doggy date

A couple weekends ago, Jason and I headed downtown to a concert on the river front with some friends.  It was a dog friendly event and I really wanted to bring Jack along.  We were a bit nervous about the idea at first because sometimes Jack can get pretty excited around other dogs.  Not because he is aggressive or anything, but he just loves to play with other dogs.  In the end, we were nervous for no reason because Jack did so well!  We were such proud doggie parents.  

We are trying to get out at every chance to enjoy this perfect weather while it lasts.  Don't you just love the transition into fall? 

jack. zoey. tina.

{jack=dog, zoey=white cat, tina=brown cat}

Here is a little glimpse of my furry children and what they've been up to lately.  Laying around, of course.  Someone mentioned once how lucky I was that all my animals got along, and it's so true.  Jack is so gentle with the cats and they pay him back by showing him love.  They make me so proud :)

happy weekend.

I don't know about you guys, but his week seemed f.o.r.e.v.e.r. long. I am thrilled that the weekend is finally here! We have lots of fun stuff planned and I can't wait to tell you all about it next week; let's just say there may or may not be a funnel cake involved.

Have a fabulous weekend my friends!!

love, me and jack

couch potato

A while ago, we started leaving Jack at home by himself without putting him in his kennel.  After one chewed pillow, he seemed to learn his lesson and stayed out of trouble.  But still, he would cower in the corner every time we got home as if he did something wrong.  We would make our rounds and discover that nothing was chewed up.

One day, Jason noticed a warm spot on the couch accompanied by some dog hair. We quickly came to the conclusion that Jack was treating himself to a relaxing nap on the couch whenever we were gone.  Because he is such a big dog, we never allowed him on the couch.  But instead of breaking him of the habit, we embraced it and started putting a sheet over his favorite spot whenever we left him home alone.  

Slowly over time the sheet stayed on the couch more often and now we let Jack sit on the couch even when we are home.  He is so spoiled.  But we love it.  I feel like it makes him even more a part of the family when he joins us on the couch to watch some t.v. or a movie.  Do you let your dog get away with anything?

p.s. it's friday!! have a great weekend you guys.

an evening stroll with my little family

The weather here has continued to be hot and humid and at times unbearable.  But it is still important for us to get out and get some exercise.  We are fortunate to have a greenway nearby that has lots of shade and it cool enough in the evenings for us to go on a nice stroll.

This greenway runs alongside a big creek, so we let Jack play around in the water so that he doesn't get overheated.  I think it's his favorite part.  I love these times with my little family.

p.s. did you know you can make magnets out of your instagrams? how cool is that!

butler beach

While in St. Augustine, we spent a lot of time here - at Butler Beach.

This beach easily took a top spot on one of my favorite places.  It was perfect.

Jack can now add beach dog to his list of reasons why he is so awesome.

I wish I could be back at the beach right now.

This exact spot needs to become an annual trip for us.  I am already looking forward to it :)

home sweet home

We're back home.

We all miss the beach already; Jack especially.  

This was his first time to the beach and he loved it.

His favorite thing to do was jump over the waves.

It's been decided; we need a vacation home in St. Augustine.

More photos to come :)

p.s. a huge thank you to my guest bloggers during pet week! i hope you all enjoyed it!

hooray for national pet week

Welcome May! 

This month is going to bring a lot of great things; we leave for a little vacation this week, hubby has a birthday, hubby starts the CRNA program and it is National Pet Week.

That's right, the first week of May is National Pet Week.  So of course I am going to dedicate this post to my furry friends.  Also, hubby and I are headed a little farther south to the beach so I have some special treats planned for you guys - I have some awesome guest bloggers scheduled for you who are also going to share their furry friends! Stay tuned :)

Jack is seriously the greatest dog ever.  I would say his trade mark move is the head tilt.  His favorite things to do are take walks and play fetch.  Jack does so well with meeting new people and he is even a pro with small kids and babies.  I can't wait to take him to the beach for the first time this week - it is so fun to watch him discover new things. 

