Monday, May 30, 2005


Joe taking a nap Posted by Hello

Snoopy taking a nap Posted by Hello

Joe & Snoopy go for a swim, May 2005 Posted by Hello

Sunset at Buckskin Canyon, May 2005 Posted by Hello

Kyle with Joe & Snoopy at the cabin, May 2005 Posted by Hello

Kyle's Science Fair Project, 2005 Posted by Hello

End of May already?

Can't believe it's Memorial Day already. Where does the time go? Kyle has 4 more days of 5th grade, then 8 glorious weeks of no alarm clocks (except on golf tourney days,) no carpool, no water bottles, no snacks, NO HOMEWORK!!! That's the best part for me (mom.) I thought I already went through school, but alas, here I am doing homework again.

Kyle did his science fair project on paper airplanes this year. His title was "Airmazing Airplanes." His question was "Does the shape of an airplane's wing affect its flight?" Pretty cool project. Dad went to his presentation and said he did a very good job of explaining his hypothesis and results. Mom got lots of compliments on her backboard.

The puppies are growing like weeds. They had their 3 month vet visit last week and weighed nearly 20 pounds each. That's why it's getting harder to pick them up! They still sleep a lot, but are very active when they're awake. We had to move them up to the "puppy condo" size crate. One night Joe decided he was not going to sleep in that small crate. Ended up keeping Mom up most of the night. Dad went out the next day to buy new crates. They are very happy with the new puppy condos. They're so big, even Kyle can fit in!

Ron made it through yet another training session yesterday. He's now good to go for 6 more months. By the end of those 6 months, he might be a US Air captain, instead of America West. As of now, you all know as much as we do - if you've been reading the paper. We're hoping for only good out of this potential merger, but we're waiting before passing judgment. AWA has been profitable & doing very well for the last year. US Air is in their 2nd bankruptcy in 5 years. Not the merger we would have hoped for, but we're waiting to see how it all works out.

Kyle starts his summer golf season next week at Viewpoint Golf Resort, for the second year. He will start his tournament career the following Monday. I'll be posting his tournament schedule for the summer, and updating it with his finishing positions & scores weekly.

More pictures & stuff to follow. Keep posted!!!

Tuesday, May 17, 2005

Oops!!! Time flies by!

Can't believe it's been more than a month since I last posted. My how time flies!

Kyle decided to not play hockey this summer. Citing 5 straight years of year-round hockey, he opted to take a break this summer and enjoy other things. He'll be playing golf quite frequently - clinics & local junior tournaments. He's got a brand-new dirt bike to enjoy (he moved up from a 65 to an 85, but that's about as technical as I can get. Oh yeah, it's a Suzuki.) He had to get new bindings for his wakeboard as his large feet don't fit in the old ones. Oh yeah, and he's got piles of puppy poop to pick up regularly! There's lots to do around here without hockey!

The puppies are getting so big. Every time I pick them up to cuddle now, I remind them that someday I won't be able to do it anymore. Joe has developed "big dog" fur. Kind of wiry, but still has a little down underneath. Snoopy is still fluffy boy. They can run & jump really well now. Snoopy is definitely the guard dog. He barks at everything. And when Snoopy barks, Joe runs & hides. They are funny little boys.

Housebreaking... well... they're not bad. Mostly they remember to go outside and do their business in the rocks, but sometimes they simply forget and go where they happen to be standing. Thank goodness we tiled the family room. And thank goodness we gated off the rest of the house! Nature's Miracle will be in business a bit longer due to our boys!

We spent last weekend up at the cabin. Ron went up a few days early to build the boys a fenced yard so they couldn't run away, or something couldn't run away with them. They enjoyed the yard. Snoopy was no longer white - and I'm sure Joe was carrying plenty of dirt on him as well. They found a nice cool spot under the back stairs to dig. They dug a hole about a foot deep. They watched the horses and made a friend out of a hound that wandered by.

