The Many Adventures of Mara Jade & Family

Dragon Boating

2008-10-04T04:18:00.000-07:00

Today was the Kaiser Permanente's San Francisco International Dragon Boat Festival and not only did we attend but I actually competed in it. I found out about this festival a few years ago through my rowing club. Apparently, every year the River City Rowing Club enters a boat and every year they do very well. our friends, Trevor, jocelyn, and Betsy were good sports and competed in my boat along with me and about 20 of my RCRC teammates. Doug and Mara enjoyed from the shore. Our boat ended up finishing 4th out of about 200 boats entered. Not too bad considering we row crew and only practiced 4 times prior to the race! Both the racing and the Asian festivities proved to be a good time. That's one more thing to check off the life list of things to do before I die!

Family Day at Fairy Tale Town

2008-09-28T15:13:00.000-07:00

So today was "Family Day" at Fairy Tale Town. What is Fairy Tale Town you ask? Fairy Tale Town is a magical land where characters and objects from your favorite fairy tales come to life and a land where every adult must be accompanied by a child. On family day, admission is free and arts and crafts are all over the place so by the time you leave you are covered in glitter, glue and ink from markers all over your clothes! Mara loved it!! However, she did not love Clifford the Big Red Dog, who she watches religiously on PBS every morning. She preferred to see him from afar.

The Great Duck Race

2008-09-27T15:02:00.000-07:00

Every year the Special Olympics of Sacramento puts on a fantastic fundraiser called "The Great Duck Race". It is exactly that, a great duck race. To participate, you show up and buy as many rubber duckies as you want to enter into the race. Your duck s given a number and all ducks purchased get dumped at off this bridge in Old Sacramento and race their way to the Tower Bridge, which is on the opposite end of Old Sacramento. The first few ducks to cross the finish line gets a prize! Although we did arrive too late to purchase some ducks--we did watch the race while enjoying lunch at Joe's Crab Shack. Oh and this is were we found out for the first time that Mara is afraid of oversized costumes. :)

Ballerina and Bart

2008-09-20T14:47:00.000-07:00

Our friend and next door neighbor Kamara spent the weekend out of town and Mara, Doug, and I told her we would keep an eye on her kitten (who Mara calls Chicken---even though his name is now Guy. His name was Chicken for a quick second when Kam was still trying to decide on a name). That morning Mara wanted to put on her tutu to show Chicken. So we put her in her tut and headed next door to play with the kitty for a little bit. Chicken was not impressed by the tutu but Mara still had fun twirling for him.

After our quick visit with Chicken we drove to Oakland for my Dragon Boat practice. And after practice we jumped on BART and headed to the city for a little shopping and dinner with Trevor and Jocelyn. We ended up at the Market Street Mall where we ran into Dr. Karin (Mara's pediatrician who had just moved to San Francisco) while looking around in Janie and Jack. I bought Mara the cutest little velvet jacket which she refuses to wear and then we were off for a delicious dinner.

Just before leaving the mall we indulged in a bit of chocolate. Yummy...

Beating The Heat

2008-09-06T14:38:00.000-07:00

On this very warm September day in Sacramento we decided to leave our nice air conditioned apartment and head out to some other locations that offered cool and cooling-off activities. We were off to the Arden Fair Mall, however, not for shopping, but for multiple rides on the carousel of course!! Mara's favorite. Grandma Rose babysits Mara on Tuesdays, and after their storytime date with Mr. Steve at Barnes and Noble, they usually go tot he mall next door for 2 rides on the carousel.

After we got tired of the mall we headed home and stopped in at The Big Spoon. Also, one of Mara's favorite local hang outs. It is a locally owned frozen yogurt bar where you build your own yogurt with endless amounts of sugary toppings.

RaisinEtte

2008-09-01T22:45:00.000-07:00

To poopie, or not to poopie? That is the question. To help answer that question Doug and I started offering Mara all the raisins she could eat. And she looooooved them!! So much in fact that i think she should be the Sun-Maid poster child--don't you think?

8:00a.m./p.m. treatments--with a trip to San Francisco in between

2008-08-31T23:35:00.000-07:00

This week Doug in on his soft tissue surgery rotation. I have no idea what exactly he does on that service but i do know that it means he has to go in every day at 8:00am (sometimes as early as 6:00am) and then again at 8:00pm for "treatments"--and again, i have no idea what that is either. I assume it means he has to go in for checkups on his patients that have come out of surgery and administer any meds if needed??

