Puppy, Dog and Kitten

This cute little kitten came into our lives, very unannounced. Welcomed, none the less. Even Suki, our big lab, is learning to deal with this cute little thing.


Suki is slowly letting the puppy invade her space as well.
I mean, who can resist this? This is Sam, Sam-a-lamma-ding-dong, Sam the man, A-ram-Sam-Sam, Sam-I'm-tired-of-seeing-your-poop-on-the-carpet Sam.




Sam and kitty are often playing. Don't feel sorry for the kitten, he will come out from the recesses of our house and attack Sam randomly. Sam is very willing to play along. No puppies or kittens were harmed during the making of this picture.

This is the place to be on a hot afternoon.


Jennifer Hoech

Suki got a Present!

Grandpa Steve sent the kids and animals presents. Even the kitties. Suki found her gift and started opening it.

She carried it around half opened for about 15 minutes. I have no idea what she is thinking when she does cute things like this.


Finally, a bone!

Christmas Photo

I'm a poor photographer with little patience so typically the pictures are monstrous even when the subjects are perfect.

Trying to get a decent picture is not easy especially when the kids are in a bad mood. Or a good mood. Or a silly mood. Really any mood they are in hampers any effort I put into trying to get one decent picture.

The dog doesn't help matters, although she probably behaved the best.



Deciding to exclude the cats from this joyous occasion was a wise decision.

Even the dog was blinking in this one.

Happy Thanksgiving

And 10 year Wedding Anniversary!


Suki waiting to enjoy her dinner.

Fat Dog

This is your dog on three and a half pounds of raw pork.

I left her in the house with a package of FROZEN pork chops in the sink.




It was completely gone in less than an hour.


That was last night, she is fine now and was begging to be fed this morning.

What is it with my dog and her lack of self control?

Night Swimming

Mom and Kid Camping Trip II

There is a huge rock in the middle of the river that the boys loved sitting on. I guess because it was slightly dangerous and they were away from us.

They are at that age where they so want to be independent but I am not sure that the mom's are ready for that. Well, I'm not, I worry. They had their own tent to share, went out exploring on their own quite a bit and had some freedom from the women folk.

This last picture is one that Jonah took of his friends when they were walking by themselves. I did end up with some other random pictures that the boys took. Things like; urinals, toilets, random butts, I'll save those for when Jonah has his first date.

Mom and Kid Camping Trip I

This is the second year we have had a mid-week camping trip. We plan it this way so the camp sights are a bit less crowded and also it is just the moms. Not that dad's aren't welcome, it's just nice to get some time with the ladies.

This river is so picturesque, the kids have fun, the mom's get to relax a bit. And the dogs really enjoy themselves.

I have so many great pictures this may be a three part post.

Texas Flowers

This year the flowers are beautiful in my yard. When I planted the flowers, I tried to keep them as native as possible. Mainly because I hate to water everything all the time.

The purple bush is called Purple Sage. Some people refer to it as Texas Sage but I really think that is just the Texan's who refer to it as such. This is the most vibrant I have ever seen these flowers. So full of blumes, it's almost glaringly purple. And they smell like bubble gum!


The yellow bush is by far my favorite all along. It is called Yellow Bells.


We all know Black Eyed Susan, who new she was a Texan Native?


The sunflowers have finally opened up. They're always looking over the fence though.

Camping

This spring break we did a little camping with Grandma Birdie and the Simmons.

It was just under a 2 hour drive. We were well out of the city and could see tons of stars at night.

The day we arrived, the fire ban was lifted and we spent way too much money on fire wood. But being able to roast hot dogs and marshmallows over the fire was worth it.

We took a few hikes, drank too much wine/margaritas, the kids had fun playing in mud, which made me thankful we had showers. Kell took the kids fishing. We also saw lots of wildlife including frogs, rabbits, deer and armadillos!

On the way home we stopped by this awesome ice cream parlor and had a taste of civilization. The picture in the ice cream parlor was taken right after Freya lost her entire scoop of ice cream. So sad, but I took her over to the counter with her tear-filled-puppy-dog eyes and she got a refill in her cone. Really who can resist those eyes?

We were pooped out by the leisurely camping that we did.

McKinney Falls

This is a fabulous place to spend the day. Perfect for the day trip or even afternoon trip. We went for a hike and saw the biggest tree in Texas, I swear! Then sat under what they call the rock shelter.

There was a family turtles that caught Raita's eye while we were walking.

Suki had fun but she needs to learn to be calm on the leash. She would rather run with the kids, so I'm constantly telling her settle down and be still while she struggles to be with them. I hope she grows up soon!



Raita and Jonah had fun jumping over the grooves in the rock that the river formed. Look at that picture of Jonah, it is almost as if he is flying.



I always freak out when Raita does daring things with Jonah. I guess that is the job of the mother though. Biting nails, forever, infinity.

Where is she?

My dog, Suki, is constantly at my heels. She has her nose everywhere I am. If I am putting the clothes in the dryer, her nose is checking that out. If my dresser drawer is open, she has to see what I am putting in there. Yes, she is even next to me when I use the bathroom.

This afternoon I was doing some cleaning and whatnot, when I realized that my constant shadow was no where to be found.

I called her and she didn't come running so I started to check closets and bathrooms. She has been known to get herself in one and then close the door.

I couldn't find her anywhere. Finally I remembered that I had left the garage door open because Freya was sleeping in the car. I will pull the car in the garage, close the garage and leave the car door open as well as the door between the house and the garage.

When Suki noticed the open door, she must have went to investigate. She had hopped into the car and was ready to go. She had to have been sitting there for a good 15 minutes atleast. Suki didn't want to get out, she was ready to go somewhere. Always willing for an adventure, that mutt.


Oh and Tanya, Freya will sleep anywhere.....

Suki says Merry Christmas!

OK, we practiced a few more times and look what beef jerky can get her to do!