Storytime

My Birthday is next week and my 7-year-old brother couldn't wait until my birthday to give me what he made. So here is my birthday present. I don't know if the pictures will enlarge if you click on them so underneath is what he wrote. So adorable.

Guide Dogs
I love Mickelle

From For
Philipp Mickelle

Dogs pull Blind Peo
ple

Guides The person a
cross The
street

I love You Dog.


I love my dogs too :)

The Holy Grail of puppy toys...

Monet and Lindsey went to Mapleton for Christmas so Joaquin got the toy basket all to himself. He was pretty sure he was in heaven... I thought he would enjoy chewing on the tons of toys without Monet trying to steal them away... aparently he just wanted to empty the basket...

...Go to Sleep...

...and leave the mess for mom to clean up.

Typical boy... ;)

Merry Christmas/Happy New year

So... since I FAIL in the cute picture/Christmas Card department. This is to wish you all a FABULOUS Holiday season. There are pictures to come-- promise. For real... why you ask? Because I have a camera that actually works now...
Here's to a 2010 full of many pictures ;)

Only Child

Monet likes being an only child. Joaquin and Lindsey have been gone since Friday morning- and although I miss them-- I'm not so sure Monet does (well... the Joaquin part. I'm sure she misses Lindsey) She's been partying it up here... she got to go to the lights on Temple Square, get crepes with me, go to church, get lots of walks, hang around the house, and suck up all the attention all without the little brother bugging her... tonight they come home and it all ends. She'll have to go back to being the older sister. It was good for her while it lasted-- but the Return of Joaquin will all be okay when she gets some Lindsey love... Plus I kind of missed him a little bit alot.

"While visions of sugar plumbs danced in their heads..."

Vinnie got to have a sleepover last night at our house... Needless to say- I think he liked it...too much. I couldn't get my pic of Monet to upload... (along with the promised snow pics... lame I know! I'm getting a camera for Christmas- don't worry.) I think I have some sleepy puppies...

Born to Lead Website Change

So basically for the past week I've been fighting to figure out why our website isn't showing up... oh By the way- they changed our address... Hopefully it will stick around that. Maybe one day we'll pay for our site ;)

https://guidedogpups.sslpowered.com/Index.html

SNOW!

This morning we woke up to snow... and since I don't have to work so early anymore, Monet and I got to go out and play in it. I promise a picture possibly tomorrow. Needless to say- Mone was SO excited for the snow-- Joaquin went to work with Lindsey so I didn't see him until ater this afternoon. I'm pretty sure I have the cutest puppies ever... Amen!

I'm thankful for little brothers...

Last night my little brother slept over. He's 6. He's cute. I love him. Lindsey took Monet so that means little Joaquin got to stay and have a slumber party... This morning while my brother was bored he drew me a picture...

Do you see the little Joaquin with the cute green puppy coat?

Blogs up to my ears

So um... Okay I'm a freak. I'll admit it. I have a new blog. This one is for my dog stuff... for those of you who enjoy that but really could care less about my other life (yes- I'm proud to say I still have my life- it's slightly bruised but def not in the ICU- okay so maybe it's far from it. I <3 life- I am 23 and used <3 Blame the amazing 17-year-olds I hung out with all summer- I also say BFF all the time too... ridiculous I know. LOVE IT! :)) The new one is for other stuff...Take it for what it's worth. The end.



http://mickelleemyers.blogspot.com

"I meant to procrastinate today but I just never got around to it..."

Isn't life like that? Really? i was thinking about that... Seriously I go through phases- One day I'll be totally on top of things (even ahead) and the next week I'm so far behind it's pretty much ridiculous. So mostly I'm just ready for school to be done- I think I say that more frequently than is necessary- but it's true and "lets be honest here" . I'M READY FOR SCHOOL TO BE DONE! Graduation is in only... 1,5,7,8,9.... December...January...September... December, again...March, April... May... Okay 20 months. Or more than then whole time I was in Oregon... or a year and a half- give or take. But don't worry... that is one thing I won't procrastinate.

Big + Fuzzy= Bizzy

Okay I made up the word but I accidentally typed it so seeing as how I am ridiculously lazy... it stuck. So cute baby Joaquin is getting Bizzier...Check out these tail feathers at 12 weeks!

Joaquin this morning while I was getting ready--- and Monet helping me clean the church a few weeks ago

I didn't realize the quality of the photos until I pulled them up on the Mac so a thousand apologies for the pictures.

Yes, it is 3 am and front row movie seats should no longer exist

Yes, I went. Yes, I got sucked in... but, yes, it was for a good cause. I went to the midnight showing of "New Moon". Make fun of me if you must- but it was fun to go with my sister even though I'm not really a "twilighter"- yes, I did just say "standing in a line for an hour right next to a guy who was blowing cigarette smoke in weather that could probably freeze your snot with Monet, who was trying (not) very hard to ignore the mounds of buttered popcorn left on the sidewalk from previous movie-goers, and my sister" was FUN. (that was an extra long sentence) Mostly I just long hanging out with my sister-- and because she is 17 you could say that hanging out with your 23-year-old sister is "un-cool" or maybe it's just hanging out with your 23-year-old sister named Mickelle is uncool- but whatever- I have fifty other 17-year-olds I played with this summer as their EFY counselor that would beg to differ (at least I would hope they would ;)) So... back to the movie- My favorite line of the night in relation to Monet:

Boy ashamed to be in line at Twilight: Hey, What's your dogs name?
Me: Monet
Boy: That's cool... (yells to friend) Hey come up here with me!
**Friend runs up***
Boy: Look at this cool dog! Her name is Monet- you know like she's named after Money- only with a different accent.
Me:.. Or like Claude Monet? The painter?
Boy: Who?
Me: It's a famous painter...
Boy: Oh.

