NO MORE!

My daughter wants a new puppy.  Would someone please tell her that she has enough animals already?  2 puppies in one year's time is plenty.  

Besides, when they go from this:


To this:


In only a few month's time, and are showing no signs of slowing down their growth rate, I think they should count as more than one puppy. Don't you?


Victoria certainly does.

Congratulations Victoria!

3rd Place in her Doggy Obedience Class....

"And I didn't even have to bite the teacher!"

Good Job, Victoria! We love you!

Why Don't They Stay Little?

Yeah! I found the camera battery charger (under a basket that I keep receipts in), and the phone (in the couch), and a flashlight (while looking for the phone), and the remote (in a different couch...along with a remote that doesn't even belong to us). Now, it's back to tormenting the dogs...



You know, when we got Victoria, she was so small, so cute, so shy. I love her one blue eye, one brown eye. And the vet was so sure she wouldn't be any larger than 20 pounds...or so.....

And baby Sadie...isn't she sweet?

She puts up with so much......

Victoria and Sadie are BEST FRIENDS. BFF's forever.

Don't all BFF's act this way? Neck-to-neck, tooth-to-tooth?















So..I can't believe this tiny puppy grew up to be this big dog...

Notice the table in the background. Yes, she is really that tall. Same puppy that Sophie used to tuck down into her sweater to keep her all warm and cozy. Now she can stand up and put her paws on Sophie's shoulders. I guess she didn't get the 20 pound memo.

And this sweet baby? Sophie can't pick her up anymore. Notice the stool in the background. She is about the same size as Victoria. Trouble is, she's only 3 months old and is still maintaining her same growth rate of a pound a day.

Good thing she's a slug.

All is well at the zoo.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Always Room in the Heart and Home

Aww...Muncie knows we still love her.

And even though Victoria was only supposed to be around 20 pounds full grown and now weighs 38 pounds, still growing, we love her too.

There is ALWAYS room for one more, don't you think?


Sadie has gained almost 5 pounds in the two weeks we've had her. I wonder if that's normal?

We've learned alot about Sadie.

She's SOOOO high maintenance to travel with....


She never holds still for pictures. And no one EVER wants to hold her, except Sophie of course.

"I'm soo sweet and innocent! I'm the PERFECT puppy!"

Doesn't she just melt your heart?

Who could deny that there is always room for one more, be it beast or man?

Uh-Oh

All I can say is it's a good thing she has a microchip.....

Flying Dogs

You know you're burning both ends when you get to a friend of a friend of a friend's fireworks show and find out (after you've been there an hour) that you have on two different shoes......

So, in honor of de-stressing and due to brain fade everywhere after the wild long fourth of July holiday, I'm posting totally silly pictures of Victoria flying through the air.

And...she's off...

She flies through the air with the greatest of ease....

that daring young dog....

OK. Muncie is getting bored with it all.

Such silliness....

But I feel much more relaxed now, don't you?

What Happens When....

What Happens When....

You put together a 6 year old boy, his big brother and a bicycle...

Congratulations, Seth!

Welcome to the world of bikes!

What Happens When.......

You put a 12 year old boy and a 6 month old puppy together.......

They bond.

What Happens When.....

A ten year old spends nine years walking on her tip-toes.....

I'm so sorry, honey!

But they look nice!

Kinda.......Sorta.........

Happy 4th of July to you and yours everyone. Celebrate the freedoms we have to ride bikes, cuddle with dogs, and to be able to get the health care we need for our children, ourselves, and our parents.

Good Neighbors

Ummm.....Hello......

Excuse me.......

Can Victoria come over and play?

Uh...I'm sorry to have to tell you, Sebastian. But Victoria went to the vet yesterday. I don't think you'll be nearly as interested in her today as you were yesterday.

She's doing great, Sebastian. Thanks for asking. You really are a sweet dog. If Victoria had wanted to get married, I'm sure she would have chose you as her mate, you're an awesome dog, Sebastian.

Sebastian, what's your mommy up to?

She's over there with Grandpa.

Is she listening to a CD? Prince Charming and I were listening to that beautiful music from our deck and wondered what CD it was...

OH! Not a CD! Dad on the guitar, daughter on the violin. Maybe they should make a CD?

I was forced to take their picture because Prince Charming didn't believe me that it wasn't a CD.

Talk about great neighbors...

Since they moved in a few short months ago, they have rescued Victoria from a necklace of duct tape, came to the rescue when Grandma needed some help (we won't go into THAT story), and watched my kids when an emergency came up.

You just don't find neighbors like that too often anymore.

Aren't they cute? Not many teenagers would stroll through the neighborhood arm-in-arm with their mom.

I hope Sophie is watching......

God is good. Thanks for sending these neighbors. They are indeed a blessing.

A Fun Family Memory Making Day

Last weekend we were invited to my step-daughter's husband's sister's house. (Did you follow that?) It was a combined party for all sorts of reasons: birthdays, Father's Day,

Dog-Appreciation Day....

What? You don't have dog-appreciation day in your family? Well, really now. You can't have an outdoor party and not include the dogs, can you?

The invasion begins.......

Our friends have their own lake, and this is the web-footed Victoria's first real exposure to "real water." I think at this point she was a little freaked by it. Prince Charming was going to throw her off the dock, but gave in to the protests from the peanut gallery and refrained.

Let's do this slow and easy...... We'll experiment with an occasional paw in the water....

Nice and easy, and before we knew it, Victoria was in love with the water...

She's not the only one....

I believe this may have been one of Seth's first fishing experiences. He was fascinated with the 4 foot long carp that came right to the edge of the shore (they're used to being hand fed). Seth was bound and determined to catch one, although I'm not sure what he have done if he had actually succeeded. Probably freaked a little.





This is why Seth will never be a true fisherman....the worms. He LOVES worms. Loves to play with them, hold them, cuddle them. (I bet you didn't know you could cuddle a worm, did you?) The thought of putting them on a hook (does it hurt them, Daddy?) and then using them as bait (will the fish really eat them, Daddy?) sort of bothers the little guy. Oh....he has so much to find out about life. Take your time, buddy. Take your time...

Daniel wants to go for a boat ride . Come on mom, I'll drive!

Don't they look alike? They certainly act alike. They were all about the dogs. What? Water? Swimming? Fishing? Kayaking? Food?

No Thanks.

We'll just play with the dogs, thank you very much.

Wonder where Sophie gets it from?

Hey, wait a minute! Who is that way out there in the kayak? Isn't that kid a little young to be way out there by all by their lonesome? I've heard there are snakes in this lake...and beaver....and foxes around....and other ferocious beasts...



Wait a minute...there are two of them!

Hey, that's MY kid! Who let him loose? And his niece? She's younger than him! They aren't called the gruesome twosome because they are innocent-well behaved-would-never-get-into-trouble angels....

Well, at least they made a memory and docked safely.

What a fun, fun, time..... thanks for the memories daughter's husband's sister!

Bye, bye until next time....