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year in review...without pictures cause i'm lame!

2011-12-07T21:31:00.000-08:00

it's just been oh...a few months...but here's my puppyraising 2011 in review! :)

January: Cobb was 7 months old and an only dog and very adorable as always!
February: Cobb was 8 months old, we had a leader meeting and Rio came as an adorable 9 week old puppy to come live with us! And boy was Rio adorable!
March: Cobb was 9 months and still a great puppy! Joaquin graduated as a guide dog!!! Rio barked a lot, but was otherwise awesome. Rio went to his finisher raiser at the end of March.
April: Cobb was 10 months. Hallie was born. Mandy came to visit...and Rio came to visit for a puppy sit for the weekend.
May: Cobb was 11 months and the greatest dog ever. He started to get to stay loose in the house all by himself!
June: Hallie came to Utah to be raised...she was 10 weeks. Cobb had his birthday. Cobb and Hallie had a photo shoot!
July: Cobb and Hallie had their first swimming lessons! Cobb got to go on a quickie road trip to California to Fun Day and meet his littermates.
August: Cobb and Hallie got to go on a road trip to Oregon that started with 2 other dogs as well who were on their way to training. Hallie went to a puppysitter for a few days, while Cobb and I went horse camping at the beach with Whitney, Carney and Jethro...and also the horses Max and Bug. Hallie got to visit family with me while Cobb stayed at Whitney's house for a few days. Cobb went to Fun Day in Oregon and got to see Tillman the skateboarding Bulldog. We all officially moved into a new house with my brother and his family. School started for me so my summer bliss was over.
September: Cobb turned 15 months and was officially eligible for GDB recall for training. Hallie turned 5 months and started getting to go to work with me.
October: Cobb went to CO for an evaluation, came home 2 weeks later and was cc'ed 1 week after that...he stayed at home to live with me forever! Hallie became the only GDB pup in the house and quickly adjusted to going on all outings with me.
November: Cobb adjusted very easily to pet life...he now sleeps on the bed while i'm at work all day, gets many treats and basically gets to do whatever he wants to do! Hallie continued to go on more challenging outings and continued to show awesome potential as a guide dog.
December: Hallie is now 8 months old and one of the sweetest pups i've raised. She loves to work, she loves to cuddle, she loves attention, she loves exercise...she loves life. She's a really nice puppy with TONS of potential as a guide dog...I am excited for the next 6-8 months that I have with her. Cobb is the most wonderful pet dog and companion dog that anybody could ever ask for. I am so grateful everyday that he's my very own dog forever and ever!

See Ya Later Sweet Boy!

2011-09-29T20:39:00.000-07:00

Cobb on 3 beds stacked together...he's not spoiled or anything!

Cobb's goodbye pictures, he is looking less than thrilled in this pic.

These last 2 pictures make Cobb look very puppyish. He still has the adorable round ears and cute face that he had when he came 13 months ago!


a few weeks ago, we were going to my parents house and had a full car, so the puppies got to ride on the back seat of the car. I stopped at a light and looked back and they were sleeping like this. I thought it was SO cute!

If you didn't catch it from the title of the post, Cobb is leaving tomorrow. He is going to Colorado to be evaluated by my CFR. He is a very very sweet and tender-hearted boy, so we will see what he chooses to do! At any rate, his puppy raising days in my home are over and I will see him again in November when he comes thru Utah on the puppy truck on his way to training at GDB! So it really is "see ya later little buddy!"

I will miss Cobb immensely. He has been an awesome puppy to raise and I will be glad to see what he chooses to do in his future!

Cobb and Hallie pictures

2011-09-11T19:49:00.000-07:00

Back in June, the former GDB leader of the Salt Lake Club, Lisa, took pictures of our puppies for us! Cobb was exactly 1 and Hallie was 12 weeks. Cobb was not thrilled about having his picture taken and was a bit freaked out by the photo studio. Hallie was Hallie and did great! Aren't they so cute?

sledding in July...

2011-07-07T10:49:00.000-07:00

Yes, I did take these pictures on July 7,2011... We took my neices and nephew from Philly sledding...it was very fun!

2011-07-07T10:45:00.000-07:00

I got a new camera recently...and today I decided to check out the pictures on my old camera and found this... This is a picture of Rio the day he turned 16 weeks old and went to his new raiser. I'm sure I thought it was pretty cute how he had his paw over his nose like that. He slept like that in my car often...so cute!

3 months...

2011-07-02T15:48:00.001-07:00

Hallie is 3 months today, so here are 3 pictures...

1. Hallie's first puppy meeting...

2. Hallie on tie down on her 3 month day (7/2/11)

3. Hallie taking a nap...so cute!

Bad Dog Mom

2011-06-28T22:46:00.001-07:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY COBB!!!

Two days ago, June 26, 2011 was Cobb's 1st birthday. The above picture was taken back in December by Lisa Thompson who is the former leader of my puppy club.

I never imagined how much this little boy would steal my heart! As a puppy raiser you love all your puppies, but some pups are just different! Late last August, my puppy raising life was going pretty fantastically. I was co-raising my wonderful Joaquin, and had my awesome puppy Carlos who I had just been told wasn't going to the High School Program (much to my relief)...I was all set to finish co-raising Joaquin, and finish raising Carlos until this spring at which time I would get another puppy... I was told that Carlos was staying! Yay! The same night my CFR told me that I got to keep Carlos, she asked if I had any other raisers who would be willing to get a new puppy the next week to fly out with a breeder pup (they like to fly 2 pups together...) I didn't have any raisers in my club and no other clubs had another raiser either as the puppy truck had just come 2 weeks earlier! The next day the leader of the school program told me that they did need Carlos because another school raiser had surfaced and Carlos was the only other pup for the program. I was crushed! So after thinking for a day about what I was going to do...I asked my CFR if I could have that other puppy flying out the next week and she said of course! That was on Friday...and on Wednesday Sept. 1, I got Cobb! I had no clue how special this little puppy was going to become for me. I just adore Cobb and have LOVED his personality. I don't know what his future holds, whether it is to be a guide dog, or to be my dog forever...but I do know that whatever it is...it will be fabulous! Cobb, Cobby, Cobster-bobster, Cobber, Cute-boy and Happy Dog...I hope that you had a happy birthday and enjoyed the extra food, cuddle time and extra long walk!

Carlos...

2011-06-15T14:18:00.000-07:00

I was lucky enough to say goodbye to Carlos at the puppy truck on Sunday morning. The time came for him to enter training to be a guide dog! He is a good boy and I'm excited to watch him as he goes thru the phases of guide dog training! Good luck Carlos!

Happy June and School's OUT!!!

2011-06-10T13:56:00.000-07:00

It has been a long time since I thought about this blog...I'm going to try to do better...but first of all...it's June and school is out and I don't have to work again until August!

Second of all: Cobb...he is the best puppy! I just love him, he is energetic, but very sweet and soft and wonderful and easy to handle and has great house manners and is easy to take out in public...he's just one of the nicest dogs ever! I love him...and isn't he so cute... in the background of this picture Brogan is scratching...he scratches a lot...and he is visiting us a lot this summer while his family is on vacation. We don't mind cause we love Brogan!

Third of all... since it's June and school is out and I'm slightly crazy and don't want to get a new puppy to raise in the fall at the beginning of the school year...

I decided to show up at the puppy truck yesterday, June 9th in Salt Lake City...

And there was this adorable female black lab at the truck...

And have I ever been one to pass up on a puppy???

And when she started licking my chin... I figured I should just take her home with me...

She has 2 other sisters that came on the truck to Utah, but they are yellow, and while yellow can be very cute...

Black is Beautiful

And her name is...

HALLIE

Hallie's birthday is April 2.

Hallie's parents are Jenkins and Jillian

Hallie's sisters are Hazelle and Helena

If you ask me...I think I won the puppy lottery this year! - I might be a bit smitten by the little girl!

Joaquin Graduated

2011-04-04T00:59:00.001-07:00

Joaquin graduated as a guide dog on March 12. He has the most fabulous new partner! She has had 2 golden guides so she knows what she's getting into with a golden :) I never had any doubt that Joaquin would be a guide as he has always been an incredible dog. Graduation was awesome and Joaquin went crazy to see me and Mickelle. Joaquin looked so awesome in his harness and you could tell he was proud of himself too. He was so excited to be with everybody who loved him so much that he was too excited to be a safe guide that day, but i've heard from his handler since then and she says he is doing well and is a good dog and does good guide work! What more could a dogmom want, right? So proud of my golden boy Joaquin. I'll post more pictures of graduation soon...along with some other updates in my life...

What have we here???

2011-02-21T08:57:00.001-08:00

Rio

The Story: On Feb 2, I got an email from my CFR at GDB with the subject 3 Pups to UT? When I opened the email it said that there were 3 9 week old pups who could fly to UT on the 11th with a Guide Dog Employee when she came for our annual leader meeting. So of course, I immediately call my CFR and ask if I can start one of the pups. She immediately said yes and the next day sent me an email saying that my future starter pup would be MYL "R" born on 12/7. So on the 11th, I went to the airport to pick up "R". His parents are Alonzo and Holly. My CFR told me on Wednesday (I got him on a friday) that he had a great name with 3 letters. Rio was the only name I liked that started with R and had 3 letters...so I was happy that was actually his name! So far he's adorable and keeping me busy, he is mellow for the most part, but very independent! Cobb thinks he's a great toy that I brought home for him to play with.

