Derailed

Is it 3D movie night? I'm ready!

No, actually it's stay home in out of the storms currently rolling through our area. We had plans to go to a special Wednesday night movie, but those plans were derailed thanks to the thunder, lightening, and predicted hail. Instead we will have a night at home watching some of our fave shows. I already picked the show Elementary. Brad has yet to make his pick! Gotta love a rainy night at home!

It's been overcast all day. Threatening to rain at any given second. I've been lucky though to get the boys walked without too much weather issues. It did sprinkle on us a little early this morning, not enough for the 3 of us to go inside early though.

I love Spring here in Big D. It's very pretty. Especially pretty to me since I grew up in the desert. Seeing all the blooms and greenery is always an enjoyable sight each time Spring comes around. The only downside are the possible hail storms and tornadoes, otherwise it's all good! LOL!

Happy Easter!

We are heading out to Granny's farm today for the Easter celebration. The Easter eggs are stuffed. All dishes we signed up for are done. I got in bed around 2:30 AM. But hey everything is done! Well I have a few finishing touches to place on a couple things before we leave otherwise, we're ready. Let the celebrating begin!

Hope everyone has a nice Easter Sunday! Perhaps your Easter Sunday is a warm one. I remember those(wink-wink). It's a bit cold here, looks like it could rain at any second. Hmm, that's actually rather normal for Easter in Big D. I was thinking about how many Easter's I've celebrated here and it's been warm sunny weather, maybe 1 or 2 out of 6. No matter the weather it's a fun time!

Once again Happy Easter from us five Venturing Vaughns!!!!!

Quick Snap Sunday: Sous-Chef Extraordinaire!

Sous-Chef Extraordinaire!

 

I almost at the last minute changed my mind about baking carrot cake cookies. They are a little extra work. But it's EASTER, and we can't have Easter without something carrot cake-ish, right? Right!

 

Never fear my little sous-chef was near. Waiting for any morsel of anything to drop to the ground. I love glancing over at Simon as he watches for something to hit the floor. His head keeps going up and down. Looking up at me then looking to the ground to see if the maneuver I just made resulted in a drop of something.

 

Well this little guy got very lucky last night on the eve of Easter, an entire carrot came his way! He gladly accepted the challenge to consume a carrot, eager to get his funny-bunny mojo going. Look at that concentration in his eyes! All business, it's a serious job being a sous-chef.

Quick Snap Sunday: Armed With A Camera!

Armed With A Camera!

 

Armed and dangerous with a camera! Above is a great example of the weirdness that is us. Brad's filming me with the camcorder as I'm snapping pics with the regular camera. Once I noticed he was focused on me, I quickly grabbed the camera to snap a few pics of him.

 

You film me...I'll snap your photo! Yes, I'm tough! Anyway, makes for a slightly unique quick snap Sunday post. Two loons with cameras taking pics of each other. Never a dull moment, after the camera business Brad waved a piece of cheese at me, I promptly grabbed it from him then began chasing him around the house with it. He sought refuge from Piper. She ate the cheese in the end, likely pondering our weirdness with each nibble! Lol!

Surprise!

Before I tell this story I must say....sorry to my sweetness! The other day Brad came home from work saying he was listening to the radio and they kept saying "Surprise" followed by "Arizona". He was questioning what was so "Surprising" about Arizona. He then said he saw it in print on TV. His big question to me was, "Is there really a city in Arizona named Surprise?". Yes, indeed.

His confusion that had lasted for a few days was suddenly cleared up. Although he's still surprised(no pun intended) that AZ would have a city named Surprise. I'm surprised too! I then told him a few other city names in AZ which make Surprise seem totally legit. Trust me it's not as bad sounding to me as Bullhead City!

I must say though growing up a Zonie I never gave one thought to the strangeness of the city name Surprise. I never thought of it in the true sense of the word, I always recognized it to be a city name. But after hearing Brad's story of confusion, I get it. I can see how a lot of people might be dumbfounded for a second, especially when hearing it over the radio. Hey, at least he has a former Zonie as a wife to help clear up his confusion. Right?

Birthday Pics and Videos

 Good morning birthday boy!

 Clear evidence, he just unwrapped a gift!

 Daddy likes breaking rules and quickly opened up jerky strips for the boys to enjoy! Despite the fact that cake was about to be served. Simon is in total approval of daddy's ways!

 Mmm, CAKE!

Happy Birthday Simon!

 

Happy Birthday Simmie!!! Cheers!

 

My oh my! My little puggie man turns 14 today! 14 on the 14th! Where did the time go? I've loved you little man since I first laid eyes on you. You are my little Sun Devil, born on the ASU campus. I remember like it was yesterday finding the ad that advertised little you. I called right away and went to pick you up that same day. I gave zero thought to whether or not 2 puggies was too much to handle. It's been a joy since day one. Even when on day 1 you thought the litter box was a sandbox and began throwing the litter all around. Never mind the extra work of 2 pugs, I wouldn't have it any other way. What's better than 1 pug....2 pugs! 

 

You and your bro have had quite the ride over the years. I've drug you in tow to 4 different cities and one city you've called home twice! You're my cuddly little man, my little rough-tough man, and my hungry man! You're a champ! Or as daddy calls you....you're our "diamond" in the rough! Simon the Diamond! Happy Birthday! Want some cake?????

Quick Snap Sunday(On Monday): A Scrunched Bed!

A Scrunched Bed

 

There are times when a perfectly neat and fully laid out bed is the preference. Then there are other times when a puggie isn't concerned with the bed being perfectly laid out. Brad was adding new fish to the fish tank and doing some things in the area of the tank therefore one of the pet beds how to be moved to the corner. This particular pet bed isn't corner friendly, it's too big. So Brad scrunched it up on each side then left it. Simon was odd man out, so to speak, as his siblings had the other beds occupied so he was stuck with the scrunched up bed.

 

No bother to him! He was quick to get cozy in this scrunched up creation of Brad's. He's a happy guy no matter what! I love to see him adapt to certain things. He just doesn't care if everything around him is perfect. He's willing to deal with it if it's not perfect. This is a great example of that.

 

Below pic taken a few minutes later....snooze-central!(taken with camera phone, tried to retouch a bit but it's still a little blurry)

 

 

Website Name Changes TOMORROW!

Tomorrow is the DAY...Yes, it's Simmie's bday! But it's also the day the website name officially and completely changes. As of tomorrow this site will be available at the web address www.venturingvaughns.blogspot.com.

Gremlin Pug

One thing is for sure I should know my puggies. I should be able to tell my puggies apart without hesitation. After 14 years with these little dudes it should be easy to tell at quick glance. Okay, Simmie hasn't been around for 14 years until Monday, but close, he's just about kissing 14. Point is I know my boys! Or do I?

The other night Simon began to snore. Brad can't handle listening to Simon(or anyone else) snore. After the snoring continued for a few minutes I decided it was time to put Simmie-boo in bed. I quickly walked over to the pugs and began to scoop Simon up in my arms. The only light in the room at the time was the fish tank and the light from the TV. As I'm scooping a pug into my arms this pug becomes irate. I mean, IRATE. Clearly he was in a deep sleep, and now very unappreciative of being awakened. This pug was letting me have it in pug lingo, pig latin, French, Swedish, and more. I quickly realize...wrong dog! I'm now reacting to this dog that has suddenly switched the switch turning on his gremlin mode. Remember the movie Gremlins? Yeah, Cody switched into Gizmo's evil twin in a half of a second. The LOUD noises he was making was exactly like a Gremlin. Brad busted out laughing so hard at the situation he nearly fell off the couch. I continued to hold gremlin-Cody then took him over to his daddy. It took both of us to talk Cody out of his Gremlin mode. Meanwhile Simon was now awake, not snoring anymore as he wondered what the commotion was about. Piper was all ears as she stood fixated on gremlin-big bro. Something she's never seen before!

Once Cody was calmed down us parents discussed how disagreeable he's become. Oh how I remember the days when he was so happy all the time. Now perfect weather conditions must exist outside, a red carpet needs to follow him around, and his siblings need to constantly bow down to him. Oh wait, and he needs to be in control of his day not his mommie.  Those are the things it takes for Cody to be pleased nowadays. As Brad commented, "He's the new Storm!" We then discussed how he has taken on lots of Storm qualities since she passed. Kind of weird. Perhaps, Storm didn't really go far, she's inside Cody! Funny how Cody has had many personality shifts through his years, as did Storm according to Brad. As for Simon...steady as a rock! He still likes to cuddle and requires "mommie-time". He's always more than ready to go for his walks. He still eats every meal like he's trying to win a race. And he's still as rough and tumble as he was since the beginning. Oh, did I mention he's still super curious? Nothing can come in this house without Simon sticking his nose in it. Gremlin-Cody and steady as a rock Simon, those are our puggies!

