Our little swimmer

The last video from MacKenzie's fun day in the park! :)

Videos

Fun in the park

I finally remembered to take my video camera with us to the park. MacKenzie is so funny when she wants to play. I hate her high pitched bark, though. It is awful.

In other news, the crazy tenants in Westfield decided to renew their lease after all of the drama last week. Ugh. I hate their guts, but we decided that being vengeful was not the answer. I so wanted to tell them to pack their bags- soo bad! Anyway, that was a real blessing. It relieved a ton of stress for us.

I interviewed for a job yesterday to fill in for a tax accountant who is going on maternity leave. I should hear by the weekend whether or not that will work out. Please pray that it will. It would be wonderful experience and some good money, too. I forgot to blog last night about how fancy their building was. It is in the World Trade Center here in Denver- two twin towers really called the the World Trade Center- weird. They're only about 29 stories high, though. The building was awesome. There was an elevator attendant complete with the white gloves. He was so polite. There was even a television in the elevator tuned the channel of my choice. WILD! I must have looked like such a small town girl with my eyes just wide open at the amenities. I kind of laughed at myself. :) Anyway, please keep your fingers crossed for a positive result! 

Play ball!

Throw me the ball!
A walk in the park.
MacKenzie running the ball back to Jackson.
MacKenzie taking a break in the shade. 
This is our park. 
MacKenzie goes into the water to cool off quite a bit on days like today. 
Jackson and MacKenzie going under the tunnel to the water fountains. 
YAY! We're finally to the water.
That is pure joy on that little dog's face.
MacKenzie made a new friend named Linus. He is a rescue from the pound and needed a few tips on how to play ball. 
Jackson wanted me take a few shot of our neighborhood so everyone knew how very urban it is. 
This is the view from the fountains back towards our apartment complex. 
The water fountains are a part of a little dog park right in the middle of an office complex. 
More neighborhood photos...
A view of our park again.
I love this line of trees. 
This is our neighborhood from the park. The big tower is where MacKenzie's hero, Bob Wilson, lives. :)

You scream, I scream, MacKenzie screams for ICE CREAM!

MacKenzie loves vanilla soft serve. She brings so much joy to people eating ice cream. They all want to know what kind of dog she is, how old, her name and if she loves ice cream. Duh. :)

MacKenzie

MacKenzie runs to Mom when she does not want her hair brushed after she bathes. :) 

Jackson took MacKenzie down to Parker (where we used to live) to play ball in the creek and go to Petsmart to pick up food for her. This, of course, meant that she had to bathe upon returning home. I read a book all afternoon that was NOT school related- love it!
Yesterday we took MacKenzie for a walk by the Platte River mid-afternoon. She gets very tired near the end of walks (because she is all over the place and never walks in a straight line) and always finds a shady place to take a break. 
I'm comfy- leave me alone!
And she just looks so cute in this photo that I posted it again. :)

My best friend/college roommate, Danielle, who lives in South Florida put a bid in on a house today. Let's all cross our fingers that she gets the house (and I have an excuse to visit South Florida again soon!). Good luck, D!!! Love you! :)

COYOTE

As you all have read, our precious pup, MacKenzie, was attacked by a coyote in late March. Tonight, while on our evening 1.5 mile loop around the block, we were confronted by a coyote. I swooped MacKenzie into my arms so fast that she didn't know what was going on. (MacKenzie was on a leash, but I was not taking any chances.) Jackson yelled, clapped his hands and waved his arms, but the coyote just kind of looked at us. I was freaking out and then MacKenzie started barking- not good. Luckily some additional people came out and startled the coyote so he ran the other way. Whew. I about had a heart attack.

In other news, Jackson and I had to go to DSW today. I had a $10 coupon that was about to expire and needed some new kitten heels for my interview on Monday. (My other kitten heels have served me well, but they have died a slow death and are looking quite beat up these days.) We searched and searched for kitten heels, but I kept getting distracted by more "fun" shoes. Not Jackson. He was on a mission. He went to the clearance rack and found the PERFECT pair of Guess kitten heels that were 40% plus my $10 coupon. We got out of there for $27.75 saving $79.80 off of the regular price of the shoes. SCORE! What an awesome husband I've got. He's trained so well. :)

Jackson picked up a study guide today to begin preparing for the GMAT. The GMAT is the exam you have to take to be admitted into any graduate business program. YAY! I'm so excited that he is taking the first step towards his MBA.

