Trip to Mississippi State

Julie and I were fortunate to take a trip to Starkville, MS at the end of last week. Our primary purpose was to see a photo of Magellan on campus. We traveled as guests of Hunter Henry who is an alumnus and on the Foundation Board. Magellan's photo is in a case that discusses Mr. Henry's life story in the Alumni Center. Secondarily, I gave a talk in the Geosciences Department about grass-fed beef. Kevin has a colleague in that department that he met while a PhD student at Arizona State. In addition, we also visited the Waverly Plantation which dates back to 1852 along the banks of the Tombigbee River in Mississippi. Julie also got to go into a Piggly Wiggly grocery store for the first time. We brought an individual peach pie home for Laz, some crawtator chips for Moses, and some butter cookies for Gelli from Piggly Wiggly.

Kevin

Continuing with pet therapy

Moses, Lazarus, and Magellan have been continuing their work as pet partners. Magellan and Moses go to Travis Elementary School every Friday to help with a reading program. Each of their reading friends have improved their reading abilities this year while practicing with the dogs. Lazarus has been going to the school on Thursdays to work with children in the special education program. The students are mostly dealing with some form of autism and like the routine of having a visit from Laz. The three have also visited the local domestic abuse shelter for a special program. Lazarus continues his work on alternate Fridays with the elderly at the Texan Nursing Home. He loves the attention and seeing his friends who are residents as well as staff and visiting family members. The volunteer work keeps us busy, but it is a good kind of busy because -- A tired puppy is a good puppy.

The Deck - finally done

Well... here is the finished product...

Well, Peggy Sue got adopted! So, we are very happy for her.

So, we decided to wash and stain our deck. We wanted to document it so, the first picture is a "before" picture and the next two show some of our power washing progress...
~Julie

Introducing Peggy Sue

Meet Peggy Sue, our latest foster. She is a 7 month old GSP/Lab mix and she is very sweet. We are enjoying her very much.



Also, here are some pictures of Magellan, Lazarus and Moses having winter fun.

Magellan LOVES Christmas... especially the tree.

Magellan is FASCINATED with our Christmas Tree. He stares into it, hoping a bird will fly out, or a squirrel will show himself. He is CONVINCED there is something in there. It is a tree after all.

There is really nothing to say, except, "Where am I going to sleep?"

-Julie

Finally... Visible Results

Kevin has worked tirelessly recovering the yard (left in horrible condition by the past owners), and we are finally starting to see the fruits of his labor. We had beautiful color this fall on our Crape Myrtles.

Stickers

Here are a few of the examples of Stickers given to the students at Travis Elementary for the A.R.F. (Animal Reading Friends) program. They really enjoy the stickers!

Happy Birthday Magellan!!

Happy Birthday to Magellan today, a day in which we celebrate his turning 3! (We don't know is actual birth-date.) Lazarus loves parties, Moses loves cake, but Magellan wasn't especially interested in having a party (last time he hid in a bedroom), so we got him a massage for his birthday! He immediately sat in the masseuse's lap when she sat down. Magellan really seemed to like it, and made noises indicating that he was very relaxed.

Pickles is Adopted!

We are very happy to report that Pickles (now Emma), our foster GSP has been adopted and moved to Houston. We are so happy for her, although we do miss her. She has two new sisters, a chocolate lab, and a collie. Her new mom said that "there is no bed too soft, no food too good, no amount of hugs will ever be enough for her". She has earned a lifetime of comfort & love!" Yay!!
This makes our 6th GSP foster placement.

Lazarus, Moses and Magellan seem to be happy to be foster free. We did enjoy teaching Pickles the everyday things we sometimes take for granted. Here she is pictured going through the "magic window," an activity she loves.

-Julie

Houston Texans 35 Kansas City Chiefs 31

On Sunday, Julie and I attended the Texans game in Houston. We had wonderful seats about 25 rows up from the field on the 43 yard line behind the Texans bench. As the score would indicate, it was not a game highlighting defense and the game basically came down to who had the ball last. With 21 fourth quarter points, Houston pulled the game out and scored the final touchdown with 28 seconds remaining in the game. It was a great atmosphere full of jubilation after such an exciting ending. In the foreground of the photo, you can see the CBS camera operator standing in the moving cherry picker bucket. We had a really good time, the roof was open, and the weather was almost perfect.

Kevin

Laz at elementary school

I got to go to a local elementary school yesterday to talk about working dogs and how dogs and other pets can be trained to assist in a number of different therapy settings. I loved it! I got to show off a lot of my tricks, I got to meet about 20 2nd graders, and Mom made stickers of me that I got to paw (hand) out to my new friends. This picture shows me and my parents posing for a picture during our presentation!

Your pal,

Lazie

Our trip to West Texas

Over Labor Day weekend, the pack (minus Pickles because she did not have a rattlesnake vaccine) went on a trip to West Texas. We stayed at a part of the ranch that Julie helps to manage. I had so much fun running around, sniffing things, chasing things, and flushing game. On our first morning walk, I flushed a wild turkey! It was so large that its short flight was noisy and awkward. Over the three days we were there, I flushed another turkey, some deer, and I headed off a javelina who seemed to be up to no good. To keep an eye on me, Dad and Mom put a orange scarf on me. I had such a wonderful time. These pictures were taken during one of our hikes!

Magellan

NFL PICKS 2010

This is coming later than usual because we do not want to affect the Vegas betting lines on the season. Julie is looking for a strong comeback this year after being beaten for the first time in three years last season. Teams in italics we predict as wild cards.

AFC East
Julie: Jets, Dolphins, Patriots, Bills
Kevin: Jets, Dolphins, Patriots, Bills

AFC North
Julie: Bengals, Ravens, Steelers, Browns
Kevin: Ravens, Bengals, Steelers, Browns

AFC South
Julie: Texans, Colts, Titans, Jags
Kevin: Texans, Colts, Titans, Jags

AFC West
Julie: Chargers, Broncos, Chiefs, Raiders
Kevin: Chargers, Broncos, Chiefs, Raiders

NFC East
Julie: Eagles, Giants, Cowboys, Redskins
Kevin: Giants, Cowboys, Redskins, Eagles

NFC North
Julie: Bears, Vikings, Packers, Lions
Kevin: Packers, Bears, Vikings, Lions

NFC South
Julie: Saints, Bucs, Panthers, Falcons
Kevin: Saints, Falcons, Panthers, Bucs

NFC West
Julie: Seahawks, 49ers, Cardinals, Rams
Kevin: 49ers, Seahawks, Cardinals, Rams