Mad for Plaid

This may or  may not be our last throwback to the holiday season of 2018 . . . .

While enjoying the snow we had at the start of December, we had not only one photo session, but TWO!?!?! (Are you rolling your eyes?  You should be!)   We looked terrific in our flannel snowman bandanas and then Mommy switched them out to this plaid pattern.  She just knew it would look fabulous against the white snow.  She was right, of course, but that didn't make this photo session any more exciting.

The red plaid looks stunning against the white snow . . . 

Jenna's sugar face also coordinates quite well, don't ya think?

By the time Mommy switched these bandanas out, Dixie had had enough fashion fun!

She wasn't ready to cooperate.

And Ruger, our sweet milk chocolate, looked especially labradorable with the snow on (and in) his nose!

We hope you're mad for plaid too!
Dixie, Jenna & Ruger

Snow Much Fun

In the three winters we've lived where we are now, we've only seen snow flurries a couple times and only once did they stick . . . for about thirty minutes.  This is a BIG difference from where we lived prior to this location.  Being a teacher, Mommy is a HUGE fan of snow days, but fears she'll never experience another one!

Late on Friday, December 7th, the snow started falling in huge flakes!  Ruger had only seen tee tiny snowflakes up until this point in his young life, so naturally he did what any snow newbie would do: he BARKED at it!  He wasn't sure what that white stuff was falling from the sky.  We northern natives knew exactly what to do . . . wait to see if it was going to stick!  And boy, did it stick!  Mommy was totally surprised when we went out the next morning at 6AM and we had several inches already.  It continued to snow most of Saturday morning and we wound up with almost EIGHT inches of snow!  Usually, Mommy thinks snow on a Saturday is a waste of a snow day, but she's so desperate for snow, she'll take it anytime!  And it did result in a two hour delay Monday morning!  Yippee!

Naturally, Mommy saw this snow day as a photo opportunity!  We had recently ordered flannel bandanas from one of our favorite Etsy shops L and E Boutique, but thought for sure we wouldn't need to wear them until the new year.  Mommy broke out the new bandanas because they have snowflakes on one side and snowmen on the other.  We looked great in them!

 Jenna

 Dixie

Ruger

We had snoooooow much fun playing outside!  Ruger especially since this was his first big snow!  He ran around like a mad man while we just stood and watched him.

You can see how excited he was by the grin on his face below!

Mommy enjoyed playing in the snow too!  She said she thought she might cry from the excitement of breaking out her snow boots again!

Once we came inside, we all crashed!

We're hoping this won't be our last snow of  the winter, but chances are it is!

Dixie & Jenna

Brave Mommy

The first week of the month Mommy traveled with her eighth grade students to a camp for four days.  She really enjoys spending this time with them outside of school.  There's lots of wildlife to see while at camp.  The monarch butterflies were in the middle of their migration and were everywhere!

A fox Mommy's co-worker named Felix liked to hang out with the adults while the students played basketball nearby.  He (or she??) didn't appear to be afraid of people at all!

We also saw a snake (that puked up two frogs right before this picture was taken) . . .

And there were so MANY little bitty frogs!  The students loved looking for them in the grass.

While at camp, the students have a chance to zipline, rappel, and more!  There are four big events each student can choose to participate in which tests their bravery.  Last year, Mommy participated in two of these events.  One of the events did not interest Mommy even one tiny bit last year (or this year either).  This event requires the participant to climb a 26 foot tall pole, stand on top of that pole, and then jump off!  Ummm . . . NOPE!  Not gonna happen!

But there was an event that piqued her interest last year and caused her to regret not having taken the plunge . . . literally.  Mommy had planned to make this event her goal this year . . . until she arrived and saw it again.

Anyone up for rappelling off a 60 foot tall bridge?  This catwalk bridge has to be crossed back and forth for every meal while at camp.  Mommy REALLY does NOT like walking across it since you can see through it!  It freaks her out a bit.  This is also the location of the rappelling.  The hardest part of the rappelling is that you have to climb OVER the wall of the bridge to start!  Anyone watching the rappelling can see that once you're over the bridge, the participants have loads of fun.  It's not even that high or scary at that point.  It's just getting your leg over the bridge that freaks everyone out!

One of Mommy's students reminded his friends of the age old saying of Moms everywhere, "If your friends jumped off a bridge, would you do so also?"  That particular boy chose not to rappel (although he did jump off the tall pole the next day).

