This weekend we went on a short outing with the doggies out near the Pink Sand where we typically won't run into anyone or any other dogs. It is getting HOT here! We had to rest in the shade and drink a lot of water. Here are a couple cool pics of where we were...

Guess who FINALLY got a Tattoo?

During my visit to my parents I took a side trip to see Lisa. Lisa and I went to the Hornet's Nest to get a long overdue tattoo for me and one more for her. She got a line drawing of her dog Nala and I got the one in the photo. The tattoo represents my family, husband, and life. I know you all know that the dog outline is my Rodeo and the opposite of Rodeo is a tail. I like it because it balances out the red cliffs. The red cliffs remind me of many things including our honeymoon, my Mom helping me plan out our move to Kanab, and my Dad who came up with a nickname of "the rock" for Daron. Yup "the rock" is in the middle grounding me and keeping me from losing my mind!! The tattoo is on my lower back.

Daron is no doubt saying something brillant and our friends are absolutely mesmerized! Of course. We had friends over to meet Charles (who was in for the weekend after a conference in Las Vegas, grill and sit around the fire pit.





Daron and Charles went to Toroweap on Sunday. Toroweap is a part of the Grand Canyon. The only way to get there is a sixty mile dirt road. It takes a couple of hours to get there but when you do the views are amazing. I actually haven't taken the trip yet but I plan to this summer.

Saturday I ran our monthly teen program and one of the highlights was spending time with the pot bellied pigs (PB pigs). PB pigs are incredibly intelligent animals, can be litter trained, and have quite the personality. In fact, their caregiver, Yvonne, has kept a journal on Metro’s 150 pound weight loss and overall progress. For Metro's Blog go here: https://www.bestfriends.org/guardianangel/index.cfm?csid=1388&csii=1392&csit=Set&entry=E683923C-BDB9-396E-9719D09ABD793C70

Unfortunately, PB pigs are usually fed like farm hogs. Apparently, these owners did not have a Humane Educator telling them to research research research before adopting a pet!!! Yvonne has educated herself and makes sure their meals are healthy. (Ahhh where is she when WE need her). This of course causes the piggies to HATE her when they first arrive (You can’t blame them for wanting their cheetos and snack cakes!). Once they detox from the unhealthy stuff they trim up and show some get-up-and-go!

Believe me, you can tell the ones that have lost major weight. They don’t walk but sashay around the parking lot in search of almonds that Yvonne has dropped. Yup, these little piggies know they look good and they want everyone to know it. This is when they start to feel the LOVE for Yvonne. Oh yea, the days of jonesin’ for Doritos and donuts is a thing of the past.

So what is the perfect piggie diet, you ask? She tells us that the optimum diet for Pot Bellied Pigs consists of a large salad in the morning and evening. The salads she serves our piggies include romaine lettuce, various veggies and a commercial pellet formulated specifically for Pot Bellied Pigs (not the same as pellets given to farm hogs to be sent to slaughter). The veggies differ from day to day and include broccoli, cauliflower, peppers, peas, corn, squash, edamame, mushrooms and others. She also includes berries, raw eggs and tofu several times a week. Occasionally she adds in some fruits such as apple (watch the seeds they contain a small amount of arsenic) or banana. Yvonne keeps fruits to a minimum due to the amount of sugar in them. After our time with Yvonne, I decided I am going to “eat like a pig” so I can be fabulously thin and healthy!

Our photographer, Troy Snow, captured some photos from the PB pig visit and I just had to share them with everyone.

Some of my art was on display at the Village at Best Friends. Here is a link to the article. http://www.network.bestfriends.com/villageartspace/news/13015.html The photo with the article is the other ladies art piece.

Luckily, I was able to enjoy my stay in Florida. Mom is recovering very nicely and now that she is not smoking and exercising daily she is looking even more fabulous! Hard to believe but her color is better, her skin is brighter, her eyes are clearer and she can breathe!!! Whooo Hooo. Dad has been keeping up with his tan and his workouts and seems to have his sense of humor back in full force.



Mom and I were able to visit the Wheelers, Lockes, and Saffells in Jacksonville. Man it was great to see everyone. Everyone looked great and was very excited to see a healthy, happy and slimmer Mary!



It was great spending a few days with Aunt Pam, Uncle Mel, Kristyn and the kids. We even met Kristyn at the country club she works at for lunch. We all wore black and white and talked with pursed lips! We called Mary “Mimi” and really hammed it up!

While visiting my parents I stopped by to visit the Peggy Adams Animal Rescue. I met with the operations manager, Mary Bart Houston, who was very warm and friendly. I was impressed with their set up and I wish them the best of luck.

Mom with some of her flowers. Mom's feeling good, Dad's feeling good and I am feeling burnt!

Well, I'm back from the Supai village at the base of the Grand Canyon. The chopper ride down and back up was obviously the hilight of the trip, but the video I took is too large to post here. The little village was INTERESTING. Local dogs were running around (or laying around) free everywhere. The little buildings all have gigantic sheer rock walls behind them. Many of the older Indians would pretty much sit on a bench all day and watch the comings and goings of all the tourists. The few that would talk or even look at me were very friendly and very funny. It was definitely an experience... I didn't have time to go see the famous waterfalls, but I should get to go back in the future to take that in. Here are some pics from the trip.

