Jocelyn's B-Day Party

Bode's friend Jocelyn had a birthday party.  The narrative that accompanies the photos is false as I was not at the party.  Ashley took these pictures.  I picked the best ones and wrote what I thought was happening based on what Ashley told me.  Forgive me if I stray from actual events--the below is based on a true story.  They had quite the setup in their backyard, so Bode was a pig in slop.

Bode liked jumping on the trampoline.  He's the one in the Auburn jersey (as if there was any doubt).

He then played in the bouncy house with some kid that looks like he's napping.

All the kids got together for a group photo.

Jocelyn's Dad got out the motor cart.  The rule was only Evan (Jocelyn's brother) could drive because he was older (maybe 9 or so--lots of experience there).  Bode loved riding with him.

All in all, it was a successful party.  Bode ate cake and ice cream, and then barely touched his dinner when he got home.  He'll probably want something to eat before bed.  Knowing him, he'll likely eat a whole bag of grapes.  He loves them.  He'll likely be a sommelier when he grows up.  Pleasant week to all.

More Ski Photos

The condo we stayed in had a hot-tub.  Bode and I enjoyed relaxing in the nice warm water.

Below are some action photos of Bode skiing.  We weren't able to find any photos of him on the mountain with his class.  These will have to suffice.

He's really got that pizza slice going.  In this next sequence, he was required to steer around the penguins.  He did a pretty good job.

 Finally we have some post skiing pictures.  He looks like he just finished a gold-medal run.  Hopefully we can get Gatorade to sponsor him.

Finally a picture with Pops.

Pleasant week to all.

Ski Day

There were no classes at my work on Friday.  Therefore, we left Bode outside in the cold hoping he would get "sick" and wouldn't be able to attend school :-) He sounded a little hoarse Thursday afternoon, so we figured he might endanger the other kids.  Ashley had the foresight to book us a two-night stay at a condo in the mountains on the off chance of an illness.  Good thing she's such a forward thinking Mommy.  We had the perfect ski day on Friday.  Bode was excited about ski-school, and we dropped him off right around 0800.

He had done this particular school before and showed no reservation about Mommy and Daddy leaving (he could at least fake some of that).  Ashley and I headed over to the slopes.  The lifts didn't open until 0830, so we had time for some pictures.

Note the absence of people in the picture of me.  We had thought the mountain would be packed with people because we tried to go to dinner Thursday night, and every restaurant had over an hour wait.  We were optimistic when we headed out to the lift and saw almost no one.  We headed up Quicksilver lift, got off, and skied down to the second lift.  I snapped these "action" pictures of Ashley as she came towards me.  Again, note there are NO other people in any of the pictures.

Ashley then grabbed the camera and took a shot of me.

We then headed up the lift to the top of Peak 10.  We exited, took in the scenery, and then headed down for the first of five straight runs with virtually no one else on the mountain.

We skied for a couple hours, and then took a break for some tea.  We then headed over to Peak 9 and then Peak 8.  We rode up the Imperial lift to above tree-line.  There wasn't a cloud in the ski, but up there, it was a little windy.  We decided one run was enough.  Here's Ashley headed down--she's the one of the far left in the pictures.  Very cool.

Bode had a blast at ski school.  We got there around 3:00 in time to see him do some practice runs on the little bunny hill.  We were elated to find out the instructors had taken him up the big lift three times. I think he's ready to go back for more :-)  I'll post some of Ashley's pictures later.  Here's the shot the ski-school took of him.  He's so grown up.

We're back in C-Springs for the weekend.  Not sure what we'll do--maybe some laundry.  A bit of a let-down compared to yesterday.  Pleasant day to all.

Joey

We have added another mouth to the litter.  Ashley, Bode, and I have been talking about getting Harley a friend.  She's always so excited when she sees other dogs.  Plus, she doesn't have any real dog-friends in Colorado like she had in Ohio (e.g. Gracie, Buddy, Maggie).  Ashley was against getting another rottweiler (for reasons unbeknownst to me).  She has always liked the look of a boxer.  We looked around on the web, found a good rescue organization, and before we could blink, Joey was riding home with us.  He is a very sweet boy--he's probably better behaved around people than Harley.  He's very gentle and calm.

We think he's house-broken, but we aren't positive.  We've been teaching him how to use the dog-door.  For the first few hours, he simply wanted to paw the door.  Today, he's zipping in and out like it's a revolving door.

Harley has given a mild reception.  We thought she'd be thrilled with the new addition.  Meh.  I think she's warming up to him, but for the first day, she seemed to be wondering why this other dog was suddenly in her territory, and worse, getting affection that was rightfully hers.

I forget how big Harley is.  Joey looks like a midget dog next to Harley.  Bode really likes Joey, and we're hoping Joey will become his dog.  We'll see if we can convince him to sleep with Bode.  Pleasant week to all.