Falon’s World

Yup, today we headed to Holland yet again for Eric to finish up his uncle’s computers (which he was unable to do because of a problem with McAfee’s website). Then we helped Jason and Jennifer move a fridge from the boys’ mom’s house to their’s. Then they told us the happy news that they were pregnant (ok, SHE’S pregnant, but he helped). They are very excited and we are too. It would’ve been neater if we hadn’t been told before they had a chance to tell us in person but oh well…Uncle Eric is going to sound so weird!

Oh yeah and there’s this new business that is super strange that a guy at work told me about. You can now rent a dog. You can read all about this here.

Today Eric and I woke up and packed up to head up north to Pentwater beach. My aunt and uncle and two of my cousins came from California for a one-day visit. We cooked out on the beach and laid out and it was wonderful and relaxing. We stayed all day and I know Eric took a ton of photos but I don’t have them yet, I will post some of them later. Dad requested that we bring the boys to the beach with us. It worked out fine, they got some exercise, to be near and we figured out that if we put a bunch of sand in the bottom of the soft-sided kennels, they can’t move them. Now we have to find an easier substitute than sand.

It’s Later (8/2/2007) and now some photos:

My little cousin Maria and my other little cousin’s baby, Caleb

The Whole Fam Damily:

Me:

Grandma wanted to spend quality time with Midas (she likes to squeeze his head, so we took the pups out of their kennels for awhile):

My Dad and my brother playing Redneck Golf:

Crazy, busy beach:

Nicholas actually asked to be buried, silly boy:

We left the beach earlier than anyone else to go to the bike shop. Dad had to have his handle bars adjusted and I wanted to get a mirror for mine so I could see behind me without craning my neck. Lazed around at the ‘rents for awhile and then headed back home. Forgot something, came back, and left again (so Mom saw us leave twice and knows the tailgate WAS up). We do that a lot. As we’re going down the highway, Eric comments on how he must’ve shifted some of the stuff to one side in the bed as my bike is bouncing a bit more than usual. I look in the rear-view mirror just in time to see it fly out of the back, high into the air and smash down onto the highway. I screamed, Eric slammed on the brakes. No one hit it, and no one was hurt or in an accident, thank goodness! The tailgate apparently released and my bike is bent all to hell. I cried…a lot. The whole way home I got to see my brand new mirror, shattered and flapping in the wind :’( It was bad…a horrible ending to a wonderful day…photos later. I haven’t been able to look at it yet.

My poor “new” mirror :

It’s hard to see, but both my wheels were bent all to H*ll and my seat was bent

AND, my bell is gone :’( Such a silly, stupid little thing (like the mirror), but it really bothers me:

Today we did make it to the Ionia UAD event. Midas finished 9th in 15 for the Senior Division. He only jumped 17′ though. Oh well, he wasn’t 100% yet I suppose. We got to try out our soft kennels, and discovered we need something on the floor to make them sturdier and so the boys can’t just hamster-ball away whenever they want. Here they are:

While the soft-sided kennels were super easy to haul and set-up. The boys didn’t take to them as well as I thought they were going to. They were fine if they were both in them. But as soon as one was out, the other was not good. Mason would lunge into the mesh sides of his every time we went to put Midas back into his kennel, he was trying to reach him through the walls. Mason also insisted on lying in the seams and making one side lopsided while doing so. Midas learned that if he tucked his head under, pushed it into the door and started walking he could roll the kennel (like a hamster wheel), wherever he wanted to go. We came back from trying to get Mason to jump to find Midas half way to the dock, kennel upside down and some extremely nice lady trying to stop him. So…we’re going to have to get tie-downs for them and something to put on the floor to prevent them from rolling them.

Next we headed up to East Lansing to say goodbye to my freshman year roommate, Erin. She is moving to California and working for the Americorp, which is very neat. Everyone got together and had dinner at Peanut Barrel (FAVORITE bar food!!) and then we all headed back to Ben’s for a little while. Unfortunately, I have no photos. We had to get going because we had a couple other plans for the night. Eric really wanted to get to Grand Haven to see The Guardian on the beach and then go see Dirt Road Logic. Unfortunately, I slept the entire way home and was barely coherent so we ended up not going to either, sorry babe!

