Visiting!

Mom and I went to visit grandma and grandpa the other day! It was very hot - 96 - but we went outside any way. Here I am reluctantly posing by the extremely tall field corn.


The view of the house from the back of the property.

Cicada exoskeletons were every where - there were six lined up on this hackberry tree but we couldn't get them all in this shot.

Back in the house cooling off and making myself comfy on the couch!

For the first time ever in my life, mom forgot to bring my dinner. So grandma made me rice and a scrambled egg and I sure hope mom forgets to bring my kibble more often! Yum!

Happy after my gourmet meal!

See the ladder in the background? Not normally there - grandpa was caulking a leaky window.

Gotta zoom!

Ricky

Miley's visit!

We had a great time with Miley and her mom! It was unbelievable to look out in the driveway and see them here at our house! We've been blogging buddies with them since April 2008 but we never knew we would meet them in person! It was just so cool!

I can't say that Miley and I were instant best friends but I think there was a certain attraction there from the moment she stepped into my backyard - LOL! I don't have the greatest social skills - I'm not mean or anything - but I don't run and play with other dogs and I am kind of shy. I did have lots of fun barking at Miley while her mom was playing with her (that's my way of showing affection!). And Miley's mom gave me lots of treats so I didn't mind posing for photos or following her around!

Miley was definitely fascinated with my fish pond - it was no big surprise when she tried to step on that lily pad! Silly girl!

Luckily, the tree branch was moved and the electric wires hooked back up, the rain went away and the sun came out! Here are Miley and I just hanging out together while our moms talked and talked and talked! Mom thought talking was much easier and much more fun than typing comments!

Dad (who cooked dinner and cleaned it all up too so mom was free to visit all evening!) came out to take some photos. Miley was leaning over to tell me a secret and to give me a kiss (at least that's how I interpreted it!)

So then I wanted to return the favor!

It was a wonderful visit and I was really sad when Miley had to go! I hope to see her again! Thank you so much Diana and Miley for coming here! We hope you have a terrific time at Linda Mecklenburg's camp this weekend and show everybody how awesome you guys are!

Gotta zoom!

Ricky

Miley!!!

I met Miley and she is awesome (I think I may be in love)! And her mom is fantastic - she gave me lots of treats and all I had to do was sit!

More tomorrow!

Gotta zoom!

Ricky

My visit with Wilson

I had a good time visiting my cousin Wilson on Wednesday and Thursday of this week! Mom and I left early and drove two hours to Wilson's house. We wanted to get there early to make the most of the day - the weather was beautiful - sunny and 70. After all the cold and rain, we were all really happy to be outside!

First of all aunt Laura took us to a new park with some very good trails that go through the woods and around ponds. Silly mom forgot her camera! After that we went home and had lunch outside on the patio. Here I am pretending to chill on the patio:

Then we headed off to another park. This one I had been to several times but we always have fun there. The only problem is the trail around the lake starts off next to a busy road. Even though I saw that Wilson didn't care about the cars, I still had a hard time not barking at them and lunging at them. Mom doesn't have fun at this park until we get well away from the road.

Here are my aunt and Wilson getting ready to go:

Mom made me and Wilson pose (I think aunt Laura said something to us about treats and Wilson totally fell for it!):

Another forced pose:

Wilson has a big tongue:

The weather was so nice that Wilson got a bath (I would laugh but mom made me get a bath on Tuesday so I really knew how he felt):

My cousin Jeff turns 11 today and we celebrated with him on Wednesday. He had an all Wii birthday!

My cousin Meredith (she's 8) just got her braces off:

Wilson and I like each other but we're guys and don't want to show it:

We went for a walk at the park with the lake on Thursday morning too. Then after lunch mom and I drove back home. I was exhausted. I like to go there to visit but I never really relax when I am around Wilson. Oh, I almost forgot, - Wilson hurt his foot - he ripped his dew claw - and so he and I couldn't play our game of fetch where he runs to get the ball and I run after him and bark like a maniac. That's our favorite thing to do together. Maybe next time.

Thanks aunt Laura and Wilson for such a good visit!

Gotta zoom,

Ricky

Visiting and some walking

We just came in from our morning walk - sun is out but it's 19 with a wind chill of 10! Hello March! Spring is right around the corner - can't you tell?

