Happy Birthday Travis

Well, today is little Kissy Face's birthday.  Yes, my Travis is three years old today.  I can't believe it's been three years.  He has really turned into an exceptional dog.  He is attached to my hip.  I could get up and go to another room every five minutes all day long and he would follow me each time.

He is a bed hog.  He is still very vocal, making exasperated groans when he lays down and makes roo roo noises when he yawns.  He still counter surfs, but only when Daddy is cooking.  He likes to steal his buns when he is out grilling.

He's my coffee buddy in the morning.  He's my snuggle bunny at night.  He is my fierce protector, keeping me safe from UPS trucks, the garbage truck, squirrels, bunnies, birds any anything else he has decided is not worthy of my time.  He's my little daredevil, but most of all, he's mine.

Happy Birthday Travis, Travee, Kissy Face, Little T, T-Rex, and all the other bazillion nicknames you have!

He's moved on to Iced Tea bottles!

Travis has given up his water bottle for a much larger iced tea bottle.  Actually, I gave both boys a bottle, but Travis just have to have it all, so he took Riley's bottle too.  Watch as he tries to get BOTH bottles in his mouth at one time!

Boys and their toys!

Despite that fact that Riley and Travis have this mound of toys, sometimes the strangest things catch their attention.

For two days now, this has been the coveted toy.  It's an empty iced tea bottle.  Travis has guarded it with his life.  He's slept with it and nearly took Riley's head off when he tried to take it.

I compare it to when children are more fascinated with the box a toy comes in, rather than the actual toy!

The Great, Giant Icicle

Since the snowstorms from hell are over, we are now getting the huge icicles popping up everywhere.  Here is the huge one that is falling from the corner of our house.  I was waiting to see if it would touch the ground.  I finally just knocked them down since I was afraid it was doing more damage than entertainment.

Well, the boys found a piece of the great, giant icicle and were fighting over it.

Guess who won?  Travis, he always wins, not because he is tougher, it's because Riley lets him win.  Riley lets him have anything he wants EXCEPT his food.  That's where he draws the line.

So, I finally wrestle the great, giant icicle from Travis and what does that little shit do?  He smuggles a smaller version into the house.  I knew something was up when he didn't stay in the kitchen and wait for his treat.

Boys!

Are you SNOWver it?

So, if you are SNOW over it.  If you are sick of your kids being home all week.  If you want to stab everyone with an icicle.  Then you are most likely experiencing your second snow storm in five days.  I swear, the only ones enjoying all of this snow are my dogs.  Watch this video and it will warm your cold, pissed-off, sick of all of this snow, heart!

SNOWverdose

Sorry I haven't updated since getting home from vacation.  I've been busy at work and then we got hit with a MAJOR snow storm Friday night.  We are now getting hit again.  I haven't forgotten about Mr. Speedo, he is coming soon, I promise!

Anyway, Friday it started snowing.  At 10:00 pm I took this photo.  Nine inches of snow. 

I then took a photo at 10:45 pm and we were at 14 inches!  Five inches fell within 45 minutes!

I then said that I was going to take photos every hour.  By this point, I was so hopped up on caffeine that there was no way I could sleep.  I was going to stay up all night and ride this storm out and document it!

This was at midnight.  We are now at 17 inches and it's still coming down strong.

This was at 1:00 am.  We are at 18 1/2 inches now.

This beauty was taken at 2:00 am, I finally got smart and put some pants on.  As you can see it is up to my knees now.

Official count is 19 3/4 inches!

This was at 3:00 am, we are now at 22 inches.  As you can see, the snow is now over Mr. Bruises' bumper.

At nearly 4:00 am, I fell asleep on the floor with Travis.  I woke up at nearly 5:00 am, when the power went out.  Travis and I went to bed at that time.









I got up at 8:30 am and wanted to  video Travis and Riley's reaction to the snow.  I ended up videoing my own.  Sorry for the bad word, but it was a true reaction!

Final measurement at 8:30 am on Saturday was 25 1/4 inches.  Holy Bejesus!

This is the view from the carport.

You can't even see our steps!

So far, the only ones enjoying this snow are the dogs!

Back to Reality

So, we are home. Back to Reality. I worked approximately ten minutes before I had to shorten my totally awesome nails. It's freezing cold. I am working non-stop until Christmas. The knower of all, Tinkerbell, says it like it really is....


Mornings in Western Pennsylvania, in the winter, are NOT magical. She is such a smart one, I guess that's why she has wings and gets to carry the Pixie Dust.


Know what is magical? Or should I say Who? This guy! Travis!


This guy will turn your frown upside down!

Switched!

I swear that the boys have switched bodies on me ala Freaky Friday. Travis, my little naughty boy has suddenly become an angel and Riley, my angel has suddenly become my naughty boy. Look at this photo! Riley is on the couch! You see Mr. Bruises did a lot to stop him, he's laying right there with him. Neither boys are allowed on the furniture.

Monday, when I took Riley to the vet, as we pulled into the parking lot, he started howling like a hound dog. I am talking it sounded like I had slammed his tail in the door and driven the 10 minutes to the vet with it still in the door. I blame this all on Mr. Bruises' parents dog, a beagle-basset hound mix, who went to the bridge a few years ago. Stormy had the most God awful bark and Riley learned it. It is quite embarrassing when he does it because you usually don't hear a sound like that coming from a Golden Retriever. He usually does it at home when he knows my father in law has come home. NOW, he is doing it in public!

Yesterday, I took the boys to get groomed. When I went to pick them up, the groomer told me that she noticed a huge difference in Travis this time, that he wasn't as excitable and jumpy. She said he jumped right up on the table and she didn't even have to use the head harness, he just stood there and let her groom him. I asked how Riley did, since the last time he got a little snippy when it came to the nail clipping. She said, wait for it.......wait for it......wait for it.......HE GAVE HER A BLOODY NOSE! OMG! my angel started thrashing when it was nail clipping time and she head butted her and gave her a bloody nose! Never in my life would I ever think that my precious Riley would draw blood on someone.

I don't know what these two did, but I want it to stop. I want my boys back. I want my angel Riley and I want my mischievous little naught boy Travis. Now I just have to figure out how to switch them back and quickly. They are going to Aunt Tammy's house for "vacation" in T minus twenty four hours!

Today...I will be a Golden Retriever!

Yesterday, I was a Chiuaua. I was irritable, bitchy and I let everyone and everything bother me. I have some OCD tendencies and I really hate it when things are moved or broken or just wrong. Sometimes things are done with good intentions, however, when you are a Chiuaua, you don't give a shit, you are just pissed off and everyone is gonna know it.

I chalk it up to surgery, pain killers and just not feeling up to snuff. Today, I've decided to be a Golden Retriever. They really don't have a care in the world. They walk around with that "Nobody's gonna breaka my stride" song playing in their head. Everything is fun to them, even going to the vet and getting a thermometer shoved up their butt.

Look at the look on Travis' face. Do you think that he gives one flying fig that he looks like a looney? No! He could care less, he's loving life and having fun while he does it. Not a care in the world.

Today, I am a Golden Retriever. I just won't lick my butt.

Presents are Wrapped!

Well, I've gotten all of the Christmas presents that I bought, wrapped. It's no surprise that Riley and Travis have the most presents. They were the first presents bought too. I guess I am not finished shopping, I totally didn't get Kallie, Chip or Jeffrey anything. Shhhh don't tell them, they will never know!

Devil Dog

How about this for a photo? Travis looks possessed.

Now that Travis has hit the two year mark, he has settled down quite a bit. Now, I am not saying that he is an angel, because he's not. He's still the same mischievous little boy, just on a smaller scale now.

Riley, on the other hand is still the angel. He's trained so well and is just so good, he's had seven years to perfect his awesomeness!

The Tongue

I always seem to get the best photos of Riley. I just seem to have a knack for taking photos of him with his tongue out. Last night, I got this awesome shot of Riley. He was on the bed and in mid kiss. His tongue always looks so freakishly long.

Here is the original tongue photo. I took this, when Riley was very young. He was in mid-yawn. I like to call this his Gene Simmons impersonation!

Here is a more recent one, not as much tongue as usual, but still funny!

Even Travis has started to get in on the action!

Bed Hog!

I've been saying for some time now, that I was going to sleep with a camera under my pillow so that I can prove what an utter bed hog Travis is. Well last night, I finally did it.

Each night when we go to bed, Riley lays at the bottom of our queen sized bed. Travis then comes up and when he is told "Off", he just pulls dead weight and plops down between Mr. Bruises and I. He won't leave.

Eventually Riley gets warm and moves to his bed on the floor. Travis then moves to the bottom of the bed. Through the night, he gets very comfy. He literally stretches as much as he can. Usually, he ends up horizontal, to our vertical.

As these photos prove, he's very comfy. Remember that Mr. Bruises is to the left and I am to the right.

This photo shows how he has clearly shoved me pretty much off of the bed. My lower legs and feet aren't even on the bed.

I think we need a bigger bed, but I was told that even if we did get one, nothing will change, there will just be more open space in the middle.

Happy Birthday Travis!

I can't believe that my sweet little Travis is two today!! If you want to read all about Travis, you can find it HERE and HERE. We started the evening off with a cupcake scavenger hunt. Travis had a ball running through the house hunting for cupcakes. The weather wasn't so nice today so we had to do it indoors.

We then had the official cake, which was a little Fillet Mignon treat pack. Riley had his two cupcakes at this time. Riley is watching his golden figure, so he bowed out of the scavenger hunt.

Then it was present time! Travis AND Riley both got presents. They always each get presents whenever one or the other has a birthday.

Finally, we posed for a photo. Mr. Bruises took the photo. Everyone is so happy in this photo! Everyone is being so good, except for Kallie. She is being her usual, bitchy self.

Happy Birthday Travis, aka Travee, Travis Pupstranna, Kissie Face, Little P, T-Rex and the gazillion other nick names we have for you!

