Just a few pictures from the past...

Today Denise sent me a bunch of ADORABLE pictures from when Carley was 9 weeks old; I had gone to Journalism Camp and had to leave here here. Denise, highly skilled in photography, got some great pictures, of which for spacial and time reasons, I'm only posting a few. :)

Maybe now, after seeing the picture below, y'all will understand what I'm talking about when I say that at times Carley looks like she's a chocolate lab!! :)

More pictures to come from Carley and my recent trip with my brother to Pepperdine (Where my brother is going)

My Sweet, Sweet Vacation with Mr. Mark

Mark. Is. Amazing.

He's soo sweet and soo loving, and kinda a spaz at times, but also really mellow with his jacket on, and he can be kinda quirky, but they're the cute kinda quirks and he sometimes gets annoying but then he does something really sweet to make up for it, and he's just a giant puppy with equally proportionate heart and brain sizes.

At least, that's what I found out over 3 weeks. :)

Basically, we started our vacation by taking very short trips over the course of a bunch of days. We drove like 5 hours the first day and stopped in Central/North California to go to a science museum there, then spent the night with friends. Those friends live on a farm...Soo, Mark got a *very* good experience with that. They had chickens, (I kept him on a leash during that experience) Goats, (another leash...:)) other dogs, and lots of room to run around. When they went out to milk the goats one of them was grumpy and stook her foot in the pail, so Mark got to try some goats milk!! He loooved it, and I would've given him more but I wasn't entirely sure what that would do to him, lol.

The second and third day we drove about 5 hours each and stopped at Science Museums and hotels along the way. (My mom got a seasons pass to all the science museums in the country. :)) The last day we drove five more hours to Seattle and had the best day of the drive. First we had lunch in the Space Needle, (I know it's not all that well known down here but, pretty much, it's a REALLY fancy restaurant that we normally would NEVER go in at the very top of the Space Needle, and the best part is that it rotates so we could see the entire view from up there.) Mark sat at the edge of the table, and the way he was laying made it so he could feel the wall moving...at first that kinda disturbed him, but after a while he went to sleep. (Which seems to be the main theme of this dog...) After lunch we went down to the Science Museum at the foot of the Space Needle. I *literally* grew up with that place, going at the very least once or twice a month from the time I was born till I was 12. It was SOOO much fun to go to. Mark, who is just a tad obsessed with water, had "fun" (in other words, I got a workout) with the outdoor fountains there. He also got to see the big dinosaurs, go through a maze, sit still while I helped my brothers with a bunch of stuff, and pretty much get amazing socialization while there. After we left there we went to the Fountain right by the Science Museum, (another tradition!) and Mark got even more socialization with water. By that time though, he was really tired and didn't even try to go for the water. :)

The rest of the time in Washington we spent at my godmother's house in Stanwood. It was a great environment for Mark....She lives in an old farmhouse with tons of land and lots to do for a young pup. The first few days we spent the majority of our time on the Island I used to live on for our family reunion at one of my uncles. It was HUUUUGE....Basically all of the descendants of my great-grandma's and her siblings (so ya, basically just all the descendants of my great-great grandpa) were there, and she had 11 siblings, only 2 of which are still alive (and who were both there.). I loved seeing all my cousins I haven't seen in a while, and my favorite cousin (Spencer) was there. So, ya, I had fun beating him up. :) Although my uncles house was on a lot of land and had a barn and all, I chose to keep Mark on-duty with his jacket on to lessen the stress for both myself and my Uncle. So, he sat at my feet while we played cards, slept by my mom while I played frisbee golf, and hung out while some of my cousins pet him.

