Blue Clear Sky

I've had this George Strait song in my head for the past few days and it seems pretty fitting...

I woke up late one morning in a rush for work. I grabbed the first items I could get my hands on (aka I looked frumpy) and I didn't do my hair. I didn't really care though, I was at a point in life where I was over dating and really just wanted to make it through my internship. I walked in to work only to be told that my desk was being moved...next to my crush! UGH and double ugh! Now I cared. I was thanking God that "he" took the day off when "he" walked in late to find the fiasco in his cubicle AND we were moving my stuff in.

It was the start of something wonderful, though. I was walking, talking true love - out of the Blue Clear Sky. Here are some pictures of our kids and the amazing family we have.

Champ clobbers us all, Butch mostly though

Aspen is such a daddy's girl
Champ waits everyday for Levi to take him to work, this was when Levi left without him :(

We are rocking the side of our house and the "kids" were helping

Aspen wanted so bad for me to cuddle her, she climbed on my back and wouldn't get off

Levi just home from work saying hi to the boys

Champ and Aspen hanging out officially after we first got Champ - November 18, 2006

Super Champ - this is from when we first had Champ, September 2006

Champ and Butch keeping me company one night

Silence

The slumber party is over and our family is back to five. We managed to have only a few dramatic moments over the week. The most significant was with Butch; he became more edgey as the days went by and on the last day there was a scuffle. When Levi and I got into the back yard to break it up Butch had Champ locked down at the neck. Luckily Champ was fine and just shook it off. Butch was in trouble and separated from the group. It was meant to be punishment but I think he was actually relieved. : /

The puppy, Baker, was curious about everything. In fact she was so curious she chased after Aspen one night only to be met with a vicious hiss and claws. Baker never went near Aspen again. She tucked her tail and went back to the other dogs when every she saw Aspen after that.

Gracie was a sweet heart, only a spaz when you stopped petting her...but what dog isn't? And our Champers, well he was patient. Gracie would growl at him and get teritorrial, but he just looked at us like are we done yet? Baker would chase after him, jump on him and bite at his neck (sometimes actually hanging from him while he walked) but he just moved along as though it was nothing.

It was a definite adjustment getting used to taking care of four dogs, each with their special needs and different personalities. I have to be honest and say it is nice to have our home back to normal with the silence that ensues from only having our two dogs. With that said, I would do it again in a heart beat. I loved having our little pack of dogs. But silence is golden. :)

Slumber Party

For the next week, Levi and I have grown our household from a family of five to a family of seven! While Marilyn, Ron, Carolyn and Cliff are on vacation we have taken in their little buddies Baker and Gracie - both females. We now have four dogs and a cat under our roof.

Aspen is not happy about this at all. When the dogs are out doors she sniffs their beds, then rolls all over them so that her scent is left behind - how ornery is that! She hisses at Gracie and Baker when ever they are in her eye line...she is so high maintenance. Butch was curious for about ten minutes but now he is over it. He looks at me like, "OK mom, you can send my friends home." Thankfully they are all getting along and it is fun to have a house full of little buddies.

Here are a couple pics...Gracie is in front of Champ and Butch (the rotti) and Baker is the 9 -10 week old puppy. She is a red healer that Marilyn rescued when she was left at a reservoir.
(I tried to get all four in the same picture, but Baker wouldn't listen and pose with the rest of the dogs...she is still a puppy after all.)

Poor Champ...Again

What a rough couple of weeks. Champ really is a fitting name for our boy because he has been such a trooper. Monday night I came home from my volleyball game to find our Champers lethargic, unresponsive (compared to his normal giddiness), and down right sad. It was late, he was not interested in eating - which anyone who knows Champ knows that is highly suspicious - and to say the least I broke down. I have never seen our pup act this way. It scared me. To top it off, Levi went to workout - unbeknownst to me - and I was freaking out: something was terribly wrong with our dog and at 9:30 at night Levi could not be found.

Champ's behavior improved Tuesday only to take a dramatic and horrible turn for the worse yesterday. He wouldn't eat, was throwing up blood and let's just say that wasn't the only end blood was coming out of. Levi and I did not sleep last night. Every two hours we were up with Champ taking him outside so he could vacate what ever was left in him. We got up this morning and took him in to the vet right away...