4 Days!

Only 4 days until the name of this blog changes which means the url address will be changing. Instead of www.venturesinbigd.blogspot.com, the blog will be located at www.venturingvaughns.blogspot.com.

A Not Happening Moment!

Ever had one of those moments where you say to yourself, 'no way, this isn't happening to me right now.' Yes? I'm assuming you said yes! The boys and I had a very moment like that yesterday.

There we were coming in from the late afternoon walk, we "boarded" the elevator, pushed the button for the top floor and headed to our floor. As the elevator approached the top floor it stops then makes an ear piercing screeching noise as it attempts to open. For a brief second I'm thinking my husband is about to arrive home having no clue I'm stuck in the elevator with our puggies. How long will we be stuck here, I wondered.

No way, we're not stuck. I'm not accepting that I'm stuck in this elevator again. Next thing I did was drop the leashes on the floor. I proceeded to figure out how to get my fingers in between the door and the frame, then began pulling with all my might. No use! It wasn't budging! Simon looks up at me with his sweet little face then looks back at the door. Cody is already hitting the panic button.

Alright, I workout and I workout hard. My husband calls my workouts "bootcamp". I can do this. It's just an elevator door. I'm not weak, I regularly carry 42 pounds of cat litter from the car to the house, trust me that's a ways to travel with 42 pounds of litter. After my mental pep talk, I once again, begin to pull with all my might, I felt it budge slightly. I now had it open about 3 inches. At this point I'm certain Simon is thinking just a few more inches until he could at least escape. He attempted to stick his muzzle in the opening. I proceed to pull on the door. Viola, success! I managed to get it open enough to get out. In perfect Simon mode, once I got the door open enough for him, he began walking off towards home, casually glancing back as if to say, "thanks mom, see ya at home!"

Later on when telling Brad this story, he immediately begins to laugh. I of course question what he is laughing at, his response, "I know you. I know your determination and I can picture you as Mighty Mouse muscling that door open." Yes, folks, that's me....aka Mighty Mouse!

Quick Snap Sunday: Hmm!

 

Hmm!

Is he breaking the rules? This is the entry of our bedroom, Cody is half in and half out. We have a no pets allowed rule in our home concerning our bedroom. Pets are allowed in all areas of the house except our bedroom area. For the most part the pets get it and respect the rule. Most likely to disregard the rule is....can you guess?...I'll bet you guessed correctly!

 

Anyway as for the pic above the jury is currently deliberating about whether or not Cody was in the wrong in this pic. Lol! He's not completely in the room is his defense! Well at least I can appreciate that he clearly understands the boundaries even if he is attempting to slightly overstep them. His secondary defense, he likes keeping an eye on his momma. He can't let me get away!

New Blog Name!

Take note the new name of this blog will be "Venturing Vaughns"....I will officially change the url address on Monday, March 14th...Simon's birthday! So if you want to make sure you see Simmie's bday pics then get ready to find the blog at www.venturingvaughns.blogspot.com

This blog will not change other than the name. All the same content will still exist! No worries!!

Lake Time, Chill Time!

 

Oh yeah this is the life. Simon the Masterful chilling at the lake. He is in the zone! Which zone, I'm not totally sure but no denying he is a happy little man. I think the sunshine was making him sleepy.

Weather is quite nice! Glad to see March has arrived. I will be planting some tomatoes, basil, and a few other things very soon. I love watching my tomato plant grow. Last year though it took forever for me to get the plant going. Must figure out better tricks this year.

Looking forward to a SLOW weekend! My hope is always for the weekend to go slowly, it never seems to go by slow enough. Casual weekend chilling at home for us! Maybe this lake experience for Simmie will even get repeated!

Message to Sime: Yes the blog theme changed and you are surrounded by chicks...it's official you are my little chick magnet! LOL!