A survivor

I love to watch animal planet.
But unfortunately, being pregnant makes me all weepy and hormonal when I watch it now.
Especially the animal cops show where they rescue animals that have been neglected or injured or abused. I always have a soft spot for those animals, I almost think that dogs that have to go through something like that turn out to be the best dogs because they understand and are grateful for your help.

Today Bryant and my brother Colter and our friend Tanner went to the high school after church to play some football and I got bored sitting at home and I could hear my dog Ace making his funny growling/gurgling/whining sounds outside which means he's bored too so the two of us hopped in my brothers truck and took off to go watch the boys play.

As we were sitting on the bench watching, I bent down to pet him playfully on the nose and my fingers brushed against the rough patch of fur and the memories of him being a puppy and being so sick came flooding back.
(watching the football game)

Ace was the result of an accident between my parents german shorthair Rusty, and their black lab Sadie. I, of course was in love with all the puppies (but who doesn't love puppies!?) but both Bryant and I fell head over heels with one of the two males. We named him Ace and took him everywhere and played with him all the time.

One day, we were running to the post office and I waited outside on the grass with Ace while Bryant went in to mail a few things and I noticed that he just wasn't as active as he usually was.

When we got home, I started to notice that his lips were a bit swollen, and he had become very lethargic. I researched it a bit and read that dogs can be allergic to bee stings and the symptoms were swollen faces and lethargy. Seeing as there was a hornets nest in the back yard where Ace was playing, I figured he had been stung. So I brought him in and gave him some bennadryl and took him back out the rest of the liter.

(wanting to get in on the action!)

The next day he was much, much worse. His lips and eyes were swollen, he sat limp in my arms, he had bumps running all along his ears and he was beginning to lose his fur around all the places that were swollen. I called the vet, they were closed, I called the animal hospital, they were closed. That night Bryant and I decided to bring him in with us and put him in a box. He wouldn't eat, wouldn't drink and wouldn't sleep. Finally, I picked him up in the middle of the night and had him curl up next to me and he slept the rest of the night.

(out camping earlier this summer)

The next day Bryant and I both had to work so my parents took him into the vet. He had juvenile cellulitis, AKA the puppy strangles.

Puppy strangles occurs in puppies under 4 months old. There is no known cause and it is characterized by swollen lymph nodes, lethargy, scabs on the face and muzzle, and fur loss.

(polishing off some cream at strawberry days)

The vet gave him a shot and sent my parents home with antibiotics. They said we got there just in time and that he would recover, but that the fur he had lost would never grow back. We spent many a day feeding Ace, cleaning his scabs, trying to get him to take his antibiotics and loving him back to health.

When the puppies became old enough to be put up for adoption, they were going fast! But poor little Ace was our ugly (dog)duckling. His face was all patchy and he looked like he had been pretty chewed up. I was worried that no one would want him. On the other hand, I was also worried that someone WOULD take him and then I would have to give him up.


(recovering, notice the gray patch on his nose where he lost some fur)

Thankfully, this was around Bryant's birthday and my parents realized how in love we were with our little fighter. They walked in with a big paper bag and who should stick out their little mangled head? My baby Ace!!!

(watching the food network with me, he's to big to sit on the couch anymore)

My parents were really being so generous because we live in their basement apartment so that would mean that Ace would have to stay here with their dogs too. And I am so grateful they let us keep him. He's such a sweetheart and has the best personality for a dog. He really is one of my best pals!

I think we make such a good team. I think his near-death experience helped us to bond better when he was a puppy (which make him such a cuddle bug now!)

(he jumps on the couch when Bryant walks out, I think he does this just to tease him!0

And the vet was wrong, most of his fur grew back and he turned out to be a one handsome dog!

Ace goes for a swim

I was feeling super sick all day and could hardly get off the couch. Finally, in the evening, I decided that what I really needed was a bit of fresh air. So Bryant, my little sister, my dog Ace and I hopped onto the 4-wheeler and headed up to a small pond up the street from my house. I love Bryant's iphone, it takes video, woo!

Ace is such a spaz, I didn't get a good video, but his favorite thing to do is go rock-diving. We will throw a rock in the water and he will stick his whole head in until he can grab a rock. He doesn't bring it back to us, he just returns it to dry land then waits for the next one.

