A whirlwind week

Happy Sunday!  I wasn't sure I'd get to the blog today, but I'm currently sitting in a quiet hotel room in Orlando and thought I'd take advantage of the down time.

Last Sunday afternoon, I got to spend some time volunteering at a fun event at Biggby Coffee supporting the animal shelter.  Jack was my buddy for the two hours I was there.  He was a very good boy and it was a fun event.

The girls hung out in the car while I was volunteering,  and after the event, they each got a pup cup before we headed out on a walk.  It was a nice way to spend our afternoon. 

Monday was such a busy day for me, but the girls enjoyed time outside during the day while I worked.  After work, I spent some time outside with them with several rounds of fetch, then we took a quick walk around the neighborhood before sunset.

We spotted some deer down the street on our walk.  Mina was pretty excited to see them.  

On Tuesday, I took an early lunch plus a couple additional hours away from work to watch Brezlyn golf.  The conference championship for her high school athletic conference played at Fort Akers Golf Course on campus, so I was excited to be able to watch her.

It was a beautiful morning on campus, and I really enjoyed being out on the golf course watching her play.

The craziest thing I saw while out there was the flowers on the flowering cherry trees.  A little tast of spring in fall.

While the girls normally only play nine holes, they played a full 18 holes that day, and unfortunately I couldn't stay for the last nine holes.

After I left a cold front moved through and rain moved in, but they continued golfing through the rain.  At the end of the 18 holes, Brezlyn had golfed her personal best score and finished 2nd on her team and 15th in the conference.   She was pretty happy with the final result.

I got home and finished out my work day.  After work, I took the girls to the Dewitt dog park for a good run.  The girls made friends with Bella, a 9 month old Rottweiler puppy.  It was a fun night at the park with them.

Wednesday was my weekly dog walk at the shelter.  I got to walk Ned.  He was such a sweet boy.  The weather was great and it was a wonderful evening for our walk.

After I got home, I got the girls out for a quick walk just aftet sunset before we settled in for the night.

On my lunch Thursday,  we ran out to the farm to pick up pumpkins for my Fall decorating.  The girls came along so we could also make a quick stop at the dog park to burn off some energy.  I figured that would help them relax for the rest of the day while I worked.

After work we visited the Farmer's Market and took a walk through Soldan's.  Then we headed home to decorate. 

I was able to get most of my Fall and Halloween decorations out, but I discovered i needed a few more pumpkins, so on Friday we stopped at the farm for a few more pumpkins and some doughnuts over my lunch.

I had a busy day at work preparing to be out of the office for a conference the coming week, and I had a long list of things to do around the house after work too.  Luckily I was able to get most of my list completed.

After work, the first thing I did was get into the garden for the final picking of the year.  I did some minor garden clean up as well.  Then I froze the tomatillos, roasted and froze tomatoes, and finished working on the last of my dried basil.  

I finished laundry, dishes, and did a quick cleaning of the car, then packed for my upcoming work travel.  The girls and I also ran some errands.  It was a busy, but very productive evening.  

On Saturday morning, we picked up Vanessa and headed out for a much needed adventure.  We headed down to Southwest Michigan for some geocaching fun and we had a great time.  While we didn't hike as much as I originally thought we would, we really enjoyed our trip.

When we got home, I quickly loaded the car, dropped Vanessa off at home, and headed toward Detroit.  I had a few things to drop off for Nicol and enjoyed a short visit with Nicol,  Tyler, and Fiona.  Fiona loved showing me their Halloween decorations and running around outside after dark.  After my short visit, I was off to my hotel for the night so that I could get up early for my flight out of Detroit.

I dropped the girls off at the dog boarding facility before sunrise this morning and then headed off to the airport for a flight to Orlando.  

With a hurricane headed toward Florida, I had hoped the conference I was traveling for would be canceled,  but it was still on when my flight departed Detroit.  But as soon as I landed in Orlando, I got word that the conference was cancelled, and I started to  work on getting home.

Sadly there was no flight today to get me back home, but I was able to get a Monday morning flight and a hotel near the airport for the night.  I had a late lunch with some coworkers I ran into at the airport before they got to fly home, and then I headed to my hotel. 

The weather wasn't terrible, and I really needed a walk, so after I settled into my room, I headed out for a walk in the drizzle.  I walked about 2 miles just staying within a short distance from the hotel.  It was a nice walk and I arrived back at the hotel feeling much better than when I left.

I've spent a quiet night in my room and will be heading to bed shortly to get a good night's sleep before my morning flight.  

It was a whirlwind of a week and i got lots of stuff done.  I feel pretty great a out how productive I was.  I'm also pretty happy to get home from Orlando earlier than I expect and to see the girls again.  Now I just hope that my morning travel goes smoothly.   Wish me luck!