You have to lower yourself until your head is lower than your feet so that when you finally remove your feet from the bridge, you won't swing forward and hit your head!  This is right before Mommy lets go!

Mommy had to be talked into rappelling by her boss and the camp counselor who said she should set a good example for her students.  She reminded him she did every day!  She really had to dig deep to find the nerve to do this event.  It was WAY out of her comfort zone!  But SHE DID IT!!!! (And even smiled while doing so!)  Mommy was so proud of herself!

Maybe one day we'll get to do something as fun and adventurous as this!  Are you picturing us strapped into a harness yet??

Until our next adventure,
Dixie, Jenna & Ruger

The Great Escape!

A few Sundays ago, we got into BIG trouble!!!  We had an all out adventure before the sun even came up!  We woke Mommy up at the usual time (6AM) and asked for breakfast.  When we finished eating, Mommy let Dixie outside to potty first followed by Jenna and then me.  We frequently go outside by ourselves and then we just bark when we're ready to come back in.  Mommy decided to check on us after we'd been out there for about five minutes.  When she opened the door, she realized to her horror the back gate was OPEN and we were ALL GONE!!!!!  With no collars on!!!!  (We're all microchipped thankfully, but still . . . )

Mommy immediately ran to wake Daddy and they began the search for us.  All total our adventure was about thirty minutes long.  Our parents have watched the security cameras at our house to see our actions and are able to giggle about it now, but they both agree it was no laughing matter at 6:15 AM!

As soon as Dixie came outside, she began barking trying to alert Mommy to the open gate.  Mommy thought nothing of the barking because we have so many dawgs in the neighborhood and we frequently bark at them.  Then Jenna came outside and although she took note of the open gate (which is apparently all Mommy's fault), Jenna didn't venture out.  She went about her morning routine while keeping her eye on the gate.  The incriminating video evidence shows I came out and within seconds I had discovered my path to freedom!  (I frequently sit in the backyard and dream of what's on the other side of the fence).  Jenna followed me shortly after.

The video shows Miss Goody Two Shoes Dixie leaving and then coming back and forth at the open gate for about five minutes before being discovered by Mommy.  Before Mommy and Daddy left in the Jeep to start their search, Mommy looked out one more time and found Jenna had made her way back home.  Jenna had pushed the gate open to let herself back in.

Our parents drove around about twenty minutes looking and calling for me.  They finally drove back to the house to see if I had returned home because Daddy says dawgs always come home.  Mommy ran through the house to see if I had returned through the back gate.  When she came back in the house, there I was!!!

Daddy found me!  Actually, I found him.  I met him in the driveway.  I got a "Good Boy!" for making my way back home.  Needless to say, we are naked no more!  Our collars are back on, the the gate is tightly closed, and my lips are sealed about my real adventure.

What happens on the other side of the fence, stays on the other side of the fence!
Ruger

To Each Their Own

Mommy was feeling rather adventurous during her last week of summer vacation.  She decided to take ALL THREE of us to the dawg park all by herself.  She says unloading at the park was the worst part of the whole adventure.  We were rearing to go!

She was recovering from the exhausting walk from the car to the park gate (maybe a whopping 30 yards??) and didn't have her camera out to capture the great picture of all three of us running together.  Instead, you'll have to settle for just me and Ruger running wild!

Once again Ruger's tongue was flapping in the breeze.  This was the best picture Mommy could grab of it!

This little guy is Dozier.  He's quite a chunky bulldog and tried to keep up with us at the park!

He also tried to run with the other big dawgs there.  He got a little nip on the nose at one point!  But that didn't stop him from waddling around with us.  (He even tried to make an escape with us as we were leaving!)

It was rare to see all three of us together this day.  We were all doing our own thing all over the park. 

Mommy learned that each of our personalities stood out while at the park.  Dixie was all about the tennis balls!  She only wanted to retrieve the ball over and over and over and  . . .

She played until she finally had to collapse at Mommy's feet from exhaustion.  

Ruger liked to be where the action was.  He spent a good bit of the time running from one pack of dawgs to another trying to play with them.  If someone threw a ball, he'd run after the dawg trying to retrieve it.  He likes to try to steal the ball from others.  That may be how he ended up with slobber all over his nose!

