Fort Woof

"BC"-It's what Justin and I refer to as "before children". As in, "Oh remember when we used to go bike riding for hours BC?" Well a big part of our BC life was our dog Bandit. He was our first child. We used to walk him like crazy, play with him, buy him toys. Poor thing now just plays with sticks outside. Back in the heyday of our BC days, we used to take Bandit to Fort Woof...as in the #1 dog park in the country.

Then the boys came into our lives. I'm envisioning Bandit's dog thoughts being very similar to Lady from "Lady and the Tramp". Therefore, Fort Woof was not seen for a VERY long time.

Well, we thought the boys would love see all the dogs running around so we made it a family event.

It's a fenced in area with two sides...one for large dogs and one for smaller dogs. There are tunnels, balls, and hydrants all for having territorial wars to their hearts content.



Campbell wasn't so sure right when we got there. New friends were checked out from afar at first.

But then the doggie cuteness couldn't be resisted. So Campbell inched closer.

Instantly, friends were made and how did I know? A sloppy lick from a dog and a giggle in return = BFF in toddler terms. I love how everyone at Fort Woof is so friendly and proud to show off their "children".

I think the boys thought that it was a playground for them. They were playing with all the dog toys and playground equipment. Thank God for Purell.

We weren't brave enough to take the boys to the large dog side. Mostly because some dogs Campbell could ride as a horse. Campbell loved watching them through the fence though.

And while we were there we even got to enjoy a beautiful sunset...we've had some really amazing ones lately.

Nolan and Campbell loved it and are still talking about it. I think that we won't make our poor Bandit wait another five years.

Dog days of summer

It has got to be at least 300 degrees outside right now. Our little a/c unit is the little engine that could. It stopped working one night and it was definitely a sweat fest. But thank goodness for a quick fix, it was working by 8:30 the next morning! God put me in this generation for a reason. He knew my little whiney pansy self couldn't handle it in any other.

So besides packing up the kids with 10 floaties, towels, and sunscreen and heading to the pool, what else can you do to survive this heat that just takes your breath away? You slap a $10 inflatable pool in your backyard and let them run wild. I swear my kids love our $10 pool more than our neighborhood pool. It's like how they love the packaging and wrapping paper more than they love presents.

This had to be one of our most comical nights of backyard play. I hate wasting swim diapers just when they're playing in our backyard, so I just put Campbell in his swimsuit. I don't know what it is about this boy and playing in our inflatable pool that makes him have the urge, but it's almost just expected now. Last time though we caught the "warning" face first and ran him to the bathroom. It was a milestone...first poop in the potty! This time we tried to do the same but no luck. Sure enough, minutes after having him go try, we were busy filling up the pool. Suddenly, my poor baby looked like Pigpen from Peanuts but only with flies all around him. We did what any other normal parent would do…

This photo makes me laugh out loud…everytime. This poor boy doesn't even know what kind of blackmail I'm stashing away for his girlfriends.

So after we dealt with Mr. Poopy Pants, we went on with our fun. Which included giving the dog a bath. Poor Bandit hasn't had a bath in probably a year (or more).

First things first: get wet!



Then start scrubbing and rinse again.



Uh oh, here comes big brother who wants his turn.


And don't you just love how comforting big brother is…

But wait…it's time for the shake off!

And just like that, all is forgotten and life is good again.

Looks like Dad worked up a sweat. Nolan decides to cool him off.  I love how he's "cooling" him off but the water is going on both sides of him.



Pool time!

Our all-star doesn't take a break and practices his swing.



And it doesn't even matter if he's hit it or not because he looks like this when he does it.

Once again, I forget my troubles, the sink full of dishes in the kitchen, the blistering heat and all I can feel is the warmth of my heart.

Tough love

Campbell has gotten a little mean when it comes to his lovin'. He doesn't mean to be. In fact it happens when he just can't control his happiness. When he gets really happy you better watch out...your hair better be pulled back, earrings or glasses off, and protective armor must be thrown on immediately. When I pick him up from his crib in the morning he is flapping his arms so hard that I think he might actually take flight at any moment and if your face gets hit in the action...well, he just can't help it. Campbell LOVES Bandit and he loves him hard. He always crawls after him and Bandit has been such a good sport about all the tugs and fur pulling and head smacking. Bandit just takes it but when he sees Campbell coming for him he does get this little look like, "Here he comes! Take cover!" Cam hasn't quite learned the phrase "nice touches" yet.

is this not the most mischievious look ever?

I can totally picture Bandit thinking, "Oh no, he's got me cornered."Bandit taking it like a champ

But the tough love is well worth all the slobber...err, I mean bruises!

Stupid Dog

I'll fully admit that Bandit was totally our kid before our kids. He has definitely been demoted on the priority scale that's for sure. The stupid dog (God love him) has caused more anxiety than anything else in my life. We went to Europe 4 years ago, only for him to run away the first time the housesitter came to let him out. There was a full-fledge Bandit alert for him and all our friends were looking for him only for him to come bouncing back two weeks later on his own. The following Christmas we brought him with us to Kentucky so he wouldn't run away...what did he do? Run away, of course! A month after we had Campbell, he decided it had been four long years since he'd had an adventure. So he went for just a short little day trip when our cleaning ladies accidentally let him out, but once again he came back on his own accord.

We discovered that Bandit loves our neighbors so we switch dog sitting duty with each other's dogs while we're out of town. Over the years, it's been a perfect match. Well yesterday our neighbor called to say Bandit had run away. Either he's got a little girlfriend that he sneaks off to see or he has some major emotional problems that he can't take it when we're not there. At this point, I'm thinking you know maybe it's just not meant to be with this crazy dog. Justin and I were bummed of course but also thinking of how nice it will be to not have to get up early in the morning to let him out or deal with accidents in the house. Sure enough, our neighbor calls today to say that he came back home and was barking at the front door. He comes home every time on his own (minus the time he ran away in Kentucky and we found him). I'm picturing that he's running away like he's some rebellious teenager, meets his girlfriend for some wild rendevous, and then realizes after a couple of hours just how cush his life is at home and heads home.

As much as he drives me crazy, I still love that crazy dog. Now let's just see if he runs away again before we get home...