We just keep going and going

Everything seems like a whirlwind lately.  Lots going on at work with travel and changes, and just enough going on outside of work to keep things interesting.   

Monday, work travel took me to Grand Rapids.  We were up early to head that way so that we could stop in Lowell along the way to get in a hike on the North Country Trail.  It was a beautiful, quiet morning and we were able to hike 2.5 miles before my work day started.  

I did my first call of the day from my car before leaving Lowell, and then I headed out to drop the girls off at Camp Bow Wow for their overnight stay.

Then I headed to a nearby Panera to borrow the wifi and get some work done. I sat outside enjoying the weather and getting lots done.  After a few hours of work, I grabbed lunch and then headed to the hotel for an early check-in and to finish my work day.

The weather was beautiful, so when my work day was done I headed out for a walk around downtown.

I had a really nice walk and enjoyed being out exploring. 

When I finished my walk, I ordered some dinner for delivery and headed to my room to relax for the night.

I enjoyed a quiet evening in and headed to bed early because I had an early day Tuesday. 

 

Tuesday I was up early to get to my work meeting at Meijer Gardens.  Then after a long, busy day of work, I picked the girls up from Camp Bow Wow to start our drive home.

Along the way, we stopped in Lowell for a quick 1 and 1/2 mile hike on the NCT.  Then we hurried home so I could vote before the polls closed.  We finally got home just after 8pm after a really long day.  

Wednesday was another busy work day, and I was happy to head to the shelter for our Wednesday night dog walk at the end of it.  We had a really nice group of dogs join us.  

The girls had joined me for the drive to the shelter and I was glad I was be able to get them out of for a walk on the Hayhoe Trail before heading home.

It was a nice night along the Hayhoe Trail and I was really glad that the girls and I made time to enjoy it.

On Thursday I was ready for another full day.  I was also excited to take advantage of a special deal at Canine College.  

In celebration of their 20th anniversary, they had specials every day of the week, and Thursday was throwback pricing for a day of day care.  I decided to treat the girls to a day of fun and spend my day working remotely for the day. 

It was a great change of pace for us all.  They enjoyed their day, I got a lot done, and then we came home to spend a really quiet and relaxing evening at home.  It was just what we needed.

Finally Friday arrived, and I was ready for it.  The most exciting part of the day was when I headed to the shelter on my lunch to pick up our new foster, Bumble Tub.  Bumble was struggling at the shelter and in danger of not making it out, so even though timing isn't perfect for me to bring a foster home, I couldn't ignore the plea for help.  Thankfully, he's a great fit for our house, and he, Mina, and Peaches all get along really well.

He was anxious most of the afternoon, so I knew we needed to get out for a walk after work to help him settle a bit.  While I hadn't planned on it, I ended up deciding to make the drive to Albion for some time on the North Country Trail. 

I was pleasantly surprised at how well the three pups walked together for their first walk.  It was a really enjoyable walk, and we were able to walk for 3.5 miles, bringing our total for the year 93 miles. 

We got home after our hike, and Bumble followed me around everywhere I went.  But when I finally sat down, he relaxed and took a nap.   We were in bed early because it had been an exhausting week, and we all slept really well.

Saturday morning,  we only had two dogs available for our shelter dog walk, so I brought Bumble along so he could join the walk too.

Then after the walk, he joined me as I ran several errands.  He did great in the car.  

When we got home, he stood in the kitchen with me as I made lunch for the dogs and as I put away groceries.  He was constantly underfoot.  Then I noticed I was no longer tripping over him, and went looking for him, only to find him happily curled up on the loveseat sound asleep.  

After a short break to eat my own lunch, we all headed outside to mow the lawn and work in the yard for a bit.  Then it was back inside to do laundry and a couple other things around the house.

It had already been a really busy day, and I hadn't even started the prep for the food I was responsible for making for our Mother's day cookout.  But before I could start cooking, I had to take the dogs out for a trip to Preuss because they were going to feature Bumble in a Facebook Live video on the Preuss Facebook page.  It was a fairly fast trip, and the dogs happily settled in for the evening when we got home.

I spent the next couple of hours making food and prepping for our Mother's day cookout.  Boy was it a long day!

After a good night's rest, I was up early on Sunday to make a carrot cake and finish a couple of items for our Mother's Day celebration, get ready for the day, and pack up the car.  

I also had to get Bumble ready because he is going to be spending the next couple of days at another foster home while I have some other commitments, and Sue was kind enough to take him today so I didn't have to worry abiut him while I was gone for Mother's day today.