So anyway, I have Rio for the next few months until he is ready for an adventure with another raiser.

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-23T15:38:00.000-08:00

Cobb just wants to wish everybody a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! He loved his photo shoot if you can't tell... LOL

In Training

2010-12-20T21:28:00.001-08:00

Joaquin is in training at the Oregon campus! He was on a vacation in San Rafael for a few weeks being looked at for breeding, but decided that he didn't want to be a breeder I guess! It was kind of a shock, but I think he will be a great guide dog, and that's what we raised him to do! Would have loved to raise a "Joaquin" puppy, but it wasn't meant to be. Joaquin is a great boy and he'll be fabulous no matter what he decides to do with his life. I miss him, but I'm sure he's loving all the attention he gets and the playtime with the other dogs in the kennels. Good Luck little boy!

fall pictures

2010-10-17T20:07:00.000-07:00

This weekend my mom took some pictures of Joaquin and me. He's such a great boy and is leaving soon, so i'm glad we got some decent pictures :) As much as i tried, I didn't get any fabulous pictures of Joaquin all by himself...i'll have to try again next weekend! :) Anyway, here are some of the good ones of both of us. I'm going to miss this boy so much!

2010-10-03T18:56:00.000-07:00

Cobb 14 weeks

Joaquin 13 months

Adios Carlos Amigos :(

2010-09-25T23:34:00.000-07:00

Carlos went to his new raiser on Friday. He is going to a program in Salt Lake City, where high school kids raise puppies as part of a class and they always get started puppies, so they don't have to worry about the puppy having baby puppy accidents and stuff. I agreed to start Carlos for this program, but was uncertain that he would go to the program, until the last month, since there are always more dogs started than will be needed. Carlos was a real special boy for me. I was pretty smitten with him from the minute he got off the truck and we just clicked... I have had a few other dogs who I was bonded to like Carlos, so if his new raiser is reading this, I sure hope she knows and realizes how lucky she is!

The night before Carlos left, I went to take some fall pictures of him...I don't have photoshop, and had to use the flash, cause it was getting too dark not to (and I have many blurry pictures to prove my point on this) anyway, sorry about the devil eyes... but here is beautiful Carlos.

And this is my 18 month old nephew with Carlos. This kid LOVES dogs. When he sees my puppies he gets so excited and just loves playing with them and watching them. Right before this picture was taken, I looked over at Carlos and my nephew, and Car was chillin' on his back and my nephew was laying right next to him just lovin' him up. Everybody just loves Carlos!

My roommate and I always called Carlos, Carlos Amigos...I don't really know why, but it's kind of fun to say I guess, and he just became Carlos Amigos! And it just fit...He is a sweet, sweet, sensitive, cuddly, well behaved, awesome puppy! So for now, Adios Amigos...hopefully I'll get to puppysit him at some point and his adventures on this blog will not be over. I love that dog! He's special!

Cute Corn Cobb

2010-09-25T23:26:00.000-07:00

Cute Cobb, on tie-down next to the couch at 12 weeks. He's sure a cute little guy! And he's actually growing into his ears...I'll have to post another picture soon :)

Another puppy...

2010-09-01T20:07:00.000-07:00

Carlos is going to the Salt Lake School Program at the end of the month...so I got a new puppy today. This my friends is Cobb. Yes, like Cobb Salad! He is an adorable 9 1/2 week old male black lab. His parents are Ozzie and Labelle. On monday he will go to a puppysitters house for 2ish weeks until Carlos goes to his high school student.

Cute puppy Cobb at 9 1/2 weeks!

Carlos Amigos

2010-08-22T19:34:00.000-07:00

I have not done justice for my Carlos on this blog so far. So here is a special post just for Carlos Amigos! He is an awesome puppy. He has been SO easy to raise up to this point. He's not without his quirks...just like any puppy, but I am so lucky to get to raise him as he's such a great puppy!

So first question is:

How does this... (8 week old carlos)

Turn into this:

5 month old Carlos

He definately looks older and more mature than the pudgy little puppy he was! He is still adorable...(of course). He is also likes many of the same past times that he enjoyed as an 8 week old puppy...such as sleeping on his back on his bed!

Carlos at 8 weeks on the fluffy bed sleeping on his back...

Carlos at 5 months laying on his back on the same bed...he takes up a little more space now than he did.

And here is Carlos' official 5 month old picture. He is so cute and such a good boy! He is a momma's boy and does exactly what I ask him to do and LOVES to please!

People laugh when I call him Carlos Amigos, but we joke Amigos is his middle name. He is a friend to all...people and dogs! He has a huge fan club of my nieces and nephews as well as my roommate and my grandma and my neighbors...ok, so everybody loves Carlos Amigos!

Summer Fun #2

2010-08-13T13:57:00.000-07:00

And road trip #2 the mammoth road trip! (be sure to read the previous post for road trip #1)

Once again, Joaquin and I embarked on a road trip. We drove from Salt Lake to Reno the first day and spent the night with some friends in Reno. The next day we drove to the Bay Area. First we stopped at GDB to return some old run down supplies and go sneak a peek at the baby puppies. We went to starbucks to kill time for a few hours and play on the computer. Then we met up with some friends and Joaquin met GDB puppy Jaffe. We picked another friend up at the airport with her puppy Carney and all went to dinner. We met the first GDB pup I raised, Magician and his handler for dinner...

The picture above is me with Joaquin on the left and Magician on the right. Magician will probably be retiring sometime in the next year. He will be 10 next month and has earned his retirement where he will continue to live with his handler.

The next day we rode the ferry into San Francisco...Joaquin assumed the usual position on the ferry and won over the coast guard guys (those are the boots you see in the picture)

We spent a few hours in Jail (Alcatraz of course!) Obviously, Joaquin didn't think the life of a convict suited him well...so naturally we took the ferry back to the city by the bay where we were going to ride a cable car, but the line was too long, so we ended up walking to Market street to do a little shopping (not Joaquin's favorite part of the trip!)

Then we went to Fun Day where Joaquin had his family reunion...He met up with his mom, 2 brothers and 2 sisters...we met (in order of the picture I think...) Jigsaw, Lamara, Janie, Jingle, Jordie and Joaquin. Joaquin is the biggest of the brothers that we met. He looked just like the photo of his dad that we saw. His littermates and mom all seemed to be very nice dogs!

The day after Fun Day we had a lazy day cause we were exhausted! We just layed around the house most of the day, and then went into the city that night to see Wicked...which I loved and Joaquin slept thru.

We started our drive to Oregon and stayed in a hotel that night where Joaquin was perfect! The next morning we drove to Crater Lake which was beautiful!

Then we went to Portland to meet up with some of my family. With the family Joaquin and I went to the Oregon Coast...

We also went to Mount Saint Helens with the family. which was a lot of fun too! We went to Fun Day in Oregon, however, none of Joaquins siblings were there and I didn't take any pictures. Mickelle brought Carlos up to Fun day in Oregon, and took Joaquin home with her the next day. We had a great trip and Joaquin was EXCELLENT. I could not have been any more impressed and proud of my boy or asked for a better dog to accompany me on the trip.

Summer Fun #1

2010-08-13T13:47:00.000-07:00

At the end of June I took Joaquin on a small road trip (in preparation for a much larger road trip)... We started in Utah, and picked up some friends in Vegas and then took them HERE:

That would be the Grand Canyon! And boy is it Grand. We went to the North Rim which is a few thousand feet higher than the more popular South Rim. We got there around sunset, but I thought it was cool that the moon was out...

Joaquin was NOT impressed with all the picture taking my friends needed to do, so assumed the usual position in the middle of the trail...

I got a few pictures of him, but he was tired from a LONG day of driving and he was looking kind of pathetic...but isn't he cute?

After Grand Canyon, we drove to Camp Bloomfield in Malibu, and spent a few days just hanging out in Southern California. Unfortunately it was really foggy while we were there, so we didn't get to go to the beach much like we had planned...but it was great to hang out with our old friends and see the familiar faces at camp. --and camp was excited to have Joaquin there for a few days too!

Pictures!!!

2010-05-31T22:36:00.000-07:00

Carlos at 10 weeks playing with his jollyball.

Carlos at 10 weeks with his puppy coat on.

Joaquin at Antelope Island with the Bison behind him (he wasn't real impressed with the bison.)

Joaquin at Antelope Island with the Great Salt Lake and the Rocky Mountains behind him.

Carlos sleeping on the dog bed at 8 weeks...

2010-05-23T17:49:00.000-07:00

I was shoe shopping yesterday with this BIG guy! I heard a small child (probably about 3 years old) say "horsey, horsey" and point to Joaquin. Now, yes, he is a big dog...but I don't think he's THAT big! It was definately a new one in my years of raising puppies... I might be able to understand if it was Ontario who was even bigger than Joaquin and also had pointy ears...but it just made me laugh! Kids are cute!

2010-05-19T23:38:00.001-07:00

Carlos's parents are Denzel and Maria. Denzel is black and Maria is yellow, I believe there are both black and yellow pups in his litter. So far he continues to be a wonderful puppy. So adorable and a cuddler. Of course I am totally in love with this little guy! Joaquin loves him a little too much--so for now their interactions are quite limited, but with time and patience I'm sure they will learn to chill with each other just fine. I am so lucky to get such awesome puppies! I fall in love with them more and more every day.

