GDB Fun Day

It is Guide Dog Fun day again!!!

This is one of the highlights of my summer. All the GDB puppies gather together on the San Rafael Campus and have a busy day of learning, playing, and connecting with new and old friends. Mom and I and Gotham piled in the car early Saturday morning and headed down to GDB Headquarters.

When we saw the campus full of raisers and puppies all gathered together catching up. We saw Sarah who raised Hansel’s sister Hominy who informed us that Hominy was graduating that afternoon!!! So exciting! Then we looked around the little booths and got some new bow ties for Gotham so he would look dashing every ware he went.

After that it was time for out littermate meeting! This is a time where all the littermates of your puppies litter gather together to meet, share personalities, and of course pictures.  Even Gotham’s mom Bloomer came out to say hi. The puppies that were there were (left to right) Gonzalo, Galileo, Garman, Gotham, Gwen and Bloomer (Mom) in the middle. Gotham and Gonzalo are twins! There are both dominant, head strong, stubborn, observant, puppies. They are difficult dogs to train. The other puppies don’t seem to be that way but they all love to play especially with each other. Bloomer wanted nothing to do with her puppies especially the crazy boys.

After lunch we watch sever presentation on the whelping kennels and R+ training. We learned a lot and enjoyed seeing all our GDB friends. The last presentation of the day was the graduation ceremony which is so magical. Hansel’s sister Hominy looked amazing now that she was all grown up and an official Guide Dog for the Blind.  I am so proud to be a part of this organization.  

Thunder storms

Living in Reno I have gotten accustom to the amazing thunder storms we get in the summer time. The big puffy whit thunder clouds form over the Sierra Mountains and settle in the valley below. You can feel the air get humid as the storm approaches and it smells of rain. This was one of those days. On this afternoon I was over at my friends Joleen’s house and of course Gotham came with me. He had a play date with her polar bear of a dog Samson while we had girl talk. While we were catching up we heard the distant rumble of thunder in the clouds through the open windows. Pretty soon we smelled the sweet smell of rain on a hot summer day. It didn’t take long and we could hear the rain as it came down hard and then the thunder was BOOMING over our heads.

By this time the puppies were already dirty and damp so we just watched them have fun as they got wetter and muddier! They were rolling and jumping on the wet ground and what started out as a white and a yellow dog ended up in 2 happy, tired, wet, dirty black dogs! I am pretty sure they had one of the Best Days Ever. I would not even let Gotham set foot in the house before his bath. I carried him directly to the tub much to his dismay.

February

With February brought snow. Since we were not getting any in the Sierras my friend Joleen and I went to Utah!!! We drove out there with her boyfriend David and hit it just right. We followed a storm in and got to ski powder the whole time. We skied Canyons in park city and it was beautiful! The snow was fluffy and deep! Joleen and I skied from the tallest lift that was full of experts only signs. It was amazing! We played in the aspens which was magical.

At Canyons they have a Belgium Waffle shop and OMG they were to die for! They would stuff your sweet fluffy with 2 bars of Belgium dark chocolate and then top it with whip cream and strawberries! I was in Heaven! That was my favorite part of the trip only second to the powder runs with Joleen.

On our way out of town we stopped at a local museum because they had the Dead Sea scrolls exhibit. That was incredible! This is one of the jars the scrolls were found in. being able to see the history from Jesus’ time was absolutely incredible! I know I am such a history nerd.

Gotham is growing up also. He is so goofy and loves to play with all his toys. He is not partial to one or the other he must play with them all.

The end of February also brought my Dads birthday. In honor of him I made his favorite Oatmeal Raisin Cookies. He could never get enough of them. I miss him so much!

I also was able to get a few Ski Patrol Days in at Sierra at Tahoe. I do love my home mountain! It is so pretty watching the sun get low and doing sweep. I feel so close to my Dad in these times.

Janurary catch up

I know I have not bloged in a log time so it is time to catch every one up! Here is Janurary!

 

For New Years I went to Tahoe to spend it with some amazing friends. Yes baby Gotham and all his cuteness came too. He got to experience snow for the first time and LOVED it! He was digging in it, eating it, and running in it the whole time. We took a hike to Fallen Leaf Lake and Gotham got to experience being in a back pack and ice on the water’s edge.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  We did lots of hikes while he was young and until he was 4 months he had to be in the back pack. He really did not like it! He cried the whole time and complained every step. We hiked the Nevada hills alot with my roomate Kim. When we went to Folsomwe hiked Folsom Lake when the water was super low. On one of our Folsom Lake hikes we saw the old salmon falls bridge that is usually deep under water. Drew did a flip in the setting sun and we all walked across the bridge.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

       

 

   

 

 

 

 

I even found a love note from God. Whenever I see heart rocks I think of Him. This was a great one!

 

 

   Aspen is much friendlier with Gotham than she was with Hansel. She will even cuddle with Gotham as they sleep.

Baby Gotham!!!

Welcome home Baby Gotham!!!

A week after I took Hansel back to GDB I picked up Gotham. A cute, fluffy, fat, 8 week old yellow lab puppy. I thought he was very cute but it took me about 2 weeks to love him. I missed Hansel so much that it was hard for me to jump into loving a new baby. I also was not fond of his name but both he and his name grew on me. He was just adorable! He had such a wrinkly face and droopy eyes that made my heart melt.

 I had him over Christmas so he got to be the Christmas puppy with a big red bow on and everywhere we went people adored him.

When he was eating he would get so fat I thought he would explode! He also would get tired while eating all his food and have to sit down in order to finish. He has no trouble finishing his food now!

 

 

The first walk we took was adorable. He wanted to stay close to Aspen so he walked great on the leash because she was there. His little tale was so high in the air and it flopped back and forth as he walked.

His first outing was to the hairstylist. He was pretty good and just hung out under the chair. He also wanted to explore everything. He is super smart and started learning things right away! He is going to be a good one!