Help, I've fallen,and I can't get up...

Seriously....ok, well, I can get up...but I did fall. In my own driveway...while wearing flip-flops...I'm ok though... nothing broken...I'll check in again in a couple of days when I can type better, and I'm not so sore...

My "Smart" Boy, Jack

Jack and I had to take a little drive over to the vet this morning to take care of a little dog "maintenance" - if you know what I mean...(hey, some dogs just have butt issues...) They weighed him for me while we were there too, and I'm happy to say he is maintaining his new slim, sleek 85 lb. physique. 85 lbs. isn't slim you say? Sure beats the heck out of the 103 lbs. he was once carrying around. Everything is a work in progress, right? That's what I keep telling myself...every day in the mirror.

We decided to take the Smart Car, seeing that it gets nearly 40 miles to the gallon, as opposed to my Expedition, which gets a whopping 15 miles to the gallon (on a very good day). Needless to say, we got lots of funny looks. We had the top down, and Jack smiling, with his head out the window, ears flapping freely in the cool breeze, is quite a sight. What a good boy!

Memorial Day - a time to remember

"Memorial Day, originally called Decoration Day, is a day of remembrance for those who have died in our nation's service. Many Americans nowadays have forgotten the meaning and traditions of Memorial Day. At many cemeteries, the graves of the fallen are increasingly ignored, neglected. While there are towns and cities that still hold Memorial Day parades, many have not held a parade in decades"....I'm happy to know that our city still remembers...

For those of you reading this, that my not really know me, one thing you should know about me is that I am a patriotic person. I love my country, wholeheartedly. I fly my flag everyday, I vote, I support our troops, and I support our President. I have supported our Presidents since I was old enough to know what a President is, and although I may not always agree with the decisions our Presidents make (I could give you a laundry list of things I don't agree with...) I support them if, for no other reason than the President is the leader of our country. No one, not one of us is perfect, and we, as a nation, should keep that in mind. Not "W", not John, not Hillary, and not Obama. Which ever "side" you are on, keep that in mind. Every person, and certainly every President has made mistakes, errors in judgement, and down right screwed up. Each one in the past has made mistakes, and each one in the future will as well. What's important, in my humble opinion, is that we, as a nation, stick together and take care of each other, our neighbors and our friends...Not sure, honestly why I wanted to get that out there today, I just felt the need. ...'Nuff said...

On to a bit of a lighter subject; we took part in the Kensington Memorial Parade today. It's a little neighborhood parade in an area just about 10 miles south of where we live. It's a short parade route through a lovely older neighborhood where people still take pride in their yards, fly their flags high, and have a great sense of "community." I think it's one of the nicest things our Golden Group does all year. I hope you'll enjoy the pictures.

Kona, Jack and Jill, all piled in the car, and ready to go.
A few dark clouds won't dampen our spirits.
Some of our buddies, ready to rock and roll.
Getting the group together.

On your mark, get set...walk!
One of our oldest members, Bear, and his new little "sister" Kalani.
The Mayor of San Diego, Jerry Sanders, was right in front of our group. He's a Golden lover too!
We might not have been a precision marching group, but we were very popular with the crowd.
And it was a nice little crowd, lining both sides of the street.

Some of the little ones get tired out.
A nicely decorated house along the route.
A group of Smart Cars were in the parade too!
My 3 Patriotic Pooches. I love these babies!

Bath time is fun time... yeah, right!

We'll be walking in a Memorial Day Parade tomorrow with other members of our Golden Retriever Meetup group. The dogs all needed baths to look and smell nice and spiffy for the excitement. Everyone loves a good parade, and a bath....right?

Jack loves his bath...can't you tell?

Kona wants a little of the action. Jill isn't too sure...
Jill says it was a lot more fun to watch Jack get his bath than it is to get her own.
Now Jill wondering what we're doing to Kona...and thinking

that the warm water wasn't too bad after all.

Kona on the other hand, wishes he was in the pool

instead of the tub. It's a rough life kid, a rough life...

You lookin at me?

"Yeah, so I'm in your chair, on the couch....you got a problem with that? Hey, slide the remote a little closer...without thumbs its a little tough to get it."


Hundreds of channels to flip though, and nothin decent on...

What a dog-gone good lookin boy I am!

Sometimes it's no fun...

Playing ball inside is no fun...at least that's what Kona thinks. Jack wasn't too thrilled either, as you can see by the look on his face. Jill, on the other hand, couldn't have cared less....she's not in any pictures today because she was being her normal "Diva" self, and didn't want to join into any of the indoor play fun. It would have cut into her nap time...

