Updates

Hello Adventure Dog Blog followers! Once again I'll apologize for being a horrible blogger!

My last update was in May! Where to begin with the updates? This will be mostly non-Bender related. Sorry. Scroll down for Bender photos though!

Last you knew I was living in Idaho and teaching and the husfriend was sadly unemployed. After many long talks and tough decisions I resigned my teaching position.

Fast forward to October. The husfriend decided he wanted to go back to school to study Astronomy and Astrophysics and had been accepted to The University of Arizona and was waiting on acceptance to University of Texas at Austin. Where to go? We consulted a family friend (also from Michigan) well known in the astronomy field and he provided us with this analogy: "Tucson is like Houghton Michigan whereas Austin is like Ann Arbor." That settled it for us. We rented a 26' Penske truck and loaded it with all our possessions. A small lapse in judgement occurred at this point. We only have one car and decided to trailer it. At this point we asked, where will the dogs go? Obviously the only solutuion was on the bench seat in the cab with us.

Off we went on our adventure. 2 humans, 2 dogs, a 26' Penske truck and a trailer. What a long three day drive it was.

Fast forward past all the boring stuff. We are in Austin and sadly a bit lost. The husfriend was not accepted to UTAustin. I can't find a full time job. We're struggling, and it's tough.

Not sure what the future holds for us. Things in Austin may not last too long. We could move back with our parents in Michigan until we get back on our feet. Eventually we want to end up back in Boise.

As for the dogs they love it here. We have woods behind our apartment and they enjoy barking at the hawks and squirrels. There's a dog park they enjoy and they've been to a cage free doggie daycare which is great. Bones learned how to swim in the river and everyone on the trails thinks Bender is handsome.

Hopefully things turn around soon. Austin seems to be a great city and it's super doggie friendly.

Now for some doggie pictures!

Bender doesn't want the sheets washed.

"The Duke" in his fitting Halloween costume.

The boys in the office the day we signed our lease. Happy to have a home!

Bender hated the moving truck.

We're Healthy Omega Gourmet Dog Food Giveaway Winners!

Kelly over at CorgiButts did a Giveaway for Healthy Omega Gourmet Dog Food. We left our comment and she notified us that we won!

I shot her an email saying I wanted any of them except salmon. (I have a life-threatening seafood allergy. Even the smell makes me horribly sick.)

To my surprise when the package arrived I received two bags! Lamb and Chicken. I thought we only got one! If I would have known I would have taken all three and donated the salmon to our local shelter.

We've only tried a little as treats but both Bender and Bones seem to approve so far!

Thanks Kelly and Gibson!

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Presents!

Laurie and Sadie over at Sadie the Rescued Corgi picked us as their winners. They sent us an amazing care package filled with some of Sadie's favorite things.

We got the package last Monday, but it was Spring Break and I never got around to posting.

Bender really liked the paper. In the end they both found a favorite. Thank you so much Laurie and Sadie! Sorry this took us so long to post!

We got an Award!

Sadie and Laurie gave us an award!

The rules for accepting this award are to thank the person (or pups!) who gave you the award, share 7 things about yourself (and these are all true!), link to 15 recently discovered bloggers, and contact them to tell them about the award.

So thank you to Sadie and Laurie! :) We appreciate it!

1. Bender is an accidental rescue dog. We were just supposed to dog sit him. Bones is a lost and found dog.
2. Bender acts more like a cat than a dog. He only likes attention when he decides he needs it. Bones loves to be the center of attention.

3. Bender has to inspect all bags that come into the house.
4. If I have a sweatshirt on the floor Bender will sleep on it. If I have socks on the floor Bones will carry them around.
5. Bender hates to play fetch. Bones loves fetch (and Bender herds him.)
6. Bender and Bones are my first dogs.
7. Both dogs sleep in bed with me. They're better than a heating blanket.

I don't know who has already had this award, so I'm going to leave it open. If you have a blog and haven't had this award yet please take it! Leave a comment so we can come and read about you!

Hide n Go Seek

The husfriend and I recently picked up a box of Kirkland brand bones from Costco (made in the USA!). The dogs love them. We used to buy them for Bender and he would hide them all over the house.

He seems to remember his old ways and has taken to hiding them in couch cushions, under pillows on the bed, in the wires under hisfriend's computer desk and last night in my pile of clothes waiting to be washed.

I was getting ready for bed and couldn't figure out why Bender was so reluctant to join me on the bed. He's usually the first one in bed ready to claim his spot. I shrugged it off and went to bed without him.

"I'm not doing nothin." *innocent face*

"See Ma, I'm just seepin!"