Here's the current theory.
After checking a stool sample they said it is a bacterial infection. Champ was on antibiotics after his surgery earlier this month. The vet said that sometimes when you put them on these meds their natural bacteria - the good bacteria - is wiped out and thus allows the bad bacterial to set up shop. Needless to say Champ is back on medications. He is on a special food diet that should settle his tummy to allow him to eat.

Man, I cannot imagine the worry, the angst, the helplessness those of you out there that are parents feel when your little ones are sick. I know Champy is a dog and will not have the lifespan that humans do, but I cannot imagine our life without him. He is our little buddy, he is Aspen's foe (really they love to play with/tease one another) and Butch's best friend.

We are praying that these meds work for Champ and he can be back to his goofy, fun loving self soon.

Poor Champ

Last week we took Champ into the vet for surgery. He had a fatty tumor that was nothing serious but did continue to grow. The vet told us that we didn't have to get it removed but it was a good idea since it kept getting bigger...so we had it removed. The tumor was in his belly and if dogs had belly buttons they made an incision from his navel to pelvis with an incision that was a good five-inches long. :( Poor buddy. When we got him home he was still groggy from the meds and could barely move from what we could only assume was the pain. On top of that they had to pull two of his small incisors from the top of his mouth. (Champ grinds his teeth and had ground down those two teeth until they were cracked in the root with the chance of further cracking and infection.)

Ugh! What a stressful week. We have to continue to keep an eye on him to make sure he doesn't pull out the stitches and when we can't be with him to actually monitor this, yes he does have his lamp shade. Poor Champ has had to wear the lamp shade twice within a matter of a year and a half.

He has gotten pretty good about letting us put this on him. Although, Levi is the one who always has to put it on and I am the one always taking it off. I think it is fair to say I am Champs favorite right now. ;) Just kidding my love.

Good Practice

Two out of the last three nights, our Champers has been sick. He is fine all day but then at night he starts getting dry heaves before he ultimately throws up. He is such a trooper, though. Both of the nights he has been sick, he comes to get me up and then rushes to our back door to be let out knowing what is about to happen. The first night I thought he was antsy or someone was lurking around the house. Levi was out of town and it made me nervous that Champ was nervous. Finally, I realized he was sick and just needed out. Then last night, the same thing happened; he woke me up and made a run for the door. (Thankfully, we know that it is his treats that is causing this reaction and a quick fix at that - he doesn't get his treats anymore.)

It's funny. My sister and friends tell me that I should enjoy sleeping now because when Levi and I have kids there is no sleeping from the moment you get pregnant until the kids turn roughly 3 -5 years old. I would say with our kiddos we are getting good practice. Butch wakes me early every morning because he wants to go outside. Champ sleeps in later and if I acknowledge him before he is ready to get up he pretends he is still sleeping. (Seriously, he closes his eyes and won't turn his head toward me.) When I finally fall back to sleep, Champ decides he is ready to get up and wakes me to go outside. Aspen wakes me up if she is too cold, if she doesn't like the water in her bowl, if she needs the food in her bowl stirred, if her food level is below the appropriate level, and if she is feisty, there is no hope for sleep. On top of all that, with Champ being sick, as when any of the three are under the weather, I have been sleeping lighter. I think it is my maternal instinct kicking in listening in case he starts getting sick again. With all this activity I would say we will be in good shape once we start a family...or we will be worn out from these three, so much so, that we will need sleep instead of kids. :) Just kidding Marilyn. For now, there is no rest for us...although Levi always seems to wake up very well rested and chipper???

Snow Days

Denver had an October storm blow in Wednesday and brought with it a heap of snow. I remember getting snow in October, but I can't remember a time when we had a storm like this so early in the season. I took a couple of pics with my camera phone (so the quality is not that great) of all the snow in our backyard.

Champ and Butch are absolutely loving the snow. In fact, I can't manage to get them inside. When Champ finally obeys, he walks so slow, with his head down like I am the Grinch that just stole his Christmas. I dry them off, go back to work, and within ten minutes Champ is laying his head in my lap because he wants to go back out. "Ah, come on mom!" This is the same dog that every winter goes outside, quickly gets so cold he tries to balance all his weight on his butt (all 120 pounds of him) and then trades off which foot touches the ground to support his weight. (Back left, front right, front left...) It really is funny to see. :D

So raise a mug of hot chocolate. Here is to all my snow bound friends or those in warmer climates missing the snow! Happy Snow Days!