Party Hardy...

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...

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...

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!!!

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

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

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

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

Ode to the Honda Accord...

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

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...

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???

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...

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...

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!!!

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

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

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...

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...

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...

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

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???

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...

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!

small update

I WILL update over the weekend...probably on Sunday. I'm going to be taking several pictures on Saturday and Sunday.

Nothing REAL exciting has been happening here. Frisco is on the recall list to go to Oregon on November 1st. Ontario is amazing and a dork all at the same time...if you haven't figured it out, Ontario was career changed and I decided to keep him, so he's MINE! :) Anyway...I'll post pictures and stories over the weekend.

Here is how my summer went...

I'm too lazy to write a big long post about how fantastic and wonderful my summer was...so here are a few pictures to SHOW you how extremely amazing my summer was...and what I did...

Went to SEVERAL Luau dinners and dances...

Dressed up as Miss Rhode Island from the movie Miss Congeniality for a Halloween Dance (yes, the dance was in the middle of the summer)

Met a lot of new friends and went to breakfast and danced down a red paper covered floor in my pajamas...

Climbed a climbing wall...blindfolded! (when I did it in a race I did it in 33 seconds.)

Went to San Diego and visited the LDS Temple there (I've always wanted to go to this temple because it is so beautiful!)

Went the the beach...MANY MANY MANY times!-- I LOVE THE BEACH!!!

As for Frisco, he did a lot of these things with me, but also he laid around like usual...looking pretty! Oh, and he got bigger and older! He's 11 months old now...I can't believe it! He is doing SO well! He's such a wonderful dog I think he has what it will take to be a guide dog!

So pretty much I would highly recommend camp to anybody who thought they would be interested. It's not all fun and games and it can be hard to live with that many people in such tight spaces all the time. But there is no other experience like it! If you think you like camp and such, you should definately consider it in your future! I LOVE IT! Can't wait to go back next year. It's the best!

more of camp

So since I wrote last we had Elementary Camp and Multi-disabled camp. Elementary camp was a lot of fun. The session lasted for 6 days and the campers were from ages 5-12ish. I did periods of guide dogs where I would teach the kids about guide dogs and we walked the dogs around camp. The kids seemed to have a really fun time with it and learned a little about dogs and guide dogs. We also had the summer festival during this time. Some people from GDB came for the Festival and I got to hang out at the GDB booth area for a little while. For most of the day I got to drive the "cushman" which is the little golf cart we have here at camp. There is a steep hill that some people don't want to walk up--or can't walk up, so I shuttled them up and down on the Cushman. It was fun to drive because I got to meet a lot of the public and share my love of camp with them! 

The break after Elementary Camp, I stayed here at camp. We went to dinner and shopping and played laser tag one of the afternoons. 

For the last 3 days we have had Multi-Disabled camp. We had adults and kids, who were quite involved...most of them had aides to help them with the activities. It was a fun session and it's always fun to see the peoples faces and see what camp does for them! 

I'm excited for this next session which will be Junior Camp. I have some fun things planned for the session!

On another note...I was talking to my mom on Friday and I have a new nephew! He wasn't due until August 4th, but some things happened and surprise!!! We have a new member of the Brown Family. His name is Ryan William Brown. He has 2 older sisters who are all so excited for him and from what I hear everything is going very well! 

Here I am at Camp Boomfield

We had our first 2 sessions at Camp...Family Camp and Adult Camp. Both sessions were good and Frisco is being a very good boy! Camp is a lot to handle for a puppy, but all the pups this year are doing VERY well! It is definately easier having an older puppy for camp. 

I have been to the beach several times, which is definately the highlight of my time in Malibu. If I didn't love Utah Mountains so much, I think I would be VERY tempted to move somewhere to the beach! My legs are VERY tan...for me :) wahoo!

Last Monday we went to one of the girls houses and took the doggies swimming in her swimming pool! Frisco wasn't a huge fan of the pool, but he swam well and I think he could be a water dog if we had the opportunity to go swimming more often.

I don't have pictures yet again...but I will try to get some soon...Right now I'm in San Diego with some friends, so hopefully we'll take some pictures and I'll be able to post pictures on my next break!

lacking in posts...

No, I have not fallen off the face of the planet :) This is what has been going on...

After I graduated from college, I really didn't have much going on...just looking for a teaching job for next school year and waiting for the time to come when I could leave for Camp Bloomfield!

Well, since I had no money and nothing better to do...I asked my vet (and former employer) if he needed any temporary help at his clinic...low and behold...he sure did need/want help! So I have been working at a vet clinic as a tech for the past 3ish weeks! It has been a lot of fun, but it's crazy! There are 4 vets at this clinic and they happen to be well known reproduction vets...which means we get a lot of show people...which means they are VERY particular and high maintenance! Anyway, it's been fun, and I will be sad to leave and go to camp...

Also, I got a teaching job for next year lined up in the same district I did my student teaching with! Lucky me! I'm so excited and that has reduced a lot of stress for me...knowing that I'll come back from camp, to a job! The down side is...I start with new teacher training the day after I get home from camp...talk about being busy!

So anyway, in the midst of working at the vet clinic, I had to move out of my apartment/house in Salt Lake and back in with my parents...as my lease was up, and there is no use paying rent for the summer while I am at Camp! So I got to do that all this week...lucky me!

Since I am living with my parents...I can't post pictures, because I have basically the slowest internet connection on the planet...but I will try to post pictures in the next few days when I get a chance to go to somebody elses house and use their internet! :)

Frisco is doing well. He is a sweet and very affectionate dog! He just turned 8 months old and I can see he's kind of becoming a teenager. He got neutered a few weeks ago...but I really haven't noticed any difference in him since that happened, and I don't really expect to. Being an only dog has been hard on him and me. I can tell he misses Ontario, but all in all, Frisco is doing great! He is a very nice and easy dog to handle.

MY Graduation

So I graduated from the University of Utah on Friday... here are some low quality (aka-not digital) pictures of the event and my campus...


Check out the SEXY red shoes!!!


SO happy that it's over...now just to go on and get the masters...

As you can see in the pictures...I am about 300 pounds ;) Seriously though, I don't know why they can't make those gowns a bit more flattering!!! I enjoyed my bachelor's degree days...but I'm ready for bigger and better things now!!! Haha!