Vacation and Coming Home to My Guys

Last week, I went on a short vacation to visit my parents in Ohio. My dad turned 75 this year, and we had a surprise party for him. I didn't tell him or my mother I was coming to Ohio and just showed up on the front door. It was so much fun. I love surprises!

I was only gone 5 days, but it was a long 5 days without my babies. My mom has a dog, and I kinda grew up with her, but she is just so different from my boys. First of all, Candy is 12 years old and losing her hearing. She's pretty calm, but she does bark a lot. (She's a sheltie, so we expect it!) Kool and Swift don't bark nearly as much as she does. She doesn't cuddle as much as they do, and she also expects to be petted a lot - she'll bark if you stop. I missed sleeping with my guys. I did take a nap one day with Candy on the bed, but she eventually left, and I woke up to an empty bed. :(

Candy

Kim watched the boys for me while I was gone. Apparently, she's much stricter with them than I am. They didn't bark once in her house. She has cats, so she'd let the dogs out on the patio to go potty, then tell them to go back into the kitchen...and they'd listen! They didn't even knock down the gate. (I think I just need to do some readjusting on the gate because her doorway is slightly smaller than mine.)

But Kim doesn't love on them or let them lick her. When I came home, they had escaped from my kitchen (of course) and attacked me as I walked in the door. We cuddled and hugged and played and licked (well, they licked and I got licked). I didn't even bother to close the door before getting down on the floor to greet them. It was so nice to sleep in my own bed with my boys.

I can't believe how much I missed them. I just hugged them and cuddled with them and loved on them. Swift's tail didn't stop moving, and Kool wouldn't stop licking me. What a nice way to know I am loved....

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Top Ten

Top 10 Random Quirky Things My Dogs do:

1. Swift puts his ball in his food dish when he's hungry.

2. Kool sometimes refuses to eat unless his food has been soaked. Even then, he looks at me like, "Really? I have to eat this?"

3. Swift likes to show me he's eating by carrying one piece of food into the living room where I am, chewing it, going back to the kitchen and getting another piece of food. He repeats this process until I pay attention to him.

4. Sometimes Swift brings his ball to bed. If I happen to roll over it in the middle of the night or it falls off the bed (even with no squeak), apparently that means it's time to play fetch - even at 3 a.m.

5. Swift and Kool wait for me to get out of the shower. I guess I'm not allowed to have alone time.

6. Swift likes to walk along the back of the couch. Sometimes he's klutzy and stumbles. It's funny.

7. Kool always instigates play-time between himself and Swift by grabbing Swift's foot. Swift doesn't always appreciate it.

8. After coming in from a rainy walk, Kool loves to be dried off with the towel. Swift hates it.

9. The boys can sleep! I often have to wake them up (especially Kool) in the morning to go potty. This morning, I got up early and turned on the lamp, which woke them up. We had cuddle-time in bed.

10. Swift burrows under blankets, and sometimes I can't find him on my bed. He's a true badger-hound!

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Puppy Love

Just a short little post today. Swift likes to hide under my bed or under the covers on my bed while I'm getting ready. Kool, however, follows me around. Apparently, when I'm putting on stockings and shoes, that means it's time to play. He'll sit and stare at me. Sometimes he makes a little growly noise to say, "Pay attention to me!" This morning, he jumped up on the couch next to me. He stared at me with such love in his eyes and wagged his tail. I couldn't help but pick him up and cuddle with him. That's Kool-and-Amy time - in the morning, right before I leave for work. That waggy tail got me this morning. What a cutie.

I imagine that is how parents must feel when they look at their children, and how God must feel when he looks at us. I have never felt more love in my heart than when I look at my boys.

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Keepin' Yer Kool

Today is all about Kool. I realize that Swift often gets most of the attention in my blog. That's mostly because he's much more outgoing than Kool. Even though Swift is 5 years old, he still acts like a puppy. But enough about Swift...

Kool is my long-haired dachshund. He's 7 years old and has a cute little face with black-rimmed eyes, so he has a "pretty" look to him. Everyone thinks he's a girl. Kool always appears sweet and cute to people, but watch out! If there's another dog around and either Kool or the dog is on a leash, Kool's evil side appears. He barks and growls and tries to attack.

I think Kool's meanness stems from his attack about a year and half ago. I was on vacation at my mom's house in Ohio, and my roommate at the time was watching the boys. A mean pitbull got loose from her owners and attacked Kool. Kool had to get stitches and staples and take medicine and wear a cone for a few weeks. I don't think he's quite gotten over that.

Kool can be pretty stubborn sometimes. He's almost impossible to housetrain. We have our good days and our bad days. He also likes to bark a lot. He's worn out two batteries on the bark-less machine I have. It doesn't seem to work.

But Kool is the world's biggest sweetheart to me. He will look at me with those big black eyes, and I can't help but melt. He loves to cuddle, and he loves to look out the window. During the winter, his favorite spot is to sit on the back of the couch staring out the window. In the summer, he likes to sit in the sun on the patio.

Kool's Favorite Spot

Such a Pretty Boy

How Can You Not Love This Face?

Kool can be pretty weird, though. He likes to jump into the bathtub at night, climb up onto my nightstand to try to get into bed with me, and stand on top of tall kennels.

Kool is So Weird

My favorite image of Kool is when I call him, he looks at me and just stares. I'll call him again, and all of a sudden, he just takes off running towards me. He looks like he's grinning and he's so happy to be coming to his mama. Kool is the best (long-haired) doxie ever! I love him so much!

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