Boys and dog…. rarely parted. But last Thursday right after school, my boys went to Camp Navaho Army Base for Leadership Training and did not come home until Saturday afternoon. Belle went to Dr. Moore on Friday to be spayed and to have a microchip implanted. So she had time to recoup from surgery before they came home.

Remember this 6 pound cutie?

Now, I have this gorgeous 55 pound sweetheart

Now…….. on to The Force of My Future

The boys really really liked the camp… they didn’t want to come home. Most all of the people (boys, girls and adults!) did not want to go home.

The officers kept everyone so busy. They would have leadership, drug free, esteem building and many other classes between playing games and campfires. They got to “work” a fire engine, marched, played volleyball, dodgeball, dressed up the sgt as a woman, raised the flag and many more fun things. They, also, got to sleep in REAL barracks! This was way too cool for both of the boys, since they are big military fans… Luke of the Marines and Leavi likes the Army. The kids were given nicknames – Luke was the “Godfather” because he won the game of Mafia Wars and Leavi was “Indie” because he was indecisive! Perfect names for both of them! LOL

The officers had a slide show Saturday for the parents… the kids enjoyed seeing themselves, too … of all of the activities over the session. At the end, the kids were called up one by one and given a certificate of graduation. My two standing at attention and yelling YES SIR! My eyes watered up… I don’t see how much they are growing physically, emotionally or mentally since I am too close to them. But this is one of those moments when the reality of their growth slaps me in the heart! I am so over joyed to watch them learn and grow but it is very bittersweet for me to have to leave their youth behind – them and ME!

Pic that the camp took of them with their unit. (Those are the San Francisco Peaks behind them)

I give you…

The Hitmen

of Jr High School!

and his new digs! LOL  – It IS a dog’s life Belle couldn’t have her spot on the floor, so she took Leavi’s!

Happy Mother’s Day to ALL!!

This morning I was greeted with these blue birds… GH has quit smoking so I was out on the porch at 6:30am to have a smoke alone. These guys have made a nest in the porch support beam.

The nest and the female

And as an added bonus…. Belle at 6 months

Last Tuesday I woke up at 5:30am and was so sick that I could not hold anything down. So after a long nap I went outside to sit in the 60 degree weather to watch all of my animals playing in the sun with each other. The horse pasture had dried out enough so that the horses could walk all over and head box with each other. The ducks were enjoying a warm weather swim while Belle annoyed them and chased the cats. She was having a great time!

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The ducks ignored her as much as they could…….

 while Brandy rolled in the sun.

Then today the snow started again! And it was almost all melted.

And tonight we have this! Thankfully, it has been a light snow and most of it is not sticking.

Sorry for the “wardrobe malfunction” of the blog this week…. was time to renew my domain name. I guess I did not get notification of the year anniversary because I changed my email addy but failed to notify the domain registry site.

Next week is Spring Break here in Northern AZ. My oldest daughter will be here from Santa Cruz, CA for the whole week and my younger daughter will be here for the weekend, too So, I will have all of my kids here at the same time!! I will miss my GH, as he is still on the road. His birthday is Monday and we will make a call to sing him Happy Birthday! 

I hope you had a great Valentine’s Day…. I did Even though GH is on the road, he did not forget me!

This is what they look like after they opened and the note that I got from the boys

My friend, N @ A Writer and A Rider went to the Arabian Show in Scottsdale, AZ on Saturday. Click the link to her post about our trip – more pics of the show and Belle AND she is a great writer, too! She will entertain you with the details of the celebrity that was with us

I took Belle with us to Scottsdale. She did so good with her new collar and leash. And she figured out how to get out to go potty while we were at the motel, too.  Pretty good for a 10 week old puppy! She was a hit and loved by any and all who saw her.

When we got home, she was very tired from all of the walking, new surroundings and all of the attention that she got.

(you may want to cover your eyes for this next shot… toooo cute!)

Today, she is alert and ready to play!

Thank you, GH, for the beautiful flowers!

Thank you, N, for being such a wonderful friend!

I had a great time this weekend and have many memories.