So big....

I just can't believe Maximus started out this small when we brought him home....

Now at 7 1/2 months and 70 pounds, he has graduated from his Intermediate Training Class at PetSmart.

We have truly enjoyed our classes at PetSmart and our new friends.  We will be taking a break for the fall from classes but will take the final class the beginning of next year!

Looking for a good book

It has been awhile since I read a good book....any recommendations?


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Celebrating.....

Three amazing years of marriage! 

Graduation

Maximus graduated from Puppy School last night.  We took a six week course at PetSmart.  Maximus loved it, and looked forward to seeing Scott our instructor each week!

Here are some pictures from last night:

Graduation Ceremony

Maximus accepting his diploma

Maximus and Oakley celebrating their graduation. 

Oakley is a golden retriever that is three weeks younger than Max.

We start intermediate classes next week with Scott.  There will be a lot of the same dogs in our next class which will make it fun. 

Amarillo by morning....

Last weekend Matt and I drove to Amarillo for my cousin's wedding.  My parents and brother also made the six hour drive up to the panhandle of Texas. Unfortunately we couldn't take Maximus, but luckily we had great friends with 2 dogs who offered to watch him over the weekend.  I highly doubt he noticed we weren't there. After dropping Max off we started our journey up 287.

The best thing about a Texas Road Trip is.....

Getting a Dairy Queen Blizzard!!!

Friday Night we went to the rehearsal dinner at the American Quarter House Museum.  It was a gorgeous venue, with an interact display that you could view during the reception.  Here is me and my hubby...

Saturday we decided to go down to the Palo Duro Canyon - the 2nd largest Canyon in the USA.

Little did we know - it is generally 10 degrees hotter in the canyon than in Amarillo.  Also, we were not prepared and did not bring one bottle of water with us.  Luckily we found a small "grocery" store in the state park so we could each have one bottle to take with us.

We decided to walk/run the Lighthouse trail, which is 6 miles round-trip.  At the trail head they have a thermometer in the sun and one in the shade.  There is NO shade on the trails.  Notice below the temperature in the sun....

Oh, just a mere 120 degrees!!!  Are you kidding me!  The sign on the left is a warning for the heat and  recommends that each person and pet has at least a gallon of water with them for this trail.  Yes, it says it was 120, however it is a very dry heat and wasn't too terrible.  The first time we ran I could tell it was harder to breathe with the heat, but we ran 1.5 miles out of the 4 that we hiked.  Not too bad for 120 degree weather.

Here are some pictures from the trail

In this next picture you can see that Matt and I are way down in the canyon below my brother.  While on the hike Chris got a burst of energy and decided to sprint up the side of one of the cliffs. 

The wedding was absolutely beautiful.  It was such a fun and special night.

Here I am with the hubby during the reception.

We had such a fun weekend, but we were ready to get home to see our puppy!

Having Fun

Last night we were having fun with Maximus and Matt decided to dress Maximus up.  It was so funny - Max started showing off.  The picture below cracked us up because Max was facing Matt and then all of a sudden for a brief moment posed perfectly for me.....

Max still thinks he is 14 pounds...not 45!  He is such a cuddle and loves to give us big hugs.  Pretty soon I won't be able to pick him up any more.

Oh - I forgot to mention that Max loves to give kisses....here is one caught in the action!

Day at the lake

For Memorial Day we thought it would be fun to grill out at the lake and hang out with some great friends.

Some how I only got two pictures....





The guys starting the fire. Matt grilled some good hot dogs and cheeseburgers.



Maximus enjoying the shade and some ice.

After eating we went to cool off in the water. Max swam in the lake for the first time, he did so great!

Max got to play with Little Liam who is crawling around and lifting up on everything. Liam laughs when Max gives him kisses - they are so fun to watch!


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Why?

Does Maximus feel like he must eat dead fish or fish heads that are left by the fisherman?




He has a great memory and remembers exactly where his fish is. It is hard to keep him away!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

We went....

SKY DIVING!!! 

Saturday morning we woke up bright and early (which is now a regular with little Maximus!) and headed to Caddo Mills to go jump out a plane.  Now as most people would say, especially my dad, "Why would you jump out of a perfectly good plane"...the planes they have I wouldn't classify as "perfectly good".  I am just glad I didn't have to land in the plane.

Here is a picture of the plane

Before you go up they go over the procedure and what to expect during the whole experience. 

We got to practice our technique

Notice the flat tire above....do you see why I would not want to land in the plane!

As you can tell below - there was only a seat for the pilot - everyone else just crammed in

All geared up and ready to go!

We had such a great time! Matt and I went up in separate planes about 5 minutes apart.  The flight up was not as scary as I thought it was going to be. It seemed like a very long flight to reach 10,000 feet. Once you get close they give you a ten minute warning, at this point your instructor triple checks all your harnesses then hooks us up. Then you get the one minute warning, and you begin to think....what am I doing! Before you know it they are opening the door and the camera man is climbing out under the wing to film you jumping out of the plane. The instructor puts his foot out on the step, then I put my right foot out on the step. And for just a brief second I forgot everything they told me to do and cry out "What do I do with my hands?!?!" Then the instructor takes my wrists and off we go!