That's about all that's going on here. We're headed to our new found home church tomorrow so that will be good. We hope you're all doing well! :)

NOTE: The photo of the coyote above is NOT one we took- it is a google image. 

My Sister's Keeper

I got birthday money in the mail today (A big thank you to my Dad & Diana and my brother Aaron!) so we decided to go to a movie that I had been wanting to see: My Sister's Keeper. It was such a good movie. Whew. It was sad. So sad in fact that I cried out one of my contacts! I had to let Jackson drive home as I cannot legally drive without vision correction. I also cannot see to drive with vision correction as I kept asking Jackson if anything was in front of me! :) HA! Anyway, if you're in the mood for a good cry and a good perspective on life- go see this movie. 2 thumbs up from the Petefish family. Jackson was sobbing, too. Yep, it's that sad. (It is also a book, but I never read it. It is probably for the best as books are always better than movies in my opinion.)

In other news, I got a call back from a tax accounting firm in downtown Denver that needs help through individual extensions (October 15th deadline) because one of their accounts recently had a baby. I interview Monday at 2. Prayers, as always, are welcome. I also found out that if we do have to move back to Indiana my school will let me finish by watching online videos of classes. That was a HUGE relief.

Let's hope some good things start coming our way. We talked tonight about how times are stressful but at least we have our health, each other and our awesome network of family and friends so things are really not that bad. Amen.

Big decisions

Jackson and I have been dealt some more bad news. The Westfield house's air conditioner broke again last night. We had to pay another service call to have it worked on. GRR. That place feels like a money pit right now. I also got an email today saying that I did not get the job that I interviewed for a few weeks ago. That was a big blow. I have never been denied a job after meeting with people in person. I've cried enough in the last week to last a lifetime. I didn't really want the job or feel like it was a good fit, but I NEEDED it. We NEED income. Life is not easy without money coming in. Sigh.

Basically, we have some decisions to make. Do we stay in Denver and keep trying to keep our heads above water so that I can finish my schooling? Do we move back to Westfield into a home that is WAY less expensive than our apartment here and try to find jobs in Indy? WHAT DO WE DO? Any prayers, thoughts or advice you can send our way are really appreciated. This continues to be a really tough time for the Petefish family.

Lists

I like to make lists. I find them helpful. I was in a bit of a bad mood on the way to school because I was stuck in traffic so I started making a list of things that I do not like:

-Oprah. I thought of her first because she has that favorite things list each year. I won't elaborate on why I don't like her as it may get very long winded

-When poor grammar skills are used to make a political statement, I get really annoyed. I was behind a Dodge truck today that had a sticker across the back that read, "If you're driving an import thanks for supporting the European and Asian economy." Now, there are multiple things wrong with that statement. 1. We live in a global economy; there is really no such thing as an import anymore. 2. When speaking about multiple countries, one would use the plural version of economy. 3. I wanted to ask the guy if he owned any mutual funds in his 401(k) plan; nearly every mutual fund invests overseas. 4. I could go on for days, but I will cease at this time.

-I do not like disrespectful people. Our current tenants in Westfield have hung up on Jackson three times in the past 2 days. I find this completely unacceptable. They're trying to play hardball. The sad thing is they're playing it against me. They'll be sorry. I go to school with 33 hungry-for-drama lawyers and I know a lot of law enforcement officers in the great state of Indiana. I WILL WIN!

-Jon and Kate Plus 8 are really getting on my nerves. Those poor children are going to be so messed up it is not even funny. They says that they're all about the kids- yeah right.

OK, I think that is enough of my list. As you can see, I was sitting in traffic for 25 minutes just boiling mad for no real reason, just these little things. That's my life. Welcome. 

When it rains, it POURS

We have had a very trying couple of days.

-Jackson lost his job on Friday, our sole source of income.

-We got a call on Sunday that the A.C. was broken at our Westfield rental property so we scheduled to get that fixed and are still waiting to hear just how much that cost us

-Tonight we got a call from the Westfield renters letting us know that even though they told us they were going to re-lease the place they have decided to buy a home instead

GREAT! So we are 1,100 miles from home with no jobs and no renters after July 31st. I wanted Jackson to give the renters a piece of his mind- he didn't. I'm still mad about that. 

