Hi ho, hi ho...it's back to work I go

It was back to work this week after a relaxing two weeks off at home.  Luckily, my time off coincided with a time that is traditionally pretty quiet at work, so coming back wasn't overwhelming.  But with my team still down two members, I knew it would be a busy week.  The dogs were good all day Monday with a few trips outside and I had a good first day back.

The temperatures were finally back to more typical Michigan weather, thankfully, so we could actually spend some time outside.  After work, Bumble and I met up with a follow shelter volunteer on campus for a little photo shoot.  Brenda takes all of the shelter photos and thought maybe some new pictures might help to get him adopted.  He did such a good job doing everything we asked of him.  The above picture is my favorite of all of them she took.  

After we got home, we all had dinner, relaxed for a bit, then got out for a nice evening walk before spending time out in the yard at sunset.   

I had a busy schedule on Tuesday so I wanted to make sure I did what I could to keep the dogs happy.  After Mina and Bumble decided to have a major wrestling match in the middle of one of my morning meetings, I gave them a mid-morning Kong.  

They relaxed for a bit, and I decided to get them out for a lunchtime walk to burn some more energy.  But that didn't stop Mina and Bumble from several more wrestling matches after lunch.

When my work day was finally over, these two crazy pups were still ready for some mischief. 

So we loaded up the car and headed to Fenner for a nice walk.

I was really glad we had decided to make a visit to Fenner because it is one of Peaches' favorite spots, and she thoroughly enjoyed her walk.

We had dinner after we got home from our walk, and then we sat down to rest.  Peaches was happy for her little nap with her chin resting on my leg while Mina and Bumble decided another wrestling match was a better idea.  Eventually, everyone finally decided it was time to relax for the night.

I was hopeful that Wednesday would be a little more calm and took an early lunch so I could get the dogs out for a walk before it got too hot.

I'm not sure if it was the walk, or if I just got lucky, but it was a much more peaceful day.  I added puzzle feeders for lunch and an afternoon Kong, and there was plenty of napping.

We took another nice walk around the neighborhood before dinner, and then Mina, Bumble, and I took a short walk before sunset while Peaches stayed home sound asleep.

Since it was pretty warm on Thursday, we waited until it had cooled down in the evening to take our walk.  Peaches went into full hunting mode when she spotted a rabbit in a yard along the way.  It always makes me happy to see her still having her hunting dog moments.  

We enjoyed a beautiful pre-sunset sky along the way and we sat outside on the patio enjoying the lightning bugs to end the day.

The week seemed to fly by, and before I knew it, Friday had arrived.  It was just another typical Friday at work and I was happy when the day was over and we could start our weekend.  

It was hot enough that I knew we'd have to wait until a little later in the evening for our walk, so we had an early dinner and relaxed a bit before heading out for a visit to Scrapfest in Old Town.

Mina was completely fascinated by this piece with moving parts.   She drew a bit of crowd as several people watched her reaction.  It was kind of adorable. 

Of course I tried to get a picture with all three pups on a few occasions, but Mina was the only one who cooperated with me.  

All of the pups were well behaved and enjoyed walking around, sniffing all the smells, and getting lots of pets from strangers.

Saturday I spent the day running errands and getting some chores done around the house.  I picked up some strawberries from the final picking from the season at the farm and got a few veggies and a bake of  straw while I was there.  I also picked up groceries and a few other items before heading home for lunch.  

I also spent time outside to mow the lawn and do some yard work.  It was a busy day.  

So, after a full week and a busy Saturday,  I took advantage of a quiet Sunday at home.  I probably should have gotten out to work in the garden, but I decided that could wait.  The dogs weren't quite as happy with the quiet day, but they finally settled in for a nap.

They also made several trips outside throughout the day.  Mina wanted nothing more than to lounge in the sun...silly dog!

Finally, after spending lots of time enjoying our lazy day, we got out for a short walk to burn some energy.  Then we made a stop at Preuss.  The pups were excited to be there and got lots of love and some treats, which made their day.

We have another heatwave coming so next week may be pretty boring around here.  I'm really hoping that maybe it will finally be Bumble's week to get adopted because after nine weeks with us, he so deserves a family of his own.  

The heatwave and Happy Birthday America!

We started this week ready to beat the heat.  After the wonderful weather we had last week,  I was not looking forward to temperatures in the mid-90s with the heat index expected to get into the 100s.  That kind of weather isn't conducive to yard work and is definitely not dog-friendly. 

Monday was going to be hot, but the worst of the weather wasn't expected to arrive until later in the day.  So before things heated up, we got out for a nice morning walk.

It was a great way to start our day.  The dogs spent some time outside after we got home, and then they had an early lunch and a post-lunch nap.

Later in the day, I decided to make the drive to East Lansing to attend the Free Scopp event that the MSU Dairy Store was hosting at their ice cream truck which will be outside of the Union all summer.  They were so nice and not only did I get a free scoop, each of the pups got pup cups too.  We all enjoyed our afternoon treat.

