To the vet......again

It shouldn't really surprise anyone that we spent another evening at the vet. When I got home Chief was sitting at the bottom of the stairs and he hadn't moved for over an hour. We were finally able to coax him into the living room but he wouldn't put his back leg down and he wouldn't stand for long. So what else is a parent to do.....off we went to the pet ER. Jonathan grabbed his Nuvi and it showed us the quickest route to the vet (at least we got to put it to good use). Once there, I couldn't believe the compliments Chief got. "What a handsome dog!" "Wow, he's really good looking!" And on and on. I guess I'm not used to that because usually I get "What's that hanging out of his mouth?" and "Is that his tongue?" and "Can he eat okay?"
But the vet was really nice and him and Jonathan talked helicopters for awhile. After the vet examined Chief, he decided that he had some sort of hip problem (maybe from all the running over the weekend). He gave him an injection of an anti inflammatory and sent us home with 2 bottles of pills. He seems to be doing a little better, but if he doesn't improve in 2 weeks he'll need hip x-rays and he'll have to be sedated for that. Poor Chief...he has really been through a lot lately. Right now he is sitting up and leaning against the couch to sleep because it is too uncomfortable to lay down. Hopefully the medications will start to work soon so he can get some more pain relief.

Our Crazy Christmas Weekend

On Saturday, we woke up early and packed up all our stuff and the dogs and headed to my parent's cabin in Donnelly. I slept most of the way, as usual. We also went to McCall to look at the progress of Joel's house. It is going to be really nice when it is all finished.




My mom and I had tons of fun sledding. Since we had 5 dogs we decided to put them to good use pulling us on the sleds. It was so much fun and they could get going pretty fast, even my dad and Jonathan tried it. Jonathan even got to try out my brother's new snowmobile!!

After all the excitement we had the best dinner. Mom made prime rib and shrimp. And then we opened presents. My best gift was a cookbook that my mom scrap booked and then put in my favorite recipes. Jonathan got a Denver Broncos sweatshirt like the players wear. We played some Yahtzee and I didn't do very good.

Sunday we woke up early and drove over to Hailey to see Jonathan's family. It was a long drive over and again I slept through most of it. When we got there we unpacked the boys and went snowshoeing around the ranch. I had never done it and it was a lot of fun...and also a lot of work. The boys loved running around and Tucker loved eating the snow.

Monday was my first ever cross country skiing experience!!! I never realized how much work it was...my arms were hurting. Brylee had it the easiest being pulled in a sled behind Cam. The boys also had a lot of fun running around and they made it quite an obstacle when they would run at you and beside you.

Tuesday morning we finally got to sleep in. We had homemade cinnamon rolls for breakfast (they were delicious, Joan) and then opened presents. I got an Ipod from Jonathan and he even had it engraved on the back. Jonathan was pretty excited when he opened his Nuvi (a portable navigation system). And there were many other gifts. It was fun to watch Brylee open her gifts, but she of course was more interested in the wrappings.



After a wonderful smoked turkey dinner with all of the fixings we finally headed home. I even stayed awake the whole way (but only because I played with Jonathan's Nuvi the whole way home).

Early Christmas Presents

The boys all got new beds this year!!!! Jonathan found a really great deal at Costco so my friend Kelly took me and we got 3 huge beds. I really had to squish them in the back of my car to fit and then they took up a lot of room in the garage. Jonathan was rearranging all of our stuff in the garage and put the beds inside for a minute. But those dogs are quick and they found the beds and tried them out!! So since the surprise was ruined we went ahead and let them keep them. Here are Barney and Tucker on their brand new beds!!!!

Busy Weekend

We had a jammed packed weekend. Saturday morning I loaded up Barney and Tucker and met my mom, dad, and there two dogs at Zamzows. The dogs were going to see Santa Paws!!!! My dad and I have taken the dogs for the last 10 years. We were first in line, as always. It was a little chaotic, but not bad for 4 dogs. Barney and Tucker somehow got tangled up in the Christmas lights, but other than that they did good.


Here is Barney, Tucker, me, Toby (dad's yellow dog), and Sami (mom's mini schnauzer mix).

