Yeah, Yeah, Yeah, I haven't updated in a while!

So I realize that it has been a while since I have last blogged. And pretty much I blame work for it. So here is a short run down on what happened since Disneyland in September.

Work News.....

1) My staff pharmacist got hit by a car. Like and F-150. She lived, but broke her pelvis, shoulder, every rib and more. So she was out, suddenly, for about 6 months. Oh and we have no extra pharmacists to help cover her hours.

2) My other staff pharmacist quit 2 weeks after that. Yeah, ok so still no extra pharmacists.

3) The pharmacy manager at another store went on maternity leave, and I somehow got volunteered by my district manager to manage both stores at once.

4) Because of the above 3 reasons, I went from working 72 hours a pay period to about 110 hours a pay period. The money was nice, but all the extra stress and hours sucked!

Dog News....

1) Tiki didn't work out like I would have liked. He and I just didn't fit and his bite went off and he could no longer be shown. So he found a new home, where he is super loved and spoiled rotten.

2) Stitch fathered another litter of mini bull puppies and I took a black tri puppy back. Named her Cinderella. She had Stitch's head, movement and personality to spare.

3) Cinder also didn't turn out, and even though I loved her, she drove me nuts. So she found a new home also, where she is the most spoiled mini bull ever! I mean seriously, she couldn't be more spoiled!

4) Stitch got another Group 1 placment at the Roseburg dog show. He was looked at for best in show, but there were a lot of nice dogs and he didn't win. Oh well, it was very exciting cause his breeder was there and we had a ton of people cheering for him!

5)Mini bull nationals happened in California. Took both Toby and Stitch to the show. It was nationals, and 2 parents shows with just mini bulls! Stitch got Awards of Merit at all 3 shows. Toby however took the cake. At the national he won Winners Dog and got a 5 point major out of the 6-9 month puppy class, and then he won Best of Opposite Sex at the nationals!!! That is a HUGE deal! I was on could 9 for a while over that one! He also won Winners Dog the next day for another major! It was a very good weekend.

6) Toby earned his championship title in 4 weekends of showing! So in November he became Ch. Gandalf's Didgeridoo calls for Adventures! Now I am just letting him grow up and mature and next year he will come out as the next special.

7) Got a new aussie puppy named Diamondhill Pete's Dragon Adventures. Elliott for short! He is so cute, adorable and very laid back. He and Toby are best friends and they play and play and play. He just turned 6 months and went to St. Louis with my friend Jackie for the Aussie national. He made the cut in his class of 14 6-9 puppies, which is a big deal. The judge really stared at him and liked him, but there were a lot of nice puppies.

8) Bought a customized Chevy cargo van that is all set up with air and etc for the dogs. It will be much nicer to travel in. But if you come to the house and see a giant white creeper van parked on the side, rest assured it is just the dog van and it is safe to come in!!

News about me.....

1) I worked my little brains out and got a little fried! Glad to finallyhave everyone back at work and a new assistant manager to help me out!

2) I left the singles ward (or they may have nicely shuffled me) to my family ward. Of which I was calling free for about 2 months, and was then put in as the nursery leader! I have 14 children to run after each Sunday and right now we have church from 3-6pm. Oye! I hate that! I can't wait to get back to a normal time. The poor kids are just so tired at the end of every day!

3) My best friend Penny finally moved back from Utah! It's about time! It is nice to have her back around to hang with!

4) She talked me into doing a cruise this spring! Ahhh and it was heavenly! I loved every second of it. I will post more about that later. I have so many pictures it wasn't even funny! Penny and I went with our friends Debbi and Karen. We had a great time and I really wish I could still be there. It's ok. Gonna have to go another day!

Well that should about bring you up to speed. It seems like a lot more happened during that time then I really thought. To be honest life was so hectic I was sort of in survival mode. Sorry I didn't update sooner. But this should at least bring you to speed. I will work on a cruise post next.

Elliott

Cinderella

Fireworks and more from Disneyland

Happy Haunting everyone! So they are starting a new HalloweentTime Fireworks show, but the decided to practice it after the park had already closed. But we could see them from our hotel really well. So of course I grabbed my camera and headed to the balcony. I caught just the very end of it, but it was still really cool! Can't wait for the full show tomorrow night, with music and everything! It will great!

