Fun-Fest Fun and More...

Wow, what a busy couple of weeks we've had lately!

Since bringing Dave home to live with us, we've been busy working with him. He is a smart little guy with lots of sassy-ness and spunk!  He has learned to sit at the doors before the door is opened, to sit and wait until he has been given permission to eat his food (we use the phrase 'take a break' and he waits in wiggly anticipation to hear those words), he has also learned to jump in and out of the car by himself, and once or twice he has run to the door to alert us that he needs to go out.  Pretty good for a pup of only 12 weeks of age!  Dave has had a couple of exciting weeks and outings...

Dave attended the Manatee Arts Festival on Saturday the 12th, then went with our family on Sunday to the outdoor market in Tampa with Jeff and Lea Levines and their golden retriever, Freeport. We enjoyed a yummy lunch on the Levines' porch with plenty of playtime for Freeport and Dave.

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Over the week of the 14th, some friends of ours went on vacation and we surprised their daughter with a bedroom make-over.  It was so much fun!  We removed her twin bed and replaced it with a loft bed/desk combo, we painted two walls bright green, put up a new one-of-a-kind border to cover up the old border, painted her bookshelf and decorated.  We were so excited for them to return home so she could discover her surprise!
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On Friday, the 18th the kids took Dave to prepare strawberries for strawberry shortcake. They washed, cut and processed 20 flats which were mixed with a little sugar and a secret ingredient... it took them about 4 hours.  They all came back smelling very sweet!!

 Later that same evening, we had a special evening with the Mendez kids. They stayed the night and we enjoyed pizza and popcorn and brownies and cookies and movies and games and lots of fun!!!

       
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Saturday the 19th, was the Fun Fest!  We worked with a few other puppy-raisers selling strawberry shortcake to raise money for Southeastern Guide Dogs. The weather was perfect, the strawberry shortcake was delicious and we were kept busy with all the customers!  Collin did a great job as cashier, Diona sliced the biscuits and Kaitlyn added the whipped cream with flair!

Meagan sat in the 'dog booth' to keep an eye on Dave, participate in obedience demonstrations, and answer many questions about raising a guide-dog pup.

We thank Bob Evans for their donation of biscuits and whipped cream, and Alice Boose for putting this event together this year!  Awesome job everyone!!!
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This week, March 21st through 25th, is National Surveyors Week.  The children and I are planning something special every day to show our appreciation to Todd, our very own surveyor!!  Today, we cleaned out the shed and organized all his tools out there. Now when he wants to work on a project he won't have to keep running from shed to garage looking for a tool.  It was a lot of work and we were so excited for him to come home to see it!! We are happy to say that he was pleasantly surprised.  Thanks Meagan, Collin and Kaitlyn, for all your help!!

Happy Surveyor's Week, Honey!!
Love, Diona