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When we were preparing for our wedding, we knew our honeymoon was not going to
be something we would take right after the ceremony.  This was because we had
relocated and started new jobs, and wanted to optimize the money available and
the time off available for our trip.  So, we kept our eyes on travel information
and tossed around a few ideas.  We stumbled across a wonderful tour company, Sceptre Tours, who deals
with Ireland travels.  Ireland was on our list of interests, as we both have
family roots (not immediate, but ancestry roots) in Ireland and we enjoy the
cuisine and the idea of the culture.  So when we found an AMAZING (and I mean,
AMAZING) deal on a trip, we knew this was IT!  We decided to send off our travel
information to our friends, because we wanted to open up the travel experience
opportunity in case others were interested.  I know it might sound odd, having
"others" on our honeymoon, but our theory was we spend our time in wonderful
Virginia Beach with great options for close travel and events together, and we
are farther from our friends, so why not share this experience with them, if
possible!  Besides, isn't everyday you spend with your new spouse your
"honeymoon" essentially?!?! Haha.  Well, in the end, we took the trip over
Memorial weekend 2012 with 6 other individuals.  Our travel partners included:
Jimmy Koch, Erik Willinger, Matt Keucker, Erin Keucker, Tiffany and Deryk. 


Our travels took us from Dublin - Waterford
Crystal Factory - Kilkenny- Kilkenny Castle - Smithwick's Factory - Killarney - Ring of Kerry Travel - Galway - Connemara - Dublin - Guinness Factory - Trinity College
 
No, it is not a baby, but it is a puppy!! We have been going back and forth on when is the most ideal timing for us to get a dog, but we finally found a great dog description and we had to jump on it.  We were looking through Petfinder.com because this site deals a lot with shelters, rescues and good organizations.  While looking, we found several "potentials and contenders" but when we stumbled across CJ, we fell in love with him. 

CJ is a mix between Rat Terrier and Basenji, who has a very heartwarming back story. 

This was the description listed for him: "CJ is a playful and fun Rat Terrier/Basenji mix fella who is in need of a loving forever home. On Feb 2nd a very sweet momma dog was dumped at the at a very high
kill pound in LA with her 5, 1 week old pups. The shelter has no room for  nursing moms and the little family was to be euthanized. Thanks to BBR friends, PAWS of NE LA, they were saved and didn't even have to spend 1 night at the pound. Precious and her family of 5 have been thriving in foster care ever since. After weaning CJ was moved to a new foster home and his foster mom reports that CJ "is good in the crate but likes to sleep in the bed with me and cuddle too. He is doing really well with potty training and is just fun to have
around!""

He was a part of a rescue in Richmond, VA and we went ahead and submitted an application.  Oh MY GOODNESS, these applications are hefty and are very involved with questions.  It felt as if we were adopting a human child vs a puppy dog. I suppose they do this to protect the rescue shelter, the animal itself and the interest of all involved. So we filled out the application (including two personal references), and received an email that our application was approved, and now needed to schedule a home visit.  We had our home visit with a local volunteer who just needed to make sure we were not completely crazy and we were truthful on our application. So, we survived the home visit and then received word that we are totally approved to begin our 2 week trial period to ensure we and CJ are happy with this placement. 

CJ is now officially, official and a part of our family!!

So far, it has been a huge learning process for us to adjust to, but we love it.  CJ is super snuggly and cuddly that he fits right in.  We are hoping that he will do well when we make the road trip back home for the holidays.  Who knows what us crazy three will get into next!