Ah Gus, I just can't stay mad at you!

So remember how we are crate training my dog Gus? Well I came home at lunch on Wednesday to find the crate locked but no Gus inside.... He had been running all over the house that day. After having to clean up a few messes... I decided to put Gus back in the crate & see how he performed this little magic trick. When I put him back in he just cried for a little while (he didn't want to give his secret away) but when he realized I wasn't going to let him out, this is what I found ..................

Low & behold, my dog is part cat, or too smart for his own good. Now he has to stay in the bathroom with the door closed, and nothing but his food, & dog bed for company.

He's so cute though, and I just can't stay mad at him! He's been so much fun, and although he won't yet admit it out loud, Mike loves him too! :) Here are more pictures and video to showcase Gus's little personality!

Sometimes when we are at Mike's parents' house, all Gus wants is to play/attention from Spencer. Spencer won't have it though :) This is usually how it goes

Gus can't get up on the chair yet, so that is Spencer's "home" when we visit

(I used to be one of Spencer's favorite people.... now he just gives me this! Where did the love go Spencer?)

GUS LOVES TO PLAY!! I swear that's all he ever wants to do! He's so cute though, I give in as much as I can! This stick is seriously his favorite toy! (now these are action shots and my camera isn't the best, so they are a little blury too)

Sometimes after being outside and he is wound up he will come in the house and do "NASCAR" and he just runs and runs and runs in circles all over the house. It only lasts like 2 min, but it's so funny. I have been trying to get a video of that, but all the ones I have you can't really see what's going on.

Gus also thinks that when he sees himself in the mirror that it's another dog on his turff... :) I did catch a video of that!

Anyway, it's safe to say that I think I have the funnest puppy in the whole world. Even though he is a pain sometimes, I find myself not able to stay mad at the little guy! I wouldn't trade him for anything!!!

I think Mike feels the same way too! Don't you think?

We got a puppy!!! His name is Gus!

Meet the newest addition to our family :)

His name is Gus. He's a ShihPoo (Shih- Tzu & Poodle mix) and is soooo adorable, a little bundle of fur :) He is 3 months old today & I fell in love with him at first sight! We got him monday night about 7:30 pm and I have been loving him ever since! We are in the process of house training him, and so during the day when I'm at work I take him over to Mike's parents' house. They have a Shih-Tzu named Spencer who is a bit anti-social, so we're trying to make them friends! Since Gus isn't quite house trianed he has to stay in a crate unitl I can go home at lunch and let him out. It breaks my heart though and he hates it... but hopefully he gets used to it soon.

Gus loves to play! He is so smart too! You better believe that I'll be blogging about him lots more, but I thought I would put his first photos on here for you all to see! He makes me happy!

Mike hates his "albino complection" :) (his words) but I think he's the most adorable thing!

Mike says he's growing on him :)

That's Mike's Mom; Doesn't Gus just have the cutest face?!

He was so funny, everytime I went to take a picture he would Pose by sitting down :)

Easy Killer :) He loves to play, it's so much fun!

Wow I hate this picture of me... I look like a cancer patient, but thought it was cute of Mike & Gus! Our 1st "family photo" :) hahaha

Anyway, we are in the process of puppy proffing our house and awarding good behavior. Our landlord said that he didn't care if we had a small dog as long as it was house trained and didn't bark, and has to be approved by him, so we're working on that! Right now Gus only barks when he thinks someone is coming to the house (or if someone is upstairs/downstairs and he's opposite them). His little growl is so cute. He will make a good gaurd dog :) We have to leave him at Mike's parents a lot unitl he can pass the test with our landlord, but hopefully that won't take long! Yay for puppies!! I've been wanting one for a long time now, and Gus is perfect!

Weekend of Performing Arts

This past weekend was a dance competition that the Studio was competing in and I was able to attend! I have been separated from Jazz Club (our advanced competing group) this year, so I was really excited to get to see their routines! On Friday, I hitched a ride with David Earl and his suburban packed group which consisted of David, Whitney (the other dance teacher) 3 foreign exchange students; and 2 little boys. It was fun! We got there, found the hotel then I went with the dance directors to the competition site. Our oldest group of dancers (the Elite Jazz Club) all performed on friday! They did so good! They also performed their production number which is made up of all Jazz Club teams. It was so cute! These are some pictures of us waiting for the awards to start on friday night ... about 10:30 pm ish.
Our dance group is in the red & black

To the right is Whitney and the 3 foreign exchange students. This group was so fun and who I got to hang out with most while up there. (L-R: Whitney, Bolen (from mexico?), Trisha (from Taiwan), & Nikki (also from Taiwan). They were so fun!! Trisha is one of my dance students this year and gets to compete in Spokane in may!

Trisha & I. When Whitney took this picture, she called it my missionary picture cause it looks like I have a name tag on. :) Funny!

