Yeah for Spring Weather!!

Cooper is scheduled for College.. We take him to OR the end of April! I'm excited but a little bummed, just not sure what we'll do w/o our LBD (little brown dog) at home... I'm going to miss him alot. We've had no further Bad Dog experiences with him, he's been so good that I have wanted to spoil him and let him up in my lap, but I have restrained myself.. It has not been easy on my part.

All of Dereks work in the shop is paying off, his custom cabinet is 90% done! It looks really great and I'm happy he was able to turn his concept into reality, although it cost a bit more than initially planned, it should last a very long time! The only thing left to do is paint it. He's going to paint all of it except the doors, they will be stained to keep the nice wood look.

Our horse club held a WorkParty this past Saturday at Mann Rd. 4 members walked in with bladed weed eaters and then I was there with a horse to ride in to work on a couple different areas. At first I was the only rider and I thought I might be working alone. I wasnt afraid of the work to be done, just my over-active mind worried about what critters might try to join me if alone! :) Rachelle informed me that because noone else in her group but her was "packin" that she would not be givin me her gun, I was on my own! LOL Thankfully another lady showed up with her horse to help me out, she is from Traildusters and it was nice getting to know her and having her help. I am sure I wouldnt have finished it all w/o help. I opted to take Edgar that day since I was packing in a saw, loppers, bucket, raingear etc.. Red doesnt really like having so much flopping around on him just yet. Mary and I worked really hard.. we filled 6 big sink holes in the trail with river rock and sand, then cut out a good sized tree, manhandling it to then get it off the trail, then cutting another smaller tree out. We spent a good 3.5hours of working, my arms are pretty sore from all the rock hauling and sawing. It feels really good though to have accomplished the 3 tasks Jenny sent us out to work on. We got back to the trailers about 30 minutes before the other group walked out.

The weekend before, Derek & I drove over to Ellensburg for the BCHW Rendezvous, we bid on a couple items, watched a clinic, browsed the vendors. Oh there was a guy there that had invented a feed box for horses that eliminates hay waste problems. Edgar is a real turkey when it comes to wasting hay, we have a whole routine of trying to keep him from getting his hay on the ground where it then gets stepped on and he refuses to eat it. This feeder box can be made to fit an entire bale, so one of Derek's next projects is to replicate the idea and make 2 for our barn. The guy was selling them very reasonably priced and I'm glad for the idea but thankful for a crafty husband who will be able to make them for our horses. Red doesnt really need one, he eats up every last nibble, but this will allow us to set out an entire bale and not have to feed them for another 4-6 days! :)

I think I mentioned before that Derek is now on a bowling league.. oh yes I did.. well he never did get that yellow ball he wanted, it is out of production and he was unable to find the weight he wanted for himself but found another he is satisfied with. It was funny at league 2 weeks ago, the team they played against asked if his ball was new.. not because it looked new but because they could smell it! LOL Yep, Derek discovered that his new ball smells like blueberries I think it is.. Smells pretty darn good, he spent the rest of that evening sniffing his ball every time he picked it up. :) He's been having up/down games with his ball as he learns and adjusts to it, but had a great game of 266 last week! Only 2 frames that he did not get strikes.. I am looking forward to his 300 game!!

So much for braggin...

Yep, just when I brag about how great Cooper is, he goes and messes it all up with a VERY BAD DOG moment! I allowed him up on the couch with me Friday night (spoiling our good boy), he was laying behind me on the top of the cushions. As I sat there almost motionless watching some TV, he sat up and growled.. I thought "hmm, must be hearing something I dont hear" which happens all the time with the dogs :)


So I reached over and pet him, he then growled again and barked, looking off in the distance of who knows where.. So I pet him again, and he once again growled and barked but then he lunged a little at my hand.. basically telling me to leave him the hell alone!! I immediately realized he was barking and growling at me.. OH HELL NO! I grabbed his neck and drug his ass immediately to the ground yelling NO.. BAD DOG.. NO GROWLING.. etc. and then proceeded to attempt to annoy the hell out of him by pulling his legs, ears and forcing him to stay in the lay down position. Once he was on the ground, he softened his eyes and turned into "cute puppy mode" and was not showing any signs of aggression or annoyance at all that I was putting him through.


We were told due to his age and growing hormones, that he's going to start testing his boundaries so we have decided he is no longer allowed to be anything but a dog! :) He lost any priveledges of being on the couches or chairs with or without us. He is a floor dog, end of story and he can sit and be sad that Ellie & Russell are sleeping in luxury on the couch cushions.. lol


It was nice to hear from other dog folk that he is just testing us and that it's not necessarily a trait of his that will turn into anything serious. Mr Couch Diva will learn his roll in the pecking order of our house. He tries hard to be good but the past few days he's been sneaking around the couches and chairs, lurking and waiting for that moment we wont notice him quietly jump up on them and fall asleep. For the most part, when we see it coming, he listens to us tell him no and he stays off and once he's up, 80% of the time he'll get off when we tell him to, the other times we have to drag him off.. so far no further growling instances. I bought him a cushion for the floor (yep still attemping to spoil him) because he seems SOO dis-satisfied with the carpet, but he's not even the one using it!


Did I mention before that our washing machine had a fight with the wall cabinet a week ago? Well the cabinet won and busted the knob on our machine, I believe also breaking the timer which is a $100+ part. Found a 2yr front load washer on CL (not one of the super fancy ones but a decent one), got it hooked up and running last night.. seems to do a fine job although Cooper thinks we've added an alien to the laundry room, he was quite upset with the new washer and sure that it did not belong! maybe because he could see the clothes moving all around.

I spent this past Friday baking rolls for our annual Cinnamon Roll Ride with the horse club. Well I killed my yeast with the first batch of dough and around noon realized I needed to make another trip to the store to buy more supplies to start a second batch.. My yeast was more cooperative the 2nd time around, but then some rolls over-rised, I over-carmelized, I over-baked.. grrr Not a great roll making day for me. I need more practice, maybe I should cut the recipe in 1/4 and make just a couple batches until I really get this thing down pact. But I have to learn how to do this on my own and perfect it.. as much as I know my mom probably wanted to be there with me to help out.. I will never learn if I dont just bear down and do it alone. Of course noone complained, they all thought I was silly for being so paranoid, but they were pretty darn hard when eaten cold! lol and when you cant pick off a nut because there is too much caramel type stuff and its baked into hardness.... reheated, they were pretty nummy.

I decided not to take my embarassing rolls to the dog club potluck dinner, we wanted to impress our potential new circle of friends so I smoked up some delicious ribs and we had a great time. It felt a little awkward going to a potluck of 20 or so, knowing only 1 person.. but they all were inviting and we had a really good time. I can be so shy and reserved in situations like that, but because the lodge we were in was all open, you had nowhere to hide away. It was in Monroe, and although the outside of the building looks nothing like a hunting lodge, it actually is very nice inside, almost like a big apartment with a bunch of rooms and beds for guests, decorated with the lodge decor. It was nice getting to know some of the people and we also talked about other interests besides our dogs, one lady has probably been to our horse club prize rides in the past.

Sunday was Derek's only day off again, not that he had time to relax as he started to build a custom cabinet.. this thing is huge, I cant wait to take pics of it, he is doing a really great job. It is for work so he has a place to store all his tools and paint guns, books, supplies etc.

Long gone are the days of coming home and plopping in front of the TV for hours and hours. Most nights we only get an hour of TV time, which is nice to take some time away.. makes you realize you are not missing out on as much as you think you are when you dont get to watch your shows.. we still have them recording, I'm not ready to give up entirely on watching TV, but have found we are now selectively weeding some out as our DVR fills up and we have to make room for the shows we really think we cant live without, even if it takes months to get to them! A month ago our DVR was empty, now it is 80% full.. I'm not sure what we'll do when we have no shows left to weed out, I guess we'll just have to come to grips with the fact that life has to come before TV.

