One Last Blast

Today was our last day of freedom before we have to go back to work tomorrow. Fortunately, it was a fantastic, fun filled day! We slept in, of course, and then we got ready to meet Steve, mom, Timmy, and Brandon at Oaks Park for Steve's company picnic. Since it was a company event we got free food AND free rides! We went on a good number of rides and were all thankful mom was there for the added entertainment of her screeching/laughing. The last ride I went on the day, which was after lunch, was the Spider. It spun and tilted up and down and the seat we were in spun as well, so my stomach was definitly done after that one. Ryan attempted to take some pictures of mom and I on that ride, but we kept spinning right as we got by him. I will post the before picture and his attempts of action pictures.

After Oaks Park, we went home a rested for a little bit before meeting up with some friends for mini-golf. I guess coming from Beaver Falls mini golf in Corvallis I am spoiled, but this place was awful. Most of the obstacles were bricks placed on the ground. Either way though, we had fun. Ryan's friend Darrin was the only person to get a hole in one, but all of us got the max of 8 strokes on at least one hole. After golf was done our friends took us out to dinner at a place called Salvador Molly's. It has a very unique menu with a combo of food froms different cultures. Ryan and I both enjoyed our meals, and the free peanuts before the food arrived.

Now I am home. Ryan is going to a friends house to watch Entourage, an HBO show. I ate too much so I am going to lay low and move the least amount possible until bed. Tomorrow I will not sleep in. In fact I may need to get some morning coffee to help me wake up, but alas, I am glad to start the grind of school again.

Cornhole

Apparently we never got around to sharing with our family that Ryan finished his Cornhole boards. We played with them a few days ago and they work and look beautiful!

Hank the Hunter

I have always said that Hank does not dig unless he has a reason. He's not a "bored" digger, he digs with purpose everytime. We noticed that when we moved in he loved digging around the perimeter of the backyard, and specifically where there were mole mounds. We also know that Hank loves to chase critters. Being part bloodhound, it's in his blood to locate critters and in his case also chase them. One other thing I have always said is that I don't care if Hank goes on squirrel patrol because he could never catch one (they are fast and sneaky). Well, that last statement may be true, he has yet to catch a squirrel, but the first statement is 100% true.

Today, Hank was digging near the apple tree. I went to see what he was up to and you could see this dog staring at the ground, ears forward with intensity, and he seemed to be "following" something with his eyes. I could see nothing, so naturally I assumed he's crazy or that he could smell or hear a mole under the ground. I gave him a pat on the back and told him to "get it", and then went back to the patio to read my book. Not long after that I hear him digging again, so I look up to see where his nose and ears have led him this time. I can see him near the path, by a different apple tree. His tail wagging like crazy and his face buried in the brambles as he digs. The next thing I know his head pops up and he has something in his mouth! I immediatlely jump up and ask him what he has, in a voice no quieter than a yell. At first I though he had a dirt mound and some vines in his mouth, but as I get near he drops it near my feet. My immediate reaction is "Oh my god!" I thought he had just caught the largest rat I had ever seen. After looking closer I realize that it is in fact the largest MOLE I have ever seen! He was so proud of himself and I think he may have wanted to eat it. I quickly ushered him inside, so that he could not eat it (could have diseases, etc.) and fetched the camera. He had dropped it on it's back (you can see a puncture wound on his belly) so I made sure to take a picture of that and then I got a stick and rolled it over. I then had the brilliant idea of putting a ruler next to it so you all could see how big this thing was. He, the mole, was 7 inches long and about 2 1/2 inches wide. I know it was a he because you can see his wee-wee. After showing Ryan, we put the mole into a plastic bag and then threw it in the trash. Hank continued to search for it for about a half hour afterwards. At least we know Hank isn't destroying the backyard for no reason!

More of Nothing

Not too much has happened since the last blog, but I had some pictures I wanted to share. First we shall play a game. The game is called Can You Spot the Differences? Some of the differences may be more obvious than others, so use your keenest difference spotting abilities. There are no penalties for wrong guesses and no prize for correct guesses. Good Luck!

