Peaches' Big Day

Happy Sunday! This week we celebrated Peaches' 13th Birthday and the 7th anniversary of her coming into my home.  Because of her history, I really wanted to make a big deal about this milestone.  So last Sunday,  we gathered together some of Peaches' favorite people and dogs friends for a party.

The theme for her party was a Pup Mitzvah, and in preparation for her big day, I actually learned quite a bit about Mitzvahs.  It was pretty interesting. 

I spent the morning finalizing the food preparation for the day.  It was a busy morning.  Peaches and Mina didn't take long to prepare, but they each wore their party dresses for the big day.

After a busy morning, I loaded everything into the car for our trip to Preuss Pets where we would be holding the party in their classroom.  We were joined by Lauren, Vanessa, Katelyn and Brooks, Nicol, Tyler, and Fiona, and Tom, Barbara, Sherman, and Ruby.  

Fiona was excited to see the dogs.  Smokey and Mina were both pretty happy to see her too.  Ruby was happy to see Vanessa.

We had brisket and BBQ chicken sandwiches with some simple finger food for sides and puppy chow for dessert.  The dogs all got a piece of pupcake and some frosty paws to celebrate. 

There was a lot of giggling by Fiona, and lots of kisses by Mina.

Brooks also got plenty of love from the dogs.  

And of course there were presents.

Time flew by and before I knew it, the party was over.  I know the toddlers and dogs all had a great time, and it was so nice to gather everyone together to celebrate our special girl.

Before we left the girls stopped for a picture with their party dresses.  I loaded up the car and got Mina and Smokey settled in, and then went back inside to spend some time with Fiona as she explored all of the fun and exciting things that Preuss has to offer. Finally, after a fun afternoon, it was time to head home.

When we got home, everyone ate dinner, and then Peaches put herself to bed with some of her new toys.  I think we had a very successful birthday celebration.   

We woke Monday to my first day back to work for the year, and to a very special girl's birthday. 

It was a cold day, and Peaches happily lounged throughout the day while I was busy at work.  It was a long and exhausting first day back, but the day went pretty quickly.  

After work, I got Peaches into the car and we headed downtown to Rotary Park where we met with a group of geocachers for a geocaching event celebrating Peaches' birthday.   It was a nice little gathering with our local geocachers and Peaches got lots of love and even a few treats.  After the event, I took Peaches for a pup cup before heading home.

And then I spent the evening snuggling with Mina after Peaches put herself to bed.

Tuesday was a beautiful sunny day.  The temperatures were cold, but the sunshine sure did make me happy.  

I had another busy day at work, and the girls did their best to help.

After work, we all got in the car to head to Mason for another of Smokey's post-surgery check-ups. 

He was so happy to see everyone at the vet office, and his check-up went great.  His shoulder wound is healing nicely and looks great.  He received another light therapy treatment to help the healing process continue, and we scheduled another follow-up appointment in two weeks.  I'm hopeful that might be his final appointment and then he'll be available for adoption.   

When we got done with his appointment, we made a stop in downtown Mason for a walk around town.  It was cold, but it sure was nice to get some excercise and fresh air. 

Somehow we had a really quiet Wednesday.  It was really cold and I had no real desire to spend much time outside, so we made the most of brain games, chews, and short trips outside throughout the day to keep the dogs busy and happy.   Mina spent a lot of the day sharing a dog bed with Smokey which is pretty unusual for her.  

We had a dusting of snow overnight, and after a really busy Thursday morning of work, I finally took a late lunch break.  We made a quick trip to the gas station, and when we got home, I decided it would be a great time to get the dogs out for a short walk.

First I took Mina and Smokey for a mile walk around the neighborhood.   It was so nice to be out enjoying the sunshine.

When I got back to get Peaches for her walk she was pretty excited.  So off we went for her walk, which ended up being a mile too.  She had the best time.

I was so glad that I had decided to take advantage of my lunch break to get everyone out for a walk.  It felt great to stretch our legs, and spending time in the sunshine was glorious. 

With temperatures falling after work, I wasn't excited to get out for another walk, but I decided I'd take everyine for a quick walk around the block together.  They all were walking so nicely that i decided to gi farther, and we ended up having a really enjoyable mile and a half walk.    

On Friday snow was in the forecast starting mid-morning.  As I looked outside at the fairly clean sidewalks, I decided I would take an early lunch to get the dogs out for a walk before the snow started.

Surprisingly, everyone decided to walk really nicely, and while it was pretty cold and the light wind in my face made it even colder, I was having an nice walk.

I spent most of my hour lunch out on a 2.7 mile walk and felt great when I got home ready to get back to work.

I spent the next hour listening to Smokey whine while I worked, until I finally fed him lunch in one of his puzzle bowls.  Then, after lunch, Mina spent the next 20 minutes sitting next to me obsessively squeaking one of her squeaky toys.  I finally got some peace, but mid afternoon everyone needed some entertainment, so they each had a Kong to fill some time, and then it was puzzles for dinner.  

Finally, we all settled in for the evening after I finished my dinner.  

Saturday morning started quietly, but that didn't last as long as I would have liked because I had a list of things to get done for the morning.  Then with the sun shining, I headed outside to shovel the driveway and sidewalk after our snowy Friday before heading out mid-day for some volunteer work and some fun. 

We had a lovely mid-day drive to Rockford to complete a home visit for a potential adopter for ISR.  Of course, I also planned to take advantage of the opportunity to get out on the North Country Trail nearby.

We reached a trailhead about 5 minutes from our home visit location with 30 minutes to spare, so I got everyone out for a quick walk for a potty break and to stretch our legs.  In 20 minutes, we got in 0.85 miles, lots of sniffing, and three good potty stops.  Then we were back in the car to head to the home visit.

After completing the home visit and having a lovely conversation with the very nice couple, we headed back for another hike brfore making the trip home.

While the sun was gone, the temperatures were above freezing, and we had a lovely walk.

I loved all of the beautiful snow-covered pines and the dogs were walking so well.  

As we got close to the trailhead parking, I stopped the dogs to try to get a picture of them on the trail.  The next three pictures were my attempt.  Smokey and Peaches had no desire to stand still, at least Mina listened to me.

We finished our second hike with another 3.3 miles and a total of 4.15 miles on the trail for the day.  That brings us to 7.4 miles for the year.  Only 92.6 miles to go!

It had been a great afternoon,  and now it was time to head home.  I grabbed a stromboli from Three Brother's Pizza in Lowell along the way so I could enjoy it for dinner when I got home.  After dinner,  it was a quiet evening. 

This morning I have a few last chores to finish around the house before I load up the dogs for a drive to Marshall.  There we will meet fellow ISR volunteer, Ruth, and Smokey will head off with her for a week of "vacation." Then the girls and I will take a quick walk on the NCT in Marshall before we hit the road headed to Farmington Hills to drop them off for boarding for this week.

I will be making a stop to visit Nicol, Tyler, and Fiona before I head to my hotel for the night near the airport for my Monday morning flight to a conference in Florida. Ugh!  It's going to be a long, exhausting week, so I'm planning a quiet and restful evening at the hotel.  

Wishing you all a wonderful week.  I'm already counting the days to next Friday and a long weekend! I'm sure there will be some adventures then!