Two Years!

We have now owned our house and dog Frank for two years!  Yes, we got both the house and Frank on the same day :)  These two years have really flown by!  When I think of the things we wanted to accomplish with the house, I realize we have done quite a few things.  We finished up the upstairs and the basement, painted the exterior and turned Nolan's room into a nursery.  While we have more projects in store, it is nice to look back and acknowledge what has already been done.  Also, I don't think we could have been luckier in our choice of dogs.  Frank is such a joy for us.  Yes, he does bark at least 50 times a day and he'll pull your arm off if you take him for a walk on the leash.  However, he is gentle and sweet, and those are the qualities that matter most to us. 

In other news, we recently aquired a Kelty Kids carrier off of Craigslist and got to try it out at the dog park last Saturday.  I think Nolan enjoyed being in that much more than in the stroller.  Here are some pictures of the day.  Nolan is even modelling his new hat for you! 

Training Walks

Grandma Jayne, Kristen, Chayton, Grandpa Ken and Nolan

This year I got the idea to participate in the Breast Cancer 3 Day, which is 3 day, 60 mile fundraising walk for breast cancer research, treatment and education. Kirstin, Jayne and Kristen are all walking with me (there are ten of us in total), and we've gotten a good start on our training already. The reason I mention this in my blog is that Ryan and Nolan have gone on just about every walk with us! For a couple of the walks, Ryan met us halfway with Nolan in the stroller. Last week we walked about 5 miles (no GPS, so we can't be sure of the actual distance) with Grandpa Ken, Grandma Jayne, Jake, Kristen, Reggie, Ryan, Chayton, Nolan and a pack of dogs. What a fun time! I wonder what the other bikers on the trail thought of such a big group of people and animals.

Nolan sat in the stroller for the first hour, just looking around and chewing on his pacifier attacher. Then he got a little antsy and we all took turns carrying him back. He looked so cute in his little sun hat :)

Grandpa Ken and Nolan

Another funny incident was when Pika, Kristen's pug, started to get tired. She was a little trooper and kept up for quite a while, but eventually she just started to lay down in every patch of shade along the pavement. Someone got the idea to put her in the carrying basket below the Chayton's stroller, but Pika just wouldn't have it. She'd jump out every time we put her in there. Finally, because she was so tired and really just needed a rest, Grandpa Ken took Pika's leash and tied it so that she couldn't get out of the basket. She looked so funny just sitting there and panting. It got the job done though because soon her breathing returned to normal and she found a way to hop out and jog along with us again.

Pika Hitching A Ride