Baskets of Goodies

Sorry to be a bit late with this post, but per usual, life has been a bit difficult to keep up with lately.

The annual Easter with extended family at the lake was bliss. Very frigid bliss, but bliss with sunshine and blue skies nonetheless.

Hope you glimpsed spring in your celebrations too. 

when the sun filled the sky, we headed for the open field in back of the house for hours of joy for Jack...he chased his beloved orange ball until we forced him back inside.

checking things out from atop the dock...next time we visit, this will be back in the lake where it belongs!
showing his cute face in attempt to score some of our dinner. for the record, he totally succeeded.
bounty for the boys from the easter bunny - they are thrilled with the new loot!
blue skies are gracing us with their presence once again...ah, how I've missed you!

Happy Spring from Chicago!

Everything covered in ice and snow...

Little guy ventures onto the roof deck to check out the white stuff
We are so glad that we just uncovered our deck furniture when it was close to 70 last week! (PS trying out my editing chops in iphoto for the first time - liking it!)

Another Year in the Company of Cooper

i can't believe that as i type this, it is sunday evening and tomorrow brings the first full work week of a brand new year. it seems moments ago that i walked out of my work building so lusting for the four day break that was in front of me. it goes so quickly, especially when dominated by a cold/sinus thingy for the majority of its length. sigh...

i also cannot believe that this day marks another year with our littlest man. yep, cooper is 2 today. he's been with us since he was 11 weeks old - just a teensy little ball of fluff who peered at us with eyes equal parts curiosity and wonder. his face is typically the first i see given his propensity to sleep person like, sprawled on the pillow next to me or even sharing my own. along with his brother, he welcomes me every time i walk in the door. and makes me feel like royalty, like i've returned from the world's longest journey and he was there, waiting the entire time.

he loves to shred tissue and toilet paper, thinks playing in the trash can and laundry hamper is the stuff of magic, frolics and growls and plays and barks with 100 times his 4lb little capacity.

he is the stuff of magic. and we adore him so. happy birthday little man. you just shredded both of your new birthday toys, but man, you did it with such spirit. :)

opening presents!

birthday boy (please don't make me wear this ever again)
yummy cake!
the pupcake (note: it took a little spill in the bag, hence the frosting masacre)
birthday bounty

He Knows if You've Been Bad or Good

I'm excited and anxious. Excited because I just finished crossing a lot of items off one of my treasured lists. And that included lots of holiday shopping and seeing the lights and decor and even the insane mass of people that have descended on Michigan Ave couldn't dampen the holiday mood.

Anxious because I have to spend much of tomorrow at work. This sucks in 2 parts. 1) I don't particularly enjoy giving part of my Sunday over to the job, but sometimes, it happens so I can totally get over it. But in the instance of 2, it's harder. I have SO much to do. I put a good dent in the list today, but I had lots planned for tomorrow that will have to be postponed...and since this is the last weekend we are in town before Xmas, this could get really interesting. I know everything will get done - it always does - but still, I'm anxious.

We're visiting "Santa Paws" tomorrow, so the boys got in the spirit of things a little early. Enjoy this whopping dose of cuteness. You're welcome!

The best surprise - these adorable 12 Days of Xmas plates showed up at my house yesterday. Thanks MIL! You're the best.

Santa Jack
Santa Coop
Double Santa - w/ Jack looking a little possessed (oops)
Could they be cuter?

Spare a Minute, Make a Difference

This just in from Wayne at HSUS. Their trusty investigators have broken yet another investigation into the ongoing saga of the cruel puppymill industry - this one involving Petland.

You know my feelings on this issue, so thank you for allowing me this stage to highlight the latest offense.

There is simply no reason for this - not today - and we cannot stand for ongoing consumer deception about the origin of these furry friends. If you're so inclined, please take a moment and send an email to add your voice to the growing demand for justice.

We owe these animals nothing less. And it is certainly a start.

PS - let's encourage anyone planning to purchase a puppy as a holiday gift to 1) think twice and really evaluate whether that important choice is suited for a gift and 2) skip the pet store and instead visit a shelter where so many precious fur babies await forever homes.

A Love Like No Other

I came across this moving tribute today perusing one of my favorite blogs and it moved me no end (as I'm sure you can imagine based on my propensity to OBSESS over animals. ALL animals, but dogs in particular).

I love Cisco's story and the beautiful way he blended with this family and the special relationship he shared with each of its members.

This is so true of dogs. There is simply no better love. Joy takes on new meaning when those little faces greet you with sheer excitement day after day, time after time. Waiting loyally for you to come home. They want nothing more. No agenda. No ulterior motive...just your love and your time and the occasional belly scratch and yummy treat.

