{evolution of darwin}

{26jan2012: more snowmaggedon 2012}

2012-01-26T06:01:00.000-08:00

So the start of snowmaggedon wasn't too bad. By Monday temperatures rose a bit and some of the snow melted. It was predicted that the worst of it would hit Tuesday night. And it did. While it wasn't the 12+ inches originally forecasted, we did get at least 4inches, which for Seattle is a lot.
Since we knew it was going to be bad, Jason and I decided to walk to work on Wednesday and we figured we'd take Darwin with us because she'd like the snowy walk.

It was still coming down on our way in, and by the time we made it to the office my eyeliner and mascara was all over my face. Not a good look. hahah
We walked back through the Seattle Center and thew snowballs again.

While Jason was throwing snowballs and I was taking pictures, someone from a local news channel stopped by and asked if he could take some pictures of Darwin as well. You can see his pictures here. He got some fun shots!

There weren't many people out braving the cold like we were so we let Darwin walk off leash through parts of the center.

{more snowballs?!}

We still had a mile or so left to get to the office so we kept moving on and made one last stop on the pier by the office for more snowball fun.

No one else showed up for work so after a couple hours we called it a day and headed home. I was starving, and the dog friendly bar in our neighborhood wasn't open yet so we dropped Darwin off at home then headed out to the Mexican restaurant down the hill. There was a bus stuck on the hill when we went in, as and we were eating another bus truck showed up to help get it back down. It was entertaining to watch this worker in an orange vest pushing the bus down the hill (not so hard to push it down a hill, but once it got to the flat part, he couldn't budge it) and finally a department of transportation truck had to come and push it out of the intersection.

During that entertainment, Jason and I decided to build Darwin a snowman with an edible face. We stopped at the market to get some of her favorite foods. Then we got home, went up to the roof and built Darwin's snowman.

{mmmm he looks so delicious!}

After eating his bacon mouth, Jason popped out his tomato eyes.

Darwin usually just gets a slice of tomato when we give her some. She wasn't sure what to do with a whole one. She kept taking tiny nibbles out of it til she figured out what it was and that she could eat the whole thing.

Last she got Mr Snowman's apple nose.

And this was Mr Snowman's face at the end.

{23jan2012: snowmaggedon 2012}

2012-01-23T06:54:00.000-08:00

***Thank you for the condolences for my Grandma. It all happened really quickly, but Im glad I was able to go back and see her again. She's back with my Grandpa so Im sure she's happy now.***

When snow happens in Seattle, everything seems to come to a stop. Seattlites just don't know how to do snow. It seems like every year for the last 3 years or so there's been one big snow storm a year that brings the city to a halt. We missed the last one (Thanksgiving 2010) as we were in Hawaii.
Last week Sunday the snow started in Seattle. It was coming down lightly so we thought we'd take Darwin over to Marymoor to see her friends then head home. It was not to bad driving over and it was very pretty at the park (excuse the poor iphone pics).

The snow was falling pretty steadily so we started to worry about the drive home so we called it a day and headed home. It's a good thing we left when we did because by the time we were back in Seattle the snow had fallen a bit more and roads were already backed up. The main freeway had a line of traffic to get on it so we decided to drive though downtown. We saw a car sliding and not able to move and our wheels started spinning a little, so we decided to park the car by our office and walk home (2.5 miles or so).

Though it wasn't originally planned, it turned out to be a fun walk home and we got to see the Seattle Center covered in snow!

We stopped a few times to throw snowballs for Darwin, which she loved.

Darwin got to check out the EMP and watch the monorail go by.

We were all getting hungry (and cold) so we hurried home and spent the rest of the day relaxing on the couch. Little did we know that Sunday was just the start of Snowmaggedon 2012!

{20jan2012: Christmas}

2012-01-20T06:02:00.000-08:00

There's been a lot of things going on lately so I apologize for being a bad blogger. In November I went back home to Hawaii to visit my grandma who was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer. On December 28 she passed away, so Jason and I went back to Hawaii last week for her funeral. Right before we left for Hawaii we got big news from work (that's a whole 'nother can of worms) so there has been a lot to deal with. Things hopefully will settle down for a bit.
Since we're so far behind I haven't shared our Christmas!
I'm kind of bummed I didn't get a family picture in front of the tree, oh well... here's one of Darwin though in her new Christmas collar from her brother, Boo.

Darwin had a blast opening all her presents (and she got A LOT).

Some of her presents.

After breakfast and cleaning up the mess we decided to head out and do some snowshoeing!
We went back to Gold Creek since it's fairly close and we were starting out later in the day.
(Sorry iphone pictures from here out)
It was snowing when we got there so it made for very pretty, but wet conditions.

And that was our Christmas!

{18jan2012: ZhuZhu}

2012-01-18T06:44:00.000-08:00

Back in November I saw on Honey's blog that she got a Zhu Zhu pet. I thought it was so funny and as soon as we were done watching the video I ordered one for Darwin's Christmas present.
Here's Darwin's reaction to it:

Sorry for the low quality video...
I wish we had more space for Darwin to chase it, but she still had a blast with it. After that one session though it stopped working. I hid it for a while and a couple days ago I gave it back to her and it started working, though Darwin quickly destroyed it. Plastic nose and eyes were torn out so the whole thing got trashed.

Fun toy though, even if it's not really a dog toy.

{04Jan2012: Year in Review}

2012-01-04T07:08:00.000-08:00

Happy 2012 Everyone! Can you believe another year has already gone by?!
I took a break during the holiday break from blogging (even commenting! Oops) so here is our year in review of 2011!

We started 2011 off with snowshoeing in Gold Creek!

In February, Darwin turned 2!

We had her second annual family reunion/birthday party too.

In March we went on another snowshoeing adventure, this time in Hyak.

Darwin also showed off her love of the Irish for St. Patrick's.

April came around and so did our annual Tulips Hike and Beer road trip!

In May we discovered Darwin's love of soccer.

She also got to get up close and personal with some llamas.

Our good friends got married up in Orcas Island in June and Darwin made a new friend, Skeeter.

In July we hit up SIB.

Darwin also got to meet her grandparents for the first time!

August was busy! Darwin and Friday discovered a love for chasing kites!

We also got in a road trip to Eastern Washington.

In October we did some dressing up for Halloween.

We spent Thanksgiving on the coast again, this time at Kalaloch.

I decorated Darwin for the holidays.

And on Christmas, Darwin enjoyed herself immensely (a post to come later) opening presents and snowshoeing.

{25dec2011: Merry Christmas}

2011-12-25T09:03:00.000-08:00

Hope you all have a wonderful Christmas!

{23dec2011: flashback Friday}

2011-12-23T06:45:00.000-08:00

Christmas 2009:

Christmas 2010:

{21dec2011: wordless Wednesday}

2011-12-21T06:55:00.000-08:00

holiday photos at the park edition:

{09dec2011: Thanksgiving weekend part 2}

2011-12-09T07:21:00.000-08:00

In the morning we decided to check out the beach again. The only problem was the tide was almost at high tide and so our wide open beach we were able to run on the afternoon before was now gone.

All the waves and moving logs were a bit disconcerting so we left the beach and packed up our things so we could head out for breakfast and the hike we had planned.

Before leaving the coast we stopped at one more beach just to check it out.