"What a good pup, he's so well behaved... "

That's what we heard on Saturday afternoon... Cooper was a bit out of his element as we took him on his first outing to a Hunt Test Practice in Monroe. There were only about 10 other dogs there, we didnt introduce him to other dogs since they are all there to train, not to socialize. We took Cooper mostly for the exposure of being out and about and the people. He sat and watched patiently at times, other times he was just sniffing around, but he was not his normal obnoxious self! After his initial shyness of greeting new people, he would get excited when they pet him.. He is turning into a really good dog and although he loves to cause business and is still quite the monster at times, he's pretty good too and it showed. He WAS the cutest dog there of course!

A new friend of ours, Anne, who is part of the Cascade Hunt Retrieval Club, pulled us aside and got a dead duck for us to work Cooper a bit. He was all over the bird when it was thrown, he went right to it, but was unsure what to do at that point. He mouthed it, plucked feathers, attempted to drag or pick it up a few times.. He did eventually grab it a few times and attempt to drag it to Derek. After about 15 minutes he was distracted by the train so we quit, you are always supposed to stop with the dog wanting more, never practice til they are bored.

I originally had planned to take Cooper by myself as Derek had to work, but he was able to finish early and get home in time to go with. His new job is going great, the only drawback is the long drive. He really likes his job and that his co-workers all seem happy and like their job too. Unlike most other places where the guys all hate being at work and their employer. He's been getting overtime every week, hopefully it will help to get some projects finished this year around the farm! :)

Derek & I went out for a ride on Sunday at Mann Rd. We initially where riding with 4 others but Edgar was pretty amped up after having gone 4 months unsaddled, so we broke off from the group and had a nice quiet 2 hour ride. Felt good to be back out with Derek too.. My own ManTracker!

My cousin Marc brought over his pup Elvis on Saturday late afternoon. While he took some wood out of the pasture, his kids Jasmine and Caplin played in the yard with all 4 dogs. Marc actually got to our house a few minutes before we got home, so when we got home, Ellie was hiding under the deck and would not come out until I had the kids take Elvis on top of the deck where she couldnt see him! lol I leashed her at that point and we worked on acquanting the dogs to each other and 15 minutes later they were all running and tumbling together.

A friend of ours that is moving out of state, owns a lot up at Cowboy Campsites. CC is a big chunk of property where you purchase a section to be used as your private camping lot. The property borders the Harry O trailhead up out of Sedro Woolley, so there is tons of riding. Many have built small sheds and corrals on their lot, trailer parking pads, permanent fire pits, etc. They are not very big, but you are ensured a place to camp any time you want to get away to that area, as it is a very popular trailhead in the summers. There are some serious money issues going on with CC, so it may not be available for much longer. Our friend is care-leasing her site to us for the summer, we'll see how it goes. It may not be a site we utilize as much as we'd like due to mainly just being busy, but we will take responsibility of it for the year and hope to enjoy it many times.

And to end the weekend on an even greater note, the guy that hit us 2 weeks ago, came through with his promise to pay up and forked over the cash we asked him for to fix the truck. What a relief!

Mayday Mayday.. we've been hit!

Lets start this past Saturday on a positive note.. Derek had to work (okay thats not so positive, but it is nice his first week on the job and he was able to put in 10 hours of OT!) so I woke early to play on the computer and get some much much needed cleaning done for the day (okay.. again cleaning is not so positive.. what part of this is good so far.. lol) Anyways, the plan was that we were going to have some horse club friends over for Movie Night that evening and I had the entire day to get some chores done, deep cleaning time! As I sat and checked mail, I noticed at 8am a very light light snow was falling.. yes that was the positive note I intended to start on.. LOL I know I am in the minority, but I just cant help but smile at the sight of snow.. I love it and my dogs love it!

I spent the next 5 hours taking my time and cleaning, I even took the vacuum apart as the suction wasnt working so great and got it working better.. deep cleaned our bedroom.. The house was as clean as it was gonna get and at about 2:30 decided I should take a shower and head off to the grocery store and Papa Murphys. At this point, we had already canceled the movie night, there was very little interest from people in coming plus with the all-day snow, it was just safer to reschedule. Most of the snow had not stuck too much since it still was so very light all day, but I knew it could get worse as the night drug on.

So I head off to Monroe, the roads were 50% clear with patches of snow dust, not super slick but definately still drove carefully. As I was heading to the store checkout, I get a call from my aunt Dena.. her and Jennifer are in Downtown Snohomish at a wedding dress store and invited me to come down! I was super excited to be invited... When I got to Snohomish, Derek had just gotten to Snohomish as well on his way home from work, so he picked up my refrigerator groceries and headed home. I told him I would pick up pizza when we were done.

So I saw BEAUTIFUL Jennifer in 2 different dresses she had set aside and was debating. She looked amazing of course. We 3 decided to head to Mardini's and have a late lunch and chit chat for a bit before heading home. We never get to spend much time together. The snow was now coming down pretty good but not accumulating much. We had a great time and decided we had better all head home, it was now dark and snowing still pretty good.

I picked up the pizza and headed home. Now if you know Snohomish at all, I decided to go past Emerson Elementary and ventured down that BIG hill towards Centennial Trail. I made it down that hill just fine, zero sliding. Roads seemed pretty decent with a heavy dusting on them. I was in 4WD of course. I turn onto Three Lakes Rd and took a mental note that there was maybe an inch or so on the center line with still just a heavy dusting on the main part of the road. I get up to the S-Curve hill section and a van ahead of me stopped and started backing up. I was confused, assumed he just didnt want to take the hill with his 2WD. The car infront of him attempted to turn around in the road and got stuck with her front end on the side and her ass-end sticking out in the lane. So I decide, hell I can make this hill no problem.

What I should have done and I'm pissed for not doing, is stopped, got out and walked up around the corner where I couldnt see. But I didnt, I stepped on the gass for a little momentum, passed the car that was now stuck, got into the curve and realized 2 vehicles were STOPPED up ahead in the middle of the hill. One 2WD vehicle was in the right lane and the other dumbass was in the middle of the F*ing ROAD! So I have NO choice but to stop. Now I am on the straight section, I have made it through the curve in the road. I decide since I am now in the middle of the road as well, I should back up and get into the driveway on my left and turn around. I put the truck in Reverse, took my foot off the brake, I had NOT even put my foot on the gas pedal yet when all the sudden I was moving!!! I was not moving backwards, nor forward, NO I was SIDEPASSING (NO SHIT) straight towards the edge, which normally would be no big deal, however on the other side of that edge is a HUGE DEEP DEEP RAVINE!!

It was one of those Slow-Motion moments.. as I was sliding, I had ZERO control of the truck, so I unbuckled my belt and felt my life was over.. Internally I was sure the truck was headed over the edge into the ravine and I was going to die. I opened the truck door, prepared to jump out. THANK GOD, as soon as we hit the edge, the truck stopped. I sat there for a second, unsure what to do. I knew I was in no condition to try to move the truck. The car I had passed was only about 15-20 feet behind me. If she wasnt there, I could have backed up using the traction of the edge and gotten out of the situation, but with her back there, I had no options that I could see. The road was a sheeting of ICE.. It was absolutely the worse condition I have ever seen a road before. I shut the truck off, turned the flashers on and got out. I have NEVER shook so bad in my life.. I was trembling, almost hyperventilating.

I called Derek and told him I was stuck and unsure what to do. There was no way the car would make it safely so he said he'd see me in a while, he was gonna walk the probably 3.5+ miles to get to me. He then called back and said he would ride his bike to get to me faster! I told him good luck in this shitty condition!

So as the lady and I stood there looking at our perfectly fine vehicles stuck, we talked a little of how panicked she felt for me when the truck was headed for the ravine! The reason the truck headed that direction is because the road is sloped towards the ravine, so when I put it in reverse, 4WD made zero difference, the slope was so great and road so icey that it was out of my control. I would have made it up that road JUST FINE if the damn idiots in 2WD were not blocking the way.

