Decking the Halls

The kids have been begging and begging to put up the tree, but we've been so busy the last couple of weeks.  But we finally got around to pulling the boxes out of the attic and the kids did all the hard work.

They sorted the branches into the various sizes while Ruby supervised.

They worked together as a team to put the branches into the pole.  It was an excellent afternoon for teamwork and not a peep of bickering!

I love the tippy toes back there.

More tippy toes.  This girl was determined to do every bit as much as her brother!

I helped get the top on and then two strands of lights.  After that, the kids did everything and hung almost every single ornament we had packed away.  Little Horse supervised, too.

Missing Maggie

The house feels so empty without her.  It's pretty obvious Dylan misses her, too.

Dancing Machines

The kids are both all amped up over learning a dance routine to Justin Bieber's song Baby, Baby, Baby.  They had me download it to iTunes and were dancing to the song after coming home from Tae Kwon Do.

Dylan was wound up and wanted to dance, too.

And even though Dylan was running around like a crazer, Owen and Chloe were still dancing away to Justin Bieber.  :)  These kids are focused!

Pets

Jezzie is routinely on my lap when I'm working during the day.  And Dylan comes in regularly to check on me for possible ear scratches and in the hopes that he may get a special treat (which are hoarded on top of my desk).

Jezzie is his mother hen and will lick his face clean.  She likes to focus on his eyes, so he is respectable.  It is in the evenings when he is lying down in the family room that she will lick his paws clean.  I love that these two are such good friends.

Oh So Hot

We are into August now, but it is still sweltering outside.  I had been working with my windows open up until a week ago, but then my allergies kicked in...must be some ragweed growing in now.

Looking out from my office windows (with them sadly shut), it looks like autumn is not far off.  The leaves from our willow are covering the ground.

The branches aren't noticeably bare.  Yet.

Maggie has fully recovered from her little surgery to drill out two very infected roots left behind after a tooth extraction from years ago.  Before the surgery, her right cheek had swollen up to look like a plum was just under the surface.  Poor girl.

Dylan has become a much more family oriented dog over the last month.  He doesn't show any anxiety about wandering into any room in the house.  He seeks attention and comes into each of our offices throughout the day for nose rubs and treats.

Even though he has the majority of his coat shaved off his back and sides, he is still a hot boy and spends most of the day indoors.  This silly boy is almost completely weaned off of his anxiety meds that he has been on since March.  In one more week, he will be completely on his own to deal with life.  I think he will do great.  The issues that caused him so much anxiety in the beginning and non-stop barking and crying all night long for the first two months seem to be long forgotten by this boy.

On an almost weekly basis, Owen will tell me he is so glad we picked Dylan and thinks he is the best dog we could have chosen.  The first few months were a bumpy start with Dyl, but he is a lovey boy with a wonderful disposition.  He's a non-barker to boot, so Owen may be right.  He was the best dog we could have rescued and brought home with us.

Critters

The pest control guy came by this afternoon.  Before he could come into the backyard, I had to clear out a big pile of branches I had cut off the willow and butterfly bush earlier in the week before our gate could swing open.  When I removed all the branches, I noticed this guy.

While the backyard was being sprayed, I stayed inside to make sure no one tried to escape.  Henry was too tired to move from his spot on the sofa.

Maggie followed me around like a lost soul, but she refused to make eye contact with me or my camera.

Dylan pretended to sleep.  He would open his eyes and quickly shut them again after seeing I was watching him.

Look at how bumpy his skin is!  And the bright golden orange specks in his eyes!  I think some beads may be inspired by this bright coloring in his eyes.

After the kids got home from school and saw this frog, they wanted to name him.  Chloe first suggested we name the frog --> Dora.  Owen yelled NOOOOOOOOOOO and thought for awhile, before offering up Cliff. 

Cliff the Frog is bigger than my two fists combined.  I tried picking him up with one hand while taking pics with the other, but he was too big and wiggly to hold onto.  Subsequent two handed attempts were not any more successful.  Cliff ended up hopping across the backyard in his escape and hid under our cypress trees.  By morning, he was gone.

Morning Walk

We had had a lot of rain at the start of February, but this morning was the first in awhile that it was under freezing.  

The muddy path through the nature trail was frozen solid, so I took Dylan for a walk through the woods.  Hard to tell from this pic, but the stream was up quite a bit.

Although it was a cold morning, it was beautiful and the sun was out.

We walked all the way to the end of the trail at the edge of the woods, but we had to turn around because the bridge was washed out during our floods last fall.

LOVED the sun shining back through the woods.

Then I saw this swirling lichen growing up on a stump.  Too cool.

Here is the tunnel for the stream that goes under our street.  It is large enough for a couple of cars to drive through side-by-side.

Dylan - Our Newest Family Member

Meet Dylan. Doesn't he look happy? This is driving home for the first time with a pit stop at Petsmart to pick up a collar that fit him, as well as a name tag with my cell # on it.


I know I had shown you Chance before....we were contemplating naming him Samson or Wilson or a handful of other pretty cool names. But then Todd met Chance, who acted a complete spaz (who could blame the sweet boy? he had been penned up in a 4x10ft space for well over a week due to kennel cough and no exercise time). Todd teased that with Chance's jumping, he would knock our piano over.


So Dylan was brought out next and all this sweet boy wanted to do was to sit by our feet and be petted. Dylan didn't jump or dance. He just sat. Very patiently. Waiting to be petted and told how beautiful he was. Dylan wasn't a name we had contemplated, but all four of us liked the name chosen by the rescue and agreed to keep it. After living with us for a week, I think he knows his name now. :)

Dylan weighed in at 68 pounds, which is about 40 pounds underweight. We are feeding him four times a day, instead of two with extra helpings of puppy food thrown in to fatten him up. During his first week with us, he has gained six pounds. He has also started the beginner training class at Petsmart with me on Tuesday nights. And is learning that going up the stairs is not scary (many rescue dogs are scared of doorways and stairs).

Friday was day 8 with us and that was the first day he ventured upstairs on his own (as opposed to me carrying his stubborn/scared self up all the stairs to go to bed each night) and visited Todd over a dozen times throughout the day. He is learning to stay out of the kitchen when we are eating meals and that he must show his manners and sit first before his food bowl will be put down in front of him.

Dylan is a super sweet boy. He is quiet and unassuming; content to sleep most of the day in any cool spot he can find (in front of the fireplace in the family room or out on the back porch). He and Maggie get along well together. She is having fun joining our little 5 minute training sessions throughout the day and is learning with Dylan how to "Watch Me" as I hold a treat in front of my face. We are so glad we found Dylan and look forward to many wonderful years ahead of us with him in our family!