Joaquin seems to have turned from the silly golden puppy, to a serious adult golden dog. He is such a nice dog and everyday surprises me with how awesome he is!

I'm a lucky puppy raiser for sure!

SUPRISE!!!

2010-05-07T21:56:00.000-07:00

IT'S CARLOS!!!

I have a new puppy in my house. Of course he is a guide dog puppy and of course he is adorable! He was born on March 10th which makes him 8 weeks and 2 days old. So far he just wants to sleep. He managed to wake up and eat his meals...but it's hard being a 8 week old puppy and he's TIRED!!! So here are pictures...enjoy!

Joaquin is cute!

2010-05-07T09:34:00.000-07:00

So a few weeks ago, I was really into watching the new BBC documentaries "Life". Anyway, while watching the "hunters" episode, Joaquin was also very curious and enjoyed watching. The entire hour he kept going right up to the tv to watch the chases! He loved it and I thought it was funny so I took a picture. Of course, he looked away from the TV as I took the pic.

Have I ever expressed my love for tulips on my blog??? LOL Anyway, of course I had to go to the tulip festival at Thanksgiving Point Gardens with my mom. And of course Joaquin needed his picture taken with the tulips...He is becoming such a handsome looking young dog!

Good-bye Monet, Hello Spring!

2010-04-18T23:39:00.001-07:00

Sweet little girl Monet was career changed. She made it very clear to us that she just didn't want to be a guide dog. She was a very happy, fun dog to raise...I loved every minute of having her, even if she taught me MUCH more than I could have ever taught her even if I'd have had her for her whole life! Monet loves life! She loves to have fun and kick back and relax and just do whatever you want! I sometimes think of her as the "Cindy Lauper" dog...you know the "girls just want to have fun!" dog :) I miss Monet like crazy. I am hoping that she will go on to be a dog with a job still, but we will see!!!

So anyway, for my spring break I went on a trip to Oregon to visit friends and family, and also to drop Monet off at the GDB campus. The above picture is the morning that I dropped Monet off on campus. She was not being real cooperative for pictures and this was the best shot I got...and she has her lip funny! Oh well...fits her personality! :) Man I love that girl! Good luck Monet!!!

So...I was in Oregon for 6 days! It snowed the day before I left for Oregon, so I was pleasantly surprised and delighted when there were actually blooming flowers in Oregon!!! I convinced my aunt and uncle to go to the tulip festival with me and it was SO pretty! So that's where the tulip pictures come from.

And this last picture is another one of Monet. When we got Joaquin and Monet saw him cross his front paws, she just figured that she wanted in on that cuteness as well. She never crossed them as frequently as Joaquin, but did do it quite often. One of my favorite things about Monet was how she was a cuddler...often at night I sit on the floor in my bedroom in front of my little space heater (no need for the heater as it's warming up) and read a book...Monet would come lay down half in my lap everytime she saw me there. She loved to lay in front of the heater. Anyway, this picture was taken one time when I was on the floor and she decided to lay on the bed. I asked her to come lay by me and she crossed her paws...it was cute!

Missing Monet

2010-02-24T19:07:00.000-08:00

My Monet is gone at a puppysitters house for a few days. So I'll leave you with a picture of a Monet that is perhaps a little more refined. This Monet is beautiful--just like my Monet. This Monet has depth--as does my Monet! I love this Monet--and I love my little black girl Monet as well! I miss her!

happy birthday

2010-02-19T17:05:00.000-08:00

no pictures today, but happy birthday yesterday Monet!!!

She's come a long way since I was first graced with her presence. I got to pick Monet up from So. Cal CFR, Rick. GDB was so nice to first, let me work with Monet in the first place, and second get her to me while I was in So. Cal. We met at a gas station in Santa Monica and first place we went was Petco --to get a few toys for her, and then Pinkberry!!!

I love this little girl a lot, she's weaseled her way into my heart.

just some pictures

2010-01-25T20:42:00.000-08:00

Joaquin at work

Monet sleeping awkwardly on the beagle couch (that the beagle doesn't use...)
view from above
Monet and her bone...
Joaquin and his bone...

growing up...

2010-01-23T23:59:00.000-08:00

I'll post pictures tomorrow...but for now here's a little on what I love about my puppies today!!!

Monet:
* She is SO sweet and loves to cuddle and be in your lap! (this is a huge accomplishment cause when she first came she really wanted nothing to do with any type of body handling...)

* She has an AMAZING recall!!! --seriously the best recall ever

* Her obedience is superb.

* I love that when Monet is being a puppy and maybe not on her best behavior--and knows she's going to get in trouble she runs to the "go to bed" bed and lays down like she wasn't doing anything at all.

* I love that she does crazy things sometimes that make me smile and often laugh out loud.

* I love that she has SO much personality!

Joaquin:
*I love the look in his eyes that is always guilty--it's adorable!

*I love how excited he gets to eat because for the first few days we had him he wasn't interested in his food.

* I love how BIG he is getting, but how gentle he remains!

* I love how when he is walking around the house I always know where he is because I can hear the quiet "thump, thump, thump" of his feet prodding along!

I think that puppy raising is one of the best "jobs" in the world! I have met such incredible people through GDB and because of my involvement in raising puppies! It has truly changed my life...raising puppies rerouted my plan for my life and I have grown up a lot since I became a puppy raiser! Most of all...I LOVE my puppies!!!

Grandpa's

2010-01-05T23:23:00.001-08:00

This is not dog related, and has no pictures...so if you don't want to read it that is just fine! (oh and it may be a little sappy and emotional...but I need to get it out)

So last year I lost both of my Grandpas. I realize that I was VERY fortunate to have them in my life for 24 years--considering I am the youngest grandchild on both sides... I really miss them. They were two of the best men in the world!

Grandpa Ray was my dad's dad. He died 1 day before his 97th birthday on March 3, 2009. My Grandpa Ray was amazing. He was mentally all there up until about a month before he died. He always made me feel special...always. Like I was his favorite grandchild--or sometimes even his favorite person in the whole world. I would sit on grandpa's lap and cuddle with him when I was a little girl...and maybe even when I wasn't so little anymore. I earned the nickname shorty from my Grandpa Ray. He even named my dolls--Baldine and Squinty(it made me mad when I was 7, but those are the only names I remember for them now). My grandpa owned a mens clothing store and was always dressed very nice. My grandpa would call me "babe". He was the best partner to have when playing card games. Most of all...Grandpa Ray was my biggest fan and made sure I knew it! I knew that he loved me and wanted me to be happy. He lived a great life and I miss him lots. At his funeral we sang a song called God Be With You 'Til We Meet Again...I still can't sing that song without crying. I love my Grandpa Ray!!!

Now if that wasn't sappy enough...my Grandpa Gene died on Halloween. He is my mom's mom and always lived in Oregon. My Grandpa Gene also made me feel special...like I was the most important thing to him in the world. He really valued family and the time that we got to spend together. Grandpa Gene taught me to ride horses--maybe he threw me on the back of a horse and told me to hang on...but still :) He tried to teach me how to tie knots...but I still can't tell you how the bunny goes in the hole and all that stuff(he tried to teach me by using a story about a bunny...) He was always very supportive of me while i was in college and offered several times to pay for my college for me. He came to both my high school and college graduations. A few years ago, he asked me if I wanted to go anywhere in the world where would it be...and I told him I wanted to go to Russia. The next morning I woke up and he was trying to plan this trip to Russia(he was like 88 at that time...Russia probably wasn't the best place for him to go and I talked him out of it) He was always trying to "line me up" with some boy in the small town where they live. One time he even took me to the LDS church and told me to go inside and find a man. He also taught me how to shoot a gun, and later gave me a gun for Christmas! I love my Grandpa Gene and cherish the memories that I have with him. At his funeral we sang Amazing Grace.

I still find myself picking up the phone to call my grandpa's just to talk to them and see how they are doing and tell them that I love them. I can't bring myself to take their numbers out of my phonebook yet...They were 2 great men! I love my Grandpas :)

Workin' Hard or Hardly Workin'...

2009-12-27T18:35:00.000-08:00

I take a dog with me every day to work...They rotate everyday who gets to go, and who stays home... Both dogs are exceptional at work. In my classrooms I tie the puppy down to one of my tables, generally while I am working with students I have the door open, so I just want to make sure the puppy isn't going to escape or wander off while I'm teaching.

This is Monet...I think she's working HARD!

Joaquin...Workin' hard!

More of Joaquin, Workin' Hard (in another teachers classroom)

And well...you can decide...Workin' hard or Hardly workin'

The rule with my students is that after they have worked hard for our class period...THEN they can pet the puppy. It works pretty good for the puppy and the student to have a little time at the end of class where they can be kids and dogs :) The kids know the rules and are very good to follow them...in fact, one of my stu

dents wrote me a few little notes thanking me for raising puppies...here's a note...

In translation it says (I'm keeping the original spelling cause it's cute):

Thank You miss lindzey for training money(Monet) friso(Frisco) wacene (Joaquin) and eatey (Edie) your gettel(gentle) and teach them life values and they learn to resst(resist) food and be loyal to the person they will be with there more then just puppys there guide dogs in training you teach them good values but you do remind them they are just dogs but you also take care of them you keep them heaty(healthy) with their clams and rice (I have NO Idea where she got the idea that they eat clams and rice) and their milk bones and other stuff I bet its hard for you when they have to go to guide dog scool(school) but you do alot of good for Blind people like me.

