Busy, but uneventful

While life remained busy this week, it was a fairly uneventful week.  Old Man Winter finally decided we'd had enough of the the frigid temperatures, but rain, freezing rain, and slushy snow defined the start of our week.

Monday and Tuesday were lazy days spent mostly inside due to the weather, and I had to find ways to keep the girls occupied while I worked.  We did lots of puzzle games and they had to work for all of their meals.  I also prepped a bunch of kongs and bones for the freezer.  That allowed the girls to partake in one of their favorite activities - helping  clean out the empty peanut butter jars.

By the end of my work day Tuesday, we were all going a little stir crazy, so I decided to pull out the AKC list of Intermediate tricks and start working on some new skills with Mina.  Of course Peaches is always included in these fun training sessions too.  

We started with a little refresher course on some everyday skills and then worked our way into some more difficult tricks.  I think we were all happy I had made the decision and we all had fun.  We then settled in for a quiet night.

Wednesday the weather had improved so I was back to my recent routine of working in the morning then driving to the hospital on my lunch in order to spend the afternoon visiting with my dad while I work from his hospital room.  He seemed extra tired that afternoon, but I could definitely tell he'd made progress. 

I drove home from the hospital in time for our Wednesday night shelter dog walk.  There were only two of us coming in to walk that night, thankfully, because I arrived to find only one dog available to walk with us.  So Idril got a walk all by herself in a light rain, and then we returned to the shelter to give her some play time inside.  She was a fun little girl and had a great night.

Normally I would have visited my dad on Thursday, but my work schedule that afternoon wasn't conducive to working from the hospital, so I stayed home for the day.

That allowed me to get the girls out immediately after work for a fun walk on the East-West Connector Trail at Sharp Park.  We hadn't been here in quite awhile so the girls were thrilled to be somewhere different and the best part was that we got in a 3 mile walk before it got completely dark.  It seems like forever since we walked that far and it felt great.  It also led to a very quiet night and a slow start to our Friday morning. 

Since I hadn't been to the hospital Thursday, I worked from there on Friday afternoon.  My mom took the day off from visiting, and I was glad I could give her a break.  I worked on some of my tedious end of week work tasks while having a nice conversation with my dad.  He had definitely made progress since I saw him on Wednesday.   It was a great visit. 

I left the hospital just after 5pm to make the drive home in the rain  When I arrived home, it was raining pretty steadily, but I knew I had to do something with the girls, so we headed out for a visit to Preuss Pets.

I'm sure the girls thought that this was the most exciting thing we did all week.  They love Preuss and dragged me all over sniffing everything.  They especially loved watching the fish and the small furry critters.  I bought a few small items and left with two happy girls.   

We then took a quick walk in Old Town in a light drizzle so that they could explore, potty, and expend some energy before heading home.   After eating dinner from their treats balls, they settled in nicely for the night. 

Saturday I had a full day planned.  While I was originally supposed to help on two separate rescue transports, one was canceled late in the week leaving me with just one, but I was pretty excited about this transport. These three puppies came from Roscommon County Animal Shelter where they were surrendered with two others last week.  All five boys were surrendered when the lady who bred them couldn't sell them and could no longer handle caring for them.  Lucky for them, the shelter was able to find breed experienced homes for two of them and ISR was able to take the remaining three.

This transport started in Lansing where I met the volunteer from the shelter and then helped get them to Battle Creek.  From there they were off to foster homes in Indiana and Illinois, and I headed back home.  

Since I no longer had a second transport, which would have taken me from Lansing to Flint, I  decided I'd take the girls along on my drive to visit my dad.  I thought we could make a stop along the way so that they could have a little adventure, and then they could nap in the car while I visited with my dad.

We ended up stopping at Bicentennial Park in Grand Blanc which is just a couple miles from the hospital.  There were plenty of new smells and a nice paved trail.  We had a nice walk and even did a little geocaching. 

After a great visit with my dad, we started our trek home.   I decided to take some backroads instead of the Expressway and I am glad I did.  When we came upon this little strip mall with Magoo's Pet Outlet, of course we made a stop.  We walked up and down every aisle, made friends with an 11 week old Great Dane puppy, and found some great deals.  We took a walk around the plaza before we left and even got to pick up a geocache.  Then we got back in the car and slowly weaved our way home making some quick stops to pickup a geocache here and there.  

The girls had dinner in their puzzle toys when we got home, and then we settled in for the night.  It had been a really good day, probably one of the best days we've had all month.  Even though I had been busy, it was a refreshing change from our recent routine.

It has been a rough Sunday morning for the girls and they've been good while I try to get some things done, including the blog.  But Peaches' whine tells me that it may be time to get moving. 

I was excited for today because it is the only day of the week I have no commitments and nowhere i have to be.  But I have so many things I need to get done and so many fun things I want to do with the girls, I just don't have enough time.  

So today I will spend some time doing some much needed cleaning, I will get some tasks done, I will get the girls out for an adventure, and then, I am going to sit down, relax, and watch the Lions play in the NFC Championship game.  

Now I'm off to be productive.   Hope you all have a wonderful Sunday and Go Lions!!!