visit from Oma and Pop and doggie daycare

For the 4th of July, Oma and Pop (my parents) came for a visit. We had lots of fun. Josie took to my dad immediately. She also loved playing tug with my mom. It was a wonderful visit all around. We ate a lot and spent time together. Mom and I went blueberry picking and I made a pretty good (but messy) pie. Jim and I were able to go out to eat and go to Borders one night, so that was a treat. We never get to go out, so we were very grateful. Here are some pictures from the visit:

The downtown area where we live had a (very) little Independence day celebration. Bluegrass music, popcorn, watermellon, and even a few goats.




Last week we signed Josie up for doggie daycare. Never in my life did I think I would ever send a dog to daycare. Never. It's an animal. Here's what changed my mind. I can only leave her in the crate for about 4 1/2 hours at a time. With my summer teaching schedule I have to leave the house and race to work, teach my classes and race home (because there's a 90 minutes gap between classes). This means I get no other work done (manuscripts, etc). Also, with gas prices, I am not into making several trips back and forth (it's about 20-25 minutes one way). Also, Josie had soooooo much fun at puppy preschool. She loved playing with the other dogs. So we decided to sign her up and take her once a week for a few weeks. It would give me a massive break (and a full day at work) and it would give Josie a wonderful play day. So, the first day they have to give each pup a temperament test to see if they can come to daycare. I guess they just watch your dog interact with the other dogs. When I dropped Josie off and her tail nearly wagged off her body, the staff looked at her and said, "Ummm...I think she'll go in the medium group." Not for size, mind you, but because of her energy level. I guess the dogs her size wouldn't be able to take her exuberance. Ha. Anyhow, I picked her up in the afternoon and she had a report card. She did a great job and passed with flying colors. You can click on the picture of her review to see an enlarged image.


Josie also had a great time! She slept the rest of the night! Totally wiped out!!!!! I can't wait to take her next week. ;)