The Devericks Family, Danita and Me!

In other Disney news, the week has been very HOT!! Like in the upper 90's and 100's. It has made being at the park sort of hard. You have to plan where you are going very carefully. Ride first, then a show, or someplace to sit down, then another ride. The big hits have been Splash Mountain and Grizzly River Run. It is amazing how much easier it is to handle the high degree weather when you are soaking wet!! But we have managed to have a great time, despite the weather. We have hit all the rides we wanted, seen several shows, managed to watch fantasmic and the fireworks, hang out with family, gone shopping and ate at the CheeseCake Factory. It has been a really relaxing time. That is what is most important.

Me with the Villians, errr, some of them.

Linda and Mom with Braer Fox and Braer Bear

All of us ladies with Jessie!

I just love Disneyland. Tomorrow is breakfast with Goofy at Goofy's Kitchen, then to the park. We might come back for a little break, but then we are closing the park down! They may have to drag us kicking and screaming, or maybe I will just have to bring the park back with me. I mean mom has alredy, you should see how much she bought today at the World Of Disney store. Dad is gonna pitch a fit, although a great deal of it is headed down to the new home of Doug and Angie in South Salem! Let's just say I know of two very adorable little girls who are gonna get a big kick out of their Disney Treasures. And at least one is going to be the cutest Minnie Mouse ever for Halloween!

Hope to see you all soon, and Congratulations are in order to my Brother Doug and his family on their new home, and to my cousin Annie and her husband Matthew who just welcomed their brand new baby girl, Liberty! Can't wait to get home and see you all!

Disneyland.....So Far

I know it has been a while since I updated the blog, but I have had a boring life for the most part. Well excpet dog shows, but those are probably boring to everyone but me! But this is most fun! I finally got my much desearved vacation at DISNEYLAND!! Yes those who know me well, know that I love all things Disney and pretty much only go to Disneyland for my vacations. One of these days though, I will make it to Disneyworld!

I got here Saturday morning and have been enjoying it ever since then. Only one small problem, it is stinking hot this week! Like 90's today! It wears you out a little faster. But so far with the help of my trusty hat and a gallon of sun block, no burns yet! I'll keep my fingers crossed for that! We all know I am nothing but white down to the core and that I burn like nothing else! In Sunblock I trust!!

So I am here with my mom, her friend Linda, my friend Danita, and on this day Danita's friend David joined us. We really had a great time, and David was a good sport with several of the pictures, as you will see! We did a lot in California Adventures this day, and then spent some time at Disneyland before the park closed. Later in the evening we met with my cousin Josh from Texas. Turns out he is here for a trade convention! It was so fun to hang with him in the evening and to get to see him again. Sadly I forgot my camera to take a picture with him. Oh well!

Hope you all enjoy the pictures! I am gonna get ready to go and head to the park now!!

Toby is Home!

Toby is HOME! I am so happy to have him back. He was such a good little boy at the vets office and everybody loved him there. He is already able to walk on his leg some, but not allowed to do stairs or jump or any thing like that. Mostly he can walk in the grass to go potty, and then walk with me in the house on leash while I watch him and then back into the crate. They really don't want him doing too much at all for the next 4 week min, and 6 weeks max. He is pretty tired right now anyway, so he really isn't trying to do much. He has a good prognosis as long as we keep his puppiness in check for the next little while.

So this is the incision. The surgeon was very careful to make sure the scar would stay thin and un-noticable for showing. I was very grateful for that.

This is a picture of the fentanyl patch that he has for pain. I had no idea they used this with dogs! You could have knocked this pharmacist over with that!

Here he is looking very sad with his e-collar on. He hates it and I don't blame him. But he only has to wear it for 10 days. Hopefully they go by fast.

Here is Toby snuggled up in his new ultra plush and soft bed. Since he is going to be spending so much time in his crate I got a very comfy bed for him. He is a little spoiled!

I will continue to update on his progress over time. I would love to still have prayers and good thoughts our way that he heals up 100% and that he will still be able to show. It was a preatty bad break but I think he is on the mend. I hope for no more complications or weeks like this!

Toby Update

First I just want to thank everyone for their kind thoughts and well wishes. This has been very nerve racking for me, and I really appreicate knowing so many people care about me and my dogs, even if they aren't big dog fans! It would have made this whole experience much more trying with out you all.