As she waited for her son and I waited for Derek, a guy in a Bronco decides he's going to pass us and head up the hill. Now at this point, we should have stopped any vehicles from attempting to pass us until the hill was clear, but you dont always think of everything when you are a bit shaken up. I really was not shookin up from the snow at all, I knew I could handle the snow. But when my life flashed and I thought I was headed off into the ravine, that is what scared me. I know it sounds overly dramatic, but that's how I felt at the moment. The feeling of having NO control and just waiting to stop or drop....

So the bronco sees he cant get up the hill and stops... He stops on the curve part and decides he's going to back up into this driveway we are standing in. He does the EXACT same thing I did, as soon as he took his foot of the brake, he sidepassed towards the ravine. Well unfortunately for him and for the lady with the car, her car was completely blocking his path to the ravine, so we watch in agony as he slams into her drivers side, mirror parts flying! He too was in 4WD and now we all just stood there wondering what the hell to do now.

A guy in a 4WD truck comes up, stops, gets out and a little abbrassively says to us.. "Well I can get you 3 out. Would you rather wait for the cops, get a ticket and pay a tow truck driver to get you out or would you rather have me get you out now?" Seemed to be a good plan, it wasnt really my decision because my vehicle was uninjured and I knew if he pulled those other 2 out, Derek would be able to back out of the situation.

So the guy gets in his truck and I have NO idea what his exact plan is, but he pulls up a little further in the curve than the bronco did and stops! GODDAMMIT!! Why the HELL did he do that.. Was he planning to turn around in the driveway so he could use his back bumper to pull the car out? So as he stops and puts it in Reverse, well his 4WD did the EXACT same thing my truck and the bronco did.. so he is sliding and this time I knew I was going to take some damage. He hits the bronco, and then his front end slams into my rear end, I was a bit concerned the force would push my rear end off the edge and into the ravine, but there was not enough force . I was PISSED!

About 15 minutes later, I see Derek flying down the hill on his bicycle! A couple people were like.. "look at this guy on the bike!" lol He was going pretty fast with no ability to really brake on the ice. So now we all stand there wondering what the hell to do now. The guy that was going to save us all, called a buddy to come with a wench truck. A policeman eventually showed up, he parked at the top of the hill and walked down. Told us he was not going to issue any tickets, he had far too many other flipped cars and worse scenarios to deal with, but he did call a sander truck to get there ASAP or else he was going to close the road. He stayed with us until the sander showed up and we were all cleared out to ensure nothing else happened.

Once the sander was there, he spent a lot of time dumping as much sand as he could around our vehicles and got the hill 1/4 sanded up and then left. Not sure why he left and didnt finish sanding the hill, maybe he ran out of sand? The car was pulled out by the one guys buddy and I dont know where that car ended up, maybe the lady or someone drove it off. Then the bronco was pulled out, then the ford and then Derek was able to drive our truck out w/o any assistance. I jumped in and we easily cruised up the hill (which had been cleared of previous dumbass's for atleast 30 minutes at this point).

Oh no, story doesnt quite end there.. As we get to the top, the one police car was blocking any traffic from coming down the hill and up ahead of us was a car and a tractor. The tractor was stopping and talking with drivers headed the opposite direction of us and blocking us from going anywhere. We knew cars would be coming up that hill behind us real quick and if we didnt keep going, they would have to stop on the hill back there.. So we were getting VERY aggitated at this point, we just wanted to get home. So as the tractor moved forward, the car in front of us slowly crept forward and we stayed in the same spot. We were waiting for the car and tractor to get far enough ahead that there was a free lane to pass them in so we could get going and make it up the little incline w/o having to stop mid hill. As we waited, a cop car pulls into our lane, flashing his lights and was face/face with us. We could not back up, the ford truck was behind us. So I get out and head up to the cop and said to him "Where do you expect us to go?" I was not very friendly, I mean seriously.. WTF was his problem! He was very Assholey with his demeanor, he sat way back in his seat, head up all snotty like, didnt roll down his window until I was standing at it! He said "Well I wasnt sure why you werent moving and what you were doing?" OKay I am thinking, then why not GET OUT OF YOUR DAMN CAR and WALK a few feet up to ask us!! Lazy Asshole.. So I say to him "well we are waiting for the tractor to get out of the way so we can get up the next little hill and get home! As soon as he is out of the way, we will be on our way". So he doesnt really say anything, I dont recall what he did say, but I ask him again "where do you expect me to go? I cant back up." He says "cant you back into that driveway?" Now mind you, this driveway he is referring to is steeper than the hill we just came up and he wants me to pull down that driveway? WTF asshole, why would I do that. So I tell him "NO I cant pull into that driveway, I dont want to get stuck, I just want to get home!" I was getting really snippy by this point, this guy was the biggest dumbass idiot cop I have ever experienced.. I said again " as soon as the tractor is out of the way, we will move forward and get home, OK" He then closed his window and backed up into his own lane. He didnt smile, never said, okay have a safe drive.. nothing. I just shook my head, I guess you dont have to have common sense to be a police officer!

So we put it in drive, cruised past officer dumbass, passed the car that was creaping along and as we are in the middle of the road ready to pass the upcoming tractor, a damn stray dog was in the road. This same dog had been down visiting us earlier when we were on the side of the road, some kids said it was a stray and unsure where it belonged. So as we are approaching the dog, it decides its a good time to cross the damn street to be with the kids that were walking along the road. Derek puts on the brakes (we are on the hill/incline now) and I start yelling.. pardon my language.. "FUCK THE DOG>> FUCK THE DOG!!!" At this moment (because Dereks window is down) a girl starts screaming from the left side of the road.. well the dog must have backed off at the very last second because we did not feel a thud and Derek had opted not to attempt to stop.. NO WAY were we risking another accident over a dog.. I'm very sorry to those that may think we are wrong, but my life is a little more important to me.

The rest of the drive was uneventful, we made it home safely and curled up with our children and enjoyed a little downtime in a very clean house!

That was quite the evening. Come morning, the roads were slush and driveable again. We headed off to the 4H tack sale, found a couple items that my friend Molly graciously offered to put with her things so we wouldnt have to spend 1-2 hours in line.. we had a nice lunch, headed home and spent Sunday relaxing and catching up on some TV time that we havent had all week with Derek working 2 jobs.

Oh and did I mention 4WD Ford truck driver that hit me is uninsured! Of the 3 people that have hit us over the years, all 3 have been uninsured.. but I have ALWAYS collected! Ford dude promises to pay cash for damages.. I'm off to get an estimate today, we will see how loyal to his word this guys really is.

I still LOVE the snow, it just reaffirms that I hate stupid people! :)

Thanks Gerri!!

I almost forgot.. Want to give a big shout out to Gerri! Thanks so much for trusting that Red is in a great home with me.. :)

Gerri (who I've been leasing Big Red from) called last week, I started to worry as she wanted to talk about Red and I thought maybe she wanted him back.. Well I'm sure she would love to have him back if she had the time and ability to ride/work with 3+ horses! ;) She called to ask how it was going, if I was happy with him etc..

She decided to sign him over to me, so I now "own" Red! I knew while leasing that he would be mine (most likely) as long as I wanted him, but I always told people he was Gerri's horse and always had her in the back of my mind with the decisions I made regarding Red. Not that anything will change now that I own him, but I really do feel the difference in my head. I think this will help me form a better/stronger bond with him, I already feel like I look at him different when I go out to feed, I know I sound like a cookey-bird! I am very THANKFUL to Gerri for the Great Horse I now own and look forward to lots of miles on the trails in the time to come.

Productive Weekend

We got a lot done this past weekend.. not really anything you would notice if looking around our messy house or out around the house! :) A week ago we had a tack cleaning get together with some horse club friends, it was nice to have company to clean the green off the leather! Yep, it was getting a little overdue to be done.. thats what happens when it sits in the trailer all winter with basically zero use!

