Can you guess the guilty party?

Hmmmmm . . . .

Anyone want a cute puppy?

Willow!

Willow is a pretty hyper dog with issues. She drives us absolutely crazy sometimes but we also love her to pieces. I think I spent almost a year threatening to take her to the animal shelter because she was so wild but, it never did happen.

Kurt had picked up some dog treats at a warehouse store and we had used them as a door stop while carrying in the groceries. The dog biscuits were just forgotten by the door . . . Willow couldn't leave them alone. The look of angst in her eyes that she could smell these wonderful treats but not get to them!

I would just walk past the laundry room and see her in there just staring at them. It was rather comical! (I just love this first picture)!

She also has a penchant for hanging out with the boys while they shoot arrows. It is really weird, she just stands right next to Hayden and watches. If he kneels for a shot she always puts her legs over his legs and I am not sure if she thinks she is helping!

I don't think I have ever heard of a little dog companion with the story of Robin Hood?!

For The Love Of Books -

Books, Books, Books!
My kids love books and I am happy about that! Reading was something that I really wanted to be important to the kids. I even use books as rewards for the kids. We have A LOT of them!
I have always read to the kids when I had the chance and always have books available to them but several years back we decided together that it would be fun to start reading chapter books before bed. A great way to downshift and mellow out before hitting the sheets! It has gone very well. I started making a list the other day of all the books we have read together. So far, of the ones we can remember, we are about at 80 + books (not including picture books).

Most of our favorites seem to fall in the realm of Knights and Dragons, Good versus Evil where good ALWAYS wins! There are several books that we have read that were borrowed from the library but the kids have wanted copies for themselves because they want to read them again and again. Recently we had a little extra money and Amazon was having a good deal and I bought a set of books that the kids have been wanting really bad!

We have already read Eragon and Eldest but have been waiting patiently for Brisingr. These are really interesting books! The kids loved them. The young man that wrote these books is pretty amazing. He was home schooled and graduated at the age of 15. I think his first book, Eragon was published by the time he was 19!!!
Hayden wants to be an Author someday (and possibly a history teacher - he loves the Revolutionary War era) and he really likes Christopher Paolini's style of writing.


You should have heard the squeals of excitement when the kids came home from school and found the books on the table in the dining room! We started reading the book Brisingr last night. This book has around 750 pages and about 60 (?) chapters!
Even Willow likes me to read. When she sees me grab my glasses (yes, I am old and need reading glasses) and head up the stairs she grabs her chew toy and starts running around me.
Then when I pull out the bean bags and set them on the floor against the wall she is so frantically excited! As soon as I sit down with the book she rushes to lay down by me and starts chewing away!

She has done this since she was little. It is really quite funny! Reading is a family affair!

Hopefully Mr. Paolini will hurry with his final book in this series so when we are finished with this one we can go right on to the last book and not have to wait a YEAR like the last time!

Willow's Nails . . .

I don't know how we end up with dogs that have "issues" but it just seems to keep happening!

We used to have Casper (passed away several years ago from Congested Heart Failure after being with us for 13 years) who didn't like being alone and loud noises, that actually dug through linoleum and chewed halfway through a door one night because he didn't like the noise of a water softener recycling.

Anyway . . . We now have Willow. Willow is a beautiful dog that we have had since she was 8-weeks old and she will be two in May. We aren't sure what Willow is (when bought we were told she was a Beagle/Jack Russell mix) but seems to be more Dalmatian/Greyhound/Nut Case/Wild Thing. But, to top off her wildness she has a "chicken-liver" side. She severely dislikes riding in a vehicle, noises from airplanes, helicopters, trips to the vet and most definitely getting her nails cut!
The last time we had them cut we took her in to the vet to have them done. We were told it could cost anywhere from $11 -$25, depending on the dog. Needless to say I knew we would have to pay the full $25 plus she threw such a fuss they didn't get all the nails done all the way and she had to have a bath when she got home because she "messed" all over herself.

This time we decided that we would keep her home, try to sedate her and have a peaceful time of it! Who was I kidding! This is Willow, Remember!

We started off with a 1/2 tablet . . . no go. Tried adding another 1/2 tablet a while later, still no go. Then gave her another 1/2 . . . For a dog that was stumbling around like a drunken sailor it was amazing the fight she put up as soon as the clippers came out! We ended up having to put her harness on because she would actually crawl up Kurt and kept hurting him. Kurt had to hold her and even Hailey had to get in on it and hold her too so that I could clip her nails! It was quite the struggle! But after hours of trying and many doses of sedative we got it done!


Poor thing looked sooooo sad!

We are not looking forward to having to do them again in a couple of months!

Oh, did I mention the time last year that she wanted to make friends and play with bees? She loved bees. But when she was done playing with them she decided to swallow them!!!!! She had to be run to the vets to get emergency shots that time too (thankfully Pat could run her there for me, I couldn't get her there, I think Ty was home sick and Kurt was working!)

Makes your heart hurt just looking at the pictures! Believe it or not after she got back from the vet she played with the bees a little more but mellowed out on it for the rest of the summer! Wow!

Ode to the Sun . . .

Ode to the Sun

Alas O sun, where be your shine?
with golden rays that pierce the mind

with thoughts of meadows, pure and gold

we are to see you or so we're told!

But what comes to my searching eyes

is gray and yuck - Behold these skies!

Dim and dismal, most sadly kept

Oh why O sun, Why have you slept?

Okay - I'm sorry. I couldn't help it! We were supposed to see the sun today. We were told by the trusty weatherman that this little storm front that is coming through, that dropped a fine dusting of snow overnight, was supposed to break up the inversion and clear up our skies. Well, these pictures were taken this morning and, hello! I don't see any sun anywhere!!!!
So, there is a cause for the melancholy attitude. Without sun I feel as though I am withering away. I end up feeling as grumpy as the sky looks!
On a positive note . . . at least with the snow it is a little more tolerable!
Feast your eyes on our hazy skies!

The only one here who I believe is not affected by this inversion!

I am glad I got that out of my system. I do feel a tiny bit better.

The "Eyes" Have It!

For some reason I just love these pictures! This is what happens when kids are left alone with a camera. Do you think the dog is having a good time?

Hayden felt I needed to put something with the dog on here so people would know we have a dog. Her name is Willow and she is what people might call "a handful". I like to think of her as a nightmare with legs!