Don't worry though-- we call Monet- Money sometimes-- we get the accent wrong. ;)
At 12:01 they opened the doors (ridiculous because a- it was supposed to start at 12:01 and b- I was cold and tired) Because we only waited an hour (yes-- ONLY an hour, unlike the girls at the beginning of the line who have been chanting "Let us IN! Let us IN! Let us IN!" for the last 4 1/2 hours.) we got front row seats- which sounds like a good thing. It really does... for when you go to something like a Basketball game, or a play, or even a concert... but not when you have a view of a 500 foot vampire straight up. I think I left with a sprained neck... and possibly my eyes have been forever ruined from having to move so much to see the whole screen.
Mone did pretty well. When we first sat down she didn't really like the cold hard ground so i had to put my coat on the floor for her... then after trying- unsucessfully- to mooch some love (and possibly some popcorn) from our movie-seat-neighbors she settled into a sit with her head on my lap until she couldn't hold herself up anymore- about 1/2 hour. Don't worry she heard all the swoons, screams, and chants as the movie started and the characters appeared on the screen. She thought it was all for her at first then after a while she gave up- she didn't even flinch when the two warewolves went at it even though the ground was shaking like an earthquake- remember that's what happens when you get the front row. (BTW she's on Team Jacob as of last night... She would make a cute warewolf girlfriend) So the movie ended... Lame ending- but what do you get for a movie they plan on being a sequel- like Pirates 2- lame ending- and we left. I dropped my sister off at my parents then started driving home-- by this time- yes, it IS about 2:45 am... and yes, people are still driving. What possible reason could you have for driving around at this ridiculous hour unless you are coming home from the midnight showing of "New Moon"? If you work that early in the morning... okay. (truckers? 7-11 workers?) If you are a Vampire... fine. But voluntarily driving around at 3 AM?! I don't know about you but I love my sleep- I love everything about my sleep. So to all you 3-am-drivers out there: "Yes, it is 3 am and YES you should be in bed. I don't know about you but I love my sleep..." Only 5 1/2 hours until I get to drive home from work... and once again- test my theory that I love sleep :)

Recovery

As you can see Vinnie is back to his old self in his favorite place- in the sun by the glass door at my parents. He was sick for a few days after he got his stitches out- but he's doing much better. He's acting like he feels so much better, aside from being sick- he can walk so much better. He's like a new dog- loving life. :) He's 9 1/2 years old and hopefully we still have many more years to go with the big marshmallow.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This was on my way to work this morning... isn't it pretty? This is one reason I love driving Logan canyon every day. It's so pretty and slightly makes me homesick for Oregon- especially in the fall.(fall in Utah lasts about a week- at least the pretty part with the colored leaves) I love having the opportunity to have lived in such pretty places...

Frog Legs

Is there any other way to be comfortable?

(sorry for the quality- my camera broke so I get to use my phone)

One week...

One week later and life is getting normal again... a quick update:
Vinnie is recovering from his Extreme Makeover. He's looking like a new guy and is acting like one too. He still has the "Frankenstein" look but overall looks much better. He still can't wear a collar because of the 3 inch line of stitches on his neck but he's totally happy with that. Last Friday he started eating at one of the incisions on his back hip (He has 4) so off to the vet to get a "cone of shame"(aka E-collar for those who haven't seen "UP"...there is a dissappointed look on my face for those who didn't catch that) Lucky for him, he only had to wear it a day or so before he was done with running into things and looking like an overgrown lampshade-lawn gnome- he quit eating himself and is now on the fast road to recovery.
Monet is such a good girl. She seems like she grew so much since we got Joaquin. She loves the fact that she gets to go places and Joaquin has to stay home in his kennel. (picture sibling love "nah nah nah! I get to go and you have to stay home in a box!") She really is getting so good with him. Her favorite thing in the world is "Go to Bed"-- it's ours too because she will stop anything she is doing and run to her bed. She's also getting into the holiday spirit by becoming our own little Nutcraker. She couldn't make it as a ballerina (too hard to fit ballet shoes to her feet- and she has four of them- then there trying to get her on her toes... it would be a mess) so she's putting on her own show in the backyard with the walnuts that have fallen off the tree. She'll learn though...
Joaquin is a good boy too. He is getting big and learning... The first few days he didn't really like his food but now he's eating like a lab. He's hasn't quite figured out why the magic kibble appears when he stands in one place but not in another (when we practice go to bed) but he's starting to think about it. He thinks Kongs are the best thing since puppy kibble and water is the drink of the gods... or the Goldens. He's just a sweet guy with lots of confidence. I

The end of the semester is nearing... which means final projects and tests are coming-- also the end of my hour long commute is hopefully coming to an end. Although the 5:30 morning wakeups aren't as bad as I thought- I'm not really a fan of the drive home in the afternoon... It's too long when I want to get home fast- plus the gasoline bill isn't so fun. I'm hoping to get in this week with an advisor at school to get graduation in perspective (sometimes that's what I need- just someone to remind me that it is attainable- and that I am, in reality, chipping away at the requirements needed for that piece of paper that says "Good job- now get a job") I'm ready to be done with this student thing... until I decide to go back to school again.