Also while there, I met up with some old friends and went to the State Park on Camano. First we went to the beach; the friends I had weren't really accustomed to the rocky-beaches of the Puget Sound, so they were surprised by the myriad of crabs crawling around underneath the rocks, and by the huge piles of driftwood piled at the base of the beach. To tell the truth, they also kinda sucked at log-hopping...but then again, so did Mark. He was waaay slowing me down. :) After introducing Mark and my friends to the type of beach I grew up with, we went hiking up in the hills behind the beach. We got kinda lost in the dense woods, and tried taking a "short-cut." Ya, bad idea. I was walking in front and my sister, Keliann was right behind me. Mark and I went first, and then Keli went...and landed right atop an angry-hornets nest. Keli ran my way, hornets stuck in her shoes and shirt, while my friends went the other way; one of whom lost her shoe in the process. (Cinderella, anyone?) Only after everything calmed down did I realize that on one side there was a steep precipice, while on the other was very thick bushes and a hive of angry bees who, finding my friends shoes, were desperately trying to create a new home for themselves. After about ten minutes of feeling sorry for ourselves, (lol, actually, I was kinda laughing at the ordeal, even at the time. This is how I deal with pain and painful situations. :)) I decided to smash down a trail through the sticker-bushes. It took a while, and I ended up taking huge branches off a tree, but eventually I made it. Then Keli, whom I had left Mark with, came a little ways, then finding it difficult to crawl through and have Mark at the same time, let go of his leash. The good boy thankfully came straight for me, though for quite some time I could only hear him. He's also kinda a chicken and at the last moment there was a sticker bush in his way...and he didn't want to proceed. Lol. So, I just moved it and then he was fine. Theeen, we went back home with my friends and nursed the wounds...I, surprisingly, made it out with no stings. My friends and sister were not as fortunate, weilding roughly 20 stings each. I think Mark got stung only once, though I'm not positive.

After spending a week and a half on the Island and in Stanwood, we left for Cannon Beach, OR., my favorite place on earth. It's a Christian Conference center I've been going to since I was 2, and I loooove it. There are two daily sessions for different age-groups, and the rest of the day is free for anything...Shopping in the awesome shops downtown, going to the beach, playing in the park, going on hikes, playing in the rec center, the possibilities are endless. Mark was on-duty pretty much the whole time except for when I went to the beach or park; then he was free to play like a dog, and enjoyed every second of it. It's awesome though, he also seems to immensely enjoy being a puppy-in-training. Halfway through the week random people I hadn't met before would pass and say "Hey Mark!!" That's life for a puppy-raiser. :) He came to all the sessions with me, and we always open with a game...some of which involved ball-throwing. Mark likes balls. A lot. I got a bit of a workout that week. :) But, after a while, he would consistently leave them alone, instead channelling his frustration by staring at me and making weird sounds with his throat. People thought it was adorable....so did I, to tell the truth. :)

On the way home we went straight through, leaving at about noon and arriving home about 4 in the morning. We stopped a total of 10 minutes...I counted. Mark did *very* well in the car. :)

Wow, this post has been very long...and I haven't even told you about *my* puppy!!

Carley came home yesterday because Chris had been out of town and I had something to do that I brought Mark to. She. Is. So. Big. I got to the house and saw her with the other dogs, and was like...Um, you guys, this is NOT Carley. Lol. She's as adorable and as sweet as ever though! I'm pretty sure GDA thinks I'm a bad puppy-raiser, 'cause they keep giving me the easy ones. ;) I still cannot believe how much she responds to correction and praise. As Chris' girlfriend put it, "She's so disciplined!"

More updates to come as I enter the new chapter in Carley's life, adolescence. :)

Almost 15 Weeks Old!

(Sorry the pic isn't very good, I took it on my phone)

I haven't updated at all about Carley since we figured out the whole gender thing! I'm sorry for neglecting this blog...As Sammy said, poor Carley is suffering from "third child syndrome." :)

Carley is coming along *very* well...She is just so darn smart and loving, I kinda feel like I'm cheating. (Ya know what I mean?? Haha) She is so sweet and always willing to please. It's kinda funny, because when we go for walks I'll look down and she'll be staring straight up at me like "Am I walking good, momma??"

I do have one thing that we will *definitely* be working on, and I'm going to be contacting Yvonne about it if I ever see it happen again. She is a very dominant/dog agressive puppy, especially for her age. The first time I let her play with dogs her age I saw the dominance, but it didn't flare up at all so I just watched her carefully. Then, at the Sylmar pool party, she got in a "fight" with her sister. I, being accostomed to the sweet and gentle puppies we turn into guide dogs, am not experienced with this. For now, Karen told me to just take her away from play ever time I see her even start to get too dominant. So far, so good, and I think it should pass. :)

As for socialization, we obviously (because of her age) haven't done too much, mostly just the typical errands, dinner, movies etc. But a couple days ago we went to Santa Barbara for a few things, and while there we went to the Natural History museum. I decided Carley was OK going, and turns out she was fantastic! There wasn't *too* much stimulation, just a whole lot of walking, and she got really tired out. :) That night, my Cousin and I decided to go to a movie, and when we got out of the car at the Theater Carley (I swear) *glared* at me for taking her yet another place. :) She's absolutely adorable.

