Belated answer.

WOW I haven't updated in a while. Sorry, I kept thinking I didn't have anything to update about, and then realized that I haven't answered the whole "terrier or new puppy" thing. :)

Anyway, after reading all y'alls very helpful comments, (thanks again!) I decided that I would go with puppy raising. I was going onto my email to email the lady back, when I realized I had a new one from her. Apparently, she had decided against it too...In fact, she is rehoming the dog and getting another that is more suitable for service. So, I guess it worked out for all. :)

So I have been on the list for about two weeks now, and about ten days ago Louise emailed me and said "shouldnt be long now..." So, I'm shooting for the next litter. (Sometime in early January I think...) Meanwhile, I am puppy sitting Sage. I didn't have a puppy to bring to the GDA Christmas party, and her raiser conveniently went out of town and needed a sitter...soo...I'm happy with that arrangement!

I don't think I'll have anything to update about until I get my pup, so I guess my next post will be the news!! Here's hoping!!!

Opinions!!!

Ah, I need your guys' input! Wait, or right away??



Okay, perhaps I should explain. :)



This morning I was casually browsing craigslist, and saw THIS ad.

"hi - I adopted a great small/medium sized dog to be my companion/service dog. I don't have the strength I used to have to socialize him and it seems he has suffered some trauma in an earlier situation that makes him go a bit loo loo in public. I have a don't pull harness, a gentle leader head collar, I need a generous, gentle, positive reinforcement type trainer who will work this 2 yr. old terrier guy - although he is amazingly calm in the house, he needs exercise (duh) but training not to react to other dogs or people so that I can then take him into public situations to continue his training/lifestyle. If you think you may be the one to help me please get in touch. Thanks"

I've been emailing her today, and she says she basically needs someone to take her dog for 1 or 2 months and just get it used to public places, dogs, and people. Sounds a bit like puppy raising, doesn't it?? :) I would just get him to the point where he could pass the Public Access Test.

Anyway, I need your guys' opinion...Should I help this gal out with her dog and THEN get another pup from GDA, or should I just get a puppy from GDA? It feels like this is from God...I mean, come on...The morning after my parents told me I could raise again I just happened to see this ad. She seems like she definitely wants me to do it...So...Thoughts??? Ooh, also, another pro to taking this would be that I can't make it to any puppy meetings (except for the big Christmas one) until February. I would not like to have a puppy from GDA without going to puppy meetings...I did that with Blitz, and it was not a pleasant experience. It would be even worse with a young pup.

What'dya think??

The news we've all been waiting for!!

Some of you have already heard this, but for those who have not....

Okay, so I'm pretty sure you all know about the fires. I was going up to Bakersfield for the day for two mock-trial scrimmages, and thought all the fires did to effect me was made my trip longer. (Since a lot of the roads were closed.) At about 10 AM, while I was still on my way, I got a call from the Jewel's asking if I could take some puppies that were being evacuated. I had no idea GDA was being evacuated 'til then, and quickly called my mom to ask if I could take some. She said yes, we could take two. I told the Jewel's that, but then later in the day they called back and said (thankfully!) GDA actually had more volunteers than puppies, so they were actually sending some people home empty-handed. I was glad all the pups were safe, but secretly kinda disappointed I didn't get a pup. ;)

Okay, now the big news...I guess, while I was at Bakersfield, after I called, that got mom and dad talking about puppy raising. I got home at about midnight, and they started talking to me.

"Hey Kasey,"

I knew this was going to be big...

"Your mom and I have been talking,"

uh oh...

"and we've decided"

at this point, just from my dad's face I could see what was coming. A smile started to form on my face.

"to let you get another puppy."

YAHOOO!!! I was so excited, and obviously still am. I don't know how I'll get through these next few days. (I obviously have to wait a bit, because of the fires and all.)

Just wanted to share that EXCITING news with y'all! I'm ecstatic!!!

Apologizing!!

Sorry guys for such a long span between posts! I've been kinda busy and haven't had time to get on the comp for the length of time I needed to post. Just a few seconds here and there to check my email and such. :) Right now is the only time I've been able to get away, and that's only because I had to get dropped off early at Moorpark for a class.

Not much has been going on as far as puppy raising goes. I went to Joanna's surprise party, (which was a blast...I totally miss being around pups.) and to the graduation the next day. I can honestly say that the graduation was one of the best (if not THE best) I have ever been to. For one thing, 2 of Jaylie's siblings graduated! It's hard to think that after all this time, she would've been graduating now if she hadn't been dropped. And otherwise, it was just an all-around good graduation.

As far as the "hope" I talked about in my last post goes, that was pretty much squashed when I had a fight with my parents. Sooo...No puppies on the frontier for me... :( I am still puppysitting, however. :) I had Fahrenheit for a few days. I don't know why, but I LOVE that pup! He's pretty much the opposite of Blitz, but I love him! He's TOTALLY goofy and even sometimes a little naughty without his jacket on, but a perfect gentleman with it on. I say SOMETIMES naughty because, if I'm right there, just saying his name snaps him out of it. :) Totally cute. He goes IFT on Saturday. :(

I also may be puppy sitting a "K" puppy, (they haven't come out yet...They're all going home tomorrow!) for 10 days in December. I'm really hoping my parents will say yes to this one, but I'm not sure, because it's over Christmas, I am already dogsitting a non-GDA dog, and the "K" will still be very young. But..here's hoping to finding them in a good mood!

Now to the boring, non-puppy raising stuff. :) It is inevitable, (sp?) since I'm not raising as of now. :)

Mock Trial is actually pretty interesting right now...I am an attorney, and the 6 attorneys we have are actually really great. The whole way they're cast and everything, and everyone gets along well and everyone has great ideas. The witnesses, however...They're kinda goofing off. Travis gave them each a quiz for their specific character, and everyone failed. (Each quiz was around 10-15 questions, and each witness got 5-13 wrong.) We've got a scrimmage on Wednesday, so hopefully that'll be a wake-up call to them.

I was supposed to go to Colorado today through Wednesday, but that got cancelled when my grandma got really sick. She's in the hospital right now, and my mom went up to WA to see her. So, I am home helping with the M&M's, cooking meals, and cleaning house. Fuuun. But ya, I am glad that my mom's helping my Grandma...She's really sick and needed it.

Friends...There is a whole lot of drama going on between friends right now, and some of them are using me as the middle-man. One of them is having serious problems at home right now, and is trying to get me to help her run away. I'm trying to do what's right, trying to convince her to stay...but there really are problems at home, it's not like I can deny that...Anyway, just pray for her...She's got a lot of troubles. Another friend is convinced that a mutual friend of ours is in love with her, and I know that he isn't...I'm planning to call him later to tell him that, and hopefully he'll stop leading her on...Ugh...Anyway, just a whole lot of stuff going on in that front...

That's my life, as of now! It's not too bad, but there is a whole lot of stuff going on...Some of it good, some of it not so much. Thanks for listening!

Hope???

My mom told me I should bring up the topic of puppy raising again to my dad!! It seems that they talked last night and decided that they would consider it again. Not much, yet so much...

There are LOTS of puppies right now...I would probably get a pup within a few weeks of asking for one.

I was telling myself that it was a good thing that I wasn't getting one for a while, because I can't go to puppy meetings, but after mom told me that, I looked at the calender to see just how many I would actually miss...I would miss 3, maybe only 2...And PERHAPS (if everything happened to work out absolutely perfectly) I would only miss one during the time I had the puppy. That's not too bad at all! I would tell Louise that, but I will also be able to make it to ALL of the monthly Saturday Obedience classes...Which aren't AS important as meetings, but would still kind of make up for missing the meetings.

How I figure I might be able to miss only one, is this...I get the puppy AFTER November 5th, (a puppy meeting day...BTW, I'm basing this off of Sylmar puppy meetings, simply because it works out for me better, and I go to both the Sylmar and Ventura meetings) go to the December 13th meeting, (a saturday) miss the January 7 meeting, and Mock Trial MAY be over by February 4th, so I might be able to go to that meeting.

Anyway...Excited about that!! My mom said dad's main concern is the whole economy thing...We may be selling this house and going renting another house, and a lot of renters aren't too excited about the concept of having a dog in their house. How do you renting-puppy-raisers do it?? My dad doesn't want to find a house perfect for us and then not be able to get it because of a dog. Are most landlords open to PITs??

Anyway...Right now I'm satisfying my puppy-raising-needs with Camry. She can't go with Joanna to work until next week, so I'm her "daycare," so to speak. :)

Partners Dinner

Yay!! That was even more amazing than I thought it would be. I had tons of fun. :) Sorry for the lack of pictures...I got like..two, but they both turned out bad and aren't even worth posting. I'll post the link for the pics GDA posts once they do. :) And...Just wait for the end of the post and see some GREAT news on Blitz!!

I brought Kutter, who is VERY well mannered...Like, nearly perfect. He's just not very affectionate. ;) We showed up at about 5:45, and went to the reception. There was a silent auction with very expensive stuff...It was fun to look and see how little I could afford. :) Then again, I wouldn't have been able to afford the dinner if I hadn't gotten a free ticket! Lol. I'm glad that GDA raised a lot.

At 7:20 we went down for the dinner. I sat at a table with Denise, Mary Lou, Mary Lou's daughter and son-in-law, a puppy raising couple, and a graduate and his wife. They were all great company, and I was happy with my table-mates. :) There were some great speeches, a live auction, (my first! It was amazingly funny, especially since Yvonne (the self-labeled "tough" one) was going around screaming excitedly to get people bidding.) and great food.

After dinner we toured the museum. It was beautiful! I just kept thinking of a friend I have who is in love with cars. :) There was a dance floor, but there're never any guys my age at GDA events. ;) I ended up dancing with Debbie, Jeff, Chiappus, and, my dance partner of choice, Kutter. :)

That morning, I went to GDA's obedience class. It was fun. :) I handled Catalina for a while, but it was the older class, and we started playing a higher-level game. I traded her off for Miss Roxy. (A breeder) As I was walking around once, Joanna took her leash from me and told me that Blitz was waiting for me!! I was so incredibly excited I nearly ran down to where Blitz was. When he saw me, he got excited, the puppy raiser holding him let go of his leash, and we ran into eachothers arms. (hehe...) It was quite the reunion, and I, of course, couldn't keep from tearing up a bit. He's looking good, and is definitely gaining weight, though he still looks skinny. He was there at a vet appointment. And here's the great part...The people he's staying with right now live like...Five miles away! They raised one of Jaylie's brothers. I was very glad I got to see him. I asked them how long they were going to have him, and though she didn't say so, it SEEMS like they MIGHT be considering adopting him. I don't know though...Maybe it's just wishful thinking. How amazing would that be, right??

Anyway...That's my exciting news!!

Exciting News!!

I get to go to the Partners Awards Dinner!!

For those of you who don't know what it is, (i.e., non GDA raisers) it's a fundraiser GDA puts on once a year. Every year they pick a different raiser to honor. It's a huge event, and the first two years were held at the Ronald Reagan library here in Simi, but this year they moved it to an auto museum in Beverly Hills!

Anyway, yesterday I got a call from Denise...
"What are you doing on Saturday night?"
"Umm, I have Bible Study. Why?"
"Oh, I was just wondering if you would like to go to the Partners Awards Dinner with me."
"Uh, YA!!"

So, yes, I am getting to go to a dinner I thought I would never be able to go to. (Tickets are $150 dollars each) I'm very excited about it, and have a dog lined up to take. (Kutter...Remember Kenny?? Kutter is his brother..)

So...Update about that on Sunday! (Probably.)

Just a bit of an update

So, I'm actually puppy sitting! For a while there I didn't have any puppies and I felt kinda lonely. :) But, I've had Vito several times, (SWEET big guy!!) and I now have Catalina, and I'm getting Fahrenheit for about a week in October. YAY!

I've had Catalina since Tuesday night. I got her because I was going to a fundraiser with GDA, and sent out an email to see if I could borrow a pup. Her raiser offered her, and then ended up telling me I could go ahead and keep her until Saturday, which is an obedience class at GDA. She's adorable! Sorry I don't have any pictures...My camera's broke right now...

Tuesday night (virtually right after I got her!) we went shopping. For the record, I HATE shopping for clothes...I don't really mind grocery shopping or anything, but clothes shopping...Yich. I had a Mock Trial scrimmage the next day, and my mom wanted me to dress decently. (No jeans or t-shirt...) So, we did that, then went to two grocery stores. By the time we got home, Catalina was exhausted and fell right asleep. :)

The fundraiser on Wednesday was lots of fun! It was an in-n-out lunch at Farmers Insurance. Farmers paid In-N-Out, for a certain amount of food to bring, and then when people ate they paid Farmers, who then donated all the money made from the food back to GDA. There were about 12-15 puppies there, and then there was a merchandise table. We were there mainly to express our thanks to Farmers Insurance, and so they could sort of see what their money was going to. They do that once a year. Catalina did fantastically for her age! She's five months old, and there was one puppy younger than her, but she was by far the smallest there. People have been guessing she's about 3 months old...She's just very small. :) So, she was the star of the show!!

