A New Year and a Birthday Girl

We started the new year at our final family Christmas celebration of the year, my mom's family Christmas.  Because I knew that chances were good that it would be nearly dark before I got home, I brought the girls along with me so that we could stop for a little adventure on the way home.  They sat nicely in the car during the party, got to meet some family members at the end of the party, and were thrilled to get out for a walk on our way home. 

We stopped at a couple of spots on the way home to pick up a few geocaches, and then we headed to Harmon-Patridge Park in Owosso for a walk.  I had never heard of the park before, but there was a geocache located there, so we stopped.  I wasn't disappointed with this stop because there was a nice trail along the river and we were able to get in a nice walk at dusk.  It was a beautiful start to our year.

As a bonus we found this cool sign and tree.  Having grown up in the area, I thought this was a cool spot.  

We drove through downtown Lansing on the way home, and I had to stop as we drove by this awesome ice sculpture. We took a short walk around the Capitol and the girls got to say hello to some of the crew members working there cleaning up after the inauguration.

I had the day off on Monday.  While I was hoping for a quiet day at home, we always have to get out for a walk. We left mid-morning for a quick walk around the neighborhood, and ended up taking a 3 and 1/2 mile walk instead.  After we got back to the house, we jumped in the car and headed out to meet Vanessa on campus for another walk and a little geocaching.

We made one more stop on the way home to pick up one more geocache and a short walk around Poxson.  After all of our fun, we had a nice evening at home.  

Wednesday night is our dog walking club night, and I normally head out to the shelter after work to help lead the walk.  This week, my normal walkers were out of town or not feeling well, so I decided I'd get to the shelter earlier than normal and take a few dogs out myself.  I brought the girls along so that we could get in a walk after I had finished walking the shelter dogs.  I was able to get three dogs out of the shelter for walks and then the girls and I took a nice walk along the same route.  

Thursday morning, I had an eye doctor appointment and had to drive by the Capitol on my way home.  In all of the years I've lived here, I've never seen them taking down the Christmas tree.  I thought this was pretty interesting to see.

The best day of the week was Friday because we celebrated Peaches eleventh birthday.  While I had to work, I made sure to make it a special day for her.  In addition to our normal daily walks with Mina, I took Peaches out for a little one on one time.  We enjoyed a short walk, a trip to Soldan's, and a stop for a pup cup at Biggby, and I was happy to be able to spend some time with her snuggling too.  

It is hard for me to believe that she's been with me for five years now.  I'm so glad that she outlived the original two years that I was told to expect to have with her.  She has been such a blessing and a joy.  She's definitely starting to show her age, but I think that the 10-12 year old age range for GSPs is pretty perfect.  We are looking forward to many more years of adventures together!

Saturday morning, I headed back to the shelter to walk some dogs again.  I had promised Bob Cratchit that I'd get him out and so he was my first dog walking buddy of the day.  We stopped at the Family Farm and Home along our dog walking route and he got to say hello to a few people.  He was such a good boy!

I then took Tipperary out for a walk in the woods and picked up a few geocaches along the way.  She is a big ol' sweetheart and loved her time out of the shelter.  I just love her!

The girls and I got out for a walk around the neighborhood once I got home and then we settled in for a nice day at home. 

This morning we needed an adventure, so we headed out to Legg Park.  There were several new geocaches placed there recently (thanks Vanessa), and so we headed out to find them.  

Vanessa joined us for our adventure.  It sure was nice have her along to help with the girls, and to give me a few hints when I was struggling to find one of the caches.  We had a great time caching and it was the perfect morning for a walk through the woods.  

After we dropped Vanessa off, we made another stop for another short hike before heading home.  I had a few errands to complete and the girls were happy to be along for the ride.  Once we got home, we had lunch and did a few things around the house before we headed out for one more walk for the day, a quick walk around the block.  

This week I'll be attending a work conference, and sadly, the girls have to be boarded while I'm gone.  So after our last walk, I loaded them into the car and headed to the boarding facility to drop them off for their stay.  I'm happy to know that a one of the employees is a GSP lover and just recently lost her own GSP.  She was extremely excited to meet the girls and it makes me feel better knowing that someone who understands them will be there with them this week. But I really wish that they didn't have to stay there.  I know they'll be fine, I'm not sure I will be.

The house is exceptionally quiet without them and I'm in the process of cleaning up the last of the Christmas decorations to keep myself busy.  I always wait until January 6 to take the tree down, and I decided it would be easiest to take it down without the help of a puppy.  

I'm sad to see the holidays come to an end and to leave the girls behind for the week, but I'll try to make the best of it.  I'm already looking forward to the reunion with the girls.