The girls were settled in at home, I dropped Bumble with his temporary foster, and then headed to my mom's for our cookout with a car full of food.

We had a wonderful cookout, enjoyed spending time with family, got bossed around by Fiona, and had a nice day.  It was a long, full day, and after being gone for 8 hours, I finally arrived home, put away the leftovers, and then spent a little time with the girls.

I made a salad quickly for dinner, and then I packed for my next couple of days of work travel.  The week hasn't even started, and I'm already exhausted!

While everything is crazy right now, and the next week and a half will continue that trend, there is a light at the end of the tunnel.  I can see it off in the distance. 

I hope you all have a great week!  Wish me luck getting through it!

A few of my favorite things

We had quite a busy week with travel for work and volunteer commitments.  It started with a drive to Farmington Hills on Monday morning to drop the girls off for their stay at Canine College, followed by a stop at a local coffee shop to get some work done, and then a lunchtime visit to Nicol and Fiona.

It was a beautiful day so we sat outside, played hide and seek, and played in Fiona's new fairy garden.  I'm thankful that my work travel schedule has given me some extra time with Fiona.  She's so much fun.

I spent the night in Troy, busy with work stuff, and then spent all day Tuesday at our meeting.  When our meeting was finished, I made the drive back to Farmington Hills to pick the girls up from Canine College.   I was especially excited to see them because Tuesday was Mina's fourth birthday. 

Before heading home, we stopped at Nicol's at the request of Fiona because she wanted to see Mina on her birthday.   

We arrived to a special birthday cake just for Mina.  Fiona was also happy to share her birthday balloons and to sing happy birthday to her. 

I had fun trying to wrangle everyone for some pictures.   I think these turned out pretty cute.

When we left, we stopped at a local pet store in downtown Farmington to buy the birthday girl some treats.  Then we took a walk around Riley Park.

Before leaving, I stopped at Starbucks to get the girls each a pup cup, which they thoroughly enjoyed.  Then we headed home after two long busy days.

On Wednesday we got the shelter dogs out for a rain evening walk.  Despite the rain, Quirkles was happy to be out of the shelter.

After everyone else had left, i spent a little one on one time with Arabella.  She was a very nervous girl but after sitting with her for a bit, I was happy that she let me put a collar on her so I could take her for a short walk.

Then, after all of the shelter dogs were settled into their kennels for the night, I was able to get my girls out for a walk in downtown Mason.

We had a lovely walk and we all went home ready for a quiet night.

After a busy day of work on Thursday, I decided to make a quick trip to get the girls out for a hike on the NCT.  

I had a goal of reaching 80 miles on the trail by the end of April, and with our hike in Thursday, we accomplished our goal.  We actually finished the night with 80.5 miles toward our 100.  Woo hoo!

Friday morning started with a trip to the vet for Peaches.  She did such a good job letting Dr. Jason look her over.  

I had a busy day at work, and when the day was over I was exhausted and ready for a relaxing evening.   But the girls were ready for some fun. So I decided to make a trip to Old Town for a walk followed by a visit to Preuss Pets. 

I started Saturday at the shelter for a Saturday morning dog walk.  It was a chilly morning, but we had some great dogs to walk.

Walking shelter dogs is always a great way to start the day!

With high temperatures in the mid-40s in the forecast, I knew I had to get the girls out for a hike on the NCT.

So we headed to Albion to see how far we could go.

We finished the day with 5 miles on the trail, putting us at 85.5 miles for the year.  It was such a nice walk.  We're so close to finishing!

When we got home Saturday afternoon, I decided to have a lazy afternoon and evening and the girls were happy to comply.  It was a wonderful, relaxing way to end our day.  It was just what I needed.

On Sunday, I spent a few hours helping to transport Max, a foster dog with ISR. He was such a sweet boy and an excellent passenger. 

Then Sunday afternoon I mowed.  I took the girls with me while I ran a few errands and picked up some groceries.  When we got home, I did dishes and laundry, made dinner and packed for my work travel for the week.  I accomplished a lot and I felt pretty good about it.

This week I have more work travel and it promises to be another busy week.  Wish me luck!

Spring is in bloom

We are one third of the way through Spring.  That's one full month gone already.  And we are at the point when the season is really coming alive and showing all of it's beauty.  It is 100% my favorite time of the whole year.

So on Monday, after an exhausting day of work, I decided to take advantage of the sun and temperatures in the upper 40s to take the girls to Marshall for an evening walk.  

The walk along the river here is one of my favorites along the North Country Trail.  

We regularly see turtles warming themselves in the sun as well as a variety of birds.  

This time of year, we also see plenty of pretty flowering trees.  