Obviously my student tried her hardest to write me a nice note. I contains no periods except for at the very end and well...it's a good think I figured out what all her words were cause some of her spelling is not so great...but it's cute nevertheless...

decorating my room...

2009-12-27T18:20:00.000-08:00

So after living here for 15 months, I finally decided I was sick of the pictures being hung on the nails that were already in the wall...and the CRAPY paint job that was in my bedroom... So I went and bought 2 colors of paint and after a hard days work (and Mickelle's help) I got my room painted. Then after a few more weeks, I finally got my pictures hung up on my walls...So here are some pictures for anybody who cares.

Before...

After...

This is the same wall as my door. I did not want the first thing you see when you come into my room to be the dog stuff...so this is what you see when you turn to go out of the room. I have an amazing clock on the wall that has dogs on every hour and different barks for the hour...of course the sound part doesn't work, because it was annoying so I took the batteries out. Around the clock is most of my graduation pictures of my pups. I would like to put one good picture of each of my cc pups up too...but haven't got that far yet... Also, I have a collection of leashes hanging on this wall as well...Perhaps I have a leash fetish?

Before...

After...

This is what you see as you walk into my room. I realize that the blue and white checkered blanket does not match, however, Brogan (the black lab laying on the bed) is visiting and I didn't want him to get his hair all over my bedding...which is why the blanket is there... to the far left are the books I'm reading, then there are pictures of Christ, the temple, The Family a Proclaimation to the World and a picture of the old first presidency of my church. Then on the other wall to the far right are pictures of my family. I LOVE my new room!!!

Quick Trip and Frog Dogs...

2009-12-05T20:54:00.000-08:00

Yesterday afternoon, I flew to Oakland, CA so that I could rent a car and drive to GDB to see Edie and her new partner before they left GDB. It was a very quick trip and I was home at 4:30 today...less than 24 hours--(yes, I am that crazy...)

There is an LDS Temple in Oakland and I stopped by the Temple this morning on my way back to the airport. It is BEAUTIFUL! It looks way more amazing in person than it does in pictures...I can't wait to go back to Oakland and actually get to go inside!

It was so good to see Edie again! She went crazy when she realized it was me (about 10 seconds after walking into the room...it was when I said "hi Edie") anyway the party lasted for a good 5 minutes or so that I was being mauled by Edie in all her "girls just want to have fun" glory. When I decided that maybe she should settle down...she was a good girl and decided to take a nap. There was nobody besides me and Edie and her new partner in the room and there was not a professional photographer there to take our picture...so Edie's partner took this picture of us together! Isn't she adorable? She is so grown up now!

Edie grew up, she used to look away from the camera every single time I tried to take a picture of her, but now that she is a working girl, she was much more compliant in the picture taking department. She is the second guide for her partner who lives in MI. He is a very nice, retired man and he said Edie was exactly what he needed in a new guide! I could tell that they were bonded already. He kept assuring me that Edie is a wonderful and careful worker. I am so happy for them...I think they will have many happy years together as a wonderful team!

And of course...we can't leave out the puppies at home! :) Both Joaquin and Monet do what I call "frog legs" where they will lay in such a way that their legs stick out and look like the back legs of a frog. Joaquin does it more often than Monet, but I think it is SO cute!

No Graduation for Me...

2009-11-25T20:20:00.000-08:00

Don't worry, Edie is still going to be a guide dog. Her partner is not able to stay at GDB until Graduation on Dec. 12th. So instead I will be going to CA next weekend to visit with Edie and her partner. I'm actually not sad that I'm missing out on Graduation, except that there are many dogs whose raisers I know who are graduating that day...so it would have been fun to see them! Oh well...can't have it all :)

2009-11-23T22:14:00.000-08:00

This little girl is...

IN CLASS!!!

Yes, you read right. My little Edie girl is in class in San Rafael. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it is the perfect match!

Play Time!!!

2009-11-09T18:43:00.001-08:00

Our yard has TONS of leaves...Joaquin LOVES running through the piles of leaves

Can you see the puppy tail?

Where is Joaquin???

There he is...

And of course, here is Monet playing in the yard...

bath time

2009-11-04T22:20:00.001-08:00

Here are some pictures of Joaquin's bath time :)

He doesn't hate the baths as much as he looks like it in the pictures!

All smushed and getting dried off :)

His name is what????

2009-10-29T17:27:00.000-07:00

Today we added another puppy to our household...basically since the beginning of the summer we had planned on getting a transfer pup at the end of summer and a baby puppy on the last puppy truck of the year...today was the day the truck came!

Mickelle and I waiting for our puppy...

His name is JOAQUIN!!! (not a name that was on any of our lists)

--it's pronounced wah-keen--

His birthday is August 28th, which makes him 9 weeks and 1 day!

His parents are Lamara and GDF Mazel. He has 10 other siblings...

Mickelle is holding Joaquin and I'm holding his sister and brother.

Is he not just adorable???

We are looking forward to a great year with this guy!

Fall

2009-10-20T15:38:00.001-07:00

I might not love fall so much...

...but I LOVE Monet!!!

Philly

2009-10-20T15:18:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago, I went and babysat my nieces and nephew in Philadelphia. I also took my 10 year old niece from UT with me to see her cousins.

We went miniture golfing...

And we went to a corn maze...

and the kids played in some hay...

And there were tractors to play on...

Also, when my nieces were in school, I took my other niece to Philadelphia...this is at Independence Hall

in front of the Liberty Bell

It was a fun trip!!!

Only in Utah...

2009-10-05T11:35:00.001-07:00

I wen to Philadelphia last week (more on that later)...anyway the weather here had been great up until the day I left-Wednesday...which was the first day of snow this year (although the snow was in the mountains and benches...not the Valley) Anyway, I came back to pouring rain last night and had to sleep with 3 blankets on top of me.

Looking out the window of my classroom the sun is shining in some places, yet immediately outside of my classroom it was trying to snow a few minutes ago and now it is pouring rain...but I can still see sunshine...What the...

Prevent Labor Day...Spay (and neuter) Today!!!

2009-09-21T21:14:00.001-07:00

Today was the day that every puppy (and maybe raiser?) looks forward to...the day they get "fixed"... for the males this means the brain fairy comes and they can start thinking with their head instead of with their...other parts. Of course, for the females this means they won't ever have to go into heat or worry about the labor part of having a litter of puppies!!!

Donovan and Monet got "fixed!!!"

Here is Donovan sporting his yellow with green bones

bandage from the IV

And here is Monet sporting the same type of bandage.

I think maybe she was a little put off that they didn't have

anything more girly!

Mickelle and I dropped the puppies off at 8am this morning and I picked them up when I was done with work at 4. The vet said they both were very good patients and that both surgeries were great and went off without any problems! Both pups have been very very mellow this afternoon and evening, I'm expecting them to be back to their normal selves within a day or two.

Donovan and Monet

2009-09-21T21:09:00.000-07:00

Please excuse the devil eyes in the picture below...

Some of you may have heard about the SLC school program, where students in Utah have a guide dog puppy raising class and actually get high school credit for raising puppies. This is the third year of the program, and it's been very neat! Anyway, so in the spring, raisers in UT and CO are asked if they would be willing to "start" a puppy for this program. The students get their puppies who are around 7 months old at the end of September after being in school for a month. Donovan was one of the puppies who was started for this program. Mickelle and I have been puppysitting him for the past week and will have him until Friday when we will give him to his high school raiser. He is from CO and is a VERY sweet boy! We like him a lot and think he will be a great school puppy.

being domesticated

2009-09-21T20:51:00.000-07:00

Cooking is something that makes me happy. I love to make up new healthier recipes for my favorite meals. Sometimes they work and sometimes they don't. I also like to try making new foods which is what me and my roomate did on Friday night...we made Swiss Cheese Fondue...

First we had to gather the ingredients...which was fun because we needed

Chardonnay (I have never drank alcohol in my life...or been to the liquor store)

So my roommates and I headed to the liquor store...and we were quite excited

when we got carded...it was fun!

So we grated the cheese and mixed it with cornstarch...

(then it went into the pot with the bubbling wine/garlic combo)

Then we made a healthy salad to go along with our not so healthy

cheesy goodness!!!

This is the picture of the cheese mixing with the wine...

...and then of course we ate the fondue with french bread...

it was delicious, but I learned a few things...

1. When you decide to make fondue...have a fondue pot...you can do it on the stove, but once it starts cooling off, it gets hard and isn't so easy to dip the bread into...

2. After all the clogging artery goodness that is fondue...make sure you have something healthy like salad...makes you feel better about yourself for eating the cheese and bread...

3. perhaps in the future make cheese fondue--but also make chocolate fondue to have with fruit...

4. be prepared to feel like you need to walk for days to work off the calories from the fondue...

crazy dog!

2009-09-11T20:31:00.000-07:00

I was laying in my new bed reading one night, and looked

down at Monet in her bed sleeping like this...

I found it entertaining, because she is typically NOT a back sleeper!

Maybe she was hot??? I don't know, but I haven't seen her sleep like this

since!

Beautiful Sunday Afternoon

2009-09-06T19:40:00.000-07:00

After church today, I decided to go visit the Bountiful Temple.

