PetSmart Flunky

Kenya is the only dog I know with the dubious achievement of being thrown out of PetSmart.
A cross between a tornado and a hurricane, the girl never ever slows down. Not once...in the nearly 10 years she has lived with us, has she ever had a calm day. A couple years ago, Dean dropped her off at PetSmart to have a summer haircut.

Not more than 45 minutes later, the groomer at PetSmart called in an uproar..."You have to come get YOUR dog immediately, she is ridiculously hyper and completely out of control. Kenya is upsetting all the other dogs...she can not remain in the grooming salon!"

Yup...kicked out of PetSmart! The only problem...the groomer was only half finished when Kenya got kicked out. For the rest of the summer, Kenya had a half-shaved body. Poor canine...we laughed all summer at her grooming nightmare!

These days, we take her to our vet for her annual summer haircut. They are armed and ready with a doggy Valium should the need arise. And this week, they were even able to tie a seasonal bandanna around the pooch.

A concerned Jocie is trying to check on Kenya's latest injury.

Kenya is Jocie's dog. I vividly remember every syllable of the conversation I had with her when asked if we could go "look" at some new puppies at Autumn's house.
"But Jocie sweetie...if we go look at them you will want to bring one home."
We didn't pick Kenya out of all the other puppies in the litter that day...rather Kenya picked us! And she's been a familiar face every since. She really has the sweetest personality and so nice to come home to...especially if you like bad mannered, volcanic destruction, brownie eating canines.

She is known as the "outside" dog (you don't have to ask why, now do you). While Izzy the Princess Pooch is known as the "inside" dog. Talk about sibling rivalry.

I am confident every time Kenya sneaks in the house and eats an entire two pound brick of cheese, swipes a hamburger right out of your hand, or pounces on the teenage boys lounging in the basement...Jocie is giggling from heaven and enjoying every naughty moment of the puppy we just needed to go "look" at!

And...at the end of the day, it is certainly nice to have a little tail-wagging piece of Jocie's personality to continually remind us of her!

All The King's Horses

Lori is my gorgeous friend...her hubby Kelly is gorgeous too, and so are their boys! Lori and I have been friends since I was a little girl moving into the town of Taylor...just down the hill from her.

Genuine, kind, and soulful...her thoughts are always about others. When you talk to Lori, she is a listening friend...not just a hearing friend. I constantly remind my dear girlfriend that I love her... but she IS the one who revealed the truth to me about Santa Claus when I was in third grade. 

When I took these pictures...she made me promise no blogging...well this is payback for Santa Claus.

A planned gathering albeit reuinon brought us to her dad Vaughn's house last Sunday evening...back to my home town of Taylor where we both grew up. Vaughn was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer last Fall...he's been fighting back ever since. 

My brother Blair and Lori's brother Dave were always getting into trouble as teenagers...Dave was the only one who ever got caught though. Dave has been gone for 17 years now.

 A walk to the farm and the horse stables. Blair told us secret stories about the adventures of he and Dave.

I don't think the little town of Taylor has been the same since. The gossip still runs amuck at their antics!

Blair and Vaughn shared conversations about horses, teenage Dave, the price of hay...

politics, and just about everything else.

Vaughn recently converted his dairy farm into Allen Horseplay Stables...a place to board horses and ride them too.

Vaughn made this king size headboard and is now storing it in the hay shed. Don't you wish you had a hay shed you could store stuff in?

The Allens love all the horses that board here and treat the owners just like family.

Lori ADORES horses...me...not so much! It's a terrifying tale...why horses and I aren't friends, at least the way I remember. Zion the terrier seems interested in this one though.

Maybe this is where Lori gets her gentle spirit...

As a little girl, I remember staring up at Vaughn thinking he was a giant of a man...now I look up to Vaughn and know he has a giant of a heart.

World peace was solved in this horse arena when these two were finished.

Locking up for the night and another day tomorrow.

It was an incredible evening to reminisce about simpler times, remember those we've lost, and laugh sweetly with one another. Bless you Allen family...and thanks for the hospitality. But I'm still not getting on a horse!

A final swing in her favorite spot...content for this moment and not fearing tomorrow.

Lori told me once that I 'd most likely live a deeper life after my tragedy...she was right. I've never had a sister, but I imagine if I did she would be just like Lori.