What a wierdy, but we love him anyways...

Perfect days

Some days are just perfect.
Monday was one of those days.

We had what we thought was going to be our last softball game of the season, but it turns out, we won for the first time!!! We played the team from 2 weeks before who we lost too on a bad call and I was talking to one guy from their team and he said they had never won a game until they played us, so I thought it was a fair trade.

We had to play a game directly after against one of the first teams we ever played and it was not a good game at all. First, we were so tired, and it was at least 95 degrees out (I went through 4 water bottles) and the other team were all jerks. If you forfeit, the league requires you to pay the other team 30 dollars (stupid rule) and the last time we played we were losing really badly and they kept saying "you guys should give us the 30 bucks cause you suck so bad so we can go get some beers"

Jerks

Needless to say, we lost that game, but we were all still feeling really good about our win earlier. Our last game will be next Monday unless we win again. Woo!

That night we drove to the Quarry, which is an indoor rock climbing place for Bryant's work party.
I love rock climbing but I didn't this time because I have been feeling sick off and on for about 2 weeks now and I didn't want to be 30 feet in the air and have to puke or something. Also, I was still exhausted from 2 softball games in a row.Bryant learning how to do the right knots for his harness and rope.He's a fast learner.

Tuesday was a perfect day too.
First, Bryant and I took our adorable Ace for an afternoon walk.

He was having some serious attention span issues.


I love that Ace's two favorite places to drink water are the hose and the faucet in the bathtub. I think he just has fun more than he is thirsty.

We got new neighbors this week and their little girls started venturing into our backyard (it's just what happens when you are the only one with a swing set on the whole block) they were really cute and they ALL loved Ace, who just lied there, happy as a clam with his bone and Bryant, who was showing off his new iphone to them.
There was something really funny on it cause they all giggled for a good 10 minutes. (And don't you just love that youngest girls stripped dress!?)

It was nice just sitting out on the lawn during the summer sunset with my hubby, mom, sister, dog and new neighbors. I was glad Ace did so well with them, he's usually nervous when people he doesn't know pet him, especially kids who just want to tackle him, but he just sat there and watched them.

When their dad came over to tell them it was time to come home, Ace got up and growled at them. At first I was mad at him for growling, but then I realized that he had put himself in front of the girls. It's nice to know that my little wimp of a puppy is willing to protect kids. It will make me feel good to have him around when I have my own family. And he stopped growling once I told him to stop.

Last night was another perfect day but I have to go get ready for work.

Tune in next time to find out what made a normal Thursday perfect!

Super-mega-awsome weekend!

It's been such a crazy weekend! And I've really been lacking in my blogging. Sorry! I'll try to keep this as short as possible, but I'm warning you, it was a big weekend and LOTS of pictures!

So, like I mentioned a couple of posts ago, it was Strawberry Days here in my little home town. I get so excited every year because this is kind of my kick-off to summer.

So we got an early start to the weekend on Thursday. After Bryant went and took a final at school, we decided to take Ace out for strawberries and cream down at the city carnival.


(I had a ton of these over the weekend. Soooooo good!)


Ace is the KING of puppy-dog eyes. (Well, I know he is a puppy but he still does it so well) You can't help but give in.


Ace did so well at the Carnival that we decided to take him to the park.
He was being really adventurous and checking out the entire park.


That night, I took Ace to obedience school. My parents had signed their dog Sadie up but she had been fixed that morning and couldn't make it to the first class so I asked if I could take Ace. He did really well. At first he was scared and tried to back under the stool I was sitting on, but once he realized how nice the little chocolate lab puppy was next to us, he was happy as a clam. And I was so proud of him because Bryant and I have already taught him to sit and stay so I felt like the proud mama with the kindergartner who could already read.

Friday, we went to the PRCA rodeo!My parents, my sister, my brothers and their friends all came too.

Yeehaw!My little brother Sawyer. Rockin' his pink shirt for the "tough enough to wear pink" night for the Susan G Komen for the cure breast cancer awareness.

My brother Colter (on the Left) and his friend Christian (right) rockin' out the pink too.

