silly Skylar

I was looking through my iPod touch and deleting some pictures.  The kids tend to just take a ton of pictures of random things.  I had a lot of pictures of a baby doll in the middle of the floor, the lights in the basement ceiling, Skylar's legs.  Then I came across these and just burst out laughing. 

Busy, Busy Day

John left today for Indiana for work.  The girls and I had a whole day to kill.  First we went to McDonalds for lunch.  Then off to the Par-tee Zone, an indoor climbing structure.  We were there for about 3 hours.  After we came home we got the dog and went to the dog park for an hour.  Then the girls wanted to stop at their park, so another hour spent there.  They went into the bath when we got home and I made dinner.  They had mini hotdogs, grapes and applesauce (yeah I know, not great, but they usually do eat a well balanced meal)  Now they are playing in the basement until it's time to attempt bedtime.  Here are some pictures of our day. 

a tired Diesel after the dog park

swinging with their babies

oh boy, what do I do now mom? 

oops, baby fell

baby rides a horse

this is a fun day mom

and dinner.  Aren't the hotdogs cute?  Perfect size for the girls.

Doggy love

These girls just love their doggy.

danger at the mall play place

This is what happens when she leaps on the play equipment at the mall and misses.  This happened on Tuesday night, picture was taken on Friday.  It's a pretty nasty bruise. 

Doggy Daycare

In order to board Diesel at the place we wanted to, he had to do an intake interview and do a full day of doggy daycare.  They want to get to know him and how he interacts with people and dogs alike before he spends the night there.  He passed his intake interview with flying colors (they do behavior tests to see how he is around food, treats, toys, hands, getting his tail touched, ears touched, face touched.  He had no issues what so ever with anything)  Next Diesel had a grooming appointment there.  He did really well.  The groomers loved him.  He was only there for the bath though, we picked him up right away afterwards. 

Today Diesel went for his full day of daycare.  Tuesdays are my busy days with my daycare, so I thought it was a good day for him to go.  I don't get to spend much time with him on Tuesdays because I'm so busy with the kids.  John dropped him off this morning and honestly I forgot about him most of the day.  (I was super busy and didn't get much of a chance to sit down myself)  When I went to pick him up, i got a great greeting.  He almost plowed me over he was so happy.  They all said he had a great day and really won over the staff with his winning personality.  Then they handed me a progress report, complete with pictures.  Here is what it said.

AM Playtime: Diesel did wonderful this morning. He showed no signs of kennel stress (something we have been dealing with at home) and rested well when in his kennel.  He is an excellent player, interacts with and reads other dogs well.  He really enjoyed playing with Lucy, a goldendoodle, Tera, a boxer mix, and Duke, a boxer.  We expect him to do well at Just Dogs.  We were also very impressed with how well he obeyed commands. 
Naptime: Diesel had a wonderful nap over the lunch hour.  He settled down in his kennel easily and showed no signs of kennel stress.  He also enjoyed some treats. 
PM Playtime: Diesel continued to have a blast this afternoon.  He really had a great time just running around and playing with his new friends, especially Lucy.  We cant wait to have him here again.  He was a hit with all the staff. 

So now he's all tuckered out and napping.  He is exhausted but I think he really had fun.  I wish I could take him there more, but I will try about once a month.  It helps with his socialization and really wears him out.  Over the spring, summer and fall we will take him to the dog park often (we try for at least once a weekend, but usually it's more like 2-3 times) but over the winter we may not get there as often (unless it's mild like this past winter was) I may save up to send him there a little more often so he doesn't go stir crazy. 

I wish I could scan in the pictures, but the printer doesn't like my netbook and won't accept a scan.  He lookes like he's smiling in all the pictures though.  I have no worries about boarding him there.  They really love dogs and it shows.  I know he will get lots of exercise and socialization while we are on vacation.  He won't be stuck in a cage all day like most boarding places.  I'm really glad we found this place.  (and it's only 5 minutes away) 

Happy Easter

Here it is, the day the Lord has risen.  I will teach the kids the real meaning of Easter but for now all they care about it the candy and egg hunt. 

So yesterday we tried to do another egg hunt, but we missed it.  The girls slept in and we really didn't want to wake them since they got to bed late the night before.  We also had the time wrong.  We did make it for the all you can eat pancakes for a dollar.  (for kids under 10)  John and I split a breakfast sandwich.  It was quite good actually. 

This morning the girls were up about 7:30.  The Easter Bunny was sneaky and hid everything downstairs.  The girls searched all upstairs and then immediately opened the door to the basement.  There they found 2 baskets on the top stair with an egg in them.  The Easter Bunny then hid the rest of the eggs all over the basement.  The girls had a blast finding them all.  They found their baskets in the middle of it all.  They were very happy with what they got.  After opening and emptying the eggs, and getting their gifts opened (they each got a Lalaloopsy doll), they are now hiding empty eggs and finding them again. 

Baskets from school

Skylar and the Easter Bunny at Hy-Vee

after the Easter Bunny left Saturday night

The girls on Easter morning

then we went out to brunch at the Ox Yoke Inn

first baseball game of the season

Friday night we took the girls to the first baseball game for the season.  It was actually game 2, but we couldnt make it Thursday night.  The girls had a great time and the River Bandits won.  We didn't stay until the end though, the girls were getting tired and we had an hour drive home.  Somehow they both stayed awake the whole way, but went right to sleep as soon as we got home.  This morning they even slept in until about 8:30.  That's really late for them.  Skylar probably would have slept later if Rissy hadn't woken her up.