It was a beautiful afternoon and of course Monet came along!

It was kind of warm, so by the end, Monet was panting--which is

why her mouth is open in this picture!

There are beautiful flower beds at the Temple!

Isn't Monet a cute girl?

She is SO much more cooperative in taking pictures than

Edie was! Monet is such a great girl and is growing up pretty

fast! Her 7 month day is coming up!

We enjoyed our peaceful visit to the Temple today!!!

pictures of Monet

2009-09-06T10:40:00.000-07:00

Six things I love about Monet:

1. She ALWAYS comes when called--no matter what!

2. She is sweet...she would love to live her life in your lap with you petting her.

3. She is goofy...she makes us laugh constantly with her cute antics.

4. She has incredible house manners.

5. She is a quick learner.

6. Monet loves us!

Isn't she cute!

Number 12

2009-08-16T23:54:00.000-07:00

Meet Monet!!!

I was lucky enough to get to pick up my latest puppy today! Her name is Monet and she is a 6 month old transfer puppy! She is a sweetie and so adorable and cute! I think she's going to be a lot of fun. My co-leader is raising her sister and she has several siblings in Utah, which will be a lot of fun for me! Her parents are Cabby and Elsa. I was lucky enough to get permission to leave camp to pick her up in Santa Monica so she can head back to Utah with me tomorrow!!!

summer

2009-07-29T10:54:00.001-07:00

As you know, I am at Camp Bloomfield this summer. Sorry about the lack of updates. The internet connection is slow and there isn't much time for updates.

I only have 2 sessions left of camp this year. The first 5 sessions have been great. Of course there has been some tough times and wonderful times at camp as well. I love camp, but will be happy to come home in a few weeks and go back to "real life".

At the end of June, Frisco GRADUATED from GDB! He now lives in Orange County, CA with a wonderful woman! He is her first dog and they are a GREAT team already! I was able to go to his graduation (which was awesome as usual) and I will post pictures when I am done with camp!

Edie is at GDB and is doing just great--(as far as I know).

Ontario is doing VERY well in his new home in Arizona. I talk to his new mom often, and things are going better than either of us had ever thought possible! I know he's where he is supposed to be, even though I miss him immensly!

The Happiest Place on Earth!

2009-06-09T09:20:00.001-07:00

I don't have the traditional Disneyland pictures on my camera, but when I get them from other people's camera(s) I will post them as well. Camp starts on Saturday, but before it starts, my roommate and I and a friend decided to do a Southern California vacation. First stop...

DISNEYLAND!!!

The last car in the Disneyland train was made for Walt Disney's wife...Lillian Disney.

This car is only for VIP's (celebrities, kings, presidents and so on)...well, we were nosey

and found out about this car while we were riding in the last car for passengers...and since there was nobody in the car, they let us go back! It has carpet and velvet seats. There are pictures of the Disney's as well as lots of old antiques. It was a very cool experience!

Of course, we met Mickey and got our picture with him!

Saying Goodbye...

2009-06-09T09:11:00.000-07:00

I already blogged about Edie's last day, however, I did want to post some pictures of her...

This is the last picture I took with Edie...at the puppy truck

which was really a training van...hence the picture was not in

front of the van like the typical goodbye picture!

The beagles that we live with own this little doggie couch

and we made it extra comfortable by putting an extra doggie

bed in the couch...The beagles rarely sleep on this couch,

but Edie sure loved it and was on it 90% of the time when we

were in the living room. The only way she would fit was to curl up

in a little tiny ball, so that is what she did!

No Fun

2009-06-04T07:15:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was the day that I had to say goodbye to Edie-girl :( It wasn't so much fun...our day went like this:

6:30am: wake up
7:00am: go to work
12:30pm: leave work to drive to the puppy truck
1:15pm: get to the puppy truck and let Edie potty one last time
1:20pm:put Edie on the top passenger kennel in the training van (we didn't actually have the truck come, it was a training van instead)
1:25pm: leave the truck to go back to work

I have been extremely busy lately, so really haven't had a whole lot of time to think about Edie leaving...this made it easier to GO to the truck...but man did it make it HARD to leave her in that kennel :( I cried the whole way back to work, it was a sad day. Let me tell you, it NEVER gets easier to say goodbye to our puppies...

I have some pictures to post, but I will have to do it tonight when I am at home and not at work.

Grand Canyon and more Zion

2009-05-31T14:13:00.001-07:00

It has been a busy week and I have not had time, want, or energy to update my beloved blog :) Finally today I had time...so here you go!

First, I will tell you about giving Ontario up. It was not an easy thing to do at all, I never imagined that I would give him up TWICE...but I was ok with it because I knew he was going to a great home and that he would be extremely happy and loved and get much more attention than I can give him. It was hard, we met the people at Jacob Lake which is about 40 miles from the Grand Canyon. Ontario was happy and didn't even look back when they walked away with him. He got in the car happily and that was that. I of course cried the whole hour to the Grand Canyon... I have since talked to his new mom a few times and he is doing VERY well in his new home. He gets to be the alpha dog in the home...which will be new to him, but his mom says he's picking up on it. He has a german shepherd brother in this home and so far they get along nicely and he is loved very much. I miss him a lot...

Second, Edie is leaving on Wed. I can't believe she is ready, but she shows me everyday how she is ready for her next adventure and she is! She is a sweet, adaptable, easy going little girl.

Third, I will be getting a new puppy in August--at least that is the plan. I am going to Camp Bloomfield again this summer and will get a transfer dog in August when I am done with camp...

Now...for the pictures...

Edie in Zion...she likes to turn her head

just as the camera clicks to take the picture!

Silly girl!

Zion Canyon...SO beautiful!
We learned that the rocks get their red color from rust...
Isn't that neat???
You can't drive your car to Zion Canyon, you have to ride a shuttle
Here is Edie riding the shuttle...

The GRAND Canyon...North Rim

Edie at the Grand Canyon, it wasn't hot, but I guess being black

it was possible that she was kind of hot which is why she is panting...

Edie being serious at the Grand Canyon

All in all, I think my roommate, Edie and I had a pretty good time at the Grand Canyon. It wasn't the best of days to be there...you can see that there isn't blue sky and you can't really see across the whole canyon (which is 14 miles across if you were wondering) and shortly after our picture taking and sight seeing was done and we were in the gift shop...it started hailing major and then there was a downpour. We took that time to do some shopping in the gift shop...and also eat lunch in the restaurant. Then we went back to Zion, where the weather was better.

St. George and Zion

2009-05-23T21:31:00.000-07:00

Here are pictures that were promised. This weekend, my roommate, Ontario, Edie and I are traveling around Southern Utah. Today we went to Zion National Park and St. George where we are sleeping... so anyway the first few pictures are the St. George LDS (Mormon) Temple which is beautiful. This was one of the first working temples in the Church and was completed in 1877.

The front of the Temple says:

Holiness to the Lord

The House of the Lord

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latterday Saints

St. George Temple

I think this picture with the flag and the sky is really cool!!!

Ontario and Me in Zion National Park

--he was being a brat and would look at the camera!

Zion National Park...

Ontario sitting pretty in Zion!

Possible calendar 2010 picture of Edie???

Sitting pretty in Zion

Edie was not real thrilled with this picture spot or something...

***We could not go to "The Grotto" which is the famous part of Zion because you have to ride a shuttle there and they don't allow dogs on the shuttle. Of course Edie--being a PIT would be fine, but Ontario is a pet and is not allowed on the shuttle. Tomorrow we are going to the Grand Canyon after we drop Ontario off with his new mom. Then on Monday morning we are going to go back to Zion and ride the shuttle and take some hikes with Edie...look for more pictures in the next few days!!!

This is a picture I took a few days ago, when I looked at the puppies and they were cuddled together on the bed...aren't they so cute???

Life as we know it...

2009-05-20T08:42:00.000-07:00

Well, life as I know it is going to be changing for me in the next few weeks--no pictures right now, but I'll post pictures in the next day or two...

First, Ontario is going to be moving to Tucson, AZ. I never imagined that I would give him up...AGAIN...but indeed I will be giving him to somebody and he will no longer be living with me as my pet :( I don't quite know what to say about this! I am going to miss him more than I can even imagine at this point, but I know this is what his new mom needs and I know he will be extremely well cared for and loved--could I ask for anything more for him??? He's such a great dog and has brought so much happiness and joy to my life in the 2 years I've had him...I guess now it's time for him to do the same for his new mom. I know I will still hear about him and see him, but it is wierd to think that he will no longer be "mine".

Second, Edie had an evaluation with our CFR yesterday and passed with flying colors! She is a wonderful girl and I didn't expect anything less than to show our CFR how amazing she is...and Edie was amazing and pretty near perfect. So what does this mean??? This means that Edie is ready for the next step...she is ready to go to training to learn to be a guide dog! She will be going on the puppy truck to San Rafael on June 3. When I got her, I was told I was getting a naughty dog (my favorite), however, Edie has NEVER been a naughty girl for me. She is a sweet dog with a great personality who just wants to do what people ask her to do and get some lovin' in along with doing what she is supposed to do. She has been the PERFECT dog for me! I love this little girl and am going to miss her, but am excited for her to go to training and do what she was born to do!

And...

Third, there are 11 more days of school and then I will have survived my first year as a teacher...but who's counting???