Today I stayed home with a stomach bug, but figured I'd better not waste the day, so I decided to start some laundry. Bender became very protective of my clothes when I went to wash them. I figured there was a treat hidden somewhere in them, and sure enough I found a bone. After I found it he had to sulk and eat it.

"You don't see nothin Ma!"

*sulk*"But I hides it soo good."

He's still not happy that I destroyed his hiding place.

What about your dogs? Bones isn't one to hide a treat. If he sees it, it's nom time. Bender hides treats half the time and eats them right away the other half (probably so Bones won't get them.) What about your dog? Are there any other treat hiders out there in blog land? Where is your dog's favorite treat hiding place?

Secret Santa Paws by Bender

Our secret Santa Paws was... WILSON (and his mom Chelsea) from A Dashing Dachshund!

They were very nice with the presents!

Mommy cut open the package and Bones and I used teamwork to get the goodies! He held the bag while I stuck my head inside.

I smells good stuffs!

Dad said we had to read the card first. Said something about it being the proper way to open a gift. Psshhh.

Done now. Wants presents!

Look what we gots! A natural antler chew and a beaver skineez! Thanks Wilson!

Bones picked his favorite and went to his dog cave. (Note from Rachel: He woke me up at 4am squeaking the skineez right under where I lay in bed. He really loves it!)

This toy is AMAZING! *squeak*squeak*squeak*

I gots my favorite too! This antler is great! I took it and hid it under all the pillows in my crate. I'm not sharing it with Bones!

It's so heavy! And it's all mines!

Thanks again Wilson (and his mom Chelsea)!

Doggie Torture

Otherwise known as my attempt at a Holiday card.

I'll just start by saying I failed.

I found antlers at the Target $1 spot, so I brought them home, very excited with my find.

My first attempt (the picture at the bottom) was taken in the house. Not good enough. I decided I needed Holiday pizazz!

So, I ushered the dogs into the snow covered backyard and put the antlers on both of them.

Then everything fell apart.

Bones refused to move, not even his head. He was staring at the ground completely unable to move. (He does this when you put any article of clothing on him. He freezes and thinks he is unable to move.)

Much like Allie's dog from Hyperbole and a Half.

(we've put the booties on Bones and ended up with the same result.)

Bender's slid down his head and rested on his neck. His head isn't built to support a headband, it's the ears. He then managed to get them off at which point I had a tug of war with him trying to get him to release the antlers.

In summary, no Holiday card. At least, not yet.

Let Me In!

Today we got dumped on with more snow. No big deal, except that we have a fairly good sized parking lot at our 4-plex and we had to shovel all of it. I let the dogs out into the backyard and Casey and I got started on the parking lot.

About a half hour in, I came into the house and was greeted by this.

"Ma! I'm f-f-f-freezing!"

Nose smooshed onto the glass and all.

Bones joined shortly after. I think he enjoyed the snow more.

First Snowfall

Last night, Casey and I went out on a date for our 5 year anniversary. 5 years ago to the very day, we went and say Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire for our first date. It was cold and snowing in big puffy flakes. Last night, we went and saw Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows. It was cold and snowing in big puffy flakes.

Big puffy flakes that accumulated and covered the entire backyard by this morning.

"Hey Mikey! I think he likes it!"

"What snow on my nose? Oh that? I like it there."

First potty break of the morning. "Ma, its cold on our feets!"

Bender and Bones enjoying the snow for the first time this year. (The reason for Bones' odd circling? He dropped his squeaky bear in the snow.)

Treats!

I'm sill working on Peabody Snarflenubbins and Co. I swear! I really am! If you don't understand what that sentence means (for my newer readers) look here for background info and here for links to reviews from my wonderful taste testers!

I'm hoping by next week to really have the shop up and running. I'm even going to give my readers a discount for being so patient. Summer just went by so quickly and schools already been in for a month! I'm trying to get into the swing of writing lesson plans and grading papers, and working two jobs, and having a home life. I'm hoping by next week I can have a schedule worked out with Wednesday being my designated baking night.

ANYWAY! I made some Barkin' Banana Biscotti yesterday so I could finally send them to my paws it forward people. (These were a Gibson Favorite! If you haven't seen the video, you should watch it!) I am SO sorry that it's taken so long!

I modified the recipe and included peanut butter and instead of long rods I made them into big bones.

I made all three sizes, and the little ones I turned into peanut butter sandwiches!

I decided to make them a little differently because I picked up this three pack of dog bone cookie cutters from PetSmart. They were $7.99 - a little more than I'd like to have spent, but I suppose the Martha Stewart brand is pricey, and I'm a sucker for Martha! The web page even offers some recipes! I think I'll have to try those out as well!

