Mike the Fire Fighter

Today was the first day of Mike's fire academy for the Eagle Fire Department. I don't know who was more excited. Mike has worked really hard to accomplish his goal of obtaining a full time fire fighter job and we both are very excited to start the year off working in fields that we enjoy. Our good friend Theron will be going through the academy with Mike. They are both fired up about starting the academy. Because Theron lives close by they will be able to carpool to and from work.
This morning I was acting like a mother who was sending her child to their first day of kindergarten. I packed Mike a lunch and was snapping photos.

The Holley's Go to Disney World

We left Thanksgiving morning for Orlando to meet up with Anna, Alex, Ethan & Aidan for a week of fun at Walt Disney World. After collecting the crew at the airport we all headed to eat our "Thanksgiving Feast" which was served up to us at the Lonestar Steak House. The food wasn't great but the company made it fun. Anna's friend Julie, her husband Tom and their son Truman met up with us as well. Friday was our first day in the parks and we started at the Magic Kingdom. You can see from the picture that I am just a little bit excited to be there. We had a great lunch at the Plaza Restaurant and then hit the rides. Mike and I loved riding Splash Mountain and Thunder Mountain that day. The Haunted Mansion and Pirates of the Caribbean had been refurbished and we enjoyed seeing the changes that had been made to both rides. Mike and I finished off the night at a local TGIFridays watching the BSU/Hawaii Game. Unfortunately the game didn't end in our favor, but it was fun chatting with the locals and having some food. We actually ended up talking with one of the cast memebers that is one of the monkeys in the Festival of the Lion King at Disney's Animal Kingdom.


On Saturday Anna and I took Aidan to Epcot while Mike, Ethan, and Alex went golfing.




Aidan was able to have some quality time with Mickey, Minnie, and Goofy. His reaction was priceless. He ran right into their arms and posed for pictures.


There was a full size fire engine was parked inside the Innovations Building. Aidan had a great time climbing all over it and playing with all of the levers and buttons. Later in the day Mike met up with us and had a great time checking out the engine as well.

Next it was off to the Nemo ride where Mike and Alex met up with us. After the ride Aidan and I were able to get our photo taken in giant statue of Bruce, one of the recovering fish eaters in Finding Nemo.

Sunday we went to MGM for the day. I had to visit my favorite ride out of all of the Disney World Parks, The Rockin' Roller Coaster hosted by Aerosmith. This ride starts out by taking you from 0-60+mph in under 5 seconds. The coaster then moves directly into a full loop and doesn't stop.

Ethan was on autograph patrol the entire trip. He was very excited to meet up with one of his favorite cartoon characters, Handy Manny.

Mike and I joined in on the character meet and greet and posed with Mr. and Mrs. Incredible.

On Monday Alex and Mike enjoyed another day of golfing while Anna and I took the boys to Disney's Animal Kingdom. We spent the taking turns riding Expedition Everest, a great roller coaster; watching the Finding Nemo Musical, going on a Safari and taking a trip to Rafikki's Island.
I met this funny goat on Raffiki's Island and really wanted to bring him home. He was just hanging out in the sun and the smile on his face was the topper.

We spent Tuesday through Thursday riding the rides that we love and eating our way through the parks. We were albe to see all of the great Christmas decorations and see the amazing fire works put on at Disney's Magic Kingdom.

We had a great time during this trip. I really enjoyed spending time with my sister and my nephews who are too cute for words. I have more pictures but unfortunately I have hit my limit for this post.

The First Snow

This morning I woke up to the first snow of the winter. I don't think we will get any more snow today but the weather is supposed to turn colder. Mike was going to work this morning, anticipating a busy day with frozen streets.



The dogs could care less about the snow. Beck did her morning rounds in the back yard and Cassius has yet to make it outside, but can you blame him? Look how cozy he is.

Monday Morning Rainbow & Cassius' New Blanket

This morning I was able to sleep in until 7am and fortunately I was able to see this awesome sunrise with a great rainbow.

Cassius was exceptionally full of energy this morning. I sewed this blanket originally planning on giving it as a baby gift, but I didn't like the way the fabric fuzzed up when it was washed so Cassius and Beck got a new blanket. Cassius has taken to the blanket and is dragging it all over the house and sleeping on it every chance he can get.

Beck goes to a staff meeting

On Thursday I had a staff meeting and I was supposed to volunteer at St.Als after the meeting. So rather than make Beck stay in the car and wait until my staff meeting was over I figured since she is allowed all over the hospital I would take her to the staff meeting with me. She made me so proud. For a solid hour she laid down next to my chair and passed out. Everyone commented on what a sweet dog she is and how well she did during the meeting. After the meeting she did a fantastic job visiting with the patients and staff in the hospital.

Here are some pictures of Beck prepping for therapy work. All of the dogs that come into visit patients must be clean before they arrive. She hates the bath tub but loves going to work afterwards.

Cassius also had a great day on Thursday. I took him to D&B Supply to work on some heeling and to buy dog food. He did a great job and even resisted the distraction of a baby ferret chirping near his face.

The Cutest Nephews

So I might be a little biased but I think my sister's boys are the cutest! My sister sent me a pix message the other day with a photo of the boys dressed up in their post Halloween costumes. My sister loves Halloween too and went to Target a couple days after Halloween to check out the sale items (75% off). Ethan was pretty stoked about his Power Ranger costume and Aidan was delighted about his Buzz Light Year get up.

A Big Day

Although this may not be a big deal for most people Cassius and I had a "moment" today while training. I have been working with him a lot this fall to prepare him for competition obedience trials. Cassius has had a pretty bad attitude about the whole thing for the most part and acts like I probably did when I was a teenager when my parents told me to do something. He does what I asked him to do but has done it so sloooowly that in his own way he gives me the paw. But today was different. We were working on the come command. I placed him in a sit stay in front of our neighbors house and then walked to our driveway, turned around and paused and then said, "Cassius come." In the past Cassius has sloooooooowly walked toward me with his head down or just wandered into the grass, but today he came RUNNING towards me and sat directly in front of me. I flipped out! I was so happy I didn't know what to do. Again, this probably doesn't mean anything to your average every day person, but for me it meant that we have accomplished something and he is finally getting a better attitude about training and working with me. I repeated the sequence and he continued to succeed.
Beck had a great day today too. She and I went to St. Als for the pet therapy program. She wore her new fire fighter bandanna and even demonstrated a trick that is a work in progress (stop, drop, and roll). She is still kind of a spazz, but with time she will settle down.
It was kind of a dog day today. This morning Mike and I walked to the Frisby's house and picked up Dre for some time at the park. Cassius played his own game of frisbee while Beck and Dre took turns chasing down the tennis ball.
Mike worked a lot in the yard today and is close to completing the installation of our new garage door.