15 more days

2009-05-14T07:04:00.003-07:00

There are 15 more days of school for my students...but who's counting???

15 more days

2009-05-14T07:04:00.001-07:00

There are 15 more days of school for me and my students...but who's counting???

confessions...

2009-04-22T22:50:00.000-07:00

With my recent illness...I wanted to come clean about a few things...

1. I don't really like dogs...I like raising guide dog puppies, and I tolerate dog hair from the dogs I live with...ok, I even love the dogs I live with...but I am annoyed with everybody else's dog when they aren't well behaved, and I don't ever give advice, because I know the other person isn't going to follow through (the exception to this is of course GDB puppies which are always perfect ;))

2. I look forward to watching the biggest loser every tuesday night...I wait a whole week to watch it! I love the show and I love to eat junk food ie. ice cream, chocolate, etc while I'm watching the contestants try to lose weight.

3. I love musicals and mormon tabernacle choir music...I even listen to these genre's during the week...especially the musicals. I'm horrible about being able to tell you the latest "popular" songs on the radio, but I can listen to show-tunes saturday night (a radio show we have) and am pretty good at telling you which song the musical is from.

4. I have to read my emails from oldest to newest...no matter what. Even when I am waiting for something...like the phase report, I still read from oldest to newest.

5. I love to read self-help books and books about money and how to be finacially fit--Dave Ramsey is my favorite.

6. I have like 20 What Not to Wear's recorded on my DVR...i'll get around to them some weekend, when i am not busy.

7. I used to hate shopping...but now, I can't go more than a few days without at least looking for something at a store!!!

8. I watch Desperate Housewives and Brothers and Sisters...i'm not as addicted to them as I am the biggest loser, but I do make sure I get around to watching them on Sunday night (of course they are recorded)

Ok...I can't think of any more confessions right now...I am a nerd, whatever, live with it!

Since I've been home...

2009-04-19T21:05:00.001-07:00

I have been trying to get pictures that are calendar worthy...what do you think???

And we had bath day at the dog wash...

Edie was less than thrilled...

Ontario didn't have any objections...he didn't mind the bath in the least!

While in Philly

2009-04-19T20:55:00.000-07:00

My sister in law and I went to New York City for a day when I was visiting. We rode the train from New Jersey to New York Penn Station. Then we stayed in a hotel close to times square...

We also...

Saw Wicked on Broadway!!!

This picture is dark...but it's more of Wicked...

Went to the top of the Empire State building...

And Visited the Manhatten LDS Temple. We went through a session at the temple which was amazing...it was beautiful!

The temple is across the street from Juliard...

so we saw Juliard as well as the Metropolitan Opera House

and a very nice part of the city!

Trip to Philadelphia

2009-04-19T20:34:00.001-07:00

I went to Philadelphia for my spring break...I didn't take many pictures in Philly...but I went to spend time with my 3 nieces and my nephew as well as my brother and sister in law. It was a great trip and I had a lot of fun. These pictures were taken at a mall when my sister in law and I treated ourselves to the Cheesecake Factory and some shopping. Of course we stopped at the carosel for the 2 kids we had with us...

This is my nephew and my sister in law! He LOVES elephants!

My niece...she loves horses!!!

Before I went on the trip, I was home sick for several days. I won't go into details....but I got bored and so this is a picture of Ontario's eye...just because I guess :)

2009-03-31T16:45:00.000-07:00

Last night I was talking to Ontario and he was cauking his head and it was cute...and since yesterday was the 2 year anniversary since I got Ontario as a 10 week old baby and the first pictures I have of him he was doing the same thing... (he still has very big ears, sometimes they don't seem so big...but they really are as big as they are in pictures. At 2 years and 2 months...i don't think he has potential to "grow into them")

Isn't he beautiful? SO handsome!!!

That's the life...he knew what he was doing when he failed GDB school :)

Edie sleeping in the "pretty pretty princess" bed (2 costco beds stacked)

Does she not look soooo comfortable???

She LOVES laying on her bed!

Pretty Profile!

I guess she's winking with that right eye???

Pretty girl on her bed!

Hopefully this makes up for the lack of pictures AND posting in the past few weeks. I've been really sick this past week, so me and the dogs did A LOT of this "resting" stuff! They are such angels though, especially Edie. She has been so curious and sweet to check on me very often and just to make sure I was alive. She is going to be an incredible dog for somebody in a few months! Whether it's as a guide or as a pet or a k9 buddy or d4d dog. I really think she will be a girl with a job, but she is just the sweetest dog! She is approaching her first b-day in 15 days. Of course we are going to find some good photo shoots in the next few weeks, so look for more pictures to come of the pretty girl!

This was funny...since I'm a school employee...

2009-03-23T20:29:00.000-07:00

YOU might be a school employee if you believe the playground should be equipped with a Ritalin salt lick.

YOU might be a school employee if you want to slap the next person who says, 'Must be nice to work 8 to 3:30 and have summers off.

YOU might be a school employee if it is difficult to name your own child because there's no name you can come up with that doesn't bring high blood pressure as it is uttered.

YOU might be a school employee if you can tell it's a full moon or if it's going to rain, snow, hail....anything!!! Without ever looking outside.

YOU might be a school employee if you believe, 'shallow gene pool' should have its own box on a report card.

YOU might be a school employee if you believe that unspeakable evils will befall you if anyone says, 'Boy, the kids sure are mellow today.'

YOU might be a school employee if when out in public, you feel the urge to snap your fingers at children you do not know and correct their behavior.

YOU might be a school employee if you have no social life between August and June.

YOU might be a school employee if you think people should have a government permit before being allowed to reproduce.

YOU might be a school employee if you wonder how some parents MANAGED to reproduce.

YOU might be a school employee if you laugh uncontrollably when people refer to the staff room as the 'lounge.'

YOU might be a school employee if you encourage an obnoxious parent to check into charter schools or home schooling and are willing to donate the U-HAUL boxes should they decided to move out of district.

YOU might be a school employee if you think caffeine should be available in intravenous form.

YOU might be a school employee if you can't imagine how the ACLU could think that covering your students chair with Velcro and then requiring uniforms made out of the corresponding Velcro could ever be misunderstood by the public.

YOU might be a school employee if meeting a child's parent instantly answers this question, 'Why is this kid like this?'

YOU might be a school employee if you would choose a mammogram over a parent conference.

YOU might be a school employee if you think someone should invent antibacterial pencils and crayons...and desks and chairs for that matter!

YOU might be a school employee if the words 'I have college debt for this?' has ever come out of your mouth.

YOU might be a school employee if you know how many days, minutes, and seconds are left in the school year!

Happy St. Patty's Day!!!

2009-03-17T16:02:00.000-07:00

From the cute little black girl!

Fun in the Sun...I mean Snow???

2009-03-10T15:52:00.001-07:00

Yesterday, March 9, 2009 it snowed in good old Utah. I like snow, I'd even go so far as to say I LOVE snow...but it is March and I am ready for it to be gone. I guess the snow was so disheartening because it was so warm and beautiful on Sunday and last week...so then for it to snow all day...are you kidding me???

Making the best of the COLD snowy day, I decided to try to take pictures of Edie in the snow with her puppy coat. It was snowing too hard and fast to get any calendar worthy shots, but I got a few good pics of Edie for myself, I guess...

I think the picture below is my favorite. I just love this little girl and all her personality and spunk. She's such a great dog!

Then also, I got 7 whole seconds of video of the puppies playing outside in the snow. I've never used the video feature on my camera, so I appologize for the unprofessionalness of the video. It's just for fun...

Family Fun

2009-02-28T23:07:00.000-08:00

My dad's birthday is March 18th, but this year we decided to celebrate early. My dad--who is amazing, got an idea in his head a year or so ago that he wanted to go on a sleigh ride up in the mountains. So for his "birthday party" this year, he invited the whole family to go on a sleigh ride and then have a "slumber party" at my parents house. --Keep in mind that I am the youngest of my siblings...and I'm getting kind of old...so anyway we went on our sleigh ride on Friday night. Then we went back to my parents and ate dinner and played games--until 2am.

This morning, my 3 neices wanted to go for a walk with the dogs, so my mom and I took them for a walk and to play at a park that is nearby. Of course they all needed a turn to walk both Ontario and Riley--the beagle. Because of all the people at my parents house and the sleigh ride, I left Edie with a puppy sitter for the weekend.

This is my 5 year old neice with Ontario

My 6 year old neice with Riley

My 9 year old neice with Ontario

Ontario having a great fun time at the park...he got to run off leash for a while...he loved it!

New look for spring

2009-02-28T20:28:00.000-08:00

My Roommates and I decided that we all needed a change...so we bought hair dye and changed our hair colors...my natural hair is a strawberry blonde reddish color...i decided to go more blonde this time...it was supposed to be a cool blonde...but apparantly that doesn't work so well with the natural red in my hair.

So in the end it looked very blonde...it's calmed down a bit now, and isn't quite so bright...but it's still blondish.

Everything is GREAT

2009-02-16T20:56:00.001-08:00

I don't have much to say right now, but everything is GREAT at our house!!! Ontario and Edie have really enjoyed the weekend and being lazy for 3 whole days with mom!

Carbaby is good

2009-02-07T07:11:00.001-08:00

I got some pictures of Carlisle the other day... His family spoils him rotten and loves him so much...He has the life...

