20 pound ball of fire!

Well, our "minature" labradoodle has reached 20 pounds. That is 8 pounds heavier than the breeder said she would weigh as a full grown dog! She will be 6 months next week. We have even been told that we can calculate her full grown weight by multiplying her weight at 6 months by 2 and then adding 5 more pounds. Hmm. Lets see (20lb x 2) + 5 = 45 pounds. I'm thinking that dog breeder laughed all the way to the bank! Because of her poor health when we got her, she has been to the vet at least once a month. They have recorded her weight each time. Here are some photos that mark her growth spurts with her weights.

July 19, 2007 (2.75lbs) ~11 weeks

August 2, 2007 (5 lbs)

August 30, 2007 (9.25lbs)

October 18, 2007 (19.00lbs)

ResearchLouisville!

Last week was ResearchLouisville! For those of you not familiar it is a week long event dedicated to supporting UofL research, and most widely known for FREE FOOD! Anyway, every year I begrudgingly design a poster presenting my recent experiments to be mercilessly judged. Usually I complain for weeks because of the time it takes to make the poster, how the judges don't fully appreciate my work, and more importantly, how I always lose. Well not this year b/c I was third place in the Ph.D. students! This is a picture of me and friend (another grad student) Sara in front of my poster. Overall, it was worth the $100 I won (oh, and the acknowledgment of my intellectual genius :). Now that Dan knows there are cash prizes, I am being encouraged to try harder to win in the future :)

You'll never eat cupcakes again!

For lack of anything exciting happening in my life, I've turned to You Tube for my entertainment. I found this and thought it was too funny not to share. At the very least it may help you avoid eating cupcakes. Inappropriate, Yes. Hilarious, Very. Please proceed with a sense of humor ;-)
Pillsbury Doughboy

Back to Reality

We had a great time at the beach this week! I know there is "no place like home" but I disagree. There is no place like a beach rental! We stayed at a friend's house with my mom and Mike. We relaxed on the beach, ate tons of seafood, went golfing and lounged around. The weather was great, in the mid 80s and sunny. It took us about 12 hours to get there (with just one potty break). The drive through West Virginia was so beautiful. Here are some pics from our journey. I'm awaiting the beach pics of my mom to post :)

The House The Neighborhood (I think it looks like Wisteria Lane)
Walking on the Beach at Sunrise (and lots of clouds)
Crab holes (they don't like to pose for pics)
The View

Candidate Future Riggs Homes :)

The Driving Views

Corolla Here We Come!!

We have the map, a furbaby sitter for Daisy, and a desire for sand between our toes! We are so excited to be going to the beach for a little R&R! We are meeting my mom next week in Corolla, NC, part of the Outer Banks (the northern most town on this map). Dan and I have both been there before and love it! Susan and I took a "girls vacation" there a few years ago and drove through all the Outer Banks to tour all the lighthouses. It was so much fun! The hard part will be coming back!

Happy Birthday Dan!!

So with about 15 minutes to spare, I post this message. I wanted to post some really cute baby pics of Dan but I was afraid that might fall into the "this blog is not a platform for you to embarrass me" category. However, I am still very tempted. In honor of the old guy I thought I would post a couple random things about Dan you might not already know.

1. He makes the BEST breakfast!

2. Although he is now 27, he still wears his paper thin t-shirt from the 8th grade. He refuses to throw it away. It is his favorite. And just in case it finally rips, he has another one just like it.

3. He is an eternal optimist!

4. He doesn't believe in buying lottery tickets but gets up before me and checks the numbers before I wake up....just in case. I'm not sure just how long this was going on before I caught him.

5. (my personal favorite) He laughs (very loudly) at his own jokes in the shower. The shower is his stage and he is the comedian. I am his audience...who hears him from the bedroom...every morning. I never actually hear the joke, just the laughter.

Some pics of the birthday boy. Sorry they are blurry. They are pictures of pictures.

Alabama Slammer!

Yes, it is a drink named after the great state! However, the whirlwind Labor day weekend moving trip qualifies for the same name! Friday, Dan and I drove to Birmingham with close friends Brad, Anne and baby Lincoln. While we went under the disguise of helping them move to their new home, it ended up being great fun vacation time for us. A surprise to everyone, our carnival that consisted of a 5 hour drive, 4 drivers, 3 cars plus a very large Uhaul truck, 2 doggies and 1 baby arrived in Birmingham without a hitch! Dan and Brad proved to their little ladies what manly men they are by moving the entire contents of the Uhaul into the apartment alone. You should see their big muscles :wink: Brad&Anne's new apartment is so cute and very spacious with room for Lincoln to romp. While we already miss them, we are planning a beach vacation in the near future. Here are some pics from our trip that capture just a fraction of our fun!

Moving is Hard Work.....

(Dan and Lincoln, both very tired and refusing to smile)

Even for Super Dog.....

(Gracie in her Halloween costume)

But After Some ZZZZZs...

The Fun Began...

(Lincoln celebrating the move)

New Friendships Were Forged..

(Daisy and Gracey)

A "Home Alone" understudy was discovered...

And after 38 Wild Hours, We Were Headed Home.. What Will Happen Next Time?

Who Nose?