Auntiehood

07 Jan 2008 at 10:27 a.m. Sadie Wayne Melling was born to my brother-in-law, Joe, and sister, Sara Melling. She weighed in at 9.1 lbs and was 20" long! She was SO cute with the chubbiest cheeks. We said she had a case of the "cheek flow" where you couldn't tell where her cheeks end and her shoulders begin :) The delivery went well, but there were complications afterwards with the Rh factor of Sara and Sadie's blood. After a week under the "bili lamp" Sadie was healthy and got to come home. My 2-year-old nephew Kaden has just begun the adventure of potty training. This is one thing I do NOT look forward to with my own kids. There have been a couple accidents, but for the most part he does great and LOVES getting a chocolate after everytime he goes in the potty. I love my two nephews, Kyson & Kaden, and now I have an adorable niece as well. I absolutely LOVE being an auntie :)

Back at it!

Thanks to Aly's help I'm starting the "blog" back up after a long break. I've been checking out eveyone else's blogs and I don't know how you make them so cool...different layouts and formats. I can't seem to get my photos to line up correctly. I still have a lot learn, so please be patient! I did notice that I can add posts and date them whatever I want, so maybe I'll play a little catch up on here. Does a blog count for keeping a journal?

It's been a great year...so much has happened. It's so nice to be done with school. I finally graduated spring '07 with my BS in exercise physiology. After graduation I moved to Cedar City, UT to work for my brother-in-law at Superior Lending. I guess I fall into the statistic that over 50% of college graduates don't work in their field of study (I just made that up, just like 50% of statistics are made up on the spot). I've always wanted to learn about investing and mortgages b/c hopefully I'll have some of both one day! It was the perfect opportunity to work for Joe especially because I wasn't sure what I wanted to do. Now I'm getting the itch to go back for more schooling...this time to get my BSN and RN, it'd only be 4 more semesters, hmmm.

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Summer in Northern Cali

I spent the summer of 2006 in Crescent City, CA. It was a blissful summer living just a few steps from the ocean and minutes from the planet's tallest trees. Another favorite spot was the Smith River (2nd cleanest river in the U.S.) My nephew Kaden came to visit us twice, which was such a hi-lite :) I worked at Redwood National Park and also on a cement crew!

Tree-hugger - see lil me at the bottom?

Tallest tree on the planet: 379.1 feet

That's more than two Statues of Liberty

stacked on top of each other!

The beautiful Nor-Cal Coast

It was like hiking in fern gully
Grandparents and 7 mo. old Kaden
Mom, Alethea, Lizi
INSIDE a TREE!

Famous dog joins the fam

Mac and Steph had a new arrival yesterday...it turns out he's famous! Mac and Bug (what Steph named him) were even interviewed on Fox News.

YouTube video link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nyn7i3kYXVM

Bus-riding pooch hops into a Prius

Pets - A student adopts the mixed pit bull pup that garnered national media attention

Friday, January 12, 2007

TROUTDALE -- Buster the bus-riding dog skipped the No. 12 and caught a ride Thursday to his new Oregon City home in a silvery-blue Toyota Prius.

He's the amiable pooch -- a 1-year-old mixed pit bull with short brown hair -- who boarded a bus by himself New Year's Day at Northeast 168th Avenue and Sandy Boulevard. After a short trip to the Gresham Transit Center, Buster wound up at Multnomah County Animal Services' shelter in Troutdale.

Buster's perambulations caught the eye of the local and national media. His story was featured this week on "Good Morning America," but no one stepped forward to claim him.

Enter 28-year-old Mac Lewis, a student at the Clackamas campus of the Oregon Institute of Technology. Lewis, who recently moved to Oregon from Grand Junction, Colo., happened to be at the shelter looking for a dog to adopt when he spied the frisky pup with the white muzzle and gentle demeanor.

"He was a happy dog and just the right size," Lewis said. "I didn't hear his story until later."

So on Thursday afternoon, amid a crush of video cameras and reporters and to the barking accompaniment of some very vocal kennel companions, Lewis and Buster strolled out of the shelter together into the sunshine.

Lewis said Buster will have a nice backyard to play in and will get lots of exercise with Lewis and his girlfriend, who do a lot of biking and hiking. Lewis planned to surprise his girlfriend -- who was flying Thursday night into Portland -- with Buster.

He said it will be up to her whether Buster keeps his name.

"I kind of like it," he said. -- Stuart Tomlinson