From Rags to Riches

Everyone blogs about their kids....first day's of school, new words they're learning, cute videos of them trying new foods, playing, etc. In our house our "kid" happens to walk on 4 legs, bark, & is covered in fur. While he has some similarities to human kids--he loves attention, loves to play outside and in the dirt, and enjoys making messes as he eats and drinks---he sure has became a big part of our family. (And besides, give me a break...it's been at least one or two posts since I did one that was entirely about Charlie).

Charlie went for his first fur-cut today, and as you can see it made a dramatic difference. He went from homeless & slobbish to stylish and refined, all within a matter of hours (of course we're talking looks/outward appearance only here). When we went to pick him up he was sitting in a kennel by the register and Brad actually had to ask, after initial shock "Is that OUR dog?" Yup...didn't even recognize him.

I was really worried for the groomer, as Charlie is a puppy (and an Airedale puppy at that) and he loves to nibble and can be kind of crazy. To our surprise, when we went to pick him up the girl told us that we must have a "broken" Airedale (of course this panicked us a little...broken almost always means "bad") because compared to all the other Airedales she has groomed--some of whom had actually brought her to tears in the process--he was one of the most well behaved she's seen, and she continued ranting and raving about how great he was. So, as you can imagine, we were immensely relieved.

Sadly, after bringing him home we found that he can now catch food in his mouth when thrown to him....he's never been able to do that until now and we always just thought he was kind of...uh... "special" because he would turn his head & back away at the last second leaving the food to hit him in the face. Turns out the poor thing couldn't see! And who would've known there were such large dark eyes hiding under all that unruly fur. Gotta love him.


P.S Don't you love his head tilt in the "after" photo? He is famous for this and does it constantly as you talk to him, especially when he picks up on words he knows the meanings of.

Valentines 2011

We really enjoyed Valentine's Day this year and because it landed on a Monday we got to celebrate all weekend!

We kicked off the celebration Saturday night---anticipating huge crowds everywhere on Monday--- with a nice dinner at Rodizio's. It is to Tucanos as Costa Vida is to Cafe Rio. (While it was yummy, we think we still prefer Tucano's salad bar & lower prices over Rodizio's). After dinner we walked to the nearby theater and saw True Grit. This is a great movie and if you haven't seen it it would definitely be worth your time! The movie was followed up by ice cream and cookies at Smart Cookie. It was fun to spend the whole evening "out on the town".

Sunday was spent with church, a trip to Santaquin and just enjoying each other's company. Oh...and for Brad, like most days, a little bit of homework.

Monday came and we had plans to stay in (note, the anticipation of huge crowds again). We made homemade pizza together, in the shape of a heart of course--picture above, pre-cheese stage. Dinner was followed by a trip to Coldstone (only my most favorite place in the world--I guess Brad DOES love me), the we hopped into our "comfy clothes" and settled together on the couch to watch our favorite Monday television shows, namely Cake Boss & Pawn Stars.

Overall we had a great Valentine extravaganza that lasted all weekend long---too bad Valentines Day doesn't happen on a Monday EVERY year.

Hard Lessons

While I've been through this once before, it's not any easier. A couple of years ago we lost our first dog, Buddy, after a good 13 or 14 years in the family. It was hard and I was overcome with guilt and sadness. Today, we lost Hank, our second dog after 15 years in the family. It's a painful reminder of how attached you can become to an animal & how the saying "man's best friend" is nothing short of the truth.

While I've always been a big dog fan it's times like these that bring you to the realization of just how great they really are. They love you no matter what. Dogs don't care that you yelled at them 3 minutes ago, that they were left outside to live their lives come rain or snow, or that you hadn't been out to see them in days--maybe even weeks. All that mattered to them was that you were there to see them then, at that moment, and it made them so incredibly excited that they couldn't care less about anything else you did or didn't do.

And I think thats where the guilt sets in for me through all of this--when I think of the attention they didn't get because they were outside, out of sight-out of mind type of thing. How they never got to be squeezed and loved on like a pet you might have inside your house, who you see & spend time with everyday, who you tell is a "good dog" or laugh at them as they exhibit their individual personality. Instead, Hank and Buddy sat outside merely waiting for someone to step outside and call their name to say "hello" or for a quick pat on the head as you may happen to walk by.

This guilt has hit me really hard, it did the first time when Buddy passed away & again today for Hank. So as a way to sort of honor Hank and Buddy(as silly as it may sound) I have made a promise to myself that throughout my life I will not get a dog for who I intend to live outside-- out of sight, out of mind, and on the end of a leash. A dog deserves more than that, and while Hank and Buddy knew no different it makes me cry to think of all the things I didn't do with them that I should have. They deserved so much more than they were given & yet they loved us unconditionally. How often can I say that even about myself?

Rest in peace doggies, we love you & thanks for loving us just the way we were. You're special to me and you'll be missed!