This is the question I kept asking myself over and over again yesterday afternoon. In a moment of weakness, I took Jessie, Sammy, and Lucy running with me. The dogs get so excited whenever they hear the word "run" and they looked too hopeful for me to tell them no. So off we started, me pushing the jogging stroller and trying to not get us all tangled up in the leases. I have done this before, but this day Sammy and Lucy had a LOT of energy and Jessie is a finicky 2-year old. The way out was fine, but I knew shortly after I turned around that I had bitten off too much. Soon Jessie wanted to walk and the river trail was thick with dogs off leases just teasing my dogs. Then Jessie wanted me to carry her, an impossible task with 2 dogs and pushing a stroller. At one point, we were sitting on a park bench and it was all I could do not to cry! I finally got Jessie to agree to get back in her stroller and slowly made it home. Five miles took an 1 hour and 20 minutes. Never again! But I slept well last night finally, so I think I know the answer to my question now.
Lucy gets neglected in the family photos because she is a grumpy bitch. She's only willing to have her picture taken when there is some swimming, hiking, or eating to be done. Let it be known that despite the fact that Sammy is in every single family picture, and Sammy is a fine dog and we love Sammy, Lucy is the best dog the Hoods will ever know.
Jessie was Super-Doggie for Halloween. Doggie was a Fairy. Jessie let us know this week that Doggie wanted to be a Fairy for Halloween, so Mommy made him a costume too. We trick or treated at Boppie's, Uncle Billy's and around our block and got more candy than a little girl should eat in a year. We got so much candy, our pumpkin candy carrier's handle broke on the way home! Mommy and Daddy got to go on a hike in the Bitteroot today thanks to Boppie's generosity with babysitting. We walked up Kootenai Creek where the big fire happened this summer and there were still hot spots where it was still burning. It was rainy but eerily warm and very cool to see the burn.
On Sunday we went to the PEAS Farm and picked out a pumpkin (check out the link - it's a cool program and it's located right in town). They had a bluegrass band, pony rides, a carving station (with very small, dull, plastic knives that resulted in us deciding to do our carving at home), fresh pressed hot cider, and of course, chickens. The Girl likes chickens. After standing in line for the ponies though, Jessie decided she did not want to ride them. We never found out why. Just didn't want to.
We carved the pumpkin at home according to Jessie's very detailed instructions. She said she wanted triangles for eyes looking THAT way (pointing to the right), a triangle nose, and a big smiley mouth with three teeth. She told Mommy all this without prompting and then repeated it to me. So that's what we did. Pics of the finished product all lit up on the porch to follow.
We went to Fall Fest today - put on by Missoula Parks and Rec. We painted pumpkins, rode on a hayride behind a John Deere tractor, got face paint, made s'mores, and slid down a slide. Sweet. Then Mommy and Daddy grilled some pork chops and made a salad back at home. They sure did make a big deal over that meal. I thought the hay ride was much cooler.
Jessie got a new Lego bus from Grandpa and helped Mommy make blueberry squares last week.
On a more pleasant note, here are some random pictures taken over the past couple of weeks or so. I got itchy one morning and started ripping off all the horrible apple wall paper in the kitchen. That's going to be a big project.