What? Walking?

Wait? I thought it was supposed to start with a "J"... "Jogging"? Wah- Keen? How do you spell that? Joa- Quin? After all the confusion... The newest Guide Dog puppy at our house.

Me and Lindsey with Joaquin and 2 of his siblings going to Colorado

He even already had his first bath to get all the newspaper yuck off...

Welcome Joaquin...! We're excited for the next year or so with you!

Poor Vinnie

Poor Vinnie had his "Liposuction" today. He was dropped off at 7 this morning and came home about 5. Poor guy looks like he's been through a war. The vet said he pulled about a pound of fatty tumors out... When he left the vet this afternoon he was at 75-ish lbs.

I have a picture that you can see his stitches better but it's pretty yucky looking so I thought I would spare you. It will only make you feel worse for him. He's got 4 inscisions and gets to back in about 2 weeks to have the stitches removed. They said they were going to give him an e-collar but decided he was so good and is such a nice dog they didn't think he would need it. He can barely make it downstairs right now. When my dad came home he tried to get up and do a happy dance but that didn't work out so well...He tried and will be better than new in a few weeks. That's my boy. Tomorrow I'm going to stop by in the afternoon to see him- give him a hug and love on him for a minute... and introduce him to new puppy! Less than 12 hours! Don't worry we're getting excited at our house...! I'm sure there will be a post tomorrow!

Vinnie goes to the Vet

So... Vinnie has had a small fatty lump under his arm since I got home last year. We took him to the vet early on and after taking a sample told us it was no biggie and we shouldn't worry about it unless it's bothering him.
Fast forward a few months...
The lump has been getting bigger and Vin has started limping... We also noticed a few more starting to grow...poor guy. My mom said she would take him to the vet to get it checked out. Every time I went home to visit I would remind her. Finally, last week after work I went by and took him in. The verdict? It's definitly not cancer (whew) and the boy gets to have surgery. Poor Vinnie will look like Frankenstein for Halloween (although he IS a boy- he might think it's pretty cool.) He has 2 bigger lumps and 2 smaller ones. So next Wednesday gets to go in for some "lipo-suction"... Do we all wish we could do that? I know I have some fatty lumps I would be okay with removing ;) He doesn't really act like an old dog anyway but the vet said it will make a huge difference in his energy level. He said it will make him MUCH more comfortable :) When I called my mom to tell her how much it would cost I asked her if it was alright if I just scheduled the surgery right there. Her response was "We'll it's your fault I love him like my child! It's not like I CAN'T do it. Get him in ASAP." So so so true. You would never know it from him as a puppy (a wild man) that we would fall so hard for this dog. Wish Vinnie luck!
Only 5 more days until Puppy Truck Day...!

24/7

Why is there only 24 hours in a day? And why do you have to sleep for 1/4 of those hours? I'm pretty sure there needs to be more hours- either that or travel time should be eliminated. It seems like there should be more time to finish everything... One day I'm going to have to see about inventing that- something like Space Mountain at Disneyland, of course it has to be fun!
Monet has had a pretty exciting life thelast 2 days- I'm sure Lindsey has posted about it-- one of her puppies, Brogan came to visit. She's not so sure if she likes him or not yet but she'll get over it... Brog is a good teacher. And his being a huge moose and having the perpetual look of "I'm-going-to-eat-the-next-thing-that-comes-within-a-foot-of-me" on his face I'm sure helps... (I don't think he could hurt ANYONE! He's just a big hungry Lab) They are so funny together...

A Visit from a Texan

This last weekend while Lindsey was gone Mon and I had a visitor. My friend Jana came to visit us all the way from Texas. We were companions (roomates) on my mission in Oregon. I love her to death and was so excited to show her around Utah. We went to Salt Lake and up Ogden Canyon. So fun... I think fall i my favorite time of year in Utah (and especially Oregon! I love the fog!)

Jana is Deaf so she tried to teach Monet some signs but she just wanted to play (Jana thinks she succeeded but shh...I think Monet was just humoring her) It was Jana's first experience with a Guide Dog Puppy so she was really nervous about bringing a dog into a store but once she got used to it she thought it was pretty cool. We ended up at the mall and Monet found her namesake!

A little Claude Monet anyone? I'll take the little black puppy...

May be next time I'll go out to Texas to visit Jana. She doesn't live too far from where my 5th puppy Maryjo is working now... I would LOVE to go see her... We'll see!

All about Monet

Sometimes I forget how much work school is. It seems like no big deal then due dates come all at the same time and I'm like "AHHH!!" it's fine though... that's the life of a college student- and guess what? I only have about a year left for my BA. What am I thinking wanting to keep going after I'm done? No, really I love school- it's fun-- it's just a ton of work:) I love learning and going to school. Monet went to Weber State with me for the first time today... she did pretty well. She didn't like being under the desk with my backpack so I had to move it for her. Princess! She's so ridiculous sometimes... such a girl! Normally she sleeps in Lindsey's room with 2 dog beds so last week when she slept in my room she got all mad that she had to sleep on the floor. She kept laying dow the getting up then finding sometime small to lay down on like my jacket or a piece of my blanket that was touching the floor. Finally I went downstairs and got a dog bed out of the living room. You'd think a dog that's been to as many houses as she has would be pretty "whatever" but I guess it's still all about Monet.