Second, Toby's surgery was today and it went very well. The surgeon was very pleased how every thing went, and really feels that he should make a full recovery. They are keeping him overnight so that he can be on some decent pain medicine for right after surgery, but I get to bring him home tomorrow. The nice part is that they knew he was a show dog and worked very hard to keep the scar to a minimum. And they also feel he won't need to have the cast on his leg when he comes home. I will still have to keep his rambunctiousnes in check and he will be in his crate quite a bit, but it will be nice not to have to worry about bandage changes and have to watch him hobble around with a cast on.

So I will have picture update tomorrow. He still has some healing to do, but baring any unforseen complications, he should be fine! And that is the best news!

Toby's Accident

So it seems that just when you are feeling great and on top of the world, something happens to knock you back a little bit. So this morning I let Tiki and Toby out to play like always, when an accident happened. I was watching them outside and they were just fine, then went down the hall when I heard Toby crying at the top of his lungs. I found him on the deck just sitting there crying at the top of his lungs. I calmed him down, but when I put him down he wouldn't walk on his hind leg at all. So we had to go to the vets this morning. At the vets we discovered he had a fracture, but didn't know what kind, so then I had to take him to a orthapedic surgery specialist. There we found out that he fractured the tip of his tibia off, a condition called tibial tuberosity avulsion. So he has to have surgery to fix it. The specialist says that he has a good prognosis and over the course of a couple months should heal up 100%, but it is going to take time. And for poor Toby, a lot of time couped up in his kennel. I feel so very bad about it, but they vet said there isn't any way to keep it from happening unless you keep them couped up and never allow them to play, run, or jump. So I guess it was just the luck of the draw.

So surgery is tomorrow. I am very nervous about it, but am trying not to show it. I am sure things will go fine. I just want him to get better so he can have a normal life. Any prayers or good thoughts his way would be greatly appreciated!

Oh and a big thanks to my friend Jackie. She pulled some strings to get us seen so quickly and came and took Tiki off my hands for the week so I only have one puppy to deal with. She helped to keep me calm and sane while all this was happening.

Here are some pictures of the sad puppy. I will update tomorrow and let everyone know how his surgery went! Life is an adventure!

Why do I forget my camera!

I can't believe that we are in July already! It is amazing how fast time flies by! It has been a really fun couple of weeks since I last blogged, sadly I keep forgetting my stupid camera and don't have any pictures of it. Sorry. I will try to get some from people that were at the events. So I guess a verbal update will just have to surfice!

1. Redmond Dog Show

So two weeks ago we had a dog show in Redmond, Oregon. Stitch, Tiki, Toby, Jackie (my friend) and myself trucked ourselves over there for a fun time. And it was. We got to meet up with some other friends, Julia, Sue and Letty, and show the dogs. Stitch showed like the champion he is and took Breed on Saturday and a Group 4 also. The judge really liked him. Sadly on Sunday he got dumped to another dog and his day was done. Oh well, those are the breaks. Tiki got dumped on Saturday, but took Winner's dog on Sunday and came close to taking breed. He got his first point toward his championship and had a good time. Jackie and I also managed to get some shoe shopping in, as well as some Coldstone ice cream. It was good time.

2. 4th of July

Man that snuck up on me so fast it wasn't even funny! I couldn't hardly believe it. We had a fun time BBQ with my Aunt Karen and Uncle John's family in the morning and swimming in the pool. Later I got cleaned up and went out to Uncle Sid and Aunt Karen's property for the big Gunter shindig. It was so much fun. My cousins from Texas, Christa and Josh and thier kids, and Tara and Byron and their boys, were up for the week. I haven't seen them in a long time and it was so fun to hang out with them and get to know their kids all over again. It did make me feel really old though! Benson went from being waist high last time I saw him, to as tall as me or taller! It is just crazy!

I also had a great time hanging out with Madi and Braelyn. Madi played in the river for the first time, and threw rocks all over the place. I doubt there are any left in the river at all! And she loved the "ba booms", her word for fireworks! She loved every second of them and took turns sitting on everybody's laps. There were a lot to take turns with. And my dogs aren't scared of them at all, they slept thru everything! What good dogs!

3. 50th Wedding Aniversary

It was my Aunt Margo and Uncle Barry's 50th wedding aniversary celebration on Friday night. That was the reason so many of my cousins were up for the week. We went down to Dallas, Oregon and had a fun dinner and hung out family and old friends. My Aunt and Uncle had a great time seeing all the people. My cousin Lisa did a lot of the work coordinating and putting it together, so cudos to her! And to all the other cousins who worked hard to bring it together. We had a fun time and I am going to miss all my family that is headed back to Texas and California and Seattle and etc. I am gonna have to travel around some more and see them more often!

4. Going to Disneyland

Last but not least, I have finally decided to take a vacation in the fall, and am headed to where else...DISNEYLAND! I know that I have been there a lot, and you would think it gets old, but it doesn't! I love that place. It is like a second home for me, and since my mood has greatly improved since booking the vacation, an antidepressant also! I mean how can you be sad or down in the Happiest Place on Earth! I really can't wait to go. Mom, Linda, Danita and I are all sharing a room at the Disneyland Hotel and are just looking forward to a relaxing time!

So for now that is all from Allyson. The disney dogs are doing well, and hopefully I can get some pictures to post from other sources. I will try to get them up as soon as possible. Take care and be safe!

Things you learn when you are sick

So this week I have been sick with a nasty cold. It came on Sunday evening after the dog show was over. I could actually feel it coming on for several days, but did my darndest to try and fight it by taking airborn, vitamin C, and a little bit of echinacea. Sadly the cold won. So I ended up missing two days of work, made it thru half a day on the 3rd day, and the whole day today! I am actually feeling much better, except my ears still need to drain and pop. Then maybe I can hear again. hahaha. But I learned a few things while I was sick on the couch this past week that I thought I would share with you.

1. There is nothing on TV once Regis and Kelly are over! Seriously, nothing. I have ended up watching way too much DisneyChannel and Nickelodeon, mostly cause at least their shows are funny even if they are geared for tweens!

2. Ever door to door salesperson is going to come while you are home sick. I don't know if they have some kind of radar that lets them know when you are home, but 3 times in one day was a little much. And was most annoying when all you wanted to do was lay on the couch.

3. Be grateful for great co-worker and friends. Our part-time pharmacist Jim pulled thru for me and worked two days for me at the last minute! He is awesome cause there was no way I could make it in. And a big thank you to Connie for taking Tiki and Toby for the past 4 days. Two very busy puppies and one tuckered out mom, doesn't make for a good mix!

4. I am gratefull to have dogs and not children! Lilo and Stitch will sleep all day with me, don't talk, don't have to be changed, don't create laundry, dishes and etc. that I still would have had to clean if I was sick. I love kids, but it is at times like these I am gratefull to me a dog mom!

5. You can only lay on your back for so long. Even though it is the only way you can to be able to slightly breathe, you start to go numb after a while.

6. The stuff that comes out of your lungs and sinuses can be both totally disgusting and interesting at the same time! But still totally gross!

7. I had no idea that you could sleep so much and still be so tired! I mean seriously, sleep from 9pm till 8am, wake up, go back to sleep at Noon and wake up at 4pm, then back to bed at 9pm! I enjoy sleep, but that was a lot.

8. That I am grateful to be a pharmacist and know exactly what combination of medications I can take to treat my symptoms and manage them the best that I can.

9. Had no idea how many times I could check facebook in one day, and how many quizes there actually was on that thing!

10. And finally, last but not least, how grateful I am for my health! I can't even imagine struggling with serious health issues and don't know how people do it every day! I must truly remember to thank my Father in Heaven everyday for the health that I have and continue to make the right choices to be healthy for the rest of my life!

Thanks to everybody who helped me out and checked on me the past few days! Love you all and look forward to being healthy!

How could you not give BOB to this face!

So this weekend was the Canby dog show. It had one of the hugest mini bull entries that we have had in a long time. There were 14 other dogs. But myself and my friend Jackie have been nervous about this show for a while now. Some how we both knew that when it counted the most, we wouldn't end up taking Best of Breed (BOB). And we were right. On saturday Stitch had it, the judge loved him, but then he went and acted like a butt head at the very end, and so the judge gave it to a different dog. And Sunday the judge liked him very much, but wasn't so sure about giving it to him because he didn't win the day before. Instead she gave it to the nice 6-9 month puppy who took winners dog. (meaning he beat all the other non champion dogs who competed)

But despite our loss, we had a good time getting to see all the other bully owners that I have become friends with, and getting to see the Stitch puppies that were there. I really would have loved to steal one and put it in my coat and bring them home. They are so cute at 7 weeks. They fit in the palm of your hands! And the one was red and white like stitch and looked a lot like him. It was so much fun!

