.bulldog crazy.

Since Maggie's arrival it seems that all else has ceased to exist in the Roberts household. I swear the only pictures I have taken in the last month have all been related to Maggie...and she is almost always sleeping in them. I just love a sleeping bulldog. Soooo...like any other proud Momma I have to share with you some of the cuteness that I am blessed with everyday!

We thought she looked like E.T. after her bath 

I LOOOVEEEE seeing these two sleep on the couch together 

THAT face is always are goal, we live to see her smile 

this was not staged...which makes it even more precious!!

Maggie can be a handful, she is a pretty easy going dog, but is high maintenance.  Due to her background she has some health, social, and learning disabilities. It takes her a little longer to learn things, to trust people/dogs, and needs lots of cleaning and care. But we think she is perfect, she is the dog we were meant to have and waited years for. We are the concerned parents that feel like crying when a loud truck scares her, calms her when she has nightmares, and lets her jump into bed with us at night so she doesn't feel alone. In the short month we have had her I think our hearts have grown and now we can't imagine not having a little dog/something to care for.

It always melts my heart when I see Maggie and Dave falling asleep or sleeping at the same time. These are two creatures that have won my heart and who I will love forever...even when they are pains! As I look over my shoulder, one is asleep on the couch and the other has taken position within paws reach on the floor.  My heart smiles and I feel happy to be right where I am.

.that big thing that happened a year ago.

Last night when babysitting I shared a few pictures and videos of koalas and kangaroos with the three year old before bed time. She loved looking at all the pictures and asking lots of questions. It reminded me that we arrived in Australia just a little bit over 1 year ago!

When we left the states we were nervous and had no idea what we really got ourselves into. We only had a hotel room, one suitcase each, and hopes that we could figure it all out after a few days in Newcastle.  It took us about a week, but we figured it all out and made a little life for us in the six months we were there.

I wanted to share with you a few pictures of our time in Australia. These are the pictures that keep drawing me back to the country and questioning if I could live there forever.

 Newcastle, NSW

 Queens Tower, Newcastle, NSW

Newcastle Beach, NSW

Koala, NSW

 Sydney Opera House, Sydney, NSW

Sydney Harbor Bridge, Sydney, NSW

WhitSundays, QLD

Three Sister, Blue Mountains, NSW

12 Apostles, Victoria

.oh...hello, there.

Man, July was not my month for blogging. I apologize for that..seriously, I'm sorry and it was totally my bad. Believe me when I say it was me and not you. For some reason, the summer heat made me veeerrrry verrry lazy.

We had a great July filled with lots of hanging out with the hubs, friends, running, and starting training with my friend. Here are some of my favorite things that happened this month:

1. Basilica Block Party: A two day concert fundraiser for the renovation of the Minneapolis Basilica. I have always wanted to go to this concert year after year and FINALLY I got to go! It was fun, hot, and full of TONS of people. My favorite performances were: CAKE, Imagine Dragons, The Luminers, and The Avett Brothers. Oh the Avett Brothers were SOOOOOO good, we danced and danced and sang our hearts out!

Source

2. Celebrations: We celebrated 4th of July, 4 years of wedded bliss, my momma's birthday, friends golden birthday, another friends baby bump, 1st birthday of the cutest kid eve, and just celebrating life in general!!! Lots of fun was had, hugs given, presents bought, and love shared. 

3. Maggie (Margaret) Roberts: Dave and I rescued the cutest bulldog we have eevvver seen. *of course we say this because we are the best parents ever* We got our little Maggie, named after Margaret Thatcher, and have been loving on her ever since. She is six years old and was rescued from a puppy mill, she has had waaayy to many babies in her life. So now we spoil her rotten, give her tons of kisses, and let her sleep almost anywhere she wants. We are sooooo in love with her, she has definitely made our hearts grow bigger.

4. Training: I have a friend who is a person trainer and just moved to the area. We decided that for training sessions we would pay him beer and a review, plus he gets to make me swear and cry in pain! It's a deal that works for best of us pretty well. I am able to see some arm definition already and it's fun to have someone push me hard. Along with training with my friend, Dave and I have been training for a half marathon that took place on August 4th. We didn't get as much training in since getting Maggie, but we were able to get a few runs in that were very much needed!

I have NOOOO idea where July went! I looked and looked and looked and it has just ran away! It felt like it was the fastest month ever in the universe. But it's gone now, ran away to join the other crazy months so now it's on to August! Let's cross our fingers that August doesn't go by as fast we so can enjoy the summer a little bit longer. 

How was your July? Did it fllllyyyy by for you as well?

What was your favorite thing about July?

.meet maggie.

Dave and I have wanted an english bulldog for YEAAARRRSSSS. The time has not been right and we waited and waited. Finally we have settled down, saved up some money and knew the time was perfect to start looking at rescue bulldogs. We applied met with a few and then the sun shined down and we got the most perfect english bulldog for us!

This is our new baby girl, Maggie!!!

After a whirlwind of rushing to meet her at a park, a house visit, and then picking her up in, all in a 24 hour period, she is ours! We adopted Maggie from a Underdog Rescue here in St. Louis Park, MN. She was rescued from a puppy mill where she was used as a breeder. After a hard life she now will be spoiled silly by Shoave! 

 

.every english bulldog needs a union jack.

 

.nap time with momma.

.bulldogs are soooo cute when they sleep. 

We love having Maggie!

We feel sooo lucky to have been able to find her!

.away we go....someday..maybe.

Have you seen the movie, Away We Go? It is one of my favorite movies, I could watch it over and over again (and still cry at all the same places). I feel like I have always connected with Maya R.'s character. In the movie she loses her parents the same age I lost my mom and now she is traveling with her partner to figure out where to raise their child.  I always feel like I am trying to figure out where it is that I/we will settle down in this life. Since 2008 I have been a little bit of a wanderer moving from MN to DC to Australia to MN......and then to...who knows!

On our wedding anniversary (4 years!) Dave and I talked a lot about our future, mostly about where do we see ourselves living and raising a child. We decided that we are going to do our own, Away We Go.  We took out a map of the U.S.A. and marked it up with where we could see ourselves living and where we never ever want to live!

We decided that we really don't want to live in-land, except for a few certain cities. Since Australia we have been craving the ocean and beach, so it looks like we may head to either coast. My criteria is that it should be at a max. 5 hours away from the ocean! So where are we considering? 

Tacoma, Portland, Seattle, and maybe somewhere in California 

 Houston or someplace near on the Gulf of Mexico coast

Minneapolis (of course!) and Fort Collins 

Virginia (VA Beach or Fairfax area), North Carolina, 

Australia, New Zealand, & London for our international desires!!

Now we have the exciting opportunity to research these different areas and plan visits!  I have my own top three cities but I'm not sharing those with anyone..not even Dave!! I am excited to see where this adventure will take us and where we will finally settle down. 

Are you familiar with any of these places?

Have any tips or info you would like to share??

.i love.....

these pictures of my mom!!! 

This photo set is in my top 10 favorite pictures of my mother. 

Today is her birthday, she would be 59 (hellooooo...old fart!)!!!

I love her and think about her every day.

I know she would be so proud of the woman I have become

and 

I will always be proud of the woman she was 

and 

the woman she inspired me to be. 

.happy birthday mom. 

.shoave...this is going to be mushy gushy.

Holy Cow!! Every year seems to just fly by, I can't believe that today Dave and I have been married for four years!(here is what we did our first three years) WHAT!?!? How did this happen? Being in any committed relationship (married or not) takes work, you have your good and your bad times. It's just how it is but it doesn't mean you love the person to your side any less! A relationship is all about accepting the others annoying habits, working through issues, supporting each other, laughing at inside jokes, and knowing what the other is thinking with just one look.

Our 3 year portrait (gansta style)

This last year has been one like no other..it's been kinda perfect. Dave and I have spent more time with each other this one year than probably any other period of time. We both quit our jobs to move to Australia and then when in Australia both of us only worked part time. Until a few months ago it was always just the two of us....literally. Every day we hung out together, either running errands,sitting at the beach, or going on adventures. And when we started to work in Australia we always had Thursday Date Nights because you know those 20 hours each week we didn't see each other were a long 20 hours!

.Visting Sydney for the first time.

.Great Ocean Road in Victoria.

I am so grateful to him for letting me talk him into moving across the world to have an adventure of a lifetime!! It's one of the things I love deeply about this man is that he wants to enjoy life to the fullest as much as I do and is willing to take risks with me. This year has been full adventures and the unknown, which we wouldn't have been able to do alone, we could only handle them together. He is there to push me forward, to calm me down, and to just plain out tell me when I am crazy. 

.WhitSundays.

.Valentines Day.

Now that we are back in the states, both working full time jobs, I find myself missing all the time we had together. We still see each other every night and probably more than other couples see each other, but it's not the same. I could spend every single day just hanging out with this kid and I miss being able to do so. Not everyone has the luck that we have, to randomly spot your other half in a bar when intoxicated! 

I hope that everyone has the ability to be with the one that balances them, that supports them, drives them crazy, kisses their forehead, holds their hand at movies, says "I love you" daily, accepts their oddities and weirdness, and willing to take on the world as a team. When you have this you have everything you need.