After that, we went home. My sister wanted to go to the Library, (she has a booklist that she's supposed to read, and she only has a few of them) so Catalina and I went with her. I just sat and did homework, while Catalina slept and looked adorable.

Then we had to go home, do chores, and get ready for Mock Trial. This scrimmage was a sort of second audition...We hadn't gotten the official case packets, we just used one from 2001, to practice and for the coaches to see how different people do as different roles. They were trying me out as an attorney this time. :) I LOVED being an attorney...It was so much more fun than being a witness, as I was last year. I did get a compliment by one of the coaches, (the one who doesn't give so many compliments...) so MAYBE I'll be one of the attorneys. They're thinking about only using two attorney's on each side this year, and if there are, I will definitely only be a back-up. If there are three on each side, though, I think I have a good chance of being an attorney. We have a much bigger team this year than previous years, so we will be having a few back-ups. They will learn several roles, just in case someone gets sick or something. Last year we had someone get sick, but we only had 16 team members so they had to compete anyway.

Catalina just slept through the entire, boring thing. :) At the end of the meeting, we got our new case packets!! It's so exciting. It's an arson, and coincidentally, the practice case we chose was also arson. So, we were prepared with that!! The case is much longer than previous years. Last year, each witness statement was around 1 1/2 pages. Some only had half pages. This year, each witness statement is 3 pages long. The pre-trial subject is also very interesting. For those of you who don't know, pre-trial is always a constitutional right, and it's decision effects what evidence can be used in the case-in-chief. This year it is the 1st ammendment...The defendant gave a riot speech, with the slogan "burn 'em out." The first charge is inticement to riot...The pre-trial attorneys will argue whether the defendant's speech was protected by the first ammendment or not. If it is decided that it IS covered by free speech, then that charge will be dropped. If it isn't, the charge will not be dropped and the prosecution will try to convince the jury that the defendant is ALSO guilty of inticement to riot.

Tonight I have ASL. It's an AMAZING class and I love it. The first week I brought Belle, this time I'm bringing Catalina. I don't know how I'll explain the situation though...We're not allowed to use our voices and I don't know enough signing to answer why this dog suddenly turned yellow, lol.

Saturday is obedience class at GDA. I'm going to ask more about Blitz there...I saw Karen at the fundraiser on Wednesday, she said that she doesn't have Blitz anymore.

That's about it!! For now I'm enjoying Catalina's company. :) Thanks Denise!!

Haha, so I was beginning to worry that nobody liked my blog, but lo and behold: Elizabeth and Alana put me in as a nominee! Thanks!! (Their link is at the side of my blog.)

Here're the rules...
1) The winner can put the logo on his/her blog.
2) Link to the person you received your award from.
3) Nominate seven other blogs and put links of those blogs on yours.
4) Post the rules at the end!

So, here are my nominations! You can click on their links at the side of my blog. (Sorry, not sure how to do the whole link/name thing on here...) I only picked those who haven't been nominated yet...I truly LOVE all the other blogs I read, but you guys have already been selected!

Madison and Andros (CCI puppy raiser)
Patty and Halor (CCI Breeder Caretaker)
Garret (CCI Puppy raiser)
James and Tonka (GDA puppy raiser)
Nicole and Vito (GDA puppy raiser)
Megan and Spanky (GDB puppy raiser)
Dutch (GDA Puppy In Training)

Thanks again, Elizabeth and Alana!!

The Blitz Decision...

So, I'm just copying and pasting this from an email I sent a friend...I don't exactly feel like typing the whole thing out again....

Well, Blitz is going to be dropped. He's doing much better, about which I'm VERY happy! He's still getting better though, so he's staying with Karen so he can go to GDA every day. I can't keep him...He'll be way too expensive. He's on a special food, and if it happens again I wouldn't be able to afford to give him the care he needs. Sooo...I'm hoping that the Gettleman's (his sponsors) will be able to keep him. AND I'm REALLY hoping I'll be able to see him again before he goes to his new home.

I can't tell you how weird it feels to be talking about Blitz as if he's someone elses...I still feel like he's mine! But...I need to let him go, or I'll be sulking for a LOOONG time. I went through the same thing with Jaylie.

I feel really bad every time I tell someone and don't get emotional at ALL, but truly, I think I used up all my emotions those few days after I got the word that he was going to be dropped. So people usually look at me funny when I can tell them about it without breaking face. But I AM still very sad about it, I'm just not wearing that emotion out on my sleeve. (Anymore...I certainly did plenty of it the first few days...)

For now, I'm just not up to talk a whole lot about it. Obviously I'm fine with a little bit, but I don't feel like talking about it a lot yet. I actually don't have any puppies right now...No puppy sitting or anything. So...It's just me. (well, and the other 7 people in my family, but they don't exactly understand puppy raising...)

Blitz prayers. :(

Please pray for Blitz right now! I called Louise today to ask how he was doing, and as soon as she heard who it was I could tell the news wasn't good. Blitz has been in the emergency hospital for about a week, and they almost lost him. He's better now, but GDA fears that it'll happen again, especially since they have NO clue what caused it. If it had been poisoning or something, it would've been better, actually, because they would've known that it was a one time thing. But all the blood tests came back fine, and they don't know what the problem was. Louise told me to call her back later this afternoon or tomorrow morning, because Blitz has a vet appointment today that will determine whether he stays in training or not.

So please pray for him! Pray that they'll figure out what's wrong, and that it won't effect his health or training. If they still can't figure it out, pray that I'll have peace about him being dropped and that it won't happen again to him as a pet.

Thanks for the prayers...

Kasey

It's officially sunk in!