We went and found some Wendy's to eat before bed then all went to sleep! I wish I got a picture of our sleeping arrangements, hahaha it was fun. Whitney & I shared a bed while Bolen, Trisha, & Nikki all shared! heehee, They are little though, it worked! Whitney & I woke up at 6 the next morning and had to be ready to leave for saturday competition schedule by 7:15. We ate a yummy continental breakfast (and stole some fruit for the competition) and were watching & helping dancers by 7:30 am. Today was our Pee-Wee Jazz Club; Boys Club; Mini Jazz; Jr Jazz Club & Sr Jazz Club turn to compete. I only had time to help with & watch Pee-Wees & Boys Club cause then my friends Lynette and Michelle picked me up for lunch and to go see the Lion King!!
We decided to go get lunch at The Olive Garden. We had to hurry cause the play started at 2pm. It was so yummy! I ordered this new dessert they had that was homemade doughnuts (in the shape of a rectangle) rolled in powdered sugar. You then can dip them in this chocolate sauce..... heaven on a plate. If you are going to The Olive Garden soon.... I suggest you try them!!

We planned the trip perfect and made it to down town Seattle & PARKED by 1:30! Michelle & I didn't wear the best walking shoes, but we still made it w/plenty of time!

I was so excited! I love Disney... and so to see a Disney movie as a broadway play.... how much more happy does life get :)

It was so fun getting to spend this time with my friends!! I have missed you guys! I wish the circumstances were better. I was given my friend Emily's ticket cause she couldn't go anymore. She had a funeral to go to. I wish all my friends could have been there, cause it was soooooo AMAZING!! The colors, the costumes, the actors! Everything was beautiful!

As we were walking back to our car, I had to laugh at this picture of little Lynette next to Michelle in the parking garage! This picture doesn't do it justice, but I kept crossing my fingers that Michelle wouldn't hit her head on the ceiling of the garage!

I love spending time with my friends!! I hope they all know how much they mean to me & what a wonderful part of my life they all are!! Miss you!!

~Aubrey

Top it all off w/Sing Star

(okay, i've been in the process of this blog for a few days now, sorry it's taken me so long)



It was my friend Michelle's birthday a few weeks ago. I took her for lunch on the 7th of March. We got to hang out all day with our friends Emily & Lynette (Angie was in Utah). Michelle picked Inca for lunch. She picked me up and we met our friends there! It was delicious!! (mike said he could still smell Inca on me unitl sunday night though... and yes I did shower, that's the only thing I hate about eating there....anyway)

After lunch we went browsing at Fashion Bug, then decided to watch Little Shop of Horors at my place. I know, a little random, but I had never seen it before and Michelle had the music from it playing in her car when she picked me up for lunch. I had heard about it, but had never actually seen it. It was fun watching/listening to my friends sing along and it made me wish I knew the words :) My favorite part was the 3 ladies that were all dressed up fancy & sang about what was happening. A few hours after the movie we all went over to some friends of ours (mike and I) the Stutsmans (Matt & Rochelle) and had our own little sing star party! I would say wish you were there.... but I'll let you judge for yourselves, haha, some of the songs were a little rough! But so awesome! :)

(Lynette, Rochelle, Matt, Mike)

(Michelle, Emily; I think this is their "we're sad cause we couldn't find a song Michelle wanted to sing" picture....)

apparently Lynette and I get super into & serious about our sing star....

hahaha, this picture made me laugh; I'm guessing this is their "don't show us eating cheetos?? picture??

(Em Wizzle everybody!)

okay, okay; I had to put these on.... this is what I'm talking about... some of the songs were a little rough .... But sooo funny!! I had so much fun!!! I couldn't resist... don't be mad friends!! This is what sing star is all about :)

"Zombie" - Cranberries

"Boy Named Sue" - Johnny Cash

"Broken Wing" - Martina McBride (Matt tries to "help" Mike hit the high notes)

"Broken Wing" part II

Anyway I had so much fun so I had to share the fun I had with everyone else!! Hope the videos made you smile or laugh! :)

~Aubrey

Hearts Desire Dinner

VALENTINE'S DAY was a lot of fun this year, we went to dinner & watched movies w/friends! It also made me miss my mom though! That probably sounds strange, V-day is not usually a holiday in where one misses their parents.... but I did! My mom has a tradition that she does for her kids every Valentine's Day that she calls our Hearts Desire Dinner! Each person in the family gets to choose ANYTHING from a restaraunt that they want for dinner that night. She started this tradition after I left home (we used to have a silly supper for V-day, but she moved that tradition to April Fools Day) but still every year I wish I was home for it :) . She is so awesome and I love that she puts in an effort to make holidays special & memerable for us kids!