My little sister being adorable like always.

Isn't my hubby a hunk?


Wild cow milking.

Saturday we went to the parade! I was in the strawberry days parade all throughout high school, and over the past few years I have been out of town or working so I haven't had a chance to watch the whole thing through for a while. This year, my little brother Sawyer got to be in it with his FFA team.


You can't really see him cause he is on the other side of the street in the back. But see that little crate on the trailer by the front? Those are his chickens! One even layed an egg during the parade hahaha!

After the parade, I still had about an hour before I had to go to work so Bryant and I took my little sister to Parkers to get some yummy burgers for lunch.

(I don't know why his shirt looks like it has yellow stripes on it...)

Sunday was Fathers day and after church we went to my grandpa Bushell's house for dinner with my aunts and uncles and my cousin, his wife and their adorable baby girl. It was so nice out that we all ate outside (my favorite place to eat in the summer!) Afterwards, we went to my grandma and grandpa Peacocks house and got to visit with my cousins there too.

My mom, Bryant and I came up with a good present for my dad. Bryant and I are getting a new computer since this one is about to kick the bucket (this post has taken 2 days to write its getting so bad, plus, the screen is going out and there are lines all throughout it.) And we found a deal that if you buy a mac, you get a free itouch, which works great because I really really really want a mac and I already have an itouch that Bryant gave me for Christmas last year. Originally Bryant was going to get the new Iphone and I was going to take his old one and give my dad my itouch, but with this computer deal, Bryant is going to keep his old iphone, I'm going to get a new, regular phone and I keep my itouch and give my dad the new one.

He's really excited and so am I!

So our weekend was so much fun and exciting that this one seems to be dragging a lot. Bryant is a coach at a basketball camp for the next two weeks so he is gone from 9am to 9pm every day and I'm not scheduled to work until this weekend so I'm feeling really lazy and bored and lonely. So I have decided to head off to the craft store as soon as I finish this to get going on some 4th of July projects.

Sorry this was so long, but you can't say I didn't warn you!

Have a great day everyone!

(P.S. I just remembered that I'll be in Norther California for the 4th of July! Woo! We leave next weekend!)

Ace's day out

This week is Strawberry Days in my hometown.
EVERYONE loves strawberry days!


Today was the children's parade down by the high school. We have been going to this for years. All of my family, myself included has been in it at one point or another. All of the stakes in the town have all of their primary kids come and participate, and there is usually a theme that the kids can dress up along with (pioneers, cowboys, heroes etc) and this year they were supposed to dress up as what they wanted to be when they grew up. My little sister Sage went as a Paleontologist. Most kids were policemen, firemen, or batman and she chose a paleontologist. (She's a smart kid and LOVES math and biology, which makes her a weird and super cool 11 year old) She was all dressed up in my button down cowgirl shirt and a sunhat, complete with a rock and a brush.

She was super adorable!

I went with my dad to watch and I decided to take Ace with us. I take him for walks and I've thrown him in the car to run errands and such, but other than the few people who we come across on our walks and the neighbor kids that come over to play in our backyard, Ace really hasn't been around a huge group of people. So this was going to be interesting.

He did really well for the first little bit. He was really curious and really excited. He would go up and sniff at people but as soon as someone went to pet him he would flinch and hide behind me.
There were a few kids that he would allow a full on petting episode, and for some reason, he wanted to lick all of there feet, which made the kids squeal and laugh.

Once we got settled onto a lawn and the kids started down the street, he would act like he was really excited and ready to play, but after a couple of minutes, he would come and sit on my lap (all 57+ pounds of him!) like he was being shy. The only time I had a problem with him is when a little itty bitty dog walked by in the parade and Ace started jumping in the air like he was a circus dog and nearly ripped my arm out of it's socket with the leash.

I'm still debating if I want to take him to the big parade Saturday. Probably not seeing as there will be horses and a ton of other dogs. I think I'll assimilate him into society slowly. Next time, maybe just a picnic in the park on a puppy play date or something.

Another huge problem with the parade was the WIND! It was crazy!!! On the news they said that in some areas in Utah it was over 75 miles an hour. That's hurricane speeds people!