Today we were supposed to take the boys to Ionia for Midas to jump in an Ultimate Air Dog event. But, when I took Midas outside, he was so droopy. He walked out, peed, and turned around and walked back in. No playing, no wagging tail, nothing, AND he left me outside in the yard. Not his usual personality at all. I decided to cancel the jump for today. Which was really quite sad because it was going to be the only event that my grandparents were going to make it to. Midas was so obviously not feeling 100% though so we stayed home. My grandparents understood of course. Instead we did massive cleaning of the house (it is mind-boggling to me how messy Eric can make the kitchen in such a short amount of time) and got the rest of the wood-chips that we needed to finish up the yard. Yay, done! Then we took Mason to the vet for his very last round of booster shots. The vet has no idea why we would have been told rubbing alcohol as it is hydrogen peroxide. She also said that Mason should be fine.

Then we headed over to Bayberry to help Kelly move. She lived on the 2nd floor and we got to move her to the 3rd floor. I definitely got my exercise for the day. Everything went well and fairly smoothly so it wasn’t a big deal. Here we are in our moving-day splendor:

At the end of the day – I was EXHAUSTED.

Tonight we headed to Holland so that Eric could help his uncle fix their two computers. This took MUCH longer than planned. We ended up being there for two whole hours (during which he was only able to fix one of the computers) and that means the boys were left to their own devices in the truck. When we got in to leave we were unpleasantly surprised to see what Mason had done while gone (and which we deserved for leaving a five month old puppy in the truck with nothing to chew on…except Midas, and I bet that didn’t go well). Here are some photos:

The red shiny ball on the seat is a cherry…yup, a cherry. An entire bag of cherries disappeared (along with 3/4 of the plastic bag) down the dogs’ throats. I knew from working at the animal clinic (forever ago), that we should induce vomiting using either rubbing alcohol or hydrogen peroxide, I couldn’t remember which and I didn’t know the dosages. So, I call my mom, get an emergency animal hospital phone number for a place in Grand Rapids and call. I tell the girl that answers that my two dogs just ate a bag of cherries and that I know the pits are toxic. Her response? “They are?” (no one else has heard this, but Eric googled it and found out they have cyanide in them. Not a lot. But, I was pretty sure Mason ate the vast majority, if not all of the bag, and he’s a baby) UGH. Great, now I feel secure. She goes to ask one of the vets and comes back to tell me that Midas must get 8 tsp of rubbing alcohol, Mason 5 tsp and that they can each have up to three doses of this. I am writing this down in my fear that I mix up whether it’s supposed to be rubbing alcohol or hydrogen peroxide.

We rush to Meijer, buy rubbing alcohol and go to Eric’s mom’s for the joyful task of forcing the dogs to swallow the nasty stuff. Midas just sits there, doesn’t fight and lets us poor it down his throat. I felt horrible. He would slouch away, tailed tucked, ears back and head down. Then Mason would fight like a crazy mutt. Squirming, spitting, snarling, tossing…took us forever to get it down his throat and we spilled more than I would’ve liked on the ground. But he finally took it. It got to the point where whenever I would reach for his head, he would duck and close his eyes I hated it!

40 minutes later we have nothing. Gagging, hacking, wheezing sure…no pits. I call my mom (again) and have her google for inducing vomiting to see how long we were supposed to wait (I had a vague memory of about a 15 minute wait before they were supposed to puke). She finds a TON of things saying that rubbing alcohol is also poisonous. Everything she found said that to induce vomiting (including if your dog “accidentally” swallows rubbing alcohol) said to use hydrogen peroxide. I am starting to really freak out. Midas pukes. Ahhhh, thank God! No pits in his vomit at all. I had assumed this was the case, but better safe than sorry. Mason on the other hand is puking into his mouth, fighting it, and swallowing it back down. Gross, I know, and also stubborn. So, we bite the bullet, pin him down and shove hydrogen peroxide down his throat. The site my mom read from stated that it was 1 tsp per 30 lbs of dog and that we could do it again after a ten minute wait. This is what we ended up doing and finally, FINALLY he puked. Tons of cherries in his vomit. Then we had the joy of hauling the wheezing, unhappy dogs home. We fed them half again what they usually get for dinner to help settle their stomachs and push anything else through. Mason had cherry pits in his stool. Thank God they’re both ok.