This year I know that little sis Ashley wanted lettuce wraps from PF Changs; brother Adam wanted a chicken cordon bleu sandwich from Arbys; and his fiance Ally wanted chicken alfredo from The Pizza Factory. I didn't ever find out what my other 2 brothers wanted. My mom had plans on running to all these different places until she couldn't find the time. She then changed the rules (for this year) that they could pick any restaraunt inside the American Fork (Utah) city limits :) I hope they all had fun eating thier take out boxes together around the table! I sure wish I could have been there. It got me thinking though what I would have chosen..... hhhmmm...... in the AF city limits, I probably would have chosen the margarita grilled chicken (minus all the extras that come with it like the beans and all that) from Chili's or the braised beef and tortoloni from The Olive Garden. Both are DELICIOUS!!! If I had to choose something from inside the ML city limits (hahaha lots to choose from there) it would definately have to be the chicken & beef fajitas from El Rodeo. YUM!

So let's have some fun! If we had our own Hearts Desire Dinner... what would everyone choose?

DANG!.... NOW I'M STARVING AND IT'S ONLY 9:27AM .....

Family Additions/Christmas Cabbin

I know, I know, the pictures I'm about to share are "old news" in the world of blogging, but I just got them moved to my work computer, so they are pretty "new" for me :)

So this year is going to be a busy one for the Dove crew! We've got 2 weddings (one in orlando), and a week long family reunion with my dad's side of the family who I have not seen for years! Some since my wedding, and some .... like years. We're talking like 8-10 years or something like that for some of them! I can't wait, it will be a good year!

I was really excited this past December when I got to go to Utah and meet my brother Ben's fiance! Her name is Stephanie and she is from Orlando, FL. They met when he was in the NAVY and dated a little bit, but it wasn't until Ben was releaced & ready to move home that they got serious! They are getting married June 21 in Orlando. They will be living in Orlando where they will both be going to school. (she is almost done with her nursing program there, where she has a full scholarship) This is Ben & Stephanie

Ben getting ready to pop the question!

This is right before he went to pick her up to ask her, look at that smile! L-R: Stephanie, Ben, my Dad & Ashley

Now for the other wedding :) Brother Adam and his girlfriend (they aren't yet official) Ally are planning on getting married October 13 in Salt Lake City. They are super cute together, and have been dating for a couple years now. Ally is almost done with her dental hygenist program (or is done) and is working at a dentist office. Adams is going to school right now and is taking a lot of art classes. Their ideal plan would be to move to California and go to a top art/design school there. So if that happens my siblings & I will dot 3 of the 4 corners of the US :) Happy future traveling!! Here is Adam and Ally

So that covers "family additions" Now to the Christmas Cabbin!! The cabin is a tradition my family has been doing since before I was born! My mom's whole side of the family (my mom's cousins, and aunts & uncles, and my great grandma... like tons of people) all to to the Timplodge at Sundance, UT every december for the night! The cabin is huge and is always filled with lots of people! I'm doing good if I can keep straight what kids belong to what family (I stopped trying to remember names of the young kids like 5 years ago). But there is lots of food, fun, games, and Santa always comes! Here are some fun pics of my cousins, and family! I miss them so much! Ashley & Adam wait patietly to leave

The cabbin from the outside

cousins Issabell & Kylie
My parents playing some foozeball
cousin Brady & brother Seth playing ping pong
Santa comes every year!

hahaha, we had hoola-hoop contests!! It was awesome!!

Oh, the cabin was so much fun!!

While I was there, my mom & grandma, aunt Stacy and my friend Amber made some christmas chocolates! We made home made Reeses PB cups, Andes mints, Cherry cordials, Peanut & Cashew clusters; Turtles (with cashews), chocolate covered cinnamin bears, & some chocolate covered carmel pretzels!! It was so fun, and a tradition I love doing with my family!

Grandma making cherry filling

Chocolate covered carmel pretzels!

One of the finnished products, I was quite proud of these delicous little treats that I made! They are one of my favorites!

Cousins after my own heart!

Abby & Issabell sample the spoons we used to stir the melting chocolate. They were such good little helpers!

I love & cherrish family time. It's one of my most favorite things in the world! I can't wait to get to spend some major family time this summer/october and to get to know Stephanie and Ally better! Hears to family & the future!

Wake up Dreaming of Sleep

I know I haven't blogged for a while; but this has been a though I've had all week.... For some reason I feel like I can't get enough sleep! ... Ever!
I wake up in the mornings and can't wait for the time when I can jump right back in bed again! Why do we push ourselves so much? Life shouldn't be filled will all these "have to's". I am starting to feel like there is never going to be time in the day to just relax! I would love to just sit home and do absolutely nothing/sleep for like 4 days! Then perhaps I would get caught up on my rest & feel like I've had some "me" time! I know I'm being kind of a complainer right now... I know I even have it a lot easier then most, we don't even have kids yet, but I thought I would vent just a little bit :)
You know those lyrics "everybody's workin' for the weekend"? Well what happens when you feel like your weekend has a schedule to follow too? I love going out of town and all, (we've gone to Tri-cities the last 2 saturdays (all day from 2pm on), then were in Spokane monday night till about 11pm) but I'm so excited & totally looking forward to this weekend when I have absolutely nothing planned!!! Perhaps I'll stay in bed all morning on saturday, hahaha.... yeah right! But one can dream!
Anyway, all I know is that I'm ready for some vacation!