Old School Veternarians

 Our dog Keena has gotten so many ear infections this year. It is sad for him and just a little annoying to me. I’ve taken him to the vet so many times and they haven’t been treating the problem. And whenever I call about it they can’t get me in to have him seen for a week or so. But then the lady that watches Keena for us while we’re out of town gave me a new recommendation for a vet. She’s been practicing as long as I’ve been alive. She has a cute standalone office way out of town and she is awesome. She gets me seen the same day or the next day, she loves Keena, and she takes such good care of him! I texted her yesterday, she had me in today, and sent me home with the medicine he needs. I wish good service like that was a normal thing. But I’m glad we’ve found her at least.

When I got home Ryder and Luke showed me their Christmas countdown that they had made while I was gone. I love it! 

Clean Water

 Last night at 4 am Brad and I were awakened by some strange banging noise. I thought it was the kids downstairs but it wasn’t. It ended up being a city problem. Apparently a pipe broke and affected our whole neighborhood with dirty water. We have to boil our water in order to drink it now for about a week. Kind of crazy! Luckily our stove works so we can boil water.

Keena has had an ear infection for some time and he finally had surgery in order to get them cleaned out and taken care of and his hematoma drained. Poor thing has to wear a cone for two weeks now. We’re hoping it helps him!

Kade is still having a great time at FSY! He’s checked in a little bit and sent pictures. I’m so glad he was able to go.

Keena

 I can't believe how patient Keena is with Luke. Luke says he loves him and I think he really does, but he can be a little too much for poor Keena! He lays on him, pulls his ears, and who knows what else. Those are just the things I've noticed. Today Luke tried to ride him like a horse. And Keena never gets mad at him. He's such a good dog!

Indoor Walks with Keena

Poor Keena hasn’t been getting outside much because of how insanely cold it is. I shoveled this morning and had him come out with me but he wasn’t running around like normal. He sat near me at first and then went and sat by the door. He’s not a fan of this weather either! Since we haven’t been getting him out on his daily walks (which there actually are people that live here that still take their dogs outside for a walk every day even in this chilly weather-I’m not that cool) we decided to walk him on our treadmill. He actually did alright and we even got him up to a run! 

Walks with Luke

Luke decided to join Keena and me on our morning walk today. He even held the leash and walked him. It was adorable. Luke really loves Keena and he thinks it’s pretty special that they’re the same age. The mornings are getting chilly around here! We had to pull out our gloves and hats!

Brad took Kade fly fishing on the Missouri River today. It was a beautiful day and the fishing was great! Kade had so much fun!

17 Years

Brad and I celebrated 17 years together today! I was happy that our anniversary fell on a Friday so we could have a full day together. We decided to go enjoy the snow in the mountains with Luke and Keena. It was gorgeous and the snow was deep! I was glad we had snowshoes. Then Brad and I went out for a yummy steak dinner tonight. It was delicious. 

I love my life with Brad and our four kids and I’m so grateful for Brad and all we’ve been able to do together to create this beautiful life.

Keena

Yesterday was Keena’s birthday! He turned four and I can’t believe we’ve had him for almost four years! He’s been a pretty good dog for the most part and he’s always so sweet with the kids. I’m so glad he’s ours.

Running

With the nice weather and the help of a friend who is a physical therapist I’ve been getting back into running! I used to run frequently before we moved to Montana and then my knees started hurting. I’ve been working hard to strengthen my legs and get back into running and it’s been a lot of fun! I really enjoy it especially when the weather is warm ish and not windy. Keena loves running too and so does Luke when he tags along in the stroller.

Kade stayed home from school today because he wasn’t feeling well so Luke wasn’t with me when I picked Ryder and Tenley up from school. He was at the door as a welcoming committee right when we got home though. It was adorable!

Dog Training

Ryder took some time trying to train Keena today. I hope he keeps it up! He got him to shake and play dead but it might be a while before he can get him to roll over. That command wasn’t registering so well for Keena.