The first few seconds of the free fall you are just trying to get your barrings. Then you settle in and look up to see a camera guy right in front of you giving you a big smile and another jumper next to him giving you a thumbs up and it seems surreal that you are falling at 120 mph and you are just waving at each other up there. It was such an amazing feeling!! Then you give the camera guy a wave and the instructor opens the parachute. They warn you that it will be a huge jolt since you go from 120 mph to 20 mph in 2 seconds. But it really wasn't that bad.

Then it is all downhill from there. You float ever so gracefully down to the landing site. It is breathtaking the views and the stillness that you experience up there. The instructor let me guide the parachute to the landing site. We practiced the landing, where you stop the parachute in mid air, so it seems that for an instant you are standing still in the sky. Such an amazing feeling! We ended up being right on track for the landing site and had a perfect landing! It was so much fun! Matt & I both agree we would do it again!

Matt's landing

My landing

(Note the guy running towards us...they come out to grab the parachute once you land so you don't have to worry about it pulling you back)

Me with my instructor

Only three months late....

We are FINALLY going skydiving Saturday for Matt's birthday!!!  We tried to go a few times in January/February but the weather never cooperated...so we decided to wait till it got warmer.  We will be heading out to Caddo Mills first thing Saturday!   That is if the weather holds up this weekend - there is a 50% chance of rain...we are keeping our fingers crossed!

Yard Work

Today is such a beautiful day to get some yard work done and enjoy this perfect weather!

Here is my little helper....





-- Post From My iPhone

16 Weeks

Maximus is 16 weeks old today and 35 pounds!  Thought I would share some old pictures that have been on my camera...

Max loves sticks

Helping me pack

Max loves to cuddle...he is getting a little big for this now

Happy Friday!!

Allergies

So I have been suffering with allergies for weeks now....maybe months!  I didn't realize how bad it was until I went to CVS last Friday to buy more Claritin D.  I was talking with the Pharmacist about how bad the pollen was and I couldn't wait till it rained so it would all wash way.  He told me he had something for me that he uses himself and that it works really well.  He takes me over to show me a Sinus Rinse. 

After telling me how to use it and how much better he feels after using it he then tells me that I should try it because it looks like I need it.  I thought I was hiding it pretty well how miserable I felt...apparently not!

So Sunday I started to use the rinse.  Immediately my nose was clear for the first time in months!  It was so amazing.  Only downside so far is that my throat has been so sore since I woke up yesterday morning.  However, it is just from everything finally draining.

So far I am sold!  For those of you who are wondering....you want me to stick this where?  and do what with it? and it comes out where??  These were my exact questions.  I do not like anything stuck up my nose, much less come running out!  But I was so desperate I was willing to try anything.

After two treatments, I have not had ONE headache (where before I had at least one headache a day). 

So for those fellow allergy sufferers...this is a must try! 

Favorite Game

Maximus' favorite game is to catch his tail. It is the funniest thing to watch! He runs in circles trying to catch his tail, or with his tail in his mouth till he loses his balance and falls to the floor where he continues to go after his tail!

I finally caught it on video...warning - you may get dizzy just watching!

A Busy Day

Max and I spent the day together on Saturday...we had an action packed day!

Started the day out by going to watch one of the cutest 4 year olds play soccer. Max did such a great job sitting on the sideline with me, letting all the little kids pet him and love on him. Later that afternoon we stopped by to bring Matt & his mom a drink while they took a break from their project. Then it was off to Home Depot & Pet Smart.

Here is a picture of Maximus on the way to HD...he could barely keep his eyes open.

While in HD Maximus hung out in the cart while I got the few things I needed. He did so great - he never tried to jump out and loved all the attention.

At Pet Smart we signed up for puppy training classes and Max got to meet his teacher. Then we headed home to do some yard work. Max is a great helper in the yard - he plays with each weed I pick, and helps pull some up on his own :)

We ended the day with a nap.... Max curled up between my legs and was out! He slept 45 minutes past his dinner time...that NEVER happens!

5 Weeks of Max

Can't believe we have had this little guy for five weeks, it has been a very fun experience and we are so glad we added him to our family!

Here are some pictures from the last five weeks....

First night at his new house








Sleeping in his crate




Sitting on the bottom shelf of the coffee table watching tv




Helping my parents move



Can't believe how fast he is growing. He is up to 27 pounds!


It has been a great five weeks...of course he is the best puppy ever!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Collar

Last Friday I took Max for our morning walk by myself. Our walks always start a little slow...we make it down to the end of the driveway and Max just sits there and looks at you like really we are walking again?Usually this just lasts for the first few minutes but not this morning. He decided to stop at almost every driveway. We finally got a good rhythm about halfway thru our walk when he found something white to chew on. Since it was dark I couldn't tell what it was, but I knew it wasn't his normal stick or acorn. Next thing I know I am running circles around a tree trying to get this white object out of his mouth. Finally I caught him and by that time he had dropped whatever it was that he had. I was done with this walk...so I picked him up and carried him all the way home into the bedroom and put him in his crate.

So we decide it was time to break out the collar and the leash. I had bought a collar before we got him but it was too big...I knew he would grow into it very quickly.

Here is a picture of him with his collar on...





This is an up close picture of the colar...





It is fun to watch him chase or bite at this foreign object!

We have only used the leash twice but he is starting to get the hang of how it works.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone