Fun, food, festivals, and finishing lots of to-dos

We've had quite a busy week full of fun summer activities.  The temperatures were pretty hot to start the week, with a little cool down on Wednesday, and then a return to the 90s as we ended the week.  We're just about to enter the final month of summer and back-to-school is in full swing, so we are definitely doing everything we can to make the most of the summer days that remain.   

I wasn't very good at getting pictures early in the week, probably because we didn't do anything exciting.  My Uncle Charles has a farm and received some special permits from the DNR for deer causing crop damage and offered me the opportunity at getting some of the meat.  Last week he dropped two deer off for processing, one each for me and Nicol, and on Monday Nicol made the drive to the processor to pick up our meat.  I met her in Perry to get my box of over 40lbs of venison.  This will go a long way to help with feeding Peaches and I was happy to be able to fill my freezer for her.  As you can see, I have a quite the freezer full to feed her with over the next few months.  

Monday night the girls were still recovering from our big day of hiking last Sunday, so we just spent some time in the yard that evening.  With the heat on Tuesday, we did the same thing, and I spent a little time in the garden.  I finally got my first tomatoes.  It is so strange to me how slow my garden is growing this summer.  Other than the cucumbers which have done pretty well, everything else is way behind, although I'm starting to see some progress finally.  I've decided I'm just going to be grateful for anything that I get out of the garden this year.  And those two little pear tomatoes were pretty tasty!

I worked a half day on Wednesday so that I could take Mina to the Dog Days event at the Lansing Lugnuts baseball game.  This has become an annual tradition for us and I love it.  They allow dogs at every Wednesday home game, but I really enjoy the day games the best, and this game was also the kids fun day where some of the local kids camps come for the game too.  It's a great time with Mina because she is so easy and loves kids.

I was starving when we got there so I got the chicken finger basket and sat down to eat and share a few bites with Mina.  We spied this adorable GSP/English Pointer mix from our seat.  He was very sweet.

I was even more excited about this game because Nicol, Tyler, and Fiona joined us for the fun.  They got there a little later than I did, so Mina and I did some laps around the stadium while we waited. 

When Nicol arrived, we headed out to the lawn area where there are some really nice tables with umbrellas for shade.   She, Tyler, and Fiona enjoyed some good baseball food and Fiona got her first taste of cotton candy, which she loved!

Fiona got a chance to play in the bouncy house after finishing her food and she loved it! She even made a friend.

Mina insisted on another lap around the stadium and I made her pose with the Taco Bell seasoning packet because I thought it was pretty funny.  

When we got back to the table, she was eyeing the two little leftover pieces of Fiona's corn dogs, which of course she got to finish.  She was a pretty happy pup.

The Lugnuts won the game, and I made sure to get a picture of everyone before we left to commemorate Fiona's first professional sporting event.  I was so glad that they had joined us!

When I got home, Mina got to stay home and relax while I took Peaches and Mia for a nice walk around the neighborhood.  They were pretty happy to be out enjoying the afternoon.
 

Then, after we got back from their walk, I headed out to the shelter for our Wednesday night dog walk.  I got lucky enough to walk a dog and was pretty exciting to walk beautiful Superior.  He's still just a puppy at 10 months old and has the prettiest eyes.  He was pretty interested in my phone!

On Thursday, the girls spent a lot of time out in the yard throughout my work day.  I was glad that they had because after work, I had to head out to the Olivet area for a home visit for ISR.  I met a very nice family with a sweet 12 year old GSP who are looking to add a new GSP to their family after the recent loss of their male.  After the home visit, I made the drive home, fed the girls, made myself dinner, and then headed outside to enjoy the evening on the patio.  

On Friday, I dropped my car off early for a small repair and oil change before starting my work day.  I picked my car up at lunch and ran a few errands, then headed home to finish my work day.  Right after work, I had an appointment at Discount Tire for the repair of a small hole in a tire and a tire rotation.  The car is now ready for a nice road trip!

After all of the running around and craziness of the day, I was excited to take the girls out to the Island City Dog Park for some fun.  I love this park because we're always there by ourselves and the girls can just run and explore without having to deal with other dogs.  This also allowed me to bring Mia along for the trip and I am so glad I did.  She was running and having such a good time.  I loved seeing her so happy.  After a hot 35 minutes at the park, everyone (except Mina) was ready to head home for the night.

We are on vacation this week, and I had a spent a lot of time earlier in the week slowly checking some things off my to do list.  By the time we reached Saturday morning, I still had a few things left on my list, but I also had some plans for a little fun.  We left home early to drop off some Styrofoam for recycling and to make a quick stop at the Holt Farmer's Market for a few treats from Fur Real Dog Snacks.

Them we made the drive to Williamston for the Dog Days of Summer Festival where we participated in the PawK.  It was a short walk around the park and it benefitted the Ingham County Animal Shelter Fund.  

Luckily it was early enough that the temperatures weren't too hot.  The girls enjoyed their walk and they all got medals when they finished.

After we finished the walk, we headed over to the pools for a drink and a little cool-down.  While we were there, I had a nice talk with a women who had recently lost her GSP.  After we talked for a bit, she shared with me that she was the Mayor of Williamston.  We enjoyed our conversation with her.

Then we checked out the vendors.  Mia got to try her first pup cup which one of the vendors were giving out for free.  I was pretty proud of her for letting a complete stranger give her a treat.  She loved it!

Then it was back to the car to cool down in the air conditioning!  Peaches was wiped out and ready for a break and so I said goodbye to our friends there and headed out to check another item off my to do list. 

We made the drive to Old Town for the girls to get their nails trimmed at the groomer there.  Peaches normally hates her nail trims, but she did much better than normal today.  I was very proud of her. 

Since we were in Old Town already, we took a quick walk around Art Feast.  There were lots of vendors and people around and the girls were all perfect.  Before we left, I picked up a lemonade and a quesadilla from a couple of the food trucks there.  We walked back to the car so I could eat while the girls were comfortable in the A/C again.

We ended our day of adventures with a quick trip out to Sleepy Hollow State Park to meet up with some fellow geocachers and partake in a special event there.  We didn't stay long because Peaches was over the heat and humidity, but we had a little fun before we left.  It was a very quiet ride home!

The girls had lunch when we got home, and then we headed outside so that I could mow the lawn before some rain moved into the area.  The girls stayed outside while I mowed the front yard, but were ready to head inside when I moved to the backyard.  It was really weird mowing the backyard in the full sun without the nice shade from the Willow Tree, and boy was it miserably hot!  I checked the garden for any goodies before I headed inside.  Those tomatoes were pretty tasty!

I finished my afternoon with a hair cut and finishing up the laundry and a couple other quick errands.  Then, when I got home, I finished folding the laundry so I could pack, and then I packed the car for the big trip we'll be taking this week.  

With the car packed and the gas tank full, we're ready to leave for a nice trip north for the week.  I'm so excited that we'll get to spend most of the next 7 days north of the Bridge.  I'm looking forward to some quiet time, some relaxation, and the chance to see friends.  Plus I'm excited to share the UP with Mia.  It should be a great week!  Now off we got to spend the day in the car!