Goodbye Copper

Derek and I had to make the very tough decision to put down our dog Copper. We got Copper 4 1/2 years ago from rescue and she has become such a big part of our family. When we got Copper she had all kinds of problems that took the vets a LONG time and thousands of dollars to figure out! I think this process really bonded us to her and gave her such a special place in our hearts. Copper had severe allergies that required special allergy shots and daily allergy pills, along with other medications. We have been so thankful we were the ones to get her from rescue as most people would not have given her the medicine and care she needed and deserved!

A lot of you have had the great honor of meeting Copper. She was a bundle of energy, she loved to greet everyone with her wiggle butt! One of my favorite things about her was she had no idea that she weighed 55 lbs OR that she was a dog. She was determined for us to let her be a lap dog....we obliged many nights sitting on the floor and letting her lay on us.

I'll share what I would guess is one of Derek's favorite memories (this is super embarrassing for me :) ). When we first got Copper I was so excited to get to take her on walks, so we took her out for our first family walk. We have a small park area in our neighborhood that I thought would be a great place to let her really stretch her legs and run a little. I wasn't comfortable letting her off the leash because I didn't know if she'd run away, so I decided it was a retractable leash and I could just hold on to it and slowly let it come out while I ran with her....bad mistake. As Derek stood watching the leash line came to the end and Copper was still going full speed with me running behind...well she had a lot more force than I ever accounted for! I went flying and landed on my head (broke my glasses), I can still remember Derek's face, a small amount of concern and a HUGE hidden grin. We were so touched when our new dog came running back to check on me even though she was no longer being held by the leash, that was when we knew that she really loved us!

Copper was such a sweet dog...or again I should probably say girl since she had no idea she was a dog :) We will miss her so much, it is going to be a long time before we get use to not having her greet us with her cute wiggle butt! We love you Copper and already miss you so much.

Customized Wooden Step Stools

I have had people asking about the wooden stool in my last post and where I got it....my dad actually makes them! If you are interested in a step stool of your own you can email him directly: Bert at a1bwm25@verizon.net. For a plain step stool without the name it is $20, if you would like a name engraved it is $25. If you live in the Elkhart area you can pick them up when completed in Elkhart. If you are out of state or out of town you would just need to add shipping. They will come unassembled so they are easier to paint and ship!

Small Steps!!

Just a little bit ago Taylor took her first few steps!! My dad made Taylor her own wooden step stool, which Derek has been working hard on painting. We decided to skype with them tonight so they could see her reaction when we gave it to her....well, little did we know she was going to put on a show for us all! Derek put her down on the seat and she kept standing and steadying herself, about the third time she took 3 steps!! After the steps she just kept crawling back up the chair and wanting to try again. Of course there wasn't another 3 step walk so I'll include the video of one of the times she took one step, it is a little shaky and hard to see so I apologize if it isn't the best...I was kind of excited!

Thank you Grandpa Megan for making Taylor's new stool...not only does it seem to be her new walking tool, I know she'll enjoy it for years to come! We love you!

Taylor in Taylor, AZ

There is a small town outside of the Show Low/Pinetop area that is called Taylor, AZ. We wanted to get her picture with the sign in November when we were up there, however she was only 3 months old and sleeping whenever we passed the sign. We were determined to get a picture this time! On our way up it was pouring rain so that didn't happen! She was so close to nap time on our way back, luckily she held out and we were able to get our picture! We are hoping to have many more pictures of Taylor with the Taylor sign in the years to come!

Watching the wild animals with Grandma and Grandpa

Taylor got to experience more of the outdoors with Grandma and Grandpa...there was a small area with several bird and squirrel feeders where you were able to sit and watch a lot of animals coming through to eat. Taylor does not like to sit still so I was not sure how this would go, also you need to be somewhat quiet so you don't scare away the animals...again not one of Taylor's traits. I was in awe watching her with Grandma and Grandpa watching these animals, she was completely quiet (unless she was telling the squirrels "Hi") and she was so interested in pointing to the birds!

Here is a short video where she is watching a squirrel with Grandpa and she keeps telling him "Hi".

Fun with Grandma

Taylor had a great time in the "wilderness", for those of you that know me I am not a big outdoor person. Lucky for us Grandma stepped in and wanted to show Taylor all of the sights, smells and excitement that is the outdoors!

Grandma helped Taylor play on the playground. Taylor LOVED sliding down the slide, I think Grandma got a good work out putting her back up there so many times! Grandma was a real trooper and was willing to climb all over the playset to show Taylor everything there was on the playground!

I was brave enough to get on the swings!

Summer Get Away

We just returned from spending a few days up north. Derek's parents had a timeshare for the last week and we went up on Wednesday to spend a little time out of the Phoenix heat. We had such a great time and mostly enjoyed not being in 110 degree weather. Every afternoon we would watch a thunderstorm blow in, for those who aren't familiar with Phoenix, it is a real treat to actually have rain! On our way up we drove into the storm and it was really neat to watch the sky changing right in front of us! These are some pictures as we were driving in to the Show Low area.