Queen B

Crowned by CJ.

Moving Day

What a day!

The semi had 9 containers full of our stuff from storage.

Things seemed to be going pretty well until the movers brought in our desk in two pieces.  That was the big loss for the day.

We added a little stress to the mix by also having a new refrigerator delivered during the day and trying to get our cable hooked up, which turned out to be troublesome as the rep found noise on the line and they had to send a tech over in the evening to get us going.  It was hectic, but Little B was great and mostly stayed out of the way.  Our realtor was nice enough to take CJ to swim lessons and to bring us lunch and the neighbors brought us food for dinner.  A nice welcome to San Diego.

Welcome to Bungalow Twenty Two

It's official.  We now own an old bungalow in San Diego (actual age still to be determined).  The realtor dropped the keys off at swim lessons today and we met Daddy and Little B at the house.  After tearing down the ugly curtains, we grabbed a pizza and celebrated with a picnic in the living room.  CJ turned on the music on Mama's phone and then had the whole family dancing.  

She's going to be so happy when she gets her bed and toys back.

Coronado

Today we hit one of the best beaches in America - Coronado.

We were hoping we'd found a place, where we could bring a dog and Daddy could surf.

There were tons of dogs and Little B forgot her age a couple of times and tried to join in the action.

But the conditions weren't great for surfing so Daddy stayed dry.

CJ had a blast as usual, although didn't go out of her way to make any new friends today.

Surf Dog

When Mama heard there was a surf dog competition in Coronado,

we knew how we were going to spend our first weekend in California.

Turned out that the competition was on Imperial Beach.

The weather was great.  Very warm.  Little B was hot on the beach, which was packed with spectators - human and canine.

CJ loved these little barking dogs that greeted us after we parked.

There was a nice little play area on the beach:

And an impressive sand castle being constructed for the event:

Here's some of the action:

CJ had a blast playing in the water and made some new friends on the beach.  Eventually she put on her suit and started to play in the sand.

Pismo

Our goal for Day 2 was to make it to Pismo Beach.  We did it, but got in too late to see the beach.

This morning Daddy had some work to do before we shoved off, so the girls headed to the beach.  

There was a very long staircase down, but we made it.

CJ looked tiny compared to the rocks.

She started her newest shell collection.

The hills behind the hotel didn't look very coastal.

We didn't have time for the beautiful pool - darn.

Here's CJ overlooking the coast line.

This was the view outside our room. 

Yes, we had a pet, but seriously?

If you went outside and really tried,

you could see the water.

Walnut Creek

Still making our way south, we stopped for a bite in Walnut Creek.  It was in the high 80's so very warm for us - especially Little B.  We had a parking lot picnic and hit the road.  Still a ways to go.

KOIN Fountain

CJ went to this fountain one day with Dad and couldn't wait to show it to Mama.

Here she is showing off her new suit (a bit cold):

Posing with Daddy and Little B:

Little B:

Enjoying the water:

Dark Skies

After CJ's pickup at school and before the graduation ceremony, we hit one of Mama's favorite places for lunner (late lunch/early dinner).  Even at 2:30 there was still a wait!

The food was yummy as expected and while we ate we watched the rain coming down sideways, hoping that it wasn't getting into the car window we'd left open for Little B.  We were lucky and the car was dry.

The sky was so dark, Mama had to take a picture.  She swears it was much darker than it looks here.

A Perfect Climbing Tree

The weather's been alternating between really nice days and the really wet and drizzly days we are tired of.  Tonight we were lucky to have sunny weather for our dog walk.  CJ couldn't resist this "Perfect Climbing Tree" she found.

Hotel Girls

We've started our moving adventure by moving into a hotel in Portland.  Little B is happy as long as she has somewhere to sleep and CJ has a few toys and comforts from home to keep her life as normal as can be.  So far, so good.

Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes

Little B was an angel during the day as the movers came and packed up the house.  She found some time to sunbathe on the back deck and then didn't want to leave the front porch when it was time to go. Hard to imagine that she didn't want to come in to the house the first day we moved in (although it is definitely a much different place now than it was 10 years ago!).

So Cal Beaches

Sunset Cliffs:

Ocean Beach:

Dog Beach at Ocean Beach:

(we know some dogs that would have loved this, back in their puppy days)

Happy Girls in the Sun

The day was nice, so we spent time outside enjoying it.

Here's Little B sweating while we had lunch outside:

And CJ having fun at the park:

Little B

Relaxing on a dry deck - finally...

Meet Golden

Nope. Not ready for a real dog here, but a quick visit to the store and CJ was sold on Golden. So much so that she woke this morning and came into Mama and Daddy's room only for a moment before leaving again. When she came back in, she presented Mama with a wallet - in which she had counted out the money she needed to take to the store to buy Golden. We hope she didn't lose too much sleep over this guy, but he is a pretty cute pup...for a balloon dog, that is.

Little B's Dream Comes True

On Friday Little B had her annual check-up at the vet. The vet said she looks awesome for a 12-year old dog.

One thing we discussed was the fact that Little B has been getting up in the middle of the night, looking for her food. The earlier and earlier she got up, the easier and easier it was to put her food out on the counter the night before so it would be ready for her. Then we started to wonder if maybe since it was out and she could smell it, that she wouldn't be able to sleep without obsessing over it.

So we're on a new feeding schedule for her, spreading the food out over 3 meals a day. She was super surprised when we plopped down a full bowl in the middle of the afternoon yesterday, but certainly didn't question it. And today she was looking for her dinner around the old 4 pm feeding time, but she eventually got some rest without it. We are also adding canned green beans, in an effort to fill her up. Apparently green beans and canned pumpkin can fill up dogs safely, without adding too many calories - not that we're worried about Little B's weight. The beans may cause gas, but the pumpkin could cause diarrhea if you give too much so we opted for the beans.

In addition, we are trying to get her a bit more exercise. Her walks had decreased in the length the last few years and definitely have gotten pushed aside a few times this holiday season. We are hoping that by slowly working her back up to a bit more exercise each day, she'll sleep a little better each night.

So far, so good. Saturday she slept til 5:50 am. She did hop up onto our bed at some point last night, but didn't get up to eat until after CJ woke around 7. We'll take that - much better than the 3:30 am feeding! Let's hope this continues to work.

Early Gifts

We generally open a gift or two on Christmas Eve. CJ opened up some pajamas (which were desperately needed!) and Little B got some glucosamine treats. Look how relaxed she is in the picture - if only she knew what was in that package!

Mama was happy that we noticed that Santa Claus is Coming to Town and The Year Without A Santa Claus were on tv this evening so we stayed up a little late to watch them. The Heat Miser is one of the best holiday characters and we're always surprised when people don't remember him.

Risky Business

Our usual answer is "someday" when people ask if we're ever going to get another dog. Most likely we plan on just having one dog at a time in the future. But it still seems a bit risky to go for a look around the humane society.

Today CJ and Mama dropped off our family's gifts for the animals. We took some time to visit the cats, the rabbits and birds, and even the dogs. The chocolate lab that was advertised as being part of the running group had already been adopted.

So we left the goodies and then headed home to spoil Little B. And tell her how lucky she is to have a family to take care of her.

Festive Decorating

CJ grouping ornaments together like friends on the tree:

CJ's stocking made by Grandma W:

CJ decorating the dog: