Let's play KETCHUP!

Oh my it’s been a while…

I will blame my lack of blogging on the incredible changes that have taken place in our lives the last few months….

What changes??? You don’t know????

Well, then it is my job to fill you in!

Here is a brief run through of everything that has happened in our lives since our last visit!

In October, Turbo discovered chicken nuggets…  

I discovered it’s better to let the chicken nuggets cool off in the oven or in a covered location.

I’m still finding chicken nuggets hidden in places high and low… it’s now March.

In November we prepared for Earthquakes....

And discovered that chicken does not need to be in soup form to make you feel better if you're sick. Waking up to a chicken in bed with you will immediatly perk you up enough to get up and ring someone's neck. (not the chicken of course... no chickens were harmed in the writting of this blog.)

Turbo experienced his first Christmas… and to our dismay… he was not interested in the tree... HOWEVER...he was interested in the string of cranberries and popcorn that we used to decorate with! (lights are not Turbo/Tree friendly. No one wants fried squirrel for Christmas dinner! ) I’m still finding cranberries…. Did I mention it’s March????

Jack and Boone had the best Christmas ever! This was the first year that our perfect niece Desi was interested in playing with them! They ate it up… they followed her around, they licked her face, she fed them apples  when they sleep at night they dream about Destiny! It’s been three months and they still whisper her name in their sleep….

Christmas was amazing… Nathan and I both really bonded with our niece Destiny… and no one wanted the holiday to end. John Paul yelling at the football game, the Nikki’s laughing and talking …and Nathan giving his mom Vicki a hard time while Danny Joe set the mood for the weekend with an amazing slide show of family pictures!  

I'll never forget driving away from Nathan's mother and sister Nikki's dad's home and saying that was the best Christmas we've ever had with your family. It just felt so wonderful... and I'll always be thankful for that Christmas and those memories.

Days later our lives changed forever

On January 1^st 2012 we lost our brother-in law John Paul King Baron. It’s strange because looking back I feel like we should have known. We should have known because he was a genuine person. The kind of person they write songs about. He was a father, a husband, a sheriff’s deputy, and a friend. He was the first person to say hello to you. He always made you feel welcome, and he always checked you in with Facebook! J He loved the batman movies and probably had more “The Joker” shirts than the average 8 year old boy. He loved live music and always took a shot of tequila with me when he’d show up to watch Tuff Profit play. He loved to talk… and talk he did… with that NY accent… I could think of a million things about JP that we’re all going to miss but, the bottom line is… he is missed. He will always be missed. He will always be a part of our lives and we are very thankful for the time we spent with him, and thankful to see him in his daughters face. Prayers for his wife and daughter… prayers for his family… Cherish the people that you love. Never take one day with them for granted.

Well, now it’s march… and we’re back up to date… it’s about garden planting time and we’ll be bringing home two baby piggy’s soon!  I think we’ll grow strawberries this year…. .

For some reason we go through an insane amount of strawberries around here….

Until next time!!!!!

To All DOG owners or LOVERS

It takes the average person 3-4 seconds to complete a full breath  in…..and out…
It takes a fraction of a second to change your life… less than one breath.

                I am not perfect… and I make mistakes with my pups but I have learned several things in the past 10 years of being owned by the most loving, forgiving, and devoted “children” on earth and I would like to share the two most important things I’ve learned.

1.       The most important “trick” you can teach your pet is to stop what they are doing and immediately come when called. This has saved the life of my animals many times. I practice this when Jack or Boone are really excited about something. Sometimes Jack will get so wrapped up in a game or a behavior that he doesn’t hear me. This is dangerous!!  I find that using the “mommy voice” will many time snap his head up and bring him to attention. Then I coax him to me and praise him when he comes… treats and hugs. (BY TRAINING THIS BEHAVIOR YOU CAN PREVENT DEATH!)  Practice this over and over…in all situations.. . in different environments and with as many distractions as possible. Teach your pet that the ((STOP what I’m doing and COME to my person )) is the most rewarding skill they could ever learn to master.

2.       TRUST NO ONE! I believe that my dog behaves better than 98% of your kids. This is one reason I have a pet and not a child and it’s also why I have no problem taking my pets with me when I go places.  Jack provides me emotional support and I am a much happier and less anxious person when I am with him.  I frequently take Jack on trips and evenings out but the rule is, HE STAYS WITH ME.  His leash is around MY wrist. He does not leave MY side. I do not even allow Nate to hold Jacks leash in many places. He is my responsibility and if anything happens to him, it is my fault.  Your pet is worthy of the attention and love and protection that you would offer a human child.

Lil' Piggy

I will never forget playing ball in the front yard with Austin. I had done well to teach him to never enter into the street and could count on one hand the number of times in 6 years that he had but, I was smart enough to know each of those had been “accidents” and accidents can always happen again.

