Happy May!

Happy May!  It is hard to believe that we have reached the fifth month of the year.  With as busy as life has been for the last two months, this year is just flying by so quickly.  While Spring has been slow to arrive, the grass has finally turned green and needs to be mowed, the flowering trees are starting to bloom, and the new leaves are starting to unfurl.  I love this time of year.

The temperatures have still been lower than normal for the most part, but we have been enjoying getting out to enjoy Spring.  Walks downtown on the Frank J Kelley walkway between the Hall of Justice and the Capitol Building were a big part of our last week.  It is one of my favorite places to walk on evenings and weekends.  It is quiet and there are lots of great things for the dogs to sniff.  

I had one final work meeting last week, and due to circumstances outside of my control, Hershey ended up staying in the hotel with me and Peaches for the night instead of staying with another foster family.  We had a great room in downtown Grand Rapids at the newly dog-friendly Embassy Suites.  Everyone that worked there was so welcoming and friendly.   I was really glad that I had decided to stay there.

Hershey and Peaches both loved the balcony.  It was a cold night, so we couldn't leave the door open for long, but whenever it was open, that's where Hershey headed.

We enjoyed a really nice walk in the area near our hotel.  It is a great area of town with some cool parks and neat businesses, including a great little pet store where we stopped to buy a couple of special treats for the night.

 

We also enjoyed walking along the Grand River with views of the downtown skyline.  Even though it was cold and blustery,  it was a great 2 1/2 mile walk.  Hershey and Peaches had a great time exploring a new area. 

It was great having the dogs with me because otherwise I probably wouldn't haven gotten out to explore as much as we did.  After our initial walk, we headed into the hotel so they could eat dinner and then headed out again for an after dinner walk.  After another brisk walk, they settled into the room with their special treats while I grabbed snacks and ordered room service from the hotel bar.

After a quiet evening in the room, morning arrived and I had to leave Hershey and Peaches in the room while I started work.  I was a little nervous about how Hershey would react when I left, but I was able to slip out of the room without him noticing.  I came back a couple hours later to check on them, he was awake and looking for me, but he was being good.  I stayed in the room working for a bit and he and Peaches happily settled in on the  sofa.

After a long day of work, we were able to get out to enjoy another walk around downtown Grand Rapids before we headed home.  It was a nice sunny day for a walk.  

Hershey was convinced that this statue in front of Van Andel Arena was a real person and really wanted to make a new friend.  

It was a really busy work week and I spent most of the night Wednesday working after we got home from Grand Rapids.  I also had a crazy busy Thursday, but the weather was beautiful so Peaches and Hershey both spent a lot of time outside throughout the day while I worked.   After work we spent most of the evening outside, something we haven't done much of this Spring.  With all of that fresh air, we all slept great that night! 

We enjoyed another beautiful walk around downtown Lansing after work on Friday.   Just look at those leaves starting to show.  

The most exciting thing that happened on Friday was the news that Izzy of Superior Gundogs, gave birth to a litter of puppies-4 males and 2 females-and likely my new adventure buddy.  While I am not 100% certain that I will bring home one of the females, the chances are pretty good.  Just thinking about the possibility is pretty exciting.

Saturday morning we met with Vanessa for our weekend adventure on the North Country Trail.  It had been awhile since we had been out on the trail and I was ready to get back out for a hiking and geocaching adventure.  

We spent the day hiking between Hillsdale and Jonesville.  It was a cool and gray day, which really is the perfect weather for hiking.  We started in Hilldale and completed our first 2 1/2 miles with Hershey.   After 2 1/2 miles, he settled into the car and we continued our hike.  

Much of the trail in this area follows an old railroad grade, but part of it is also sidewalk along a main highway.  It isn't a very exciting area, but there were Marsh Marigolds, we picked up some geocaches, and overall, it was a nice hike.  We completed 6 1/2 miles total for the day and made it back to the car not long before a Thunderstorm moved through the area.  Boy was I glad we made good time on our hike so we didn't get stuck in a downpour.  We have now completed 36 1/2 miles on the NCT this year  This is far behind our pace last year, but we've got plenty of time to finish.

On Sunday I was finally able to meet Fiona.  She has the tiniest little fingers and toes and is just so small.  I spent most of Sunday afternoon holding her while visiting with Nicol and Tyler.  What a wonderful visit and a day I will never forget.  I can't wait to watch her grow and see her learn and explore the world.  

Although I had a busy start to the week, the rest of this week will be much quieter and less hectic for me.  I am looking forward to a quiet, productive week at home.  I don't know how much fun we'll get to have due to a rainy forecast, but I think we're all ready to stay put for awhile.  I hope you all have a wonderful week.