Cuba Cuba

We went to dinner last night with The Condons, Dr Rob and his fiance Kristie, and Kari and her new man, Dan. We went to Cuba Cuba which is the cutest place ever! Have you been there?

It is two little houses, with a complete Cuban feel- old wood floors, fans, bright colors! They have the BEST Mojitos ever- tho, they put so much mint in the pitchers Colin would just ask "Can I have more salad?"

The food was awesome!

If you are looking for a fun date night, try this place out!!!

I love this mug....

Baby making has a new look...

Brian and I met with our new RE (Reproductive Endocrinologist) today. He was confident, almost cocky, but Bri and I agree that confidence is usually born of success, so we will take all he has to give us if it means he is successful in giving us a baby!

He is in full agreement with my OB that IVF is the only solution for us. He has the highest success rate of IVF in the state and said with my age and diagnosis, he would only suggest implanting 2 eggs-which is a huge relief to us as that having a show on TLC with our 14 kids is not something we are going for! Seriously though, we liked his practical approach. He also said nothing in our scenario was out of the ordinary in terms of his medical experience.

He prescribed some meds for me to start right away to help with the PCOS. He drew blood on both of us and has also referred Brian to a Medical Endocrinologist to figure out the source of some other issues that Brian is having. Our plan is to meet again 3 weeks. At that time, we will have the results of all the bloodwork and will fill out the paperwork to join their IVF program.

We have a lot to figure out in the next 3 weeks- a large portion of that will be the financial aspect. But I do feel much better now about the whole situation, which is a plus.

I suspect we won't get around to the actual procedure until March or April, but will know more in a few weeks.

Keep those good thoughts and prayers coming...

Kirby Ranch

Brian and I headed up to McCoy, CO, and to the ranch of our friends, Lindsay and Travis Kirby. McCoy is outside of Vail, and literally it seems in the middle of no where. Their house is awesome, and has that log cabin/mountain feel. They have a huge river rock fireplace that is beautiful, and perfect for sipping wine by!

Lindsay had a great homemade dinner for us, and the cutest individual desserts to help celebrate my birthday!

Lindsay is a friend of Brian's from years ago, so it was great to get to know her more, and meet their adorable kids.

Unfortunately, early on Saturday morning Travis and Lindsay got the horrific news that Travis' best friend tragically died the night before. Brian and I decided to leave a day early so they could grieve in peace and not have to worry about entertaining us. We felt awful for their loss.

I had a great time, and can't wait to go up there again!

34 and Counting...

I turn 34 tomorrow. My mom called me tonight to recount to me again, the story of my birth...how my dad was eating Chinese food, and how she was too exhausted to tell him it was making her sick...How the tv show ' The Waltons' was blaring in the backgroun...How she considers me a miracle...How she thinks I will always be her baby, no matter what...How she believes, deep in her heart of hearts, that I will have a baby of my own...

I celebrated tonight with my friends. Kari hosted. The Condon's and The Wennbergs helped celebrate.

Knowing I love flowers, Linds and Colin got me these:
Kari, Jasper and Kenai got me this very meaningful gift, that made me cry:

I adore my friends.

Knowing that we need a weekend away from reality, Brian has planned fun weekend for us at the Kirby Ranch, outside of Vail. Travis and Lindsay have offered to open up their new home to us, where we plan to do some snow mobiling, sip some wine and enjoy one another. I can't wait to meet Colton and new baby Beau.

I hope my next 34 years are as blessed as my first!

Beers, Bullriding and Rodney Atkins

As I predicted, last night was so much fun, and we came away with some great stories. I also came away with one of the worst hangovers of my adult life!

For Xmas Nik and Mike bought us all tickets to go see Rodney Atkins at The Grizzly Rose. Unaware of what the deal was with the general admission, we got there early in case there was a line. We had a fun tailgate, but probably should have taken into account it was only 5pm, the opening band didn't go on until 8, and Rodney Atkins at 10.

Once we got inside, we ate some dinner and took full advantage of what we consider to be "great deal" in that Coors Lights were only $3. Than, some barely dressed girls came by with shots.

It was not long after the "shot girls" came by when I heard the following come out of my husband's mouth, " IF YOU SET IT UP, I WILL RIDE THE MECHANICAL BULL!"
My response, as I shot out of the chair to find this bull, was something to the effect of "Sweet Jesus, Hell yes!"

We all headed over to watch this event, and as I am sure you can guess, Brian was pure comedy. I love this video, and love that what you mostly hear is the Munger girl cackle.

Here is the video, be sure to hit "pause" on the playlist so you can hear the video!

Happy Birthday to Us!

We went to Colorado Springs on Friday night to celebrate our all the January babies in our family-Brian, myself and Woo Woo. Mom made yummy lemon chicken and had a different dessert for each of us since we all like different things.

Cooper was very good at handing out gifts- a job he took very seriously. He and Jackey Boy also were great helpers at blowing out the candles.

