Holiday Photo 2010

Yes.
We totally did this.

Yes. That is a maroon sheet hanging in the background hiding the unfinished walls.
And Yes. John is wearing a Cosby sweater.

These are the two best photos of about 20. The process wasn't as agonizing as we thought it would be. We chose to share with you the ones that Bowser looks best in -
regardless of how we feel about our own appearances!

Banita Creek Park

We've been to a lot of parks and trails recently to help Bowser explore Nacogdoches.
Banita Creek Park is in a neighborhood I used to live in.
My favorite feature of this park has always been this beautiful sycamore tree.
Platanus occidentalis
There's a cute little playground in the park, too.
And some nice views of the creek.
We took this walk the same day that John passed his defense.
Great way to relax.

Congrats!

John passed his thesis defense with flying colors on Thursday!
He promised Bowser that he will play with him all day every day while he recovers.

TX Ren Fest

My mom had Halloween weekend off so we met up with her for the Texas Renaissance Festival. Our first big stop was the Haunted House -

We stopped by a woodworking shop. John has decided he is going to build one of these -

My favorite show to watch is Arsene -

We did the maze in record time -

My mom bought some flowers for her hair -

We watched a few people ride elephants and camels.
I do not know why someone would take their infant onto an elephant.

We saw Cast in Bronze -

We watched the joust and cheered for Spain.
France won.

A "Sea Wolf" harassed us from above while we shopped in a big boat-shaped store -
Wait. John, is that you?!!

We stayed for a brilliant fireworks show -

Bowser didn't come along with us to the Ren Fest, but he did have a fun time staying with Grandma & Grandpa in Kingwood. Of course, just as we were trying to leave, Bowser decided that he was not getting into the car without getting in some of his usual pool time. Despite the cold, he just plopped right in the moment all of our backs were turned.
We were off to Nac as soon as we got him dried off. A fun Halloween weekend, indeed.
:)

Doggie Depression

This is what Bowser looks like every time we get back home from Grandma & Grandpa's house.
Totally and utterly depressed.

Bowser and the Horse

Every morning while John is watering the plants in the back yard a horse stops by to say hello.
We've decided to name this horse Charlie.

He'll let us pet and feed him through the fence, but mostly he stops by for Bowser.

He sniffs at Bowser while Bowser strains to lick him through the fence.

We think Bowser is a little smitten.

The horse is one of Bowser's favorite pals.
Sometimes the horse will run back and forth across the fence line to get Bowser to chase him.
Gotta love interspecies friendships!

Quick update

Here's a quick update of the different things we've been working on the last week -
More detailed posts to follow...

Dead Hackberry-
Now you see it:
Now you don't.
If you're in Nacogdoches and you need to take care of a tree in your yard, go with Drewery - Best in town!

Site of the future butterfly/hummingbird garden-
We dug up a bunch of dirt and pretty much terraced it to keep the yard from taking over the back patio. That's Bowser in the dirt pile.
New walkway/steps in progress-
Now we can walk to our mailbox in style!
Keepin' busy!!!

Good Luck, Bowser!

***UPDATE***
The vet says that Bowser has some sort of stomach bug. :(
We are scheduling the neuter for a later date as a precaution.
**********

This morning we dropped Bowser off at the vet to be neutered.

Just a minor outpatient procedure, but
Please keep him in your thoughts -

Send him good vibes!
These pictures should help...

This was taken the day Robert & Jessica brought Bowser home -

John just couldn't say no to that little face -
This is the first toy we ever bought for him -
(You should see it now)
Look at that face!
John took this one afternoon when Bowser fell asleep on us -

He still sleeps like this!
Here he is with his daddy, waiting for mommy to finish the Bunny Hop 5K -

His ears used to do the most adorable things -

He still gets into soooo much trouble
(That pot held all of our cilantro until Bowser got a hold of it)
The look in his eyes is often expressed as "maniacal"

But he never means to cause trouble...
Bowser's favorite thing is meeting new friends-
Here's a card featuring Bowser and Bailey, Adolfo's dog
Here he is taking a nap with May -
(My sister's dog - a chocolate lab)

Relaxing in the pool -

They grow up so fast...

We're going to be anxious all day-
We don't get to pick him up until late this afternoon.

Bowser the Leaping Legend

This is Bowser

This is Bowser jumping -

Again

And again

And again

And here he is telling us to get out of the pool

Because he's tired

We hope he got it out of his system because this weekend was probably the last time for a long while that he'd get to swim in Grandma & Grandpa's pool!