Look who has come home....

 

...and we couldn't be happier!  :)  They are such nice company while I am working at home during the day, and they are always thrilled to see us when we get home from being away. 

Catch...

Aleusha playing catch....

spring at the hickman house....

It's spring and so far we have had snow, sun, rain and lots of sneezing. And with the warmer weather the girls are spending even more time on the balcony... I even venture out there a little these days since it's been so pretty... I most certainly don't do that in the snow. :)

Saturday morning we headed out to the vet... the girls were quite hyper in the car and were happy to be out on an adventure.
After the vet we stopped for gas on 6th North and Troy mentioned that I had never show him Grandma and Grandpa Streiff's house.... so we went for a little drive.... It had been a while, but I think I got the right house... :)
Annual Easter snow... which also happened to be the night of and day after the Cabaret of Fools... crazy spring weather!
Aleusha hogging the toys... Maika pouting because she wants the soft food instead of just the dry....
the dog pile...

February is for the dogs.....

This month has really been all about the dogs.... Maika and Aleusha have been with us all month, and we even had Askie for a weekend too!

Askie and the girls don't really get along, so while Askie was here, Troy and the girls headed over to Colleen's for a couple days. Haha! I am sure they had a great time over there because Troy let's them sleep on the bed. :) They are both such energetic and sweet dogs. They are cuddly and just like to be near us. Such sweeties!They got these toys for Christmas 2 years ago... Can't believe they haven't been ripped apart yet. Askie definitely destroys stuffed things more quickly than the girls do.
This is typical... Maika inside and Aleusha outside in the cold... she loves it out there! Askie is turning 14 next month (March 17th) and he still has his moments of puppy-like energy, but overall he moves pretty slowly and sleeps a lot. He has some health issues that mean he probably won't be with us much longer, but for now he still happy, loving, tender and sweet. He still gets very excited to go on a walk, despite the fact that we can't go very far because of his hips. He still loves the snow and the cold too. He only managed to get on the beanbag once during his stay (it's a little too high for him now) but he slept there happily for several hours. And he even still likes to take naps on my feet (he's done this since he was a puppy)... always thought it was his way of keeping me from moving. :) (Maika sleeps on my feet quite often too.)
I miss him everyday that I don't get to see him.
Anyway.... I have been vacuuming constantly, but they are all a ton of fun of course. :)

Happy Birthday Troy!

Yesterday was Troy's Birthday! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
Unfortunately he had to work yesterday, but we made the most of the evening... we went to dinner with Mark and Tracy at one of our favorite restaurants. After dinner we came to open presents! Yeah for birthday presents!

Happy Birthday My Love! XOXO
Other than that, we've just been enjoying lots of time with the girls.... the house is COVERED in dog hair, but we love them still. :)

I know it's silly but...

...this view just makes me smile....We finally have matching dishes! It makes me smile everyday when I open the cupboard. :)

And just yesterday we got all the new glasses and silverware unpacked, washed and into the cupboard and drawer.... Hooray!! It's silly but its just so wonderful to have everything match! I love it!

Anyway... we are all doing good and the girls seem to be adjusting to well to the new house. They (and Troy) are mad at me because I won't let them sit on the couch or sleep on the bed, but we'll get through it. :) They love the giant beanbag... which I expected, because Askie loves it too.

Happy Easter! Happy Birthday!

Yesterday, along with being Easter, was the first of my birthday celebrations! Happy Birthday to me!! And Happy Easter to all!!

Thank you to all the Hickman (and Ottleys) for the fabulous dinner party and for always making me feel so special! XOXO

Anyway, here's a couple Easter photos...Thanks Mom for the awesome basket!! We love all of it!!


And some updated photos of our two pampered, spoiled girls..

Fun Valentines Weekend...

Troy and I had a wonderful Valentines Day... We didn't eat dinner until about 10 PM, but it was yummy. Haha! We had a fun day just goofing off.
Here is a photo of our dinner! :) We made that same lasagna we had over New Year's but we made a few edits... I liked it a little better this time. As you all know (I think everyone knows this... ), we have turned in the paperwork for the temple clearance... so now we are just in waiting mode. Since we are hoping to get our plans moving quickly once we have the clearance, we decided it would be fun to start looking at wedding invitations, etc... so we spent sometime at Tabula Rasa at Trolley Square picking out a few that we like. We found some great options that we both love. So... now back to waiting...

Then today we went to hang out with Paul and Pat for a bit before they take off.... we always love spending time with them, so that was wonderful! We will miss them tons!

Here's just a silly random photo of Aleusha. :)
P.S. Thanks for the valentine card and treats - Sherri, Tommy and TJ!

The girls...

Just realized that most of you have never seen Maika and Aluesha... Troy's little angels. So here is a photo of Troy with the girls. Aren't they adorable?? :)