggsly. We feel bad that a family somewhere is missing their little dog, but we are thankful to have him and his loving personality in our home. He is already house broken, about 1 and 1/2 years old and acts like he's one of the family. You would think we've had him since birth. Ted, our 2 and 1/2 year old chocolate lab, is not sure exactly what to think just yet, but he is pretty passive. I think Bruiser will be the Alpha male around the house. He already thinks he owns the neighborhood; howling at every dog that makes a sound. He is just letting them know, there's a new dog in town. lol.

Me and Bruiser, A.K.A. Puggsly

Ray and Bruiser. This is really Ray's dog just for the record.

Ray and Melissa acting like pugs