Ahh vacation. We woke up early for some unknown and got going. We did a quick training run along the beachside mansions. Jackson was kind enough to slow down to my pace. I think it felt like a giant warmup for him. Whoops. I'll get better!
Then it was time for the main event: a morning at Bad Ass Coffee. We love this place. They have awesome iced coffee (complete with coffee ice cubes- a Jackson favorite) and amazing blended white mochas. We sat on their patio and I gloriously caught up on my backlog of blog entries and Jackson sat around looking handsome.
Back in his happy place: Bad Ass Coffee Company
Once I'd finally caught up on my backlog, we headed to the beach. It was not crowded down on our favorite area so we established our homestead and got to work soaking in the sun.
Loungin'
Not a bad view
I love to shop on Black Friday but I'll take the beach over a store all day, everyday. After a couple hours of sun we decided to get smoothies and share a wrap before going out to Target to get necessities- not do actual, fun shopping. Kathy helped me convince Susie to give me a little storage space in the condo since I'll be visiting so often so I went out to grab shampoo, soap, deodorant and the such. Our first step to moving to Naples full-time. ;)
My happy place: Tropical Smoothie Cafe
We went back to get cleaned up and pick up the girls for sunset and dinner. Susie's birthday is December 5th so we opted to celebrate that evening since we were all in one place. This meant she got to pick the restaurant and set the evening's agenda. She selected The Dock at Crayton Cove which is our favorite place to dine down here- nice work, Susie! (I'm sure she was free from influence- ha!) One of her other requests for the evening was to ask a stranger to take a family photo. We all begrudgingly agreed.
Sunset with the family on Naples Pier
Before you ask, yes, Gracie is taller than both Susie and me. She's almost as tall as Kathy!
There she goes...
Jackson threatening to steal someone's fresh catch
Aunt Jenna makes Grace laugh (I LOVE this photo)
Fine, fine a normal photo
Petefish.
Good looking mother and son!
Petefish, Petefish and former Petefish
"Can I get lip injections?"- Me "NO." -Jackson
Susie got a little carried away with photo requests so blame her for the abundance of similar shots.
Dinner at the Cove: Rock Shrimp Nachos- YUM!
Grace and Kathy had not been to the Cove and didn't love it as much as we do. Bummer. We still had a nice time, though. After dinner Susie wanted to walk down 3rd street (one of the shopping districts in town) so we obliged. They had snow soap coming down much to people's delight. The five of us laughed our butts off at the people's glee at soap snow. People who wish for snow in warm places annoy me. :)
Naples had "snow" which was actually dish bubbles. We found this to be hilarious.
The town Christmas tree- lovely!
We explored the city, checked out cute boys with Grace and just hung out. It was a great time. Grace also rode in the front seat most of the night so that Aunt Jenna could giver her driving tips. (Note: I cannot believe that she'll be driving soon. Where does the time go?!) I shared wisdom such as: "Stare people down at 4-way stops and you'll get to go first no matter when you arrived." and "Don't trust people when they waive for you to turn in front of them. They're not looking out for you like you look out for you. I learned that the hard way." and "If you get caught speeding mention that the area didn't feel safe so you were making a hasty exit." and "Do not be afraid to use your horn. It is a very powerful tool." and finally, "Parallel parking stinks. Keep going until you find an easier place to park." I told her that getting driving lessons from me was like a painter studying under Picasso. Jackson disagreed and didn't think she should listen to most of my advice. He's no fun! ;)
We caught the 6:15 a.m. flight out to Naples (this meant rising at 3 a.m.- agh!) and were in the kitchen helping to prep food for that afternoon by 9:30! Man I love Southwest!
We enjoy watching golfers from the condo's balcony
Kathy and Grace arrived on Wednesday so the whole clan was now together. We hosted Aunt Kathy, Uncle Bob, Cousin Will and his new girlfriend, Susan, too. They all live about an hour up the road in North Ft. Myers so it was a great chance to all hang out. A party of nine felt pretty daunting for most of us cooking because we'd not prepped a Thanksgiving feast in years. We did it, though. Everyone pitched in (I made the green bean casserole, dumplings- that only I ate, and helped clean up) and the meal was a success! We've also got leftovers for days...
Ms. Heidi made the trip down, too.
LOVE HER!
Grace Cecelia hanging with me at the kid's table
Note: she drank my wine because she likes wine and I don't
I'm not sure if I should be embarassed that she's cooler than me?
Susie, Will, Susan, Jackson, Aunt Kathy and Uncle Bob
The kid's table
Jackson's note: Kathy is older than him but took his spot
After dinner we took a quick trip to the beach to catch sunset. LOVELY!
Will and Jackson testing the water
Jackson and Grace
Mr. Handsome
Grace's greeting card she made
We came back from the beach for dessert and then said goodbye to our guests and Ms. Heidi. She is such a good girl and it was lovely to see her. Susie said she'd gotten a Christmas tree so Grace and I were set to decorate it. Yeah, she didn't get a tree. It was a fake shrub thing. We laughed for a good long time at it. We had fun getting it decorated and placed, though.
