A few of my favorite things

We had quite a busy week with travel for work and volunteer commitments.  It started with a drive to Farmington Hills on Monday morning to drop the girls off for their stay at Canine College, followed by a stop at a local coffee shop to get some work done, and then a lunchtime visit to Nicol and Fiona.

It was a beautiful day so we sat outside, played hide and seek, and played in Fiona's new fairy garden.  I'm thankful that my work travel schedule has given me some extra time with Fiona.  She's so much fun.

I spent the night in Troy, busy with work stuff, and then spent all day Tuesday at our meeting.  When our meeting was finished, I made the drive back to Farmington Hills to pick the girls up from Canine College.   I was especially excited to see them because Tuesday was Mina's fourth birthday. 

Before heading home, we stopped at Nicol's at the request of Fiona because she wanted to see Mina on her birthday.   

We arrived to a special birthday cake just for Mina.  Fiona was also happy to share her birthday balloons and to sing happy birthday to her. 

I had fun trying to wrangle everyone for some pictures.   I think these turned out pretty cute.

When we left, we stopped at a local pet store in downtown Farmington to buy the birthday girl some treats.  Then we took a walk around Riley Park.

Before leaving, I stopped at Starbucks to get the girls each a pup cup, which they thoroughly enjoyed.  Then we headed home after two long busy days.

On Wednesday we got the shelter dogs out for a rain evening walk.  Despite the rain, Quirkles was happy to be out of the shelter.

After everyone else had left, i spent a little one on one time with Arabella.  She was a very nervous girl but after sitting with her for a bit, I was happy that she let me put a collar on her so I could take her for a short walk.

Then, after all of the shelter dogs were settled into their kennels for the night, I was able to get my girls out for a walk in downtown Mason.

We had a lovely walk and we all went home ready for a quiet night.

After a busy day of work on Thursday, I decided to make a quick trip to get the girls out for a hike on the NCT.  

I had a goal of reaching 80 miles on the trail by the end of April, and with our hike in Thursday, we accomplished our goal.  We actually finished the night with 80.5 miles toward our 100.  Woo hoo!

Friday morning started with a trip to the vet for Peaches.  She did such a good job letting Dr. Jason look her over.  

I had a busy day at work, and when the day was over I was exhausted and ready for a relaxing evening.   But the girls were ready for some fun. So I decided to make a trip to Old Town for a walk followed by a visit to Preuss Pets. 

I started Saturday at the shelter for a Saturday morning dog walk.  It was a chilly morning, but we had some great dogs to walk.

Walking shelter dogs is always a great way to start the day!

With high temperatures in the mid-40s in the forecast, I knew I had to get the girls out for a hike on the NCT.

So we headed to Albion to see how far we could go.

We finished the day with 5 miles on the trail, putting us at 85.5 miles for the year.  It was such a nice walk.  We're so close to finishing!

When we got home Saturday afternoon, I decided to have a lazy afternoon and evening and the girls were happy to comply.  It was a wonderful, relaxing way to end our day.  It was just what I needed.

On Sunday, I spent a few hours helping to transport Max, a foster dog with ISR. He was such a sweet boy and an excellent passenger. 

Then Sunday afternoon I mowed.  I took the girls with me while I ran a few errands and picked up some groceries.  When we got home, I did dishes and laundry, made dinner and packed for my work travel for the week.  I accomplished a lot and I felt pretty good about it.

This week I have more work travel and it promises to be another busy week.  Wish me luck!