I swear Dudley becomes more like a child than a dog more and more each day, and this experience was of no exception. I shortly after the grooming appointment I called Brenda, the owner of Canine Corral to ask questions about the facility and the experiences the dogs have there. She quickly prompted me to pull up her facebook page to see pictures and information. She also wanted to schedule a tour/dog assessment before Dudley could come. That’s right ladies and gents, Dud had to get accepted to this daycare much like if I was sending him to private preschool. (See a few sentences prior when I said he’s more and like a child every day, and also that I am a crazy puppy mom and I rest my case.)
So the next day we headed over to the Canine Corral, and I immediately knew it was going to be a great fit. They have a huge room with a rubber floor (easier on the dogs hips) fenced off to be like an indoor dog park. There are kennels INSIDE for the dogs to take naps and rest in (or to be used for overnight stays) and there is even a staff area in the same room just behind a chain-link fence so when they have to take breaks the dogs are not left unsupervised. Dud loved Brenda and was ready to hit the ground running, literally, and wanted nothing more than to play with the dog who was being boarded overnight. Since that time Dud has made a few appearances at the Corral and he loves it. We can say “Daycare?!?!” and he will run to the door in excitement. We also can’t get any closer than half a mile from the Daycare before he goes bananas in the back seat ready to go play. Even better than that, when he comes home from a day’s worth of play, he is EXHAUSTED. I’m not sure if you have considered this, but a sleeping dog leaves room for lots of things to get done. And since he has the same amount of energy as a 5 month old puppy, I’ll take all the sleeping moments I can get. J
This weekend I made a trip back to Idaho to see my family, so this is the reason for my joint post title. Michael is up to his eyeballs in busyness with the auction around the corner, Wolves Club events, and a plate full of Alumni related events so he couldn’t go with me. He instead stayed home with Dud, and since he works such long hours, Dudley spent Friday and Monday at the Canine Corral (See my connection here J) As usual Dud had an amazing time, and both Michael and I could spend our days busy with other things and not be worried about him being stuck in his kennel for a zillion hours.
The trip back to see family was fantastic. I flew into Lewiston on Thursday afternoon to spend some time with my Grandma Sandy and Aunt Di at their gorgeous new house. They live out in the country with rolling hills and farm lands in an AMAZING custom home. They also have goats, chickens, and a crazy haired dog named Gretchen. I too live in the boonies with farm lands and such, but Lewiston has a much different feel. While there we explored the town, ate great Grandma made food, and laughed a lot. Then Saturday morning we made the 82 mile drive up to Plumber Idaho where we met my Grandpa and continued another 82 miles up to Sandpoint for the night. I have 3 sets of Grandparents and an Aunt and Uncle who live in Idaho, so when we head that way it is important to make the rounds. Sandpoint brought colder weather, beautiful mountains, a great dinner with my Grandpa’s friends out at a delicious Italian restaurant, and watching my brother and Grandpa give each other a hard time while playing cribbage. All of my family is low key and pretty chill, so this weekend away was not only awesome but much needed.
Finally on Sunday we made another 84 mile drive from Sandpoint to our last stop, Kellogg Idaho. My aunt and uncle actually live in Kingston, but we first met with Grandpa’s cousin Sally for coffee and a quick lunch. I hadn’t seen Sally since I was really little, and my brother had never met her before. It was pretty cool to see how proud Grandpa Gerry was to show off his Grandkids. It’s funny that as we get older we notice those things. I was a bit nervous because we met Sally at the restaurant called the Silver Spoon. If you have read any of my earlier posts you will know that this is the place that started my issues with “Wet Meat” many many years ago. So, in attempt to play it as safe as I could, I ordered huckleberry pancakes, something not even remotely close to meat. Lunch was delicious and Grandpa and Sally shared stories of family that we’d never heard of and great insight into what life used to be like in the Valley. We ended out trip spending Sunday evening and Monday with my Aunt Terri and Uncle Bob at their new home in Kingston. My cousin Tiff and her boyfriend Andrew joined us, which was great. Tiff and I have always been close, even though at least one state has pretty much always separated us, and I really cherish our time together. While in the Valley we took Ashley on a tour to see where Chan and I spent many a summer growing up. It is such a different life over there, and it’s hard not to see a place and immediately picture a great memory.
All 3 of us flew back home (on much too small of planes if you ask me) from Spokane on Monday evening. We spent a ton of time and miles on the road jumping from place to place, but I had a great trip seeing great family. Even more so, I LOVED doing it with Chan and Ash. They run pretty crazy schedules with busy jobs so even though were are close in distance and I go home to Seattle a lot, I don’t usually get to spend that much uninterrupted time with them. Ash has more than easily fit right into our family and it’s great to have a soon to be sister in law that is much more like a sister. And of course I always love any time I can spend with my BIG little brother. It means so much to me that even as adults we are still super close. I do wish Michael could have joined us this weekend, but thanks to technology and FaceTime he did make an appearance at 2 of the houses in the evening. J
So to end my super long blog, I again can state I’m a super happy girl. My crazy Doodle has a great daycare, I have fabulous family, and traveling, even if it isn’t too far away, is good for the soul. I hope you are all having a great Spring Break too! J
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