From Avyrlie

Avyrlie asked me to snap a couple pictures of her tonight. This is what she wanted to share with you:

(Click the pic for the rest of the gallery)

Bird Murder aka Liza's Absolution

We have arrived home on several occasions to find the above pictured 'bird murder' scene in our front yard. For whatever reason, Aimee decided that Liza had acquired a taste for quail and was sneaking out of the back yard to pounce on unsuspecting quail.
A couple problems with this theory are that quail are very suspicious little birds and Liza's stalking skills are something like a giraffe practicing yoga. Just not likely, but still the accusation stood. Until recently.

Avyrlie and I came home the other day just in time to see a hawk swoop into the front yard atop a herd of quail, land on its chosen victim, and squeeze it until it quit moving. Ian arrived home shortly after and saw the hawk take off with its meal to find a quiet place for dinner.
Sadly for Liza, Aimee witnessed none of this and still harbors some suspicions ;)

Snow Day

What better way to enjoy conference weekend than in the snow! Avyrlie, Liza and I headed out for snowmen, snow angels and snowballs ;)

(click the pic for the rest of the gallery)

It Snowed !!!

Liza loves the snow. We have to close her dog door after a snowstorm otherwise she practices hockey-stops around the yard until she is one giant furry snowball and will sleep outside in a snowbank at night.



(Click the pic to check out the rest of the gallery)

Shot the Dog

Liza was due this month for her annual immunization update. Her and I both get excited about going to the vet. She thinks it's a social party and I like seeing people stick her with sharp objects.



Thankfully, the rabies is only due every three years from here on out, and the rest can be done without the $45 office visit. Always like it when the mutt saves me money (which is rare :(



Of course as soon as got back home she took care of the whole 'saving my money' bit by practicing her impressive DVD disassembly technique. Next visit I'm requesting bigger needles.

Trained by Avyrlie

I'm pretty sure Avyrlie has been giving Liza manipulation lessons. She seems to be a quick study ;)

Millcreek Canyon Photos

We snapped a couple photos as we hiked along. Sadly my memory card was filled before we headed down and had some really good light, but my poor little compact Fuji did ok for the last couple shots of the day. Click any of the pix to head to the slideshow.

Millcreek Hike - video for Aimee

Just putting up a quick video of part of our hike this afternoon with the kids and Liza. Aimee is off for a geek getaway while I'm home entertaining the kids. Ian and Avyrlie know how to pick footwear, so I love to take them up for short hikes up the local canyons when we have the chance.

Today we drove up Millcreek and headed up the Terraces Elbow Fork trail. It seemed less popular and less populated. In fact, we didn't see a single other person the entire time. Liza did great the whole hike. She stayed within sight and had a blast chasing squirrels and bombing down the hillsides. Avyrlie hiked up the entire way (2 miles) and then hitched a ride on my shoulders on the way down. Not a single complaint or whine the entire time, except from Ian when we turned around to head back. Next time we'll have to do an over-nighter :)

Cartoon Cuddling

Avyrlie and Liza love to hang out in the morning and watch cartoons. They take turns picking shows or just compromise and end up with Scooby Doo ;)

Cuddly Cute Couple

Ian smiling for the camera is rare. Ian cuddling with his dog is not.

Choosing your audience

My wife is far better than I at filtering what she says depending on the current company. I just say whatever, wherever, whenever. Two examples I must share for either their humor and inappropriateness (two traits I deeply value in any person)




I picked up Avyrlie at daycare earlier in the week and was approached by one of the cute little snot dripping friends who declared, "I called Avyrlie a Chicken Head!" to which I responded, "I call Avyrlie a Turkey Butt!". Over the next couple of days I heard my new expression put effectively into use by several of Avyrlie's friends.


This morning I dropped Liza off at the vet to be spayed. The vet we take her to has an all female staff and the vet is also female. I think they have one guy who does grooming, but he's one of the fruitier people I've ever met. One of the staff made the comment, "having her girl parts removed may make her more mellow and obedient." I agreed and added that it should also make her a better driver. I think I'll have Aimee pick Liza up in the morning...

Brawling Around the State

While Ian was wrestling with his team down south in Richfield, Liza had a wrestling date of her own with Sora.


We reintroduced Sora to the doggie door which she is slowly getting the hang of and also introduced Kim to the best rice pudding in town which she promptly wrestled the raisins out of.

Ian arrived home excited to see the four legged freak dog and very happy about placing third in the tournament. He's a little bashed and bruised and from the smell I'm assuming Richfield hotels have no showers.

Puppy Maintenance

Avyrlie and I took Liza to the vet for her next round of puppy shots. She was very well behaved and loves all the attention she gets from the staff (Liza and Avyrlie both ;)
(click below for more)

Avyrlie helped distract Liza with treats during her shots and kept herself entertained by asking what kind of dog was in each picture on all the literature in the office and deciding how they are related to Liza.

We also did some grooming in hopes of keeping the floors a bit cleaner. Liza has quite a bit of fur between the pads of her feet that pick up everything while she is out and about. I found the best scissors for doing occasional trimming like paws, eyes, and ears. They have nice big handles and small, blunt blades so they can't do too much damage (but I can pretend ;)

New monkey in the bed

Yes, the orange pillow mine. Or it was mine until Avyrlie made it clear that I am just too big to fit in her mommy's bed and Liza is just right. Yeah, coal for that one.

(click below to read the rest)



Chelsi and Kendall came stopped by for a bit yesterday on their way home from the conclusion of their car shopping. They picked up a great (family sized...) AWD that they'll love this time of year. The Smith's were more than a little beat after a day of new puppy, work, and Christmas preparations, so my apologies to them for being very boring hosts.

Kim and Matt also stopped by with a new addition. They have a male goldendoodle puppy they named Sora (technically a girls name although they named him after a boy who is voice acted by a boy who plays girls parts. very gender confused dog...)
Sora is a bundle of timid enthusiasm. He rarely sits still (thus, none of my pictures turned out at all) and got along well with Liza (they both like the same potty places on my carpet :(

Avyrlie is still pretty wary of her teeth filled friend, but loves taking care of her especially when she can tuck her into bed for a shared naptime.

Another Smith and A Sick Sense of Humor

After realizing my being the minority non-dog-lover in the family was never going to change I asked Aimee to find a dog for her and the kids. Secretly I knew the outcome of having her make a dog decision would be that we would never have a dog because, quite unlike myself, she can not stand to make decisions that may cause controversy and not be fully supported by all.

After several months she finally narrowed down a breed that she like. While I am still pretty sure her warped sense of humor led her to choose a breed named after the reason I don't like housedogs, but it was an impressive enough decision making feat on her part that I decided to help her out and actually find her a dog.

Liza arrived a bit early for a Christmas present, but that was not really the point to begin with. Liza is an F1 Goldendoodle (very funny wife) bred from a purebred Golden Retriever and a purebred Poodle.

Our big, tough, teenage Ian almost cried with overwhelmed excitement when I asked him to help me get stuff out of the car and he realized what was inside. Avyrlie wants it to be a cute baby that she can take care of and is still getting used to her cute baby having very sharp teeth.

I'm just glad we have a good Bissel.



We took her in for her first vet appointment today at Willowcreek. The vet kept talking to me like I was in preschool puppy class so I was a bit put off, but the rest of the staff is very helpful and a bunch of crazed dog lovers. They are all very nice and have tons of answers and advice. Everyone thought it was pretty cute that Avyrlie kept asking for a bandaid to put on her puppy's bum after the rectal temp...