We drove out to our Obedience class with Midas, and about 2 minutes away it started to POUR. Needless to say class was cancelled. But, while everyone was waiting for the verdict, Eric took this photo:

Isn’t he adorable?? He’s in our class, and he’s super sweet and very laid back. After we found out class was cancelled we headed out to look around for a treat bag that I can hook to my belt (instead of having to carry a fist-ful of smelly dog treats during class), we finally found one at PetSmart. I’m happy .

Today started out pretty boring and normal. I cleaned a tad and trained the boys a bit. I ordered some photos to frame and some to give to my Grandma for her brag-book (yeah, she has a whole section on family members’ pets ). Also, our kennels came today!! Woo-hoo! They’re awesome! Plenty, plenty big enough for Midas (he didn’t like the slick nylon floor though – I might have to put some kind of mat down for him) and super small when folded down. After that excitement, I picked Eric up from work, we flew to pick up another load of wood-chips for the rest of the yard. Unloading them from the truck was WAY easier this time. Then we hurried to leave for MMK (Mid Michigan Kennels) for our appointment with Mike. We were going to see about what we could start working on with Mason so that he could become a Search and Rescue dog (if he had it in him). The meeting went SPECTACULARLY!! It was awesome! Absolutely amazing. If you want to read more on what actually happened, go here. Then here’s some more photos of how much Mason has grown.

It’s hard because the photos are taken at different distances, but look at where the top of Mason’s head hits on Midas and also how broad his head is getting. Then here’s some photos just for fun:

This weekend we were soooo good. Well, at least we were on Saturday. We got so much accomplished and still had plenty of time for relaxing and having a spectacular weekend!

Saturday

First thing in the morning Mason started howling in the basement. Come to find out that he has had diarrhea…again. Yup, apparently he’s not better. Bummer! Because we are both sick to death of cleaning up smelly, runny poo we decide to run his stool sample to the vet a little early and see what’s going on (plus he couldn’t be around Tess (my parents’ dog) if he still had worms). After an HOUR of waiting (fecal tests take about 10-15 minutes to run and examine) we finally leave with yet more medication. The good news is he doesn’t have worms any more yay! The bad news is they don’t know what he has. So, they sent us home with a pill that is kind of a cure-all for bacteria that gives dogs the runs and also helps cure Giardia. Later I find out that with extended use this pill could cause neurological disorders – terrific.

We took a quick 2 hour (hahaha) nap to make up for getting up so early with Mason and then start in with the chores. First we got all the wood-chips spread – yay us!! The front yard (well the half we had enough chips for) looks absolutely 100% better. Then I made two to-do lists and we each started on them. Got everything finished up and the house looks spectacular. Pack up the dogs and head out.

Dinner at the ‘rents and the usual visiting. Find out that Adam already has a copy of Harry Potter (he pre-ordered, I would’ve NEVER guessed) and then that my cousin would LOVE to have the extra copy I now have. We ended up staying over to her place way longer than planned but it was enjoyable. She was ecstatic to be getting the 7th book, I got to borrow the 6th and my aunt made these delicious apricot slushy concoctions. Head to Grandma and Grandpa’s (The Homestead) to set up camp. Mom and Dad called early this week because they had found a good-sized tent for super cheap. It is awesome! Unfortunately neither Eric nor I took any photos , next time. Then they tell us that it is a gift – free is even better! It is soooo nice and spacious compared to Adam’s (not that we didn’t REALLY appreciate using his), with plenty of room for us (Eric can actually stretch out with extra room), the dogs and the duffel. It’s great!

Sunday

Got up fairly bright and early and was COOKING in the tent with Eric and the two dogs. I had thrown off the covers and rolled up my sweats, the dogs were spread-eagle on their backs…and Eric? Well he was bundled up in all the extra bedding. He HAD to be roasting. Coffee with Grandma, a few games of Chuckit with the boys and we headed into Pentwater for breaky. Unfortunately Gull’s Landing was closed and we ended up eating the Cafe (that I used to work at). The food was great but it was definitely the same old place I remember. Went back, packed up and headed over to the ‘rents for a looonnngg bike ride. We rode 19.4 miles on the rail trail from Shelby to Hart, to Aunt Sue’s again and then home. Some killer hills too! It was fun, but man was I tired when we got back. We ate, took showers and headed home. All-in-all, another extremely enjoyable weekend with the fam!!