Zoey is the newest pet in our house.  You might remember when we found her last fall.  She has been the perfect addition to our home.  She loves to sit in your lap and cuddle.  Zoey always seems to find the sneakiest places to lay - this photo is her in my closet.  Usually the animals are not allowed in the closet, but I'm not shocked she snuck in. ha!

Tina is our little hunter.  If ever a bug sneaks into the house, she will hunt it down and get rid of it for us.  She also has a very sweet side.  She follows me all around in the morning when I get ready; meowing and demanding my attention.  She will even wrap her arms around my leg and give me a little nibble if I ignore her for too long.  She is persistent just like her mommy :)

I also want to make a special mention that all of our animals were rescues in some way or another.  There are so many animals out there that are just waiting for a loving home.  A great site to find available animals in your area is Petfinder - that's where we found Jack.
And like Bob Barker always said, help control the pet population and have your pets spayed or neutered.

shhh he's sleeping

Jack has developed this new habit of sleeping in.  

It's totally not fair; especially on a Monday morning when I have to get up for work.

What he does is he waits until hubby or I get up and then he proceeds to do a spot steal.

Look at him looking all comfy with his head on the pillow.  I want to sleep in today.

We had a great weekend.  We got a lot of stuff done around the house and even washed our cars.

Somehow I managed to take no pictures though.  oops.

Happy Monday everyone!!

jack can swim!

{jack and lilly}

Over the weekend we discovered that Jack is a swimmer!

We have this large pond in our neighborhood and we never really thought about him swimming in it.  But when some friends came in town with their dog, Lilly, and let her swim in the pond, I thought I would see if Jack would be interested.  He sure was!

I was so proud at how well he could swim.  Hubby and I got so excited.  Jack loved the water; I think we will be taking him there to swim a lot this summer.

We spent most of Sunday over at our friend's (Tanner and Kelly) house -who are also our neighbors- celebrating Tanner's birthday.  They have two beagles that are buddies with Jack.  Needless to say, Jack got a lot of play time in this weekend.  

We had gorgeous weather here all weekend.  I sure wish weekends were longer, don't you?!

{jack and gus}

doggie play date

Jack had a little play date with our neighbor's dog, Malibu.  Malibu is a 4 1/2 month old chocolate lab and I think him and Jack are gonna be great friends.  I see a lot more doggie get togethers in the future.  

 {hugging goodbye}

bubbles

Today started out with hubby and I sleeping late and being awakened by his work calling asking where he was. oops. We both took Nyquil last night because we are both sick and apparently it worked so well that we slept right through the alarm.  

That's right, I am sick again. ugh.  I have been feeling extra tired and have had little energy this week.  I am not complaining, but to put some icing on the cake, I got my monthly bill today (ladies you know what I'm talking about).  

Needless to say, when I got home today I immediately started getting a hot bath ready.  Boy did it feel great.  And of course Jack and Zoey were right there to scope things out.  I topped things off with some bubbles and wine and I started feeling better right away :)

I hope you all have been enjoying your week!

a little family hike

A couple weekends ago, hubby and I took Jack for a hike at a new nature center, Enterprise South, that is near our house.  It has miles and miles of trails, both paved and wooded.  This was our first time to check it out and we were so glad that we did!  

We did about 4 miles and Jack did so well.  There were other dogs along the way, but Jack was mostly good about listening and not putting up too much of a struggle to stay on track.  We were really excited when we found out that they allow dogs on the trails.  I think it's too bad when places say pets are not allowed. 

I am so happy that it has been getting warm enough to go do things outside again.  I love being outdoors.  I am totally ready for Spring.  How about you guys?

  Unfortunately for us, this weekend will be a different story.  It is supposed to be rainy all day Saturday and possible showers on Sunday too.  I suppose it will be a good weekend to get some cleaning and housework done.

Happy Weekend Friends!!!