But it's all clean and ready for use...

Derek put in his notice after his interview and left on really good terms from that employer. He actually is working part time for them after he gets off work from Seattle... makes for a long day, but he really didnt want to burn any bridges and the extra money doesnt hurt. The good thing is if it doesnt work out with the new job, he still has full time employment options at his old job. But things are going really good at the new place. He really likes the job and the people he works with. I think this is a good fit.

We had gone back/forth all week about what to do about a commuter car. (oh my gosh, I can hear my favorite commercial on the TV in the other room.. dancing rat things in the Kia commercial.. hahaha) Anyways, we had contemplated fixing up the little black truck Derek bought long ago, it is currently in pieces, the bed is not attached, the gas tank is sitting on the shop floor, the motor has never run since we bought it.. You know how a project truck looks! After realizing it needs a whole lot more than just a new motor (needs a new interior as well), Derek quickly realized on Sunday that his fixer upper project was a lot more work than he has time or money to do right now. We had been keeping our eyes open for a little cheap commuter car in the $2k range, but well you know what ya get, crap!

I loaded up Edgar on Sunday to go ride at Mann Rd, Derek was going to go but the last time he started a new job on a Monday, we rode on Sunday the day before and he had that really bad accident on the trail, so he decided it might not be a good idea to ride the day before a new job again! lol He hasnt ridden since October and although I'm sure Edgar would be just fine, thats a 4 month vaca for the horse and who knows if Edgar would act out of character and have a bad day! It was a whopping 30 degrees as I saddled up that morning, but the sun was shining and it was a fantastic ride! We rode for 2.5 hours, the trails were OK, a bit frozen in areas, mucky in others but Red & I had a good ride. We did come across a downed tree that was at my chest level, that was interesting to duck under.. almost had to get off, but I sucked up what I could, bent over and made it through unscratched (twice even!). As I was untacking I get a call from Derek that he is going to Speedway to look at a little car that just came in.. I told him to NOT make any decisions w/o me! An hour later as I'm driving home he calls and says I need to meet him at the dealership, he made a deal to buy the car... lol

So goodbye green truck, hello baby car.. We are the proud owners of a 2007 Chevy Aveo5. Its a little hatchback, similar in style to our old Kia but its a bit smaller than the kia and oranger too.. haha.. yep its that burnt orange color, which isnt too bad actually. We got a damn good trade in on the green truck (only $600 less than we HOPED to get cash for it if we sold privately) and then paid an additional $2k for the car.. free and clear, best kind to own! It has only 60,000 miles on it, gets probably 30+ highway miles, so should be a good commuter. Derek already has plans to pimp his own ride and add some style to the car. Here's a pic of what they look like new. Oh and I did not meet him at the dealership, I drove home and dropped the horse off while he brought the green truck home to clean it out, then we drove down to trade the truck over. The green truck was on it's last leg anyways, it had over 190,000 miles, leaked fluids daily, passenger door was broken and you could only open from the outside, tailgate handle was busted, mirror covers busted, gas guage didnt work, windshield wipers ONLY worked on super fast mode.. the list goes on. Our new little (as Derek calls it: GoCart, I call it Go-Car-T) is very basic, no a/c, no power locks or windows, no CD, just a stick shift, working heat, clean and cute!

Cooper had surgery yesterday to fix his herniated umbilical.. he's doing good, you wouldnt even know he had surgery. Its hard to keep him quiet and calm, I admit I am letting him play a bit more than I should. But it snowed today and him and Ellie LOVE LOVE LOVE to run and play and jump in the snow, so how could I resist! He is now in quiet time, bored out of his mind, he's trying to find things to get into as I have him seperated from the other 2. We are supposed to get a lot more snow tomorrow, I hope Derek doesnt have to deal with stupid people on I5 tomorrow or he might not make it home!

So riding and the new car is not all we did this past weekend, that was just Sunday! Derek had me sell his softball bat and bat bag on ebay 2 weeks ago, that was the sign that he was officially retired.. He sold them so he could buy himself a new bowling ball.. So we got up Saturday morning, headed to Edmonds first to buy a scrap section of carpet for the dogs.. our front entryway was getting disgustingly trashed from the dogs coming in/out all damn day with muddy paws.. It was stinky and gross. So I found a carpet remnant to put in that area.. who cares if the carpet gets trashed. After we bought that, we headed to the bowling lanes to buy his new ball! Here's a pic of what he ordered, yellow is his favorite color! The ball will have his name on it too, the only problem is he got a call today that the ball was discontinued (well the size he wants is) so they are trying to find the same ball elsewhere.. I hope they find it, we both love the ball and it suits him well. Went to Costco after that and purchased my mom's birthday/mothers day gift, yep its 3 months early but I think she will LOVE the gift and I wanted to ensure it was still available so bought it now.

We've been also a bit stressed lately regarding horse shit! Yep, our horse manure.. having the boys home year round means more poo to deal with and we are running out of low spots in the pasture to dump it. So we found a dump trailer in Kent to go look at, drove down Saturday afternoon and bought it.. its just a cheap little $350 thing! Nothing fancy.. Just big enough to load up the horse shit for about 2 weeks and take to a friends house who wants it for compost. After we bought it, we had to go a couple miles down the road to the Mclendons Hardware to buy an adapter for the lights. As we are there, my dad sends a text that he wants me to stop and buy a lazer level in Kent and wonders if we would call the guy. He says something like "I dont know what area of Kent you are in, but the guy is across the street from a Mclendons" Haha.. We were across the street, how perfect was that. When we left, as we were driving the trailer home, it was bouncing all over the damn road, 30 mph and this thing was swaying like crazy.. well shit! How the hell were we gonna find the backroads to get home... We found a Home Depot and loaded up 720 pounds of concrete (one can always find use for concrete) and the trailer traveled perfect after that.. apperently it does NOT like to haul empty.

So I think that officially wraps up the past couple weekends.

Finally, some updated pics!

I finally took the camera out and got some pics of our kids. Actually I should say the weather has been cooperative enough (barely) to get outside to get some shots.


We got a new camera a few months ago, one that hopefully will take much better/clearer pics, especially of our animals since they never stand still for photos, this camera makes it possible to get decent pictures without blurred legs or faces! lol

Not alot happening, Derek is at an interview today. The bummer is the job is in Seattle but it could be a good job to move into. We would quickly have to come up with a new commuter vehicle!! It's been 2 hours since his interview started and I still have not heard from him, so I am guessing it is going well. :) OH YEAH.. while I was uploading pics for this blog, Derek called, of course he got the job! :) Sounds like a great company, one he can hopefully maintain longterm employment with someone that takes care of their employees... !!!

Well here are the pics:


Lazy Days are spent just like this!



or like this!


or even like this... :)

He's almost too cute for words... You can barely see on top of his head the waves which have now turned into a little mohawk, he's getting pretty curly.

Back when we had snow.. Ellie LOVES to play in it

Precious Children

I love our dogs!

just chillin (well mom enforced anyways!) lol

I turned the horses out (not at the same time) to stretch their legs a bit.. Red loves to show off!

Edgar is a little less showy

He's just that good!

Yep, I'm gonna brag on Derek for a minute! He's been keeping his eyes open for a new job for quite a while... I have always been proud of him, in his entire 38 years of life, he has been offered a job from EVERY interview he has ever been on! That is impressive! Last month, he was offered a job over the phone, they didnt even need an interview to want to hire him (although he declined the job). I just think that is worth bragging about.. :)

An Involuntary Moment of Silence

As I walked out of Subway a short while ago on lunch break, I noticed that while I had been inside ordering a sandwhich, motorcycle cops had come up and blocked Tye Street from Fryelands. Unable to now leave the parking lot, I just stood there.. it only took me about 10 seconds to figure out what I was witnessing and it left me motionless and thoughtless to anything else at that moment. My heart immediately felt an overwhelming amount of sadness and I was very suprised to feel so much hurt inside and tears in my eyes.

Probably 40+ motorcycle cops slowly passed by me, headed from the Prison a mile + down the road, towards Everett for the funeral. Those in the parking lot area just stood there and watched in silence. I was feeling under control of my emotions until I saw the hearse and then reality of the situation sunk in. I saw her American Flag covered coffin, the black limos carrying the family, the police cars, aid cars, other family and friends following in their personal vehicles. It all became overwhelming and I cried...

This was the motorcade for officer Jayme Biendl, the prison guard killed by an inmate. I had known about this story, anyone with a TV knows about it (in WA atleast). Derek & I had briefly talked about it, the bullshit of how it could happen. I think we didnt talk a lot about it because it just brings about anger at our system. It seems insane that a prison guard has no way to protect herself and that she is not allowed to carry a GUN! Call me crazy, but I think there is something seriously wrong with our system when an inmate can so easily kill a guard. Maybe if we ran prison's the way a criminal should be treated, this wouldnt happen... anyways, back on track.

My point was that I hadnt spent much time "thinking" about this prison guard, I felt sad for her family and for her, anger that it happened, I heard on the news this AM that her funeral was today, but I didnt dwell on it or have feelings of such sadness until I saw it and was able to put my own reality on the situation in seeing her coffin. I think we can tend to get a bit numb to the bad things that happen to people when we watch the news daily, if it doesnt hit home or does not have a personal tie to your life, you can tend to forget about the human side of it, the reality of life. Atleast that is what happens with me and I was thankful to have seen this motorcade today, to have seen her body pass by me, to remind me again about all the things I am thankful for. To be reminded that the things I hear on the TV news are real and not just another "show" that I watch every night/morning. Reminds me of the loss in my life and to continue to work to have more compassion and understanding of those around me.

Hello Blog.. Remember Me!

Writer's block.. that's my story and I'm stickin to it!

Just havent been motivated to write lately, feeling like my life is a bit dull and who wants to read about dull. Well I just got a bummer text.. :( Shannon (Oakley's trainer) is having some personal issues in her life and unable to continue with Oakley so he's coming home by this weekend. I am not upset with her at all, she did a GREAT job with him, I will do my best to get him sold and on to a great new home.

We manage to find ways to keep busy though. We went out bowling a couple weeks ago and had a great time, we are really looking forward to getting on a league at some point this year. Derek is going to let go of his softball past by selling his bat to buy a new bowling ball, never thought I would see that day.

We had Ellie spayed a couple weeks ago, even though she would have super cute puppies it is just one more thing to not have to worry about. I was busy for a week straight of developing our new horse club web site. That was an interesting adventure. Learned some new things in the techy world when it comes to domain names etc.. well maybe I didnt learn much but figured out enough to get our site up and going. Wendy and I spent about 9 hours on it one Saturday, didnt quit til 2 in the morning! Now dont be thinkin that I'm all smart about websites, we did not create this from scratch, it is an established website that we are utilizing and tweeking with all our club information, pictures and layout etc. I'm really proud to have it up and running, and hope to gain some new members and friends from the website.

Riding... well I did get in one other ride in January at Bridle Trails in Kirkland. The weather today is perfect for riding, but instead I am here typing away. Man, I am just feeling blah about this Oakley situation. I am somewhat excited to see him and have him home, bummed that I dont have the facility to sell him and will have to haul him to do so, thankful that Shannon did her best with the situation and feeling guilty that maybe he was extra burden on her. So lots of emotions rolled into me today.

Cooper, he's just as obnoxious as ever. He goes through phases, some days he's a little angel and most other days you can just see the devilish look in his eyes which is not scary, its actually rather adorable and makes us laugh when he rolls his eyes back and looks at ya. Derek is starting basic obedience now with him, I am the teacher. I saved all my paperwork from my classes so every week I will teach Derek the new lesson. I am hopeful that this will settle Cooper down a bit and get him to grow up some, he is so crazy that you cant even pet him without him licking you all over and being a darn puppy. Which I guess he still is considering he's only 4 months old!

I am VERY thankful that he is pretty much potty trained now, that was a very tough couple of months to deal with. He has been house potty free (KNOCK ON WOOD, cuz I know now that I am bragging about him, he's gonna piss on my floor) but he hasnt had an accident in a few weeks and although he still likes to sit at the back slider door to go out, if we dont open it, he will march his little hiney out the front doggy door!

Unfortunately we have taught him the pleasures of being a lap dog, but are trying to curb that a bit and teach him that he cannot come up on the couch or chair if people are on them. We also have to keep the spare bathroom closed because he LOVES the bathtub! Which is a great sign because the only thing we do in the bathtub is bathe him, we are confident he loves the water! On a couple occassions when we've left that door open, he will go in there, in the almost pitch black, get his nose under the 2 shower curtains and jump in, just hangin out in the tub, probably waiting for the water to magically turn on! He is quite the character. Although I am looking forward to him learning a few manners with the obedience and college he will be headed off to in a couple months, I hope he does not loose his personality with his maturity. In the mornings as I'm headed off to work, he bolts out the doggy door and sits on the bench waiting for me to open the front door, come outside and pet him goodbye!

I know there was a point about 6 months ago when I wondered how on earth I was going to deal with having 3 dogs, now I cant imagine NOT having 3 dogs! When you have 2 dogs, it feels like thats all you can handle. Now with 3, it feels like adding a 4th is piece of cake.. this must be how it happens with other people cuz once we crossed the line with 3 dogs, what's the big deal with adding another dog or two.. lol No we dont have any plans for dog #4 or 5.

Oh and in my quest for beauty, last week I decided to have my eyebrows waxed by my hairdresser... It hurt a bit, didnt feel great I must admit but I was very suprised the next morning to find I was just as red and swollen around my brows as the day before when they had been done! I tried to cover it up with makeup, but that didnt help a whole lot and I went to work for the next 2 days with red puffy eyebrows! The redness didnt really go away until 5 days later, they are a tiny bit scabby, some little bumps still exist and now a week later, I still do not look 100% normal in that area! I dont know if I reacted to the wax or the ripping out of hair, I think it was the ripping that I reacted to, Derek says wax. Who knows, but what I do know is that I will never attempt that beauty trick again, it will be plucking or bushy brows from now on! :)

Happy New Year

Well we made it to midnight this year... barely! We headed off to bed at 11:50, watched the space needle celebration for a few minutes after the stroke of New Years and then promptly went to sleep.. yep thats the exciting Fecht's for ya! :)

I did manage to get in a ride over the weekend though, it took MUCH self-convincing to get out and go. Not that I didnt want to, but its tough to get motivated when its just plain cold! Wendy, Kathy, Molly & I headed out to Mann Rd and had a really nice afternoon ride in about 28 degree weather. I had not ridden since Red was such a jackass at the Winery Ride, and he of course was back to normal and we enjoyed our leasurely jaunt in the woods. I was a bit suprised with the frozen ground that he did not slip and fall, we rode to the river and had to get through some thick broken ice puddles, interesting...

On New Years Eve Derek and I headed down to Cabelas for the day, we had a couple exchanges to make from Christmas gifts and Derek had a gift certificate to spend. It took a couple hours, but we finally managed to spend every penny we needed and walked out with 3 bags of goodies. On the way home we stopped at Beth Western and spent more than anticipated on a new pair of boots for me. No I was not able to find any cute girl boots that fit, I again had to go with mens, but I like them just fine and am happy to be back to slip on's instead of lace ups. They were very comfy from the second I stood up in them.

Not much news with our puppy children. Cooper finally had his 3rd round of shots, so he is ready to get out in the world. He is doing a lot better about his poddy business still, he had one mistake this past weekend. We still watch him like a hawk, he's not 100% ready to be trusted and he doesnt always go to the front door so we are still up/down a lot with him and bootin him outside when we think he might have to go. I'd say though we are finally past the frustration puppy phase. Russell still doesnt love Cooper, he will not play with him yet at all, someday I hope that changes.

