Apple Picking

We went apple picking for the first time! It was very pleasant.
The air feels like fall here. I have not felt fall air like this before. The
trees were dripping with apples and we all filled our bags to the brim in
ten minutes. They were Liberty apples which are very tart and sweet.
Mulan loved it! She loved just holding the apple in her mouth because it
felt like she owned it and it was hers alone. We also attended a Puppy Class
at the Polaris mall Wednesday night. We practiced walking up and down stairs
and various socialization skills. Mulan did wonderful(I am such a doggy mom).
One of her only problems was staying by my side towards the end of the stairs because she would get excited and want to get off really fast. It was a good refresher course for both of us.
Here are a few pictures. . . .

LPCCI Booth

Mulan and I got to help work the CCI booth Thursday at the Lions
convention. Mulan loved all the attention and behaved very
well. It was a very neat experience. I answered a lot of questions
about CCI and my personal stories of life as a puppy raiser.
One lady I talked to at the booth was getting her ninth puppy
the following week! Nine puppies is a lot. Mulan is now on four
cups of food a day. This is to fill her out a little bit. And the next bag
of food we buy will be adult food(we have been feeding her puppy food).
Here is a picture of us at the CCI booth.

September 11

I can't believe tommorrow it will have been five years since September 11. I remember
that morning very clearly. I feel for everyone who lost someone.
Today we took Mulan to a little outdoor tomato festival. It only had three tents!
I tried my first fried green tomatos and tomato fudge (don't try either of them).
My mom and I were discussing how Mulan has changed while we were gone. There
is a definant difference. Before she was unable to just lay and relax , but now she will lay
around for up to two hours doing nothing. It is kind of enjoyable. It makes life much easier
for all of us.

Eleven Months

Wow! Mulan is officially eleven months old. Where did time go?
It seems like we just got her. We were just told that her
official turn in date will probably be somewhere in May. That means
that we are about half way there:(
On a different note I heard about Steve Irwin. That is so sad and he was only
44! Well I have to go. . .

Another Puppy Class

When we picked up Mulan she was so excited! That made me feel pretty good.
She is sooo big she looks like a adult. I will post pictures as soon as I can but my camera
is full from vacation right now so I have to wait until I empty it.
We took her to one of the monthly puppy classes at the CCI center last night. It was really
enjoyable we did relays with our dogs where we had to carry a spoonful of dogfood while
handling our dogs in the correct manner. Whichever team filled up the dog bowl at the other
end of the room first would win. There was also a added distraction of dog food on the ground.
So it was a good way to reconnect for both Mulan and I.

Home

Finally! I am really glad to be home. We have been busily collecting our pets
one by one. First was our hamsters and fish and Monday we will be picking
up Mulan. I wonder what she looks like now? I am kind of nervous it is like picking
her up for the first time all over again. Thanks to everyone who has been so patient
while I have been out wandering around:)

NYC!

We are at our grandparents house for a few days so I have access to a computer.
We just returned from visiting New York it was fabulous! We had been before
but we have done the usual tourists things and visited Ellis Island and The Statue of Liberty.
This time we got to really know the city. We got to picnic in Central Park, visit the Metropolitan Museum of Art, walk the Brooklyn Bridge, see the play "Stomp", visit Little Italy, eat every type of food imaginable(one of my favorites:), see the "Today" show live with Anne Curry, go to Ground Zero, and the list goes on. I really enjoyed it. I think my two favorites were visiting Chinatown and running to a little diner as the rain poured down! I am blessed with parents who are willing to try anything and be adventerous.

Camp and Vacation

Today we are dropping off Mulan at the CCI center for four weeks
while we go to a church camp and then on vacation. So starting at the beginning
of September start checking back for the further adventures of Mulan:)

Nine Months!

Mulan is now well over nine months old so here is her nine month picture
and a picture of her with her new "baby."
She loves this little doggy that she picked out herself at a garage sale. The lady
was so impressed that she let Mulan have her for free.

Michigan

We got to spend a few days in Battle Creek, Michigan last weekend.
Mulan stayed at the CCI kennel so you don't have to worry:)
It is a really nice little town they have a very nice zoo and even the Kellogs
Cereal Factory.
Mulan came back bathed and with her nail clipped! I was impressed.
Can you believe she is over nine months now. I don't think she is going
to be huge but she is not tiny either.
I just finished reading a article about a new kennel that specializes in "teacup" dogs.
Meaning dogs that are not over five lbs. In my opinion those dogs are more like "arm candy"
then a real pet. Why don't you just by a hamster?