The "Christmas tree" for the condo- LOL
It was a great day with the Petefish family and we're looking forward to a couple more days of fun together.
Before we left for Thanksgiving with the family in Florida we had a "friendsgiving" with the Porterfield family. We didn't have turkey- we had homemade pizzas instead. It was SO good! Jocelin insisted that we play a fancy game of memory and she was pretty darned good at it, too! Admittedly she cheated a little, but she's so cute that I let it go. We're very thankful for this family and their friendship!!
"Watch me eat an orange slice!"
Playing a game of memory- she's good!
Homemade pizzas- SO GOOD! (Is there anything Heidi cannot do?! Sigh!)
Jackson, MacKenzie, Heidi, Jax and (not visible, but there) Gunner
Now EVERYONE is on the couch!! Movie time!
Heidi's famous chocolate cake featuring an adorable Jocelin about to dig in
We will not be home much this Christmas season but I still wanted to decorate so we raided Susie's attic (still our storage area- thanks again for that, Susie) for what is left of our decor. We've really trimmed down the amount of stuff we have in general these days but we've still got some fun ornaments and whatnot. We borrowed the fake tree that Susie won't be using this year and went to town decorating our place. MacKenzie decided that the tree looked inviting and made herself at home. We love that little dog!
We're still working on exterior decor. Our neighbors really make competition stiff so hopefully we can keep up. I had envisioned lighted garland on the balcony and around the door but that vision changed when I priced out prelit garland. Ha! :)
In December of 2001 I went with my Mom and Guy to pick out our new puppy. Mom didn't like the puppy I picked out because she was "a whiner" but I got my way and Ms. Madison was soon ours. She was the cutest little thing I'd ever seen and she was instantly the star of the show.
Going to her new home!
Dexter didn't seem to mind having a tiny shadow and they became fast friends. Little did he know that she would be running things soon enough. She was small, but mighty!
Meeting her new friend, Dexter
Snug in her bed
High school graduation
If there was an important event going on, Madison was there. She not only woke me up for school each morning, but she kept me company before I went off to graduate from Eastbrook High. She greeted all of the guests at my open house, too. She was a busy girl.
High school graduation open house
Madison was the reason that I could not stay away from home in college. I missed her so much when I was in Florida that I transferred schools. (True story.) Madison was the symbol of home to me. She loved you no matter what was going on and was always so happy to see you.She was there when I got my dream car and took it for a spin to make sure it was a good fit before presenting it to me.
Madison even got me a car!
She made sure that Jackson was a dog person before giving her seal of approval on him joining my life.
Vetting Jackson- he passed
Madison was even kind enough to welcome Macy to the family even though this meant a lot of extra work for her, Macy needed a ton of guidance and was always stealing the ball from her in the middle of a ball game. Madison rarely complained because she was a saintly pooch. We called her the sherrif because she always kept every other dog in check.
Welcoming wedding guests
Always in charge...
Madison even dressed as a bride and came to our wedding reception (photos missing). She was not super pleased about the outfit, but she was happy to be there for another big day for me.
Enjoying life's little treasures: like an open window!
Madison, baby MacKenzie, Macy
Madison helped Mom and Guy with MacKenzie for a few days before she was gifted to us. I like to think that Madison told MacKenzie how important her job was going to be because she'd be filling in for Madison as I was all grownup now. Madison always made sure that we all knew, though, that she was my #1 pup. Whenever I visited she would just scream and bark and be ready for massive amounts of pets. She was the best.
When I got the call last weekend that it was time to say my goodbyes I cried. A lot. Then, Monday morning, I took the morning off of work and made the trip to Upland to do what I never wanted to do: say goodbye to my best friend.
I wrote the following tribute to her on Facebook:
This morning I'll say my final goodbye to pup who has been my best furry friend since high school. Madison was there through it all for 14 wonderful years. She was there for celebrations, important introductions (she took to Jackson right away which was a very important seal of approval!), and was my symbol of "home" no matter where I was. She loved me with the kind of devotion only a dog knows and I loved her, too. I will certainly miss hearing her bark at me in greeting whenever I stop at my parent's house. Madison taught MacKenzie all that she knows about being a great best friend so I'll take some comfort there, but I'll always miss my original furry best friend. Puppy prayers welcomed as Madison will soon begin her journey across the rainbow bridge.
Best friends.
I tried to focus on all of the good times we'd had together, but I just could not take it and cried nearly the entire time I visited. I love the face she's making when I'm petting her because Mom took the photo. Madison and Mom had an interesting relationship in that Mom took care of everything for her but was always #3 on her list behind Guy and me. I feel like in this photo she's giving the " do not bother me, I'm talking to Jenna" face to Mom. It makes me laugh because it is just so her. I guess she never forgot that Mom called her a whiner as a puppy and tried to take one of her siblings home!
A very sad goodbye
This is the last photo that I will ever take of Madison. I think you can see that her face is just the sweetest ever. I will miss that sweet pup so much.
Rest in peace, Ms. Madison.
I look forward to throwing the ball to you again one day.
I am sure she found Dexter as soon as she got to Heaven and started showing him how things should be done. She was, after all, the sheriff!