I have goat in my throat..

That's what I said after eating a piece of cheese! I knew I should have listened to my better judgement when I was talked into trying a piece of this Feta Goat Cheese. I was at my parents for our day-after Christmas family gathering to exchange gifts with Eric/Andrea and my parents. They had this cheese from the lady that they bought their goats from and it didnt look funky, so my curiosity got to me, I caved and tried it. The initial flavor was not terrible, I was chewing along and it was okay, but I certainly wouldnt call it great, but then... I swallowed! That's when the overwhelming flavor of GOAT hit my throat and I honestly felt like I'd just licked a goats ass because the flavor in my throat was exactly the flavor of a stinky goat and I quickly chugged down some of Derek's soda then popped a cordial cherry in my mouth, meanwhile gasping that I had goat in my throat!!

My parents & Derek of course thought I was insane, they'd never heard such nonsense before and were probably plotting behind my back to have me institutionalized and we all had a great laugh! Well... 45 minutes later Eric & Andrea show up and I'm explaining this nasty experience to them and Andrea says "OMG I can taste the EXACT same thing when I eat goat cheese" HELLO>>> proof that I am not crazy! We all laughed, but I was very relieved to know I was not crazy.

Christmas was great this year. I made a few sewing projects and hope to do more gifts that way in the future. The table runner I made turned out really well, atleast I think it did. In the Schwartzenberger family gift exchange, Derek and I were victorious in getting the one gift above them all that I wanted which was one of gramma's paintings of a snow covered tree, matted & framed. It looks perfect on my wall and I'm really happy to have been successful in getting it because I just love it.

Derek had been bugging me for a week straight about my gift from him. He wanted to give it to me early and I was having none of that! He finally convinced me to open our gifts Christmas Eve.. he brings out this long skinny box and I said "What, did you get me a gun?" I was only teasing, but yep, it was a gun! An over-under actually, very nice and heavy. I have not shot this type of shotgun before and although it was not on my "list", I am happy to have my very own gun. :) The plan for the future was that I would hopefully eventually start grouse/pheasant hunting with Derek.. you dont have to sit miserably in the cold and wet like you do for duck/goose hunting. And we want to start going to the trap range on Friday nights to get Cooper accustomed to gunfire, no sense going unless we plan to shoot, right? :) So now I have my own shotgun for trap and maybe bird hunting in the future. Oh and I got some pink ear protection as well.

I think things might finally be headed in our direction atleast a tiny bit! We got a letter from the bank and we are FINALLY in the loan modification process.. It only took us 1 year exactly to get to this point, but it couldnt have happened at a better time. I had already had to skip my Dec mortgage pmt because we were falling behind and then just yesterday we get the letter stating our trial period payments start Feb 1st and if we make those 3 payments on time, then we should get moved into a permanent new loan. I am SOO relieved, although not 100% out of the woods yet on this loan, but many promising steps closer now. Things needed to move this direction in order for us to stay in our home, it was just getting too hard to make the payments every month.

It has been hard to get motivated to get out and ride the horses this fall/winter. Not sure if it's the weather, the money stress or simply no time. I think a combination of it all.. I am still not overly motivated but I have now made plans to ride on New Years Day with others, so there is no backing out now! It is going to be cold, high in the 30's for the day, but no rain!! I heard that Dec has only had 3 days without rain, it's been a bit depressing. I am actually relieved Christmas is over and it's time to move on. I took the tree down 2 days after Christmas, that is not normal for me but I was feeling so overwhelmed with clutter and stress, it had to go.

2011 will be our year to get organized!! We have talked lots about it and plan to clear out all the crap we dont need or that does not belong to us, get the shop set up, the garage organized, the shed finished.... We want to focus on so many things next year that in order to do so, we have to get things squared away at home first. We have no great plans to celebrate bringing in the new year, other than probably falling asleep before the ball drops! lol Who knows, we have 2 days before that happens, so maybe some last minute plans will come about.

Happy New Year

I'm no longer the ditsy blonde..

now I'm the ditsy auburn chick! lol Yep, you read it.. I went WAY outside my comfort box and died the blonde hair brown, ended up with auburn color.. Derek has stated over the years that he very highly (hates) my overly blonde hair.. I've not been a huge fan either when its soooo blonde, but after a few weeks, its get to the right color. My natural is just not very pretty, a dishwater (confirmed by hairdresser) color.. yuck! Derek asked me long ago, why not try brown.. so I've thought about it off/on, but never had big enough cahoonah's to try it.. well this time around Derek was with me when I bought the dye and he said "go brown!" Well OKAY! :) Should I have left the color in a little longer? Probably.. But oh well. I now have a very deep redish brown color and it's growing on me. I kinda like it darker, but I NEVER EVER imagined I would EVER have a red type color on my head.. that part still shocks me as I'm sure this change will shock many family members on Christmas Eve this year!


Derek thinks I should do some highlights, but that is a bit fancier than I can imagine with the do-it-yourself package and I cant see spending $50 to have a professional do it, I already spend $35 every six weeks keeping it short. So please dont laugh at me when you see me, I'm a bit self conscious about it, but I am starting to get used to it and kinda like it. I have found that I can get away (atleast I think so) with more colors of eye shadow etc with the darker look! So I may be doing more experimenting with my makeup now that I am not just bleached blonde..


Ellie and I finished our basic obedience Monday night and scored 100%! Yippy!! She is awesome. The other 3 dogs had taken their final test the week before and I could have as well, but Ellie was not 100% cooperative that night, so I wanted one more week to practice with her to ensure a perfect score... plus I knew none of the other dogs would be coming the following week and she would have less distractions, therefore allowing her to focus on me and she did exactly that, with zero faults! I was really excited and proud of her and myself. It was funny, the trainer said "okay now you can stop working with her 30 minutes a day, but definately still work her". Shit, I havent worked her 30 minutes a day in... well practically ever! She gets too bored, so in the beginning I did (2) 5-10 minute sessions per day and the last few weeks I've only worked her a couple times a week because she picks it up so quickly and once she got over her "testing me" phase, it was just cake walk to her.

I'm pretty much ready for Christmas, finished up wrapping presents today and finished my sewing projects. I made Derek & I new stockings! I already hung them up, so its no longer a suprise to Derek. His is hunting themed and mine is Christmas themed. They are pretty cute if you ask me! I think Derek really likes them and I cant wait for him to see the rest of the presents I got him, I did a good job this year on finding great gifts. :) I am completely perplexed though at what he has gotten me.. this is what I know:

1) he left the house on Saturday to go shopping at "stores" with $200 in his pocket.
2) many many hours later he called me telling me he needed another $160.
3) he spent $300 on my main gift which was via a private individual.
4) the item is over 30 years old, cost $350 new appx 30 years ago, today used would cost $800 and new would cost up to $2000.
5) he then had to drive to Bellingham on Monday to get something else he needed for this gift
6) he's been in the shop "working" on my gift.
7) he is completely jealous that I am getting one before him.
8) he found 2 rolls of pennies in my gift dating back to 1959.
9) he wanted to spoil my Christmas and give it to me this past weekend, but I refuse to let that happen.
10) I have N.F.I. what the hell this gift is!!!