Potluck Pics

I finally have got around to downloading the pics. So here they are, Mulan is the one
in the brown collar. It is was very hard to get a good picture with the dogs running
around like crazy. She had a blast and was very well behaved considering she
hasn't seen any other dogs in a while. The center is only about forty minutes away
so they said they would take Mulan while we go to Michigan this weekend.

North Central Pot Luck

We have been invited to attend a class and pot luck with other puppy raisers
at the North Central Center tonight. I am looking forward to meeting other
puppy raisers in our area. I hope Mulan behaves herself for me. She usually is
very good but she gets very excited around other dogs. Which is understandable.
I will try to get some good pictures and post them tommorrow.

Settling In

I think we are finally all settled in. Cara and I just got some hamsters
which Mulan seems to find very interesting. Mulan is adjusting fine
the move did not seem to affect her at all. Here is a picture of us in front
of the television the other night.

Ohio!

Sorry it has been so long. We finally have a house and internet!
We are just about all settled in. Mulan is doing well. Let's just say
that a twenty hour car ride in the back seat with a lab is "interesting."
I think we can probably leave it at that.
I have been impressed with the climate difference up here. The first day
we moved in it was over 90 degrees. Then the temperature dropped and
it rained for three days straight!
One of the new things Mulan has learned is how to behave in a house. It just
clicked with her one day and she doesn't chew as much as she used to. I just did
a check on her weight and she weighs almost 60 lbs! Thanks for everyones support I hope
that I can start updating more regularly from now on.

Back Again

We are finally back from our final trip to Roswell. I love going to Roswell because we
get to stay in a members really old, eclectic house that was owned by the sheriff that
shot Billy the Kid! We also love going because she makes the best biscuits and green
chili stew. When we picked Mulan up she looked a little bigger I can't believe how fast
they grow.
I also figured out how to allow anyone who wants to post on my blog you don't have to
be a registered member anymore. Someone will have to tell me if it worked:)

Very Busy. . . .

We have been very busy these past few days. First of all one of our friends
died so we had to attend the funeral which is all the way down in Houston.
The day we were going to leave my sister came down with a 103 degree fever.
So while my mom stayed with her just my dad and I decided to attend the funeral.
That left the problem of what to do with Mulan. So (I felt kind of bad) we took her
back over to Barbara's where she spent a very happy weekend playing with Reefe (Barbaras dog).
She came back smelling like a lab and very tired:)

New Orleans Pictures

Ok, I finally got some of the pictures of the damage to load
here they are. . . .
The first one is of us and a friend eating Beignets at Cafe Du Monde. The other three are just a few of many pictures we have of the damage down there. Can you beleive that these have been taken nine months after the Hurricane!

We're Back!

It is good to be home again even if it is only until Friday!
We are going to Houston for a final farewell.
New Orleans was amazing. You are unable to comprehend
the extent of the damage until you have seen it with your own eyes.
There are families living on the street because their own homes are
so full of mold that there are unable to enter them without wearing
special suits.
Mulan is doing well. We went swimming in the neighbors pool today.
She will swim only if she is following me. She always has to see someone
go first:)
I have a few pictures I want to post but they are not loading so I will try
again tommorrow.

New Orleans

We are going to spend the weekend in New Orleans. My father really enjoys
it and it will be our last time to go before we move.
We are not taking Mulan because we think that the trip would be a bit much for
her. She is staying with a puppy raiser named Barbara Naylor and her dog.
Her dog is ten months old and weighs almost twice what Mulan does. They
hit it off right away though and spent the entire time we were there slobbering
all over one another. Barbara takes her dog to school with her every day(she is a teacher)
so she is going to take Mulan with her as well. I hope she behaves for her.
I will post again next Tuesday when we get back from our trip.

The Creek

Today we took Mulan down to the creek to play.
She loved it! The water went to her chest so it was just
the right height. We played for a good two hours.
She would run so fast in the water that it look like
she was running on top of her. As soon as she got her bath
when we got home she went right to sleep and is still sleeping.