A New Kind of Airline

How great would it be if there was a truly pet-friendly airline? I know most airlines allow pets under a certain size (height/length) to fly in-cabin, as long as they are in a carrier and stowed beneath the seat. If they are larger than that size and you want your pet to come along, then they have to fly as cargo.

I, for one, don't want my dog to fly as cargo, but that is my only option I have because Buttercup is slightly too long and tall to fly in-cabin. I don't want to put her in the care of complete strangers. I am currently reading a book about Secret Service dogs and a small portion of the book was spent telling horror stories of having to fly commercial when they travel (they now fly on military planes). The horror stories (baggage handlers opening kennels to pet the dog and not closing the kennel all they way leading to the dog escaping the plane upon landing and running loose on the runway and the handler being told if he doesn't get his dog it will be shot, dogs being put on the wrong plane, etc.) were all concerns I had before reading this book. It is these reasons that I don't fly with Buttercup.

My dream is that there would be an airline that allows domestic pets of any size to fly in-cabin. The pets would need to be domestic. They each get their own ticket and a personal bag. They would get their own seat. There would be a total of 4 seats per row (2 on each side of the aisle); could maybe do 6, but 4 would be better that way it's one human and one pet per row per side (limits contact between pets). They would also have to be current on all vaccines and have the paperwork to prove that they are.

If I had the $200 million start-up cost and the know how, I totally would. Alas, I don't think I will ever have that kind of money. Hopefully, there will be somebody someday that will have the means and know how to make this dream a reality.

I Want a Queen...

...Size bed.

Nothing like a two week long vacation to make you see what you've been missing out on. Lots of our nights were spent sleeping in hotels on queen size beds.

I never really had a problem with our full size bed; we always found a way to fit us and Buttercup (yes, she sleeps with us), but our bed just seems a bit too small for all of us (yes, we could probably train her to sleep on the couch or in her kennel or train her to sleep in a dog bed--that she doesn't have--but I like my Buttercup snuggles--especially when she sleeps like a human!) now.

With a queen size bed we were all able to fit comfortably on the bed with no complaint of Buttercup being in our foot space. Unfortunately, our bedroom is too small for a queen and the bed we want to get is $1000. Bright side to all of this though is that someday we will have this bed, even if it means waiting a few more years. For now I will appreciate all the weird ways in which Buttercup sleeps, even if it sometimes is up in our space (which it thankfully isn't all the time).

Here's just a few (several) photos of the ways Buttercup sleeps: 

 

 
 
 

Beginnings and Ends

Haven't written on this blog since before school started. It has been just that crazy. Plus, some of my time has been more focused on another blog. Now that the semester is winding down (can't believe tomorrow is my LAST day of class as for-like-ever--at least as an undergrad) I feel like I can devote some time to giving an update on the last almost 4 months (even though I have 10 pages to read, a quiz to take, and two 2 page papers to write all for tomorrow).

First, let me start by talking about the classes I took. They all were family related except for one class. This semester I was in Eternal Families, World Lit part 1, Family Life in World Religions, Advanced Family Processes, and a capstone research class.

Eternal Families is a new course. It is part of the new cornerstone thing that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints came out with for its Church schools and institutes. For anyone that took Eternal Marriages and Strengthening Marriages and Family at BYU it is like a combination of these classes. I took it because I like learning about families and marriage (hence my major) and because I needed 2 credits in order to graduate this semester. I didn't need it for fulfilling my religion requirement I filled that out last semester or the semester previous.

World Lit was a pretty good class. Definitely a lot of reading (thank you Sparknotes!), but I tried to do as much of the reading without the use of Sparknotes (although it was used quite a bit to allow me to have time for other homework and responsibilities). Not too difficult. Three exams (that includes the final) and two papers (one 1-page and one 4-5-page) and about 10 in-class essays (open book but doing the reading or as much of it is helpful). At first I was not too sure of how well I was going to like it, but I ended up getting the hang of it and liked it just fine.

Family Life in World Religions was awesome. I really enjoyed learning about Judaism, Catholicism, Orthodox Christianity, and Islam. I loved learning how we are similar and how they live their lives and just learn about the religions because most of them I did not know much about them. I really am grateful for taking it. I have my husband and hopeful job to thank for inspiring me to take the class (I used to think it pointless to learn about other religions when I have one that I am perfectly happy with and love, but now I know it is important for us as a people to come together and focus on our similarities). There's only a midterm and final and a few other assignments. I'll post a picture of something I made for one of the assignments (it was really fun and not too difficult, especially when I have a husband who is really good at math).