We went to the library to pick out new books for the kids. Luckily they had a better selection this time of their favorites. 

Show and Tell

Tenley and Ryder were able to bring Keena into school for show and tell today. They were so excited to show him off and Keena loved meeting some other dogs. He was pretty wild, but it worked out ok.

On the way home with Luke, Kade and the dog I decided to stop at the park to enjoy this rare warm December day. It was 50 degrees at 9 am! Luke loved going down the slide with Kade over and over again. Keena loved having so much space to run around in.  I loved hearing Luke giggle. It was a great morning.

The River

It has been so hot here lately. Almost every day this past week has been over 90 degrees! We miss cooler Montana weather. We still got outside this afternoon to take Keena to the river for a swim. The beaches were crowded with people but we found a spot for our crazy dog. 

Brad and the kids harvested more vegetables from our garden. We have four gallon size bags of lettuce! So the kids told me I should make lettuce wraps tonight. I couldn’t believe they were excited to eat lettuce wraps! We used some cilantro from our garden as well. I have loved having a garden!

Little Helpers

Keena dug a huge hole in our garden this morning. He’s can be such a difficult dog! We were all pretty bummed about it. But this evening Tenley and Ryder helped me put the dirt back in the box and they even had fun while they did it! I love my little helpers.

Tenley

Brad has been gone every night this week due to obligations with his new church calling. I think it’s a rare week and it won’t normally be like this, but I could be wrong. We all miss him and we will definitely appreciate the nights we do have him home. Keena is really missing him. They would play together every night but Brad just hasn’t had the time or the energy. I asked the kids to help out and play with Keena today and Tenley was the first one out the door. She spent almost an hour with him. It was so sweet of her to take the time to do that! Keena was so happy to have some play time.

Quiet Nights

Our nights have been busy this week but we didn’t have any commitments tonight so we finally had our movie party. It’s so nice to have quiet mice like that as a family.

When Brad came home for lunch Ryder and Luke were wrestling Keena like crazy. Keena is so patient with them. I’m glad Ryder has a wrestling buddy!

Walking the Dog

It’s been so nice to have temperatures over 40 degrees here. I was even able to take Keen for a walk this afternoon and the fresh air felt amazing.
Ryder had a little fun with Keena tonight and decided he would try to ride him. But he refused to do it without a helmet because he didn’t want to break his head! Haha. It was a fun attempt, but I don’t think Keena wants to give rides.

Keena, Tenley's Program

We got to pick Keena up from the kennel this morning and Ryder was so excited to see him! He really loves that big dog!

Tenley’s Christmas recital was today at school. They sure crammed a lot of parents, grandparents, and family members into that gym! It was crazy but we were happy to be there to see Tenley’s sweet smile and watch her play a little instrument. Brad was able to adjust his schedule to be there as well. I love Christmas time!

Robot Vacuum

Having a dog can be fun...at times. But all the hair Keena has been shedding has been not so much fun. Brad decided to buy a robot vacuum for us and it has been the best thing! It keeps the floor picked up and I don't have to sweep as much. It's also constant entertainment for Luke. I think Christmas came early for me this year!

My Girl

Tenley saved the day for me today! Kade left to ride his bike to his friends house and I forgot to shut the garage door for him. I realized later that it was open and Keena was out. Keena was no where close. Tenley and Ryder took his leash and ran out to find him while I stayed in with Luke. She said after a while of calling his name she decided to follow his paw prints in the snow. Just a few houses away he finally ran right up to her, sat when she asked him to, and she was able to leash him up and bring him home. Phew! I'm so grateful for my smart, helpful girl!

Keena

Keena turned one today! We spoiled him with extra yummy food and new toys. He was pretty happy today and we had a hard time putting him in his kennel because he didn’t want to put his toys down. We all, especially my little boys and Brad, love Keena and are grateful to have him. It was a tough year with him because puppies are ridiculously hyper and February was a frozen wasteland so we all got sick of being inside, but we’re hoping it gets better from here on out.