Say Cheese!

A few weeks ago Mike, Shannon, and I had professional family pictures taken! I love  them!

These are just a few of my favorites!
I’m excited to get Willow’s done (as soon as her booty heals) and create a photo wall! I’m sure that I’ll get everything together just in time to pack us up to head off on our next adventure.
Speaking of Wil’s butt, she’s doing so well! She hasn’t rubbed her stitches out at all, and they look great. She got to go outside for the first time in a week today, so she’s one happy girl! There wasn’t even any drama. Her stitches come out in about a week and then it’s back to work for her.  I’ll save the pictures for myself, but VLAC did an amazing job! We tried to get her out for some hand grazing everyday!

He just looks thrilled, doesn’t he?
Mike and I had a pretty eventful weekend. We had family here on Saturday and enjoyed a great dinner with them! Shannon rocked her newest hairdo (makes me think that she would make a great Pebbles for Halloween!) and was a champ for most of the visit. Now that she’s so mobile, the hardest part is keeping her entertained at the dinner table. She doesn’t like to just sit and watch everybody eat, she needs to be on the move!


Sunday was full of running around and I wasn’t so surprised when Shannon slept from 10 on Sunday night, to 8 on Monday morning! Mike had to go into the office, so he dropped Dixie and I off at the Everything Canine Expo and took Shannon into work with him!

The Expo was pretty small and we got there pretty late, but I was still able to get information on the Canine Good Citizen tests (dun dun dun!!) that I think will be beneficial to Dixie’s growing up. A lot of our major hurdles revolve around her behavior when she has too much energy and I leave her. I think that the excess energy gives her anxiety. I know the CGC test won’t cure her of that, but it’s a good first step towards the agility classes that I would eventually like to take, which will help her get that energy out!
She also scored a sweet new bandana from Buddy Bandanas!


I loved them! I had a really hard time picking just one but at $4 each, they are pretty inexpensive. They also slide right onto her collar, so you don’t have to worry about it falling off or fighting with trying to tie it.
I also signed up for the Chase Away 5K in October! It’s a benefit for Canine Cancer. If any of you are interested in running/walking it with me, let me know and maybe we can create a team! I don’t think that I’ll be running it with Dixie, although dogs are welcome. It’s a little long for her stubby little limbs. She’s more of a sprinter.
We rounded out or Sunday with a visit to Mom, so that Mike could have some quiet time to himself. Shannon was in bed early (10…) for once, and slept like a rock!
Yesterday, I got the awesome chance to sit on one of the best beasts in the East.

I had a good ride (considering it’s been almost a year since I’ve ridden in any serious capacity). All my old problem habits are still there, like riding with “puppy paws” and being a little slow on the giving. Things are so different in the dressage world. I’m so disappointed that I’m going to start getting going with Willow, just to get sent somewhere else.
We thought that there was a really good chance that we were going to stay here (which is why we started house hunting), but alas, no. We still don’t have orders, but will be leaving in December at the latest. Sigh. It’s a point of contention in my life right now.
Shannon hit another milestone on Monday as well…

She can ride in the grocery cart like a big girl now! It’s so much easier in all aspects now. I can see where I’m pushing the cart, she loves to look out at all the people, and I love being able to see her sweet little mug!
I’m planning on getting her one of those nifty shopping cart seat cover things, as I’m sure it’ll make her life a little bit more comfortable, and I’m not really super thrilled that she was trying to chew on the metal bar in front of her. Sanitary it is not. She doesn’t understand “OMG, Eww… yucky…gosh!” yet.
We made it home just in time to put everything away and watch the monsoon that was the thunderstorm of Monday evening roll through.

Dixie isn’t a huge fan of the first few rumbles, and enjoys barking at them to show it whose boss.
Out power was knocked out for a significant amount of time, but everything is back to normal now!
I’m off to take an afternoon siesta with the mini-me. Here’s a preview of the next post that I’ve been working on.

I’ve started using Windows Live Writer, since I hate  the way that Blogger does things but I didn’t really want to move the whole kaboodle over to Wordpress either. WLW makes it a lot easier to work on posts long term and makes picture sharing less than painless!
Ciao!