Betsy Turns 7

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Betsy Jo turned 7 yesterday!!

She normally sleeps in a cozy little space that is above some drawers and level with our bed, but little Sue got to sleep under the covers snuggled between us the eve of her birthday! She didn’t move an inch all night to make sure we wouldn’t remember she was there in the middle of the night. (See our CREW page to read more about Betsy and to see all of her different names).

We woke up yesterday and began with our normal routine:

First set up the ramp to get the dogs from the cabin to the cockpit, then help the dogs jump from the boat to the dock.

Then, we hurry up to the grassy areas along the sidewalks so the kids can go potty. Gunner always finishes first because he is so anxious to get back inside for breakfast. For her birthday Betsy got to hunt for lizards a little longer than normal, but if we let her she would chase them all day! Gunner didn’t mind so much because there were so many good smells outside.

Back on the boat for breakfast while mommy and daddy have coffee, then Betsy got to wash out the cereal bowl that we shared. Minimizing dirty dishes and conserving water by letting Sue do the pre-rinse gets us a jump on the daily chores :)

It’s nap time for the dogs while we do some work on the boat outside, then they make another potty trip before we run some errands.

Jose’s birthday dinner was served on a special birthday plate given to us by Jody’s grandmother who we all call Bean, and was given a healthy portion of barbecued New York steak with her own spot at the table!! We said our prayers holding hands and paws, and enjoyed another fantastic home cooked meal aboard our cozy humble aboa-t. Betsy is such a good little girl that she wanted to help us clean up too :)

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After dinner we finished watching The Bucket List so Betsy would be even more excited about all the fun and amazing adventures we are about to go on while I baked a cake on our boat for the first time. Red Velvet with cream cheese frosting AND filling!! Mmm it smelled so good!!

We of course sang happy birthday and gave Betsy a high-five. Even though doggies shouldn’t have sugar, we had to let Betsy Jo have a taste of her own birthday cake. She is pretty good at eating from a fork!

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Betsy is a very special dog and anyone that meets her will understand. She loves everyone she meets and is the happiest dog we know. It was a blessing that Peter found this little girl 7 years ago and took her home so she could be here with us today.

9 comments

  1. Captain Jim says:

    Happy Birthday to the crew of SV Mary Christine. We just got back from Cambodia and Vietnam. Had a wonderful trip and saw some fantastic history from the 12th century. The only bummer is we arrived by air instead of sea. May your journies around this planet take you all to such cool places and beyond.

  2. Kim says:

    Just getting to reading this post and it is the CUTEST post EVER!!! Happy Birthday Betsy Jo! I most loved the part about her getting to sleep with you guys on her birthday eve. So sweet! Btw, where are you guys now and what are your plans for cruising? -Kim, s/v LAHO

    • Kim – She sure is a spoiled girl :)
      We are still at Burnt Store Marina at the border of Charlotte and Lee counties. We hope to leave here early January and head through the Keys to the Bahamas, Caribbean and Central America. Maybe someday the South Pacific ;) We don’t have a set schedule and just plan to island hop hopefully getting far enough south before the next hurricane season. You guys are planning for the same, right?

  3. Kim says:

    Yes! We are hoping to start heading south in (late) January. Putting in our notice at work tomorrow, yikes! We’ll be doing the same… Keys > Bahamas > Caribbean. If we’re in the same place at the same time, we’ll definitely have to meet up. I’m pretty positive our poodle Oliver would love your two pups! -Kim

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