So it’s Wednesday and we’ve been home from our cruise for 3 days- I’m still in a constant state of hunger. I’m not eatting nearly the amount I was. 
Which makes me feel kind of crabby! It’s cold outside and I miss the sun! But overall, I’m glad to be home! I missed Denali and Jelly too much!! It seems like Denali did really well at Scott’s. He said her and Kramer are buddies 
She was exhausted when she came home and is still being very well behaved. She started her first night of Rally last night. Seems like it’s going to be fun! If you don’t know what Rally is- just google it or find a video on youtube. She starts Tracking classes later this month- now THAT is going to be TONS of fun!! We were going to get her a brother or a sister… but it turns out pitbulls are banned in Macedonia. So my next mission is getting the ban overturned- it’s really stupid that it’s in place. Irresponsible people and ignorance ruin things for all of us. Maybe we’ll get a different breed, but I don’t know if I want anything but a pit or pit mix- maybe another Shepherd- but we’ll see. I’m starting to stress more about wedding stuff- we’re under 4 months now. We have our next meeting with our Pastor next week, so hopefully we can get more things squared away. I’ll be working on invitations soon… which will be a BIG job. There just isn’t enough time in the day or days in the weekend! Welp, I’m off to write to the mayor haha!
Archive for the ‘Our Kids’ Category
Back to Reality.
Wednesday, March 3rd, 2010 by MirandaDenali is FAMOUS!!
Tuesday, February 16th, 2010 by MirandaOk, ok… SHE’S not actually famous. But, I was looking around online and came across the Westminster Kennel Club website. It turns out the Best in Breed for the german shepherds is from Kridler’s German Shepherds in Lima, Ohio. Click here for her picture. Well, guess what- that’s where Denali’s MOM is from! Anyways, I thought that was pretty cool.
Nali Loves to Learn!
Friday, January 29th, 2010 by RyanNali is currently in two classes. One for clicker training and one to help her become a therapy dog. It’s a lot of fun being able to take her to two different classes every week. She’s learning so much and becoming better every day. We’re learning quite a bit too. One of the coolest things about clicker training is something called “free-shaping”.
Basically, the sound of the clicker tells the dog that they’re doing something good. So, by introducing different objects or situations and clicking at specific points, you can let the dog think through the scenario and try to figure out what you want them to do. Miranda has been working with Denali quite a bit on the free-shaping. The other day she laid our laundry basket upside down and clicked Nali through the situation. This is what ended up happening…
Yep... that's Nali on top of our laundry basket.
The coolest part is that Nali came up with that on her own. She figured out what we wanted as Miranda clicked at key points – like when she looked at the basket, when she sniffed the basket, when she put a paw on the basket, when she put 2 paws on the basket, etc.
This Saturday our therapy dog prep class (through VK9TA) is meeting at the South Park Mall in Strongsville. Nali will be working on concentrating with distractions, dealing with lots of people and greeting friendly strangers. Should be pretty interesting… and a good indicator of how she’ll do in large hospitals.
9 lives – 2 lives = 7 lives…
Wednesday, January 13th, 2010 by MirandaWe think Jelly maybe telling us he wants to join the circus. First his stunt of catching himself on fire and now with his death defying leaps. Last night, Jelly jumped from the ledge upstairs to the living room far below. Once again, he’s fine. Maybe he’s in his adolescent stage- testing his limits (like when teenage boys jump off garages and try to set themselves on fire)… or maybe he wants to join the circus… or just wants to scare his father and I to death. Either way, 2 lives down… 7 to go. Oh, that Jelly!
Curiosity Killed the Cat… Almost
Monday, January 11th, 2010 by MirandaDryan saved Jelly’s life on Saturday by pushing him off the counter after he burst into flames… while trying to watch the fish once again. Moral of the story– Cats + Candles = A really stinky house… Luckily, he is fine and only looks alittle stupid on one side- where his hair is atleast an inch shorter than everywhere else. The flames didn’t reach his skin… good thing he’s so fluffy. Unfortunately, I don’t think he learned his lesson- so from now on, all open flames go on the mantel- not on the counter.
2010
Monday, January 4th, 2010 by MirandaEven though I don’t really believe in the big hoop-la for New Years (see previous post), doesn’t mean I haven’t been thinking about my (our) plans for 2010. We’re officially getting married THIS year… which is totally crazy. So, of course, I plan on planning the BASH to celebrate our NUPTUALS. We also have some remodeling to do some time soon– painting the living room/kitchen/dining room and renovating the guest bathroom. I’m also going to be doing some MAJOR (re)organizing! It seems like no matter how much I organize… I still feel UNORGANIZED! (Drives me nuts, really). And now that the planning of my sister’s baby shower is over… I can spend a lot of time getting a handle on things. Speaking of the baby shower, my other big plan for 2010 is being a kick-butt Auntie to Baby Larlham (note: the use of “butt” and not “a** — also included in that is PGing my language)!! I can’t wait to FINALLY meet the baby!! Heeeewwwwooooo BABY!!! So there we go- 4 big plans for 2010… wedding planning, remodeling, organizing, and being the best Auntie ever (which probably won’t be too hard)!!