In Aussie news, Tiki showed fairly well for being a puppy. He won his class each day, but he was the only dog, but he didn't win anything other than that. It is ok though, he showed well, and the judges did think he was nice, just needs to mature. Which is true. However Roca, our friend Letty's little girl Jackie is showing, did awesome. She took reserve winners bitch (2nd for the non-champion bitches) on Satuday and Winners bitch, best of opposite sex and best of winners on Sunday! And she is only 8 months! She is a little rock star and we love having her around and having Letty as our friend. Her husband Marty took the pictures that are on here.

So now we shake off the loss and do our best at the next show in Redmond, Or. This show I am looking forward to more. There will be some other dogs and it is gonna end up as a mini vacation. So wish us all luck! We could use it to reach our goal for Westminister next year!

Memorial Day Weekend

So this year for Memorial Day our family went to Joseph, Oregon and stayed at Wallowa Lake. Big surprise! We do that just about every year, but it is so gorgous how could you not love it! Our party this year consisted of Mom, Dad, Doug, Angie, Madi, Braelyn, Penny, Traci, Me and Toby Tyler! We rented a house this year right as you enter the state park area. The house was huge and had room for everybody! We really enjoyed being able to look out the huge front window and people watch as the rv's, trucks, and etc went by.

View of the lake from a boat

The mountains we rode the ATV around.


Madi got to go on her first ATV ride around the area. Ok so the parking lot. But that was enough for her. The funny part, she was willing to ride with her mom and grandma, but unwilling to ride with Daddy. I guess she must have heard about his driving abilities! It was very funny!

Our friends the Hopkins, who live in enterprise, have a horse on their property. Angie really wanted to ride it, so they saddled her up. Angie rode her around the property (or the horse walked Angie where it wanted) and she had a good time. Madi was not so sure about the whole thing. She chose to stay away from it and ride the ATV with Robin.

We rented a pontoon boat and took it out on the Lake. It was warmer earlier in the day, but we managed to have a fine time. But by law the girls had to wear life jackets. Who knew they made ones that fit 3 monts old! Braelyn was very comfy in hers, but Madi wasn't happy about it, so Doug and Angie wore theirs also! It made for a cute family photo!

Madi had a great time hiking (err walking around the park) and looking for wildlife. She is just so stinking cute and had a great time in eastern oregon. I can't wait to go again with the whole family, including Jeff and Morgan next time!

The Newest Disney Dog!

Yes you read that right. It does say the newest Disney Dog! Despite my parents stern warning that they would not like this dog and would have nothing to do with him (which lasted 10 seconds) I did get another dog. He sort of fell into my lap and it all worked out really quickly! He is a brindle and white Minature Bull Terrier. He is adorably cute! And is so funny. So now for his name. It took much deliberation, his name changed at least 30 times before I finally settled on Mom's suggestion. His name is Gandalfs Didgeridoo calls for Adventures, or Toby Tyler. Now for those who don't think that is a Disney name, your wrong, and I have the picture down below to prove it. The movie is about a little boy who runs off to join the circus. Coming to my house is probably just as close to the circus and is definatly an adventure!

So far Tiki and Toby are best friends! They hit it off right away and have a blast playing with each other every day. Stitch likes him, but sometimes gets annoyed by his puppy antics. The three of them play ver well together, which is good since they will all show together and travel together. Lilo has done better with him than Tiki, but she hasn't got to play with him one on one yet. We are taking that bridge very slowly! Here are some pictures below, hope you enjoy them.

Gandalf's Didgeridoo Calls for Adventures

Geesh mom, how many pictures are you gonna take!

The proof behind his name! Toby Tyler!

Quick Update

Okay, okay, I know, I haven't updated this in like FOREVER! I have been a little busy, and every time I think to up date it, I don't have the pictures I want of the things that I need. So here is just a quick up date with some pictures that you should like. Later tonight I will update with some more things. Enjoy!

Braelyn Baili Gunter just after she was born

My Birthday March 13th, Me and Madi eating Cake!

Stitch took his First GROUP 1 placement and almost won Best in Show!
Photo Courtesy of Callea photo!


Me, Tiki and the Girls hanging out at the beach!

Braelyn sleeping with Auntie Al!

Angie, Doug, Madi, and Braelyn on her blessing day!

Paisley Party Tour!

Brad Paisley, Dierks Bently, and Crystal Shawanda

Brad Paisley

Brad Paisley

Dierks Bently

So Fiday Feb. 27th the Paisley Party Tour stopped here in Portland at the Rose Garden! I was lucky enough to be able to go thanks to a friend who had a last minute ticket! (Thanks Jackie for texting me, and thank you Brad's work for sending him to Pullman!) I met up with my friends and and we headed to our seats not knowing what we would find. What we found was that we were on the side of the stage only about 10 rows up. We could see everything super well including some of the back stage! And of course I forgot my camera. But hey, the cell phone did a pretty decent job! So I hope you enjoy the photos and the short video's. The cell phone can only take 30 seconds of video, and it is a little scratchy from all the bacground noice of the other fans there. If you get a chance to go the show I would highly reccomend it! All three preformers were awesome! And I wish I could play the guitar like that!

The Bike does it again!

So just an update on using the bicycle for walking/running the dogs. Tiki loves it, but I can only do it every few days with him until he gets bigger. But today was a gorgeous day and I really wanted to go out and enjoy it. So I decided to ride my bike anyway.

But I felt bad for Lilo, who was just sitting in the house while Tiki and Stitch were outside playing. So I decided I would try taking her for a run. I put a gentle leader on her and took her out on the bike. I was a little worried she would take off after everything we passed, but she didn't! She walked right to the side of me and even ran for a little while. We were out for about 35 to 40 minutes and she did great. It was so fun!

So now I have a fun way to exercise 2 out of the 3 dogs! I am not sure if I will try doing it with Stitch. He really does prefer to just lay on the couch. But who knows, I might try it Monday! And who knows, if I get two WalkyDogs, maybe I can even take Lilo and Tiki out at the same time! Errrr...maybe!

For the love of bicycling!

So over the past few weeks I have been trying to find a way that I could exercise Tiki. He loves to go for walks, but he always wants to go for longer and faster than I have the time or energy for. So then I thought I would try to teach him how to walk on my treadmill. That didn't go over well. The noise scared him and he wouldn't go any where near it. So then the idea came to me that I should try riding a bike with him walking/running to the side of me.

Only problem, I didn't have a bike. So I found a decent bike at my work (Wal-Mart) and purchased it, along with a helmet and a light attachment, since it is dark out all the time right now. I adjusted everything and rode it myself a few times to get the hang of it again. Amazingly I didn't forget how! Just like the old saying, "it's just like riding a bike", who knew!

The next step was to see how Tiki would like it. I was nervous that he would be scared of it, but he took to it, like a lab takes to water. We rode just in the cul-de-sac for a little bit first without a leash just to see how he would react. He followed me the whole time and loved it! So tonight I put on the leash and we braved the streets around the neighboorhood. He loved it and did great. He never got scared by the other things going on around us and never tried to pull me off the bike, or try to run into it! A success! Finally!

So now I can ride him around at least 2 or 3 times a week. He is too young still to do it every day. To much could damage his growth or joints. But at least now I have a way to get some good exercies for both of us!

How to bathe an Aussie

Info on 75 InspEARations

Hi Everybody!

I know that I haven't been on here for a while. I sort of got told that I needed to update more. Again, sorry to inform you that I lead a very dull life. I mean the only major things that have happened since the snow has been Christmas, Disneyland, and the Rose City Classic Dog show (the first big show of the year that is broadcast on Animal Planet). Ok, ok, I know that is actually a lot to blog about, but because it has all hit one week after another, I haven't really had time to process everything.

So instead I posted some pictures of Disneyland from January 2005. That year Disney was celebrating 75 years of Mickey with 75 Mickey statues. They were designed by all sorts of different people, some celebreties, some Disney stars, and some cast and crew. I tried to label them if I remembered the person's name. For example the one with all the glasses was done by Elton John.

So while I work on all the other stuff, ejoy the pictures below!

75 InspEARations!