Okay...So now that we're back home and settled in, it's sunk in that Blitz really is gone. I'm really glad we went on vacation right after turn in, but it didn't get rid of ALL the pain. :( I'm fighting the urge to call GDA...I really want to hear something, and they said to call whenever we want, but I feel like I'll be a nusiance, and plus Louise basically said they won't be able to tell us anything except, "He's doing fine" or whatever. So, maybe I'll call, but I'll try not to. ;)

Right now I have Miss Belle! I'm so happy I'm puppysitting. She's been here for a little more than a week, and I'm not sure when she's going home. (Her raisers are remodeling, so it's not like a defined time when they'll be done.) I know I've said this before, but I LOVE this little girl! She has incredible amounts of energy, (so she's the polar opposite of Blitz, haha) and seems to be ecstatic about life in general. I took her for a 2 mile run today, and when we got back she was still wiggling all over, and when I let her outside to go potty, she did about 3 labrador laps around the yard. :) But then she collapsed, so she's not infinitely energetic. :) She is like the energizer bunny though.

On Tuesday we're going to Disneyland, and I'm trying to find a dog to bring. I'm not sure if I'll still have Belle, but if I do I can just swap for the day for an older dog.

Ooh, Geocaching!! I finally got everything set up and I am LOVING it. I've found 14 so far...Last night we had some people over (the Lucas's, a family I LOVE.), and Mrs. Lucas, Tatum, (the oldest girl, who's ten) my mom, Belle and I all got into the jeep (amazing car, especially for geocaching! It's open...Like a more burly convertible...) and found 6 in a row. We looked for 3 more, and for some reason couldn't find them. All this while the rest of the kids and the dads were watching Star Wars II. Belle LOVED the jeep. She was sitting on my lap, (there was absolutely no room on the floor!) and I could tell she was immensely enjoying the wind flapping her ears.

I started an ASL class at the college, and even though we've had only one class, I LOVE it. It's 3 hours long and completely interactive. There is no talking aloud, (and yes, I did mean to spell that "aloud" and not "allowed," lol, though I guess it'll work either way.) and we learned a lot just with total submersion. I brought Miss Belle, and she was perfect, except for about 10 minutes before break. At that point she got a little restless, but at break I took her potty and then she fell asleep in class.

We had a BIG party last friday for Brook and my birthday. We were born a year and a week apart, so we just combined our party this year. We didn't know about it until two days before though, so some people that we wanted there didn't get invited. But we had SOOO many people there!! I couldn't believe it, actually. You could hardly walk through the front part of our house, (which consists of four rooms) and the backyard and pool yard were really crowded too. On the invitations my mom put "gift of choice: iTunes" and combined, Brook and I got $280.00 of iTunes, and then we got SO much other stuff, especially gift cards, checks and cash. Officially, it started at 7 and ended at midnight, but being Simi Valley, people didn't get here until 7:30 and didn't leave until 12:30. (with the few stragglers, of course.)

And I'll leave you with this adorable picture of Dixie..

.

Turn in

Sorry this is so late...We left for vacation the day after turn in and I've been too busy relaxing (lol) since. But we're in Spokane now, and I'm basically just sitting around the hotel room, so I have more time. :)



Well, turn in went as well as can be expected, I guess. It was really sad, but Blitz looked truly content in that kennel. :)



We got there, and went over to Louise to check in and hand in the jacket. Then we all sat down and ate, (man was that meal the quietest I've ever seen puppy raisers eat!) with all the old and mature dogs being perfect under the tables. Then we took littermate pictures. Only 3 of Blitz's siblings were there...A-Memph, Andie, and AJ. (Previously Anakin, but they changed his name.) The rest of his siblings were either flying in from WA, or are still on breeder watch.

Here's the litter picture. Yes, there are three black labs there...Look closely. :)

And I'm happy to say that I know the dog Blitz is rooming with!! Cleo is another Ventura puppy, and she's Camry's sister. Her raiser is a first time raiser, so we were both new to the whole turn in concept. We were glad to hear that they were kennel mates though!

And there he is in his kennel. *tear!* Isn't he gorgeous? I'm actually really proud of his size right now...He has a lot of muscle tone, and I don't know how people still mistake him for a girl. He looks like SUCH a boy!

And going out the doggy door. :'(

Yes, the first two weeks are all physical, and he has now been in there for two weeks! So he's passed the initial tests, but of course that doesn't mean they might not find something physically wrong with him. I'm trying not to be too optimistic, but I'm hoping and praying!! I REALLY think he should be a guide, he'll be perfect!! Good luck Blitz...DO WELL, and IMPRESS the trainers!!

And I HAVE to tell you at least a little bit about vacation, since it has been so incredibly amazing this year. I won't be saying much about Dixie, (I definately will in a later post though! I'll dedicate a post to her. :)) so if you don't want to be bored with non-puppy raising stuff, don't read. But it was an amazing vacation, so you may want to read. :)

I LOVE CANNON BEACH!! Every time I go there I feel so incredibly connected and close to God, and go home completely on fire for Him. I'm going to try to not let that fade though, so pray for me. :) Last year the lessons and leaders were better, (but this year was still fantastic) but SOCIALLY this was probably the best year yet. (and we've gone every year since I was two.) I'm not sure why, but I generally get along better with guys than girls. I make plenty of girlfriends, but most of my friends (especially in that kind of situation) are guys. This year my best friends there were a combination of three people: Ben, Eric and Spencer. Obviously I spent a lot of time with other people, but they were probably who I spent the most time with. I taught Ben and Spencer a game, (Egyptian Rat Slap, for any who have ever heard of it. I also taught Eric, but he says he "hates that game with nine passions," and never wants to play with us. :) I know he's just saying that because he always loses though, lol) and we started one game and didn't finish until 2 hours later. That game usually lasts a maximum of about 10 minutes, but we were all about exactly the same skill level, and kept swapping who was in the lead. Spencer went out like 6 or 7 times, but slapped back in. Ben went out twice, but slapped back in. At one point I ALMOST went out, but then brought myself back and won. (and JUST in time for dinner, too!)

We just had SO much fun. I'm not sure I can exactly explain WHY, but that's the most fun I've had in a LONG time. We were making fun of eachother and teasing each other almost all week, but we were tight. Seriously, if I were to try to explain what made it so amazing, I would probably fill up a novel! All I can say is...I REALLY hope God will allow us to go next year. He's allowed us to go 13 years straight, and so I know he can.

The last breakfast was one of the longest and saddest goodbyes we've ever had at CBCC actually. Everyone stretched their parents to the limit, lol.

If anyone is considering going to Cannon Beach Christian Conference Center, I HIGHLY recommend it. It's a great week to get away and get refocused on God.

Okay okay...I'll stop there or I'll be rambling all night. :)

As for now...I've still got Dixie, (sweetest little girl in the world! Sorry all you raisers with sweet girls. :P) and I've got another puppy lined up for when I get home! YAY. I won't be puppiless too much!

DIXIE'S HERE!!! And I LOVE her. She's a big sweetheart, exactly what her raiser/BC said...Can be spastic when you need her to be, but also can be mellow when you need her to be. She'll be perfect for my vacation. She will need a lot of exercise, (she's got lots of energy) and I'll be able to give it to her. (That is, once we get there. I won't be able to offer her much exercise on the 20 hour drive up there.)

I LOVE having two dogs. I definately want to own two once I am on my own. There is QUITE the size difference between Blitz and Dixie. Blitz isn't necessarily big, he's only a little over 60 pounds, but Dixie is TINY. I've always thought I like the big dogs a lot better, but it's kinda nice to have a petite girl. I guess I like both. :)

This past weekend (saturday) we went to the fair. We were there all day for my sister's "Academic Rodeo." It was for junior highers, and MAN were those questions hard! I probably knew the answers to about 50% of them, and they were answering them like they were easy. It was jeapordy style, with buzzers and everything. There were four kids on each team. Once a team has answered one of the group questions (one that anyone can answer) they have three minutes to answer 20 questions. Our team got through eighteen, but only got about 12 right. After all the schools had done the question part was the spelling bee. This was our first year and we didn't know what to expect, so we didn't study right. We put to much studying in the trivia part, and not enough in the spelling bee. We did okay, but the spelling bee gets you about half your points if you win. Whatever team the winner of the bee is from wins the competition, no matter how well they did with the trivia. We had two kids out in the second round, but the other two (EXCELLENT spellers) got really far. One of them got out after like 7 rounds, the other lasted until there were only four people left. (There were 36 people competing. 9 teams, with 4 kids on each.)

Blitz wasn't too impressed with it, but he found a friend! (Look in the background of this picture...)

His name is Boo (Boom??) and he's an 8 month old labrador retriever from GDB. His raisers daughter was on one of the other teams. (Her daughter was a brilliant speller!! She got into the last five I think. She's in 6th grade.) Anyway, it was fun to talk with them.

Lol, we watched "Valentine's Performing Pigs." They were SO cool! I officially am in love with miniature pigs. Blitz was pretty interested too.

You can see the pig in the background here.

Oh, just one more thing. I got my GPS today!!! Yay, I'm excited. It's a Garmin eTrex, but I need to wait for the PC adaptor to come before I can start geocaching. It's on the way, and should be here before I go on vacation. I've been looking, and there are ALOT on the island I used to live on. I guess because it's so rural it's an ideal place for geocaching. We're visiting, so I should be able to find a few there. I'll also be going down to Cannon Beach, and I've looked there, there are some interesting ones there, including a travel bug who's going south. So, I'll be able to help there. :) Oh, we're also going to Spokane. Haven't checked there yet though. Before I go I'll be checking everywhere. I should set a goal...Hmm, since I'm just a starter, my goal will be...10 geocaches. I'll be doing lots of other things, so I don't want to set it too high. :)

5 days left with Blitz.

Things...

So, it's been a while since I've updated. :)

We went camping! I didn't know we were going until right before I had Belle, and I had already committed to it. So, I had her for two days and then had to find somewhere else for her to go until her raisers got back. So, I went to the trusty raisers, the Jewells. Seems like they're always there when you have a raiser-need. I called them, asked them if they would mind having a sixteen week old pup for two days, and five minutes later was at their house dropping her off. I then had to get a hold of Belle's raisers, which was pretty hard considering they were camping and out of range. But everything worked out great in the end, and the Jewells loved having Belle.

Anyway...With Miss Belle "out of the way" (As if!! I love that puppy.), we had a fantastic time camping. We had the closest campsite to the beach, because my sister broke her leg and can't walk far. So, we could easily get there. There was also a lagoon, so we could play there too. Blitz is so funny...We got there on the first day and he went crazy on the beach. He had to stay on leash, and it was a short leash, (urg, I forgot the long-lead) but I ran around with him and he tired himself out. The second day he didn't want to do anything but lie around the campsite. The third day he went crazy again. The fourth day he slept again. It's like for every burst of energy he has he needs a day to sleep. He's so strange. On one of the energetic days we were just walking on the beach, (not heeling) and we saw a big flock of seagulls. Blitz saw them, looked up at me, looked at them, then looked at me again. He didn't pull on the leash or anything, just sort of "asked." He's chased birds before but is easy to control around them with his jacket and such on. So, I looked back at him, said "okay!" and he was OFF. (With me slowing him down, poor thing. I can't run quite as fast as him, lol. Now this is where the long line would have come in handy.)

I wanted this to be a vacation for Blitz too, so he actually never wore the jacket the whole time. There were some socialization opportunities, (a bridge that even I was scared to walk on...A grate type thing...) but I didn't try to make him do a whole lot. Ya, the occassional sit, down whatever, but not for training, just because I needed him to at the time. Lol, but he DID get quite a bit of "no people food" training. We went camping with another family, and I actually saw one of the other families young boys (he's four) try to feed Blitz a graham cracker. Blitz refused it! YAY!!! I'm so happy. Of course I corrected the little boy, told him not to feed him any more, but I'm proud of my boy. We've done a lot of training with my little brothers, but as far as I know he's never had a real-life experience.

And today was graduation. It was awesome. There were 5 yellow labs, (Which is pretty uncommon! We don't have many yellows, so it's normally the blacks that dominate.) 2 black labs, and 2 golden retriever/poodle crosses. (Also pretty uncommon! We just don't have many of those at ALL.) 3 of the "D" litter graduated, and one of their sisters (who is a breeder) went into heat that morning. So that's pretty cool...They're all doing their jobs. :) One of Harley's siblings also graduated. This We sat next to the Jewells, and Blitz and Tanner were SO cute through the ceremonies. They're sponsored by the same people, and look a little bit alike. We got pictures, but I need them to be emailed to me. I'll try to post them when I get them.

After graduation, we chatted a bit then left for the Jewells house. They were my ride, and they were having a party after graduation, so wanted to be the first ones to their house. We got there at about noon, and I didn't leave until 5. I was the first there and last to leave. The dogs had lots of fun, but actually didn't play a whole lot. After about a half hour they all zonked out, occassionally chewing on each other. I figure that this is because all of the "problem children" were in time-outs with their raisers. :) Ugh, Blitz didn't go into the pool ALL afternoon, but then decided to get completely submurged just 5 minutes before we left. Thanks Blitz, real convenient there.

