30 weeks and counting

Ok and now to be serious

20 weeks (last one I posted)
26 weeks












30 weeks

Our fourth of July and the stray

We had a very pleasant 4th of July. One of my favorite holidays! I love the whole atmosphere around the fourth with BBQs, swimming, and FIREWORKS. Since we did our BBQing and our swimming on the third, we had a whole day to fill on the fourth before fireworks. We started off with a nice breakfast of blue playdoe crepes. Or at least thats what they looked liked. And then, after a lazy morning, we headed off to the dog park. Russell's idea. Not mine.



















And that is where "the stray" comes in. This puppy had been dropped off at the park collarless and really skinny. A lady who had been there before us had pulled a couple of big tics off his ears and so he was kinda bloody. The other people there said he had been a little shy around the other dogs. He was not so shy around Athena. He started following her around... tried mounting her a few times (she put him in his place really quick though). It was fun watching her play with him.

Anyhow, long story short, we ended up bring him home. Not permanently. We just couldn't leave him there. We have him at least for the weekend. We pulled a few more little tics out of his head and stuck a flea and tic collar on his neck. Haven't decided yet if I'm going to call the humane society in the morning, or try and clean him up and find a home for him myself. I'm kinda enjoying watching him interact with us and Athena. At first he was a little timid around us, but not anymore. It's been good for Athena to make her share our attention. She still works to show that she's top dog. She has to be first to be fed, first one through the door, if I pet the other dog too much she comes and puts herself between us. It's entertaining. I really like this picture of the two of them. The puppy lays flat on the floor and wags his tail when you get near. Athena is off to the side, kinda keeping her distance, but eyeing him with contempt and mischievously planning how she is secretly going to get rid of him while still appearing sweet and innocent to her masters.



Here is a little video of them playing around together. One of the reasons I want another dog is so that Athena can have another dog to wrestle with.





Anyhow, enough about dogs. On to the best part of the 4th of July. FIREWORKS!!! Taylor and Diane joined us in going out to New Braunfels for the fireworks. I love fireworks. I think the only proper way to watch them is getting as close to ground zero as possible so that the booms pound your chests and there is no time delay between the boom and the glittery explosion. Diane and Taylor were very obliging and patient while when I made them hike into the park and as we asked multiple people where to get to get "as close as possible". Our viewing spot did not disappoint. We had a perfectly unobstructed view and we even had nice grass to sit on since we were on a golf course. I loved loved loved the fireworks. Definitely worth the drive and the hike.

New Floor

We tiled our floor. The area under our kitchen table was carpeted, which is obviously not ideal. The carpet between the garage door and the kitchen also got a lot of traffic and so it always looked dirty. Russ had one week off from studying and school and so we utilized the time to get this project done. We had a slow slow start so it took us a little longer to do than we had hoped. And then we ended up adding a red tile in the middle of every four tiles which means we added more time by cutting every single tile. We really like how it turned out. The most frustrating part was reattaching the carpet without smashing the tile. But thanks to a friend with many wonderful tools, we were able to finally get it done without ruining all the rest of our hard work.

Here is the before shot. Carpet under table= bad








Laying out the first tiles.









Russ cutting tiles.












Slowly progressing. I promise that Russ and I did this project together. It wasn't just him doing all the work. I was just the photographer so obviously thats why I'm not in any of the work pictures.








Cleaning up. Russ playing Cinderella.








The final product.

Poor puppy

Sometimes when I let Athena in the house in the morning she just sits here by the front door looking out hopefully onto the street. She watches anyone she can see coming and going while she waits patiently and hopefully to see if I'll take her for a walk. She rests her head right on the windowsill. She looks so lonely. Maybe I'll just have to get another dog...

Bombs Away

I can think of no better thing for Russell to come home to after a stressful day of finals.

I saw these water balloons at target in the dollar section earlier that morning and instantly thought of doing this to Russ. Of course I had to get the neighbor kids involved since what child doesn't relish the opportunity to soak an adult without consequences?



After filling a laundry basket full water balloons, we staked out our positions and waited. My bedroom window is right above the garage, making it a perfect launching sight. We were able to stay up out of reach, and with the garage and all the doors locked, Russ was forced out into the open. Christopher took the side of the house position with his handy dandy water balloon slingshot. We were prepared.


























After the balloons ran out, the hose was unwound. But Russ was quick to snatch it away. So then we had to get out another hose. We all had fun getting soaked since it was hot outside. I love being sneaky :)

The line up

12 weeks



















17 weeks



















20 weeks

Everything Happens for a Reason

Everything happens for a reason. So it's no wonder our fence fell over again last night when Russ and I were both too busy to fix it. Because of this, Athena slept inside. At about 1:30am I woke up to her sounding the alarm and barking up a storm. It wasn't an angry bark. It was more of a nervous alarm kind of bark. (yes there is a difference). Usually Russ is all over getting up and yelling at her to be quite when she's barking at night. So I was surprised that he didn't even budge. Especially since it was louder with her actually in the house.
I climbed out of bed and went down stairs. Crazy thoughts go through your mind when your dog is sounding an "alarm bark" at 1:30am when you're still in a drowsy state. I was nervous that there was someone or thing outside the widows that she was barking at, so I didn't turn the lights on so that whatever "it" was wouldn't see me. But Athena wasn't at the window. She was staring at the ground in kneeling position just barking her head off.
This is her positions when she finds some bug to play with. But the barking is usually reserved for bugs that can bite back like wasps. So, it being 1:30am, I immediately thought SNAKE or mouse or something. After flipping on the lights and convincing Athena she didn't need to bite it anymore, I finally got to see what was left of it.
My puppy has now earned the honored title of Scorpion Slayer. The scorpion was missing half its body by the time I got to it, but the tail was still biting back with each attack from Athena. Using a well padded oven mitt, I picked up the offending tail and threw it in the trash. After rewarding Athena for her loyal guard dog duties, I went back up to bed.

Back in bed, I asked Russ if he had heard her barking. "No". After giving a short explanation, Russell's response was "Is that why she hurt her foot?" Yes, it made no sense.