Here we have Carlisle living it up, sleeping on the furniture, Lucky Dog!

Carli the Crocodile for halloween.

I could not be happier with where Carlisle is at! I know he loves those people a ton, and they love him. He still does some training things with D4D, so he still works a little bit. His owner said that she always makes him laugh and that he was sleeping on his back on the couch the other day. That's the life! Good job Carli!

Evaluations and stuff

2009-01-18T23:24:00.000-08:00

On Saturday, we had a leader meeting in the morning where we learned the Go to Bed command--and discussed some things about GDB and Utah :) It was fun.

Then in the afternoon, we did some evaluations with our CFR for some club dogs who needed to be checked on. My CFR had never seen Edie, so while Edie is a good girl with no real issues at this point, she had an evaluation by default as we were with our CFR all day. My CFR was very impressed with her as she was about as good as you can get for a 9 month old puppy!

Lucky for me, Edie was so good and I get to be the leader to evaluate Sterling. He is SUCH an easy mellow guy. I think our week together will be fun! While Edie is having a fun time with Sarah doing the Park City things--like Sundance...today Sterling went to church (poor dog) ...tomorrow I don't have to work, so I don't really know where we are going to go, but then on wednesday he gets to go to school with me--but there won't be any kids there!!!

I will take some pictures tomorrow. Also, just because people have asked... Edie is not pronounced like the boy name "eddie". Edie is pronounced E-D with the E like Eat! :)

My how things change...

2009-01-16T11:42:00.001-08:00

When I was a little girl, I would go shopping with my mom...it wasn't so fun, we would be gone all day and my feet would hurt and I didn't make money, therefore, I didn't have money to spend. I hated it!

Then when I was a teenager I would go shopping with my friends. We would get a ride from the parentals and be at the mall for a few hours max and my feet would hurt. I babysat for money and had a little bit to spend. I didn't have much money to spend and I was not real fond of shopping.

When I went to college, I was poor. I had NO money--I got really skinny (that's what happens when you have to live off spaghetti and peanut butter with wheat thins or pb&j). I would go shopping with myself. I had to shop at DI (think BIG thrift store). My feet would hurt...plus I couldn't buy anything because I had no money. I did not like shopping.

Now I am out of college, I have a job...I'm getting fat (too much eating). I watch What Not to Wear, I have my own car and money to put gas in it. I go shopping when I feel like it. Lately that seems like every day. I am getting a nice wardrobe of cute clothes (thanks to What Not to Wear I have learned that FIT is very important) and I LOVE shopping! I also am getting smart in my old age and instead of wearing my "cute" shoes shopping...I wear the COMFORTABLE ones shopping...that way my feet don't hurt! I did buy 4 pairs of amazing shoes on Tuesday...

OOOPS!!!

Miss the puppy...

2009-01-10T23:32:00.000-08:00

So I'm in Idaho for the night--left my house around 4pm and will be home tomorrow before noon...quick trip! Anyway, I must be more attached to Edie than I thought...cause I miss her lots!

Here is a baby picture I got from her first raisers. I'd love to get more. She was an adorable baby (not that I thought she would be anything else as she is an adorable big girl too!)

I can't tell you how much I love this girl. I know I love all my pups and I say it about each one of them, but she is such a wonderful girl and I am so happy to get to raise her for now.

Edie in the snow...

2009-01-03T14:02:00.000-08:00

We have a lot of snow and it keeps snowing every few days...so today I took some pictures of Edie. They aren't the best pictures, but I guess they are ok. Edie loves the snow and so does Ontario, but I don't think they like the cold (then again, who really does like below freezing temps daily?)

Oh Ontario...

2008-12-26T19:41:00.000-08:00

We are staying at my parents house for the holidays. Ontario generally sleeps on the bed at my house or on a dog bed. Of course, stupid me only brought one dog bed to my parents house and Ontario is not allowed on the human bed here. So I have been sleeping on the floor with Ontario and that seems to keep him happy. Well, last night I was moving around too much while I was reading and trying to get comfortable...Ontario got disgusted and ended up on the dog bed with Edie...He's such a dork!

This picture is where he started out his night while we were still upstairs...eventually he went downstairs and put himself to bed somewhere...(Edie was sleeping on the bed upstairs, so I don't know exactly where he put himself to bed)...My guess is on a pile of blankets that was entirely too small for him...

Christmas Eve

2008-12-25T20:43:00.000-08:00

Temple Square in Salt Lake City, has a pretty light display and nativity scenes all over. Our family had not gone to see the lights for a few years, and decided to go last night--on Christmas Eve after we had read the Christmas story and eaten WAY too much food!

My sister, brother-in-law, mom, dad, neice and nephew

Edie went with us too. She wasn't real impressed, but was VERY well behaved! Notice how she was on her flat collar. Pretty good for my little girl! She is such a good little girl...it was cold and snowy and icy and there were many people there and she handled it like a pro!

This is the Salt Lake Temple. I didn't get any real cool pictures with
tons of lights or anything, so this will just have to do! Enjoy!

more party hardy...

2008-12-25T20:33:00.001-08:00

My friends from high school had a christmas gathering of sorts a few nights ago...3 of them are married and 4 of us aren't...so anyway, the 2 boys are husbands who we did not know in high school...

Showing off our white elephant gifts! How fun is that!

We had a fun time, mostly we just talked and ate some treats and did a white elephant exchange. I gave a candle that I found on a shelf at my parents house, and I got a wig stand and a ceramic basket thing. At least I have a great white elephant gift for next year's party right? :) It is so nice to get together with people you've known forever and continue to keep in touch with! We don't live close to eachother anymore so we don't see eachother often, but it's fun to see everybody!

After this, I went with 2 of the girls and we looked at christmas lights and talked more.

Party Hardy...

2008-12-25T20:16:00.001-08:00

My family had a Christmas party a few weeks ago... the grandkids (neices and nephews) acted out the Christmas Story...

my mom as a Shepherd, and neices as Mary, Angel, and Wise Man, a doll as Baby Jesus

and my nephew was Joseph, but he's only 1, and didn't stay with the group long, so there isn't a picture of him.

My Dad and I took my neices Sledding in the little snow

we had at the time (we have a LOT more snow now)

Gracie-she's 6

Maddie--she's 9

Leah--she's 4

My dad pushing Gracie on the sled!

Introducing...

2008-12-25T20:08:00.001-08:00

You may remember that my old car--1990 Gold Honda Accord was totalled at the beginning of December. That wonderful car, may it rest in peace never had a name, but was very loved!

The above car has been named Giselle. She is the newest addition to my family! Giselle is 10 years old, but she is young at heart and has tons of pep! Giselle has a place in back for a GSD and a lab. Giselle has 4 wheel drive! Giselle gets pretty good gas mileage. We all love her already!

New Little boy...

2008-12-18T13:14:00.000-08:00

My family welcomed a new little boy yesterday morning. My brother and his wife had a baby boy at about 7am who weighed 8lb. 1oz. His name is Wesley (something) Brown

SNOW!!!

2008-12-13T12:52:00.000-08:00

Riley-(he's 12...doesn't he look good?)

Edie-my sweet girl

Ontario-my big OAF :)

Isn't he goofy???

This picture is kind of dark of Edie and Ontario...

it's hard to get good lighting for a black dog in the snow...

sleeping arrangements

2008-12-13T12:45:00.001-08:00

These are the sleeping arrangements at our house. Edie started out sleeping in the kennel, but would get too excited everytime Ontario or I moved in the middle of the night and would start wagging her tail and waking us up. So now...

Edie sleeps on the dog bed

and Ontario sleeps on my bed...
There is still a little room for me in the bed...see??? Actually, Ontario stays basically at the foot of my bed and will sleep on my legs/feet if he feels he needs to...most of the time, he stretches out though against the wall, and I just do my best not to fall off the bed in the middle of the night...whatever works!

Hmmm...I wonder who calls the shots at our house???

49 things I've done

2008-12-08T06:47:00.000-08:00

1. Started your own blog - DUH!
2. Slept under the stars - Of course...lots of times
3. Played in a band - I was in Orchestra does that count? I played the Viola
4. Visited Hawaii - in my dreams
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity - why of course
7. Been to Disneyland -4 times
8. Climbed a mountain - I've climbed many mountains, most recently I climbed Mt. Timpanogos...it is 12,100ish feet
9. Held a praying mantis- when I was little
10. Sang a solo - unfortunately...I'm an Alto voice though, so I don't generally sing solos
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning - oh yeah!
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables - all the time home grown veggies are the best
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight-um, yeah...I have 4 siblings...'nough said!
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill -who hasn't?
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen an eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person-amazing
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight-in Oregon and CA
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia--in my dreams...call me crazy but it is one of the places I most want to go!
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma-every 60 days or so...they love my blood :)
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check - sadly yes
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone - yup, Brogan broke my foot in 3 places
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper -oh yeah...many times
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake-duh...I live in UT...it's kind of gross, but I've done it more than once
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone -what kind of question is this?
99. Been stung by a bee - too many times to count

Ontario

2008-12-03T15:53:00.001-08:00

He was feeling left out...with pictures of the car and Edie :)

Ode to the Honda Accord...

2008-12-03T15:39:00.000-08:00

THIS is what happened to my car today...

OUCH!!! (yeah, a lady ran a red light and hit me today...not so cool!)

