The Dog

The dog is always in trouble, most days I am ready to get rid of him.  It may be because he chewed up someone's shoes or toys or he ran away and didn't come back when I called him.  And then when I go to chase him down he just runs further or barks and won't let me get him.  Then once I do get him, I will grab his collar, he will try to bite me then flop down on the ground making it nearly impossible for me to pick up this 80+ pound mut to take him home, as he continues to bike and scratch me as I attempt to drag him home. 
The girls love him, and sometimes I like him a little too.  He is quite a funny dog when he isn't running away or chewing up things.  He wants to be with the kids. 

When the kids are playing outside he goes crazy, wants to play with them.  He will be alittle too playful when the little ones ride their bikes as he chases them and knocks them over sometimes.

He seems to be doing pretty good with potty training and for the most part minding his manners in the house as far as food goes.  He still begs which I HATE!  He is funny because he will leave a hot dog on the table all night long, and yet if something is on the kitchen counter, which is higher, he seems to think that is better food or its okay to get.  I spent one night making this egg fritata breakfast for Robert and I to eat for the rest of the week, part of a fitness challenge we were doing, and the dog ate the other 5 servings of it.  This is what I found when I came back down stairs.

He left it on the counter and everything, but just ate what he could until I came down stairs. It was a big 9x13 dish with like 18 eggs in it.  Another day Lindsey had made a batch of no-bake cookies.  The cookies were cooling on foil on the counter, he ate EVERYONE of those cookies and part of the foil.  I was so mad at him.  I told him I hoped he got sick.  I basically cursed myself.  I was at a workout class the next morning and got a text that said the dog made a mess, if I didn't have carpet cleaner I might want to pick some up.  I got home with a bottle of carpet spot cleaner.  To spare you the pictures, lets just say it looked like I had a herd of cows in the house that went to the bathroom everywhere.  I guess Amber woke up and saw it and thought it was mud.  I spent the whole day cleaning the carpet.  I spot cleaned it then I shampooed the whole carpet.  He also threw up on my couch that morning too.  He was very close to getting booted out the door!

Whose idea was it to get this dog?

Ok, so maybe I had something to do with getting the dog.  This is what I saw in my mind when I got the dog, and it trapped me. Recently I saw some little puppies and the girls and I went over and looked at them, I felt myself weaken and I was almost pulled into the little girl and dog trap again.  I asked Rob if we could get one.  Seriously, isn't this the cutest thing ever?  Girls and dogs?  It's a trap I was once pulled into...  My mind turns into mush and I can't think straight.  I think how cute and how fun puppies are.  That just looks like happiness right there!

  The next morning was the morning of the carpet cleaning, I was so happy that I didn't get another one.  I'm afraid that one day I will be pulled into the trap again.  I hope I can be strong and think with my head and not how cute the girls are with this little cuddly puppy that will turn into a monster eating toys and shoes, have vet bills, expensive dog food, have to be boarded when we go out of town, and makes everything so hairy!  I hope I remember all that again when I see those cute little things.  Wish me luck!

June stuff

 I was so happy to see that I already did a post about May birthdays.  You can read about them here.  I feel a little less behind I guess.  I had thought I had saved one to post but then didn't find it.  I guess I posted it after all.  So now on to other things....  

This is some of the events from June:

I had signed up for the 5K Dirty Dash, basically just a mud run with obstacles too.  I signed up for 2.  As the day was approaching, I realized that we had soccer games that day with the girls, and there was no way Robert and I both could do it.  I asked the girls and Lauren was all up for it.  She hadn't been running or anything, so I knew we would be awhile to do it.  She had a blast, she likes doing the races and would like to do more.  We were one muddy mess!  I scratched up my leg pretty good in the last mud pit, got a nice scar now from it.  We asked someone to take our pictures before and after, but somehow, they were taken right, and we didn't end up getting ones.  I also left my purse behind so I didn't have money to pay for the warm showers, so we took freezing cold showers and then changed our clothes.  The picture of our dirty clothes, after our shower is all I have to show for it. 

I can pick out those use to be white socks Lauren wore that day.  They are pretty stained up now. 

