We haven’t used a kennel for Madison in years. However, when we leave the house we often find her in the laundry room near Pepper when we return. Today is laundry day and the kids have to bring their dirty clothes to the laundry room. (Some of them use a laundry basket and some of them just toss.) Madison evidently decided that the dirty clothes made a soft bed to sleep on until we returned to the house. Madison’s hearing isn’t the best anymore so she often doesn’t hear when we come in the door so I was even able to grab a camera and get her picture before she realized we were home.
Pets
Teague informed me he had to dress up like a character from Charlotte’s Web today. I think we did a pretty good job – taking into consideration what my child was willing to wear.
The unexpected best entertainment for Ben out of this move has been the rollercoaster. This toy has actually been around a LONG time. Alex inherited it from family friends in 2010. It’s not even Ben’s first time riding it, but something clicked this time and suddenly when he saw it at this house he fell in love. Now let me explain the best things about this toy. 1.) It has a track, but the track isn’t necessary so setup can be immediate. 2.) Because it is designed to run on a circular track. It continuously goes in a circle. You don’t have to worry about your child driving anywhere. He literally just rides in a circle over and over.
I put him in it and can go inside the kitchen and watch him out the window while I put away dishes. It’s the best thing ever!
My crazy kids were determined to go swimming today. The temperature did officially reach 80 but the water was no where near that warm. I agreed to be the responsible adult outside but told them I wasn’t going near the water or putting on a swimsuit. They had a blast anyway and I’m glad they are getting so much use out of the pool before we move!
Alex was determined to get Pepper in the pool and it took him quite a while to convince her. The weather didn’t cooperate and we ended up with rain, but he finally got her in the pool – for a second.
Granny And Pop are here to help us begin moving. They drove Pop’s truck up and are here for longer than usual to help us out. We are so thankful the new house is bigger and has a large basement and barn. We have the keys to our new house and our goal is to move quite a bit of “stuff” out of our current house to the new house. We are going to list our current house and cross our fingers that it sells within a few weeks. If it doesn’t, then we are going to go ahead and move into the new house and try to sell the house with no furniture. We’ve sold all but one of our previous houses within a few weeks so we are hoping for the best.
We have been giving Pepper dog bones to try and keep her entertained (and reduce the chewing of our items). The problem is Madison will occasionally get the bone and guard it. Pepper will not dare take it back from Madison. Madison is too old to chew the bone. She just won’t let Pepper have it. Wade and I find the entire situation pretty funny.
Tonight we thought we had a solution. We gave each dog a bone. It went basically like it does with two toddlers. Pepper couldn’t stand it that Madison had a bone. She abandoned her bone and kept trying to figure out how to get Madison’s bone. She kept edging closer and closer to Madison. Madison never once chewed the bone but kept it in her sight or under her head the entire time. Wade and I were dying laughing.
For those curious – Madison eventually fell asleep. Pepper stole the bone. Madison never even remembered there was a bone.
Today Pepper spent the day with our vet. She got dropped off early this morning and I picked her up right after school. She is now spayed and more calm than I think I have ever seen her – thank you drugs. We’ll see how she reacts in the next few days. I’m really hoping she doesn’t have to wear the cone as much as she should. I know she isn’t going to like it.
It wasn’t too many months ago that we would have told Madison to get down. But she’s 14 this month (14?!?!). I’m honestly impressed she can get up in the chair. At this age she is an amazing dog. She puts up with 4 kids, a crazy house, a hectic schedule, and then we got a puppy. Madison – you can get in the chair if you want.
Pepper has extremely unusual coloring. It tends to fall into the “love it” or “hate it” category. Obviously we love it, but we understand if people feel otherwise. She is still a lot puppy. She chews things she shouldn’t. She doesn’t like strangers. She still isn’t completely house-trained. She is rambunctious and doesn’t follow commands very well. On an upside – she does play fetch. Her greatest problem might be that she isn’t Madison. Regardless, we’ll keep her!
I’d like to say this is just post holiday craziness – but this is kind of a typical day at our house. You’ll notice that Ben isn’t phased at all by Pepper jumping over him multiple times as she makes laps around the couch.
These pictures were actually taken before Christmas but got a little lost in the shuffle. Pepper was a much smaller dog when we first got her. Even at Thanksgiving she was smaller. My Mom bought her a cute Christmas sweater, but by the time we got it on her – she had outgrown it. We did try to take a picture but Pepper was not excited to be wearing her sweater at all!
I know my picture is a little crazy, but the important part is there. I have noticed recently that Pepper has gotten really smart when playing with Madison. She is too small to have any physical advantage, but she has realized all she needs to do is grab Madison’s collar. She will bite Madison’s collar and then pull her around the house. It is hilarious to watch. Madison is a good sport about it all and will let Pepper know when she is done with the game.
Just a few more of the cute puppy taking over our house.
This boy is a walking death wish. It will be a miracle if he makes it to elementary school. (It’s not that the other kids were easier or calmer, but I had more attention to focus on them.) Ben puts everything in his mouth and for every small item I pick up there are three other people in the house putting small things right back on the floor. For every door I close, there are three other people opening them. Ben is mobile earlier than my other children so he already has access to things I wish he didn’t. (Did I mention he is the first child I have ever had to call poison control for?) He definitely keeps me on my toes!
Sadly summer is ending and that means the beach is one of the first things to close. The lake officially closes with a last Sunday afternoon for dogs only. This year Madison only swam a small amount and then found a nice spot near the lifeguards to watch all the action. (Her 13 years are starting to show.)
Today’s big adventure was a train ride on the Conway Scenic Railroad.
Then Pop bribed the boys to spend some time across the street at the pond hunting for frogs. He offered to pay them each a $1 if they caught a frog. Alex was by far the most motivated.
Then we wrapped up the evening by grilling dinner and enjoying the outdoors. Wade and Alex created a new version of baseball – pineball. Using the materials on hand they played baseball with a large stick and a pinecone.
We are vacationing with Wade’s family in Conway, NH. It was a little hectic to leave immediately after school was over, but it was only a 3 hour drive from our house! We took both cars, Madison, and all sorts of extra things we thought we might need. Ben, however, doesn’t quite get a full understanding of vacation. My normal baby that sleeps all night (until almost 7 am) has been waking up at 3 or 4 and then is up for good at 5:30. Wade and I are tag teaming it, but it’s a challenge to keep him quiet so the rest of the house can sleep.