JustLisa

Benjamin turned 7 today. Unbelievable how fast time is rushing by. It wasn't our weekend to have him but thankfully his mom obliged when I called her and let us take the kids to an early lunch in honor of the special day. He had a ten dollar check to put in the bank when we picked him up and then got the annual gold birthday dollar when we went to make his deposit. My mom gave him another ten bucks at lunch. Kid's birthdays are so awesome. Too bad we get out of the habit of birthday fun when we get old.

For our fun today, we ripped out the old orange/brown/green striped carpet in Emily's room and cleaned up the wood floor under that. It looks great but I wonder if we'll be able to keep it bare. I'm afraid it might be pretty cold when the temperature dips.

We also went to a wedding this evening. It was beautiful and I'm glad we took a break to be part of it. It's nice to see another one of "my kids" settle down with a wonderful partner and start a new life.

Bonus fun: a gallery of the new pup, Lucy. The first pic is from the day we got her back in July. I asked Todd to pick her up to re-enact the sleeping baby pose. Didn't work real well but did make me laugh so hard. She was 11 pounds the day we got her and a tiny little thing. Now she is about 40 pounds of long, long legs. I've been working with her to get her ready to hunt birds this fall and she's doing awesome. If I throw out three frisbees at once, she will mark where they went and bring them back one by one. She also does cute little things like sits on Dozer's neck and looks at his face between her front legs. I need to get a picture of that, too.

Monday is a big day so if you believe in prayer, say one for us that we all get the resolution that we need and that it is fair to everyone involved.

So what better to do than take a quiz: (found at Les Jones)

Today we took Lucy to a bird dog training seminar. There were some really good looking dogs there but she was the only Weimaraner. I was afraid she'd get all dumb around a bunch of other dogs but when it was her turn to work some birds with the trainer, she did great. I stayed out of the way while Todd and the trainer took her out into the grass. The guys that I was standing with were commenting on her gorgeous point and how quickly she found the birds. They asked who had worked with her and it felt so good to say "Me." Granted, most of her talent is natural but I have at least an hour a day of training in her. Made me proud to watch her do so well.

Another thing that was good to hear was that the best thing to do with a bird dog is socialize them as part of the family, take them everywhere you go, let them play with the kids, etc. Lucy is always with us. Sometimes it's a pain because it really limits where we can go. It is so worth all of it to watch her turn into a great dog.

Soon Dozer will get his chance to go out and chase squirrels up trees. He needs it as he's gotten pretty plump this summer. The last time we went fishing he proved that he can still run REALLY fast for a fat dog. He's not afraid to charge through weeds taller than his head either. It's funny because he's so squatty that you can't see him; only the parting of the weeds as he cuts a path.

In other pet news, we came home to a tank full of dead fish tonight. I think the heater went off on a bender and forgot to shut off. Blah.

Lucy in the grass

Lucy went back to the gun club today to try her hand (nose?) at finding quail. She did awesome again and everyone was amazed that Todd could shoot over her already. The only time I can see the puppy in her is when she gets tired. She doesn't have the endurance of the older dog but she sure has the enthusiasm.

Stepped outside the back door to take what I had hoped would be a breath of calming, fresh air. Instead it was very, very cold and very, very wet. For this reason, I am not a big fan of Fall weather. Maybe being cold now will at least help me go to sleep.

After weeks of Visa delays, Eva is finally in Brazil. She left Sunday and arrived there yesterday morning. Thanks to the goodness that is the internet, we were able to track her flights in real time. Emily and I even found the control tower's radio transmission from JFK in New York and listened to her plane land there and take off again. She is such a brave girl. I don't think I could make it though the four flights to get there, let alone moving in with stangers in a strange country who don't speak my language.

Eva, eu falto-o e o cheiro do alimento ardente que parece ser wherever você é. Ame-o. (this is very funny to translate from english to portuguese and then back to english again.)