Those Juiced Yankees

Check out the segment on our local Fox morning show this morning. Philly fans wrote the book on trash talking...

October in Philly

Some highlights from our October:

Octoberfest with Phil and Nicole, friends of ours who moved to Philly this year. This fest came complete with a polka band. Phil wasn't too sure about dancing the polka.

We went to our first Ivy League football game, at the University of Pennsylvania. We were unimpressed with the size of the crowd, to say the least. The view of the Philly skyline was nice though. The Eagles used to play at Franklin Field, which I'm sure pulled a larger crowd. The Army-Navy game was also played here.

We also went to Nebraska for a Huskers game (forgot the camera, so no pics).

And, of course, much of our time has been spent watching the Phillies make it to Fall Classic! Game 1 is tonight, and Bella is ready.

Flying Monkey What?

This summer, I've been eagerly waiting for a new cafe to open its doors in our neighborhood. If you've visited us in Philly, chances are we've taken you to Reading Terminal and I've made you order a cupcake from the Flying Monkey Patisserie. They are fantastic, and the bakery is opening a second location just 2 blocks from our apartment! I have anticipated enjoying coffee and cupcakes on a more regular basis there.

Unfortunately, their new name leaves something to be desired. Seriously, Flying Monkey Deuce? The owners have obviously not hung out with frat boys enough to get that one. I definitely won't be ordering anything chocolate.

Vick in Philadelphia

The Philadelphia Eagles have signed Michael Vick today, and animal and dog lovers around town are furious. If you didn't know, Vick has spent the last 2 years in prison for his sponsorship of a dogfighting group. Here is a summary of his involvement in the dogfighting case: http://www.philly.com/philly/sports/eagles/20090814_ap_summaryofmichaelvickdogfightingcase.html (The summaryis that he organized a dog-fighting group and helped kill 6-8 "underperforming" dogs by drowning or hanging in 2007.)

Here's what I think of overpaid, animal-abusing NFL players:

Let's hope Bella demolishes it!

Dog Bed, Monkey Head

We finally relented and bought Bella a dog bed. She hasn't quite figure it out yet...
We can't show you the other things she's been doing to her new dog bed...just not PG-rated for the kiddies. Needless to say, she loves her dog bed. A lot.

Oh, and that monkey toy she got for Easter from Donna? She beheaded it. Yummy -- stuffed monkey brains...

Camping in the Rain

We ventured up north to the Poconos for camping and hiking this weekend. Ricketts Glen State Park is about 2.5 hours north of Philadelphia, nestled in the Lehigh Valley. It has 22 waterfalls total.


Bella thoroughly enjoyed hiking, although it was tricky in some spots to navigate while walking with her. She was very excited and tugged pretty hard on the leash. Here we are by a "wedding cake" type of waterfall.

And then, the rain began.

And it continued all night...

We huddled underneath shelter that we'd fashioned from a tarp and rope. Here's Bella by the light of the lantern.

"It's a trench!"

Our Dutch friend, Pieter, was driven to divert the water in a system of waterways. (Maybe trenchwork is in his blood?) Unfortunately, there was just too much water.

After a long day of hiking and general muddiness, our puppy curled up on a pile of laundry, still smokey from the campfire. We think that's a sign she'd like to go back.

Dog Bed, Dog Park

Bella is trying to tell us something. That something is: "Get me a dog bed!!" She does this by climbing onto our coffee table, which, to her benefit, is a padded table-bench. But she barely fits onto it, and it's pretty pathetic and adorable. We have avoided purchasing a dog bed because in all likelihood she will tear it shreds. That likelihood is decreasing every day, as she gets older and stops generally tearing things to shreds.

In other news, we enjoyed a beautiful summer evening at the dog park tonight. Here's a video of our pup playing tug with a neighborhood dog.