We need a bigger bed!

Last night, Mr. Bruises and I were watching the news. Travis was in the living room with us and we realized that Riley was missing. I went back to our bedroom and this is what I found, Riley and Kallie already tucked in bed snoozing.

I guess they were going to bed early so that they could secure their spots in the bed. As you can see, we have a queen sized bed. With two 70 plus pound goldens, a cat and two humans, our bed is ridiculously small!

We've considered getting a king or California king for awhile now. The problem with that idea is that we would have to eliminate a piece of furniture. We don't have a lot of closet space as it is, so the two dressers that we have are needed. I guess we could just have the bed up against the wall, however I like to be able to walk around the bed, it makes changing the linens easier.

I have two, really expensive, therapeutic doggie beds on the floor and a kitty bed on our head board that are going unused. I really think that these animals think that this is "their" bed and they let us sleep with them!

Move Over Punxy Phil

Travis was eyeing up a little, fuzzy, black and brown caterpillar today. I rescued the caterpillar before Travis could eat it. I thought that it was strange to see one this time of year. When I think of caterpillars, I think spring.

I came inside, hopped on the Internet to see if I could find any information on this cute little creature. Turns out it's a Woolly Bear caterpillar and it's totally normal to see them this time of year, they are actually a sign of fall. According to The Ohio State University article the Woolly Bear caterpillar has long been a forecaster of winter weather.

"According to the Old Farmer's Almanac, the longer the middle brown band, the milder and shorter the coming winter; the shorter the brown band, the longer and more severe winter will be."

Well, judging by this little guy that I found, I would say winter isn't going to be all that bad.

Fall is coming

Fall is upon us. It is a beautiful time of year, yet it means winter is coming. I hate winter with a passion. I want to live in CA and Mr. Bruises wants to live in FL. We compromise and stay here in PA. Some compromise.

I love to take photos of the boys in the fall. It's something about how sunny it is and the color of the fall leaves coordinating with their golden coats. I snapped a new photos of the boys and I last week. In typical fashion, Travis was being a stinker, he was more interested in the sticks that I was sitting on than posing for some photos.

We lost a good lady!

Yesterday, I returned home, after working a very long day, excited that I was going to start a five day Stay-Cation. I settled in for the night and checked my email, that is when I got the news. Mary Jane had passed away. Wow, I was speechless.

I met Mary Jane online at a golden retriever forum. She was our mother hen. It was the year that my mother was very ill. Mary Jane was encouraging me to go to Goldstock. At one point, I stated that I didn't think that I had the physical or emotional strength to drive the six hours by myself to get there. Mary Jane would not hear of it. I went and I am so glad I did.

I attended two more Goldstock's after that. Mary Jane was a pivotal figure for our group at all of these events. She planned and organized everything so that we all could make the most out of our time together.

There were days where you would come home from work and there would be a package from her. She was always sending gifts. She sent them when you got a new furbaby. She sent you a memorial gift when you lost one. She sent gifts when they had surgeries. She was just always thinking of others.

Mary Jane, along with Pam, was pivotal in rescuing Travis from the Amish farm. Mary Jane and her husband put up all of the money to spring him until we could fund raise to pay them back. She didn't hesitate, she new this wonderful dog deserved more. It was because of Mary Jane, Pam and Travis that we now have our Golden Friends Rescue group.

In early August, Mary Jane was having some back troubles. When she was at the beach, walking the dogs, she slipped and fell. After that, her back troubles got worse, then she started loosing feeling in her leg. She went in for tests and they found a lesion on her spine. It was cancerous. She had an operation and started receiving therapy. She kept getting worse. She never came home.

I am shocked and saddened that this all happened so fast. I am struggling with questions I have. Why? Why someone good? Why not someone evil? The hardest question I have is why is my mother still alive, when she clearly DOES NOT want to live, yet Mary Jane and my mother in law Nancy, both wanted to live so bad and they were denied. Why? I don't want my mother to die, but she clearly doesn't want to live, she is content to live in a nursing home having others do everything for her. Why?

We lost a great lady yesterday. She has touch so many lives, especially all of the animals that she helped have better lives. I thank her for Travis, he truly is a special creature that would have had a horrible life. We may have lost her, but heaven is a little brighter today. A fiery redhead has joined the ranks and she's keeping her fellow angels in line.

God Speed Mary Jane.

Father's Day

Since both of our fathers spent Father's Day with other people's children, Mr. Bruises and I decided to spend it together with our boys. Travis and I took Mr. Bruises and Riley to his new swimming hole that we found. We had an awesome time.



















Travis had a great time, fetching ball after ball! I swear that dog never tires!



Riley, who is famous for being one of the only golden retrievers that I know that doesn't like water actually got in the creek on his own. I think he was inspired by Travis. Riley only went in until the water touched his belly.
We did manage to hold Travis and let Riley fetch a ball or two.

What a wonderful afternoon it was for all of us. We are going to try to do it on a regular basis!