Anyhow--so we took off to San Francisco to the Exploratorium shortly after Doug completed his 8:00am treatments and just as long as we were back in Davis for 8:00pm treatments, everything would be great. When we arrived at the Exploratorium, we walked around a bit and enjoyed the fresh air and the beautiful San Francisco weather. Inside the Exploratorium was a world of wonder and excitement--and we all enjoyed it very much. Mara really liked all of the experiments with

water and/or bubbles, and this orange and white merry-go-round thing. Doug, liked everything and we practically had to drag him out of the building when it was time to go home.

We made it back to Davis just before 8:00pm. Doug threw on his lab coat and ran inside the vet hospital and Mara and I played, tumbled, and chased around the patch of grass in front of the hospital. After an hour had gone by and it was getting dark, i was happy that we had stopped in Berkeley at a bookstore and picked up a couple of books for MJ to read. Just then, Doug came out and we continued on our way home to Sacramento. Pictures here.

CA State Fair

2008-08-30T23:40:00.000-07:00

After Chalk It Up and an afternoon nap- the Gray family made it to the State Fair... for a few hours anyway. Surprisingly, it wasn't a million degrees when we went to the fair this year. But, because it had already been a very busy day, and because Doug had to be back in Davis at 8:00pm--we were only at the fair long enough for us to see the livestock, and for Doug to eat his annual funnel cake and for me to eat my annual beer battered onion rings!

A few pictures.

Chalk It Up!

2008-08-30T13:12:00.000-07:00

Chalk It Up- Sacramento is an annual event where community artists are matched with sponsors of local businesses to create a masterpiece out of sidewalk chalk. This year, Mara and I were paired with Hands On Sacramento to create their square.

Mara and i met up with our friends, Sara, Amelia, and Laura for a day of chalking. We arrived early to beat the heat, and finished before most chalkers were even beginning. I would have to say that we fell into the "amateur" category, but i don't think anyone else could tell. :)

Check out the pictures

Fun at Papa's Birthday!

2008-08-23T12:34:00.000-07:00

We started off the day attempting to make a birthday card for Mara's Grampa Al (Papa, as she calls him). As you can see in the picture, she was not having it--she didn't want to be a model today or have her picture taken. So, we loaded ourselves up in the car and headed to Escalon for a BBQ/swim party with all the family.

Once we put Mara in her swimsuit she was a happy girl again. She and Doug swam all afternoon and she even jumped off of the diving board! She loved it & was great entertainment for us all. More pictures.

Happy Anniversary

2008-08-10T22:12:00.000-07:00

So, we did actually celebrate our Anniversary. Mara Jade was still with gramma and grampa Gray, because Doug and i had made plans to celebrate five years by going zip lining and repelling. At about 9:00am, we headed out to Moaning Caverns in Calaveras County. Doug had never been zip lining and i had never been repelling, so it was an adventure for both of us. I must admit that the repelling was very scary, especially for someone who is claustrophobic. it also didn't help that the woman that went down the cavern just before me had a panic attack during her descent and i got to be the lucky one to find her and call up for help. We had to wait about 5 minutes for her rescue repeller to gear up and make it to where i was to talk her down the cavern because she had reached a point where there was no going back up--the only way out was by going down. Talking her through her wait actually calmed me down quite a bit and distracted me from the thoughts running through my head of the cavern collapsing and walls closing in around me. Not to mention the thought of how many nasty-sweaty-human hands and shoes had touched the same rocks that i was touching and dangling from.

When the woman finally made it to the floor of the cavern, my rope had been tangled in hers and i couldn't move. Doug was the repeller that came down just behind me, and i was holding up his repel down. The longer i sat there the more tired my arms became--and the more nervous i got. He was able to talk me through until my rope was untangled and i continued on my way down the cavern.

The repelling experience itself was a lot of fun, although it would have been better if we weren't repelling down into a cave. oh--and if i would have been allowed to take my camera down with me. It was also a good exercise for our relationship---outdoor-physical-team building and trust exercises are always riveting and get the adrenaline going. It is a nice reminder of why you love the one you're with. Zip lining was excellent as well! I am sure we will go back to zip line again.

Meanwhile--Mara was having a good time playing in tubes, coloring, and running amok at the Gray's house. we stopped by to say hello on our way back to Sacramento. She was very excited to see us after a few days, but she didn't want us to leave. So, we gave her a bath, read some bedtime stories, rocked her to sleep, and tip-toed out.

The next day we woke up and spent a good part of the day at the day spa. We enjoyed a relaxing couple's massage and soothing foot treatment. Well deserved, i must say. Five years of marriage sure went by quick! Can you believe Doug and I have been a couple for 12 years? I guess time flies when you are having fun. Pictures.

