"A Litter of Puppies Aint So Bad"

Last weekend after having Easter dinner with my brother and his family, I extended my weekend travel another hour further south to my parents' home in Missouri. I had pre-arranged a vacation day for myself for Monday, because I knew the pace of Sunday would wear.me.out.  So a relaxing evening down at the lake and sleeping in on a work day sounded like a nice remedy. Little did I know, my grandson and two of my great-nieces had additional plans for me. They wanted to spend the night at Great-Grandma's and Great-Grandpa's too. I'd say that's quite a testimony for my octogenarian folks, and it is ... but the urchins had ulterior motives. Yes, children do that. Not only do my parents have electrifying personalities, they also have seven puppies at their house; and everybody knows kids and puppies go together just like peas and carrots.  So who could say "no" to three children who couldn't wait to get their paws on those pups?

We arrived too late in the evening to get to see the six-week old babies who live in their home-made dog house (built by my father) out on the deck. Monday morning came soon enough, though, and I'm happy to report that I did get to sleep in as planned. Dad has a routine of taking mama dog across the spillway on his golf cart so she can run on the dam every morning. It's there they she takes care of her morning constitutional, and then they return to the house where she is awarded a treat. I explained to the kids that they would have to wait for their Great-Grandpa's permission before they could go out on the deck for their first visit with the puppies. Well, I might as well have been talking to a brick wall. They waited for about five minutes and couldn't stand it any longer. I can't say that I blame them. Those little rascals are so darned cute. After wading through a herd of seven happy puppies and lovin' on each one of them, my brother's youngest granddaughter came back into the kitchen to report that "a litter of puppies aint so bad."

The highlight of the day was when they all received their first vaccinations and were ready to be adopted. After making sure that her parents were on board, S received one for her upcoming birthday. My son had also reserved one of them to train for duck hunting, and my grandson was more than happy to take one of the bigger bruisers home with him. I learned yesterday that things are going well so far at my son's house. The puppy seems very content in his new home. There's no doubt he won't be starved for attention.

Before I sign off, I'm excited to report a new addition at my house too.  No, not a puppy. A horse. No, not a real horse; a decorative, primitive rocking horse. A $5 flea market find this afternoon.  Score!  Next blog post will be complete with before and after photos of it so you can be excited with me.

Happy trails!