Savvy Dog

About a month ago our dog got hurt, but we really didn't know what happened. We were in the house and heard her just start yelping and crying. We could tell by the sound that something was wrong so we rushed outside to find her lying on the grass. She had hurt her leg somehow and couldn't really walk on it. So we watched her for the next week or so, and she started to bear weight and eventually started walking and then running again. We figured she was back to normal. But then last Saturday afternoon, Railey came running in the house and said that she had just tripped and fell on the bricks in my flower bed and she was hurt again and wouldn't move. She was really hurt this time. We could tell she was in a lot of pain. She was crying and couldn't hardly even move. Of course there is not vet around on the weekend so we decided to wait until Monday and see how she was and then take her to the vet. It was a long weekend. She was very miserable and bawled for two days. So finally on Monday we took her to the vet. The x-ray showed that she had a crack in her hip, some damaged ligaments around the knee, and a fresh break in her leg. He figured the crack in her hip was older, as well as the ligament damage. We are guessing that was from the first accident (we don't really know what happened on that one, we were thinking maybe she fell off our deck, but we're not sure). It had started to heal and was doing pretty well when she took a tumble onto the brick. He figured that just snapped the bone in her leg in half. So anyway, she is now sporting a new look. She looks pretty ridiculous, but hopefully it will allow her to completely heal. She is supposed keep it on for 6 weeks. The first day or so was a little hard for her to get around but now she seems happy just to be able to move. She has started to use it like a peg leg, and it doesn't really slow her down anymore. She goes up and down the stairs just as fast. She isn't able to bend her leg at all, and it is helping to keep the hip immobilized so it can completely heal as well. The vet said he figured because she is so young she should do pretty well. We feel so bad for her. She really is such a sweet dog.

Halloween

For Halloween this year, Railey wanted to be a witch and the boys were a bunch of monkeys. (I thought that was very fitting) They love to sing the monkeys jumping on the bed song (as they are jumping on the bed) This was the first year we actually let the boys walk up to doors and trick or treat. The last couple of years I pushed them around in the stroller. They were so excited to go, but we only made it around the block with them. About half way around they starting saying they wanted to go home and didn't want to go to anymore houses. I think they were tired of walking and carrying their buckets. So we finished the block and went home. Railey got to go with a friend after we took the boys home so she was pretty happy. The kids had fun carving their pumpkins (or watching us carve them) and thought it was really neat to light them up. I let them each pick out their own pumpkin at the store a few weeks ago. They thought it was cool to have their very own pumpkin and each time we went outside they had to tell everyone which one was theirs.

L to R Railey's Robby's Ryder's Ranger's

Red Ribbon Week

Last week it was Red Ribbon Week at school. Monday was Crazy Hair Day, Tuesday was wear a tie day, Wednesday was Funny Hat day, Thursday was dress in Red day, so she wore her school shirt which is red but we forgot to take a picture, and Friday was dress in your Halloween Costume.

Monday

Monday Tuesday
Wednesday

Friday

Decorating Halloween Cookies

This year the kids (especially the boys) seem to be extra excited for Halloween. The boys ask me several times a day if it is Halloween, and if they get to go trick or treating. They have been packing their pumpkin buckets around for days. So on monday I made sugar cookies in halloween shapes and we decided to let them decorate them for family home evening. They were so excited all day. They couldn't wait to decorate their own cookies. They kept calling them "boy" cookies. They had tons of fun icing them and putting on sprinkles and candy corn. They probably would have used the entire bottle of sprinkles on one cookie if we would have let them. We made a huge mess, and they were sure to tell me about it and tell me I that I needed to clean it up. It made me laugh. The last two days they have asked if they can decorate more cookies, so I assume it's safe to say they had a good time.

Antelope

One day last week we were driving down the highway just a couple of miles from our house and we saw these pronghorn out in the field. We didn't know there were any this close to us so we thought it was pretty neat. We had to take some pictures just so we could prove that we actually saw them. They are not the best pictures but you can at least tell what they are.

Cutting Firewood

We have spent several days out in the hills cutting firewood for the winter. The kids like to go and play while we cut and then they help carry and load the truck. They get so filthy but they have a good time. I usually strip them down at the door when we get home and put them straight in the tub. They dig in the dirt and find big sticks to play with. We have been lucky enough to avoid any major catastrophies. We took the dogs on the last 3 or 4 trips and they had fun. The boys chased them around and everyone got pretty worn out. Railey likes to find trees she can climb up in and hang out.

The boys and their puppy dogs

Rob cutting up a tree

Boys hangin' out in the back of the truck

They found a good tree on this day

Taking an apple break

My Crazy Crew

Railey and Robby chillin' in the tree

Deke And Savvy

In the last couple of months we got 2 new puppies. They are both Mountain Kerr's. They are bred to be hunting dogs, but also good family dogs. They are great with kids. The first week of September we got Savvy. She is the lighter blonde one. Then the first week of October we got Deke. He is the brindle one. We had him picked out for over a month but he wasn't big enough to bring home yet. They are both very cute. They have been a lot of fun. The kids absolutely love them, so much in fact they sneek out of the house whenever they can to play with them. (Ranger especially) I wasn't sure I was ready to have more animals. Mainly because I didn't want to have anything else to have to take care of, but I caved in the minute they got home and have loved them. It helps that we have a big back yard that is all fenced in so they have room to run and play. They seem to really enjoy each other too. They play all day long, and cuddle up together to sleep. I hope they will be good dogs for our family for years to come. It will be exciting to see what they can do hunting. Both sets of their parents are good hunters. Savvy already loves to tree our cat and will not leave him alone if he comes around them. He tends to stay in the front of the house now. He doesn't really care for the dogs. He would rather sit on the other side of the fence where he feels safe.