I cannot fathom that final goodbye, although I know I'd make the same choice and I'd be there. In the room. Holding that beloved paw one last time. I applaud this family for recognizing that they owed that moment to Cisco. To repay in a small way the millions of moments he gave them over his lifetime.

He was a lucky dog. A loved dog. And he'll leave this world looking at the faces he loved most in it. I wish ALL dogs had a story like this one.

Tonight, I'll snuggle my guys extra close and give them 2 cookies instead of 1 before dinner. And in our own way, from afar, we'll honor Cisco and send good thoughts and many woofs to keep him company on his journey over the rainbow bridge. RIP sweet furry friend!

How Do You Define Excitement?

Click on the video to see how we do. :) This was taken on our drive to the park today. Enjoy!

Rolling Back the Clock

BJ in "8 Mile" mode...

Shadows & lightEnjoying the view w/ Coop Coop in the city

Lovely fall day

Trees shedding colorful leaves

SO full of energy

A ground level view

Little man & lots of leaves

Charlie Brown tree - still beautiful

Coop en route to the park

You wouldn't know it from the amazing mild temps here in Chicago, but the time has changed and darkness is definitely settling in early - a sure sign of winter straight ahead.

We rose even earlier than usual thanks to the clock shift and we had a great day playing in the park and going for a fall nature walk near the water. Winter was definitely the farthest thing from our thoughts today. Fall seemed at its peak with every tree and most of the ground screaming with vibrant color.

I'm settling in for a few organizational tasks this evening and planning to make a big pot of soup as we prepare for the week. Have I mentioned how much I love fall??

Happy November all - I'm already thankful for this fabulous weekend and priceless Q time with my guys. Cheers to a great week!

A Warm Chicago Halloween

The temps were just about perfect this weekend in Chicago and Halloween was actually on the warm side! We enjoyed every minute of being outdoors and had a blast at our neighborhood soiree - Trick-or-Treat on Southport.

All the shops and restaurants stay open late and give out candy to the kids - I guess you could say it is trick-or-treating city style! In any case, the kids are adorable and totally decked out, the dogs are super cute and the adults have a good time snagging drinks from the various bars along the street.

We finished things off with a doggie Halloween party at Dog-a-holics. The boys were in a costume contest, an ice cream licking contest, they bobbed for tennis balls and even tried some "bowser beer."

Good times all around and we hope the same was true for you. Thanksgiving is just around the corner...hard to believe how quickly the time flies by.

We Heart Halloween

My love of holidays is no secret and having dogs makes me enjoy all holidays even more. We got an early start to our Halloween fun this weekend. Hubby and I spent Saturday night in Park Ridge with the niece and nephew and about 20 other kids for a little house party. The costumes were adorable and we had a great time catching up with family.

The fun continued today with a Halloween pet parade sponosored by one of our favorite little doggie shops. Besides an early mishap (I screwed up the time, so we missed the beginning and had to join the pups at the park instead of the store), it was a really fun day. The dogs were adorable, the weather was perfect and our little froggie and monkey enjoyed themselves immensely (even if Cooper wasn't a huge fan of his costume).

Stay tuned for next weekend's post about our neighborhood event - Trick-or-Treat on Southport!

We hope your weekend was just as fun!

We HEART the Park

Mom, this one is for you. We talk alot about the boys' favorite activity - playing in the park - and we often blog about beginning most weekend mornings by waking early and heading over to our neighborhood spot so the boys can get "first tracks." Well, we thought we'd give you a little taste of how we spend our time at the park - Jack is never happier than when he is chasing his beloved orange ball. And Cooper...well, he splits his time chasing birds, chasing Jack and eating as much grass as he possibly can. Enjoy!

Doin The MUTT STRUTT

The boys and I will be participating in the 5th annual Mutt Strutt on Saturday, September 13. Our walk benefits CCRF which is a fabulous dog shelter located in our neighborhood. We had a blast on the walk last year, but weren’t planning to participate this year since BJ is going to be in Salt Lake City for his next tour stop. However, I received my weekly “pupdate” from them and learned that they are still pretty far away from their fundraising goal, so I decided to forge ahead and sign us up.

Jack isn’t always the best around other dogs as most of you know, and Cooper won’t be able to complete the full walk without being carried at least once, so this should be an interesting solo mission. It is absolutely worth it though, and if you are feeling generous, you can visit our fundraising page and sponsor us! No obligations – nothing worse than people begging for money – but if you are so inclined, here’s your chance to help us help our furry friends!

We’ll post pics from our walk and will let all of you know how the big event goes – Jack and Cooper are psyched!

Birthday Festivities