There you go! There's your update. :)

So, now it's official. :)

I got this in my mail box today...

Dear Kasey,

Well, the time is here. The day you've been anticipating since you picked up Blitz all those months ago. It is now time for Blitz to come in for training.

We know this is a hard time for you and we would like to try to make it a little easier by inviting you to a Luncheon on August 9, 2008 at 12:00 noon. You will get a chance to meet and talk to the trainers that will be working with Blitz.

This is just a fun day for you and the other puppy raisers for moral support and to say good-bye to your puppy until Graduation Day. After we are done eating, talking and playing, we will walk the dogs down to the kennel where you will be able to put them in their runs.

Please give us a call to let us know that you will be attending or for those of you who cannot make it or prefer to bring in your puppy on a different day, we also need to know.

Please feel free to call at any time and we will let you know how Blitz is doing in his training.

Enclosed you will find a questionnaire to be filled out and brought to the luncheon, along with his Veterinary Medical Record and jacket. If you would like to bring a toy to share with the others, please do so. (Hard rubber toys, Kongs, hard bones would be great!)

Again, thank you for all the love, support and a job well done!

Sincerely,

Louise Henderson
Puppy Program Manager

So yes, I already knew the date, but now it's official. 21 days left.

On Wednesday I went to Ventura's puppy group's pizza/pool party. We sold the most amount of raffle tickets and won the party. It was amazing! Blitz got to play lots, though after about fifteen minutes he was eyeing the dog bed in the corner. The pool was amazing...It was walk in, but Blitz still didn't go any further than what he could stand in. He loves water, so long as he's not actually SWIMMING. He just likes playing submarine.

My dad gave me the final answer: I WILL be able to bring a dog on vacation with me! YES. I've decided to take Dixie, a 2 1/2 year old yellow lab. (She's a breeder) I'm really excited, she sounds like the perfect dog for the trip. Mellow when you need her to be, but can get really goofy off-leash. I'm afraid Blitz would have been pretty boring, because yes, he does play hard, but not for long. There are a lot of places for a dog to play it's heart out where I'm going, so I'm glad Dixie can get really active.

I have Belle again! I LOVE this baby. She's SO cute. She's great at obedience, but like Joanna said, still needs work on the whole heeling concept. We walked over to the DMV today, (Very short walk) and on the way there she was pulling and on the way back she was lagging. Lol, gotta love her though. And she's still only 16 weeks old, so she's got lots of time to improve. She's grown a ton since the last time I had her.

Well, that's all I have for an update now. :)

Quirky Blitz

Yes, it is now my turn to tell of all the quirks my pup has.

1. Snoring. Yes, Blitz snores. When he's awake. He'll just sit there, staring and snoring. Especially when he's hungry. I've asked some littermates, and apparently both Ella and Andie do the same thing.
2. Blitz will not run if he's on leash. He runs and does "lab laps" without it on, but if it's on...No way. This is terribly inconvenient when I'm in a hurry.
3. Blitz eats every day at 5 o'clock. So, everyday from about 4:30 'til I feed him, he follows me around, snoring and staring.
4. Blitz LOVES my brothers, and their bed, which is just a mattress on the floor. (It's a bunkbed, but the bottom bunk is on the floor.) He doesn't see any difference between a dog bed and this, so I often find him sleeping on it. He doesn't get on the normal furniture, but I've been trying to break him of this. So, I'll be looking for him, he'll know it, and sneak out of the bedroom and go lie somewhere else. He thinks I don't know he does it, but I do.
5. Blitz hates the run around games, he likes stationary wrestling, so if the other dog is wearing a leash, he grabs it in his teeth and keeps the dog from running. If it's a small dog with a tail, he'll grab that.
6. When there are kiddy pools, Blitz will pick one and just run in circles in it, splashing as much water with his snout as possible. Unless I tell him to go to the other pools, in which case he'll pick a new one and stay there.
7. Blitz understands what "go away" means, though I didn't teach it to him. He also understands "go to your room."
8. Blitz has never jumped up on anyone or onto furniture. So I don't even know if he knows it's wrong. I've never had the chance to teach him not to.
9. He doesn't seem to understand dogs who bark a lot. He just looks at them funny when we're passing by a house with barky dogs.
10. Added: Blitz is vocal, but not barky-vocal. He will mimic baby talk. Like, I'll be hugging him talking baby talk, and he'll shove his nose into my stomache and start mimicing what I'm doing, influctuating exactly how I was!

I'll add more when I think of them. :)

We also had quite the scare this past weekend. (No, don't worry, nothing happened to Blitz.) I was dogsitting a chocolate lab named Sienna, and on Monday I noticed she had a bump on her cheek, the size of a golf ball, that was all bloody. It was completely out of nowhere...I can only assume it came somewhere during the night, and that she was scratching at it. We called her owners, and they asked us to take her to the vet the next day, Tuesday. We ran to the petstore for an E-collar for the time being.

We were SO scared it was cancer or something...She's 10 and has had cancer before. She also wasn't eating and was dry gagging/throwing up. Turns out it was just a hot spot, due to stress, she wasn't eating because she was stressed being in a new environment, and was throwing up for the same reason.

I felt awful because all this happened to her in my care, and they felt awful because she caused so much trouble. But really, I'm just happy she's okay. She's REALLY sweet. The e-collar has kept her away from it, and the vet gave a spray and some antibiotics, and shaved around it. So, she's doing a lot better now, especially since she's with her family now.

And I can now breathe. I was so worried she would die. I would feel awful having a dog die in my care. :(

Puppy meeting...And some news.

Yesterday we went to the annual puppy potluck at GDA! The staff broke out the puppy pools in the off-leash area, and the dogs had a BLAST. Blitz was being really restless when we first got there, not to mention naughty. He kept trying to play with the other dogs, WITH HIS JACKET ON! He normally does fine with the jacket on. As soon as he got into the off-leash area, he started running back and forth, dipping himself into each pool as he passed. There were three pools, set up down the run, and he'd jump in and out, head for the next one, and so on, then turn around and repeat the process. He didn't want to play with the dogs OUT of the pool, but if they came into them, by all means, let's play! After a ten minute session he was calmer, then we went back in and about five minutes later he was tired, and asking to go out of the off-leash area. After that, we went to talk to Ella's raisers. (Ella is Blitz's sister, as you may remember.) We also ran into AJ, another sibling of theirs. AJ is absolutely ginormous, at least 4 or 5 inches taller than Blitz. (And Blitz is fairly big.) AJ is also going IFT on August 9th. :-( Ella is still on breeder watch, so she probably won't go in, unless she's taken off of breeder consideration in the next few weeks.