I used my time more wisely.  I went from person to person trying to nab some FOOD!  The rules of the park say no people food or dawg food allowed in the park, but you know how people are; they don't follow the rules!  Unfortunately, the only "food" I found that day was a man with coffee.  That wasn't quite what I was looking for and he wasn't sharing!

We played until we couldn't play any more.  We finally settled in the shade together and Mommy asked if we were ready to go home.   I was forced into the backseat on the way to the park, but I called shotgun for the ride home.  I don't know why Dixie just doesn't let me ride up front all the time.  She knows I prefer it and she doesn't seem to mind where she rides.  Ruger proved to be a good car rider too.  He and Dixie each took a rear window and enjoyed the views.

I enjoyed my ride home in the front seat.  I can relax and have Mommy all to myself! She enjoys having me up here too because I tend to lie down and sleep.  (Dixie prefers to sit up and look around.)

Hopefully we'll all get to go to the park again soon!
Jenna

Paranoid Mommy and Pawfect Jenna

Mommy has been super paranoid about my knee this summer.  She always watches to see how I'm walking, if I'm putting all my weight on my paw, if  I'm limping or favoring my leg.  It's been over a year since I had my knee surgery and I've technically made a full recovery, but . . .

Mommy still worries!  Don't all Mommies?  

About mid July, I had a fun morning of playing in the water with my siblings and then playing hard with Ruger in the yard.  Later that day when I hopped up from a nap, HOP was the operative word.  I wasn't putting any weight on my leg at all.  It was the same leg I'd had surgery on.  Mommy went back to this photo above to double check.  Dawgs who have knee surgery have a FIFTY percent chance of having the other knee operated on eventually, so she wanted to make sure.  

She watched me for a few days and gave me buffered aspirin in case I was in any pain.  She also restricted me to super short walks and began taking Ruger and Dixie on long walks together (instead of me and Dixie together).  After a week of this, Mommy went on her trip to Santa Fe and so I had a second week of restrictions . . . Daddy doesn't walk us!  Ha!

After Mommy's return, she still wasn't one hundred percent convinced that I was okay.  She had mentioned me to Dr. Clary when she had Ruger at the vet for his check up.  He said if I was improving any at all then it wasn't my knee.  I was definitely improving.  

Mommy started taking me by myself on longer walks and even let me swim one morning.  Here I am showing off my supermodel figure.  You're picturing Bo Derek shaking the water out of her braids here, aren't you??

 I'm Daddy's girl (or so he likes to think), but I can be Mommy's girl too!

After a weekend of swimming in the pond and a trip to the dawg park (I was the last to get to go because of my knee), Mommy took me to see Dr. Clary.  She told our family that she was going to take me to the vet just to double check or to have him tell her she was paranoid.

Dr. Clary couldn't even tell which leg he had operated on without the vet tech reminding him!  I was walking normally and not showing any issues.  The vet checked me out thoroughly and told Mommy to GO HOME!  He didn't even charge her for the visit.  (Apparently she IS paranoid!)  Mommy felt encouraged and relieved.  She still keeps an eye on my leg from time to time, but I've been running and playing with no issues.

I guess I'm still a supermodel!
Jenna

Three Dawg Park

Since the dawg park was successful with two out of three dawgs, Mommy decided to try it with all three of us.  She knew the regular minister was not going to be at church one Sunday morning and Daddy can't stand a substitute.  So they decided to skip church and take all three of us to the park together.  Dixie was super excited to be returning.

 We took the Chuckit with us so we could RUN, RUN, RUN!!!

Dixie ran some, but she's also figured out how she can do minimal running.  She likes to act like she's going to retrieve the ball, but then she lets me bring it back and just snatches it out of my mouth when I return!

So many tennis balls, so little time . . . 

Daddy had a pretty decent time too.  Not as much fun as we had, but we think it was better than he expected.  He was rather nervous to have us around all those other dawgs at first.

Daddy complained about the heat, but Mommy said it was ten degrees cooler than we'd been experiencing lately.  Mommy needs to remember we haven't done this much running lately!

Mommy said Ruger ran so hard that his tongue was slapping him in the face!  Too bad she didn't get a picture of THAT!

A good time was had by all!  And I had no ill effects on my knee from all that running.

Until the next time,
Jenna


PS: We're remembering our big brother Hunter today.  He passed away three years ago today.