Getting Settled With Koda

It was an extremely rocky beginning. Belle and Koda were fighting over everything including who was going to be in charge. That phase is finally subsiding, after many whimpers and squeals. I am proud to say that Belle won queen of the house and Koda flinches when she comes at him ready to brawl. They are getting along as you can see in the picture. They are both puppies so of course their is the friendly squabble here and there accompanied by the occasional angry fight. All in all, it is going well.

Never say never!!

I recall Dustin saying we would never get our dogs clothes. Well, now that Dustin is getting a "manly" dog, he is much more lenient about what is acceptable for Belle. Now that he does not have to walk Belle because he will be walking his "manly" dog, he is okay with her having a cozy winter sweater for the cold winter nights that are settling in. Surprisingly she doesn't mind the sweater. I think she was getting a little cold. We still do not have heat, and it's getting cold in the house. This is one of her new sweaters. She also got a pink winter coat, complete with fur around the neck. I will make sure to include pictures the first time she goes out in that.

Update on the new puppy. Sadly, we didn't get to bring him home Friday because he was sick on his scheduled surgery day. They didn't want to risk anything, so he is waiting until Tuesday to have the surgery, and we are going to bring him home on Wednesday. We will certainly be updating with more pictures. Thanks for the name suggestions!! They are great! Ultimately the decision lies with Dustin, so I will be interested to see what he chooses. Thanks for checking in. Talk again soon.

A few more pics

We wanted to included a couple more pictures. You can see in the fist one that Belle is showing her teeth in warning (ha ha). The other one just gives you a better idea of the size of the new puppy. He is a little guy.....for now!!

Another New Addition

It is official, our puppy family has been extended. We adopted a Finnish Spitz from the animal shelter this week. We bring him home this Friday. He and Belle get along very well. They are the same size right now, but Belle is 8 months and he is 3 months. He certainly weighs much more, but they are the same height and length. The new puppy also has significantly more hair. We haven't thought of a name for him yet. So send your great ideas our way!!

Belle stil feels loved and we made sure they met on neutral ground. Within months, the new puppy will outgrow Belle reaching a max weight of 30-50 lbs. Poor Belle will probably never break 8 lbs. She doesn't know that she is a little thing though. She holds her ground and lets him know who is boss. Enjoy the pictures.

Our newest addition

It has been a while since we have written. Our appologies...things have been pretty busy. School has of course consumed Dustin's life and time. My work hours make it difficult to do much in the evenings, as I work 2:30-10:30pm. Work is going well though.

We wanted to say a quick hello and include a picture of our car. We traded in Dustin's gas guzzler for a 2008 Toyota Prius. We have averaged 50.1 miles per gallon so far. It goes about 600 miles on each tank of gas, so filling up is certianly more infrequent now, not to mention the amount we are saving on gas. Dustin didn't shed too many tears as he said goodbye to his first car, the Xterra. The gadgets that are included in this new car kept him from regretting the decision to trade. He is certainly glad we did now. I always thought it ironic that an Environmental Science major was driving a 12 mpg car anyway. Enjoy the pictures, and talk again soon.

White Coat Ceremony

This is the white coat ceremony where Dustin received his first professional white coat that he will wear doing clinicals and rotations for the next four years. For the ceremony Dustin's parents flew in from Atlanta and Dustin's brother and sister-in-law flew in from Columbia, MO.

We also celebrated Larry's 50th birthday. We will post pictures of this next time.

Dustin, Aaron, and Larry went to the first established golf course in America and played 9 holes. They used hickory golf clubs that were replicas of the originals from Scotland. The golf balls were also flown in from Scotland. Luckily they didn't hit one of the sheep that graze the course!!

Luckily we had beautiful weather for the eventful weekend. Enjoy the pictures!

Extended Weekend

We celebrated Dustin's birthday with friends at school. We all enjoyed a bar-b-que and had cake and ice cream for dessert. (Check out the cake I got him! It is the WVSOM seal.) He sends his sincere thanks for the birthday cards.

For the extended weekend our plans are minimal as Dustin's need for studying increases and I have an interview Monday. However, we are going to go hiking at the Greenbrier River Trail to get some outdoor recreation in.

Dustin has been studying most moments that he is at home, which is a good thing!! He has done well on all tests and quizzes. He is learning the osteopathic manipulation and comes home to try it on me. That is my favorite part, it's like a massage every time!! He has even tried it on Belle a couple of times, but we can't tell if she is in pain or enjoying it.

Dustin has his white coat ceremony a week from today, and we will post pictures from that event as well.

We will talk again soon (sooner than last time). I do appologize for it being two weeks since the last post....things got crazy there for a bit. Talk soon, and it's great to hear from you all!!