More photos from the Buffalo Bistro.

It was a beautiful Sunday afternoon and we were get together with friends. I had the Salmon dish which was really good and Daron had a regular burger. The Birthday Boy - Brian- tried the Rocky Mountain Oysters
Rabbit Rattlesnake Sausage and BBQ Buffalo Ribs. The vegetarians were able to choose from their Vegetarian Meals (whew!)

For those of you who don't know what Rocky Mountain Oysters are maybe their recent festival will clue you in:

The Testicle Festival

At the Buffalo Bistro each year just prior to summer solstice. Listen to live music, participate in a talent contest, play horseshoes or volleyball and feast on Rocky Mountain Oysters.

Live Music, Great Food, Beer and Fun!

NO BULL HERE... COME HAVE A BALL

Unfortunately, I didn't see a date so all of you who are anxious to make your plane reservations I will have to get back to you!

How Cool is MY Husband?

Daron is leaving for a few days to check out a computer network at the Havasupai Reservation.

The Havasupai Reservation is located in one of the most beautiful and remote areas of the western Grand Canyon. The Village of Supai, is located in Havasu Canyon, a southwestern branch of the Grand Canyon, and is accessible only by foot, horseback, or helicopter. The village is the tribal center for the Havasupai Tribe and is noted for its four blue-green waterfalls and camping facilities. Havasupai translates to People-Of-The-Blue-Green-Waters in English. It is an eight mile hike to get to Supai via the Hualapai Trail which leaves from Hualapai Hilltop. This can take from 3 to 6 hours walking or 3 to 5 hours riding, depending upon the physical shape you are in, or how well you ride a horse. Needless to say Daron is taking a Helicopter down!

Well, I finally got the tree that I have diligently been chopping in half for the past 8 months to fall over. A little help from a guy with a tractor was the trick... Then we found a CUTE little baby bunny in the back yard. We basically put him back where we found him and kept the dogs in for the rest of the day, but man was it cute! Sunday we went on a hike with the dogs, but had to cut it short because we thought they both were going to have a heat stroke! Then we finished off the weekend with one of our friend Brian's birthday party at Buffalo Bistro in Glendale, UT. It was not exactly a "Best Friends" endorsed party. The menu included "oysters" coming from the bovine family....... Wild boar ribs, rattlesnake & rabbit sausage, duck sausage, and buffalo sausage. We had a great time! Jennifer took a great picture of a cat while she was working Saturday too.

Outside of our window at work we have bird feeder. The crazy birds fling bird seed all over as the seek out the most savory seeds. The turkeys and rabbits clean up the rest.

Now accepting applications for neighbors! This house is right across the street from us and it is for sale! Not bad for a manufactured home, and you can't beat the neighbors you would have...

Last week we had a two day "retreat" for our division. Here is the photo of the group. Some of the staff lives here in Kanab but a couple of the girls live in L.A., one is fromTN, a couple Canadians, one is from Boston, on is from New Jersey and so on. This group runs the network. Visit it at www.network.bestfriends.org and find out what is happening with companion animals in your state.

What is up with my clothes I am 1/2 Hollywood 1/2 down on the farm~

Happy Birthday Mom!

You deserve something witty but I don't think my brain can
So I'll leave the creativeness to my wonderful man.

Though Mary's now an age not allowed to be told
You can see by the picture she's quite far from old.
Her birthday was spent with family and friends
Dealing with Jennifer's hair missing its ends...

Hello everyone, sorry I have not written in a while. I was in Denver Colorado at a Humane Educators conference from Feb 6 to Feb 11th. It was really nice weather in Denver but it was weird to be back in a big city. Lots of traffic, congestion, retail stores etc. I met some great people and got to visit the Dumb Friends League and Butterfly Museum. I got home on Sunday and hugged Rodeo, Zeena and Daron for an hour straight! I missed them so much. Unfortunately, my time at home was short lived. We had a family emergency so I flew out on Tuesday from Vegas. It was quite an experience - 1.5 hour drive to St. George, 2 hour drive in a shuttle to Las Vegas Airport. Wait 2.5 hours to take off, fly from Vegas to Philly approx 4 hours, Got to Philly and there was snow freezing rain etc. It was 4 o'clock in the morning Kanab time and 6 in the morning east coast time. They announced all flights to West Palm Beach were cancelled for two days. Cue the tears... I was a nervous wreck, anxious to get to the family. Then by the grace of God they got us on a flight to Ft. Lauderdale. Hallaloo ya! It is 37 miles from West Palm and the guy in front of me said his wife was picking him up and they would give me a ride. Thank goodness for the kindness of strangers. Of course, when I told my Mom this she wanted me to text her the make and license plate of the car just in case I was abducted. I told her that at this point I was sure the man was way to tired to abduct anyone. We sat on the runway at Philly for 2 hours deicing the plane. Then they announced that it was starting with the freezing rain again yada yada yada and again by the grace of God we were able to take off and 3 hours later we were landing in Florida. Sunny and 80 degrees. Things were looking up on the homefront as well so the 17 plus hours in route were well worth it. Besides driving, flying, walking in the direction you need to go is MUCH better than sitting by the phone worrying. I will be adding photos of my Moms 60 ish birthday celebration as soon as their friends send me the photos.