On this particular day Nathan threw the ball which Austin nearly caught on a bounce. The ball ricocheted out towards the street just as an AR-TARD-ED Bartlesville driver decided to turn down a residential neighborhood street at about 60mph.  This was such an exciting moment in ball catching history to Austin that I could see his mind blending out the surrounding scenery including the street and focusing completely on the yellow ball of joy falling from the sky.

My heart nearly stopped as I yelled at him to AUSTIN, STOP COME HERE! Just as the yellow ball of joy made contact with the ground, the idiot driver made contact with the ball… My baby however was nearly close enough to receive the biggest hug and squeeze of this life thus far.

No matter how much he wanted that ball he had been trained over and over and over to STOP WHAT I AM DOING AND COME WHEN CALLED.

I would still have my best friend and love of my life, Austin, to snuggle and love if I had TRUSTED NO ONE with his safety. I spent 7 years with him and I love him more than anything or anyone I’ve ever known. It did not matter if we slept in the car, the tent, or in bed. It didn’t matter who my boyfriend was or where I worked or how much money I made… as long as we were together.  Why would I have trusted that someone else would lock the house up when they left? Why would I trust that someone else would find it strange that he was not snuggled between the couch cushions when they came home? WHY WOULD I BELIEVE THAT ANYONE WOULD CARE FOR MY HEART AND SOUL LIKE I WOULD? I lost my heart on October 31^st, 2010 when I left him at home in Ramona OK. I believed that he would be safe because I trusted someone else to watch out for him. I was wrong… and now… he’s gone. I may possibly live the rest of my life not knowing where he is, if he’s happy or if he misses me. Does he cry like I do?



Taylor Co. Shop Party Dog





After a long night of Sled Hill



Nik & Austin 2007

Our pets have feelings and emotions and they have souls. Horrible things happen in this life and they are there for us through thick and thin. We make mistakes… we become complacent and things happen that we can never take back. If I found Austin tomorrow, I will never get the year we’ve spent apart back.

My cousin came to stay on Sunday because our papa’s funeral was Monday… she kept a close eye on her dog (Sheba) because she was afraid that if she got lose she wouldn’t know where to go or come back. She was young and somewhat untrained but very well behaved. Monday morning… while drinking coffee on the porch Jack and  Sheba were playing in the yard and ventured off into the pasture. I hollered for Jack who came right back… Sheba did not. She instead decided to go on an adventure despite our pleas. Sheba was shot and killed within minutes by a neighbor who believed her to be a stray after his chickens. There was nothing we could do.  The neighbor was not at fault. The dog was not at fault… we were, the humans who were suppose to protect her.  I truly believe this accident could have been prevented.  My heart is broken for my cousin… and for the neighbor who feels awful about killing a beloved pet.

Sheba

My hope is that all who read this will take a few extra minutes to stop and work with their animals or to mention to those they love "How well does you're pet come when called?"  There are those of us "crazy cat ladies" out there that do prefer our pets and treat them like children... but we're not really crazy, we just know we can legally crate our "children".

<3 to Austin <3 to Jack <3 to Boone…

 

ALSO, A $1000 REWARD IS STILL BEING OFFERED FOR THE RETURN OR INFORMATION THAT LEADS TO THE RETURN OF AUSTIN. HE WAS LAST SEEN OCT. 31, 2011 ABOUT 6:30 OUTSIDE OF RAMONA OKLAHOMA. IF ANYONE HAS ANY INFORMATION THAT LEADS TO THE RETURN OF AN IDENTIFIABLE BODY COMPENSATION WILL ALSO BE REWARDED. THANK YOU. 24/7 (918)214-6919
8 year old neutered male, between 18-20 inches tall, very wide. 3 fingers will fit between his shoulder blades. Brindle and White, no visible scars, between 45-50 lbs. loves tennis balls, 2 teeth on lower jaw have had dental work, (front lower pointed canines)

Austin Playing Farkle with N8

Beautiful Boy

Little Sahara Trip 2008

Almonds Almonds Everywhere

Everyone prepares for the winter weather a bit differently.



I plant mums...

Jack hoards tennis balls

Nathan stacks wood

and Turbo hides almonds!

Almonds Almonds Everywhere

Almonds in a potted plants

(and dice... Turbo loves farkle)

If he could write down his own score,

He'd be as good as ISRAY Doc Holiday from Ramona, OK.

Almonds for trick-or-treating

Turbo requests that those who decide to trick-or-treat our house

bring him pumpkin seeds... he'll trade you pumpkin seeds

for chocolate.

and

Almonds ready for toasting...

or roasting...

whatever tickles his fancy...

There are almonds in piles along the window ledges, there are almonds shoved between the

cushions of the couch, and almonds hidden in other various places. In fact, I believe him to be a bit

worried about my winter preparedness .