Alone time in the big city

2008-08-09T22:20:00.000-07:00

Dang I look old in this photo!!

Today, Doug and I should have been celebrating our 5th wedding anniversary, but pathology got in the way. I tried to convince him that "the dead can wait" but, he said there wasn't any way to get out of it---he tried.

Since Mara Jade and Darwin were going to be spending the next 3 days with their grandparents (so Doug and i could celebrate), i thought it would be a good time to go to San Francisco to take a tour of what will hopefully be my future school. It certainly beat a day at home alone. I started off the day with a kiss goodbye from Doug-itty, then i was on my own. The abnormal silence in the apartment was kind of trippy so i jumped out of bed, turned on the computer and created an itunes playlist that would last long enough for me to get dressed, and to get me to and back home from San Francisco. After creating my playlist i checked my horoscope (as i always do). It said, " Your unique charm will enable you to hold your own with a wide variety of people, today, so it's a great day for socializing with or meeting new people who could have some exciting career opportunities for you. Just make sure that you deeply engage with the people you're talking to--skip past all the ho-hum comments about the weather or weekend plans. Go deeper. Ask people about their dreams, what makes them happy, and what they want out of life." So, i did just that.

The drive to SF was nothing but a big concert--i sang the entire way! Nigel (the British man that lives inside the navigational system) butted in a few times to keep my on the right path, but other than that and maybe a phone call or two, it was me cruisin down the 80 and having a good time. The Academy of Art University is located at 79 New Montgomery-- with a Philippine festival/parade going on just down the street i was forced to park across the street from Bloomingdale's--oh darn. :) As i walked about 6 blocks to the school, i made note of an intriguing restaurant called Soup Freaks that i thought would be a perfect for lunch. The tour was great, and 3 hours later--after a nice long chat with a Master of Fine Arts admissions guy named Tom--i was ready for soup, a little shopping, and inspiration for my next photo project. I had good intentions anyhow--Soup Freaks was closed by the time i got to it, so i stopped in at Starbucks for a tall-soy steamer with a pump of vanilla topped with Cinnamon. It wasn't soup, but it was good just the same. Did you know that my soy steamer that costs $1.88 in Sacramento, costs $2.99 in San Francisco? I know--COL is something i will have to get use to.

After a little shopping i was going to meet up with Dr. Karin---but it had been a long day (for both of us) so we had a nice chat on the phone and then it was time to go home. Thanks K for the girl chat---

All in all, it was a nice day in the city. I still think alone time is overrated, but it was nice to get away and think for a minute. And i decided that San Francisco is such a fabulous city---i cant wait to move!

"We learn from the dead"

2008-08-06T22:05:00.000-07:00

That is Doug's motto while on his pathology rotation. Some of the highlights of this rotation have been cutting open a goldfish that had previously had surgery and also cutting open an African ground hornbill. Yes--you read that right, I did say a goldfish that had surgery.

Next week he will be on "vacation" which means he will be living the good life with Mara Jade!!

Best thing about pathology is: "cutting open dead animals---it's fun and bloody." - d. gray, 8/08

Next rotation: clinical pathology.

Sierra's birthday Party!

2008-08-03T23:03:00.000-07:00

Today, Doug, Mara, and I spent the afternoon at Dawn and Sierra's house to celebrate Sierra's 2nd birthday! The little kids swam around in the kiddie pool, throwing colorful balls in and out of the pool and splashing water everywhere while the big kids enjoyed great company, some fabulous food, and badminton in party hats! Mara had a great time celebrating with the guest of honor! Sierra was even so sweet to let MJ help her open a few of her birthday presents. It was a fun party! Thanks Sierra and Dawn for having us over--Happy birthday Sierra! ----more pictures coming soon!

Animal Farm

2008-08-02T19:52:00.000-07:00

Today Mara and I joined our friends Dawn and Sierra on a trip to the Animal Place Sacntuary and Education Center in Vacaville. At the farm we saw pigs, goats, chickens, roosters, peacocks, sheep, cows, and bunnies (just to mention a few). The girls enjoyed petting and feeding all of the animals, especially the cows and bunnies. The lemonade and vegan cookies at the end of our tour were an added bonus. Thanks to Dawn and Sierra for treating us on this exciting adventure!