Today Blitz is at Disneyland with Cheri, who has Darcy. Darcy's a breeder now, so she can't go to Disneyland anymore.

Now for the bad news. My dad has told me that I can't get another puppy right after Blitz. In fact, I won't be able to get a puppy until after this school year is over. The reasons are kind of complicated...I made the announcement on a forum I'm on, and filled two pages answering peoples questions about why I'm not going to raise for another year. BUT I will be able to puppy sit! I'm going to tell Louise to call me any time there's a dog who needs puppy sat. I hope to get "in between" dogs, dogs who are IFT and have to go to a home for a bit, or just pups who need sat. Really, any dog will be fine. No, they won't be mine, but it's better than nothing.

For now, I'm enjoying Blitz.

And just in time for her birthday!

Jaylie's 2nd birthday is tomorrow, and she got an early birthday surprise! She made it into this summer's newsletter! Scroll down to the last page, (It's marked as page five, but it's at the bottom) and she's in the bottom right corner, looking at the seal. You can't see her face, but that's her. I didn't expect them to put that one in, because it's not exactly a good picture. The point is that it shows that our guide dog puppies have gone to aquariums. There are A LOT of puppies I know in this one, including Oceana, Camry, Fisher, Wissel, Orion, Frank, Gunnar, and quite a few others.

http://guidedogsofamerica.org/partners_25.pdf

Happy Birthday Jaylie!! I miss you and love you!

Time...is ticking away

4,147,200 seconds...

69,120 minutes...

1,152 hours...

48 days...

1 month, 2 weeks, 4 days...

...is how much time I have left with Blitz.

And he's not even here right now! He's staying in the kennels. He hasn't been there for awhile, plus I went camping, plus I didn't want to bring him because he has an earache. (Lake water probably wouldn't help much) Sooo...I'm picking him up tomorrow.

Zac Sunderland

Hey guys! My best friends brother is currently on a mission to be the youngest person to circumnavigate the globe alone. He just started a few days ago, and he already has lots of fans. Here's his blog...Look how many comments there are on the latest one!!

http://www.zacsunderland.com/blog/

My friend is happy...She gets his room. :)

15 pixels of fame

Haha, so guess who made it onto GDA's website? Blitz did!

http://guidedogsofamerica.org/rides_for_guides_08.html

Okay, so it's really tiny, but still...I'm happy. :) Go down to the thirty-seventh picture (counting the double pictures as one) and there he is, sitting right next to Chiappus and Walden.

Open House

Guess what a red ribbon means? That's right...Blitz got second place for his age group in the puppy trials! I really wasn't expecting him to place.

The open house was TONS of fun. Lots of silent auction baskets, that sold for a few hundred dollars each. (On average, anyway.) The basket that some other raisers and I donated sold for at least 300 dollars. It was probably much more, but that was what it was about a half hour before it ended. The prices always go way up by the end though.

Here are pictures from the trial.

Blitz and I at the obedience round.

Over the bark
The weakest point in the whole trial. See that dirt-looking stuff on the ground? That's doggy biscuits. Blitz is fine leaving people food alone, since we see it so often and he's never been allowed to eat any, but DOG biscuits?

A wading pool with a fake (moving) fish in it.

Exitting the bus portion of the trials.

Cute picture!! This is Cally. (Not sure if that's the spelling.)

Blitz and Andie, his sister.

Lookit that tongue!

Well, that's pretty much it! Blitz is sound asleep now, after spending five hours in the hot weather. We did try to stay in the shade most of the day, but it was 95 degrees.

The Lives We Touch

About a year and a half ago I took Jaylie (my first puppy) to my neighbors class to talk about guide dogs. It was the first speaking engagement I ever had with guide dogs. Well, about nine months ago, one of my neighbors classmates told me that she was going to get a puppy in training, and that my talk was what first struck that interest. She now has Kenny, a pup who's about 10 months old. Well, in her new school she struck the interest in two other classmates. One is currently waiting for a puppy, the other has a 4 month old pup named Wasabi.

There is also a lady in my school (er, homeschool group) who will be getting a pup as soon as her pet dog turns 3 years old.

You just never know who's lives you will change. Not only with puppy raising, but ANYTHING. How we treat people effects their lives and our own, and because we have these miracles on a leash, I feel it is our responsibility to effect lives in a positive way.

Anyway, to the update!

Belle was a TON of fun to have. I miss having a baby! Blitz and her were adorable together...Blitz liked playing for the first hour or so, but after Belle slept she wanted to continue, while Blitz wanted to sunbathe. So, little-miss Belle climbed and bit and tugged at Blitz while he sat patiently trying to sunbathe. See what I mean?

And, of course, their kennels. Way cute! Notice that Blitz's kennel is empty, except for him. He likes to pull his blankets out. =-)

I took them both to a boyscout meeting that my neighbor wanted me to speak at. (Haha, have you noticed that she likes having guide dog speaking engagements for me?? Haha. She's asked me to speak at quite a few places.) I wanted the kids to see both ends of the spectrum...A puppy who's about to go in-for-training, and a brand new puppy who's still learning to sit still. There was also a therapy dog there, and Wasabi, a 4 month old Golden Retriever puppy. (talk about cute!) I did most of the talking about guide dogs, mainly because Wasabi's raiser is so young, and also because she's a brand new raiser.

When Belle's raisers came to pick her up, they were WAY surprised at how big she had gotten. She basically doubled in size in the week we had her. *Sigh* They grow so fast at that age.