I dont want to know, I hate ruining suprises, I am just so curious.... Cant wait to find out what it is! :)

Oh, so Derek had an emergency visit on Monday! He is JUST FINE now... He woke up to some sharp pain in his chest, like a muscle cramp under his ribs and at times felt like it was his lungs. It did not go away and at 8:30am he decided he was not sure if it was just a muscle issue and started to have some anxiety and near panic attack, worried he was having a heart attack or blood clot in his lungs. So I met him at Monroe Valley General and he was checked in. Over the next 3 hours with most of that "waiting", they ran a chest x-ray, tested his blood to ensure no clotting and ran a few other tests on him, they all came back just fine. Before they determined it was just a muscular issue, they shot him up with Morphine! never asking if he wanted drugs, just injected him. He was on fire, he was so pissed off about it. I dont blame him, there was absolutely NO reason for the Morphine!!! The pain was not so great that it required heavy drugs and if they had just waited an hour longer for the testing to come back to realize it was muscle spasms/pain, they could have given him a muscle relaxer instead.. But no, they sent us out the door with a Vicatin perscription (that they refused to let us refuse!) and instructions on heating/cooling the area. I'm glad he got checked out and all was okay, with the history of family and friends over the last few years dying, he was really worried something was seriously wrong and he still struggles with deep breathes, sneezing or coughing and its been 3 days now.

As we were checking into the hospital, the old hag taking his information without skipping a beat says to me "Are you his mother??" WTF old Bitch! I wanted to jump across and slap her.. wake up and take your nose off the computer screen to see that I CLEARLY am not old enough to be his mother.. dumb broad. She chapped my ass and had me in a tizzy the rest of the day. Maybe it's the new hairdo color.

Well Happy Winter everyone, welcome to longer days!!!

I know.. it's been a while!

:( sorry for the delay in getting a post out there... It's been a little hectic non-stop these days.

Where to start.. We flew Derek's parents into town for Thankgiving, we had wanted to get away but couldnt leave the animals. They came to town during the coldest Thanksgiving week Western WA has seen in over 40 years I think it was! We had a small Thankgiving gathering with some of Derek's family at our house, it was cozy and HOT! With the heat cranked up to 75+ while Bob & Nouna were in town, we all were sweating as we ate down our dinner. Dawn had to borrow a pair of Derek's shorts, she was so warm. We normally keep the heat at 62, so 75 was a pretty big adjustment for us.. BUT, it was worth it to have them with us for a week.

I got these great pics of Bob with all 3 kids!

Speaking of kids, Cooper is growing... rapidly!!! he has outgrown his small crate and has to curl up to sleep in it now, until we can get a larger one for him to sleep in. He's getting a tiny bit better at slowing down, but I do mean tiny! :) He sits on command, thats about it for now.. He has far too much energy and too short attention span to work on much else. We could force him to start listening but I think it's okay for him to be a puppy for a little while longer because in just over 3 months, he'll be sent off for some real hardcore training. We keep him on leash in the house now, a training technique we learned at my obedience siminar we went to. He still has the occassional poddy mistake (pee only) but he's now up to about 20 minutes between poddy breaks.. He also is now treated like a little man and gets to spend his days with Ellie and Russell in the front yard! He learned the doggy door in about 2 minutes and so far after 2 days of him having access to our entry way and the yard, he has not poddied in the entryway. :)

This method is also helping to mellow him out because now he has Ellie to play with and run around the yard, all-day-long.... So at the end of the day when we get home, he no longer has this built up energy. We are finally getting into a rhythm and schedule with him, makes it a bit easier to handle it all.

The horses still sit untouched for the most part.. drowning rats is all they are with the record rain we've been getting! We have our christmas tree up, although it's not 100% straight, we just cant seem to get it to not be crooked.. oh well, makes it more unique I guess. lol and its a big damn tree, it has quirkly lights with 2 colored light sections and 2 white sections... segregated tree apparently! And a small section of lights went out.. but ya know what, I dont care. I am not going to get worked up becase my lights are not perfect, I think I finally have realized little things like that are not so big a deal... there was a time when I would have been fanatic about having perfect lights on a perfect tree!

Ellie is really doing great too.. we are almost done with obedience, I think just 2 classes left, or maybe just 1.. hmm tonight might be graduation :( She did really well with her pre-test and scored 100%! Yeah!!

I am very excited for christmas, I got Derek some really cool gifts, I love to give presents, and always wish I could do more for my family and friends. I'm fairly certain my December mortgage is going to be late this month, well crap its the 13th and I havent paid it yet, so I guess it's late.. :(

My cousin Jesse just got engaged this past weekend as did his sister Jennifer 2 weeks before that! Very exciting and happy for them all, not to mention their mom, my aunt Dena has been engaged for over a year now.. sounds kinda funny when you type it out.. maybe they should plan a triple wedding.... haha

I know for having gone 3 weeks, it should be a more exciting post but other than taking care of Cooper and having the folks in town, its just been hustle and bustle to prepare for christmas.

We got a new camera so I've got some random pics of the kids..

This is Russell just hangin out in Derek's chair.. no he's not being grumpy, he just lays that way sometimes with a snarl.

Here are a couple of Ellie

Cooper running (his face looks kinda animated in this pic, like a cartoon puppy!)

Oh and then Derek and the kids all hangin out together.. Cooper is probably about 2 seconds from attempting to squirm his way out of being held.. :)

I love when Winter comes early!

Snow and frosty mornings.. I cant complain! Not a lot of snow, but enough to satisfy... for now. I am very much looking forward to the "colder and wetter" part of winter as long as the colder and wetter happen at the same time :)

I got some more pics of Cooper and Ellie and uploaded another video of Cooper with his first Duck! Derek went hunting and brought some birds home on Saturday, Cooper was all over that duck.. follow the link to see the video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=glsJpFTMkpA

He's doing pretty good. Only 1 potty accident in the last 6 days and it was not our fault, the little turkey marched in the house after having spent 30 minutes outside and peed right away! :( He is starting to enjoy his crate time, last night when he was tired he wouldnt even come out.

He and Ellie just LOVE eachother and love to wrestle and explore the yard together. He is helping her to overcome some of her timidness in exploring new things. I put her up on the table the other day so I could trim her butt hair up a little and she was stiff as a board, panicky! Yes I trimmed her hair because it's long and poofy and occassionally her "business" gets caught in it! lol

I know these pics look like fighting, but it's all just playtime!

Russell.. well he still pretends Cooper doesnt exist. As long as Russell gets some occassional ball time and the puppy steers clear of him, he could care less what the other two are doing. I thought he might get jealous of the puppy playing with Ellie, but so far no... Russell and Ellie still play daily as well running wild and crazy all over the living room!

Ellie likes to babysit Cooper when he is in the crate.. she's such a good girl with him, very patient but not afraid to let him know when he bites down just a bit too hard.

I spent the weekend being a home-body, babysitting Cooper while Derek went hunting both days, cleaning house top to bottom in preperation for the in-laws coming, and finally learning how to use my slightly over-complicated sewing machine! I LOVE my new machine, dont get me wrong.. but it took me a bit just to figure out how to sew a straight stitch.. lol It's all computerized so it took some practice. I was able to get a project done, Derek's xmas present and it looks great. Now I just need to come up with more projects so I can sew sew sew..

More Cooper

Here is Cooper with his bird wing.. he was REFUSING to give it up! Once he had it in his mouth, he was not going to let go and as soon as he did, he was immediately scouting all over trying to find it again.. He is VERY birdy and I should start taking pictures of Derek when he looks at his pup because he just glows with excitement! Not to sound too corny or anything.

I took a video last night of Cooper in the kitchen with his wing and just how determined he is to hold onto it and then I edited in a bunch of short videos we took the first day we had Cooper home when we introduced him to the other 2 dogs and how quickly Ellie took to him.. She is pretty funny! She likes to take care of him and is always checking on him when he is in his crate.

I tried uploading the video to the blog, but after trying for HOURS, I finally just put it up on youtube.. here is the link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fjWEoythvfw

We decided that we are not staying outside with Cooper long enough for him to finish his potty business. Even though he pees once, we have learned that doesnt mean he finished emptying his bladder, so we now stay outside until we've seen him pee 2-3 times and then we are able to bring him in and allow him to roam around the living room with the other kids.. Last night I watched him pee 6 times in less than 10 minutes!