What I like to call the Proclamation Principles Temples Clock

Advanced Family Processes was a class that I was terrified to take. I was not looking forward to taking it AT ALL. However, when I switched sections it was not so bad. It was actually great. One of my favorite classes. There was no midterm just a final (which I am a little bit nervous for). There is quite a bit of reading, but it is manageable. The professor I took it from is great. He is a really nice guy and sincerely cares about the students. So, if you are a Family Life major, especially Family Studies take it from Dr. Loren Marks if you can.

The research class was also pretty good. It only met once a week for 50 minutes and we didn't even meet each Monday. There is no test or final. Just a five page paper if you take it as a capstone. Otherwise, it is just 200-300 articles to code. I know that number seems daunting (I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to do that many), but the more you do the easier it gets, especially if you get studies that are multiple samples or international.

I will certainly miss being at BYU. It has been a great 4 years. Definitely made some really great friends and best friends (who I'm pretty sure we're like sisters just because of how similar we all are!), which I hope we will all stay in touch (and get together occasionally) as we move on from BYU and into the "real" world with grown up jobs wherever it may be. Learned so many things. Became a better version of me. Loved being surrounded by so many people who share the same values and beliefs as me.

The girls I like to call sisters. Us back when we were young lasses just barely starting college. My how we have grown up over the years! :)

Although I'll still be in the BYU area for another almost year and a half at least, I'll miss going to class and learning things everyday (not the homework and tests though!). I look forward to hopefully coming back for a Master's degree in 20 or so years (who knows maybe I'll come back to school when my future kids go off to school--how neat would that be!).

It has been real. It has been fun. It most certainly has been real fun. Here's to a beginning of a new chapter of life!

(Just a few pictures to summarize this semester)

LAST FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL

WOMEN'S SESSION OF GENERAL CONFERENCE

HOMECOMING/BYU SPECTACULAR

David Archuleta!

 HALLOWEEN

Twinning! She was getting tired of all pictures I was taking.

Don't worry she didn't eat any of it. There was nothing left for her to eat!

RELIEF SOCIETY SUPER SATURDAY

LIFE

Her favorite hobby: fetch!

Doggy Selfie!

Summer Movies

This summer Dallen and I did what we rarely ever do: pay full price to watch a movie in a first-run theater. I can count the times on one hand that we did that in the three years of marriage. First time was Les Miserables, second was Catching Fire, third was Inside Out, and fourth was Minions. The last two movies are the ones we watched this summer.

Out of those last two movies I liked Inside Out more. Super cute movie and it made me wish that was how emotions actually worked. Oh well. Haha. It's one that we would probably buy for our future kids to see. Definitely a must see.

Minions also wasn't bad. I didn't know quite what to expect from the movie. Originally, I thought the movies would be a continuation of what happens after Despicable Me 2, but once the trailers came out it was the exact opposite. Essentially, it was a history of the minions before Gru. Don't worry Gru does make an appearance, but he's definitely not the focus. If I remember right none of the girls Gru adopted are in the movie. It had some cute and funny parts. If you like stupid humor then this is a movie to see.

As for movies I want to see within the next year, there are a few. The Peanuts Movie is one. I think it would be especially fun to see it with my mom because she loves The Peanuts. My family's dog, Droopy, reminds her of Snoopy. Finding Dory is another (I'd share the trailer but it seems that there isn't one yet...). I loved Finding Nemo and feel bad that my siblings and I didn't take better care of the DVD. Dory was one of my favorite characters from the movie. She is just so funny. For awhile I wanted to have my own Finding Nemo aquarium. I thought it would be so cool. Salt water tanks are more high maintenance than fresh water, so Dallen and I got ourselves a goldfish instead. The one I'm looking most forward to is The Secret Life of Pets. Anyone who knows me, knows I LOVE animals! I volunteer at a rescue and shelter and have a couple of my own pets (that should give you a rough idea of my love for animals). I think this movie looks so hilarious and has me curious of what Little Fishy and Buttercup are up to when we're not home. Sometimes I'll tell them not to throw any crazy parties. ;P

Because I'm looking forward to this movie so much I feel it deserves to be embedded into this post. Enjoy!

Where Did Summer Go?

It's crazy how fast time can go. It's been nearly 3 months since my last post. Since my last post, Dallen and I adopted a dog from the rescue we volunteered for. We fostered her for a couple weeks before deciding to make her part of our family. She is super cute! We were originally told she was a Chug (chihuahua pug), but when we took her to the vet for an orthopedic exam, the vet believed she has dachshund in her because of her bone structure. Now I call her a Chugshund. Her name was originally Tipsee, but we changed it to Buttercup, as in Princess Buttercup from The Princess Bride. She learned her new name very quickly. I think she likes it better than her old name.

Here she is!

Can you see the resemblance?

