We started this week like we have the last few weeks, on the road for work. My Monday morning call with the boss while driving to Canine College with the girls, a stop at a coffee shop nearby after dropping them off to do some work, a stop at an advisors office, and then the drive to Toledo. I got an early check-in at the hotel and did some more work, and then decided to wrap up a little early so I could head out for some relaxation and fun.
And off to the Toledo Zoo I went. I had an hour and a half to spend at the zoo, which was just about perfect.
It was a beautiful afternoon, and I was excited to explore. I was not disappointed.
The Toledo Zoo has some really great exhibits and some animals that the Detroit Zoo doesn't.
They also have a cool aquarium which I really enjoyed.
When I finished my visit to the Zoo, I decided to head to downtown Toledo to check out some of the murals.
I also found some other interesting pieces of art around town.
It is crazy to me to think that I had never been to downtown Toledo previously. It has a cute little downtown area.
Then I saw that there was a sculpture garden outside ot the Toledo Art Museum. So I decided to make one more stop before heading back to my hotel for the night.
While I have been ordering dinner for delivery via Door Dash for all of my previous travel nights, this time I decided to stop to dine in for some Italian food just down the street from the hotel. After a quick dinner. I headed to my room to relax for the night.
I was up early Tuesday morning for our final meeting of the spring season. It was a busy day, but I checked in on the girls in the early afternoon. I smiled when I discovered the girls in cute little coats. The staff at Canine College always takes such good care of them.
After our meeting ended, I headed North to get the girls, grabbed some takeout out for dinner, and sat in the car with them while I ate. Then we continued our drive toward home.
When we got home, I gave Mina a toy from one of our sponsors, and she loved it. The girls made out pretty well over the course of my meetings this spring with toys, tennis balls, and even a Yeti water bowl.
I was exhausted after a long day and very happy to be finished with work travel for a few weeks. O think we're all happy about that. And we all slept really well that night!
Wednesday, I took an early lunch so I could pick up Bumble after his little vacation with a fellow foster. The rest of the day was busy with work, followed by a quiet but productive evening at home. It was just what we all needed!
On Thursday morning, Bumble headed to the shelter for his neuter surgery and spent his day there while I worked. When I picked him up from the shelter he burst out of the door as if he hadn't even had surgery. But he was happy to snuggle up for a nap when he got home.
After dinner, Bumble settled in for a nap and the girls headed outside with me as I mowed the backyard. Then we headed back inside for more snuggles with Bumble.
Friday was s busy day for me because, in addition to some work meetings, I was also going to use some of my volunteer time to help ISR foster dog Chef. Chef has some health issues, and the reacue was looking for a vet to give them a second opinion. And our vet, Dr. Jason was going to see him for the rescue.
I made the drive to Kalamazoo to pick Chef up from his foster, then headed to Mason for his appointment with Dr. Jason. He did great at his appointment and was a big hit with all of the staff. Such a sweet boy!
I stopped at a local coffee shop to do some work, headed home to let my dogs out for a quick potty break, then joined a call for work while I made the drive back toward Kalamazoo to meet Chef's foster mom.
After getting home and finishing my work day, I took the dogs to campus for a walk. They had been so good at home all day and I thought they deserved a fun walk to start the weekend.
It was warm, and Peaches wasn't very happy about that, but she was very interested in this fountain.
We had a really nice walk, but didn't go too far due to the heat and the fact that Bumble is on exercise restrictions because of his neuter surgery.
Everyone really enjoyed their time on campus.
Just look at these happy faces! Such good pups!
I had big plans for Saturday morning, but the day started out cloudy and rainy, which prevented me from doing the yardwork that I really needed to get done.
When the rain finally stopped, I took the dogs downtown for a walk around the Capitol. It was another hot day, and Peaches is already over the heat. But we enjoyed our walk, and I came home with three tired pups.
I spent Saturday evening in Chesaning for Brezlyn's graduation open house. It's so hard for me to believe that the baby of the family is graduating from high school!
It was also hard to celebrate when we were missing my dad. He would be so proud of her.
After a really busy week, I decided to sleep in a bit on Sunday morning and have a lazy start to the day. I then headed to Potter Park for our annual Shelter Volunteer Appreciation luncheon.
This year, as part of the luncheon, we had tthe opportunity to visit the zoo. I haven't made a visit to the Potter Park Zoo, outside of the zoo lights, in several years. It's a small zoo, and it was a quick visit, but I was able to see all of the animals. I'm glad I took advantage of the opportunity to visit.
When I got home from the zoo, I got the dogs into the car and headed to campus to meet Vanessa. We haven't seen Vanessa in forever and we decided to get together for a visit to the East Lansing Art Fest.
It was so hot, and Peaches was slow moving, but all three dogs were so good. They made lots of friends and got plenty of attention. I was so proud of how well they all did!
Then we made a slow walk back to the car, stopped for a quick visit at Preuss, and then headed home. I was able to mow the lawn and get a few other things done before feeding the dogs their dinner and making my dinner. Then we had a quiet Sunday evening at home.
I am happy that we will have a little time to catch our breath over the next few weeks before I have to travel for work again, and we're finally going to have the chance to get away for a long weekend of fun too. Mostly, I'm just happy that things should get back to a more normal rhythm around here and we should have some time to spend working in the yard and garden and just enjoying the last few weeks of spring.
