9/28/11: Happy Birthday Kalie! (A little late!)

Kalie's birthday was actually on Sunday but we've been so busy I forgot to snap a picture that day.  Plus we were at the Tribe game and Kalie deserves her own separate post. Little Miss turned 5 this year. This also mean we've been in our house for 5 years now. It's hard to believe that Kalie was a little puppy who was once terrified of the cats. Now that she has a pal in Ace they spend their time racing through the house/yard, playing with the kids, and generally causing mass chaos.  Although the destruction they sometimes leave in their path irritates me, I can't imagine life without her!

Happy Birthday Kalie!!

7/3/11: Bow Wow Beach

Stow has a nice little park called Bow Wow Beach.  It's basically a park/lake strictly for dogs. It had been a while since we'd taken the dogs there and it was really hot so we packed everyone (but the cats) in the car and headed there for the afternoon. Of course the dogs went crazy for the first 5 minutes we were there, chasing the other dogs, and being rather annoying.  After they got acclimated they had an awesome time.

Ace is a full lab and we know Kalie is at least part lab but we aren't sure what else.  You would assume those lab swimming skills would kick in for her though, right?  Well you would be wrong.  It is so funny everytime we take her.  She literally swims doggy-style but straight up in the air with her tail above water.  She desperately paddles with her front paws (and that is it) to try to stay above the water. You can see her doing just that in the very first picture.

The people that were near us with their dogs were nice enough to let us borrow their doggy life vest.  It sounds ridiculous, but to be honest it helped her figure it out while not having to panic to get back to where she could touch the ground.  She kept it on for a while and when we took it off she was actually swimming like a normal lab, minus not using her tail like she should.

Morgan had a great time chatting with all the other dog owners and telling them her life story while throwing the tennis ball to the dogs. Rylee spent her afternoon digging around in my purse and laughing at the doggies. All in all a nice little Sunday that ended with 2 tired kids and 2 exhausted dogs.

5/17/11: Ace and Kalie..

..are crazy, crazy dogs.  The End.

3/15/11: A full house

This is what our bed looks like all.the.time. Except usually Paul and I are both in it too.  4 of the 5 animals sleep in our room at night. Kalie sleeps at my feet.  Ace sleeps on the floor on his own big pillow.  Stu is usually in the room somewhere, sometimes at my head, sometimes at Paul's feet.  Roman starts off who knows where, and always, ALWAYS ends up in between Paul and I, under the covers, with his head on the pillow. It's really annoying and cute all at the same time. As much as it may be uncomfortable or annoying there is something comforting about having your animals near you when you sleep.  It just feels different if they aren't there.  So while I get tired of the meowing and the barking, I really do love these guys!

2/5/11: Who let the dogs out?

Okay, okay, lame attempt at humor.  Funny side note, my parents went on a cruise circa 2001ish for their 25th anniversary.  The song "Who let the dogs out" had not become mainstream yet.  My dad came home and told my friend Jimmy and I that we just had to listen to this CD of music that was played on the cruise.  Yup, you guessed it, Who let the dogs out was on that CD and my dad thought it was the bees knees.  He was totally rocking to it in the living room that day.  All Jimmy and I could do was laugh.   A few months or a year later when it became mainstream, that day became even funnier.

Back to the point, these are our two home destroyers errr dogs. I really love dogs and animals in general.  We got Kalie (the chocolate lab) shortly after we got married when we bought our house. We previously rented my parents condo and they forbid us to have a dog.  What.ever.  I'm was not happy about that.  I was even more ticked to find out later that the next renters were permitted to have a dog. It was my DAD that caved nonetheless. This is neither here nor there, but I think I made my point, no?  (I'm looking at you parents!)

We jumped on the chance to get Kalie.  She was so cute but I always felt she needed a friended.  She was scared shitless of the 3 cats and needed an ally.  Unfortunately our timing never seemed right to get one. When Morgan was about a year old, Paul was off work for a few months and staying at home with Morgan. We decided if we were going to do it, now was the time.  That's when Ace came into our lives. When we first got him, he was so little and cute, you know how puppies are.  In about 3 month (maybe less) he was HUGE. I wanted a big dog but I wanted a dog that realized he was a big dog.  Ace did not.  He still thought he was a puppy. He still does.

I'm sure I'll have plenty of stories to tell about the dogs in the year to come so I won't go on.  Both of them love to sleep on the bed during the day.  Ace especially loves my side.  Kalie also loves my side of the bed but that's at night when we're sleeping.  Paul hates it that she's on the bed.  I hate when she isn't.  It's just become part of our routine.  Although I will admit there were times during both pregnancies I could have gone for that whole bed by myself!