The '08 Tops

(in no particular order)

• Fourth of July weekend at the Bay with Michael and Nikki. Good times, good friends, relaxing, playing on the kayaks, fishing, and grilling out. My favorite part of the weekend was when Michael and Tanner tried to ride the same kayak. Together. At the same time. It was hilarious.


• Selling my house wahooooooo!!! I was SO proud of that little house. It fit JustMe perfectly, but was a little small for me, Tanner, and Argos. Tanner despised ducking to dodge doorways and low ceiling fans. And what were my Overprotective Neighbors while I was single very quickly became my Nosey Neighbors once I had Tanner to look out for me. Lots of good memories there though. It is truly amazing that it sold so quickly in this bad economy. And we are LOVING condo life!!


• Glenda and Steve's "Costume Wedding" at the New Orleans Museum of Art. I dressed up as the toothfairy and Tanner was the Easter Bunny. We had an interesting evening afterwards on Bourbon Street - we discovered that people react in weird ways to a 6'6" guy wearing pink bunny ears.


• The new boat! Love, love, LOVE IT.


• Ainsley arrived, and I became a god-mother!! http://babybiggyschmidt.blogspot.com She is the cutest thing ever and such a fun addition to the family. I converted to Catholicism soon after Tanner and I got married, and I was truly honored that Biggy and Harry asked me to be god-mother. We have had so much fun playing and watching her grow this year!!


• The Amazing Addition of Shep the WonderDog. For a few weeks last fall, there was a beautiful stray German Shepherd wandering around the condos. Tanner is an interesting combination of part-Saint Francis and part-Elvira from TinyToons. Remember Elvira? "I'm gonna hug 'im and pet 'im and squeeze 'im and wuv 'im into iddy biddy pieces and put 'im in my widdle pocket and then I will name him George"? Yeah, that's Tanner. He tamed (or somewhat tamed) the dog, gave him a name: The Big Shep, and talked his parents into adopting him. Shep is still a little wild but has been a wonderful playmate for Argos. Soapbox Moment: If anyone reading this is ever considering getting a dog or cat, please please PLEASE ADOPT!! Argos was a stray from the Humane Society and has been the best dog either of us has ever had. Go to http://www.hssm.org/ . There are so many animals who need good homes!!


• While this year's New Year's Eve was relatively uneventful, last year, we had Jason and Rachel over for what quickly turned into a fireworks extravaganza. With a bonfire. In my backyard. For Jason and Tanner, mixing Fireworks with NoMex fire-retardant clothing, a dead Christmas tree, and a hole that Argos dug in the backyard results in hours upon HOURS of Entertainment! My sides ached for days from laughing so hard!


• Tanner was a Duke in Gulf Coast Carnival! We moved into the IP Casino for 5 days with the rest of the Court, and partied nonstop until Fat Tuesday. And I thought I knew. But I had no idea. It was truly insane and so much fun. Looking back on it, it all seems like such a blur (for numerous reasons I'm sure). http://www.gulfcoastcarnivalassociation.com/ And Mardi Gras '09 is right around the corner - fun, fun, FUN!!


• Mexico last summer. It was a very last minute trip to Cozumel, but we suddenly got The Itch and just Had. To. Go. Somewhere. ASAP. Much-needed vaycay and so much fun. Unfortunately, I lost all of our photos from the trip (and I'm still so upset about it). Including the video of Tanner feeding a live monkey! I'm sorry Tanner!!


• Our anniversary dinner at the Grand Hotel in Point Clear. We had a seven course meal with wine pairings, the best table in the restaurant and a great time being cheesey and laughing about our first year. We could hardly walk back to the room after all that alcohol - there is a reason why people don't eat seven course meals anymore!!