Of course June isn't just for the Dirty Dash, it is also for the big Ragnar Race!  It is the race that consumes my hubby the whole year.  Prior to the race, we took a drive after church up on the race path to find some good spots for exchanges during his race.  We had a BBQ lunch at some resevoir or something.  The kids explored while Robert made lunch/dinner, or linner as Emily would call it.  We brough the dog too. 

 It was almost like the beach, all sandy and fun to dig in. 

 There were tons of drift wood type sticks and logs the girls played on. 

 Everyone seemed to have their own sticks.

 Samantha got tired of walking.  She got a ride for awhile.

 The girls found some evidence of some animals....

 But some of the animals seemed to have left parts behind.

I think it was the weekend of the Ragnar Race that I took the kids to the Farm Country.  I love the sign they have out by the entrance.  Pretty funny!

The girls found lots of things to do.  We made ice cream in a bag, played some farm games, got coloring books, stickers, and rode on a wagon ride in addition to petting the animals and riding the horses/ponies.

Samantha was loving the little calf and foal that were eating her skirt and licking her hands.  She could have stayed right there the whole time and not gone any where else.

The girls stood in line for what seemed to be FOREVER to ride the horses and the few ponies they had out there too.  About the time we were getting close, they switched out all the horses for different once including 2 small ponies.  The girls all had their horses picked out and then they put their horses away.

For the most part the girls were delighted to be riding the horses. 

Lots of big smiles and the little girls wanted to do it again.  I think Emily was wishing this was a real ride on a horse not stuck in the little arena.  She would have prefered a trail ride somewhere instead.

For the most part they were pleased and had a good time. 

Both Samantha and Amber gave their horses kisses as they got off and told them Thank you. 

This is a group shot of the group we went with.  We had lots of fun.  We need to go back to farm county again soon!

We left Farm Country, got some dinner and then we went to the Dog Days they had.  They had tons of vendors set up for dog related things and little botiques selling items for dogs like special dog treats along with normal food vendors too.  They had a cool diving dogs demostration where they dogs would dive into a huge pool to get their toy.  But for the most part, the girls enjoyed the giant slides. 

The girls wanted to go back to Dog Days the next day too. 

Our lovely dog...

Don't let this cute little guy fool you...  this is what we saw and thought how cute he was... 

He seems to find trouble no matter where he goes.  We don't have toilet paper in the down stairs bathroom on the dispenser, it is up on a shelf, or it will look like this.  This one is the best of the ones I have found.

Apparently he has seen the cat go in and out of the door, but he doesn't really fit.  When come home or leave and we see his head pop out the door.  It is only a matter of time before he gets stuck in there or can't do it anymore.

My iPhone was plugged in and charging, and he ate right through the cord, can you believe that? 

He seems to like whatever the kids have such as puzzles.  This poor puzzle the kids LOVED it and we have had it for so long!

Would you believe that he likes to play Memory games too?  Guess it will be easy to match the lady bug now.

He loves the water, especially when it is in the dirt.  This is what our bathroom looked like several different times!  The picure doesn't even do justice, the floor was a MESS!

Yeah look at those dirty paws, real cute isn't he?!

He also has gotten a hold of a few flipping frogs from our frog game.  I don't think there is any fixing that frog.

Swimming googles?  Really? 

He ate the tape dispenser.  I complain about my kids taking my tape, at least they don't destroy it.

And my chairs for my dining table too...

That's not even nice!

This is our chair that sits at the computer desk, he spends a lot of time under the chair.  You can see how he spends his time.

He has popped just about every ball in the house including 2 soccer balls.

There is ALWAYS just stuff all over our floor from him eating something, the newspaper, wrappers, toys, socks, dryer sheets.  He is just a huge mess maker!

He is trying to look less quilty, but he broke Amber's cute little sunglasses.  Amber was not happy.

This is only a small portion of things he has chewed up...  this isn't including the large number of socks, shirts and skirts he has tore holes in, his nice expensive doggy bed he mutilated, numerous shoes he has chewed up (including some of our neighbors shoes).  I am not sure I am happy about this dog at all!  Some nights I think, this dog goes tomorrow!  And then I soften a little bit....

When I see the look on the girls face....

And hear their laughter as they play with him.

Then I think maybe we will keep him one more day.

These are some pictures from when we first got him and then now...

And the girls seem to love this dog...

And I think the dog loves these girls too!