Today was one of those unusually yucky, cool, drizzly, blustery days that we poor folks in San Diego sometimes have to put up with. Not rainy enough to do any good, and just rainy enough to mess up freshly washed cars and make a mess out of the freeways. (Most Californians do not know how to drive in the rain. I can say that because I'm not an "authentic" Californian...I'm from Denver originally....for the first whole 3 months of my life!)

And these kinds of days make the dogs smell like...well....like wet dogs. Luckily my 3 had their fill of the pool yesterday, when it was still decent enough to actually be in the pool, so they didn't have much interest in being out in the drizzle today. Neither did I...I'm still trying to shake this rotten little cold that's got it's grip on me...hopefully tomorrow I'll shake it.

"Throw the ball Momma, will ya, huh? Will ya?"

Well, that didn't go far...

" Throw it again Momma, come on, just one more time!"

"Hey Jack, wanna play?" "Leave me alone boy, ya bother me...."

This just ain't no fun....

The Golden Rule...or is it "Goldens Rule"...

Just a quick note today, as I am tired, grumpy, and fighting a cold. (I hate being sick!) I had a couple of friends over today to let our dogs play and swim together. The weather was cool and a bit overcast, but the pool water was still 80 degrees from having been warmed up from the heat wave we had recently. It was very, very enjoyable-but now I really need that nap I keep talking about!

Wished I could have gotten a better picture of all 5 Goldens, but you try wrangling 5 wet pups!

Smells like..."Teen Spirit?"...Nah...more like "Wet Dog"

So much for that nap....

Jack, Jill, and Kona...fresh out of the pool. Happy, happy poochies!

Colors

I'm having a tough time getting myself in gear this morning. I woke up with a sore throat and a grumpy attitude. I've got a list of stuff I need to get done, but haven't touched it yet. It's not like it's going anywhere, right? Instead, I've been plinking around on the computer, and tinkering around with my Nikon. I really need to learn more about what I can do with it...yeah, yeah, I'll put that on my list....

Here are some of the colors I found around the backyard. I thought maybe taking some pictures would perk me up a bit. I was wrong. I think I'll go take a nap with the pups.

Kona in action

This past weekend, my 6 month old pup, Kona, taught himself a new "trick." It was really cute the first time he did this, and the second, and even the 25th...but...after that, I was kinda "over it." What he does is sits on the second step of our pool, up on his hind end (as if he was begging- which he has never done - at least like that....) and splash with his front paws, almost looking as if he is banging a drum. Right where he sits there is an output for the solar heat, so basically he is splashing in the warm water. Like I said, it was really cute, the first couple hundred times he did it, but, when you are laying on a raft, trying to relax and enjoy the peace and quiet...not so much! I do give him credit though, he does listen pretty well when I tell him to stop. I just kinda feel bad telling him to stop though, because he looks like he is having so much fun, like a toddler splashing in the tub.

Jill nuzzles Kona as if to say "hey, are you crazy, or what?"

Before and after

Pretty self explanatory...

Sunday afternoon fun and sun

Just wanted to share a couple of cute pictures from Sunday afternoon around the pool. Kona's brother Joey came for a visit (along with his Mom, Valerie) and along with Jack and Jill, they wore themselves out in the pool. Later in the evening, Bonnie Blu (the Boxer baby) came for a visit with her Mom, Lisa. More puppy play time! Needless to say, everyone slept really good last night! (In fact, my 3 pups are in a pile right now after having played again in the pool earlier today.)
Joey is a natural jumper!

Baby bird by our outdoor speaker. Jump, Joey, Jump!
Kona whispers sweet nothings into Jill ear.
Jill looks so happy and relaxed.
Bonni Blu the baby Boxer, with her friend Barbara.

Belly dancers, and sitars and snakes - Oh My!

Saturday evening we went to a school fundraiser. Now, this was not your average potluck or talent show type of fundraiser. This was big time. The event itself was called "Catwalk Casablanca, Midnight at the Oasis." Our "village" of schools have had these benefits for the last couple of years, each year with a different theme. Last year's event was on May 5th, so it was a "Cinco de Mayo" theme with the obvious Mexican flare. The year before that was "Moulin Rouge." As mentioned, this year it was Casablanca. It was a fun, unusual sort of evening. There was Middle Eastern cuisine, exotic entertainment, including a fire dancer, belly dancers, and a snake charmer, casino gaming tables, great decorations, and a fun dance/pop band. There was both a live auction and a silent auction, and all in all it was a very enjoyable evening. Free drinks too, did I mention those? Well, I suppose not really "free"...we did pay $75.00 a ticket...still, it was lots of fun.

This is the band we saw - they are called The Hype. The drummer is a friend of ours and we've seen them perform quite a few times. The are a LOT of fun. Check them out sometime - www.thehypemusic.com