After he was playing with the wing, the only toy he was really interested in was this soft un-stuffed weassel thing and he didnt want to let go of it, was treating it as if it were his wing.. not really chewing, just proudly carrying it around and laying with it and not letting Ellie have it back! :) We are so excited for him to grow up just a bit more and turn into a teenager when he can have free roam of the house and we are not so paranoid about what he is getting into.

We are so thankful for this opportunity to own such a great dog and to have been lucky enough in finding Jim and getting pick of the litter.. Clearly it was all meant to work out just like it has.

Cooper aka Tasmanian Devil

Cooper at the breeders house.. just after he had a bath.

Cooper and his momma Remi

Cute little shit! I wish it wasnt blurry, otherwise it would be a perfect pic

This little guy is Derek's pride & joy!

We picked up Cooper on Saturday and he reminds me of the Tasmanian Devil for a couple reasons.. 1) He spins around when he is excited, he'll be walking/bouncing along and then just do these circles out of excitement and when he is ready to poo, he does what the breeder calls the "Boykin Spin".. he runs around looking for the perfect place and when he's almost ready to do his poo business, he does about 5 or 6 360-spins! It is really funny..2) He is a little devil child! This dog does not know the meaning of "relax" unless he is in his crate. Outside his crate, he just is non-stop from one toy to another, then to your toes, your shoes, jeans, hands, face, furniture, cords.. His attention span on any one item is about 20 seconds max and then he's off and running to the next thing that grabs his attention. He spends a lot of time in his crate because this pup also is a constant pee'er.

We take him outside, he pees.. then we bring him in and he plays around for a few minutes and NO exaggeration, 5 minutes later he will spin around and run off out of reach and squat! GRRR.. that is frustrating, Cooper has already had more accidents in 1 day than Ellie had in 1 month! I dont think he is emptying his bladder when he goes outside, obviously! I am really hoping within a week he will start to act normal with his peeing, he really should be able to go 45 minutes at this point, heck he'll lay/sleep in his crate for well over an hour. I think it's just the change, the stress and excitement of his new life.

Ellie took to him immediately! It was amazing.. No screaming or fear whatsoever. I am sooo proud of our little girl, she is intrigued by him, wants to play and he tries, but he's still a bit wobbly. But I know within a couple weeks, all hell will break loose and we'll have dogs flying around the house! :) Ellie is a bit sensitive though and we have to be careful because when we say "NO" to Cooper, she hunkers down and comes over as if to say "I'm sorry, what did I do?" She's being very cute and we keep confirming to her and petting her tons telling her what a Good Girl she is!! Where is Russell you ask?? Well he's hanging out on a chair or attempting to play ball with us, basically just ignoring the fact that we now have a new pup in the house! He really could care less, shows no interest... Which is fine, in time he will bond and play with Cooper, but for now we are happy to just love him and let him know he's still a Good Boy too.

I planned a 2nd doggy play date at our house on Sunday, probably should have avoided less chaos with the new pup, but Ellie still needs the work. We kept Cooper in the crate while all the dogs ran around. Basically just Sarge, Skye and Jake came to visit and Ellie only screamed a couple times, she took to the dogs much quicker and really was interested but not quite ready to play with them. We are slowly creating a social dog.. did I mention SLOWLY! :)

Saturday night was terrible.. OMG! We went to bed around 11, Cooper is in his own crate at Derek's head level and Cooper woke up 6 times between 11pm and 8am.. Derek took him out 5 times and I did it once, the good thing is he did pee every time and then after only a few seconds of whining would go right back to sleep. We pulled his water at 6pm on Sunday, poor guy kept licking the porch steps after we took his water away from him, but it paid off because we were in bed at 10 Sunday night and he didnt wake up til 2:20!! and then he woke up again when Derek got up at about 5:45. What a relief... I dont know how long Derek would have handled 5 wake-ups per night if that had continued.. Since this is Dereks dog and he wants to create a very strong bond, Derek does 85% of the work. After just 1.5 days I can already see the bond developing. When Derek takes him out to potty and Cooper does his business, he immediately runs to Derek for praise. When I take him out, after he does his business I change my voice, tell him Good Boy in a sweat tone and he just ignores me, heads off to explore..

I feel bad that he spends so much time in a crate right now, but I keep telling myself its only short term until he learns to not potty every 5 minutes! It really makes me see how easy it was with Ellie, I am just amazed at the difference between them. She would potty outside, come in and play for a short while, lay down and sleep and wouldnt have to go back outside to potty for another 30-45 minutes.. Not Cooper.. I have YET to see him actually stop! He has not worn himself out and just laid down to sleep, he is cookoo crazy when he gets in the house. I suppose if we let him run around pissing all over for an hour, he might actually lay down and crash... for now we will be playing out on the deck a lot, us bundled up in warm clothes. That way he and Ellie can be pups, he cant destroy anything, he'll have his toys out there and if he potties on the deck.. who cares! :) During the day he is out in the garage in a big kennel where he will stay until he is really bonded to Derek and he is ready to hang with Russell & Ellie in the front yard.

I am convinced that 90% of the reason Derek wants him in the garage kennel is for bonding reasons and so Cooper does not escape or get into trouble in the yard while we are away, he is an explorer... but I think 10% of it is that he is afraid some eagle or hawk will come down and take his precious pride and joy! :) I laugh internally because I can see the contradiction between Ellie and Cooper.. Oh I see.. its okay for Ellie to explore and get into something and get taken by birds, but Cooper.. oh no! :) LOLOL

I know.. its all about dogs! But we do have other exciting news... We had wanted to "get away" for Thanksgiving this year and thought about flying to AZ to spend it with Bob/Nouna.. but we just could not figure out how to make that work with 2 horses, 1 spoiled rotten dog and 2 pups. So after some thinking and contemplating, we decided to fly them here instead! Yeah, we dont get to get-away but it is just not feasible at this time.. the sacrifices we make for our children! :) So we are super excited to have them with us for an entire week and some of Derek's family will actually be coming to our house for Thanksgiving this year.. We will be crowded but cozy in our home.. I think I need to borrow a table or two! lol We have never hosted an event/dinner with Derek's family.. ever. So this is exciting to be able to plan this, I just hope I can find time to get the house spotless, while trying to train Ellie (who is doing great by the way with our obedience training) and also dealing with Cooper.

Cooper

4 more days until we go pick up Cooper!! We are getting pretty excited. Jim sent me that picture of Cooper with his daddy Earl. He should look a lot like his daddy and has a lot of bird scent instinct. Elroy, the owner of Earl really likes our pup and says he should be a great fit for us.

Ellie and I continue to do pretty good with her obedience.. she really doesnt listen much to Derek though, I keep telling him he has to do leash work with her for her to respect him, I think she looks at him as low-man on the totem pole! :)

This past weekend was our annual Cousins Carrie Celebration, although this year it didnt have much Carrie vibe to it. Not sure why.. We went to a comedy show, it was pretty fun but I just was not feeling it so much this year. Yesterday was her 29th Birthday, I've been thinking tons of Carrie lately, thinking how unreal it sometimes all seems.

Who's killin the dog??

That's what my neighbors were probably wondering last night! Some of us thought it would be fun to get our dogs together for playdates and the first one was at our house.

Wendy and her dog Patch were the first to arrive and Ellie was TERRIFIED at first! She ran and ran and screamed bloody murder.. It was completely safe for her, she got chased a bit, more of a friendly chase really.. Patch just wanted to play with her and was probably curious as to the big noise coming from the little dog! It took her a while to warm up, she did not become 100% comfortable but it was a good start. It is a really frustrating situation, I want a dog that just loves other dogs, so I really hope this helps in the long run and she gets over being afraid and timid. It's definately going to take some weekly work on our end.

Wendy took a couple pics, of course the dogs hardly stood still for clear shots, it was a lot of effort to get this pic of them all! :)

Angela & Roxie, Barbara & Sky, Piper & Ellie & Russell, Mom & Sarge, Wendy & Patch