The Weekend

I kept Logan for the weekend so that Mickie and Tim to could have some alone time to celebrate their anniversary and Valentine's Day.

Marianne was gone to Mrytle Beach all weekend for Beta Club State Conference.

Gracie used to be very protective of Logan, but now that he can chase her through the house, she is not so fond of him any more.

Logan loves music and loves the piano. Maybe the piano will get some use after all.

Logan and I had a good weekend together. I didn't get anything done around the house, but we had a good time.

I can't believe Logan is 9 months old already. He is wearing 18 month clothes. He is a very happy baby and very cute, of course.

Sarah is 6 months old now. I am thinking about entering her in the show at the end of March. Even if we are not ready, it will be good exposure for her. I'm thinking about doing Beginner Novice with her. Sarah is beautiful, but still doesn't have an appetite. She is still quite thin and only weighs 46 pounds. (Logan weighs 26 pounds).

Logan has figured out how to get around in the walker pretty good, but Sarah feels the need to try and herd him.

The Great Snowfall

Our second snowfall of the season proved to be even better than the first snowfall. It snowed over night on sunday and into the day on Monday. We got 6 -7 inches on the ground. A record for Anderson, I'm sure. Needless to say, Anderson is completely shut down. So No School!! Yeah!!

The driveway is buried so we aren't going anywhere anyway. We just had fun with the fluffy snow.

Marianne thought to make some snow cream out of our freshly fallen, deep snow.

Tips: Use plastic bowl, plastic measuring cup, and wooden spoon, and mix outside

Yummy

She finished up mixing it inside, then we ate it for lunch. It was soooo good!!! You should make some.

8 cups of snow

1 cup milk

1 cup sugar

2 tbsp vanilla

Yum, yum!!

The dogs had a blast too.

I had called in sick on Thursday and Friday last week, so this has really given me an extended vacation. We had Christmas break, then I worked 3 days and have been off ever since. Friday this week is an unpaid teacher work day and Monday is a school holiday because of stupid Martin Luther King Day. So, we are hoping for no school at all until January 18.

Christmas Came and Went

Sorry for the delay in posting. We had telephone problems, then internet problems, and then modem problems....still having router problems.

After Christmas, Logan and Andy were both here. It was really great to have Andy here, even if his visit was too short.

Logan was with us for a few days over the break, he wasn't feeling good and couldn't go to the day care. But he enjoyed playing the piano.

His Auntie Marianne tried to make him happy, too. She is a very good Auntie.

Great Uncle Andy and Logan.

We had our very first white Christmas this year. Even Gracie played in the snow this time, which was very, very unusual for her. (She didn't like it so much after snowballs accumulated on her long hair.)

Sarah enjoyed the snow. It was her first time seeing snow.

Sarah is growing and getting more beautiful every day.

She moves so nice!

Charlie and Sarah played in the snow for hours. Kellie opted out and stayed in the house this time.

Christmas day got off to a late start as we waited for Tim, Mickie, and Logan to get here. Barry and Alesia were here, too. They even decorated gingerbread men with us on Christmas eve.

Sarah and Charlie, waiting for Christmas to come.

Marianne thought she should pick Sarah up to give you a size comparison and demonstrate how much she has grown.

Sarah is now taller than Charlie, but Charlie is definitely longer and wider.

Pictures, Pictures, Pictures

Logan will be 7 months old tomorrow. He is such a cutie! He got his first tooth last week, so I guess that means, he is officially growing up. Mickie and Tim are doing well. These 2 pictures were taken by Penney's. There is another really cute one of Logan with Santa that I will have to share next time.

























The long awaited update pictures of Sarah are finally here. I have been terribly busy with work and working more. I tried to get some of her with Charlie or in places around the house where you would be able to get an idea of her size.















She listens to everything I say. I think she takes notes. In fact, I am certain that she takes notes at puppy class. She is doing Very well in her training. I guess after training a Clumber Spaniel...well, never mind.















Her color is really coming out now. She is really beautiful! ( Not that I am partial or anything.) Her coat is coming in, soft, and shiney black.












Sarah is 4 months old today. She weighed 22 pounds at her vet visit on December 4. So she has grown, but is still a bit small and slim. She should be about 4 pounds bigger than she is. She is doing pretty well on eating but everytime she starts looking a little rounder, then she gets taller and is skinnier again.






























































The picture of Sarah by the back door I liked because she was stacking herself. I tried to take the picture, quick, before she moved and unfortunately got it off-center and clipped her ears off in it.










Also, I have a question to ask for the purpose of getting information and feedback. Sarah is tentatively scheduled for spaying on February 1st. But I have heard, from my dog training person, that spaying them too young will inhibit them from reaching their full size as it somehow effects their growth hormones. She said that breeders are recommending spaying the larger breed dogs later, rather than sooner. The early spaying has also been linked to mammary cancers. So, let me know what you think on this.

The Babies Are Growing

All the babies are growing and doing well. Logan is now 6 months old, 28 inches, and a little over 20 pounds. He is a happy baby!

Since Tim has to be at work at 3am on stupid black Friday and Mickie has to work, and the daycare is closed that day....I guess they all want to go shopping...anyway, Logan is spending Thanksgiving night and Friday with me. I am sure we are going to have a good time.




Sarah is growing too. I'm not sure how much she weighs right now. Her next appointment is the first Friday in December. She has definitely grown. Her collar is no longer hanging on her and although she is still skinny, she is not as skinny as she was. She is eating about 4 cups of puppy chow a day, sometimes with coaxing and encouragement, but she's eating.

Her ears have their good days and their bad days. Yesterday was a good day for her ears...today, not so much. She is really coming along nicely.

She will soon be in need of a bigger crate too. When she stands up in hers, she is nearly at the top of it now.

Her coloring is really coming out now...she is going to be beautiful, for sure.

SC Governor's School - Visit

Marianne is applying to go to the Governor's School for 11th and 12th grade. So we went to their open campus day for prospective students.








The Governor's School is in the downtown area of Greenville and is a resident high school.











The campus is absolutely gorgeous, with beautiful views all around, including overlooking the Reedy River.















The courtyard and ampitheater.


























The dining hall, not to be compared to regular high school food.











One of the classrooms.













The girls dorm and the boys dorm....boys on the left wing, girls on the right.
















Other places around the campus between the dorms and the classrooms, library, and courtyard.



We had a great day at the Governor's School. It is in a league of its own. Trying to compare Westside High School to this school was a joke. There are about 225 students here, pretty evenly split between girls and boys as the dorms are the same size. The catch to that is that there are about 10 times more girls applying to the school than boys, so there is a lot more competition for the girls in getting accepted. Marianne will be submitting her application and samples of her creative writing. Interviews will take place on February 5th. Letters of acceptance are not sent out until some time in April. We are hoping for the best.