Work, walk, sleep, repeat

I started this week off with a plan.  While I didn't fully stick to the plan, I think I came close.  I needed a way to keep the dogs happy during the day while I worked, and I also needed to find a way to force myself to take breaks to keep my energy up throughout the very busy days I knew I'd have this week.  I was determined to break our walks up throughout the days to help accomplish both things.

On Monday, when I had a work call get cancelled, it gave me the chance to get out for an early lunch.  I took advantage of the opportunity to take the dogs down the road for one of our random neighborhood walks.  

Since it was a spot we've not walked before, they were distracted by all the new smells so we only finished three-quarters of a mile in the 20 minutes we had for our walk.

Despite the shorter length of the walk, everyone was really happy when we headed back home to have lunch before my next call.  

After a very busy Monday at work, I wanted to take the dogs somewhere fun for our evening walk.  

We headed to the Lewis Landscape Arboretum and Horticulture Gardens on campus.

We thoroughly enjoyed our lovely walk on campus, although the dogs were a little extra crazy.

I always enjoy walking there and the dogs seemed to love it too.

After our walk, we headed back home for dinner.

After dinner and a little rest, the dogs were all restless, so we took another quick walk around the block.  Then we headed outside to enjoy the beautiful summer evening.

Tuesday started with a dentist appointment.  I left the dogs with frozen Kongs to keep them busy while I was gone.  Then I had a long, exhausting day of work while keeping the dogs busy with some brain games and collagen chews.   Of course Bumble and Mina also had a busy day of wrestling.

It was such an exhausting day that I decided to pick up take-out for dinner using a gift card I have.  I fed the dogs dinner when we got home and  then sat down to eat my own dinner.  After dinner, Peaches was happy to find part of a collagen chew that Mina and Bumble had left behind and settled in to spend some time enjoying her special find.

We all relaxed for a bit after dinner, and then it was finally time to get out for a nice long walk atound the neighborhood. 

We enjoyed another nice evening outside after we got back from our walk.  It was a such a beautiful evening. 

Wednesday morning, we got out for our random neighborhood walk to start our day because i knew my day was going to be busy again.

While it was a busy work day, it was an exciting day because it was day one with my new boss.  Having David come back to the team as my boss was definitely a best-case scenario for me and I am so happy he made the decision to come back to our territory team.  We've got lots of work to do to get him fully up and running in his new role, but I'm happy to do the work to help him and our team succeed. 

The day went quickly, and I was happy that I was able to get the dogs out for a afternoon walk around the neighborhood after a late lunch.  Then we took another quick walk at the end of my work day.  Then I fed them lunch, grabbed a quick dinner for myself, and headed out for a three hour training for my upcoming election day work.  The dogs were settled in with a Kong when I left and Bumble was extremely excited to greet me when I got home.  

I sat outside with the dogs for about 20 minutes after I got home just to relax and enjoy watching the lightning bugs. 

Thursday morning started with a doctor's appointment.  The temperatures this week have been mild, and the temperatures overnight were cool, so I decided the dogs could ride along for the drive to my appointment.  Then after my short appointment we were able to get in a morning walk in the neighborhood by the doctor's office.   That was a really nice change of pace for all of us.

When I needed a mental break mid-afternoon, we took a 10 minute walk around the block and I came back feeling refreshed.  After work, we made a stop at the South Lansing Farmer's Market, took a walk around Feeder's Pet store, and then walked around the neighborhood there. Then we ran a few errands before heading home.  

Despite all of the walking, there were multiple wrestling matches throughout the day.  When I decided that I wanted some peace and quiet, we all headed outside to enjoy the beautiful summer evening again.  

Finally Friday arrived, and I just didn't have the energy to get out for a morning walk.  Thankfully, the dogs were well-behaved most of the day while I worked, and I had a productive day.

When my day was finally done, I had to drive to the shelter to pick up some supplies for Bumble.  I decided to bring the dogs along and take our evening walk around Mason.

We took a slow, leisurely walk around downtown Mason for our first mile.  Then we drove down the street to get in another 1.5 miles along the Hayhoe Trail.

It was a really nice walk to start our weekend.  Honestly, it was exactly what I needed that night.

We were up early on Saturday with a full day of fun planned.

We met up with Vanessa and made the drive to Wauseon Ohio to Midwest Geobash 2026, a big annual geocaching event.

I was so excited to be out for some fun.  It was something I really needed.  I knew the dogs would be happy with the adventure too.

We got in some good walks, met up with some other Lansing area goecachers, had some yummy food from a food truck for lunch, and found lots of fun geocaches. 

I was really proud of how well all of the pups did.  Bumble loved all of the people and wanted to meet all of the dogs, Peaches was a trooper on our long walk through the woods, and Mina proved what an all around good girl she is, always.

We all came home dirty, hot, happy, and tired.. I'd call that a successful day! It was an excellent day for all of us, and the drive home was a quiet one.

After feeling like all my days consisted of was work and walking dogs this week, our Saturday adventure followed by a lazy Sunday at home have really helped.  I am hoping to start the new week relaxed and refreshed.

While we didn't take any walks today, the dogs kept themselves entertained with toys and chews, plus there was much rough-housing fun.  We did.take a drive so I could fill up the gas tank, but mostly we have been lazy, and that's okay.  We all need days with no to-dos and no agenda.  It was the perfect end to another busy week.