We're still waiting to hear back from the jobs we interviewed for, but I am not feeling hopeful with the recent turn of events and the time that has lapsed.

In short, we need prayers. And a lot of them. Please. I'm just not sure how much more of this I can take. 

Burn

Arg! I'm so mad! I bought sunscreen, applied it and still got burnt! It wasn't even worth it because I got the burn hitting golf balls and I was NOT hitting well today. GRR! 

Where you're supposed to be

Do you ever go somewhere and just know that you're where you're supposed to be at that point in time? I do. A lot. It is usually a church service where I feel like the message was written especially for me. Today was one of those days for the both of us. Father's Day is never an easy day for Jackson. (I'm sure most of you know that Jackson's father, Charlie, died about 11 years ago after battling cancer.) I am an extremely sensitive person. Really. I cry at commercials, books, movies, you name it. Really. Anyway, I always get very teary when people discuss fathers when Jackson is around. I just miss Charlie for Jackson in a way that I never knew I could. 

Today is Father's Day so obviously church was very focused on dads. (Side note: I think we have decided that we like this church and will go there for the duration of our time in Colorado.) The pastor acknowledged that some of us missed our dads who had passed, some of us missed our dads who were never there and some of us just miss being with our dads today. I, of course, lost it at this point in the service. Jackson had to go get me tissues because I was in shambles. (S0 was he, but he was still functioning better than me.) It did not help the situation that two rows in front of us was a grandma (who looked so much like Jackson's mom from the side that it was uncanny), a grandpa, their son and his new daughter. (I do not know where mom was, but it was obvious that a woman dressed her in a gorgeous, fluffy pink dress and barrettes.) I love watching babies play with people. The Susie looking lady kept bouncing the baby and it kept reaching over and playing with grandpa. This made Jackson sad because we'd never get to sit in church like that with our future child (think 10 years from now) playing with Charlie and Susie. Of course this, too, sent me in to crying fits. It was not a pretty cry. Anyway, with all of this sadness that was a definite feeling that the pastor knew our struggles. He spoke to them in a way that only a man of God could. I really appreciated it.

I deeply missed being home today--especially since they had homemade chicken and noodles--yum! But I know that my dads know how much I love and appreciate them. I also know that my brother knows how proud I am of the father that he has been to my nephew. I am certain that being a parent is not an easy job (I know MacKenzie drives me crazy sometimes and she cannot even talk back!), but I sure appreciate all of the father figures in both of our lives. 

Play ball!

MacKenzie looks so cute when she begs to play ball!! 

I was finally able to remember to take my camera when throwing the ball to Mac in the park. She's so funny. She has not perfected "drop it" or "sit" for heaven's sake, but whatever. Maybe one day? Doubtful. I love how Jackson faked her out in the end so all I got was her soaring across the ditch- cracks me up every single time. 

Happy Father's Day!!

Jackson and MacKenzie on Father's Day morning. Jackson got a driving range gift card for Father's Day- yay! He also got this little puppy, Mickelson. He'll be delivered shortly. 

We hope all of the Fathers out there have a wonderful day! :)

P.S. We did not really get this little puppy. It was a joke to make Jackson's heart stop--and it worked! :)

Corn!!

NO! This is not MacKenzie! Can you believe that?!!! I saw a posting today called "The top 10 Most Unusual Pet Names" and BAM! there was Doogie Schnauzer, M.D.---he looks just like MacKenzie! I want to meet him!!! :) I'm linking to the article you so all can read it for yourselves. 

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/31429192/?GT1=43001

MacKenzie got to eat corn tonight. YUM! :) I filmed her with my new camera- love it!

I miss Ms. Madison

I love these little dogs!
My mom took this photo yesterday of her little miniature schnauzer, Madison, keeping her giant schnauzer, Addison, and the neighbor dog, Jake, in line. Too funny. I love Madison. She's the one who taught MacKenzie how to be a great dog! Keep up the good work, Madison!! 

Happy birthday, Danielle!!

Today is my best friend Danielle's 25th birthday! She's on vacation in North Carolina from her home in Stuart, FL...I'd rather be in Stuart! :) I hope you had a great trip, D. Love you! Miss you! Happy birthday! 

Hi.