Summer is well on its way here. We're supposed to be in the low 100s by the weekend. Poor pups aren't going to enjoy that much. They've gotten quite used to lounging on the patio, playing hockey on the sport court. Fortunately, they're learning to swim - so they'll have that when it's 110.

Kyle finishes 5th grade in just a few short weeks. He has a busy summer planned with his golf clinic every Wednesday, the PGA Junior Tour every Monday, summer movies on Thursday... It should be a busy, fun summer. We hope to spend lots of time enjoying the cool weather in Heber, and cooling off at the lake on the boat.

Puppy pictures to follow.

Monday, May 16, 2005

Weekend away with the dynamic duo!

Thought I'd share a story with you about our trip to the cabin with the beastie boys.

We live in Gilbert (southeast of Phoenix) and our cabin is in the White Mountain/Mogollon Rim country, about 2-1/2 hours away. The drive up to Heber was interesting. Joe howled for about 10 minutes, settled, then began again when the road got winding. Snoopy pretty much laid down after a few minutes. He didn't sleep, but he rested. Both drooled horribly. Kyle (my son) asked me, "what is that watery stuff coming out of their mouths?" I said, great, they're getting carsick.

Well, it took them more than an hour in the car to actually throw up. First Snoopy, so we stopped at a rest stop and walked them and cleaned up. Snoopy peed, Joe wouldn't. Every time a car would drive by Joe would freak out. He's a TOTAL wuss about moving vehicles (which is funny because Toosox always thought if she stood in front of them she could stare them down!) We met a lady that had a sugar glider (some sort of Australian marsupial) in a pouch around her neck. The sugar glider was none too thrilled with the Border Collies!

We left the rest stop, drove another 15 minutes or so, went through the drive through at McDonalds in Payson, and Joe threw up. This time, I merely put the car in park, went around the back, cleaned up Joe's crate, and went along our way. Thank goodness for Hefty Handi-Saks & extra blankets. We had about another hour from Payson to Heber. Aside from Joe's howling, the trip went fine.

They LOVED the cabin. Ron spent 2 days building a fenced yard for them, and gating off part of our deck for them to have shade in the afternoons. They ran and played until they were filthy. They dug a hole under the stairs about a foot deep and 3 feet wide. Some neighborhood dog came to visit (some kind of hound) and they loved it (I kept them on opposite sides of the fence, though.) Our cabin sits at approximately 6600ft elevation - so it's a nice respite from the 100 degree temps down here. It was actually around freezing at night, and 80s during the day. They had a ton of energy, when they were awake!

Weird thing - I put the two bags with the throw-up blankets on the front steps when we got there, fully intending to clean them up before bringing them home to wash today. The next morning they were completely missing. Bags, blankets and all. We don't know if a coyote or what dragged them off.

Packed up this morning to head home. Didn't feed them. Took away their bowl of dry food & water about 2 hours before we left - so they wouldn't have full bellies for the drive home. Again Joe howled, but only for a few minutes this time. Then they both settled in. When the road got winding again, he more whimpered than howled. Somewhat of an improvement. Kyle said Joe was drooling, but Snoopy slept. Just before we got out of Payson, Joe threw up. Mud. Seriously. It looked like someone spilled a cup of mud all over his crate. Yuck. Got that cleaned up while Kyle walked them (Snoopy peed again, but not Joe.) Made it the rest of the way home without any mishaps, other than Joe whimpering most of the way. At one point Snoopy woke up and howled for a few minutes. It was pretty cute.

They were thrilled to be home!!! That was until I threw them in the tub. Took two soapings and scrubbings to get all the dirt out of them (Snoopy still has something stuck to his head - maybe sap?) They slept for a couple hours this afternoon, but now they're out on the lawn playing.

All in all it was a good trip. Sorry to be so long-winded, but I wanted to share the entire story with you. Our first puppy road trip. Next time, I need to see if the vet has some form of puppy Dramamine. Even though Snoopy didn't throw up on the way home, his towel was soaked with drool.

Oh yeah, they're 12 weeks old today!!!