More Cody

More pics of Cody.

Afternoon snooze on Dad.

I don't think Dad is complaining one bit!

Cody and his brothers.

(Including his human one)

Cody's dad, Joey.

When I have more time I will have to tell about our first day with Cody.

It included a trip to the vet.

Very interesting!

We went to see a puppy!

During my searching I have not been able to find any puppies close to us and I really didn't want to drive to So Cal. Well yesterday we hit the jackpot. I called a lady that does agility dog training that Kurt did work for a few years ago. She had 2 friends with black lab puppies - NICE! So I called both of them. One lived 5 minutes from our house and the other 1.5 hours away. The one that lives close had only 1 left, a boy, and he was ready to go home and the one further away had 2 girls that were only 4 weeks old so they wouldn't be ready for 4 more weeks. So last night we went to "see" a puppy.

Ya, right, whatever "see"

Meet the newest member of our family:

Cody

9 weeks old

He did really good last night - meaning - NO ACCIDENTS! He got up every 2.5 - 3 hours and I took him out and he did his thing and back to bed. I think we got a smarty!

Just for the record:

I am not the only one crazy over this little guy,

Kurt was the one who:

- wouldn't leave the breeders without a puppy (she wanted us to "think" about it)

- cuddled the puppy into his neck and held him for quite awhile at the breeders house

- cuddled him all the way home - I had to drive

- suggested at the 1:30 am potty break that we should put a towel in our bed and put him between us (which we didn't do)

So I'm not the only softy!

But I can see who is going to need to be the disciplinarian!

I'm caving!

Oh, man!

I think it is to the point that I want a puppy more than the kids.

What am I thinking? Logically I totally understand the work involved so why am I so excited to get one? I don't get it.

On Tuesday I drank a Mountain Dew - which I hardly ever do but I was exhausted. I drank it at 9 am (I know - gross so early but I needed to survive the rest of the day and so desperate times call for desperate measures).

Anyway, long story short, I was WIRED until 12 pm! That is like 15 hours later! I could NOT sleep. Caffeine and me just don't mix - obviously. So what did I do with all that time?

Searched for puppies!

Ya, big mistake. Since then I have hunted, searched, called, you name it.

I have become "obsessed" with finding a puppy.

Oh man, I need help!

Quick someone loan me a puppy or newborn baby! I need a reality check!

Are We Losing It?

Our 13 year old black lab past away last September and ever since then the kids have mentioned how much they miss Max and that they want another dog.

Even though both Kurt and I love, love, love dogs, we have really enjoyed:
* the lack of dog hair on EVERYTHING

* the absence of "messes" in the backyard

* that our yard isn't constantly being dug up

* that we can travel without having to find a dog sitter

* the police NOT showing up at our door after a report of a barking dog (just for the record, it wasn't Max!)

So why in the world would we be thinking of getting a puppy . . . or 2???!!!!

Are we losing it?

Maybe, but we also really miss:

* the "happy dance" that was performed whenever we came home

* the companionship

(Kurt with Max the day we brought him home from the emergency vet)

* the feeling of having a "watch dog" (although Max hid from any intruder - Kurt locked himself out one time and had to go in the backyard to "break-in" and couldn't find Max - he was hiding in the bushes because an "intruder" was in the yard - ha ha ha - ya, our watch dog! He sure could sound tough behind the front door though!)

* the "vaccum" that followed the kids around and cleaned up after them the instant food hit the floor (our kitchen floor is always a mess now!)

* the added joy that the additional family member brought to our family

* the added craziness that a dog brings to a family (are we sure about this one?)

* but mostly we miss this:

So the question is: WHAT ARE WE THINKING?

Right now life is simpler, easier, less crazy. Isn't simple better?

Why would we purposely add "craziness" to our life right now? Like running a business is this bleh economy isn't enough of a challenge! Like raising 3 wholesome kids in this messed up society isn't enough! Do we really need more?

Apparently we do. We have promised the kids that as soon as they earn enough points by doing chores, we will get them a puppy (or 2).

Let's hope it takes them awhile. So far, they are doing a pretty good job.

Darn responsible kids!

So keep your eyes and ears open - apparently we are in the market for a black lab puppy (or 2)!

Whew - this is a LONG one!

Well, I really had to restrain myself from the amount of pictures that I put on here - there are so many cute ones to choose from. If you ask me: "what have you guys done this summer?" I am very likely to answer: "I don't really know but we have had a great time." I started looking back at our pictures and realized that I have been a total slacker at posting our happenings. So here is a recap of our summer activities:

Just plain cute:

Spontaneous brownie sundae party with the neighbors:

Picking blackberries for breakfast crepes:

Dinner with friends:

(I don't know whose weird kids started the fork thing!)

Train museum in Sacramento:

It was 100+ degrees and we took an open train ride - can you say HOT?

Ah, ice cream fixes everything!

Camping in Arnold, CA near Calaveras Big Trees State Park.

All I can say about the park: amazing, beautiful, incredible, unbelievable!

Ready for our hike

Check, check

Trip to So Cal to see cousins.

9 out of 10 cousins in 1 picture, not bad!

The beach with cousins

Camping in Tahoe

Evan got a new bike for the trip

Jumping off the curb already on his new bike

Funny boy!

Ah, so sweet!

They were faking!

I will try to do better at updating more often so I can include more photos for each activity.

Hope you had a great summer!

School starts in 6 days! Ya who! Mom is counting down!

Where have you been?

I don't know where you have been but I have been here running crazy. Is life ever going to slow down? At this point, I just don't think so - ha ha!

If I can get ahold of Kurt's computer (it has all the pics on it) for more than 2 seconds, I will post pics of the fun times we have been having.

But that would mean that the laptop, me and time would all have to show up at the same time in the same place - ya, like that will happen - but we can hope!

Hope you are all doing great!

Happy Summer! Only 2 weeks until our school starts (they better be a quick 2 weeks)!