Headlines at our house

As you probably already saw on Lindsey's blog- Poor Monet got spayed. She's been sooooo super mellow all day. I got home from school at 11:30 and she's been just chilling on her bed since. She's been SO cuddly since yesterday and I love it! She's always been sweet girl, but nothing like this. Someone will be so lucky to have her as their Guide Dog one day!
Donovan (the puppysittee for the school program) is a little less aware of what happened yesterday. Mostly the job is keeping him laying down enough that we don't end up with some insides falling out. He's a pretty good boy for the most part though so it's not too tough of a job he just forgets.
Puppy class was cancelled tonight (due to a case of the swine flu... how exciting) but since Monet and Donovan can't go anyway it's just fine (although I was looking forward to going to Farrs Ice Cream with the club... YUM) We'll go next week and Mony will be feeling much better hopefully.
In other news:
I think I forgot to post that I got a new car :) YAY! I love it! An '05 Suzuki Aerio Hatchback. It's red and super cute despite the grey stripe down the side. The interior is black which is great for Monet- not so great for Vinnie. He thinks it stinks because he has to ride in the very back. He'll get over it.
Homework time!!!

You know you're jealous of my week

This week... well really the last few days have been really... um... amazing? in a sarcastic type of way. So first off I'm sitting in my class Thursday night and I get a text about 8:30. I don't really check texts in class and class was out soon so I waited a few minutes then as soon as I was out I checked my phone. It was a text frm Lindsey (Lindsey and I are roomates if you haven't figured that out) "You have to come home NOW. Calvin got hit by a car and is dead and Charlie is gone" Calvin and Charlie are our other roomates Beagles. WHAT?! I called Lindsey... sure enough poor girl had to talk to the lady who had hit Calvin, call our other roomate- Lacy and tell her, then go out looking for Charlie. We looked for Charlie for a few hours then decided that he probably had found a place to hide for the night and hoped he would find his way home in the morning... Since we all work we left a note on our door that said to call us if they were returning our beagle. Lacy decided to stay at her parents that night then come the next day and hopefully Char would be home by then...
Next morning...
I'm on my way to work and was about 30 minutes away and-- my car decides to overheat. Awesome... perfect. The thing about my job (I'm a sign language interpreter) is that if I'm not there it's pretty difficult to find a replacement and nothing can really happen without someone there. So, because I have an amazing dad, once again he saved me. He had my sister bring her truck up to me so I could make it to work. My dad figures out how to get it smoking and hot to the Flyng J just off the exit. Diagnosis for my car: Blown Head Gasket... I was going to change the oil that afternoon- Too late. My car was old- I guess just think of it as assisted Suicide.
Fast forward a few hours;
I'm at work and get a text "Charlie's home!" YAY! Apparently someone had found him and put him in our backyard. He's got a few battlewounds, including a fat eye and a limp, but he's doing well and is still the same Charlie. We think he may have been hit too by another car. They took him to the vet last night and everything checked out. I'm SOOOO glad we found him!
Fast forward a few more hours...
I'm driving home and I start to notice the same smell my car had this morning. "It's no big deal I'm probably making up stuff because I'm paranoid" about 1/4 mile from the same flying J exit my other car was chilling at the truck decides to overheat as well... Yes. That is the awesomeness of my life. My poor dad is on vacation with the rest of my famlily (I had to work so couldn't go) so after I called him I called my hero- Lindsey, to rescue me. She came and saved me while my dad drove home to diagnose the truck to try and bring it home... the verdict is: a blown head gasket. Yes, that's right TWO in one day!!! Impossible you say? Well... It can happen and I am living proof of that! So that makes today Car shopping day for me... Yay :-S Not really... Wish me luck!
I told Linds she'd better watch out- things are dying all over the place here!

Monet meets Vinnie

Why I love Vinnie:
1. He's soooo adorable- who couldn't love that just smashed into a wall face?

2. He's the sweetest Male Yellow Labbie EVER! (never mind the first 14 months of his life that we had him- it doesn't count- we were first time raisers)
3. He's such a fabulous honorary co-raiser. He teaches the puppies what is good play.

Why I love Monet:

1. She's pretty adorable herself- I'm not gonna lie- I think she's the cutest Black Lab in the house!
2. She's SUCH a nice dog... for being only 6 months old she really is SO good!

3. She loves Vinnie and learns quickly from him.

I <3>

I think we'll keep them :)

It's a puppy! It's a puppy!!

Yup That's right... now that the puppy is officially picked up I can now tell you I'm getting a puppy! She's currently on her way home with Lindsey (we'll be co-raising)... I'll let her tell you more about the newest puppy. I'm super excited and will get to meet her next friday when I get home from Disneyland. She will be home Tuesday morning- but I'll already be gone. :( So keep an eye on Lindsey's blog.