Blitz came with me to my brothers graduation/promotion night for my school. This is the biggest event of the year, for obvious reasons...Everyone (preschool through twelfth) is getting promoted. This is the ONLY year that all six of us kids got promoted/graduated. (Matthew, 3 was promoted to preschool, Morgan, 6 was promoted to 1st, Keliann, 11 was promoted to 6th, I, 14, was promoted to 10th, Brooklin, 15 was promoted to 12th, (he skipped 11th) and Braden, 18, graduated.) Because we're such a small school, (well, compared to public/private schools we are. Compared to other homeschool groups, we're HUGE!) they show special attention to each graduating senior. (This year there were 22 students, which is actually pretty big compared to other years.) First there were the promotions, where all of the younger students came out on stage for pictures. Blitz came up with me! He was the FIRST dog ever to go on that stage to be promoted! (Even though there are two other puppy raisers in my school.) Afterwards people kept joking that he was promoted. THAT doesn't get old quick! After the promotions are the senior performances...There were three speeches, (all TERRIFIC!) a singing performance, an instrumental performance, and a swing dance. (One of the seniors with an alumni.) After that a years highlight slideshow, then the seniors came out, and then the parents each read a letter to each of the seniors. LOTS of tears there. And then Trinity honored the alumni homeschool parents who are graduating their youngest child. (Last year there was one...This year there were about six! My mom will be one when Matthew graduates, unless California forces homeschoolers to go to school.) After that was the benediction, and then the tassle turn! In Trinity Pacific Christian School the tassle turn is quite the event. Last year was a lot cooler, but this year was amazing too. You really have to see it to imagine what it's like.

I have to go now, but tomorrow is GDA's Open House!! I'll be sure to update about that. Blitz and I have been practicing...The only thing that wasn't good about his obedience was SLOWNESS and not facing the way I'm facing. But he's a lot faster now, and we've been practicing at curbs so he'll face the same way as me.

Mock Trial Slideshow!

So, it's late, but my brother's been busy. Here's the slideshow from TPCS Mock Trial 2007-2008! It's going to be shown at promotion night, which is on Tuesday.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=1pZ8mcCkUtk

FINALLY an update!

Haha, lots have been going on!

Saturday night a friend slept the night and we left early Sunday morning for the Abilities Expo in Anaheim. (http://www.abilitiesexpo.com/) It was AMAZING. If you ever get the chance, I highly recommend going. We ran into about 15-20 fully trained service dogs while there...About five were from CCI, and the rest were owner-trained. We spent the night in Anaheim (We got a free hotel stay since we stayed in a Marriot for SO long when our house flooded!) and went to Disneyland the next day. Because of the Abilities Expo that weekend, the handicapped lines were longer than usual, but they still saved us at least an hour of waiting time on each ride. We ran into a group of puppy raisers from...I don't know what school. They were exiting Pirates and we were going on, their dogs got overwhelmed, one barked...It was pretty chaotic, so I didn't get a chance to say hi. I saw the jackets, but didn't see what school it said on it. I didn't recognize the design though, which is pretty strange for any puppy raiser! Usually we can recognize whether a dog is from GDB, GDD, CCI, PAWS, etc. just by seeing the jacket! I THINK they were from the Assistance Dog Institute though, they were all college students. We also ran into a CCI dog, (Once again, chaotic passing, so wasn't sure if it was a PIT or graduate) and two Disneyland Security dogs. Quite the day for dogs at Disneyland! I've never run into a dog at Disneyland before.

At my bible study on Saturday night, Daniel Hoekendorf (Another PR) asked if I could take care of his new puppy, Belle for about a week. YES! She's about 12 weeks old and ADORABLE. They took Blitz for a day at Disneyland yesterday, and are bringing him back today. (I think...Not sure though, lol) Here's a picture of the cute Belle!!!

Promised Disneyland Pictures!

First: To answer Joanna's question, I don't think I'll specify what breed/color/gender when I ask for another puppy. I REALLY love the labs, and would love to stick with them. But I would like to raise something else just to sort of try it out. I think I like the boys better, but I'd be fine with a female. Sooo...I'll just see whatever Louise has first after that date!

Now, for the pictures!! I went to Disneyland with Denise the other day, and got some great pictures!!!

On Dumbo

There were more pictures, but my camera died. :-( But Denise is going to send me those pictures, and I'll post them then!

The answer is....

No. Louise said no about bringing a CCI pup to a GDA meeting. So, I guess that means I'm sticking with GDA for at least a few more years! YAY! I'm really excited about that. I know I would have been equally excited if she had said I could bring a CCI pup and so I could raise one, so I guess I would have been really happy either way. She said her main concern is that CCI raising is SO different from GDA raising. CCI pups use GL's, food rewards etc, while GDA does NOT want any food rewards and we accostum our pups to chain collars.

Blitz is going away in two and a half months! Ack that's really sad. And I was hoping to overlap puppies, but I'm going on vacation LITERALLY the second after I turn Blitz in. (We're packing the car, going to GDA and leaving from there.) We get back on the 24th, so I'm going to tell Louise I'll be ready any time after the 25th. Hopefully (if for some strange reason everything goes perfectly!!) I'll get it on the 29th. Puppy pick-up days are almost always on Fridays, and that's a friday. That'll be 2 days before my 2 year anniversary as a PR!

Pics from Disneyland coming soon!

Fun weekend!!!

Wow, aren't my titles SO amazingly original??


On Saturday we left at about eleven to run errands and get haircuts, and then we went to one of my little brothers friends birthday party. Blitz came along, and it was a pool party! The people loved Blitz, so I let him run off leash a bit. He didn't care to jump into the pool, and for that I am very grateful.


When we got home, I gave Blitz a bath. Sorry, no pictures, but he was adorable! He absolutely hates baths, but puts up no fight whatsoever. I don't even have to lift him into the tub...Thank goodness. When he got out, I wanted to try blow drying him. I had heard it helps with the shedding, so I went ahead and tried it. Hehe, I'm pretty sure he was falling asleep at one point...And he was standing. Well, about forty-five minutes later he was still dripping. So I just let him go outside and sunbathe. It DID help with shedding though...Yesterday and today he hasn't shed nearly as much as he normally does!!


Sunday we went to church, where I hung out with my "buddy" I take care of every week during service. I still don't know what those kids would do if I brought Blitz in, so he went to service with my parents. I took some cute pictures of the kids though!!

Brynn, my "buddy." She has downs.

I tried getting a picture of Me, Brynn and Matthew all together...Didn't work out too well.

Brynn and I...She's so dang cute!!

This girl was so cute!! This was her first time at our church.

After church, since it was mothers day, we went out to lunch and to the beach. Here are pictures from the beach...It was so much fun!! El Matidor is one of the most beautiful beaches I've ever been to. (Excluding Cannon Beach, of course!!)

Hehe, when I saw this sign, I couldn't resist.

Cutie pie...

Proof that my puppy CAN get energetic when given the chance!!

Some cool and scary stairs we found. (Nearly verticle!!)