After studying those pictures for hours, as I am sure you did, you should have noticed that Hank got a new collar! We got a bright orange one, for obvious reasons, with reflective paw prints on it. I had originally found an orange polka dot collar online, but it was like $20 not including shipping and well I'm frugal so I passed. When I was at Target the next day I saw this one and thought it was a good second option(and under $10). Hank seems to like it and wears it proudly and now he can't hide in the dark backyard from us when it's bedtime because his reflective paw prints will give him away. Here are a few close ups of the new collar:

We also had an indoor soccer game on Monday. The game was fun and we blew out the other team, but I did take a beating. I play defense, and am not too bad at it might I add. Late in the first half someone on the other team took a shot on goal and well, I stopped it with the right side of my face. Fortunately for me it missed my nose and didn't really hurt much, so no big deal. Well, in the second half a man was winding up for a shot and I managed to cross my left leg in front of him right as he shot and he shot the ball (as hard as he could) into my leg. Specifically, the ball hit me just below the left butt cheek on the upper thigh, which stung like hell. I have had red soccer ball lines imprinted on my leg ever since, it happened Monday and it is now Wednesday.

Unfortunately, the worst was still to come. With about 10 minutes left in the game I had the ball and went to pass it to a teammate. When my right leg was fully extended a guy came in full speed to try and kick the ball away. Well, he missed and got my leg. We wear shin guards, so that was no big deal, but with my leg fully extended and the force he hit me with my knee too the brunt of it. I thought immediately I had blown out my knee because the pain was excruciating and I couldn't move my leg, BUT once I was helped off the field and iced it for a little bit I could move it again and with just minor pain. So, I AM FINE. My knee is sore, but intact. It definitely could have been worse, but I'm pretty sure it just got a little hyperextended. I have been able to walk on it fine, and like I said it's just a little sore when I put weight on it in certain positions. The man who hit me was very apologetic and felt bad. I am just glad that I don't have start the new school year teaching on crutches!

Oh, Hank also completed his doggy classes. We had to miss the last class because I had a softball tournament and Ryan had squash, but we had learned everything by then and were just practicing. He has come a long way, but as the trainers said, the class won't "fix" your dog. Your dog is who he is, but you can learn ways to keep him from reacting. And we did. We learned a few ways to get Hank to focus on us and work for treats when he sees other dogs, so that he A) learns to associate focusing on us when he sees other dogs and B) he gets yummy things when he does it. Part B will hopefully be phased out eventually and he will just be conditioned to focus on us when he sees other dogs, but that is probably a long ways off. Other dogs definitely cause Hank some anxiety and stress, so it will take a while to help him realize that other dogs aren't evil. He will probably never be able to play off leash with other dogs due to his unpredictable reactions, he can be nice one minute and aggressive the next, but we are just happy to help him enjoy his walks and keep them stress free when on his leash. More than anything we are glad he LOVES people, especially us (he gets a little jealous if we pet other dogs).

Toodles for now. Enjoy the warm weather!

It's Almost Mid-August!?

Yes indeed. The summer is slipping away from us as we speak. It also has been a while since Jennifer or myself have commented on what we have been up to. Usually we would go into much detail about what we are doing, but lately we have been doing lots of little things that don't deserve a lot of attention. So with that, here are quick little notes about what we have done in the last month or so (and try my best to put them in sequential order).

~ The heat wave along the I-5 corridor a few weeks back was absolute crap. I don't mind a little heat here or there, and even a day of mid-90's could work. On the other hand, when it's 3 - 4 days of unbearable 100+ degree temperatures, let's just say it made for some unhappy people (Did we mention we have no A/C?). Poor Hank did not stand a chance, as you can see from the pictures below. We had plans on most of the hot days (between softball games and Hank's dog class), so we could not escape from the metro area. Immediately following Hank's class (Wednesday), us three bolted to the beach. We were welcomed with rain and 60 degree temperatures, which is exactly what we needed. Below are a few pictures we took from the trip.


~ Last weekend, Jenny and I left Hank with my mom to go to Vancouver, BC for a squash tournament. Canada was good, but my lord is it expensive! In between matches, we were able to visit the complex that will be used for speed skating in the upcoming Winter Olympics. It was pretty ridiculous and we were able to watch the Canada team practice (and they were REAL fast). I ended up winning my division in the tournament, which was nice. Below are some pictures from that.



~ Jenny discovered that Hank has been sneaking out in the middle of the night to sleep on the bed in the extra bedroom, only to return to our room at about 6AM so it appeared he had been there all night. What a smart dog. : )




~ Jenny and I have come to realization that summer vacation is coming to an end. Soon, we will join the rest of those normal folk who wake up early and actually go to work. It's terrifying, but I personally am excited about starting my second year of teaching and building on what I started last year. There are still murmurs in my district about possibly cutting 60 - 80 teachers, but let's hope that does not happen.



I believe that is it. Enjoy the sunny days before they go away for 8 months!