That's It Folks...For Now

The last post was about a year ago! Where does all the time fly? (With the baseball sky high in the air?) We've gotten an unanimous vote from all you viewers saying "UPDATE!" So in an effort to do the right thing, we'll summarize the past year here--yes sort of like a Christmas letter rehashing the year's happenings--only Christmas isn't in June. That's all right, isn't it?

Cousins!

Lisa Mould says we look alike. Do you agree?

I kept calling my cousin SARA, the name of her older sister! How embarrassing is that?! Peitra has grown into the younger image of Sara that I last remember before moving to Florida, so I kept getting it wrong. She says she gets it all the time, but still, I was miffed with myself. :/

Praise to the Goddess of Sunshine!

Spring is here! You know how we know? All sort of critters are visiting our backyard and Huck promptly lets me know every time he spots something. He's found rabbits, squirrels, birds, deer, and raccoons right here three feet away from us. He'll come shove his nose into my armpit so it's impossible to ignore him and then he leads me to the sliding glass window.

Who can spy the little rabbit in the photo? Anyone? Anybody?

This is the view we got while eating German pancakes for breakfast! It made our whole day!

Tommy Girl Models

Add a black shadow border around the edges, sharpen the middle, and add an overlaid image of a glossy perfume bottle in the top right corner and you've got an All-American image that boosts the sales of Tommy Girl's fragrance!

The models are Reagan and Bizzie Mould. They took care of Huckleberry while we were gone to my brother's wedding reception and our medical professionals conference this past weekend. They walked him often and even took him to a soccer game. Huck looks like he had a great time with them, doesn't he?

Hello, Cindy!

Cindy McAllister, my best friend from preschool. We went to parties together when we were two years old and are still going to parties together to this day. It's so great to have one or two people like that in our lives that have seen everything that happens to us.

Puppy in Peeps

Happy Easter!

Huck's Tail

Why our home decor is altered just a bit...by Brad Anderson
http://www.comics.com/comics/marmaduke/archive/marmaduke-20080313.html

A Marmaduke Moment

When a good friend of ours, Lisa Mould, and her two daughters, Reagan and Bizzie stopped by for a visit the other day, we of course had to take Huckleberry out for a short stroll. Pictured at right is Bizzie (six years old) just learning the ropes of leading Huck along. Needless to say, both Huck and Bizzie are about the same height when compared head-to-head. Poor Huck wasn't sure what to do as Bizzie, being the six-year-old she is, had a difficult time looming over Huck to show him she was boss. Huck would occasionally look up at Bizzie with his ears perked up and an expression on his face that seemed to say, "Are you taking me for a walk, or would it be better if I took you?" By the end, though, Bizzie and Huck became accustomed to each other and mastered the art of doing a proper heel.

A Little Relaxation

 
Last night Jaime surprised me with this gift--salt scrub, bubble bath with hot water ready, chap stick, candles, and lotion. It smelled heavenly in that bathroom for days afterwards!

New Friends

Huck and I were grocery shopping when a woman named Kat came up to us and told us she had playmates just the right size for Huck! Of course, I jumped at the chance to meet them. Sure enough, her dogs were just as big as Huck is! This is Fiona, an Irish Wolfhound (Great Danes descended from Wolfhounds and Mastiffs.) Consequently, both Danes and Wolfhounds are "leaners." They literally stand right next to someone and lean on him or her. If you suddenly move, they fall over. Oh, that's Duke in the left background. I apologize for that. Please excuse him.

The black female joined the play session. Her name is Bella. Also in the picture are Huck, Duke, Nikki, and Henry (Henry is the white dog hidden behind all the big kids).

You forgot one, Mom!

I spilled some chicken jerkey strips over the edge here and thought I cleaned it all up. Apparently not, because Huck is telling me here I missed a piece.

Ok, I missed two pieces.

More Patient Babysitter

Hugs are sweet, especially when kids and dogs are involved!

Patient Babysitter

After Jaime, Huck, and I went to the Fruit and Spice park, we drove on over to Jaime's classmate's house. We offered to watch their kids for a couple of hours while Katrina and her husband got out of the house to watch a play. The kids had been wanting to meet Huck for a while, so this was a good chance for them to do so.
one plastic whale...




two plastic whales...
three plastic whales.

Happy Mother's Day!

Tug of War

While I was roommates with Stephanie and Brittany for the four months I was away from Jaime finishing school, Stephanie and I would often take all three dogs for a walk in the mornings. It was a good time to visit with each other and slow down our crazy day for an hour or two. A walking buddy made me more accountable for getting out for the walk every day. Huck, Nikki, and Harley LOVED playing outside with each other. Notice it's two against one here? (Huck's size makes up for the solitary number on his team.)

Advice for Life

Advice for Life: "See the people you love."
Grandma Helen to Jaime and me: "You two have many, many, many years together (75, no, no, make it 100). I will remember this day for a long, long time! Have a good, good, good, happy, happy, happy, long life! Be happy! Be happy! Be happy!" (Grandma Helen, 10/09/05)
Jaime: "How did you get such a good sense of humor?"
Grandma Helen: "I don't have one yet--it's coming!"

Jaime: "What was Papa Jack's favorite thing to do?"
Grandma Helen: "Crack nuts!"
Grandma Helen: "I'm losing my memory. My memory has gone to Heaven. I will catch up with it soon." (Grandma Helen, 01/13/06)

Fundraiser

We were at a fundraiser for "At your Service Dogzz." Someone mentioned that Huck was looking sharp in his new bow tie and that he looked ready to be on a date. The rest of the trainers suddenly got an idea. We were already having an auction and they elected to add a "Date with Huckleberry" to the auction. They had us walk Huck among the crowd while Lynn took bids. The winner went to a lady who was from Therapy Dogs International. She bought the date for one of her volunteers who just lost a Great Dane last year.

This is everyone gathering for the fundraiser.

About a month later, Jaime, Huck, and I met this woman and her two kids at Spotted Dog Ice Cream Factory in Salt Lake. The owner knew about this date with Huck and donated a tour of his factory to the six of us. We all ate ice cream samples at the end, of course. By the way, their ice cream rivals Ben and Jerry! We all talked about the Great Danes in our lives.

Kindergarten Drawing of Huck

"Huck Sits"

Jaime, Huck, and I went to Mary's kindergarten class to demonstrate how Huck is a service dog and how sometimes people need dogs to do a job for them. After we left, Mary had her kids draw what they liked about it or what they learned.


This drawing is impressive because the child attempted to illustrate a movement on paper, which was the hand signal we use for "sit." That is the hand starting in front of you with the elbow at 90 degrees, palm up. Quickly raise your hand up, pivoting at the elbow so your hand is now close to your shoulder. (It looks like it would be something for "come on," but it's for the sit command.) You can see in the picture three positions of the arm, with the light color yellow leading and finishing with the dark color green. In the left hand is a bag of treats. This kid is very observant!

Link Click here for more kindergarten drawings in web album