And I am posting this next picture for the simple fact it made me laugh outloud when I saw what Jack was doing

Dear Ozzie

Dear Ozzie,

You left us this week. Even though we knew it was coming, and even though we thought we were prepared, nothing could have prepared us for how truly heartbroken we are.

As soon as I laid eyes on your at the C.A.R.E Transport, I secretly knew you would be ours. You were confused, skinny, painful and so, so smelly. Heather, Lindsay and I did our very best to get you cleaned up, and Dr Rob did his very best to make you healthy.

You will be so greatly missed. We will miss you falling asleep with your tongue sticking out of your mouth. We miss your short moments of excitement where you would yank items out of our hands or off counters and shake your head as hard as you could.We will miss your toothless flea bites. We will miss walking around the house and hearing the faint wag of your tail as we pass by.

On your behalf, we will thank Dr. Landry, Dr Bentz and the entire staff at Mountain Ridge Animal Hospital for taking such good care of you. Dr Rob went above and beyond (as usual) and made time for you in his schedule no questions asked…even on his days off.

We will also send your love to all the volunteers, from multiple rescue organizations, who took care of you as you made your way to BDHP, Inc. We will also thank BDHP for understanding that Senior dogs deserve love and a happy home too! They see the beauty of a Senior dog, just like we do.

We are so thankful for your peaceful passing, and know you were greeted by all of the other Dew dogs that went before you.

Love, Us

Crab Legs and Birthdays

We had a fun dinner at Max's Gill and Grill last night to celebrate Brian's bday! It is where Hemingway's used to be---for those of you reading this that used to haunt Hemingways with me on Thursday nights...back when I was "fun".

Cocktails, wine and King crab legs were enjoyed by all! I even brought my boss ( bottom right), who was in town from Chicago!

Happy Birthday, Dear Husband!!!!

Babycakes turns 32 today!

We are doing a crab leg dinner with some friends tomorrow night to celebrate, than dinner with my family on Friday!

I love you, Bri!

Snow Day for Deacon

Here in Denver, CO, the snow is coming down! The dogs were out of control in the backyard today, and Deacon caught me watching him and came over to the window. I had to snap a picture of that darling face! Deacon is just about 15 mo old now, weighing in at 177lbs!

One step forward, two steps back

Brian and I were excited at the prospect of doing IUI this month- closely monitoring the ovlulation kit so we would know when to put the plan into action.....never in any of that did I worry I wasn't going to ovulate...why wouldn't I? Last month was proof Clomid works!

I got a quick slap of reality today when I went in for an ultrasound only to find I do not have one single follicle that is showing even the tiniest of signs that I am going to ovulate. I about burst into tears right there on the table, the poor u/s tech! I was expecting our conversation to be more about when to come back in for IUI vs. "sorry, you need to try again next month!"

They want me to come back in for more bloodwork on Monday, which really pushed me over the edge since I thought they had tested me for everything 2 months ago! They didn't really have much to say other than they will up the Clomid dose and see where that gets us.

This 'trying to conceive' is the most frustrating and emotionally exhausting life event I've ever been through.

Wedding Pictures have arrived

What's that you ask? Well, that just so happens to be our cool wedding pics that arrived last night! The quality is awesome! Now I need to find frames worthy of such beauty!

The below pic is in a sepia tone, on canvas paper. You have to come over to see how cool it really looks on the wall!

Deac and Zachey Poo

2009

I wonder what this year will hold for us Dews?

I know for fact my dear hubby will turn 32 on January 12, and I will turn 34 on January 23rd. Other than that, I have no earthly idea of what this year will hold for us. I certainly have some hopes, wishes and dreams:

I hope our dream of becoming parents comes true

I hope great things for all the new babies that came into my life this past year: Ella, Carter, Finley & Keegan

I hope my nephews continue to grow into the incredible people they are already becoming

I hope health for Granny, safe travels for Mike, the ability to provide a healing hand to those in need to Mom & Nik, & a year with little Parkinsons sideaffects to Dad

I hope Big Dogs Huge Paws grows and is given the opportunity to rescue even more dogs in needs.

I hope it doesn't hurt too much when we say goodbye to Ozzie, our 9 yr old Mastiff who isn't doing too well.

I hope Brian and I get to watch Zachey Poo thrive thru 2009 and beyond.

I hope my friends live their lives with love and happiness, leaving nothing to regret.

I hope we discover the winning numbers to Powerball :)

I hope 2009 holds a wonderful surprise for anyone who is reading this now!

Ringing in the New Year

Brian and I are nursing what appear to be vodka induced headaches, but it was all worth it for the fun we had.

The evening innocently started off like this:



Where, I spent a lot of the night with this handsome boy, Kolt Ohlson:



Than, the Champange appeared:



Than the countdown came and went:




Than a fun round of Rockband, led by 7 yr old Jackey Boy, who was still wide awake:



And the night ended like this.....chest hair and all....



Thanks, Nik & Mike for hosting!