Denali starts 3rd grade this week. She’s growing up so fast! She’ll be a year old next month! We’re also going to be doing some training with Scott this month- Therapy Dog Prep Class. We’re looking forward to working with him again. (and we’re still looking for sponsors for her other class, hint hint). Oh and P.S. Nali LOOOOVVVEEESSSS all this snow we’ve been getting!!
Ryan bought me a fish tank for Christmas and Jelly LOVES it. He likes to get up on the counter (of course he’s not allowed to be up there) and watch the fishys. He even kind of caught himself on fire the other day because he got too close to my candle while watching the fishys. Dummy- oh well, he’ll learn- or we’ll just have to light more candles to get rid of the smell of burning cat hair. Good thing he’s fluffy!
Sponsors for Denali and New Years
Thursday, December 24th, 2009 by MirandaSo, Denali is looking for sponsors for a class she wants to take. It’s with Scott, and is pretty expensive. The cost includes a pretty top of the line remote collar and 6 months of classes. Scott is going to demo the collar for us once we start Therapy Dog Prep class with him in January. Anyone who wants to donate to further her education can send check, cash, or money orders directly to us. Or you can send it in the form of K9 Kash from VK9TA. Any donations will be greatly appreciated– I’m tossing around the idea of selling one of my kidneys (I think I only need one of them anyways).
Now on to the topic of New Years. Not to be a scrooge or anything, but I really don’t see the point. You count down til midnight and then what? You have to remember to write 2010 instead of 2009 on everything and it’s a pain in the butt. Just seems very trivial to me. Christmas, sure, I understand that… the birth of Jesus. He’s a pretty big deal. New Years? ehh I don’t see the big deal. You could pick any day and mark THAT as a new year. Odds are, I’ll be asleep by 11:30- just like every other night.
Denali met Santa!!!
Thursday, December 10th, 2009 by RyanAs promised… here is the picture of Nali with Santa. She was the best behaved dog there. Everyone was amazed at how well she listened. This picture was actually the first and only one that they had to take. Other pets were having to take 4-5 pictures just to get a decent one.
Nali with Santa
She had a lot of fun. She wouldn’t tell me what she asked Santa for though…
Bad bloggers.
Sunday, December 6th, 2009 by MirandaWell, neither of us have posted anything in over a month… we really aren’t very good bloggers!
In the past month, we had a great Thanksgiving with both of our families and managed to get most of our Christmas shopping done already. Just a few more purchases and we’ll be done. It’s so nice to not be stressed about that! I think that is a first for me. Usually I end up being one of those December 24th shoppers.
Nali is almost done with “2nd grade”. She has this week’s class and then her CGC (Canine Good Citizen) test on the December 16th. She’s pretty good with everything except for “Friendly Stranger” and “Out of Sight seperation”. But hopefully she’s pass. Either way, she’ll be going on to 3rd grade next- which should be alot of fun. She’ll learn more “tricks” in that class. Ryan took her to the vet yesterday- she has an ear infection . But then she got to go see Santa at Petco. Her picture came out really cute. Ryan will post that on here as soon as he scans it. She is just so cute, I can’t stand it!
Jelly will be turning one on Thursday. And yes, I’m the crazy lady who is throwing her 1 year old cat a birthday party! I can’t believe he’s already a year old! We set up the Christmas tree the weekend before Thanksgiving and Jelly LOVES to hide under it and play with the ornaments. He is quite the godzilla to my village under the tree.
That’s all for now, as you can see, we lead very exciting lives.
Denali’s School Pictures!!
Thursday, October 29th, 2009 by Miranda
Nali Graduated 1st Grade!
On the night of Denali’s final exam, there was photographer there to take graduation pictures– they came out super cute!! To see them: Go to http://www.portraitsbymartha.net/ and click on ONLINE PROOFING. At the top right of the page that pops up, click on ACCESS GALLERY. Type in the code: cabtc Click on the 2009 Album (Denali is on the Album cover!) …then click on the 10-21 Album (a picture of her again!). Scroll down and there are 11 pictures of her! We get one for free for her graduating.
She started second grade last night (Foundation 2). The class is designed to get her ready to pass her Canine Good Citizen (CGC) test in December. There are some new dogs in her class and all of the owners seem pretty nice. Our instructors seem nice too- one of them is in a wheelchair, so that will be good to get her desensitized to that. She loves going to class and gets so excited in the car when we get within a few blocks of the facility.