Hello! I know that it has been a very long time since we have published a post so I will try and fill everyone in. First off and seems to be most important lately, Precious is still bleeding! After a visit to a specialist we found out that she has an infection and SIPS which means that part of her placenta did not attach to the uterus after she had a litter in April. We are hoping that she hasn't been bleeding since then. We feel so lucky to have found her and we think she is happy to be with us too.

Randy has lost 10 lbs on the diet that we were both supposed to be on. I am so very proud of him and his dedication to the diet. Unfortunately I did not do as well and I think he gave Precious and I some of the pounds that he lost. J/K Ha Ha Way to go honey, I am proud of you!

Work has been busy, got a new dining room table and looking forward to the holidays. That about sums it up.

Love to all! The Mars Family

This is my friend Brandi's daughter Madison. She was a cowgirl and looked so cute with her red hair and freckles! We had a great time trick or treating. It has been a while for me. Ha Ha

This is Precious as a pink bug and her friend Sohpie the chicken. We went trick or treating with my friend Brandi and her daughter and had to take the dogs. Too cute! ;)

My new sweater that I REFUSE to walk in. I stand at the top of the stairs and sit real pretty when my mom and dad try to take me for a walk. I don't care how cold it is outside, I refuse.

She did not want us to leave. :-(
So cute!

This is what happens when my husband falls into a deep sleep on the plane. I couldn't help myself. I don't think I have ever laughed so hard on a plane before. Sorry honey, had to do it.

Trip to Kansas

In the middle of September Randy, Dad and I took a trip to Hays, KS for the weekend. We arrived Thursday morning and left on Sunday. We had a great time visiting with Grammie, Papa, Maxine, Larry, Art, Becky, Elsie, Candy and Scott. Dad and Randy did a couple things around the house like fixing the stove, working on the computer, working on the sump pump in the basement and setting the special brick that Dad had for Grammie and Papa in front of their house (see below for picture). Aunt Maxine and Uncle Larry came over on Friday and spent the day with us. The boys all went to have coffee and I got to go to the excellent Chinese restaurant across the street with Aunt Maxine to have lunch. I don't think Aunt Maxine and I have ever had one on one time, it was very nice. Thank you Aunt Maxine. We also got to see all the beautiful quilts that Grammie has been busy making, she had pictures to show. Then on Friday evening we had Uncle Art, Aunt Becky, Elsie, Candy, Tony and Scott over for hamburgers. It was wonderful visiting with everyone. Saturday Dad made ribs and Papa made milk noodles so we were definitely full. :) Papa was able to show Randy all of his antiques in the front office and Uncle Art brought over his race car (see below). Then on Sunday we had to leave. It was a quick trip but well worth it. Randy keeps telling people that it helps him to understand why I am who I am. I forgot to mention that Papa told lots of stories about his kids. Good stories, but I found out that I am a lot like my Uncle Mack. We both want things 'our way'. So Uncle Mack, you aren't the only one. :) Plus, with almost all the kids with tempers I didn't stand a chance. Ha Ha
Thanks Grammie and Papa for having us out there! We love you!

Happy Birthday Mike!

On September 8th we celebrated Mike's (Randy's brother) birthday. We had dinner over at Sonia's with Sonia, Mike, Ashley, Randy, Precious and I. As you can see, Mike was VERY surprised when he opened his gift. :)

We love you Mike!

Football with Dad

New Addition!!

We have a new addition to the Mars Family!! Her name is Precious and boy isn't she! :) We got her from a guy in the navy that did not have time to spend with her nor care for her. She is 15 months old, 16 lbs, fawn color and healthy. We just took her to the vet today to get a check up. She did not come from the cleanest or safest area so we wanted to make sure that she was healthy and caught up with all her shots. She has adjusted to us very well and we already love her to pieces. There are a couple things that we have to work on though. She has fleas (not a lot) but we already gave her 2 baths and a medicine from the vet. She is also in heat. Crazy, huh? Randy and I have no clue what that is like, so this should be an experience. Ha Ha In about 6-8 weeks we are going to get her spayed so she does not go into heat again. Can't wait, but isn't the diaper cute? We have to put a maxi pad in the diaper for her. Too funny, makes me chuckle. We finally get a pug and she has fleas and is in heat. :) She is all worth it though. We love her! Welcome home Precious!

You may wonder why I am wearing a diaper? That is because not only do I have fleas, I am in heat. :) How lucky are my owners! Ha Ha

Best Life Diet

After gaining a total of 20 pounds between Randy and I, we have finally signed up for the Best Life Diet. Of course deciding on the diet plan was not an easy process. We had to look up the 'best' diets on consumersearch.com and consumerreports.com. Yes, consumer reports rate diet plans, only Randy would know this. :-) So after 2 days of research we have picked thebestlife.com. We apparently need the structured plan. Wish us luck!

Happy Birthday Heidi Jo!!!

We hope you have the most wonderful birthday ever! We love you so much! :-)

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Things have been pretty good here. Work seems to be getting better for Randy. He gets to work from home 1 day a week and he doesn't seem as stressed lately. I have been promoted (kind of) to a Global Business Analyst which means I now work for Wolseley and not just Ferguson. I will be working on reporting for all global applications and keeping my fingers crossed that I will get to go to the UK for a visit. We bought plane tickets to go to Hays, KS in September to visit Grammie and Papa. Dad is meeting us in Kansas City on a Wednesday night and then the three of us are driving to Hays on Thursday morning. We are very excited to spend the weekend with Grammie and Papa! Jaclyn is back safe from Turkey and has lots of awesome pictures on her blog. Check out her blog under 'Our Loved Ones'. That is it for now. We love you all!

Happy Birthday Sonia!

On July 23rd we celebrated Sonia's 23rd birthday. :) We had her over for dinner along with her good friend Lola. Instead of the traditional cake we had baklava (Greek dessert) her favorite! We love you!

We are about to celebrate our 2 month anniversary and finally settling down. To be honest, we are kinda of bored. We were used to planning, meeting, writing invitations, thank you cards, decorating favors, picking out flowers and stressing out. Since the wedding is over and the thank you cards are sent out (amen!) we aren't crazy busy anymore. In fact, Randy and I decided that we should start working out to use up some of our extra time, not to mention lose the extra pounds that we have gained since the wedding. Ha Ha Randy has been VERY busy with work. He has 2 full time positions that he is supposed to complete in the time of 1 full time position. He is stretched way too thin. Work for me has been steady, not so stressed like my husband. Work not being so busy has enabled me to work on changing my name. I have gotten a new social security card, new license, new bank cards and now I am just waiting for work to change my name. I am hoping that I will get used to signing my new name Mars, I liked my fancy H that I had for my signature. How can I make an M fancy? We booked our tickets for our visit to Phoenix during xmas. Got a great deal on our tickets. We have also talked Sonia (Randy's mom) into going for a couple days. She is more excited about going to Sedona then Phoenix. LOL That is about it for now. Will write more later.

This is an air mattress that became the center of attention while Oshyn, Cruz and Heidi stayed with us. Makes for a softer landing or a trampoline.

We were lucky enough to have Heidi and the boys stay with us for a couple days in June. We had so much fun with them. Normally we only get to see them for a couple hours at a time. Having them with us for 2 days was awesome! Not only was the visit free birth control, we loved getting to know them better. Ha Ha Randy and I laid in bed on the second night and decided that we will wait a couple years. LOL Don't get me wrong, Oshyn and Cruz are very sweet, well-behaved boys, they are just a lot of work. :) Heidi and Beau, you are great parents!

What you don't see is when Randy took him down 3 flights of stairs while still in the bag!