Normalcy

When I ended the blog last Sunday, I was about to head out for a geocaching clean-up event that I was hosting in conjunction with our shelter dog walking club to clean up an area where we walk every week.  There were ten people and a dog that showed up to help, plus I brought Gio along with me while the girls stayed home.  It was a good turnout, and we made fast work with an area that really needed the clean-up.  I was thankful for everyone that showed up to help!  One of the geocachers came all of the way from the Flint area to help us, and she fell in love with Gio.

After the event was over, I took Gio out for a hike along the Ram Trail and did a little geocaching along the way.  We had a really nice walk and he was very brave.

After our two mile walk, we headed home, where I left Gio for a nap and loaded the girls into the car for a trip to Soldan Dog Park.  They definitely needed to burn some energy.

While I got no pictures of the girls, I did get some pictures of spring flowers that were in bloom, including the last of the trillium.  The girls had a great time too.

After our afternoon of fun, we threw a little ice cream party for Gio in the hopes that maybe he'd get adopted on Monday.  It was a great way to end our day.

On Monday, I had a full day of work.  While I worked, the girls and Gio spent most of the day outside playing.  Finally around 2:30pm, I received the call that the lady who had met Gio on Sunday was coming back to the shelter with her husband to adopt him.  

 

After my final work call of the day, I headed to the shelter with Gio to meet his new family.  They were so excited to take him home, and while he was a little shy about getting into their car, he got in and headed off for his new life.  I'm so happy for this sweet boy.  

After dinner that evening, the girls and I took a drive to Dimondale for our walk.  We checked out the trails at Danford Island Park and then took a walk around town.  It was a beautiful walk  along the river and beautiful weather for it.

Tuesday was a long day.  I spent the morning at work, and then I spent the afternoon and evening working the election.  We had some storms move through the area on Tuesday evening, but nothing like those that moved through the Kalamazoo area which produced tornados in the area.  Boy am I grateful those storms didn't move our way.  With the long day of work and the weather, we didn't get out for any adventures, but I think the girls forgave me.

We had beautiful weather on Wednesday, and the girls spent a lot of time outside during my work day.  I enjoyed a wonderful walk with the shelter dogs on Wednesday night.  It was a great group of dogs and they had the best time.  It always makes me so happy to see how happy they are to be out of the shelter.

I tried to get the girls out for a quick adventure on Thursday during my lunch, but the park I had chosen for our walk was pretty muddy from the storms earlier in the week.  The weather after work was rainy and I wasn't feel well, so a Thursday evening adventure didn't happen either.  The girls got to have their meals in some of their brain games and Mina got to have her collagen chew.  Luckily, they are pretty understanding and both of them relaxed for the evening.  

Finally Friday arrived, and I was determined to get the girls out for a good adventure.  Rain was once again in the forecast for later in the evening, so I made sure we left home right after work. 

I decided a nice walk at Lake Lansing North Park was just what we needed, and the girls were pretty excited to be there too.  

We walked just over 4 miles, and it was perfect weather for it.  There were hardly any bugs, and  we even got some peaks of sunshine along the way.  It was a great day to be in the woods and a much needed adventure for us all.  

Afterward, we made the drive to Durand for their Friday night Fish Fry and then picked up a few geocaches in the areas before heading home for the night.  It had been a great way to start our weekend.

On Saturday morning, I had the pleasure of making the drive to Saginaw County Animal Care and Control to pick up 5 dogs that were being transferred to our shelter.  Saginaw County has a beautiful new shelter that I've wanted to see and I was excited to be able to help them out by picking up some dogs.  

I drove the shelter van to Saginaw and arrived around 10:45am.  While I waited for them to pull together the paperwork and get the dogs, I took some pictures of their shelter.  I also made friends with Travis, pictured above, who is a heartworm positive dog that is available for adoption there.  He was a very sweet boy.

I loved their cat enclosures that are large and open to the lobby, and the section of dog kennels that you can see from their lobby.  I had a few faces peaking out at me.  

This shelter is way over their capacity with well over 100 dogs in their care, and they are in desperate need of help.  There are dogs everywhere and they are doing their best to help them all find homes.  They are short on funds and short on staff and volunteers, and it breaks my heart because I know that they are working hard and doing their best, but they just overwhelmed. 

The staff members and volunteer who helped me load the five dogs into the van were so grateful for this little bit of help and I thanked them several times for the work that they do and let them know that they are appreciated.  Phoebe got to ride nicely with a seat belt harness while the other four dogs were crated in the back.  Everyone was quiet on the drive back to the shelter, and I helped get them all comfortably settled into their new kennels before I finally left the shelter and headed home.  

Here is a rare picture of me doing something I really enjoy.  This was such a worthwhile trip.  

After I finally got home, I loaded the girls into the car and we headed out for a visit with my parents.  We had a nice visit, and the girls got to run and explore.  They had a great time hunting for whatever critter was hiding in the branch pile and I had a nice visit with my parents.  My dad continues to get better and stronger, and my mom seems much less stressed now that he's home and they seem to have a good routine now.  Before I left, I event got to see Brezlyn, who stopped to see my parents on her way to prom.   I told my dad before I left that I realized this was the first week since January that I hadn't made multiple trips to the hospital or rehab, and it seemed weird to not see him a few times during the week, but it also felt nice to know that life was starting to feel normal again.  He agreed.  Normal is good.

After a busy and exhausting week, I was looking forward to a quiet Sunday.  I've been tired and it was nice to get a good night's rest and to wake up with no where to go and no real plans for the day.  After a quiet morning at home, I drove out to the farm to check out their greenhouse and and get some of their fresh made donuts.  The donuts were still warm when I picked them up, and they were as delicious as always.

We then stopped at the Dewitt Dog Park for some fun.  The girls had the place mostly to themselves.  Mina spent most of her time running and Peaches spent most of her time sniffing everything.  We were there about an hour.  Both girls were tired and happy.

On the way home I decided to stop at Lansing Shuffle for lunch.  I love that they have several choices for food and that it is dog friendly.  The girls got a little treat from the restaurant and waited patiently for my order to be done.  Then we headed outside to eat on the patio.

We finished lunch and then headed out for a walk along the Lansing River Trail.  It was nice to see lots of people out enjoying the beautiful day.  We made a quick detour over to the Capitol before circling back to the River Trail and then back to our car.  

With the exception of a little yard work, most of the rest of our late afternoon was quiet and relaxing. 

The best part of my dad was the call I got from Nicol and Fiona.  Fiona yelled Happy Mother's Day as I answered the phone and was very talkative telling me all about their day.  While personally I don't really care much about Mother's Day, I do love being a mom and a grandma and those girls will always have my heart.  I can't wait until I can see them next weekend!

Now I'm off to relax for the evening before the week starts again.  I can't wait to see what fun this week brings us.