Auntie D Goes To Seattle

Last Friday I flew to Seattle to watch my nephews Ethan (5) and Aidan (2 1/2) while my sister and brother in law went to Vegas for my sister's birthday. The boys and I had a FANTASTIC time. Friday we went grocery shopping and Ethan was great about picking out the produce and making sure that it was weighed properly. Aidan loved putting the items in the cart and making sure that I didn't get far from the cart. Friday evening Ethan loved helping me make dinner and both boys inhaled their dinner of flank steak, mashed potatoes, and broccoli.

Saturday morning we got up and made pancakes, Ethan's favorite. Later we drove grandpa into Seattle to pick up his car. After lunch the boys took a long nap and woke up to the news that we were going to be able to go and visit my friend Linda. Linda lives on a couple of acres and has horses. The boys love it there and argued about who was going to be able to scoop the most horse poop (they like to help clean the horse stalls). While at Linda's we played an intense game of duck, duck, goose. It was hilarious! Ethan, Aidan, Linda, Nelson, Lizzie (16), myself and the two dogs all played. We all laughed so hard.

Sunday we got up and headed to the Pacific Science Center. The boys had a great time playing and exploring. Ethan really enjoyed the I-Max movie about Mummies which gave Aidan and Auntie D a few minutes to snooze. Ethan watched a demonstration about combustion and was very excited about the explosions he witnessed. After we finished up at the Science Center we were surprised to discover that the Seattle Cherry Blossom Festival was going on. We caught a great performance by a group of Japanese singers, musicians, and performers.

I had such a great weekend with the boys and I can't wait for our next adventure in June. I think we will have to hit the Seattle Aquarium, Woodland Park Zoo, and maybe the Burke Museum.

I couldn't get the photos to upload so try this link to my Kodak Gallery Slide Show

http://www.kodakgallery.com/Slideshow.jsp?Uc=7fv1i10.2xvj0dpk&Uy=-68vo1i&Upost_signin=Slideshow.jsp%3Fmode%3Dfromshare&Ux=0&UV=707246047355_410829527208&mode=fromshare&conn_speed=1

Yard In Progress

This summer will be our third in our house. Every year we try something new to make the yard better and for the past two years we haven't been so successful. We bought this house because of the yard and we are determined to make it beautiful, this is the year! We started working earlier in the spring this year which will help us beat the horrible heat of the summer. Mike has been doing most of the work on his four days and I have been helping in between work, school, studying and working with the dogs.

We started by tearing out the existing path and the rocks that surrounded it. Mike and I filled it in with dirt and seeded it for grass. The hard part is waiting and trying to play with the dogs in the back yard.

Mike made a nice path on the side of the house which took away the dogs mud pit and made a nice place for the recycling center and garbage can. We also added to an existing patio off of our main patio that will be a great spot to put the barbecue.

There will be a raised patio in the corner of the yard complete with a fire pit, and the horseshoe pits will be moved for better viewing and heckling. I will be sure to post more pictures as we make progress.

Dog Models

A while back my nephew Ethan asked to talked to me while my sister and I were talking on the phone. In his cutest five year old voice he asked me if I would make him a super hero cape. I am a sucker for Ethan and agreed to make one for him and Aidan. I had bought the fabric and finally got around to finishing the capes today just in time to get back to the grind stone of school.
Since I didn't have any two or five year old children at my disposal, I had to be a little bit more creative. I used Beck and Cassius to model the finished products so I could send a picture to my sister showing her what the capes look like. I will get to personally deliver them in a couple of weeks when I travel to Seattle to hang out with of Ethan and Aidan.

I had the day off from work today, and I was pretty bored. I didn't feel much like studying this evening, since I had spent most of the morning with my nose in a pathophysiology book. I decided to work on a little bit of dog training. I worked with Cassius on his recalls and worked on "head up" heeling with Beck. The photo below doesn't depict any particular obedience task, I guess it just shows how I can make them wait for something they want. They both did well resisting the temptation of the hot dog chunks, well Beck didn't hold out the entire time, so she got a double down of hot dogs. Cassius passed the test with flying colors and resisted eating the hot dog nibblets even when I left the room to retrieve the camera to document this event.

After Easter Sale

I am not a huge fan of holidays, but I frequently brave stores like Target and Fred Meyer the day after the holidays to search out deals on things that are useful to me like baking and serving items and of course for funny kids toys that double as dog toys.

Yesterday I found myself in Target and scored a couple of cool toys for the dogs. I was bummed I didn't get there a little bit earlier because apparently I missed out on a baking pan with 6 Easter egg shapes on it.

The dogs were happy though. $5 bought three toys and so far they are still intact.

Homework with the Holley Pack

The other night I had to finish up a couple of things on the computer for school. Mike was watching TV, so I snuck into the other room so I could focus. Those of you that have children or dogs will understand what happened. It seems like I can't get a lot done around here without the help of my dogs.

Eagle Fire Department Graduation

Saturday March 1st twelve new fire fighters were sworn into service for the Eagle Fire Department. Today was a very special day for Mike and eleven other fire fighters. Mike has been pursuing a fire career for a while and has worked very hard to become apart of the fire service. Today he earned his badge.
The ceremony was awesome! It began with bag pipes, which are always cool. I forgot about taking the video vertically, just tilt your head and you will get the picture.








Deputy Chief Mark Rabdau & Division Chief Gary Voss

Waiting behind the bag pipes were the members of the 2008 Eagle Fire Department Academy. Mike is in the row on the right, the third guy back.

There were speeches and a documentary video of the academy set to great music. I was lucky enough to pin Mike's Fire Fighter Badge to his uniform. Fortunately no one was injured during the badge pinning.

After the ceremony we spent time chatting with the other new fire fighters, friends, and family. Mike's mom, Don, Michelle, and Steve came up from Twin Falls for the ceremony. Our close friends Susie, Wayne, Walker, and Olivia Frisby also attended the ceremony.
Mike in his uniform (with the badge) standing with Engine 41

Mike and D with Engine 41

Cassius.....Busted!

Last night after class I was pretty full of information so I decided to stay up for a little bit and study. Mike had gone to bed and the dogs were hanging out with me. Cassius, being the pathetic creature he is, was mad because Beck had taken the "good spot" on their couch. After minutes of heavy honking, Beck wouldn't budge. Cassius gave up and walked down the hall. A while later I heard snoring and I couldn't determine who was causing such a racket. I went searching for the culprit. I checked the usual dog sleeping spots: the middle of the hallway, the crates, and our bedroom. I found Mike snoring in our bedroom but no Cassius. After further investigation I found him. He was busted! He was so snuggled in he had wrapped his paws around the pillow his head was resting on.



After much groaning and whining on Cassius part he walked back to our bedroom as if I was sending him to the pound. This morning I found him shivering in Beck's crate so I had to tuck him in once again. We have the most pathetic dog!