Cold at the Kite Festival

2008-07-27T21:17:00.000-07:00

After returning home on Sunday morning at 1:30am from Auntie Esther's Birthday Party--we went to sleep and woke up 6 hours later to drive to Berkeley to attend the Kite Festival. Unbeknownst to us---a gazillion other people from who knows where also came to see the kites at the Kite Fest. And it was much colder than we anticipated. weather.com said to expect 82 degrees in Berkeley and 70 degrees in San Francisco---perfect for our visit to the beach after the kite festival. So we layered our clothing, like you always should when visiting the Bay area--only to get there and find out that it was maybe 65 degrees and really windy. It just so happens that since there were so many people going to the kite fest--parking was a mess so we parked about 3/4mile away from the event and walked in. Before walking in we met up with Jocelyn and Trevor and stopped at The Northface Outlet to pick up a windbreaker for MJ. She didn't like it but we made her wear it, and off to the kite fest we went.

The kites were great and MJ liked them but a few hours later it was time to head off across the bridge to the beach! Despite it being freezing cold we still had a good time. Doug flew Mara's kite---i collected wet sand for Mara and Trevor to build a sand castle--and Darwin and Joce huddled together under a blanket. It couldn't have been a better day. Here are more pictures.

Home with Mommy

2008-07-25T23:49:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, Grandpa Doug had oral surgery so Gramma Toni (who usually babysits on Fridays), stayed home to take care of Grandpa Doug. So--I took the day off and stayed home with Mara. Our friends Danielle and Brenden came to visit us and we went on a field trip to IKEA. Danielle had never been to IKEA and as we all know IKEA is always an adventure. We ended up spending 4 hours in IKEA--that was a record for me!! Surprisingly, both kids were very good in the store the entire time. MJ did get a little upset when i pulled her away from the baby/kid section. She thought it was social hour--there were quite a few kids running around, playing on furniture, and testing out toys. As we loaded the kids in the car---they began to fall asleep. After a short conference call (for work) and a few hours of napping, Doug made it home and we walked down to Cafe Bernardo's for a bite to eat. Our other friends, Dawn and Sierra met us at Bernardo's for dinner and then we walked home for a little play time!! It was a lovely day...

Auntie's Chocolate Chip Cookies

2008-07-19T12:56:00.000-07:00

Hi Chris- we know you are at camp this week but we wanted to thank you for the homemade chocolate chip cookies! Mara and Doug loooove them! Hope you are having fun at camp!

Girls Just Want To Have Fun!

2008-07-09T21:02:00.000-07:00

Our little friend Sierra came over to spend the evening with us. The little girls enjoyed each other's company very much. They started off by feeding Spaz (the wonder chinchilla) and then they fed themselves. They dined on a very cold and yummy vegetable pasta salad with all the cheese they could eat and sausage. After dinner, they washed their hands and ran around like wild girls! They pulled out every toy and book in the apartment. But the highlight of the night was discovering the giant bean bag in Mara's room. Sierra, (who is 4 months older than Mara) taught MJ the joys of jumping up and down in the crib and on the bean bag! After they were tired of jumping, they started to settle down by pulling out the color crayons and coloring books. They shared very well and we were all ready for bed by the end of the night! Thanks to Dawn and Sierra for the fun filled evening. We hope there are many more to come! More pictures here.

Baker Beach & Auntie Kaitlyn

2008-07-06T22:18:00.000-07:00

This week Doug was on Anesthesia and today he wasn't on call so we packed up the Rover and headed to the San Francisco to escape the 100 degree temps we have been having in Sacramento. While it was in the triple digits in Sacramento, it was perfect weather (as usual) in the city--blue skies and light breeze, about 75 degrees! As we headed over to the Presidio, it began to get more and more cloudy and windy--but we didn't care. There is nothing better than a beach where you have to wear jeans and a sweatshirt!! Baker Beach is always a good time--we played in the sand, chased the waves (or they chased us, rather) and watched some kites fly by! When we could no longer take the wind, we headed back towards the sun and met up with the Gray family at Ghirardelli Square.

In the 5,000 times that we have taken MJ to San Francisco, we have never taken her to Ghirardelli. We only ended up there because Auntie Kaitlyn (doug's little sister) was home visiting from the University of Illinois at Champagne. She brought her boyfriend Nick along with her, who grew up in South Africa. They were putting their PhD's on hold for the week while going to a wedding and visiting many Northern CA tourist sites. Mara really enjoyed the chocolate and seeing her auntie Kaitlyn. If you ask MJ what the best chocolate in the world is---she will now shout, "white chocolate!" Here are a few of the pictures from our day in the city--there were far too many to upload.