MacKenzie waiting on a treat. She looks so cute when she's begging! :)

We went to dinner tonight- for free. (Birthday gift card.) We went to the driving range and hit 50 balls each for $1. (Grand opening night.) Cheap date! :)

New camera

I got a new camera for my birthday. These are photos I took at home on my birthday. Bluey and I being silly. :)
Jackson exhausted after an early round of golf. Tough life. 
Two little loves of my life: Macy and Madison. 
My original dog love, Madison. She's such a good dog! :)

The rest of the story

Mary, Jackson's late grandma, loved Paul Harvey and I do, too! I thought it was a fitting title to this story.

Yesterday, Jackson and I were checking the mail before taking MacKenzie to the park to play ball. It is MacKenzie's favorite time of the day. I was waiting for Jackson to finish sorting through the junk mail when a lady approached me. She wanted to know if I had lived in the complex long. I said a few months. She was weirding me out a bit. Then she asked if MacKenzie was the dog who was attacked by a coyote. I answered that is was in fact MacKenzie, but that she was fine now. (I always feel a little attacked when people ask about it- like we are horrible parents or something for her getting out during the move.) She said that she had heard from a neighbor (quite the topic of gossip that MacKenzie Petefish) that we never fully found out what happened to our little pup. She then said that she knew what happened. She lives in Penterra Plaza, a very high-end luxury high rise next to our complex, and has a little white dog herself. One of her friends, Bob Wilson, was out on his 10th floor balcony that night and happened to see a coyote carrying a white dog in its mouth. He thought it was her dog so he started screaming at the coyote because they are supposedly quite scared of noise. A car passing by heard Bob yelling and flashed its brights at the coyote because they also hate bright lights. It got startled and let go of MacKenzie. She ran one way and to coyote ran the other. Bob ran downstairs and tried to find the white dog and couldn't. He found the coyote, but no dog. He felt quite defeated and felt that dog must have died from its wounds. He went by the lady's condo and found out that it was not her pup. He wondered for 2 weeks what happened to the white dog. Then one day a lady who Jackson works with told the lady about MacKenzie's story and it donned on her that MacKenzie was the white dog from Bob's coyote attack. She told Bob that MacKenzie was OK and he was so happy. Everyone was simply amazed that MacKenzie found her way home to a place she'd only been to one other time. By the end of this lady's story I was shaking thinking about how close we came to losing MacKenzie. I thanked the lady for telling us what happened- we had always wondered- and asked her for Bob's information so that I could write him a thank you note. I have been thinking of what to write every since. I do not know that my thankfulness can ever be truly expressed. But today I'd like to thank Bob Wilson on the 10th floor- he's my hero! He is MacKenzie's hero! He is Jackson's hero! He is a hero to everyone who loves us and MacKenzie. I thank God for the series of events that saved MacKenzie's life. 

And now you know the rest of the story.

Pedometer

I got a new pedometer for my birthday so that I can keep track of my steps. I am trying to do 10,000 a day. I've now heard that you have to do 15,000 a day to lose weight. Arg! That's a lot of walking. I'll keep you posting on how it is going. I'm wearing my pedometer everywhere as to not lose credit for the stairs in our apartment or the stairs at school! :) HA! 

Photos from home

We ordered a cake for Macy's birthday (June 10th) so we could celebrate with her. However, we kept forgetting to pick up her cake so she had her party after we left. Bummer. 

My Mom emailed me some photos of Jackson and Grace at dinner at La Hacienda in Muncie. 
Gracie messed up Uncle Jack's hat and loved it
Then she stole it completely! :) I think she looks so much like Jackson! (And her mother, too. But I like to think she's a good mold of what our little Kate will look like!!) 

The Write Plate

I kept seeing photos on Facebook of these plates that people were writing on for different occasions. After digging around- and asking people- I found the website www.thewriteplate.com. I ordered a plate for Heidi and Andrew to celebrate their pregnancy. I also ordered one for my Mom for her birthday. You can change out the ribbons and personalize the message. It is really fun. After ordering those 2 plates I decided I really wanted one, too. My best friend Danielle from Florida sent me one, yay! Thanks, D!! I cannot wait to get all of the ribbons for the different holidays and occasions. It will be another fun addition to my holiday decor. I highly recommend these as gifts! 

Crazy dog

This photo doesn't show just how high up this wall is, but is is definitely a big drop.
And our crazy little dog jumped over the wall and took off! 
She went wild for a few minutes and then jumped back up. She's usually tired after being at camp. Not today!