Happy Birthday Dad

Sarah says Happy Birthday too!

Snow Day!

It's snowing pretty much non-stop today. My cell rang at 5 AM this morning to tell me that Butler is closed today. Luckily, I teach online, so the weather is never a problem for me! Both Kirk and Jeremy had to go to work, and they both called to say that the roads were not too horrible once you get to the main road. However, it is SLOW going!

Sarah has not shown much interest in going out in the snow. I think I'll be staying at home today! Errands can wait.

It's Christmas Time!

Sarah loves Christmas time! :)

It means Cathy tries to decorate with whatever happens to be laying around.

Sarah really likes the tree. She sniffs the presents every single day. We've given up trying to keep the bags upright.

There's also a lot of treats being made. She can't have these chocolate peanut butter balls that Kirk made for work, but it did not stop her from laying at his feet while he made them!

Sarah's Halloween Costume

She thought the hot dog was a giant toy strapped to her back and wanted to play with it.

Sarah's New Pajamas!

Cathy saw these at Target for under 10 bucks, and she just *had* to get them for Sarah. Sarah LOVES them and does not want us to take them off. It must be keeping her toasty! Bonus: The white part glows in the dark, which has kept us from tripping on her in the middle of the night.

Happy 29th Birthday to Cathy!

We started the day by getting Sarah groomed for her second (and last) haircut of the season. She got such rave reviews by her groomers that I used my $4 PetSmart Birthday Club card on a little treat for her.

It's an eco-friendly toy made of hemp- supposedly super strong. Since Sarah usually destroys her soft toys in a day or so, I'm eager to see if this toy lives up to its claims.

We'd already celebrated with my parents this past weekend, but still had a birthday dinner today. The steaks, sweet corn, fruit salad, and zucchini were delicious- followed by "dirt cups" for dessert. Yum!

Sarah: Before and After

Sarah got her first summer haircut yesterday. Here's a before shot:

Here's an after shot- she looks almost bald!

She was given an A+ on her Petsmart report card, so she got a treat when get got home. She's currently napping- getting your hair cut is hard work!

Sarah's Happy Christmas

Sarah thinks that any type of party is party for her.

She was really happy to have her own present to open, and even more thrilled with the gift.

Sarah carried her new rawhide bone around for at least 45 minutes. When we refused to let her bury it outside, she decided that stuffing it between the cushions of Jeremy's couch was an acceptable substitute.

.

Scene: Cathy sits in the kitchen, eating breakfast in her nightgown. Everyone else has left for work.

*Commotion from bedroom*
*more commotion*
*Listening to dog walking down the hall...but it sounds...off...somehow...*

...because Sarah had somehow managed to put on one of Kirk's shirts. Not only was she wearing his shirt, she was stuck in it! She had somehow managed to wiggle into one of the sleeves. I ended up having to tear it a bit to get her out of it! Silly dog.

Friends

Misc Pictures

Here's some pictures I've been meaning to share but just now got around to!

Zucchini. We've been eating a lot of it lately.

Last year we nearly pulled this thinking it was a weed, but then it bloomed. This year we got a lot more flowers on it. Very pretty, but it only lasted a few days.

I made a cheesecake in my crockpot! It turned out great!

This is my friend Amber. She's Sylvia's brother's wife, and under that blanket is their new baby girl. Her name is Charlotte. Sarah really, really liked Charlotte and wanted to cuddle with her. (That is, when she was not sniffing her diaper with interest.)

Suspicious Eyes

Sarah the Wonder Dog gets very suspicious when the suitcases are brought upstairs. She did not believe me when I told her that only Kirk was going to Boston.

Sarah The Wonder Dog (Body Piercing Edition)

On Sunday, Sarah managed to get her upper canine tooth through her upper lip. We're not really sure how this is even possible, but she did it.

We were on a walk with her and another dog started barking at her from the other side of a fence. She usually does not care much when things like this happen, but this time she got really agitated and took off towards the fence, barking up a storm. She was on a leash, so she did not get very far, but she was really pulling at it. It took about thirty seconds to pull her away from the fence and get her to stop barking madly.

As we continued walking, we noticed that she kept bending her head down and pawing at it. Then we noticed that she was bleeding! We stopped to take a good look and noticed her top tooth poking through her top lip. It looked really creepy and painful! Jeremy and Kirk held her down and got the tooth out of the lip. Once we got home Kirk shaved the area as best he could and cleaned it out. She was pretty good through both these procedures and did not try to bite or struggle away.

On Monday Cathy made a vet appointment for her, just in case. The vet said that it was a pretty nice puncture wound and that it was good we brought her in- mouth infections are not a good thing, and puncture wounds in that area can get infected very quickly. She's now on doggie antibiotics, and very pleased with herself, because doggie pills=peanut butter.

We're still unsure how she managed to do this by barking. Even the vet was impressed.

The Royal Puppy At Play

Sarah's a Bus!

I made Sarah a costume for Halloween! She's taking it better than I thought she would, but I won't say she's happy about it...

There's Hope

Maybe Annie will let Sarah be her friend after all.

Scary Stuff!

Somebody was murdered last night a few doors down from us. They don't know why or who did it yet. It's been kind of interesting (and scary!) to watch the police and the crime van and the house marked off with police tape. I think we've even met the victim. They have a dog named Buster who ends up in our yard every few days- their fence does not do so well at keeping the Buster in- so we get him and take him back home.

I'm glad we always lock our doors, even when we are home. Things like this remind me of why we do that.

Sarah and Buster. Buster looks big and mean, but he's remarkably mellow.

Sarah the Scardy-Dog

Sarah the Wonder Dog is terrified of thunderstorms, and we've been having a lot of them lately. In Kansas, most thunderstorms seem to happen late at night or in the very early hours of the morning. Sarah freaks out and wants to sleep in the bed with mom and dad. This would not be such a big deal, but she is a bed hog and during thunderstorms she shakes and gets up to pace all over Cathy's back every few minutes. After being woken up by Sarah at 2 and 3 AM a few nights in a row, Cathy finally moved her dog bed to right beside her to see if it would help any. Thankfully, it did. It seems like she is less likely to panic when Cathy is right beside her, and ever since her bed has been moved, she does not even try to climb in bed with us during the storm. She still wakes Cathy up with her whimpering, but a quick pat soothes that, and she's not walking all over her back anymore!