Green Thumb & The Smallest Pool In The World!

2008-07-05T21:35:00.000-07:00

Mara and I have been saying for months that we wanted to start an herb garden for all of the cooking that we do. So, today we drove down to the nursery and picked out our favorite herbs and planted them in a pot. We did a little research online first---of course. And many of you know that i have never had a green thumb, but i'm hoping MJ does. We planted all of our favorite herbs, oregano, rosemary, sage, Italian flat leaf parsley, and spearmint--only because it smelled so good. What do you do with spearmint anyway? I was thinking i would add it to strawberry shortcake and maybe to lemonade. If that doesn't taste good then it will just have to smell pretty and keep growing wild in the pot. Any suggestions? Anyhow, Mara had a great time putting the potting soil in the pot--and she has been very good about watering her herbs on a daily basis.

After our lesson in farming --mara wanted to swim. So we pulled out this little kiddie pool we bought a few weeks ago. To our surprise it was the smallest pool in the world!!! But MJ enjoyed it nonetheless. Especially the colorful balls! More pictures here .

4th of July

2008-07-04T22:56:00.000-07:00

Sooo, what can be said about 4th of July?? Proud to be an American --most of the time--the constitution is probably the most genius document ever written, and the list can go on. Our 4th of July was spent in Woodland with Mara's auntie Chris and her boyfriend Alan. We had a tasty BBQ and enjoyed fireworks. This was the first year that MJ actually watched the fireworks. Last year we took her out to Cal Expo but she slept through the entire show. This year, she was a little frightened at first, but after she got comfortable in Doug's lap, she enjoyed the show.

Thanks Chris for having us over! More picture of fireworks.

Go Padres!

2008-06-29T22:25:00.000-07:00

Today was the day before MJ's Uncle Kris' birthday. Kris is a big San Diego Padres fan and in the spirit of Kris's birthday, and because the Padres were playing that day--MJ wore her lucky Padres shirt that her uncle bought for her the summer before she was born.

The Padres ended up losing today, but---the gray family thought about uncle Kris and his family and wished we were with them in their new home---Los Angeles. Gramma Toni and Grandpa Doug came up to visit though and it was quite a pleasant evening. More pictures of MJ in her Padres shirt.

All Aboard!

2008-06-21T22:21:00.000-07:00

Doug was on call today which translates to we cannot be more than 20 minutes away from the UC Davis Vet Hospital at any time-- just in case he gets paged. So, we went the the California State Railroad Museum in Old Sacramento. Mara had a good time looking at all of the old trains, but she really enjoyed the toy train sets that they had for the little kids to play with. After a couple of hours in the museum, we stopped at the museum gift store and picked up a Curious George Rides the Train book and then we went home. It was a nice relaxing day. Here are the pictures.

grAy's anatomy?

2008-06-16T22:47:00.000-07:00

This morning at 6:30, doug embarked upon the first day of his last year of being a vet student (applaud here)! for the next year, he will be spending all of his time in the vet hospital (VMTH) at davis, completing two week rotations in each service the hospital has to offer. The rotation he began today is in orthopedic surgery-- his day begins at 7:00am and ends at 8:00pm, monday through friday-- and then on weekends he has to go in at 8:00am and then again at 8:00pm to check on his surgery patients and administer medication. My favorite part about this rotation so far is that i get to dress him up in a shirt and tie for every day that his not actually in surgery! its like having my very own real life ken doll!!! hahah-- although he did inform me tonight that tomorrow he has to go to school in scrubs because he will in fact be in surgery. So much for my ken doll.

He did say that the day went very well in that he didn't kill anything! A few more pictures of almost dr. doug on his way to the hospital.

Father's Day

2008-06-15T21:55:00.000-07:00

Sunday morning started off great!! After 2nd saturday festivities, our guests for the weekend, (Jocelyn and Trevor) had their first time wii experience. Doug was quite proud to initiate them into the wonderful world of wii and they played into the early hours of the morning (2:00am)--and then, when we could no longer keep our eyes open, went to bed. At 8:00 am i woke up, wished doug a happy father's day, rolled out of bed and then took darwin on a morning jog, while Mj and the wii-ers were still fast asleep. When i arrived back home at 9- Darwin and i woke everyone from their slumber and Jocey and I went to the farmer's market for some berries for the father's day brunch that i was about to prepare.

brunch was great---it was just like old times when J & T lived in sacramento--a huge breakfast prepared by the ladies, classic rock blaring out the windows, and the men distracted by video games---the only things missing from the picture were our friends Kris and Gretchen, who completed out brat pack.