They got the Bender and Bones seal of approval so I hope Dexter and Bronwyn, Dylan, and Rhiannon enjoy them!

Lazer beam boys want noms!

Bones wasting no time. Gone in 3 bites!

Bender pushing me away. "No photos ma! I'm busy with the noms!"

Aaaaand We're Back!

First things first, Kelly and Gibson, Betty and Koda, and Karen and Butterball thank you so much for the wonderful treat reviews! I really hope you enjoyed your snacks. I hope to have the shop up and running within the next week or so.

Now to explain where we disappeared to the past two weeks. We went from Idaho to Utah, to Wyoming, to Nebraska, to Iowa, to Illinois, to Indiana, and Michigan. We then traveled back through Indiana, Illinois, and Iowa, but then we ventured to South Dakota, Wyoming, Montana, and arrived back in Idaho. If you counted, that's 10 states in just over 2 weeks! Whew!

Now why would we make a crazy trip like that you ask? One of my best friends from high school got married. You may ask yourself, "Why would they drive over 2000 miles with two dogs?" Well we knew we wanted to spend some time with our families in Michigan and it's just too pricey to board the dogs for that long. Plus Bender IS an adventure dog, and this sure was one long adventure!

We did a bunch of touristy stuff along the way. We stopped by The Henry Ford in Detroit, "The Future Birthplace of Captain James T. Kirk" in Riverside Iowa, The Danish Windmill in Elk Horn Iowa, Wall Drug in South Dakota, The Geographic Center of the Country in South Dakota, The Aladdin Tipple in Wyoming, and Devils Tower in Wyoming! We also stopped by Western Michigan University to walk the dogs around campus.

The Dogs and I on campus.

Our beautiful campsite at sunrise at Lake Vermillion State Park in South Dakota

The Aladdin Tipple in Wyoming

Casey and the dogs in front of Devils Tower. Casey isn't angry it's just difficult to hold 2 dogs still in low light conditions in a busy parking lot.

Bender did surprisingly well in the car this trip. He only panted the first day, after that he sat like a lead brick on our laps. By the end he was even sleeping in the car! Yes, the only way Bender will sit in the car is if he can sit in the front seat on the passenger's lap. Let me tell you, 4 days in a car with a 35lb corgi on your lap isn't as fun as it may sound.

For those of you who aren't my Facebook friends you can see all of the July 2010 Roadtrip photos by clicking the link.

Evening Walk

We've been taking walks every evening, nothing fancy just little walks around our neighborhood. We're working on "heel" "sit" and "leave it."

"Leave it" definitely seems to be the most difficult for Bender. It's amazing the strength a little Corgi can have when he wants to see another dog, smell some grass, or pee on a telephone pole. I feel like by now he should know "leave it" but he chooses to ignore it.

Bender working on "sit". Not happy Ma, wants to sniffs stuff.

Bones is much better at "sit" than his older brother. Definitely the more obedient of the two.

Finally a shot of all my boys walking. Bender can actually fit under Bones, and likes to cut under him when walking.

Long Overdue

Hello everyone in Blog land! We are still alive and well over here at the Adventure Dog Blog. Things just got a little hectic the last month.

School ended which is always a chaotic time, final exams, report cards, meetings, packing up my classroom. On top of that one of our seniors passed away the day before graduation, which made the week even more difficult than it should have been.

A few days after school let out C and I flew back to Michigan for my father's and his mother's 50th Birthdays. Spent almost a week in MI, there are things I miss, but Michigan can keep the humidity, mosquitoes, and the allergens that make me feel like death. While we were there the boys got to stay at the Vet's. Our Vet is amazing and Bones loves it there, Bender isn't so thrilled being left anywhere without us for an extended time.

I can't believe school has already been out for a month! How time flies. I'm working a part time job to try and save up some money because they're cutting my pay this coming year. I'm still planning on starting Peabody Snarflenubbins & Co. I think I'll get baking tomorrow since I have to work today.

Now the reason you're all here some corgi! Yesterday C and I took the boys down to Centennial Park. When I say down I truly mean "down" as we live along the Snake River Canyon which is 500 feet deep and a quarter mile wide. It truly is one of the prettiest things about this town, too bad it's obscured by strip malls and traffic.

Walked around the park, laid in the shade, checked out the water - which Bender hates! All in all great family time at the park!

Perrine Bridge which leads into Twin Falls. Perrine Bridge is the only man-made structure in the United States where BASE jumping is allowed year-round without a permit.