We had a lovely walk and I was happy that I had made the decision to go to Marshall.   It was a wonderful start to our week.

Tuesday was busy, so I was really glad that we had the chance to get out for a little geocaching gathering at Dairy Queen.  I had been craving a shake and the girls were very happy to get pup cups.  Plus they were happy to get some attention from their geocaching friends.

The weather warmed up nicely throughout the week, and we had gorgeous weather for our Wednesday evening shelter dog walk.

We had a really nice group walkers and dogs and everyone enjoyed the time outside of the shelter. 

Afterward a group of us went to Dairy Hill in Mason for ice cream.  It was nice to get together with some my fellow volunteers away from the shelter. 

Thursday after work, before taking the girls for their walk, I had to mow the lawn.  With all of the rain we had last week followed by the warm weather this week, the grass has been growing so fast!  

After I finished mowing, we got into the car and drove to campus for our walk. 

I knew that everything would be in bloom, and I was excited to enjoy it all.

I love campus this time of year more than any other.  It is always beautiful, but especially so with all of the spring flowers and flowering trees.

The girls loved seeing all of the squirrels, which always makes our walks more fun.  The students we encountered were all interested in saying hello, and the girls happily obliged.  It was such a good walk.

The blooms will soon be gone from the Magnolia and Red Bud trees.  They will fall from the Cherry and Crab Apple trees not long after.  The lilacs are about to be in full bloom.  The students will be gone soon too.  And before we know it, summer will be in full swing.  But at least for this moment in time, we were happy to soak in all of the spring beauty.

On Friday I had hoped I might be able to get the girls out for a nice walk after work, but thunderstorms moved into the area in the late afternoon followed by rain for most of the evening. 

So I changed plans for the evening and headed out to Old Town for a visit to Preuss Pets.  When we arrived it wasn't raining, so I took the girls for a quick walk around the block.  With a few sprinkles falling, I decided to make a second trip around the block.  Then we headed into the store where the girls were promptly greeted by one of their favorite Preuss employees.  

We walked around the store and visited the fish, the Koi pond, the rats and ferrets, and made friends with a puppy.  Then I bought a few treats before we left.  We made a couple more trips around the block before loading up into the car as the rain really started to fall.  

On Saturday, I joined one other volunteer for our Saturday morning dog walking club at the shelter.  Since there were just two of us walking, we decided to take two dogs for a walk, and then take another two dogs when we got back to the shelter.   I walked Aunt Annie and Bumble Tub.  They were excellent walking partners.  They are pretty cute, too.

With 3 1/2  miles under my belt for the day already, I knew I still needed to get the girls out for a walk too.  So we headed to Albion for some time on the NCT there.

After temperatures had reached the 80s earlier in the week, Peaches was very happy with the 51 degree temperatures when we started our Saturday hike.

I had no specific goal for the day, but with the cooler temperatures I knew Peaches would be up for a longer hike, and I let her determine how far we went.  Along the way we saw our first Trillium of the season, which made me very happy.

After 4.4 miles, I needed a potty break and I knew the girls needed a water break, so we stopped at a local gas station to rest and rehydrate.   Then we parked along the trail again and headed out to see how much farther we could go.  

We added another 1.7 miles along the trail and finsihed as the sun came out and the temperatures began to rise a bit.  We finsihed the day with 6.1 miles on the trail which brings us to 76.5 miles for the year.  I'm so excited that we're over three-quarters of the way to our 100 mile goal.  

After a very busy Saturday, we were all exhausted and in bed early and then ready for a lazy Sunday morning.  But I also had a to-do list which I had plans to focus on for the day since it seems to constantly be growing.

Between housework, laundry, and needing to mow the lawn again, I kept myself busy throughout the mid-morning to late afternoon.  The girls spent much of the day outside enjoying the beautiful weather.  Then I ran some errands later in the day, and of course, the girls joined me.  We got home in time for dinner and the girls spent a little more time outside,  but now we're all inside and settled in for a quiet evening.  I feel pretty good about everything we accomplished today.

The next few weeks will be busy with some overnight travel for work as well as my normal work days, but the plan is to continue to focus on getting out for some more spring fun while Peaches can still enjoy some longer hikes on the cooler days.  Because once the summer heat arrives, our adventures this year will be limited to ensure she is happy and comfortable.   

As a bonus, here is a fun picture of Fiona and Picasso from their birthday last Sunday.  Fiona is now four and Picasso is now nine.  I love that they share a birthday and I love them!

Now I'm off to enjoy my Sunday evening before the craziness of the work week is upon us.