After lunch, we all played a little wii (even MJ). A little later, we all went out into the courtyard to blow bubbles. After a little more wii, joce and trevor went back home to the bay, and it was time for some family bonding. Mj and i made doug his favorite cookies! I think mj spent more time eating the dough than she did helping me to actually make the cookies, but she thoroughly enjoyed herself. Later that night we gathered on Mj's bean bag for story time, and then it was off to bed for the little monster.

here are some pics from the day. Happy father's day to all you dads out there!

2nd Saturday

2008-06-14T20:53:00.000-07:00

Thanks to all who came out to my first photo exhibit at Byuti Salon and Spa. Extra special thanks to Jill Petersen (the owner of the salon) for allowing me to hang my art----to Leia, Dr. Karin, Denise & Matt, Doug, Tahkani, Mara Jade and the Dogs of the SSPCA for being my fabulous models! Oh, and much thanks to everyone who attended. For y'all that weren't able to make it (mom and dad- and everyone else in my family with the exception of the best sister in the whole wide world)-- here are some of the pictures from my exhibit-- and maybe a few more.

All in all it was a great night---i sold 6 pieces, recouped the cost of my materials, and made some extra cash for a rainy day (I think a new camera might be in my future)! the photos will be up until August 1---so stop by if you missed the show.

SF art institute & the zoo

2008-06-13T23:23:00.000-07:00

article and photos coming soon!

Busy Sunday

2008-06-08T23:50:00.001-07:00

Doug and i woke up to our reliable rooster (Mara Jade) who sounds daily at the stroke of 7:15 am. After a pancake breakfast, and a serious cleaning of the wood floors---we headed off to Southside Park to meet up with our friends Dawn and Sierra. The girls played together for a little bit and then we were going to try to make it to the Oakland Zoo--again.

It was really warm in sacramento today. We ended up not going to Oakland because doug was worried that it was going to be too hot for the animals to be out at the zoo. So instead we went to lunch (greek food--yummy!) and then off to my mom and dad's for swimming and BBQ dinner. Doug's parents, my grammi, and aunts joined us and it was a fabulous day!

Mara swam until we kicked her out (when her lips turned blue), then she went inside the house to move furniture and play around. Just before dinner we went back outside and played in the sprinkler---Mara didnt like it. We sat down to eat-- Mara really enjoyed her corn on the cobb! Thanks, Dawn, Sierra, mom and dad, and family for a wonderful Sunday! check out the pictures

plans change

2008-06-07T22:47:00.000-07:00

This Saturday, I had to work. for you all that don't know-- I'm the Program Manager for the Sacramento Hunger Coalition, and this weekend we hosted the 1st Annual What's "Growing" On CYCLEbration! it went great and for more information, read the article that was published in the Sacbee. Anyhow-- the ride ended up going a couple hours later then we had planned-- which was great, but that was just the first thing in the day that was unplanned---by the way, thank you Chris for coming over to babysit MJ while Doug and i were working!

So, when i returned home and Chris left, we had just about 1 hour before Doug was to get home from his last day of work and then we would be on our way to the Oakland Zoo for "Family Day at the Zoo". Again, for those who don't know, Doug is finishing up his 3rd year of vet school and in the next 2 weeks he will begin his senior year clinical rotations in the UCD vet hospital. Because he will be on call, and not really have a regular schedule-- he is not able to have a job. so his last day of work at Northern California Veterinary Specialists was this Saturday.

As MJ and i were waiting for Doug to walk in the door, i got a call on my cell instead--it was Doug and he said in a strange tone, "I'm in the ER." the first thing out of my mouth was, "you're going into a surgery when we are suppose to be on our way to the zoo?" and he said, "no, I'M in the ER." Turns out that during the last hour on his last day of work, he was assisting in a surgery on german shepherd and the dog fought off the anesthesia and bit Doug. To make a long story short, he was ok, but he had to go to the hospital to flush his wound and for antibiotics. because it was a work injury he had to be treated at an employer approved workers comp facility. For NCVS, that means he had to go to either Sutter or the UCD Med Center. He got to the Med Center at 3:00pm and called me at 8:00pm when he still had not been seen and was ready for dinner. MJ and i took dinner to him and waited..and waited...and waited (because he didn't have a car to get home--his car was at work still). We finally got out of the ER at Midnight. We were all exhausted--we missed the zoo, came home, took showers (to get all the ER germs off of us), and went to bed. We were very happy that Doug was ok though. Sorry, no pictures---

Poo-Poo in the potty

2008-05-31T22:29:00.000-07:00

She did it! We are well on our way to having a potty trained little monster. for the past few months, when MJ has to go number 2--she runs over to the corner in the dining room to hide. Today, she said "poopoo" then ran over to the corner. At that point i ran after her and took her to the bathroom to sit on her potty chair---and out it came. Doug and i were so proud!! When she was done we let her flush the toilet, we gave her a sticker that is now sticking to her potty, and then we helped her wash her hands. She was quite satisfied with herself.

