Hmmm…pretty accurate…

Happy Summer Solstice!…well, yesterday….lol. My sis-in-law had come up to visit and we went walking on an old railway trail through the woods with the kids. It was nice to get out and go walking in nature….a great way to show our appreciation for the beauty of all that surrounds us. And on our way back to the car, we got to see a train come in on the tracks that follow the trail. We all waved and the conductor tooted the horn! The boys loved it!

When we got back home, we had a BBQ…hamburgers and cheesy fries…mmmm!

What a day so far…and the day isn’t over yet. My nerves have been frazzled and now I’m snappy and the kids aren’t too happy.

Here’s the scoop…both of my dogs dug a hole under the fence and ran off! I knew Cheyenne was a digger from the moment we adopted her. She’s dug many a hole around the yard as it is and did manage to get out about 2 weeks ago. Luckily, she dug into the neighbor’s yard and didn’t get far…we brought her right back home. Dakoda isn’t really a digger, but will help Cheyenne if she’s already digging. He couldn’t fit through the hole that last time. This time was another story. I’ve been keeping an eye on them since Cheyenne got out…and covering up any holes they dig with bricks and rocks. I had checked on them earlier and there was no sign of anything sneaky going on. About a half hour went by, when my 4 year old son came in from the backyard and told me the dogs dug a hole and got out! (Guess it didn’t occur to him to tell me while they were digging.) They had dug into the neighbor’s yard on the other side of us…the lot that’s vacant. I ran out and tried calling them in, and Cheyenne, thinking it was a game, ran the other way! Grrrr! So my son and I grabbed the leashes and headed out, going to look for them. After walking a couple blocks, I realized that it was pointless to try to track them on foot with a 4 year old….I have no idea where they would have gone. We headed back to the house and I decided to make “missing” posters on the computer to hang around town. All this time I’ve been upset and mad…both crying and cursing the dogs.

As I got started on the posters I heard a familiar bark from up the street…it sounded like Dakoda! I ran out the front door and called them a few times. About a minute later, both dogs came running down the street! I kept calling them, clapping my hands…and when they saw me I ran into the house….knowing that if I tried to grab them, they’d think it was a game and run away again. They both eagerly followed me.

So…now they are sleeping inside on the floor, content and happy to have had a romp around the block…while my nerves are shot from the worry and stress of not knowing if I’d ever see them again. Yeah, dogs generally know their way home…but if you’ve ever had a husky or malamute, you’d understand my fear. They are dogs that are prone to roaming and not ever coming back…just because they love that freedom.

I’m so glad they’re back…but man, I could have strangled them once I got them back in the house! It’s like the kid who walks into the street after being told not to…you want to hug them tight because nothing bad happened, but then you just want to strangle them for putting your through that fear in the first place!

Got back a few hours ago from a 4-day visit to my parents house. It started out as a 1-day spontaneous trip that my hubby decided to take on Monday. Since moving, it’s been hard to get down to our hometown (only 3 hours away) to visit everyone. So hubby took Monday off of work and we headed down. He visited with a friend of his and I visited with my family. He had to be at work Tuesday evening, so we had planned to leave at about noon. Well, his sister (my sis-in-law) was already down from that weekend visiting, so after all of us talking it over, it was decided that the boys and I would stay a couple extra days and catch a ride home with her. It was nice to say a bit longer and get a chance to catch up with my family. We all had fun talking, watching tv, having movie nights, helping my little sis with her MySpace page, and just basically hangin’ out.