This is the aftermath of the wind and my hair. (I think I look a bit crazy in this photo. And tired, which I'm am. Sorry!)


Also, notice I have no makeup either. That's thanks to dust and dirt being blown into my eyes, plus allergies going berzerk which caused a lot of eye-rubbing all day.

It was exhausting trying to hold on to Ace in all of the excitement and battling the wind, but it was really fun. I love strawberry days...

S'mores and Puppies

This morning I was so exhausted. I woke up about four times between 9 and 11:30 and each time I just couldn't roll out of bed. I would go back to sleep after a couple minutes of trying. And not just dozing off for a bit, I mean completely zonked, crazy dreams included (one about walking seals on leashes, one involving Bruce Willis, a bus and a cave, and so forth...)

Bleh.

Finally I got up and ran a few errands with my dad and my little sister around 1:00.
When I got home, Bryant had come home for a bit inbetween classes and I had about an hour before I had to go to work so I asked him to come sit outside on the chair swing with me.




My brothers had moved the chair swing from the deck to the corner of the back yard and also set up some chairs so they could fit more people around the fire pit to do s'mores last night so we were comfy and cozy in the shade of the aspen trees and evergreen.




We even let Ace out without a leash and he enjoyed eating leftover marshmallows that had fallen into the grass. He didn't quite know how to eat them so he would munch it for a bit, spit it out, then try again.


He eventually settled for graham crackers that I had. See how patient he is? I'm so proud that he doesn't grab at food in your hand. You can pretty much place it in his mouth before he will take it.


(Yuck don't mind my knees there!)

Can you see the yellow clumps of pollen on his face? He was being a wild jungle dog and running through the tall grass on the hill, getting covered in it!



His other favorite thing to do? He would army-crawl under the swing from the side then wiggle his head out the front under our legs and watch us read. It was so funny I couldn't get over it!


After work Bryant and I were invited by my friend Janine and her husband Jon's to come roast some s'mores at their house with our friend Jessica and her husband Brandon. I got there a bit late and Bryant was still playing basketball so he didn't come but it was still fun just to get to hang out. I get so bored by myself at home. Even after a year I am still adjusting to the non-roommate (well unless you count Bryant as a roommate haha!) lifestyle where someone was always home to hang out with. And if not, all your friends lived in the same building at least.

Anyways, Janine and Jon have been dog-sitting for the last little while and I fell in love with Rosie, the little Dachshund puppy!



While I was there, I realized that I have a real problem. I talk about Ace WAY too much (I mean, he's the main subject of most of my blog posts) and I consider him almost like my own kid. People always talk about their kids and when I hear things like "potty training little Timmy took so long!" I just want to join in and say "tell me about it! It took us 4 months before Ace learned to go outside!" or when people talk about how cute it was when their kid was playing with their toys or something I want to tell them how adorable Ace is when he sleeps with his stuffed football.

Geeze Louise!

Well, I think i'm done talking about my puppy for the night. I kind of wish he was in tonight so we could watch a late night movie together since Bryant is already asleep and I'm wide awake from sleeping in so long today.

Sweet dreams everyone!

P.S. I just wanted everyone to know that Ace pointed at a robin today! He was running around chewing on things when suddenly he was quiet. Bryant and I both turned around to see what happened to him and there he was, stiff as a board with his paw up and curled under him looking intently at a robin on the ground, and when it flew off, he took after it! I was so proud of him!!!

I smell like a wet dog...

I smell like a wet dog because...




We took Ace out for a summer -time swim yesterday.
And yes, Bryant is wearing his suit pants and a shirt and tie... (but, boy oh boy, doesn't his bum look good in them? hehe)

Happy Sunday everyone!!!
Loves and kisses, Brooke, Bryant and Ace

Sping...

I love spring.


(Ace looking funny with his tongue hanging out and Sadies bum!)



Sunday, Bryant and I went up on my parents deck where they have a swing and we curled up and read our books while my dad threw some chicken on the grill.


Ace really wanted the chicken, but he can be pretty patient when it come to food. He just sits and wags his tail until you give him a piece.


He will be a year old next month! My little boy is growing up too fast...

It's Sundays like these that make Spring and Summer the best!