Half-Way

Happy Sunday afternoon, friends.  We have reached Summer of 2020 and the mid-point of the year.  It seems crazy that we are 6 months into this year and it is hard to believe all that has happened so far.  If all had gone as planned, the girls and I would have been returning from a vacation to the Canadian Maritime Provinces today.  But as we all know, nothing had gone as planned this year.  

The last week has been fairly quiet and relaxed.  My work week was filled with a virtual conference Tuesday through Thursday.  Each day started with time for a morning activity and involving the girls in our daily theme before the conference started.  

Each day for our morning activity, I took the girls on a nice walk.  Peaches, Piper, and I averaged about three miles each  morning(and usually did an additional short walk in between the conference and happy hour), and we allowed Maddie to join us for small portion of the walk each day. Our walk on Tuesday included a stop at Rotary Park off of the Riverwalk downtown to capture our beach day photo for the day.

During lunch each day, I took the girls out for a little time outside.  They were so well behaved each morning and the mid-day break helped Piper remain relaxed through the afternoon sessions. 

After 6 hours of virtual meetings and a nightly virtual happy hour, I was happy that the girls and I had gotten in our walks for the day early so that we could just sit outside and enjoy the beautiful, mild weather that we had this week.  

I don't know if the girls enjoyed the sports fan themed day on Wednesday, but Maddie has years of experience with me forcing her to do silly things  so she did great.  She even gave me a big smile while I was getting ready for work

I was so impressed with how well Piper did each day.  Most days, she and Maddie were close by while I was in meetings.  Peaches preferred to be in the living room on the look-out for the Mailman or strangers who might happen to walk by throughout the day.  

On the final day of the conference, I took Piper for a nice walk before heading home to spend some time in the yard with the girls playing a little ball.  

After a good bout of fetch, I harnessed all the girls and took them all for a quick walk around the neighborhood.  Piper had a little extra energy that morning, so I was working hard to work off some of that energy.

By the end of the walk, Maddie was tired...although I think Piper and Peaches would have kept on going if I had let them.

By lunchtime, the girls were ready for a nap in the sun and I was happy to get out and enjoy some fresh air.  Three days of meetings is tough!

By 5pm on Thursday, I think we were all happy to be done with our conference, but I can't say enough about just how good the girls were through the whole thing.  While they have been fairly good for me while I've been working from home,  I was prepared with Kongs of frozen peanut butter, bully sticks, and a variety of other entertainment in order to keep them occupied if needed, but I never needed any of them during any of the three days of meetings.  

This week I think Piper has progressed more than any other week since I've had her.  She's finding ways to occupy herself more and more and she is much more likely to relax  in the middle of the day, even if I'm moving around...while she is still likes to follow me, she is no longer a constant shadow.  We've also made some small gains in crate training which has been nice to see.  While I don't think she'll ever love being crated, she has been able to relax a bit while there and that is great progress.  Friday we had some decent thunderstorms move through our area and I was really proud of how well Piper handled the storms.  While she isn't crazy about them, as long as she could sit next to me, she eventually relaxed and fell asleep.  

Saturday, we spent a quiet day at home with several rounds of fetch in the yard, and I finally broke into the bully sticks so that all of the girls could have a special treat while I did a few things around the house.  Maddie was happy to enjoy some time on the patio while Peaches and Piper ran around the yard and kept themselves busy.

Our Sunday has been peaceful, accept for the occasional discussion I have to have with Peaches and Piper about not getting into the garden.  Peaches is especially struggling because there are sparrows and bees that have been frequenting the area and she is sure that she needs to chase them.

Piper was content to play ball while I tried to read in between throws.  We're working on getting her to let go of the ball when she brings it back, but that's going to take some more work!

And Maddie was happy to relax on the patio again  It was a great morning to spend time outside before the excessive heat moves in to the area.

And eventually, even Piper decided to lie down and just let me read my book.  It was a great start to the day!  

We've had a really nice day at home and the girls have let me get in some time for myself, which is always appreciated.  I'm now rested up and ready for the week ahead of me.  Thankfully, this week will be a short work week for me and we have some fun plans for next weekend!  I hope you all have a great week.