After that mom, dad, Jonathan, Cam, and Rob all came to help move stuff out of the old house. Mom and dad took the couches, so we don't have to store those in the garage. Cam, Rob, and Jonathan got the desk, futon, bed, and weight machine all packed and then helped unpack it at the new house. I will not miss the split level floor plan of the old house. No matter where you are, you either have to go up or downstairs to get out. Sunday Jonathan and I went to get the patio furniture and some other random stuff. Thanks for all your moving help mom, dad, Rob, and Cam!!!!





Then, we went over to Jonathan's parents house for his mom's birthday. Joan made some delicious homemade soup. Brylee was there and she has gotten so much bigger since we last saw her. She can pull herself up and walk along things and she is a littte talker.

Here is Cam, Joan and Brylee opening presents

Emily and Brylee

Jonathan reliving his bleach blonde long hairs days!!!! Thank goodness it was only a phase.

After that, it was on to my work Christmas party. Jonathan and I got cleaned up and then headed out to Epi's. We were the last to arrive, no suprise. But I think Jonathan learned his lesson because he got his ear talked off by the doctors mother-in-law. She had a great night telling him all sorts of stories and he scored major points because she couldn't stop telling me how great a guy Jonathan was!!! The food was great, too.

Here is Jonathan and his new buddy, Eleanor.

Jonathan, me and the two greatest girls to work with, Jane and Kelly

So, then (since we were already in Meridian) we decided to stop by and see Zac and Emily. We wanted to just stop and see their Christmas lights, but ended up staying for almost and hour. There lights looked so cute and very colorful. And they suprised us with this elf greeting.. (sorry Barney)
http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1444392961

Our home away from home....the vet

It started as a simple task...Jonathan asked me to stop by the vet to get a refill of Chief's medication. But after talking to the vet, he decided that he needed to see Chief again to check his ears. (His last visit showed a yeast infection and two different bacteria infections in each ear...not to mention an overgrowth of yeast on his belly and between his toes). So I ran home and got Jonathan and Chief and we went back to the vet (luckily it is just down the road). He looked at his ears and decided that the medications weren't working fast enough and that the special shampoo was drying out his skin. So now, we get to give Chief shots of the antibiotic under his skin (he is really going to love that). He was getting pretty testy with the vet, but they scoped his ears with a camera and we got to see all the way down his ears. They were disgusting!!!! And we felt pretty bad for not doing better about cleaning them. So a quick stopped turned into a whole night of events.

However, it wasn't a total loss because I did get another Christmas pick. Chief looks like he is ready to get out of there.

Annual Christmas Tree Picture

I of course had to do the traditional kids by the tree picture. Chief was getting a bath so he got out of it (little does he know that I'm going to try again tonight).

For some reason, the second I put their hats on they look miserable, ecspecially Barney (and he has been with me the longest so he should be used to it). Anyways, hopefully tonight I will be able to get one with all three of them.

Decorating for Christmas

I was so excited to decorate the banister for Christmas. It took me three tries because I just didn't have quite enough garland, but it worked out in the end. And Jonathan did the outside lights. The house looks so Christmasy!!

Barney and Tucker didn't wanted to be left out of the Christmas photos....

New house

We have now been in our house for 3 months and it is finally starting to feel like a home. We had camp chairs for furniture and have recently upgraded to a makeshift loveseat. We ordered a sectional and only the 2 end pieces came so we put them together to make a semi-loveseat. And our dining room table should be here any day, but we will miss the folding table complete with stickers.

The only room completely furnished is our bedroom and that is only because we bought the furniture on sale last April with the hopes of someday being able to use it.

Jonathan and Chief planting trees so we can get some shade next summer. He planted 8 trees!!!

Dog Olympics

Apparently daily walks weren't enough to keep the boys' energy at bay. So, we decieded to do some agility training. With Cam's help (and agility equipment) the boys have learned quite a few tricks. My favorite is watching them go over the jumps. Tucker is really good at it and seems to enjoy it (but it might be because of all the treats that he gets). Barney is good because it just wants to please me. And Chief doesn't even think the treats are worth it, but will still do it some of the time. Jonathan got some really good action shots and even a couple of videos. Apparently, I jump with them at each of jumps.

They slept the rest of the night...