Later that day we went to Goores to find some training panties---(no, not pull ups) they look like little boy underoos but they are really thick and have pink stars on them! The following day, she had the same success with the potty! Let the potty training begin!

Earth Day 2008

2008-05-02T16:46:00.000-07:00

The Gray family celebrated Earth Day by going to the Sacramento Earth Day Celebration in Southside Park. We checked out the booths, said hi to Mayor Fargo and then spent the rest of the time in the peewee play area of the park.

See more photos here.

Remember to Spay and Neuter your Cats and Dogs

2008-04-23T22:27:00.001-07:00

Doug, and two of his vet school friends, Lydia and Alex went to Salida Veterinary Hospital to spay and neuter 13 feral cats as part of Spay day number 2. Much thanks to Dr. Sessa for allowing me to be in surgery room to take pictures of the event. the laser was really cool, and i appreciated that it minimized the amount of blood during surgery. Days like this remind me why i am not in the medical profession. great job to all. here are more pictures.

Darwin's Great Race- take 2

2008-04-19T21:56:00.000-07:00

For those who have never been to or heard of a doxi derby--every year at UC Davis Picnic day, the 2nd year students of the School of Veterinary Medicine host a doxi derby. In a nutshell, the derby consists of 2 divisions of doxis that race in heats for a chance to win the title of top dog! You might recall that Darwin was in sick bay (recovering from Parvo) last year when he should have been running in the UC Davis Doxi Derby. We are so happy that our little dash-hound made it past that terrible virus that takes the lives of too many puppies every year. Since then we have had Darwin in training (a serious regimen of sleeping, eating, with daily walks and being chased by Mara) to prepare for the 2008 Doxi Derby. He ended up coming in 2nd in his heat. Not quite good enough to make it to the finals, but the Gray family was very proud anyway---and he was the cutest dachshund in the ARC. It was quite a sight to see about 200 doxis running around in one room. More pictures of the derby

A day at the cabin!

2008-04-18T21:44:00.000-07:00

Gramma Toni and Grampa Doug have been spending quite a bit of time at their new cabin in Placer County. Today, Mara spent the day gardening (playing in the dirt) and running around like a wild girl at gramma and grampa's home away from home. Doug and I (and Darwin of course) went up after i got out of work to pick mara up and to see the new cabin. Toni made a fabulous vegetarian dinner and Mara and grampa doug showed us around. Mara was asleep as soon as we pulled out of the driveway. We were very thankful for that because apparently on the way up this morning, mara got a little car sick! Here are more pictures from out evening at the cabin.

Still visiting...

2008-04-06T22:39:00.001-07:00

This morning we woke up early with good intentions of leaving my mom and dad's before noon-----that didn't happen.

Dad was sweet enough to prepare blueberry pancakes, bacon, fresh fruit and all the fixins for breakfast.

After breakfast, Mara and i took off to visit my best friend Danielle, her husband Scott, and their baby, Brenden. Mara was very excited to see Brenden, but i think she was even more excited to see their dog, Maddie. Pictures of out visit with the Berchtold family

After a quick visit with the Berchtolds, we headed back to mom and dad's house to pick up the dachshund and then we were on our way back to Sacramento for an afternoon engagement with our friend and favorite pediatrician, Dr. Karin. But---- before we took off, we went around the block and made a quick stop at the Fisicaro's house.

When we arrived home, Mara was a grouch---it could have been because she had a jam packed weekend of fun and maybe napped for only 2 hours over the past 2 days. However, when Karin arrived at our apartment, MJ was all smiles again. After a lovely visit we walked Dr. Karin out to her car, and Doug drove up just in time to say hello and goodbye.

Doug, Mara, darwin, and I, went for a walk to catch up on each other's happenings over the weekend and stopped for dinner along the way.

It was great to be able to see everyone this weekend! Thank you to the Fisicaro's for the Easter basket of books and goodies for MJ-- thanks to Karin for reading ever book that Mara pulled off of her bookshelf---AND happy birthday Tammy!

