Snow (sorta) and DANA'S SEVEN!!

Well, today (1/25) is Dana's 7th birthday! So before getting into our 'snow' pictures, a quick look back!
This is Dana meeting her Daddy for the very first time (12/3/05)
Since then, Dana has grown quite fond of retired life! She is our quirky, rooing princess..but we love her!!!! Happy Birthday, Dana Roo Roo Moo Moo Pants!!!


Now..our 'snow'. As you have probably seen on Gyeong's blog..they got more snow than we did...which is odd since they are only 1 hour north of us. Richmond lies in this 'snow free' zone..of course when we DO actually get snow..everything shuts down and the Wal-mart is wiped clean of bread and milk (seriously..what DO you do with bread and milk alone?)
I have to admit...I failed at photography this day b/c I forgot to change my settings..so all my actions shots weren't worth posting. But I did salvage a few. This was Cali's first snow, we were watching Hemingway and fostering Lacey..so it was their first experience as well!
Hemi gets very excited by the fenced yard ..and takes every chance to run like crazy!


Lacey asks if this shot makes her butt look big?Vanilla oreo cookie...a la mode! Cali isn't quite sure what to make of it..but she knows she wants to play!


Cali stops for her glamour shot..And finds the wonderful act of eating snowflakes...


"Who wants to play?" (btw..yes..this is all we got ..but we take what we can)

Um...lady...we are cold...and tired...can we go in now?So..you might be asking yourself..where is Dante? Why isn't he in any of these photographs? Unless of course, you are a loyal reader of my blog..you know EXACTLY where he was..

"Can you please shut the door..it's drafty!"

.I hope there is more snow this year..but most likely not. It is just stupid cold and windy.

Happy Birthday, Dana!!!!

Weekend for the dogs

After a hard core night rocking away with friends on Friday night, we decided to enjoy the beautiful Saturday by going to the Stony Point Walk with all the dogs. It was a great turnout (over 17 dogs ..we lost count!) and it was great b/c 3 of my ex-fosters were there!
You can see me giving some lovin' to Apollo while we were waiting for everyone to show up
And Brady..getting some attention from Blue. He is doing so well with his new mommy!
And a shot of Jason and I walking the four kids..they had a good time even though Dante felt he definitely needed a coat. It wasn't that cold there...but tell him that
Then bright and early on Sunday we got a small haul from Florida. Just 3 dogs and since it was a Sunday, the bathhouse we typically use was closed until 11. So we decided we could knock three out in our tub! So Amanda and Brian brought them to our house. It was way early but here is Jason and Brian Alfano scrubbing away in our tub!


While the boys were scrubbing, Amanda and I were on nail/ear duty as well as having some fun outside. Sid surprised Amanda with a smooch on the steps!
Then he decided it was my turn while I was distracted with what was going on in my viewfinder..sneaky boy!After everyone had their bath, Brian decided to take his coffee outside to play with the pups.

Obviously, Sid felt he needed a caffeine jolt after the ride up from Florida as well.Sid went off to his foster home but he did have the cutest 'take me home' face!Alfalfa went to his forever home..he was crazy and kept us laughing all morning!And I kept Savvy Racer..her call name was Racer. I try not to change their call name (they don't always come up with one that is known depending on how quickly they were extracted from the track by Pam). But I just couldn't see myself calling her Racer. So Kristen and I came up with Lacey..close and easier to say!She is doing well and seems to be having a lot of fun!So after that..we were beat. So we watched football (my Cowboys choked!!!) and ate some wings off the grill. There are more pictures of the haul on the GPA blog. But if you haven't figured it out by now, I do that one too..so the stories and pictures are similar!

I have a baby shower to attend this weekend..it is for my sister who is due in March. Words can't describe my feelings toward this chore..but alas as the faithful sister I have to do it. I may take pictures so you too can revel in my pain. But yes..he (we know it is a boy) IS getting a greyhound bib and onesy from Aunt Trina (along with other things..but I couldn't resist doing it). ;-)

Are you ready????

Ok..I have been asked numerous times to get this post up! New Year's Eve...wow..what a ride! Sadly, I don't remember pieces of it and that would be my stupid fault. ;-) The set up...we had a wine tasting party. In years past, we had people bring wine and everyone tasted it. But this year, Kristen and I joined forces and bought the wine. We had 7 different very nice bottles of wine selected for us by a wine expert at a local wine store. We even had tasting notes!!! We got two of each bottle so everyone could enjoy their favorite after the tasting and of course we had multiple bottles of good champagne.
And before I begin with the stories..Jason and I bought Rock Band before the party. If you aren't familiar with it, it is a video game that has 2 guitars, a drum set and a microphone. You play all together along with well known rock songs..so you feel like a rock star!

The day started with letting all the dogs run around the back yard..it was a great day for it!
Brody even stopped by for a play date..he seemed to have a lot of fun with Dana, Cali, Shiloh, Dante, Jaime, Stella, Stanley, Parker and Flo for the afternoon.
Then the party starts. Nerice brings Ally, Dolly and Diego and Mark brings Ceasar and Macy (so that would be 14 dogs and i think we had 18 people). So I will start with a string of pics of us all playing Rock Band. Notice that in most of the pictures, the dogs have the couch and chairs while the people sit on the edge or stand..

