Friday, January 31, 2014

Kids Were Here - The Dog Edition

I joined up with some other moms a few months ago for a new blog circle called "Kids Were Here" but this is my first actual post of the series. The idea is to document the evidence left behind to show the impact kids have on our homes and lives.

This month I decided to take a twist on this to show off our new dog/puppy Goldie
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She is a Humane Society rescue and about 5-6 months old.  The paperwork said “Lab Retriever Mix”. I thought that she was just an underfed lab with her size. Once we had her home and we really got to watch her, I think she has more of a terrier in her mix, than lab or retriever. This is our first dog, and being that she is a rescue we are still adjusting to having her and she is still adjusting to being in a loving home. She seems to have a touch of puppy boredom combined with separation anxiety. She has been making her mark on the house, quiet literally. 20140128-IMG_098220140128-IMG_101520140128-IMG_1017

My dog is also apparently a master escape artist. When we first brought her home we had a kennel inside. The first day she was home alone she managed to squeeze out a not fully locked gate. Then the next time she managed to jump out of the kennel (it had an open top). We stopped trying to barricade her after that but she is destructo puppy. So we decided she would need to be outside when we are gone and she can't come with us.  She dug under the fence the first time we left her outside. So we fixed the hole and blockaded the area. Well she used the blockaded as leverage to jump OVER the fence last night while we were at the grocery store. We removed the item that was used as a step and thought we would be good for the morning. NOPE! She dug under the OTHER fence (that was hard packed dirt not just loose gravel like the first side)
So now we will be crate training her.  Anyone else have a learning curve with a new dog?


Please continue on to the blog circle, up next in the circle is Kim Schory

Friday, January 17, 2014

Happy Birthday to You

Dear Anthony,

Well another year has passed and now you are 12 years old. It really seems like just yesterday the doctor put that screaming baby on my chest making me a mom. You have always been, and will always be my best birthday present.

This year you were at your Dad's for your/our birthday.  It always feels strange to be away from you on those special days. I am glad that you got to enjoy cake & ice cream with your Dad and friends in California. This weekend we will celebrate with your friends in town. You have chosen to have an Angel's Baseball Birthday party at the batting cages.

It is fun to look back and see how much you have changed in a year. In fact, here are 12 things from before you turned 12:

  1. You started horseback riding with 4H20121201-IMG_2043
  2. We saw snow in Julian - TWICE!IMG_3606
  3. You got to see Tony Stewart race here in YumaIMG_0202
  4. We ran the Color Me Rad 5K (out of our family you finished first)IMG_3986
  5. You got an Outstanding & 3 First Place ribbons at the fair for your horse projectIMG_3892IMG_3893IMG_3894
  6. You finished 5th grade!IMG_4599
  7. We went to Waylan's Water World (more than once)IMG_4674
  8. You volunteered for VBS at your Dad's churchIMG_4971(not my photo)
  9. We vacationed at the beach with your cousins and Grandma & Grandpa - you went on the boogie board, flew Grandpa's big stunt kite, tried to rock climb and went to the Santa Monica Pier.                                            20130725-IMG_572520130726-IMG_6060IMG_5995
  10. You started 6th GradeIMG_5405
  11. You started playing "Fall Baseball" and your team won one gameIMG_5605
  12. We bought our first house & movedIMG_6929
In all honesty it was a GREAT year and I hope that next year is even better.
Love,
Mom

Stop by Deidre's blog to continue reading more letters to our sons.