He's probably been having words with his dad ....

who just doesn't believe that mums and pumpkins have anything to do with

surviving the winter...



If you give a mouse a cookie...

If you give a girl a bunch of sunflowers for her birthday,

She will put them in a vase.

If you give a girl with a squirrel a bunch of sunflowers,

you already know they will quickly be devoured.

If you give a Turbo a sunflower,

he will claim he is preparing for winter.

                                               

Although, it is highly unlikely that he will need that extra fat around the hips 

while sleeping in a stocking hat hung by the fire.

It takes a big set of huevos to destroy your moms handpicked.

sunflower boquet on her birthday...

Then again... nothing lives forever... ... ... ... ...

and some pple like fried squirrel...

:)



An end to THE DOG days of Summer

Today… the high is 80 degrees… right now it is 68 degrees …. And I love my life.

Oklahoma broke the "86 day record" of days over 100 degrees this summer!

We all hated the heat. The face melting heat… horrible, horrible heat… gates of Hell heat...

Today however is beautiful,  the mornings are chilly, and I'm getting excited about sweaters and leggings. No one dares to mention that they may be cold... or even chilly. It's perfect and we are thankful.

 Nate, Jack, Boone and I are so excited about the cooler weather we are finding any reason to be outside! 

Any reason... even if it means work... ... because we're not melting... because we're smiling... 

And I discovered something... 

If you take a Super Beagle with you to cut wood... you must tie them up... otherwise you will crawl under barbed wire fences, trespass on private property, and finally lift his fat @$$ over goat fencing.

You will have several minutes to think on things as you walk back to the wood pile... some of which are:

1.) How did Super Beagle get two pastures away in 3 minutes?

2.) How did Super Beagle get into a fenced area that is near impossible to get out of?

3.) What can you substitue in place of Worcestershire sauce in a recipie?

4.) How does barbed wire manage to jump out and grab an entire handful of hair without hands.

I discovered something else...

A Jack Dog will not run off while cutting wood... A Jack Dog will be so stuck up your rear-end that you will barely be able to pick up sticks without him jumping into your arms... SAAAAAVVVVEEEEE MMEEEE!

Now, Because you don't carry a stick of wood in one arm, and a heavily spoiled BullyBreed Jack in the other...he will ignore you and sit on Dad's lap all the way home. (which is something he NEVER does)  In fact he will look at you to make sure you are watching, and promptly go back to ignoring you...

just so he knows... you know... he's MADATCHU.

:)

I love 86 degree days and spoiled rotten dogs... and boys with chainsaws.

Oh, and fat beagle dogs are deceptively fast!

Boone The Super Beagle Writes a Letter

Hello All! Our little Beagle dog Boone came to live with us in May and this past week he decided he would like to write a letter to the Tulsa SPCA. He has high hopes for all the other dogs and cats waiting for homes at the shelter, and wanted me to share this with you in hopes that one of you may decide to adopt, foster, or volunteer at your local shelter! (He also wanted to say a special hello and thank you to Loren and Brandon!)

ABOOOONNE TULSA SPCA, (that is how I say hello!)

My name is Boone, but my Mom and Dad call me Boone the Super Beagle.   

I live in the country, in a white house with a big front and back yard, both of which have fences and lots of pasture.  I’m not supposed to leave the yard without mom’s permission, but sometimes I venture out to the pond.

I have a little brother named Jack, who gets on my nerves because all he wants to do is play, and another brother named Turbo who I would like to play with a lot more… but I can’t catch him. He’s super-fast  and can climb up the curtains… and I can’t.  I also think that the birds that hang out in the backyard are mine too, I promised Mom that I wouldn’t eat them… and I love my Mom… so I don’t.

I was pretty scared when I first met my Mom and Dad, but Mom promised me that she would never ever leave me, and that I could keep her FURever.  I didn’t believe her at first but, she makes sure that Jack and I go everywhere with her. I went on my first camping trip to Robbers Cave State Park, and we went to the lake almost every weekend this summer. Dad loves his pontoon boat. My Mom makes Jack wear a life jacket because he can’t swim, but I can, so someday I might teach him how.

I like going to the lake a lot. I don’t like sunscreen... and Mom puts it on both our noses.

I’d rather get a tan, but then again I like to relax in the shade!

My favorite things to do are help Mom plant flowers, and I’m really good when it comes to cleaning and re-organizing drawers.

I really love my home, my toys, my Mom and Dad… and even Jack.

Thank-you for helping me find my new home and family. They really make me feel special, and I hope that someday all the other dogs and cats will be as lucky as I am.

Love Always,

Boone, the Super Beagle

PS… Mom says sticking your tongue out in pictures isn’t funny… but we showed her!