Jason on drums, Nerice on bass guitar, Trina on lead guitar and vocals by Mike
Rock on!!!
Vocal change to Rob..
The opening band took a break while the headliner performed. Nerice on drums, Jason on bass guitar, Kristen on lead guitar and Rob continues with the vocal
Rob needed a break for a lemon water gargle (or maybe a chardonnay hit) so Mike takes over
Ok..enough of the band shots..on to the good ones and more dogs!!!!!!
As a close up to the band, notice what sits behind (and around..seriously look closely at all those above shots!) Then..HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! We were watching Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' eve and noticed a greyhound..so because of the party attendees..we rewound and photographed!
Cheers!The groupies..Ally, Diego and Stella
But you ask..where is Ally Momma's head???? Hmmm....you know what they say about groupies...
Parker and Ceasar take over the chaise leaving Ferrell a small spot.Gil comes to have a word with Ally about her inappropriate behavior..she lashes back..when good dogs go bad!!But you know what they say..when a dog bites you ..bite it back!Gil decides to bring out a new squeaky toy..Cali is QUITE upset that he isn't giving it to her..doesn't he know WHO SHE IS???Gyeong and Diego take a momentNow..I promised videos. I am sorry to Mark, Ferrell, Gil and Gyeong..but I had to do it. You can't hit record and not expect it to make the rounds. ;-)
First..the band. This is Rob on lead vocals, Kristen on guitar, Jason on bass guitar and Nerice on drums (it was her first time..drum virgin..but she did really well!) (and I couldn't get it to embed..so you have to click the hyperlink!)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JrBl0P9MdHQ

Then..things get interesting. someone gives Ferrell the microphone and plays Mississippi queen. The 'tapping' is to give a beat to the song when no one is playing drums..the screen says tap and you are supposed to tap the microphone....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XwuR7GCkORM

Then what happens when you give Gyeong some alcohol and karaoke...he let's his hair down and jams.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sAhQClfs54g


I hope you enjoyed.

Christmas memories

So it has been a while since I posted. Christmas is a busy time for us. We travel 3 hours to my parents house in Southwest VA for the 3 days before Christmas doing all the family gathering things. Then spend Christmas morning opening tons of presents only to load up the car (quite the feat) and drive another 3 hours to Charlotte, North Carolina to visit Jason's parents. Then we spend 3 days there to re-load the car for the 5 hour drive back home. We had a lot of fun and enjoyed the time with our families but it is exhausting!
So I am going to start with Christmas. New Year's Eve was an experience that deserves its own post...let's just say I have videos. ;-)
So at my parents...
Truflz is cute..he can't help that he has a stupid name. And Mom makes him wear stupid hats.
My parents are putting in a sunroom on the back of the house..it was being built while we were there...it will be all sorts of fun once it is done. There will be plenty of pictures when we go visit again!
Now..for Christmas my Mom gave Jason the perfect gift (a birdie told her)..a remote control helicopter!!!! She also got one for my brother-in-law Scott. After receiving them, they were both outside on Christmas morning in their PJ's (Christmas eve's eve gift) running around. It was funny b/c they weren't exactly able to control them 100% initially..so there was a lot of running around the fields and at one point Scott (BIL) had to hop on the 4-wheeler to retrieve his from the neighbors yard (they live in the boonies..the neighbors are a good ride away). You may have to look for the helicopter in these pictures..but it is there!

Then we packed the car tight (we have a rack sack so we look like the standard family but we have 4 dogs in the back instead of skin kids!) We arrive to a wonderful meal..and how often do you see this...the MEN are in the kitchen prepping dinner (Jason's uncle is a professional chef (burgandy shirt), his sister's boyfriend likes to cook (red shirt) and well..you know Jason's passion!)
And yes..Christmas is for children (and adults who never grow up). Williams shows off his spiderman shirt and teenage mutant ninja turtle toy!

And you can't guess who's brother this is...NO resemblance...

We brought Guitar Hero 3 with us and everyone got in on the action (my Mom became addicted..I didn't take pictures but she was rockin' around the Christmas tree!).

Like father, like son!

We did manage to get the kids around the Christmas tree (jason loves his shirt...it is fitting)By this time, Cali had had enough of Christmas..she was worn out with her first experience and quite peeved by the 'no dogs on the couch' rule at Jason's parent's house..so Daddy sat in the floor with her and she made due with what she had for a pillow.At one point, Jason was feeding the dogs treats (that his Uncle had made for them)..and Cali decided THIS was the best angle to get treats..don't ask.The weather was beautiful over the holiday, so we took the dogs to the park. By now they had been on a leash for 5 days (my parents have a paddock for the horses and they were allowed off leash there..but it was wide open). They had a blast running!I love these two shots...she was so happy!Greyhounds on the hunt for the elusive red helicopter...it is in our sights...going in for the kill..over.Why is Daddy so mad..we just wanted to play with it...Christmas was great..we got a powerwasher, remote control helicopter, new clothes, greyhound stuff, a new coat, new shoes..and a gift card that we used to buy a new set of Caphalon One pots and pans!

But Cali says Christmas was tiring...too much for a little girl to handle New Year's pictures and stories to follow at a later date..it was a blast from what I remember. ;-) I hope everyone had a Happy Holiday season!!!