Peter Pan Syndrome

Did anyone ever see the old Merrie Martin Peter Pan? You know the song "I won't grow up"? That's my dream. I don't like growing up-- and I don't like other people growing up. Having to worry about life stinks. The thing that triggered this is a conversation I had with my Best Friend. She's dating a guy pretty seriously and it's a huge problem for me. I don't know why. It's like I'm super jealous... So I just decided today I want to be 13 again. Where I could do what I wanted (I wasn't a bad kid so what I wanted to do was just raise Guide Dog Puppies, hang out with friends, and just be 13), there were no boys to get in the way- they were all just crushes, and if I had to do something- my mom would just tell me to do it and that was the end. When I was little I used to tell my mom I never wanted to grow up-- well... I think it's happening... If anyone learns how to time travel let me know :)

Puppysitting

This week I get to hang out with Missy the Pug and Cricket the Guide Dog...

They are both fun dogs... even if Missy is a little old and poor Cricket just wants to play with her! We're lucky to have the park to go play in this afternoon... Cricket was in heaven! It reminds me why I love dogs-- Cricket is such a happy girl and LOVES everyone. She just loves people in general and would love anyone no matter who you are. Missy is just cuddly- I don't remember her being that way when I watched her last but she really does love it. She will just sit near me while I'm on the floor breathing on me until I pick her to pet her...I'm crossing my fingers for a puppy soon. I don't know how much longer I can last!

Extreme Makeover

Hey everyone-- so I got really motivated this morning and decided why not give my blog a remodel? I deleted most links- so if youw ant yours added leave a comment and I will hopefully get around to having a list again. :) Let me know what you think... It took me forever to figure things out but it was fun :)

A week off?

What? How does that happen? I don't even know what to do with myself- good thing I don't have to decide what to do because I already have a million people asking for when we can hang out. What can I say... people love me. Just kidding. They just want to remind themselves of why they are glad I'm gone for most of the summer ;)
Last week was one of the most eventful weeks of EFY- and also one of my favorites. I am in love with last week. I had a great group (as usual) and some awesome experiences-- and only slightly fell in love with a toy pufferfish named Seth from the BYU bookstore. You know you're jealous.
Next week is Deaf week and I'm really excited for that. There is a chance I might not get Deaf kids but I reallllllly hope I do. Plus it would really help with the fact that I'm taking an interpreting test next week as well.
So, after next week I will have one more week then I'm home for good (mostly) I'll be in and out housesitting with a trip to California right in the middle of all that. Then school starts. This is my life-- We are hoping Lindsey will be able to bring home a transfer puppy with her in August. So, that's the excitement of it ll. I really miss going to puppy classes while i've been out of town- but I really have had one of the best summers so far!

Sleep Deprived

Yes... that is what it is. Sleep Deprivation... 3 weeks of going to sleep at midnight and waking up at 5 am is not a good thing. But what do you do? Nothing... that's what you do. Why? Because I love my summer job.
Anyway... I talked to Lindsey today. She is alive and gets to go to the beach tomorrow- for which I am only sightly jealous. I get to stay here in Utah and go camping. Now I'm TOTALLY not a camper- honestly I don't even like it. When I was younger my requirements for camping was there had to be a) a shower and b) flushing toilets. These demands were pretty set in stone- not flexible. There were a few times we ended up with no showers (the toilet one is non-negotiable) but not as I've gotten older- I'm willing to leave camp for a few hours, find a shower, wash all that grime and smell off, then come back to camp. How's that for being a non-camper? Yeah. That's what I thought. Okay maybe I have a problem...

ALRIGHT ALRIGHT ALRIGHT ALRIGHT ALRIGHT!... E-F-Y!

Hey Everyone... so I've had a pretty stinking amazing week. What makes it so stinking amazing you ask? Weeeellll... I get to be a counselor for Especially for Youth (EFY) this summer at BYU and I just finished my first week. I'm soooo tired but it was a blast and I met so many amazing people. My company (group of kids) consisted of 22 girls and 12 boys- although I was just in charge of 12 of those girls (there were 2 other counselors) all of them were 16-18. I love my girls so much- they are so amazing! Our company was named "Full of Love"- Remember how that was the best name on the plane? Yeah, that's what I thought. So let me give you a small taste of what EFY is all about.

Monday was nuts- about 2,500 kids trying to check in for a week of EFY is crazy. Amidst my crushing of boxes and handing out of handbooks/CD's/DVD's I got the chance to talk to and get to know the other counselors before my first real week. I met my girls later and we got play some awesome games (in the rain I might add) then set some goals for the week.

Tuesday we had some pretty fantabulous classes. All by amazing intelligent, spiritual, talented, and FUNNY teachers. Afterwards was a super amazing dance where we partied like rockstars! Can I just tell you how much I LOVE EFY dances? Well, I do. They are fantastic. This is a Mormon dance unlike any other. Really- Everyone dances!

Wednesday I was sure my feet would fall off because of this amazing thing called 2 blisters on my feet (Darn 3 song jump challenge)- thank goodness for sitting down in classes after which was GAMES. We played some awesome relay games and performed an amazing cheer created by our kids (complete with banner). Fortunately, I made it to what we lovingly refer to as PIZZA NIGHT at EFY. We partied it up ONCE again... as we got 6 pizzas and 2 breadsticks for 12 girls... 2 1/2 pizzas ended up in my fridge for later munchies for late night chats. (Okay so late night is 11 pm- lights out. I'm so grateful for that though- I have to sit in the hall until they fall asleep and I had to wake up at 5:45 for a meeting every morning. I still got an average of 5-ish hrs a night)

Thursday is everyone's favorite day- we party hard again- in the spritual way :) We have some great classes- We all wear our church clothes and have a musical program and testimony meeting. It's pretty great.

Friday- everyone is drained. The counselors are in charge of teaching classes today- I didn't have to this week so I was off the hook. It was really hard to stay awake though. I started getting a little loopy- you know when you'er so tired you get to the point that EVERYTHING is funny- and ridiculously funny? yeah- that was me... times ten! I went to bed at about 1:30 am then was up at 5:45 ready for...

Saturday! Checkout. All kids had to be out by 7:00 am. Awesome I know. What for? So Counselors can head to eat breakfast and off of a final wrap up meeting. It's pretty hillarious to watch the counselors stumble around after a looooong week. Why do I love this so much? I don't know... but It's amazing. From now on anytime anyone says "alright" I'll want to finish it off with the EFY cheer... "ALRIGHT ALRIGHT ALRIGHT ALRIGHT ALRIGHT hey...."

Hiking and Puppysitting

I've decided that one of the saddest things of having a dog is watching your dog get old. This week we took Vinnie up on the Moutain for the hike I've taken him on hundreds of times. It's his favorite because of the creek a few miles in. He loves just chilling in the water and being a dog. Watching him take the hike made me realize my boy is getting old :( He had a little bit of a hard time at the end and was quite glad to get to the creek- more than usual. Although after a nice cool down he was off to more exploring- trying to run off without me- past the point we normally turn around at.


This weekend I was supoposed to go with Lindsey and my other roomate, Lacy to take Ontario to his new home but a million things kept coming up so while my roommates are gone I'm watching Marlowe- a new FBL in our club. She's a sweet girl and is right now sleeping at my feet. She likes being an only dog I think. ;)

and last but not least- why I like Black Labs:

I puppysat Jared and Cash again this Friday and Saturday and I got to groom them. By the time I was done I think I had enough to make a sweater for each of them :) I'm like 500% sure yellow Labs shed more than black Labs... thank goodness for my fur-minator. it's pretty much the best!

Jared (was CC'ed for Eye Cancer) and Cash (CC'ed for Confidence) --and cute Marlowe in the background.

GOOD LUCK TO ONTARIO! It sounds like he's got an amazing home and I'm sure we'll get some updates from his new mom on how he's doing!

Party

Happy Birthday to you... Happy birthday to you...

It was 9 years ago today that Vinnie was born! Happy Birthday, Beans!

Eagles and changes

This past weekend we (Lindsey and I) had the opportunity to go to the Eagles Utah State meeting to represent GDB along with a couple other raisers around the state and a graduate from San Rafael. It was a pretty entertaining weekend to say the least, but the best part was I got to steal Teesha for the weekend. I love this girl. One day I'll get a current picture of her up. Really I just need to suck it up and admit to myself that my camera cord is never going to show up again- then go buy a card reader. One day... eventually. :) She's getting so big- almost 10 months now! Remember when I first came home and she was like 10 weeks? I can't believe what a good girl she is. She was absolutely perfect- even when a overly rambunctious 12 week old puppy was all over her at the dinner. I was so proud of her. I think that's one of my favorite parts of raising Guide Dog puppies- watching the little crazy puppies become what they are meant to be and I get to be a little part of something in their change (hopefully for the most part it's a good thing ;) ) Sometimes I like to look back at my puppies very first monthly reports and their last one and see how far they've come. It makes me feel so good for them and really does help me feel like I'm making a difference. Anyway- now I'm rambling- I shouldn't be allowed to do that. Thank you and goodnight- you can tip your waitress at the door.

Alive again...just in time for summer

That's right- the car is alive again. Thanks to an amazing dad who can figure out anything and everything. I love him. So now... Summer is underway. All the classes are done, the cerimonial trashing of the notes/old tests/handouts has happened, and the old books are sold (mostly excepting my Math book- anyone up for an old Math 1030 book for $45?) EFY starts in 2-ish weeks :) (YAY!) and I'm filling out an application for a new puppy this weekend! That's the excitingness of my life. I like it. Thanks for reading.

Today... and why I love cars

Let the good times roll... Yup, that's right. I took my last final today. Cleaned my car today (getting all that yellow dog hair out is pretty much impossible- but I tried. I still love my yellow boy). I also moved most of my stuff today---the best part of today being... my car decided to break. Awesome. I know. Pretty much I think cars really have intelligence. Seriously- I think everytime I have something else I REALLY need a car for- it dies and I "get" to shell out a couple hundred to fix it. Anyone up for fixing a water pump for free? I'm most def NOT a fan. I thought it was fixed but... nope. My dad is amazing though and "figures things out". He's a great mechanic. I'm impressed and leave it to him. If it doesn't get fixed by Monday it won't be fixed for like 2 weeks- no bueno. (My family is going to So Cal next week-- )Hopefully he has time to fix it tomorrow. Then I can drive to my new place, get a new puppy this fall, and life will be happy ever after, right?

End of Semesters

Well... I can't believe I've been home for just over 5 months. It almost freaks me out. A few weekends ago I was lucky enough to get the chance to head on back up to the Land of Port for a "vacation" (really it was to pick up a CC puppy in our club- hey they paid 1/2 of the trip! Yay!) It was really fun- but I wish much longer. The longer trip ended up to be impossible because it's the dreaded time of year... END OF SEMESTER. (dun, dun, dun) The time of year all college students and professors dread. It not quite over but so close there are a bazillion things to do before it actually is over. So thus... I've been working on a "few" projects plus getting ready for and taking my state interpreting test (finally! I have 2 months until I find out if I passed). As of this moment I only have 2 more finals and one "field trip" (awesome, I know- in college- actually I'm not looking forward to that one but I'm hoping for some extra credit)
This semester has been a good one- the mission helped me learn how to study alot more effectively, although i am glad to have it over. whew! Wish me luck!
In puppy news? Nothing really a WHOLE lot new. I'm moving out this weekend with Lindsey and her roomate- so I'll have 4 new dogs in my life-- My family would probably NOT be okay if I took Vinnie. (plus don't you think 4 dogs is enough ;)) I'm going to be a counselor for EFY (Especially for Youth) at BYU in Provo, Utah. That should be fabulous! So prospective puppy date? At the VERY earliest- End of July/Early August. So that's an update on my life. The End

What's up?

Hey all... So life continues to move on. Work... school... work... puppies. I'm housesitting alot for Cash and Jared's family- hopefully I'll get pictures up soon. How is life for everyone else? I'm sure I'm totally out of the blogging loop so catch me up... What's been going on?
Poor Vinnie is showing signs on getting older- I love this guy. I can't believe he's almost 9 years old! That is so weird! H's been limping alot the last few days so tomorrow it's off to the vet to have him checked out. We'll let you know how it goes :)

Lame Poster

So I really DO mean to update. and I really DO take pictures meant for the blog (which are now taking up space on the camera) and I really DO mean to do all this stuff- but alas- I am a slacker. I should join a support group or something.
What's been happening? Life. I've been puppysitting a little and house sitting a little... last week and this week I get to watch two cute Career Change boys- Cash; a Male Yellow Cross, and Jared; a Male Yellow Lab. (Cash is brother to Chapelle and Cordova) They are sooo sweet- This last weekend Edie joined us for the night. It was a fun time of competition for attention.
Just an example of my weekend: Jared is a sweet guy- about 7 years old who was CC'ed for Cancer in his eye. He's now a one-eye'd puppy (or rather has got a permanent wink going on). On Friday night he had his head on my lap while I was catching up on "What not to Wear". Once Cash (CC'ed for confidence- super sweet soft guy.) noticed I was petting Jared, here comes 75 lb Cash, both paws on my lap ready for some love too. Edie, of course, had to get in one the fun so she jumped right up on the middle of it and pushed the other two out the the way for her love. Needless to say I was covered in hair and puppy kisses. Who couldn't love dogs?

Puppy sitting :)

My Puppy-hunger is relieved for the moment I have TEESHA again :) She's so cute and is such a good girl. She has been a couple of fun places since she's been with me and has done pretty well... Right now she's in the backyard burning off some steam though. After a full day of outings she's gotta run. I will post pictures soon of how much she's grown soon! Must go search for my car keys now so I can get her food out of my car... I'm really good at losing my keys...

Lame update

Today... I miss my puppies. It's the first day of school and I don't have a puppy to take with me for the first time in I don't know how many years. It's kind of sad but hopefully I can borrow some puppies soon :)
I'm excited to start school. Is that weird? I've been out of it for 18 months and I'm ready to finally get back. School is at least something to do- plus I think I've got some pretty cool classes. So really that's all I have to update today...

This is way cute :)

PICTURES!!!

Alright... what you've all been waiting for... pictures. Sorry I forgot how to flip the pictures so you'll have to deal with that. This is pictures of my club from about a month ago- minus one dog- Orion. Enjoy! :)


Miss Edie- Lindsey's puppy TEESHA-- she's sooo stinking cute!


This is Teesha again... Cute girl! Nell... the cute puppy! I love her too... I watched her last week


This is Genova And... Zinfendyl I think that's how you spell it?

Sakari and Luigi

Last but not least... Gilly!

Of course I had to throw in a Vinnie picture... look what a cute boy he is :) I missed him soo much!

None

Sorry I'm lame... I can't wait until Schooo l starts and I get more time on the computer... well more time on a computer works ;)
Yesterday I got to watch a cute little FBL named Nell. She's a SWEET girl! She reminded me of my Maryjo--- sooo cute and sweet. I miss my FBL's. Soon enough right? First things first- a job?
Pictures... to come.. one day... when my camera is fixed!

Puppy sitting!

I got Teesha last night. i got to go to Puppy class! It was way fun... the sad news? No pictures :( My memory card is not working the way I want it to) So you will have to imagine a super cute 13 week old FYL, medium color, with a cute ridge down her nose. Awww... I know adorable!
Mickelle, Vinnie, and Teesha

There's no place like home...

Hi Everyone! I'm back! After 18 months in Oregon I'm so ready to have some puppy breath again :) I miss it so much! Tonight I get to puppysit for the weekend. I'm pretty excited :) Don't worry I'll be posting pictures and more adventures :)
My mission was amazing I met sooo many great people and had so much fun! I'll def. be back for visits! Love you all!
Mickelle and Vinnie (who is happy to have mom back!)

Saying Goodbye..

Yes it's true I am leaving on Wednesday... I'll miss you all, but will be back in 18 months. Hug your puppies for me and don't forget me!

Mission Info

Okay so not that it will be interesting to many of you but... I have a private blog set up for my mission. My mom will probably be the one posting on it- my current address, what I'm doing, and if I'm still alive ;) But if I know who you are and would like to be invited so you can write me LOTS OF LETTERS *ahem* send me an email at gdprchika@yahoo.com or comment and I'll see how quick I am about inviting.
I will post the pictures from Vinnie's brithday one of these days. I need to get down to the school to do that because this computer at home is slow (my dad's a computer guy- go figure!)
As boring as this blog currently is- it will get even more boring June 13th when I'm gone for 18 months. I think I just need a puppy... :)

Leave of Absence...

Yes, I know my blog has been empty for the past 2-ish weeks. I have been housesitting, babysitting, dog sitting-- you name it. Anyway... Happy 7th birthday to the Vinnie in my life :) and Happy 3rd Birthday to Miss Maryjo. I have pictures of Vinnie's "birthday party" at the hike we took on Saturday with his buddy- Ginger, my friend's sister's Golden Retriever. Will post the pics tomorrow!

Soul Sisters?

My last graduate, Maryjo- went to a woman with a sister with the same type of blindness as her so when she brought MJ home she decided to get a Guide Dog. I just recieved this today- I thought it was a funny coinsidence.

"My sister just called and she also has a female black lab. Her name is, are you ready for this, Bobbie Jo. She asked if she were Maryjo's sister and they said no, it was just a coincidence. She is about a year and a half old and weighs 51 pounds. So she will grow a little more. I just hope she doesn't look exactly like Maryjo. My sister said that she had hoped to get a yellow lab, but she already loves Bobbie Jo. I am so happy for her."

Good Luck telling the two "Jo's" apart- it sounds like a match made in heaven! Both girls are about the same size- and sound like they have similar personalities!

Airedales can't be Guide Dogs!

Meet Sophie! Doesn't she look like a teddy bear? Sophie is a 3 year old Airedale Terrier who gets the joy and pleasure of having me for a puppysitter-- only that she really doesn't like me because I won't let her mouth me or jump on me or eat my food... or anything else that a Guide Dog Puppy is not allowed to do. Pretty much she really doesn't like this "Guide Dog puppy rules". I'm not torturing her- because I did let her sleep on the bed with me last night :) I love having a big dog on the bed- especially one that doesn't shed- not that it matters since the cat seems to think the best place to sleep is on my face!
Anyway, so funny story about this girl: Her owner started a GDB puppy then she decided she wanted to get an Airedale so she started looking for a rescue Airedale. So she found this 9 month old female Airdale and called on it- they said unfortunately since no one responded to the ad they gave her to some neigbors but would keep her in mind if it didn't work out.
Later on she found a 3 year old Female named Zoe- she fell in love and decided to keep her and rename her Sophie. Well about a month later she gets a phone call about the 9 month old. The neighbors couldn't keep her and wanted her to go to her. So she went over only to find the dog was named Zoe as well! So now she has 2 Zoe's that are both in name transition- Big Zoe is now Sophie and little Zoe is now Rosie. Whew! Good thing she took little Zoe with her! :)

She wasn't too happy about having to sit still for a picture

...or about being in the crate........... This is a cat- there are 3. I don't really know their names
I think this one is Hobbes (SAM!)

He's going to...

Nope- sorry Natalie- not Canada! My little brother is going to the Philippines Naga Mission. Me? I'm glad I'm headed to Portland- home of GDB as well as GOOD DRINKING WATER! ;)

Why I love YouTube...

I'm babysitting my 2 year old brother this morning. My Dad left the house this morning to take my brother to soccer and my mom is out of town for the weekened. So I was left with the 2 year old. As soon as Dad leaves- Aden starts crying... why do I love YouTube? They have every childrens television show known to man! This morning after watching 4 or 5 episodes of Thomas the Tank Engine and a couple Bob the Builder episodes- with a few Kermit the Frog clips thrown in- he is happily playing in his room!

Piano Music is amazing!

http://www.jonschmidt.com/catalog/freestuff/dumb_song.mp3

The above song is a great song... because I love Bumblebee Tuna... But also because I am a nerd and absolutely *love* John Schmidt piano music. Maybe one day I will show you I can actually play the piano- yes I know... scary- life without dogs makes you realize you DO have other hobbies ;)

My Life...and Blog is boring

Now that I don't have a puppy or a dog in training, there is nothing to write about- quite sad. Although this week has been finals week so really my life has consisted of studying, working and studying. I only have one more to do today as well as write 4 one-page papers that I can totally double space and use huge font. lol. Not too bad. I'm fairly sure that after this week I will be glad! I will be housesitting for a friend who used to raise- but she now has a 13 year old mixed breed dog and a 3 year old Old Navy dog (What's the breed again? Terrier...Airedale! That's what she is) so I will have some good time to relax and recover from this week.
My little brother got his mission call last night, yes there will be 2 of us out at the same time. My family is crazy. He's not going to open it until Saturday because he is up at BYU-Idaho until then. Not thinking I would be able to see anything, since I couldn't see anything in mine, I jokingly peeked in the corner- Yeah, so pretty much I know where he's going. Not telling until Saturday though, which is a killer for me- I'm awful at keeping secrets like this! If anyone would like to guess- feel free... I would be impressed if you got this one.
Oh, and Thank you to Jen for helping me out with Photoshop yesterday! I will post my creation later on today!