Best Friends

2008-04-05T23:27:00.000-07:00

On Friday, Doug flew to LA for the weekend for his final meeting as the UC Davis student representative on the California Veterinary Medical Association (CVMA) Board of Governors. Mara and i had a very busy weekend planned--full of playing with friends, old and new.

We started off our weekend with an all girls dinner with our friends Dawn and Sierra. The next morning (Saturday) we took a trip to Lincoln to visit one of my most favorite people on the planet and good friend Leia and her son Brazil (who happens to be Mara's very best friend). Brazil is almost exactly one month older than Mara and they play like brother and sister. As always, the little ones shared everything quite nicely--toys, food, pacifiers, and sippy cups. Thanks so much to Robert, Leia, and Brazil for having us over. It was a blast! Pictures of the wild ones running around.

After we left Leia and Brazil--we went home--picked up the dachshund and then drove to Escalon to visit my high school track coach, Carrie-- her husband Nathaniel, and their children--Nora, Garrett, and Owen. Nora was born the year i went away to Humboldt. Now, she is 9 and turning into quite an intelligent and beautiful young lady. The last time is saw them was a Garrett's 1st birthday party, 6 years ago. This was the first time i had ever met little Owen---boy do i feel old.

Around 7pm MJ, darwin, and I arrived at Grammi's house for dinner with my mom, dad, and the aunts. it was a long and wonderful day and we finally made it to bed around 11:30pm.

Meanwhile----after Doug was done with his vet meetings, he hung out with our friends Kristoffer, Gretchen, their son Leif, and of Anuok of course!--- I believe there was a serious game of D&D that took place into the early hours of Sunday morning. Miss you guys!

Easter Dachshund

2008-03-22T14:52:00.000-07:00

Today while Doug was at work, Mara Jade and Darwin posed for some Easter pictures. Humiliating, I know. Aren't they the cutest bunnies you have ever seen?!? A few more bunny photos

Annie Leibovitz Exhibit

2008-03-16T23:18:00.000-07:00

Doug, Mara, and I went to San Francisco Legion of Honor Museum to view an exhibit of photographs taken by Annie Leibovitz. The photos were amazing! Our friends Jocelyn and Trevor met us at the museum and a good time was had by all! Funny, we see more of Joce and Trevor now that they moved away from Sacramento, than when they lived 6 blocks away from us! We toured through the museum and then played outside for a while. Around sunset we got hungry so we took off to eat. After attempting to be seated at an irish pub on St. Patrick's Day weekend--and after a stop at The Stinking Rose, we ended up in north beach at a restaurant called Mona Lisa. If you haven't eaten there--try it! here are more pictures from our day trip to the city--

Une Belle vie

2008-03-08T23:00:00.000-08:00

At 6:00am on february 27th, MJ and I headed to the airport to begin our long journey to Paris, France. We said our goodbyes to Doug (who could not miss school to join us on our vacation) at the airport only to say hello again 45 minutes later due to the fact that i forgot my power cord to my laptop on the kitchen table. Being the good-sweet husband that he is, he left the airport, returned home, picked up my power cord and drove straight back to the airport. Anyhow after a delayed departure and then a sprint through the terminal in Washington D.C. and 16 hours later Mara Jade and I arrived safe and sound at Charles de Gaulle in Paris. going through customs, there were two women who approached me in line to tell me just how good Mara was on the flight--they were quite impressed, as was I. After our passports were stamped, we collected our bags and met our driver who was nice enough (i think) to say that i "communicated very well in french-- for an American". Before we left the US, we made special arrangements for a driver to pick us up WITH a car seat. for those of you with young children and are thinking of taking a vacation to Paris--know that the french do not have any laws which require car seats or child safety seats in automobiles. It was a pity that i had to turn into an ugly american with an attitude when the driver apologized that he didnt have a car seat for Mara---despite my attitude the driver was pleasant and we made it to the resort which was home for the next 10 days.

While in Paris, Mara and i enjoyed all of the attractions that Paris had to offer. Unfortunately for MJ, she slept through some of the major attractions as you will see in the pictures, so we ended up visiting some places (like the Eiffel Tower) multiple times. She was quite the trooper hanging out in her backpack which i carried on my back the entire trip. We found it was much more convenient than a stroller, especially while on the metro.

The food was great, the people were fabulous, and we couldn't have asked for better weather- slightly overcast with chance of rain. We even saw a little snow! The only thing that would have made the trip better was if Doug were there with us. He missed out on some major bird chasing with MJ! Hope you all enjoy the pictures!