I am glad I didn't need to take the expressway home.  What a crazy thing to see as we made the drive to Lansing. 

The rest of our day was mostly quiet.  

Tuesday we got out for a nice morning walk around the neighborhood. 

We took our time so that Bumble and Peaches could sniff to their heart's content.  It's what they both love to do most of all on our walks.

We took a drive to the gas station after we got home to fill up the car and to get a car wash.

Then I decided to make the drive to the greenhouse in Eaton Rapids to pick up a Roma tomato plant to replace one of the plants in my garden that had disappeared.  The greenhouse is dog-friendly and it was cloudy, so I knew that the ground wouldn't be too hot for pups yet.

Forgetting that we had gotten an early start to our day, we arrived before the greenhouse was open so I decided we'd head into town for a walk along the river walk and at Island Park.  Everyone loved this little adventure. 

Finally we were able to make our stop at the greenhouse and after a quick visit, we headed home.  Once we were home, I gave the dogs their lunch in puzzles and then we enjoyed a peaceful day at home.

July arrived Wednesday and with it so did the hottest day of the week.  With the heat and humidity, I knew I wouldn't be able to keep the dogs busy enough to keep them happy,  so I decided we'd take a drive.

I packed the car with water and snacks for all of us and off we went.

I did some geocaching along the way and the dogs happily watched as I jumped in and out of the car. 

I enjoyed the beauty of the  fields of wheat, corn, and soy beans along the way.

We found a well-shaded roadside park for a quick stop about midway through our trip.  This stop allowed the dogs to stretch their legs, go potty, and sniff some new smells.

Plus we found this cool little patch of fungi.  

After a few hours of driving around and exploring,  we headed home so we could all have dinner and settle in for a quiet night at home.

We had had such a good time on Wednesday that I decided to head out for another drive on Thursday. The dogs were happy to be heading out for another day of fun.

We saw pretty flowers and wildlife on our Thursday travels.

We also shared some Cheezits, which Peaches especially enjoyed.

We found a small park with access to a small lake, so we got out to stick our feet in the water.  Bumble wasn't convinced that that was a good thing, but Peaches loved it.

Then we continued our travels down some dirt roads and saw cattails and more flowers.

And all of the dogs had a chance to stick their heads out the windows to let their ear flap in the wind and to to smell all of the smells.

We made it home for dinner again, and then everyone happily settled in for the evening.  Who knew driving around could be so exhausting!

Friday I decided that we'd spend a quiet day at home.  I don't know how quiet it was because there were several rounds of wrestling and Bumble and Mina are not quiet when they play!

We also went outside a couple of times for some short rounds of fetch to keep the youngsters happy.

Around 5:30, some pretty strong storms moved through the area, and there was even a tornado warning.  Luckily we didn't lose power, although I know several other people did.  We ended the night with Kongs for everyone  since they'd been so good all day.

Saturday was July 4th and the celebration of the semiquincentennial...better known as America's 250th Birthday.  If you know me, you know that this was a big deal in my house!

We started the celebration with the parade through downtown Lansing around the Capitol. 

The dogs were very well-behaved and Bumble made several new friends with the people he met while we were there.

We took a walk along the parade route when we got tired of standing around and it was nice to be out for a little walk again.

Then we made a stop at Preuss Pets. That is always a highlight for the pups.

We then headed out to meet Vanessa for a little geocaching adventure around Maple Rapids. 

Bumble was very concerned when Vanessa disappeared into some trees in search of one cache.

We decided to wrap our adventure and make a stop for ice cream as the sky grew darker and we heard some thunder in the distance. Boy were we glad we did because a downpour appeared as we started the drive to Twisters.

I got soaked placing our order at the drive-thru. Oh, the sacrifices I make for ice cream! We decided to sit under the covered patio to enjoy out treat and got a good soaking just trying to get all three dogs out of the car.  But we all enjoyed our special treat. 

The rain had stopped before we got home and we were home just in time for the pupa to have dinner.

Then I decided I wanted to go downtown for the Lansing Concert Band concert at Adado Park.  I left Peaches and Bumble home each with a Kong to keep them busy and took Mina along for the fun.  She did such a good job!

After the concert Band finished it's performance, we were treated to a special performance by the Air Force Roots in Blue Band.  What a fun time!  

We left around 9pm so I could get home to watch the fireworks on TV and share cheesy popcorn with the pups.  After all, cheesy popcorn and fireworks has been a tradition for nearly a quarter of a century!  It was the perfect end to our 4th of July celebration. 

Today is my final day of vacation, and we spent it quietly at home.  It was a rainy, gloomy day, but after lots of napping, wrestling, and some special chews, we were able to sit outside and enjoy the evening a bit.  It was a nice way to end my two weeks away from work.  I'm not sure that I'm ready to go back, though.

Sadly, we've now reached the days when we start losing daylight and our sunsets are getting earlier each night.  But we still have lota of Summer ahead of us and I plan to make the most of it!   Who knows what Summer fun we'll find next!