Thursday and Friday mom and I went to visit my cousin Wilson (and my aunt, uncle, and two human cousins and my other dog cousin Sandy)! The weather was supposed to be warm but cloudy. (Warm meaning in the 50s). As soon as we got there - it's about a 2-hour drive - we loaded up my aunt's car with the two big Goldens and me and headed off for the park. They have a nice park not far from their house - an almost two-mile walking path around a lake. The only bad part is that one section of the path goes close to a major highway - so you guessed it - I do lots of barking there. It was not warm at all - very windy - I loved it but mom and my aunt were complaining. After the walk we hung out at the house - the yard was too soppy for ball playing but I got to follow Wilson around every where he went in the house. On Friday it was even colder and windier and wetter, but mom and my aunt still took me for another walk at the park. Poor Wilson and Sandy had to stay at home - they are a lot more trouble than me since they are so big! After lunch mom and I left to drive back home - I am always happy to go visiting, but it exhausts me - I sleep soundly all the way home and then usually go to bed very early in the evening!

We found out during the week that we could go to a trial to get officially measured even if we are not entered in the trial - did you all know that? Now that I am two, I have to get measured twice to get my permanent height card. So mom and I got up early yesterday and drove to the same place where my trial was held two weeks ago - there was another trial this weekend. We were hoping to get measured by our instructor again - but she is sick with a very bad case of the flu and couldn't be there! So we decided to wait and go to get measured during a trial in March - we can't enter it because mom has to work. The next trial we plan to enter is on April 4th and 5th. Hopefully I will have my height card by then and it will say I am 14" or under!!!!!!

Then yesterday afternoon mom, dad and I went for a cold walk up at the lake where we frequently go - the temperature was in the upper 20s and mom was hoping that the ground would be frozen. Well, no such luck for her! We started out walking on a closed road that leads to the sailboat club but some stupid people had been there and broken a lot of glass on the road! Why? So we got off the road and took a grassy path. The path was cool but the ground was not frozen and there were puddles and mudholes every where! Soon I was pretty wet. The path leads down to the beach and the lake - at this time of year the beach is really big because the reservoir lake is low - so I had tons of room to run and run on the beach. Then I was covered in sand too. Mom almost had a heart attack when she saw how dirty I was getting but dad just laughed and laughed! I had a BLAST!!!!! I didn't care how dirty I got or how cold it was. The wind was terrible - mom's eyes were watering, her nose wouldn't stop running and her cheeks were fire-engine red! It would be great to have some photos or video of all this - wouldn't it? But who can take their hands out of gloves to do the picture-taking? When we finally got back to the car, mom got a towel to try to dry me off and found that my belly, legs and chest were covered in sandy, muddy icicles!! What a mess. There was nothing to do but put me in the car and go home!

Hope you all are having a fun and enjoyable weekend!

Gotta zoom!

Ricky

We're home!

We're home! Seems like we were gone a long time. We had a very good visit with my cousins and my aunt and uncle. First thing after we got there and made it through the usual pandemonium of all of us seeing each other again (I only see Wilson - he's my hero!), mom noticed that Sandy's eye looked funny. My aunt said she thought it was probably an allergy and she wasn't too worried about it. But mom was worried so my aunt called her vet and got an appointment right away and took Sandy in. Mom stayed with my cousins - that was fine by me because Wilson and I got to go outside and play fetch! (and you all know how I play fetch!) Here we are right before or after playing - I can't remember. Long story short about Sandy - we picked her up later in the day and the vet couldn't figure out for sure what was causing her third eyelid to show - her ear was all plugged up and they cleaned it out and gave my aunt some ear medicine. Hopefully that will help her eye too. At least an x-ray showed there was nothing serious!

After dinner we went to an ice cream place appropriately called "The Cone." Since I am such a little guy and so easily portable, I get to go places while my poor cousin Wilson has to stay at home. So there are advantages to being a small dog! Mom loves to go to The Cone because they have twist cones made of orange sherbet and vanilla soft-serve that she says taste exactly like something called a dreamsicle that she used to eat when she was a kid.

As you can see, there are also disadvantages to being a small dog:
Here is a photo of the three cousins - Wilson, me and Sandy - perfect angels all sitting quietly next to my aunt's fish pond - models of patience and obedience! (You can kind of see that Sandy's left eye doesn't look quite right.)
The next day I was lucky enough to get to go to the park - we walked on a trail around a big lake while one of my non-dog cousins rode her bike and my other non-dog cousin walked with us. At the end of the trail we stopped and fed the ducks.
So it was fun visiting my cousins and my aunt and uncle! I am a lucky dog to have such a great family. Hopefully it won't be long before we go to visit them again.

Gotta zoom!

Ricky

Going on a little trip!

Mom and I are leaving tomorrow to go and visit my cousin Wilson for a couple days! We haven't been there in quite awhile and we're really looking forward to it! We plan to take our camera and fill you in on all of the fun when we get back.

We signed up for a beginning intermediate agility class that starts on Sept. 4! Finally we will get back into regular classes....mom wanted to take private lessons like once a month, but she thought I might do better with weekly exposure to all of the obstacle equipment. So we'll see how it goes!

Have a good Wednesday and Thursday!

Gotta zoom!

Ricky