A week away

It was a busy week for me.  It started Monday morning dropping Bumble off for a stay with another foster for the week.  After handing him over to Sue's care for the week, my journey continued on to drop the girls off at Canine College for their week of daycare and boarding.  Then it was on to the airport for my flight to Minneapolis 

I was shocked to get to the security line with no one in front of me, which is a first for me in Detroit.  After getting through security, I took a walk to a quiet corner of Concourse B, grabbed an early lunch, and did some work while I waited for my flight.  Then it was an easy flight to Minneapolis and an easy Uber ride downtown to the hotel once I arrived. 

I was able to get an early check-in and got settled into my room, then did some more week.  Finally, I decided it was time to shut down my computer for the day to head out for a nice walk and some fresh air.

Mill Ruins Park located along the Mississippi River was just a short walk from the hotel so I decided to check it out.  There is some interesting history of the flour mills in the area and some unique views.

Then I made the walk over to US Bank Stadium to check out the Viking ship before turning around to head back to walk along the river.

On the way back to the hotel, I stopped to check out a little park along Nicollet Mall.  I got back to the hotel in time to clean up before heading out for our region team event at Punch Bowl Social.  After some team bonding time, I was happy to head back to the hotel and settle into my room early so I could get a good night's rest before the conference started on Tuesday morning.

Tuesday was spent in meetings from 8am to 5pm.  When we were done, I hurried back to my room, changed into shorts, and headed out for a quick walk.  I was able to get in a very fast two mile walk before getting back to my room and cleaning up for our evening dinner event at 6pm. When we were finally done, I headed back to my room, happy to be done with my first 13 hour day.

Wednesday was another day full of meetings.  Unfortunately we finished later than we had on Tuesday, so I didn't have a chance to get out for a walk before our evening event started.  

We had a Family Fued-like competition among all the region teams and when that was complete, it was time for the relaxing part of the evening with Karaoke.  While I never participate,  it's fun to see some of our team take part.

My favorite thing about the evening event is the photo booth.  I love that can get a silly picture of our team.  Since David left the team for a promotion in March and Tricia's promotion to Region Vice President took effect on Wednesday, I had to get one last picture of us together as a team.  It's crazy to think about how much has changed since I started working with David in August 2015 and Tricia in November 2015.  They have become such an important part of my life!

And I got a picture of us with Kami, our current Regional Sales Manager.  She's a key player on the team too.  And for now, Kami and I are working through all of the changes in our team together. 

And then our region, or at least most of us, got together for a group picture too.  

I was happy when Thursday morning arrived knowing in just a few short hours, I'd be done with our conference.  For the first time all week, I actually spotted some dogs at the doggy daycare and spa across the street from my room.  It made me smile.

With severe weather moving through the area, I was worried that my flight would get delayed or even cancelled, but we got lucky and we were able to fly north to avoid the storms.  Our flight was delayed a few minutes on departure and the longer flight path took us longer to arrive in Detroit, but we had a pretty uneventful flight and landed safe and sound.  

It took forever to get off the plane, but once I got back to the car, I was of to pick the girls up at latch key pickup from Canine College.  By 8:30pm, we had been reunited and were headed home.  It was a smooth drive home and we arrived ahead of the severe storms that moved into the area around 10:30.  Luckily we didn't have the severe storms that had been predicted, although we did get a pretty good thunderstorm. 

 

I had an early doctor's appointment on Friday morning, followed by a busy morning of work.  Finally I took a late lunch to meet with Sue to pick up Bumble.  The joy and excitement he showed when he saw me was pretty sweet.  I certainly didn't expect it.  He clearly missed me.  

When we got home, I finished my work day.  I was exhausted from the week, so I was looking forward to a quiet evening at home with the dogs.  

After a nice dinner, we headed outside to spend time outside.  I played fetch with Mina and Bumble, they played chase with each other, and then we lounged and relaxed until after sunset.  We even saw our first lightning bug of the season.  It was such a nice way to spend the evening.

Saturday started slow.  We had nowhere to go and nothing pressing to get done, so we just took the morning to relax and do a few things around the house.

Then, after lunch, we headed out for a walk around Old Town and a visit to Preuss Pets.  

Following our visit to Old Town, we went for a drive around the back roads, did some geocaching,  and stopped for a special treat at Phillips Orchard. It was the best way to get Peaches some entertainment in the heat.  I think everyone enjoyed it.  

We got home in time for dinner and spent some time outside after we ate.  It was a beautiful evening.  

We had a rainy day to start our Sunday which allowed us to enjoy some quiet time together inside.  Eventually the day cleared up and we made a late afternoon trip to the greenhouse in Eaton Rapids to replace the broccoli plants in my garden that the deer ate while we were out of town

Then we took a walk around Island Park.  The dogs were very interested in all of the smells around the park, and we hit a whole other level of excitement when a duck appeared just a few feet away from us...and then we discovered her nest.

It was a little chilly and breezy, but it was nice to be out enjoying the fresh air.

We continued our walk around town and over to Howe Memorial Park along the riverwalk.

I attempted to get a picture of everyone, but Peaches wouldn't stand still and I barely got Bumble to cooperate.   At least you can see his face!

We then headed back to the car to make the drive home in time for dinner.

And then Mina and Bumble had a post-dinner wrestling match before they settled onto the dog bed together for their evening chew.

It's back to the grind tomorrow, but after the long week I had last week, I'm thankful this will be a short work week.  The weather will be cooler which will be great for Peaches, and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that Bumble will finally find a home of his own.