Because we adopted her it means that we can no longer foster anymore pets due to having to pay extra money to have more than one pet in the apartment. No worries, though, because someday when we'll get our own house we'll foster as many animals as we like without having to pay extra money. :)

Over the summer Dallen and I took a day trip to Arches National Park. It was a lot of fun! We didn't do any extensive hiking because it was already getting late when we got there, but it sure was cool (the only lame part is that they didn't have any mugs with my name on it--or any names for that matter). I took a whole bunch of photos that I still need to upload to my computer and put into a scrapbook before the end of September. We were originally going to try and hit up all the national parks in Utah, but that didn't happen. Partly because they are not very pet friendly and because other plans come up. We do have a goal though to travel to all of the national parks in the US, starting with the rest in Utah.

My mom came to visit for a few days last month and it was nice having her around. We mainly just chilled at the house, went to visit the animal rescue that Dallen and I volunteered and fostered for, we went out to eat, and attended the temple. 

This week Dallen's parents will be visiting, so I'm looking forward to time with them as well. I'm not sure of all that we'll do, but that's okay. :)

It's crazy to believe that school is starting at the end of the month and that summer has basically come and gone. I look forward to learning new things and finishing my final semester (that's right Fall is my LAST semester of college! CRAZY!). Plus, school will keep me from Netflix-binging. :P

We'll see if I'll post again before school starts...I'm looking to do one post on a couple movies Dallen and I watched over the summer, as well as movies that I'm looking forward to seeing this upcoming year.

Life as a {Foster Dog} Mom

Dallen and I have been foster dog parents for a few months now. We technically started in late January, but that was just for a weekend. We became more serious fosters towards the end of April. So far we fostered three dogs and are possibly fostering a fourth starting Thursday.

Overall, it's been really fun so far. Sometimes it can be challenging because they have their own idea of what to do and how it should be done, but they are still awesome even when they don't do what you tell them to do. That's kinda like real parenting, right? You still love them even when they aren't doing what you asked and are getting a little on your nerves.

Some of them are house-trained/pee pad trained, but move away from the pad too soon which causes a mess on the floor. Others will sleep on their dog bed (or by it) one night and the next insist to sleep in bed with you and completely refuse to sleep in their own bed (in some ways that's not so bad because it forces us to cuddle all through the night. :P). Others still will be complete angels during the day and when it comes to me getting ready for bed decide it's time to be crazy and try to use me as a chew toy, despite having at least four other options for valid and appropriate chew toys. Some may decide that the only way they will go to the bathroom is if they go on long walks because for some reason our own lawn isn't good enough. Despite these quirks/frustrating, they are awesome and adorable and I love getting to play with them, love on them, and cuddle with them. It makes my heart feel more complete when there's a dog in the home.

Fostering also allows us to kinda know what to expect when we have kids of our own someday. Dogs like kids have their own personalities, minds, likes/dislikes, emotions. I'm thankful for the opportunity we have to get practice before become real (dog) parents. Plus, it also allows me to put into practice some of the things I learned from my Theories in Family Perspective class. Thanks Dr. Butler!

Someday we would like to get a dog of our own someday (we would like to get a cat, too, but Dallen is mildly allergic--BOO allergies!). Fostering allows us to figure out what type of dog we would like to adopt someday. So far we know that we would prefer a dog with a short coat (won't get matted, no need to go to a groomer--saves $$), doesn't shed a lot, doesn't bark too much (we do live in an apartment after all and I would like to be courteous to our neighbors), and is small (our apartment is tiny, so it needs to be a dog that will fit comfortably in the limited space we have. Plus, I grew up having smaller dogs, so that's what I'm used to).

For now, though, I'm happy with helping these amazing dogs find their fur-ever homes. Every dog deserves to go to a good, loving home, as well as feeling loved. I do my best to show these dogs that they are loved and that I care about them because who doesn't love feeling loved? :)

Here are some family portraits (minus Little Fishy) and some that I think capture their darling personalities:

Family Selfie of Chico and me (Dallen was out of town, so I was a single parent for a little bit...lemme tell you it is not easy taking care of a dog [or kid--not that I have experience] on your own).

Chico loved to sleep. I thought this one was funny because normally it's the cat that goes on your laptop.

Chico also loved to play.

And to sleep like this.

We only had Lucky for a few days before he found his fur-ever home.

Lucky loved to sit with you.

He also was a really chill dog, which was AWESOME!

Family Selfie with Smokie. I absolutely LOVED this dog! He was the whole reason for the move and the start of fostering. Unfortunately, someone else adopted him. :( Glad he found a good home though.

Apparently, Smokie loved to drive.

He also loved to sit with you.

And look out the window at what's happening around.

Here is a video of one of the dogs that I find cute:

This is the second time Chico found his reflection. First time was in the bedroom mirror.