Toula (aka...Bubba)

Some of you were wanting to see some pictures of my puppy so I went through and picked out my favorites from this past year

Toula's birthday...we spend more on her than we do on each other!!

She LOVES the water hose

Waiting for daddy to come home

Getting her beauty sleep...it's a hard life She wants to be just like her mommy and daddy

Snuggling with mom

Being cute with dad

Playing with her friend, Brody. He was a stray digging through our trash. We took him in, got him vet care and found him a good home. He was a sweetheart and all three of us miss him!

Helping daddy feel better when he was sick

Toula will always be a Mizzou fan!

Cruisin the Caribbean

To celebrate Jacob's graduation and my mother-in-law's retirement, my in-laws, Jacob and I went on a cruise that traveled through the west Caribbean. We had a blast! It was great getting away for while and spending some time with my husband before our lives get really hectic for the next couple of years.

The view from the balcony of our room on the very back of the ship.

First stop: Miami, Florida
We departed from Miami. I had never been to Miami...

I didn't know it was so beautiful!

Miami Beach, Florida

Pulling away from the harbour
The first formal night

Second Stop: Grand Cayman, Mexico

What an amazing place!!

This is Hell, Grand Cayman. These unexplainable geological structures are unlike any other rock formations in the world.

We swam with sting rays! This sandbar is out in the middle of the ocean where all these sting rays hang out. There are hundreds of them and they all want to be fed. It freaked me out a little because they are kind of aggressive, especially when you have food. They slop their bodies up on your sides looking for food since their mouths are underneath!!

This sea turtle farm ensures the survival of sea turtles by protecting their eggs in a hatchery. In real life, the odds of an egg surviving are very poor.

A view of Grand Cayman from the ship

The nachos we ate at Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville!! Yum!! The most fun restaurant I've ever eaten at...they had a water slide inside!

Third Stop: Roatan Isla, Honduras

In Honduras, we went snuba diving (a mix between scuba diving and snorkeling). Our regulators were attached to a 20 foot tube that connected us to our own oxygen tanks. It took me a while to get used to the pressure differences and the sense of continuing to breathe under water but after a while, I really enjoyed it. We got to see some great sea creatures.

Fourth Stop: Belize City, Belize

Jacob went scuba diving in Belize, so Dan, Judi and I took a boat to a private island! It had a restaurant, a bar, a few shops and some of the most beautiful views on earth.

Gambling at the casino on the ship that night.

I got addicted to this quick bet slot machine!

Fifth Stop: Costa Maya, Mexico

A view of our ship before we left for our snorkeling trip.My mother-in-law and me on the boat after snorkeling.Chips and salsa and margaritas at a beach bar before getting back on the ship. We also did a little shopping.Second formal nightWe had drinks at this baseball themed bar on our last night on the ship.Our drink boy for the week, Iputu. He had a wife and two boys back home in Indonesia that he sends money to. He has been on the ship for 3 months and has 4 months left.

It was a wonderful trip! Now it's back to the real world!!

FORE!!!

My parents, Jacob and I went out to hit some golf balls a few weeks ago. My dad is fabulous, Jacob is pretty good, my mom can be good and I am just terrible!!

I sort of look like I know what I'm doing!!

My parents with Jacob.


My parent's dog, Anook, came along too.

I hit a whole bucket of balls and the blisters on my hands that showed up the next day proved it! Regardless, it was a fun afternoon hanging out with my parents.

First Anniversary

May 20th marked our first anniversary! Jacob filled the whole day with fun surprises starting with breakfast in bed and shopping and lunch at my favorite outdoor mall. We had dinner at Skies, a restaurant that rotates 50 stories above Kansas City providing amazing views of the city we call home. The day ended with a night's stay at Chateau Avalon, a bed and breakfast in North KC. It was a great way to remember the best day of our lives and spend some much needed time together. I am so blessed to call him my husband and my best friend.

Dr. Jacob Kettle, Pharm.D.

Jacob graduated with summa cum laude honors from pharmacy school on May 5th with his doctor of pharmacy degree. It's hard to believe that after 6 years of school, he's finally a pharmacist!! I am very proud of him. I've got one year left and then it's my turn! I know that we couldn't have done it without each other. He will be a resident at the VA hospital here in KC starting in June and he also took a job with Price Chopper pharmacies as a fill in pharmacist.