This car has been a wonderful, amazing, reliable car that has always gotten me to the places I need to be. This car has been with our family since 1991 when my dad bought it on a salvaged title. It has taught 3 kids how to drive stick (including me). It has been to Texas, California, Colorado, Wyoming, Washington, Oregon, Nevada, and New Mexico! Plus it has been mine since I was 16. It also got stolen once and I found it the same day and was so happy! I love the little car and well, look at the mileage!

Edie Pictures

2008-12-03T15:31:00.000-08:00

Here is Edie in the car after thanksgiving...we were stuck in traffic! :) It's not the cutest picture of her though...

Edie looking sly in front of our Christmas tree.

Edie looking guilty in front of the tree.

First things first...

2008-12-03T15:30:00.000-08:00

I bought myself a new camera for my Thanksgiving present :) It is nice and little and takes really good pictures and I love it!

#11???

2008-11-26T18:43:00.000-08:00

So I have not introduced #11 yet, because I wanted to introduce the dog with pictures. I have not had time to take pictures and Mickelle took some last night that she was supposed to email to me so I could post them today...but her camera wasn't working...and then I realized that I didn't bring the cord for my camera, so I can't get any pictures off it either...but I guess I'll introduce the puppy now, and post some pictures next week...

#11 (maybe i'll just start referring to my pups as numbers...kind of like they refer to the president as what number they are/were)

Born: April 15, 2008
Parents: Neo/Bubbles
Sisters: Emmylou and Eloise
Color: Black
Personality: sweet and spunky

Story: I had planned to take a small break after Frisco left. Things at work are still new, and while I am getting used to it, I did not want to add a baby puppy into the mix. So I had been telling my CFR that I wanted a BLACK transfer dog. I wasn't in a big hurry or rush, but didn't want to wait too long either :) So a few weeks ago, my CFR told me about a dog in CA who needed a new raiser. We didn't know exactly how she was going to get here to UT, but in the end...it all worked out and last thursday I picked up Edie at the San Francisco Airport. I flew a yellow lab named Wynette to San Francisco so she could go to a finisher raiser there and Lee (yes, the same Lee from the puppy truck) met me at the airport and I swapped Wynette for Edie and then I came home to Utah. So far Ontario loves her and she gets along great with him. She can chill when needed, but also has spunk and personality...my favorite kind of puppy!

I am thankful for...

2008-11-26T18:23:00.000-08:00

PUPPIES!!! :) I am thankful for the wonderful puppies I have been blessed to raise over the past several years...that would be: Magician, Anya, Spence, Garvey, Brogan, Sonny, O'Connor, Carlisle, Ontario and Frisco...and #11 who I will tell you about in the next post...

This picture is O'Connor with his thanksgiving bandana!

I am also thankful for: Parents and family, My Job, my friends, my church and amazing shoes (yes I am a shoe junky). There are many other things I am very thankful for, but I'm not going to list them here :)

Airport...

2008-11-21T12:53:00.000-08:00

SO...I got to go pick up my new puppy in San Francisco. While I was in the airport waiting for my flight, I ran into a GDA puppy from Seattle named Newell(not so sure about the spelling). He was adorable and had a wonderfully beautiful face! He was a 14 month old black lab, going to some GDA charity event in Vegas and happened to have a lay-over in SFO.

Suprise!!!

2008-11-21T12:47:00.000-08:00

So I got a new puppy (well, a transfer dog)...
And it follows the pattern (the one you didn't know existed)...
I'm not going to post pictures until next week,
And I'll include details with that post...
But I wanted you to know that I am not puppyless any longer!

injury and puppy news

2008-11-11T15:09:00.000-08:00

So I hurt my wrist. I didn't do anything specific...but it has been hurting for the past 3 weeks. Over the weekend it started getting much much worse. Of course it is my right hand (I am right handed) I couldn't turn on my car, unlock my car, type or braille (with my right hand). SO yesterday I went to the doctor. I messed up my tendons in my wrist and it has fluid stuff and inflamation in it...so now I have a brace so I can't move it. Fun Fun!:)

I may have transfer puppy soon! I'm not going to say anything at all until I know for sure!

Goodbye Little Yellow Boy

2008-11-02T11:45:00.000-08:00

So this morning was the dreaded day... I've had some pressing things for work to think about, so luckily I haven't been dwelling on Frisco leaving...until yesterday :(

Yesterday we didn't do anything especially exciting...I took Frisky shopping...spent WAY too much money and then took Frisk and Cricket to the puppytruck to walk the CO recall dogs. I walked Ballet, Adeline, Rona, and Larabee. Last night I slept on the floor with Frisco on one side of me and Ontario on the other. I kept waking up when Frisco would move so that he wouldn't be touching me anymore.

This morning I woke up to the sound of pouring rain and wind outside. I got ready to go to the puppy truck. When we got to the truck it was just sprinkling a bit, but wasn't horrible...so Traci took some pictures of us in front of the truck. It was FREEZING!!!

We talked for a while to some of the other people who were at the truck and then when they were ready to go, I put Frisco in his cage with his favorite toy. He is in one of the top kennels. He seemed fine to go in the cage, but then wanted to get right out I could tell. I talked to him for a few minutes and kept giving him kisses on the face and he kept licking my face (which was moist...I'd like to pretend it was from the rain). I got off the truck, and then had to go say one more goodbye to him. Then the truck was off to Boise where the pups will get a walk, and then on to Pendleton Oregon where they will get another walk and dinner and go to bed. Tomorrow afternoon they will arrive on campus and start their new lives :( I miss my little yellow boy already. So the Thursday hunt for the phase report begins again.

I love you Frisk...see you soon buddy!

more Frisco pictures...

2008-10-27T18:58:00.000-07:00

Since my little boy is leaving in less than a week...of course I needed to take more pictures of him!!! So here are some more fall leaf pictures...

This middle one is my favorite!

I don't know what I am going to do without this little boy! I sure do love him a lot!

Cricket and other things...

2008-10-25T09:40:00.000-07:00

So I'm babysitting Cricket while Becky is in Greece. On Thursday, Cricket went to work with me and was perfect of course. Yesterday, no dogs got to go to work with me because it was my day to see my multi-disabled kids (I'm talking 5 year olds in wheelchairs who don't talk or anything) and I already struggle with knowing how to work with these kids, so adding a dog into the mix is just not something I'm ready for with that yet.

We have some very exciting plans for the weekend...including going on a few walks/hikes...and that's about it! Just being really lazy. My roomates aren't home for the weekend, so I had to bring Ontario to Crickets house this weekend...

Cricket and Frisco have been loving eachother a lot, but Cricket and Ontario are even more in love than Cricket and Frisco. Maybe it has to do with them both being a bit older and mature??? Missy the pug is doing well too!

pictures...

2008-10-18T23:30:00.001-07:00

So we took some fall pictures today...

Frisco by the river...

Frisco in some leaves...
Frisco wasn't being very photogenic today...he did NOT want to look at the camera...

Pet Life for Ontario

2008-10-17T22:36:00.000-07:00

I love fall break! No work and lots of time to spend with my little boys! So today, I took them on a hike, of course Frisco had to stay on a leash, but I let Ontario off leash and he was amazing! He stayed right with us and was a very good boy.

I really think Ontario is loving pet life. He could have been an okay guide, but I really think he wanted to be able to be lazy and just be with his mommy! He is much more calm and relaxed now than he was as a puppy...although, for a GSD, even as a puppy he wasn't too anxious or freakish like GSD's can be.

I'm hoping I get to take him on another hike tomorrow and of course, I'll take pictures then. I want to take him on a hike where we have to cross a few rivers and see if he can figure it out. I don't think Ontario is the brightest crayon in the box, but he sure is a sweet dog.

Anyway, I can see this post isn't real cohesive or coherant, so I think I will go to bed, but I'll try to post some pictures and stuff tomorrow.

Global warming???

2008-10-12T11:47:00.000-07:00

So...I have come to the conclusion that Global warming is a big hoax and isn't really happening...why do I say this???

Last night, October 11th, it snowed about 3ish inches here in the wonderful town of Kaysville, UT. Then when I went to my actual house in Clinton this morning there was probably about 5ish inches and it was snowing hard and even sticking to the road...

Just for the record, I LOVE snow...I LOVE SNOW A LOT, but not in October. I like my snow in Dec. Jan and Feb. Possibly Nov...but NOT October! Plus this is the nasty kind of snow that is really wet...yuck!

Ontario is enjoying it though.

Pictures...

2008-10-05T19:58:00.000-07:00

So, I do not actually own a camera right now... SO I had to borrow my 9 year old neices camera to take some pictures of the boys. Since Frisco is leaving soon, I wanted to get some good pictures of him...possibly for the 2010 calendar (because we all know I'm obsessed with the calendar pictures. Anyway...so here are some pictures of the past 2 days...

This is my favorite. I think I am going to submit it to GDB for next years calendar. I realize the top of his head is cut off, but it is the essence of Frisco.

This is not really a calendar worthy photo, but I think it's cool how the background didn't show up, but Frisco showed up perfectly.

Remember this photo???

Look at how Frisco has grown compared to Ontario...

(Frisco isn't quite as big as he looks next to Ontario...but in comparison)

Here is Ontario's Fall 2008 Picture!

Frisco laying in some flowers...

Another one of my favorites...another possible calendar picture...I love how his legs are crossed...gives him personality!