Happy Holidays!

Since we have a new member in the family this year it was time for another photo holiday card.  I think we all know that these can be a little cheesy at times, so we decided to just go with it.  We got reindeer antlers for everyone in the family and I picked up some snowflake decorations at the dollar store for a more scenic backdrop.

Obviously, getting all three critters to cooperate for a picture would be hard enough, but while also wearing funny little hats was going to be quite the challenge.  We knew a timer wasn't going to cut it for this, so we asked our friend Blake to come over and help us.

I moved all of our bedroom furniture to one side to clear a space so we could have a blue background and then taped up the snowflakes.  First we put our antlers on since we knew that once the animals were wearing them we wouldn't have any free hands.  Then Dash got his since he usually forgets that he's wearing things like this after a few minutes.  Next was Lenny; although he's certainly not a fan of any outfit, overall he's pretty cooperative.  Waldo was last and the toughest, so we made sure everyone else was ready before he got dressed.  Then I found where Waldo was hiding, plopped him on the bed, put his antlers on and rushed into our room since we knew he wouldn't tolerate this cruelty for long.

Blake snapped away as we tried to keep all three animals in the frame and looking the right direction.  Luckily he was able to get some good shots before Waldo made his exit.

So without further ado, I present to you our holiday card picture for 2010:

And of course, a few of the pictures that didn't quite make the cut:

Earlier in the day we took Dash to the dog park and afterward when he was passed out on his bed I couldn't resist putting his antlers on him.

And a million thanks to Blake, we couldn't have done this without you!

Snowy Play Date

Last Saturday our old foster Blitz (now Ronin) came over with his big brother Henry for a play date with Dash.  We were happy to hear that Ronin is settling into his new home.  He gets along well with Henry - they even lay together sometimes!  Aside from chewing a stair railing and the odd accident he's been pretty well behaved. 

We got about 4 inches of snow the night before which made the event all the more exciting for the pups.  Dash and Ronin got right to wrestling; it was like Ronin never left at all!

Once in a while they'd take a short break from chase and wrestling to just play in the snow.  Dash liked to lay on his belly and pull himself along the ground with his front legs while dragging his back legs behind him.

This is Henry, Ronin's big brother.  He wanted to get in on more of the chase and wrestling action but one of his knees is bothering him (he's already had surgery on it once), so he had to be kept on a leash most of the time so he wouldn't play too hard and hurt himself.

 

Ronin and Dash would sometimes have a little starting contest before leaping at each other.  A lot of the time they would be standing on either side of a tree so they couldn't see each other.

Every now and then Dash and Ronin would come play over near Henry, so he would try to jump in.

I just like this one because it looks like Dash is telling Henry a secret about Ronin.

The dogs also found a really big stick in the yard to play with, so that kept them occupied for a good long time!

At one point Henry got a hold of a big stick, too, but in true little brother form, Ronin came over and stole it

So Henry ended up chewing on a tiny stick, even though he was the biggest dog.

By the end of the afternoon all three of them were tuckered out and covered in snowballs!

We had so much fun seeing how Ronin has grown (he's taller than Dash now!) and letting the dogs have play around and get some energy out!  The first of many playdates!