These next few weeks, I'm sad to say, I will be Carley-less. I'm going on our annual-family-vacation, and she's too young to go. (Not so much each individual thing, it's just too much combined for her little mind. :)) Instead, I will be swapping Carley for Mark, a 9 month old and GINORMOUS black lab. I had him a lot when he was little, and know that he has a fantastic personality. I hate leaving Carley now...I left Blitz at this age for this long, and he was *huge* when I got back! She's just starting that huge growth spurt that gets them into the gangly-stage, and I'll miss it. :( Oh well...

So, next update won't be for 3 weeks. Talk to ya all then!!

As I spend more time with Carley, I have realized that she's kinda three colors; Black, red, and white. (Hence the circle trilogy above. :))

She is, obviously, a black lab. She also has a reddish-tint when she's in the sun; at first I thought she might be a chocolate. But she's much too dark, and is definitely also black. So, there's the red. The white is on the bottom of her front two paws.

Just something else to learn about my new puppy. :)

Surprise!!!

Introducing; My New Puppy!!! ^^

But wait...Is it not a boy?? What's it doing with a pink collar and leash, you may ask?

There has been a bit of a mix-up. I was all ready with the name Crusoe and everything. I went to pick up my baby boy puppy; they brought him out, and I was ecstatic. He was soo sweet and cuddly but also clearly independent, wanting to play with his brothers and sisters. I pretty much fell in love right away. We snapped a few pics, tried to busy, (he didn't have to go.) then went home.

I was holding him in the car on the way home, and my cousin (who drove me) asked, sarcastically, "I wonder why even boy dogs have nipples." (My cousin is weird. :) I laughed and turned him over; but something was missing. That's right..."he" was a "she."

This presented a few questions/dilemma's. Would I keep her? Where was Crusoe? Who was *this* puppy? Was there someone who had a boy who was supposed to get a girl? Could I keep her? If I did keep her, I would have to change the name, right? What about all that paperwork I had that said Crusoe? What about the collar with his information on it? What should I be calling her for now?

We agonized over these questions and the possible answers all night, meanwhile crate training/potty training the pup. My cousin and I felt bad for calling the poor thing a boy all day, so we went out and bought her a pink collar and leash to make up for that mistake. :) The next day I called Louise again, and this time she answered. She hadn't gotten my message, and when I told her the news, there was a pause...Then some laughter...Then "Are you kidding?"

She called around, had me check the puppies shave mark, then called me back. She told me I could keep her but that I would have to change her name. No problem; we'd already thought about that. We went with Carley. :) Turns out, there was a Carley who was dropped like, the day before. Perfect timing for a perfect name. (That name SOOO suits this puppy. :)

For all that, I have one TERRIFIC puppy. She's amazing. She woke up once last night, and was quiet the rest of the time. She seems to like her crate. She's always a little wary at first when getting new situations, (when I first got her, I was like..."oh no, a shy one.") but she livens right back up and can get quite boisterous when she's accustomed. Is taking VERY well with the potty training; it may be my imagination, but I think she may kinda understand what "get busy" means. She makes the *cutest* little noises ever; she sounds like a baby pig or something. :) Oh! And she responds VERY well to tone of voice. She was chewing on a toy, then moved to a shoe. I sternly said "leave it," without any physical intervention, and she went back to her toy. When I said "good girl!" to that she wiggled her little butt really fast. :) After a while, she seemed to be thinking. (Maybe it's my imagination again, but I swear she was testing a hypothesis.) She kinda looked at me, looked at the shoe, and then barely put her mouth on it. Again, I vocally corrected her. She went back to her toy, contented. I think I have a smart cookie on my hands. :)

Anyway, enough jabber...Here's what you really want. Pictures! Updates to come when we get more active. I'll probably update tomorrow though, because her brother Colby is coming over to play while his raisers are at the Open House!

Name...Again!

The name isn't Cameron anymore...That's taken. :) So is Chandler. :)

So, I was thinking for FOREVER what another good name was...We actually went through the dictionary. We came up with Carter, Carson, Cohoe, Crusoe, Cade, Coal and Cayden.

Carter, Carson and Coal were taken....And so I chose *drumroll please*









































































































































































































Crusoe!!!!!


A bit, adventuristic, no?

Name

So, Louise emailed back and said that, in order to have the name Camano pronounced correctly, I would have to spell it Camaino. I really dislike that, so I told her I would rather have the name Cameron. So I guess that's gonna be my puppies name!! I still really like that one, just not as much as Camano.