The view leaving Grandma and Grandpa’s – yeah…we’re from the country…AND WE LIKE IT THAT WAY!!

Oh and for everyone’s enjoyment, this hideous picture of me that Eric took while we were doing the wood-chips. Or at least, I am doing the wood-chips….

I was sooooo tired today that I basically slept the entire day away. I had a list of things I wanted to get accomplished before we head up north tomorrow…but decided I wouldn’t be any fun if I didn’t catch up on the sleep I’ve been missing. So, the boys and I moved from room to room napping. I got a couple of things done…but not much.

After Eric got out of work we had dinner then headed to Kalamazoo. Eric is a HUGE Brian VanderArk fan, who was headlining tonight. We met up with some work people and I had a blast with them. They were some funny (and mostly drunk) people. Some band called The Hard Lessons were before BVA, they were alright, harder than what I usually enjoy. The girl had an awesome voice and I also really admire bands who include other family members (in this case brother-sister). The guy while entertainingly energetic also had this annoying tendency to have his mouth hanging open a lot. (I think this annoys me because it is the look on Eric’s face when he’s struggling to surface from computer-land and hear what I’m saying…and it is a struggle) Here is an example. This is the brother and sister. She is obviously singing (her heart out apparently) and while it may appear that he is as well – he’s not. That’s just the face he makes.

Honestly, seeing that makes me want to twitch, there must be some deeper reason why it bothers me so much.

BVA was up next. His music is rubbing off on me for sure. Eric has it playing SO MUCH at home that even if I don’t like it, I can recognize most of the songs…and to my surprise, even sing along. After the encore we headed out to Meijer to see if we could attain a precious copy of the newest and last Harry Potter book. Yeah, I’m hooked on that too.

Upon reaching Meijer we see that the parking lot is almost 3/4 of the way full. That is a lot for 11:45 at night. Head into the store to find the line…that wraps all the way around and meanders through the aisles. Finally we reach the end and people are still filing by to get behind us. This line was insane! As we’re waiting the 7 minutes until it is our turn I tell Eric that I am not waiting forever for this book. But, surprisingly the line moved extremely quickly once midnight struck and we were through it in about 10 minutes. Then we bought over $100 worth of groceries. Seem random? That’s because we got a discount on the book if we bought $30 of groceries per book and since our house is almost food-less we got a little overenthusiastic (also, we bought two books: one for me and one for my brother). Anywho, can’t wait to read this next one.

Tonight, Eric and I headed over to the Intersection to see Branded. Due to the concert in town, parking was extremely scarce. In fact Eric ended up driving over a curb and parking on what would’ve been a sidewalk…except it was tore up for construction. The original plan was the band to do two sets and that there might be a surprise guest. We get there and find out that one whole upper seating section has been reserved for Jason Aldean. Gee, that’s not a giveaway is it?

After awhile of only a few people being there, the place started to fill up because the Rascal Flatts/Jason Aldean concert was out. We hurried to be in the front for when Jason Aldean took the stage…which he never did. He hung out with all of the tiny, half-dressed girls and his band in the reserved section. Branded was amazing as usual. Although, it was incredibly strange looking up there and no JR. Not only did it seem a little emptier but I got really used to seeing the flash of his blue guitar up there and that threw me off more than once. Timmy Lee sang a couple of the ‘usual’ JR songs and did a good job of it.

And here’s two pretty ones: me looking scary and Eric coming out of the bathroom…

When their two sets were over (and no Jason Aldean on stage) we ventured over to have our photos taken with him (thanks a LOT to JJ for hooking us up!!). Kristen took the one of Eric and I and Eric took the one of Kristen and I. We ended up staying out way later than I had wanted to but it was definitely a good time. Plus I don’t have to work tomorrow, which is always a plus

Oh yeah and it was JJ’s birthday – here he is!