We then headed to Forks to stop for brunch, then continued on our way. It was a bit of a drive from Forks to Sequim where were planning on hiking so we didn't get there til 2. As we drove up the hillside the dry grounds turned to snowy/ice. I was driving at this point and Jason's usually the snow driver (me being from Hawaii and all) and I slowed down to pass a fallen branch in the road. I guess I slowed too much because our wheels lost traction and we started slipping. EEEK. After awhile we stopped moving and the wheels were just spinning. Jason had to get out of the car and start pushing. I was aiming for a flat spot on the side of the road, but it took a good 10 minutes to get there because I kept sliding in the wrong direction. We luckily had our snow chains in the car and got out to put them on. Can I just say those things are NO FUN. A couple tries in the chain on the right side popped off and got wrapped around the back of the wheel and we couldn't pull it off. I was worried for a minute we'd have to call a tow truck to rescue us, but instead I got out the car jack and jacked up the car (my first time ever). We managed to reach under and behind the tire to get the chain off. Whew. We decided to try one more time to get the chains on and we somehow managed. By this point it was almost 3 and the sun was going to go down around 4-430 so we drove a little hoping to find a place we could let Darwin out to run and stretch her legs (we had let her out while we were chaining up the car, but we kept her on her leash close by so she wouldn't run off). We drove and drove and couldn't find anything so we turned around and headed back down so we wouldn't be caught driving on the snowy hillside in the dark. We passed the snowy road, and took of the chains and ended up at the base of the hill at a closed campsite near a river and let Dar run around.

After that we loaded back in the car and headed home.
It was a LONG road trip and we didn't even get one hike in! It was disappointing, but I have to say, entertaining. Snow, rolling logs on a beach, rain, icey roads, snow chains, jacking up the car... it was a pretty filled couple of days even if we didn't get to do what we were planning.

{07dec2011: belated wordless Wednesday}

2011-12-07T07:29:00.000-08:00

Halloween edition:

I realized I didn't show off our Halloween costumes. Can you guess what Jason and I are? Darwin tried Jason's out for size too.

{06dec2011: Kalaloch Lodge}

2011-12-06T07:34:00.000-08:00

This year for Thanksgiving we stayed in town so we decided to use one of the Groupon/Living Social/one of those sites we bought for a cabin at the Kalaloch Lodge out on the Washington coast. We had grand plans to drive out there early and get a hike or two in before check-on (at 4pm) and then hike a bit more on the way back to Seattle. Our total hike count at the of the road trip = 0. That's right we got none in. hahaha.
Thanksgiving day was very rainy, when we drove out to one hiking spot Jason had printed out, the roads were closed. So we tried looking for another spot, and instead we got caught in snow!

We drove for a bit but got worried since we hadn't stumbled upon the hike we thought we were headed to so we turned around and decided to just keep driving to Kalaloch.
We had already been driving a couple hours at this point so we stopped at a park along the Hood Canal and let Darwin out to stretch her legs. We walked along the beach and ran into this:

A dead fish! I was the one who spotted it, Darwin didn't even notice it at first til I pointed it out to her.

After a few sniffs she did try to pick it up, by its mouth, but a quick "uh uh" and she walked away. We ran down the beach and ran around the park a bit before loading back up and heading west.
We did get Thanksgiving lunch on the way... Jack in the Box! Darwin got her own cheeseburger and some fries.
After a long drive we made it to the Lodge where we were able to check in early. Darwin settled onto a bed while we unloaded the car.

Then we went to check out the beach while the sun was still out.

Beaches in Washington (and Oregon) are nothing like beaches I'm used to in Hawaii, but I love how wide and flat the beaches are here.

Wide beaches are great for spreading out and making Darwin run between us!

Though we realized it's best to do that without a bright red coat on your dog at areas where off leash dogs aren't allowed (we walked far down the beach away from people and the lodge).

Getting down to the beach was pretty easy, getting back over the logs to the stairs, not as easy. It was starting to drizzle again by this point, and Darwin was a bit nervous crossing over the slippery logs. It took some time to find the route with the widest logs and the most sand, but we did it.

We headed back to our cabin and had some relaxing down time.

(This is a really good book btw for those of you who like to read: The Man in the Rockefeller Suit)

We had a 2 burner stove in our cabin so this was our Thanksgiving meal:

While Darwin had this:

And that was our Thanksgiving!
Stay tuned for day 2!

{25nov2011: Thank you}

2011-11-25T06:58:00.000-08:00

Hope you all had a happy Thanksgiving!
Darwin has some thanking of her own to do. Our friends Baby Rocket Dog and Hootie (and their mom) sent over a surprise package.
Any package that we bring home, Darwin automatically thinks is hers. This time she was right. She tried to open it herself, but wasn't getting very far so I helped her out.

A cool giant wooden barbell!

The water in Seattle is too cold now for Darwin to play in, but this will be great for the summer! Of course Darwin wanted it now....

But I've hidden it away so she doesn't gnaw it to a toothpick before she actually gets to try it out!
So THANK YOU Baby Rocket Dog and Hootie!!!!

{23nov2011: wordless Wednesday}

2011-11-23T06:56:00.000-08:00

the death of a stuffy edition.

Oh yes, and Darwin wasn't the smart doggy in our http://evolutionofdarwin.blogspot.com/2011/11/10nov2011-smart.html" target=_blank>last post. No way... She'd never try that... she won't even push a door open with her nose.
And thanks for the input on the day care situation. I tried asking them about putting her in the other room with less dogs, but they said that area is for dogs being boarded and not for general day care use. They said they'd put really shy dogs in there or new dogs that aren't used to being at daycare, but "Darwin is a seasoned pro". I've tried looking for other daycares (the ones near us seem to all be very crowded) and entertaining the idea of a dog walker (though I have to admit I don't know how comfortable I am with giving a "stranger" a key to our place), but for now we're sticking with once a week daycare and playdates with her brother when possible.

{10nov2011: smart}

2011-11-10T06:44:00.000-08:00

Thank goodness, Darwin isn't this smart:

You can view it here if the video doesn't work.

A few things regarding Darwin's daycare entry video yesterday, she always enters that way. If no one is sitting at the front desk when she walks in she won't bark til they come out from the back. One time she walked in and the guy called her another dog's name (there are a couple blue Dane's that go there) and as soon as she "talked" to him and he knew it was her. hahaha While she's totally fine going into daycare (no pulling, resisting, etc), when we watch the webcam she always looks so unhappy. Every once in a blue moon she'll play with another dog for a few minutes, but most of the time she stands facing the door waiting to get picked up; head low, just standing. I wonder sometimes if she should get put in another area (they have multiple rooms). One camera shows a room with far less dogs and I think maybe she'd feel more relaxed with less dogs.
Nala and Tanner, Darwin's been going to The Barking Lounge the last year or so. I like that they have a webcam. I don't like that the big dog area is always PACKED.
Ollie, she goes almost once a week. Even with wogs (walk+jog) and big weekend park outings she still has a ton of energy during the week. We figure a day of day care is good for her.

{09nov2011: wordless Wednesday}

2011-11-09T07:38:00.000-08:00

Darwin's arrival to daycare edition:

if the video isn't loading, you can watch it here.

{04nov2011: Barclay Lake}

2011-11-04T06:03:00.000-07:00

One thing I love about living in Seattle is going to the pumpkin patch in the fall. We tie it in with a hike to make it a full day activity with something for everyone.
I have yet to find a dog friendly pumpkin patch, so while Jason and I find perfect pumpkins, poor Darwin has to wait in the car. We've been going to Craven Farm the last two years because there's so much more there than just pumpkins. This year we were cold and trying to get to a hike further away so we just stuck to pumpkins.

After getting my pumpkins we got Darwin out of the car so she could stretch her legs (and have a potty break) before heading out to the hiking spot.

Jason had picked a hike so we could see some fall colors, but as we were leaving Craven Farm we realized it was a lot further east than we wanted to go (2 hour drive from where we were) so we got out the iphone and looked up a closer hike. Jason chose Barclay Lake.

It was a fairly easy hike (pretty flat) but beautiful, as most Washington hikes are.

We tried to move off the main path when other people were passing, but sometimes Darwin just wasn't having it. Thankfully most of the people we passed were happy to give Darwin attention.

Usually when we hike (or go to the park) Darwin won't walk away from us, she'll walk right in front of us (literally, right in front where we have to push her along) or a few steps away. This time though she gathered up some courage and would walk ahead of us by a dozen feet (3-4m) or so.

We found a tree with a tunnel through it's trunk. I had Jason go through it first.

And surprisingly Darwin followed!

Then we got to one of Darwin's favorite things... a wooden bridge. She quickly ran ahead and ran across, then ran back to get us, then led the way over again.

We soon made it to the lake...

and the sun managed to come out. So we found a couple logs and hung out for a bit.

We followed the trail past the lake and as far as it went, then turned around and headed back.

We ended the day at Diamond Knot Brewery for a post hike meal and beveridges.

{31oct2011: Happy Halloween}

2011-10-31T12:12:00.000-07:00

Since Halloween is on a Monday this year, I dressed Darwin up yesterday to go to the park. I really was hoping to find her a tutu at Goodwill, so when that didn't pan out I found a large dog princess costume and some wings instead (note to self, make Darwin's costume as large costumes aren't really large enough for her).

We headed to the park and as soon as we walked in she found a friend.

It actually came with a cone hat, but that fell off and into the mud as soon as she got out of the car.

{oh man i hope none of my friends see me like this}

{ok hurry up and take the picture!}

{why am i the only one dressed up?!}

After posing for some pictures we took it all off so she could play. She had fun running with this mastiff puppy.

And then we ran into her friend Rooney and her new sister Hines!

Hines is 4.5months old and full European Dane which means she'll be a lot bigger than her older sister.

Darwin Rooney and Hines had a blast chasing each other.

It won't be long til Hines is towering over her sister and Darwin.

Hope you all have a safe and happy Halloween!

{29oct2011: Olive}

2011-10-29T06:59:00.000-07:00

We went to Indiana last month for Jason's grandma's memorial service. Though it was a sad occasion, it was also full of laughter. And we got to meet Darwin's new aunty (Jason's parent's new dog)! Meet Olive!

Of course we came bearing gifts for the new bundle of fur.
Like bully sticks:

And Darwin's favorite food toy a Jolly Pets Monster Mouth Dog Toy

They rescued her from a shelter in Indiana and they were told she's a Dane mix.

I don't know about that, she's so TINY and she has small paws too. She almost looked like a Jack Russel Terrier mix or a boxer mix.

She also has a TON of energy and is a lot more graceful than Darwin was at that age. Jason and I were hanging out watching tv downstairs and she'd run downstairs then take a flying leap from the bottom of the stairs, over the arm of the couch and onto us. Funny, but sore! ahahha

Unlike Darwin she doesn't seem to be scared of much and was fine hanging out in the back of the lawn mower even though the bed rocked back and forth.

She loved to sit on the front porch and watch the cats across the street.

After the memorial service we hung out around the fire pit and Olive chose to cuddle in my lap versus anywhere else.

But her favorite place of all is on Jason's dad's lap while on the recliner.

She's a smart dog and I taught her to lay down and started teaching her "leave it" in the few days we were there!

{25oct2011: Deception Pass}

2011-10-25T06:22:00.000-07:00

Last month we had plans to check out Whidbey Island up north. We didn't plan very well and didn't get there.
We did make it to Deception Pass and thought we'd hike through a couple trails. The weather was supposed to be cold and rainy, but it was surprisingly clear blue skies and a little warm. We took a trail that leads to Rosario Beach.

I ran ahead of Darwin and Jason and was hiding off the trail waiting for Darwin to find me, when she ran pass me and scared the bejeezus out of this couple walking down the trail. Oops. They laughed about it though. Whew.

It was a short "hike" to the beach.

And it was super windy.

After the beach loop we followed the trail back the way we came planning to go down another trail heading the opposite way.

In the short time it took us to get to the start of the trail and head towards the other one, dark clouds rolled in.

By the time we got to the start of the next trail it was raining cats and dogs. Such a heavy heavy downpour, and Miss Darwin hates the rain so we decided to skip the second trail and do it another time.
Instead we headed down into Oak Harbor and tried out some beers at Flyers. :)

*** On a completely unrelated note, HAPPY 4th BIRTHDAY to my nephew Caden!!

{21oct2011: the Locks}

2011-10-21T06:12:00.000-07:00

While Jason was off at the climbing gym, Darwin and I killed time walking around the Locks.
From the US Army Corps of Engineers page:
"The complex of locks sit in the middle of Salmon Bay and are part of Seattle's Lake Washington Ship Canal. They are known locally as theBallard Locks after the neighborhood to their north. (Magnolia lies to the south.)
The locks and associated facilities serve three purposes:

To maintain the water level of the fresh water Lake Washington and Lake Union at 20 to 22 feet above sea level.
To prevent the mixing of sea water from Puget Sound with the fresh water of the lakes (saltwater intrusion).
To move boats from the water level of the lakes to the water level of Puget Sound, and vice versa."

I was trying to get a pretty picture of Darwin on the nice lawn, but she decided she'd rather eat it.

We took in the view of the locks and ship canal.

Then we noticed the flock of geese hanging out.

I was worried for a second that Darwin would want to chase them (she loves chasing birds), but thankfully a quick "leave it" and she turned away ready to do something else.

We headed down to the locks to watch a couple boats loading up getting ready to be moved up to the higher lake level.

Our walk through the Locks ended with a stroll through the flower garden. So pretty!

***Here's a good post explaining the locks and the fish ladder.

{19oct2011: mostly wordless Wednesday}

2011-10-19T06:17:00.000-07:00

Picnic at the park on a sunny day a month ago edition:
{food for us}

{raw bone for Dar}

{a little water play time}

Oh how we miss those warm sunny days!

{17oct2011: Eastern Washing part 2}

2011-10-17T06:23:00.000-07:00

(See part 1 here)

Day two of our weekend out east was white water rafting day through River Recreations! We weren't about to leave Darwin in the tent or in the car so I drove her back to Yakima to the day care and then headed back to the camp site to load up the car and get Jason. We weren't sure how safe it was to leave all our camp stuff out so we packed it all back up.
After a bit of trouble finding the rafting group (we didn't get updated direction to their meet up spot and were waiting at the wrong area for a while) we finally found them and had a blast. I've never gone rafting before and the Tieton River outing was marked as a 3-5 level. I was a bit nervous, but it turned out that the dam that was supposed to be opened that week to let a ton of water down the river (making it super fast) didn't get opened, so the river was shallow making it more technical to get through. We had fun with our guide and managed to get down without getting stuck. The same can't be said for other groups and because our guide was the lead for the day he had to hang out at the back of the pack to make sure everyone got down. The whole thing took a lot longer than we planned and by the end we had to forgo lunch and jump in the car to rush over to pick up Darwin. (no pictures of river rafting... Jason though I would fall out of the raft and lose my camera. I didn't fall out btw.)
Once we had Darwin we picked up food and managed to snag the same camping spot (while the road traffic noise wasn't ideal, being right on the river was nice cause it was so hot that weekend).

On Jason's last trip for work he went to Vietnam and during some down time managed to shop and bought me a hammock (I've always wanted a hammock)! It was still early afternoon when we re-setup camp so we hung up the hammock as well.

{these Govino Wine Glassesbtw are great for camping. I love them!}

Darwin was more relaxed this second day of camping by the river/highway. She explored more and didn't spend as much time barking at the car noises.

For dinner we made pizza hobopies! (I don't know what the real name for them are... Jason's mom introduced them to me a couple years ago and they are so fun! Basically sandwiches you toast in cast iron pan things.) We even made Darwin one. She loved it.

Sunday we had no big plans so we laid around and relaxed in the morning. Darwin spent the time in the river and hiding out in the shade.

As freaked out as Darwin was by the road noise, when it was time to go she wanted to stay (as usual). While we sat in the car watching her, she walked around keeping a good 30 foot between us. If one of us made a move to catch her, she'd dart off. Eventually I got her and we loaded her into the car and headed home.

{you can't catch me!!!}

We took the scenic route home over the Chinook Pass and were able to see some great views.

Overall it was a fun weekend and I'd totally want to go back to Eastern Washington soon! Maybe one day I'll win the lottery and can stay in a teepee at Cherry Wood and do horseback wine tasting! And I'd definitely would want to try rafting down Tieton River when the water level's higher.

{13oct2011: Eastern Washington}

2011-10-13T06:18:00.000-07:00

Groupon and those other discount sites are a great way to get out to see and do things you may not have originally thought of doing. One item we recently bought was a white water rafting adventure. It took us to Eastern Washington, where I've never been, so we made a weekend out of it.
A month or so before our weekend get away I saw a post on a Washington tourism blog I follow about Cherry Wood Bed Breakfast & Barn in Zillah. They not only are a B&B but also rescue horses and lead winery tours by horseback. How cool is that?! So of course I show it to Jason and we decide to do it!
So early early one Friday morning we head out east. We booked a Friday horseback and winery tour so we needed to get there by 11. They offered to keep Darwin in a kennel, but we were worried about the heat (it was a 90+F weekend) so we decided to take her to a doggy day care instead. We picked Pomona Pet Services in Yakima and they were great, so friendly and totally in love with Darwin. They were a small facility with an indoor area and an outdoor enclosed yard with a little plastic kiddie pool (which Darwin loves to stand in). We only didn't take into consideration how out of the way it is from all the activities we had planned (45 min drive from horseback riding and water rafting spot), but other than that it was a great place.
So we hurried over east and dropped off Darwin then headed to Cherry Wood.
{hello mini horse!}

Besides the horses they had a few dogs on the property. This one followed me around a bit as we waited.

These were Jason and my horses, Nevada and Latago.
We had a few late comers (I hate tardy people!... maybe not hate, but am bugged by them) so we got a later start than planned, but then we were off.

We stopped at three wineries (had lunch at the second) and at the last stop I made friends with this guy. They rescued him as a stray and he's a total lover.

Since we started later than planned we were running behind and had to rush back to the B&B so we could head out to pick up Darwin from daycare. See the teepees... you can stay in them at the B&B!

We collected the wines we bought (if you buy wines along the tasting the wineries deliver them back to Cherry Wood so you don't have to carry them around) and hurried back to Yakima to pick up Darwin. We then stopped quickly at a market to get dinner supplies (steak and mashed potatoes of course) and then headed out towards RimRock lake near Tieton where we planned to camp (also near the rafting area). We found a free spot next to the river.

It was a great spot for the most part, right on the river, no one near us, but the highway was right across the river. Boo. It wasn't too bad, cars couldn't really see us, but the traffic noise freaked Darwin out. She kept thinking a car was pulling up to our site and barking. She had a pretty sleepless night (she was "on guard" all night watching the car lights pass and trying to hear for strange noises)... poor girl.

***I realized there are no Darwin pictures in this post! Don't worry she'll be in a lot in the next post!
***Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, if you haven't read it I highly recommend it, it's so good!

{07Oct2011: Dreams Come True}

2011-10-07T06:26:00.000-07:00

Well, almost true.
As much as in love with Great Danes as I am, what I (not so) secretly wish for is an English Bulldog that Darwin would be bff's with. (Why do I have crushes on these health problematic dogs?!) The daycare that Darwin goes to has a few Bulldogs as clients and as I watch Darwin on the webcam I always hope that I'll catch Darwin and a Bulldog cuddled up for a nap together... I'd even settle for them playing together. So far no such luck.
But one day at Marymoor my dreams were THIS much closer to being realized. There must have been something in the air or water that day, but a couple bulldogs tried to get some play time in with Darwin and her other Dane friends.
The first one to check out Darwin was this French Bulldog (or is he a Boston Terrier?)

And then the friend he was with came over for a sniff.

EEEEEEEEEE!!!! Did you see his wrinkles and cute stubby legs?! Darwin of course paid no attention to him. But it was so cute!
We walked through the park and the big dogs got to enjoy themselves in the water.

Darwin's bud Frankie had a little convo with Dar. I think they were talking about how much cooler it was in the water than on the land.

Then as Darwin and Frankie got their play on a new little friend tried to get in on the action.

How cute is that?! I think Darwin was a little surprised at the little dude's "in your face" approach and she ran quickly over to Jason.
But that little dude just followed her around wanting to be friends and play.

Eventually the Bulldog's owner called him away (boooo) and the highlight of my day was over.

{27sept2011: so busy!}

2011-09-27T06:48:00.000-07:00

Hello out there! Anyone still around? It's been busy busy at work and when it gets busy busy I tend to blog less and less. I feel really bad because I haven't even been commenting on everyone's blogs! I've read and kept up with everyone, but just haven't been able to comment! Sorry about that!
But onto some fun stuff. It seems like fall is coming to Seattle (boo - though I do love fall, I'n not quite ready for it yet) but I still have summer posts to share!
Last month we had a really nice weekend and managed to get out of the house and run a lot of errands. Between making stops in 6-7 different neighborhoods we had a little down time at Green Lake. There were a ton of people out since it was such a nice day, but we found a little spot we could let Darwin off to play in the water.

{woo hoo! look how far out I am!}

{omg! too far! too far!}

We didn't bring a ball for her to fetch, so I did the next best thing... threw pebbles. Darwin even tried to go after them a few times.

Darwin's such a big goof. I can pretend to have something in my hands and say "ready Darwin... go get it" and make a throwing motion... and she'll turn around and look for it. hehehe. I'm so mean. heheh.
After water time we picked out a spot in the grass that had some shade for Darwin and laid out to read a bit.

Then it was a little more water time before continuing on doing errands. Fun sunny day!

{15sep2011: Discovery Park}

2011-09-15T06:41:00.000-07:00

We spent another few hours after work at Discovery Park on our own this summer getting Darwin to run around*.

Darwin is very not tolerant of the "heat" (heat in Seattle is definitely not that same as the heat in other areas) and so we have to make sure we have a bottle of water for her or she's constantly panting and her tongue hangs down so low. If she's really hot she won't run back to you for a treat, but as soon as you take out the bottle of water, she's right by your side.

We don't often run into other dogs when we're at the park, but this time we met a few. Darwin's favorite part of the park is a little sandy area that she goes bonkers at. Zoomies, barking, jumping up on you... it's like catnip to her. We met these two collies and another mixed pup (not really a pup, I think she was 13 years old, but she was running around with the other's like she was 2).

Since Discovery Park is not an off-leash park we were worried about attracting too much attention so play time on the sand didn't last very long.
On our way back to the car we met a little puppy who was in love with Darwin.

I love how puppies are so fearless and don't notice that Darwin is 10 times their size. Even Darwin must think she's a lot smaller because she loves to get down and play with puppies.

*Darwin's very off and on at dog parks. Sometimes she'll play with other dogs but most of the time she'll just stand around. It takes a special dog to get Darwin to want to play, but the chances of that happening are slim. She doesn't get much stimulation/exercise when we go and she doesn't want to play so we like taking her to Discovery where at least we know she'll do some running around.

{13sept2011: kites}

2011-09-13T06:25:00.000-07:00

Kites are a great exercise tool for dogs! At least for Darwin and her BFF Friday they are.
A few weeks ago we met up with Robin and BB and Friday at Discovery Park for an early evening park session. BB brought his giant kite along and we had a fun time flying kites (we met a couple at the park who let us fly their smaller kite while they flew BB's bigger one) and entertaining the dogs.

Darwin's not a huge roll-in-something-stinky dog, but she found something good in the long grass. (photo edited for viewer's eye safety.)

The only thing with dogs chasing kites is the amount of barking they do. It was nonstop. And when BB got fancy and had the kite diving down, they got even more excited.

After a while we had to hold onto the dogs and make them rest. Their minds were saying "get that kite" while their bodies were saying "I can't keep going at this pace."

{08sept2011: vibes}

2011-09-08T12:23:00.000-07:00

Darwin must give off some vibe to other dogs or yesterday was just a crazy (was it a full moon? I don't recall a full moon report by Remington so it must not be).
Yesterday morning I took Darwin out to potty before we left for work and as we were making our way back to the front gate, the neighbor's three dogs (they live at the end of the dead end street around the corner from us) come running around the corner (off leash) barking at us (scared me - I jumped and let out a girly yell/scream) and when I turned around they just stopped and turned and walked back home. Darwin was totally fine, didn't even bark.
Then after work, Darwin and I get ready to start our wog and are walking up the street when I see this girl and her dog walking down the street on the opposite side of the road. Her dog starts pulling and barking and pulled his owner hard enough that she fell, and his flexi leash some how comes undone. He runs across the street at us, barking at Darwin, and I try to position myself between Darwin and this dog, but of course he just runs around me and is on (at her chest) Darwin. She starts off barking, then yelping and Im thinking HOLY SHIET. I start yelling, HEY! HEY! and he finally stops and looks up at me and I have time to grab his collar and pull him away. His owner finally gets over to us and all she does is say "Ouch I fell"... Like woman, you're so lucky Jason wasn't here or he'd be screaming in your face and he'd probably kick your dog. And what do I do "are you okay?" OI. She finally gets her dog back on leash, but he's still pulling her trying to get back at Darwin and she can barely restrain him. I walk Darwin away and check her out. Luckily no harm was done, no skin broken, no scratches, just a few teeth marks on her leash (I think he was going at her chest and I had her harness on and the leash clipped to the front - which I dont always do - and I think he just bit her harness and leash). The girl finally gets her dog to walk down the street (she doesn't ask about Darwin) and I get Darwin to calm down and keep going on our wog. I didnt know if I should take her back in (we were just across the street from home) and calm or down or keep doing what we were doing... so I kept going since she wasn't physically hurt. I was really worried about her being reactive towards other dogs on leash after this, but we passed other dogs and she was totally fine. She even tried to play with another dog at a park. Whew.
{why do they all pick on me?}

{07sept2011: wordless Wednesday}

2011-09-07T12:12:00.000-07:00

fun at Marymoor Great Dane convention (aka Sunday's) edition:

{tessa and sebastian}

{delilah sebastian fiona (tessa's littermate) and dar}

{delilah sebastian and dar}

{delilah sebastian dar and winston}

Now that Darwin has remembered how to get in the water at Marymoor she's always in there. Even if we're by ourselves she'll walk right in. Success!

{02sept2011: lounging}

2011-09-02T07:01:00.000-07:00

September already?! Where does the time go?!
Earlier this year our condo building had some repairs done to the first floor balconies (ours included - we're first floor but sitting over an open garage). We were told it'd be done in a couple months and we should have our balcony back by the start of summer. Well summer came and almost went and we finally got our balcony back last month.
During the repair time they blocked off our access (railings came down so they boarded up across the door) and Darwin was not happy about it. In the summer's she's gotten used to having her bed put on and laying out in the sun. As soon as the weather warmed up she would stand at the door to the balcony and just look out longingly. She'd look back at us, with a face that said "why can't I go out there? Hello, it's sunny out!" I think she even whined a few times wanting her sun lounging time.
Finally they refinished the deck, installed new railings and took down the 2x4's.
Someone couldn't be happier.

{31aug2011: wordless Wednesday}

2011-08-31T06:34:00.000-07:00

Farmers market edition:

{24aug2011: wordless Wednesday}

2011-08-24T07:34:00.000-07:00

fun with a coconut edition

{19aug2011: flashback Friday}

2011-08-19T07:10:00.000-07:00

Darwin 8months old at the beach near Seaside, Oregon
Darwin 2years and 5months old at the beach in Pacific Beach, Washington

On a completely unrelated topic, I've started wogging (walking + running) with Darwin and am thinking about getting either a water bottle waist pack for me or a back pack that can hold water for Darwin. Anyone have any recommendations? So far we only go 2.5 miles, but I worry about her getting too hot. I plan our wogging route based on water stops we can make for her (pea patches - drink out of the water hose, park bathroom - drink out of the sink, and parks - drink from the water fountain) but that limits how far we go cause I dont want to go too far between water pit stops for her.

{18aug2011: Olympic Peninsula part 2}

2011-08-18T06:57:00.000-07:00

See part 1 of our Olympic Peninsula vacation here.
After a good dinner (grilled steak, mashed potatoes, and steamed broccoli - yes, Darwin had some too) and a good breakfast (thick butcher bacon, rice and eggs - yes, Darwin had some too) we headed out for a day of hiking. There's a fine line between the Olympic National Forest and the Olympic National Park, and dogs are only allowed in very limited areas in the National Park so to stay safe we went over to the Quinault Rain Forest (about a 45 min drive from Pacific Beach) and found a good 4-5 mile loop hike to start the day.
Along the trail there were a bunch of wild golden raspberries growing so we all sampled a few (yes, Darwin too).

One of Darwin's favorite things about hiking is wooden bridges to cross. Whenever we approach one she loves to run ahead (she usually sticks right behind the leader unless she knows where we're going) and run back and forth over them.

Although it was misty and overcast, it was still beautiful hiking through the forest.

As we were walking out of the forest area and towards Quinault Lake, I made a great find.

A four leaf clover! We were walking along and I was saying, do people actually find four leaf clovers, and all of a sudden I spotted one! I do think it brought me luck because as we were driving around later in the day I was the only one in the car to spot a black bear along the side of the road!
After the trail through the forest ended we connected to a trail that went by the lake edge. You know what that means for Dar.

The Quinault Rain Forest is home to the world's largest Sitka Spruce. As we were driving to see it there was a sudden downpour... like one minute outside of the car and you were soaked down to your socks. The sign said it was only .2 miles to see it so we decided to chance it (we left Darwin in the car for this). Jason and I ran in the downpour, I could not help but laugh hysterically the whole time. I didn't want to chance getting my camera wet so it stayed behind in the car so no pictures. After looking at the tree for a second we ran back. By the time we got back to the car (at the most 6 minutes round trip) the rain had stopped. hahaha.
We headed back to Pacific Beach after driving around for a bit and while Jason's mom and I checked out the few shops in town, Jason and his dad took Darwin back to the beach.

On Sunday morning we cleaned up the place and loaded up the car to go. I took Darwin for one last romp on the beach. She managed to find a dog to play chase with for a little bit (after one loop of chase she was tired and when the other dog came back she walked away - hahaha).

We were planning to make one more stop for a hike on the way home, but all the driving of the weekend (we filled up the tank two times during the three days) and we were all tired and ready to get back to Seattle (it was a 3 hour + drive from Pacific Beach to Seattle). It was a fun weekend and we plan to go back out to the coast soon!

{16aug2011: Olympic Peninsula part 1}

2011-08-16T07:07:00.000-07:00

Man, it's been busy around here! Let's do a little catch up.
Last month after we got back from Hawaii, Jason's parents came out to Seattle and finally got to meet their grand-dog-ter in person! They had planned to spend the weekend out here so we took off Friday from work so we could spend the weekend on the coast and check out theOlympic Peninsula.
We loaded up the car early Friday morning and headed out. We took the ferry over to Bainbridge (30min) then drove a bit toward Port Angeles (1.5hrs) and decided to stop for a hike so we could all stretch our legs. Jason's dad was happy to get out of the car to get a break from Darwin's ear cleanings.
Of course a road trip with Jason has to include (if at all possible) a brewery stop, so we stopped and had lunch at Peaks Brew Pub.

The beers were pretty good... the food was okay. They did have this funny sign up though.
After lunch and a wine tasting at a winery along the way we finally made it to Pacific Beach. We had booked a cute cottage for the weekend and it was perfect for the 5 of us. Pacific Beach is a tiny little town but it's in a great location right on the Pacific Ocean and close to the hiking spots we wanted to check out.As soon as we unloaded the car we headed down to check out the beach.

Darwin had a blast chasing the birds....

And checking out the crab pieces.

Beaches in the Pacific Northwest are so different from the beaches I grew up with in Hawaii. The PNW beaches seem to all be very flat and super wide. It seems like you could walk out for at least a mile before the water reached you waist!

As we walked along the beach we found a lot of sand dollars! My first time finding these things! We found a bunch and took them back to the cottage to wash off where they went from grey/purple to a dirty white. (I have mine sitting in the windowsill where they are slowly whitening up even more.) It was a pretty busy day just driving out to the coast so Darwin was nice a pooped. She quickly hopped up on the bed (we've learned to bring our own sheet and blanket to cover the bed with first) and was out.

{10aug2011: Sugar smile}

2011-08-10T07:48:00.000-07:00

It's Sugar's 10th Birthday!
Here are some big smiles for you Sugar to help celebrate!

Love, Darwin and her bff Juneau

{05aug2011: woo hoo}

2011-08-05T19:20:00.000-07:00

Thanks for the comments on our last wordless Wednesday post. Many of you asked about the mustached fellow. On all my trips I bring along a new toy to come on our adventure.
My red velvet cupcake came to Peru:

Bert the owl and Paddie the pickle came to Cambodia:

I've had a stuffed corn in Indiana, pineapple Pete in Hawaii, and other friends join us on our trips. This time it was Macho Ninja's turn.

Anyway, back to the post at hand. When Darwin was under a year old and we went to Marymoor Park, she used to always go in the water on hot summer days. And not just go in, but actually play in the water.

Winter came and went and the next summer she would not go in. No matter if it was HOT HOT HOT out she wouldn't do it. Fair enough to say that the entry into the water at Marymoor isn't ideal. It's not a gradual slope in, but rocks or steps.
Darwin doesn't seem to like going in on the steps. Not being able to really see the next step down freaks her out.
The other weekend I took Dar to the park and it was HOT out. Not rest of the country hot, but mid 70's Seattle hot. On Saturday my friend Susan came to the park with us and I tried going down into the water (it's shallow enough that it only comes up to mid thigh) and Darwin spent the 15 minutes I was in there trying to lure her in, standing on the steps barking at me. No go.
Sunday Darwin and I went back to the park and it was hotter than the day before. I got in the water again and again she barked at me. Marymoor has 4-5 different entry points into the water so I got out and we walked around and tried what I thought would be and easier spot. I stood there for about 20 minutes, this time two other strangers on the steps with their dog tried to help coax Dar in. She got close at one point as I lured her with treats and she took one step into the water, but then quickly backed out. By then some of our other Dane friends showed up so we did a few laps around the park with them.

We got back to the waterhole and this time all the Danes went straight in the water (Sirus, Georgia, Phoenix and Archimedes) and Darwin stayed on the side. I got back in the water along with Phoenix and Archimedes' mom and the other owners stayed on the step. Darwin barked at first, but I think convinced by all her friends being in the water, built up the courage and got in!

Georgia and Archimedes

Darwin and Georgia

Darwin and Winston

Once in the water Darwin was fine, even happy to be in.
We haven't been back to the park in a couple weekends and it's supposed to be hot again this weekend. I'm hoping Darwin will remember how easy it was to get in last time and do it again without all the drama!

{03aug2011: mostly wordless Wednesday}

2011-08-03T06:33:00.000-07:00

While Darwin was at the boarder AKA Trip back to Hawaii edition:

beach time with my nephew

cousin's wedding

family time and food tour around the island

{29july2011: found}

2011-07-29T06:46:00.000-07:00

Bailey's post from earlier this week reminded me of our own found puppy story I realized I didn't share yet.
On the fourth of July, Jason took Darwin out for her morning potty break while I was still in bed. I woke up to him buzzing our gate buzzer. I assumed he forgot the keys so I buzzed him in and walked away. As I was walking away, more buzzes come in and I figure Darwin either stepped in poop and needed her feet wiped off or something happened outside so I go out bare footed to see whats up. Jason tells me to grab an extra leash and my phone because there's a puppy wandering around outside. So I hurry in and grab a leash and my phone and go out and find this:

A few month old yellow lab puppy! Someone HAS to be missing this little guy.
So we struggle to get him still enough to get the number off his collar and I give it a try. No one answers.
We walk around the block and ask our neighbor if she's seen this guy before and she says she thinks she has but not sure where he lives. We hang out outside for a bit where Darwin and STUD(I was calling him Stud because one side of his tag said STUD and the other side had a name - I assumed was the owner - and a number - turns out STUD was just the generic tag and the name on the back was his name) played bitey face in the grass.

I tried calling the number again and this time left a message saying we found your dog, call me back!

I was still in my pj's at that point so we decided to take a chance that STUD was potty trained and took him inside with us while we waited for a call back from his owner. I wasnt sure how long he'd been outside so I gave him some water and food. I was then worried that he just ate and drank and really may pee inside so I took him out again for another walk around the block hoping his owner was outside looking for him. No such luck so we went back inside where he played with Darwin's toys and ran amock through the house. (Have you ever looked at the wikipedia definition of "running amock"... yikes.)

I had posted on Facebook about our puppy find, and our neighbor upstairs said she thinks STUD lives in the apartments across from ours. So we walked over to see an open sliding glass door. OI. Jason knocked on the door, and a girl, still wearing her party dress and makeup from the night before, peels herself off her couch and comes over. She realizes her door was open and then sees that we have her puppy and grabs him. She barely says thank you and closes her sliding door. OI.

You'd think that'd be the end of it, but no. A few hours later Jason was doing some work outside when who strolls over, but STUD. A few minutes later, party girl still in her dress and black tights, walks barefooted across the street to retrieve him. OI.
We don't live on a super busy street, but we do have a fair amount of car traffic. Especially since it was the 4th of July and our block has a pretty decent view of fireworks, there was a bit more traffic than usual of people trying to get parking for parties. This girl should NOT own a puppy.
To end this on a more positive note, here's a phone video of Darwin and STUD playing.

{26july2011: SIB}

2011-07-26T07:31:00.000-07:00

***btw, the thing Darwin was snacking on in our last wordless Wednesday post was a knuckle bone!***

For the past 2 years we've been taking a half day on the Friday before the 4th of July to go to SIB (the Seattle International Beerfest). It runs for 3 days and you get to try a lot of different beers. One of the great things about SIB (besides the beer) is that its dog friendly and 100% of the proceeds goes to Pet Cross! Drinking for a good cause!

We went with a few friends and Darwin's bff, Juneau.

It was a pretty warm day but we luckily got there early enough to snag a table with an umbrella providing good shade for the pups and near the pet booth that had lots of water. Of course Darwin had to wear her party beer beads!

The dogs got tons of attention (as usual) and the humans had a lot of fun trying the beers.

We remembered to bring snacks for Dar and kept her busy by putting them in her treat toy.

Darwin even got relaxed enough and totally sprawled out (she never does that in public).

All those beers and relaxing out in the sun was a great way to kick off the fourth of July weekend!

{20july2011: Wordless Wednesday}

2011-07-20T18:17:00.000-07:00

Sunshine at the park edition:

{15july1011: Daynakin}

2011-07-18T07:36:00.000-07:00

Woah... blogger looks different now!
Jason and I went to Hawaii last weekend for my cousin's wedding (pictures to come) and while we were away, Darwin stayed at the boarders, Daynakin Great Danes. They are pretty far north from Seattle (about 2-3 hours away), but they meet us half way and it's a comfort to me knowing she's with a reputable breeder who will take great care of her. Georgia takes pictures of the dogs playing, but she said this time Darwin wasn't really interested in playing so she didn't get any still shots of her. She did get a quick video of Darwin and Duke running around though.

{13july2011: wordless Wednesday}

2011-07-13T07:16:00.000-07:00

Big Danes in tall grass edition:

{08july2011:Take Your Dog To Work Day}

2011-07-08T07:20:00.000-07:00

Two weeks ago it was Take Your Dog to Work Day! From their website:
"First celebrated in 1999, Pet Sitters International’s Take Your Dog To Work Day® was created to celebrate the great companions dogs make and to encourage their adoption from humane societies, animal shelters and breed rescue clubs. This annual event asks pet lovers to celebrate the humane-canine bond and promote pet adoption by encouraging their employers to support TYDTWDay by opening their workplace to employees’ four-legged friends on this one special day."
Luckily our boss LOVES dogs and the one person in our office who isn't a fan was out! Woo hoo! So our boss agreed and even allowed Darwin and her bff Juneau to come in the office.
As you can see Darwin was thrilled to be in.
Just kidding it's been a while since she's been allowed to come to work with us and she LOVES coming in. She loves all the attention and just being with us!
She also loves apples and managed to score a few that day.

We have a few new interns and employees and they were all fascinated that a dog could love apples. So after I had given her one, our coworker gave her another small one so everyone could watch. Then another new guy ate an apple and gave Darwin the core. They tried to give her more but I was worried about too much fiber!

At lunch we took a long walk with Juneau down the waterfront and to the sculpture park. On the way there Darwin found a toy leopard sitting on the ground so she picked it up and carried it with us.

Our walk included a stop at the pet store for treats and a stop at the butcher in the market to restock our supply of knuckle bones (we usually get a big bag and keep it in the freezer at home). I wanted to find a small food toy to keep Darwin entertained and found this Monster Mouth toy by Jolly Pets.

She really liked it and it kept her busy for a while! I'd highly recommend it!

By the end of the day Darwin was worn out. Who

{6july2011: weekend road trip part 3}

2011-07-06T07:18:00.000-07:00

part 1
part 2

On our last day on Orcas Island we had grand plans for brunching, kayaking and relaxing, but we scratched the kayaking portion pretty early in the day. It turned out to be a pretty warm day and there wasn't anywhere to keep Darwin while we went out for 3 hours so we cancelled at the last minute. Instead we found an off-leash park in Eastsound where Darwin got to play with some new friends.

I have to say for a small little park I liked that it was a grassy field and not wood chips and dirt as a lot of dog parks are and there were lots of toys/balls all over the park.

We didn't stay at the park very long and instead went over to visit Darwin's bff Friday. Little did we know Darwin would be making a new bff.... Skeeter!

At first they were unsure of each other. Darwin didn't like that Friday had a new friend and Skeeter didn't like that another dog was at her house. But soon they were all over each other!

Skeeter even would take flying leaps off of Jason's lap to jump at Darwin.

They even relaxed together in the shade.

All in all it was a fun weekend trip up to Orcas Island. Coming back to "city life" took some adjusting after the slow paced island weekend.

{1july2011: weekend road trip part 2}

2011-07-01T07:33:00.000-07:00

(holy cow its already July! we are being featured at Two Pitties in the City for their "how to be a tourist" series. Go check us out!)
If you missed part one of our weekend road trip, check it out here.
Finding a place to stay with a dog can be tricky. It get's even trickier when you have a giant dog! Luckily after a bit of Googling I found a bunch of dog friendly accommodations on Orcas and found one that sounded perfect for us. Once in a Blue Moon Farm is a working farm, but they also have a variety of lodging accommodations. We went for the smallest room (funny considering we have a really big dog), but I loved the name of the room (the secret garden room) and I figured we'd be so busy and wouldn't really be spending a lot of time there.
The farm had chickens, llamas, horses, and sheep. The chicken and llama enclosures were right outside our door. (It's probably good that Darwin got llama proofed during our hike a few weeks ago.)

The llamas were so funny. We'd watch them and they'd stand there and watch us.

And did you know llamas make noises? Here's a youtube video where you can hear the sound. I think that brown llama was the ring leader of the group. When he would towards us, the rest of them would walk towards us. And when he got the zoomies and ran in a few circles the other llamas (and sheep) followed him.

There were also horses on the farm. Darwin and a white one gave each other eskimo kisses.

Darwin and I also checked out this fenced enclosure that had 3 sheep and an old goat with a skin problem.

There's a forest area on the backside of the property that we could hike through.
It felt like we were walking through a scene Twilight.

While the room wasn't very big, one of the best things was the little garden right outside the door. And though we didn't have a whole lot of time to lounge around, we were able to relax for a bit with some tea (coffee for Jason) and some reading.

It was funny to us how Darwin didn't react to any of the animal sounds (chickens clucking, llamas making their noise, sheep, roosters, ducks) but when she hears the dogs that live in the unit next to us going outside for potty breaks she has to alert us (single barks).

{29june2011: wordless Wednesday}

2011-06-29T07:10:00.000-07:00

what we do for entertainment edition:

{28june2011: weekend road trip part 1}

2011-06-28T07:35:00.000-07:00

A few weekends ago we took a weekend trip up to Orcas Island for our friends wedding. (If you ever get a chance to visit Seattle, plan to give yourself a couple days to go up to the San Juan Islands, it's amazingly laid back and relaxing.)
To get to Orcas Island (or any of the San Juan islands) it's about an hour and a half drive north from Seattle to Anacortes where you get on an hour ferry ride to get to the island. The ferries to the islands can get really crowded, especially in the summer, so it's best to get there early.

View Larger Map
We took that advice and got up very early on a Friday (430am early - oi) so we could get to the ferry by 630am to get on the 730am ferry.
{is the ferry here yet?!}

We slept in the car as we waited for the ferry then slept the whole ferry ride over to Orcas island. Of course we got there so early (830am) that nothing was really open so we decided to head over to Moran State Park and do a little hiking. We were a little hesitant about a very serious hike (aka Jason's epic hike because a few days earlier I had fallen walking Darwin and sprained my ankle (no she didn't pull me, I just was walking and fell. ahahaha) and Jason was feeling a little under the weather so we thought we'd do something easy, so we opted for a mostly flat hike around Mountain Lake.

Of course as soon as Darwin saw the lake she had to bless it.

The hike around the lake was beautiful and so peaceful. We saw one other couple and their dog during the whole four mile loop.

After walking around the lake we made it back to the car and had a breakfast picnic on a bench next to the lake. Once we finished eating a bit (we didn't want to eat too much as we wanted to try Passionate for Pies in Eastsound) we started to pack up the car so we could drive to the top of Mount Constitution to check out the stone tower. Darwin was not ready to leave yet and would not come near us so we could leash her and stayed by the picnic table.

For a good 10 minutes she ran around keeping a good distance between us and her letting us know she did not want to go. I finally lured her back to me with a piece of salami (I was a bad dog mom and forgot to bring her treats) and we loaded her up and drove to the top of the mountain.
Of course we had to pop into the gift shop.

After picking up a few postcards we walked up a little hill to the stone tower.

Jason still wasn't feeling 100% so I went up the tower to check out the view while he hung out with Darwin on the bottom.

The tower isn't very tall, but from the top of it you can see almost all of Orcas Island and its surrounding islands and the surrounding mountains (they say on a clear day you can see down to Mount Rainer). It wasn't very clear while I was up there, but it was still an awesome view.
What I did see though were a couple of kids loving on Darwin, all while she kept her eyes on me.

By then I was hungry for pies so we headed to Eastsound (the main town on Orcas) and hunted down the pie shop. I love that they carry sweet and savory pies. We both tried a savory pie while Darwin watched us. hehehe

Of course since we were on vacation we had to let Darwin have a treat too and we found Lily, a little ice cream shop . Darwin, the spoiled girl she is got her own scoop of vanilla.

Since we were bad dog parents and didn't come totally prepared we stopped at the pet store, Pawki's to find some treats for Dar (always good to have treats on us for training).

Stay tuned for part 2 which will show the great little farm we stayed at!

{23june2011: A love letter to Mango}

2011-06-23T07:52:00.000-07:00

Dear Mango,

I know there will be many other bitches vying for your attention, but come on, how can you resist this:

I know I know, that picture is from when I was a tiny pup, but the floozyness is still there.

We all know how much you love to flash your dangly bits so I know you aren't going to shy away from my picture above.

We're two good looking doggies, we'd be the envy of all other couples. We'd be like the Brangelina of the dog blog world. We could be Mangin or Manwin or Dargo.

I love you with all my butt. I'd say heart, but my butt is bigger.

Love, Darwin

Uh oh. I just read my horoscope for the day (I'm an Aquarius) and it says this "Don't

become too infatuated with what the masses are infatuated with. Avoid trends."

I think the masses are going to be going after you... maybe I should withdraw my love letter.

{Brooke here: don't be offended by Darwin's love letter. She's trying out her skills at online dating to win a date with Mango}

{22june2011: wordless Wednesday}

2011-06-22T07:39:00.000-07:00

Feed your dog a bone edition:

sorry for the dark iphone video!

{13june2011: joe stains}

2011-06-13T07:39:00.000-07:00

As many of you know by now, the blogging world lost an entertaining guy, Joe Stains late last month and in his honor June 2nd was declared Cheeseburgers for Joe Stains Friday!
We've seen a lot of our dog blog friends have participated, and we did too (I'm just late posting about it - wanted to wrap up the epic hike posts first)!

{Joe Stains, this burger's for you}

We'll miss you Joe!

A cheeseburger wasn't the only treat Darwin got that weekend. I wasn't sure if were going to make it to a fast food place (Jason's not big on fast food) so on Saturday Darwin got to share some of my BBQ pulled chicken sandwich! It was a beautiful sunny and warm weekend in Seattle, so we picked up some BBQ and went to the park for a picnic and a walk. I let Darwin have the top bun of my sandwich and some less barbequed pieces of chicken.

{BBQ sandwich for Joe Stains Saturday?}

And the last treat of the weekend was Chinese Tea Eggs inspired by the one and only Honey (and Hsin-Yi). I wanted to make them as soon as I saw Honey's post, but was even more motivated after seeing the Splorin' Wolfies, Maggie and Guinness make some. So after fast food lunch on Sunday (Jason actually wanted to stop by Burger King after the dog park) and cheeseburgers for Joe Stains, I started boiling my eggs.

After following all the steps, this is what I was left with:

And Darwin got to try one out.

{Chinese Tea Egg for Joe Stains Sunday!}

(I don't know why but all my eggs ended up with one flat side, maybe I cracked the shells before they were boiled enough?)

Darwin (and I) loved them. I was worried at first that the tea would make them sweet, but the soy sauce made them perfectly salty.

Joe Stains we'll miss your humor and big personality, but will always think of you when we eat cheeseburgers!

{10june2011: Serene part 3}

2011-06-10T07:03:00.000-07:00

Remember this sign? After hiking back down from the falls we ended up back here which pointed us 2 miles to Lake Serene. We've already been going almost 3 miles by this point and still had to get back to the car, but we pushed on.
We passed by the base of the falls and saw it from a different angle.

After we finished the whole hike we realized it would have been possible to stop and turn back at this point, but little did we know the Machu Picchu like hike we had yet to do. (We went to Peru three years ago and hiked up to a peak at the backside of Machu Picchu. It was a HARD hike basically straight up the side of a mountain. Click here to see the peak we climbed - it's the tall one in the foreground. But you did get a great view down to the whole expanse of ruins below.)

There were some tricky spots on the hike, around fallen trees and boulders. And we passed this giant fallen tree.

After climbing endless switchbacks and stairs we got to a muddy portion where people we asked said we were still 30-40 minutes away from the lake and had to cross through snow. We got to the snow part and that was a precarious short trek! The trail through the snow was very narrow and if you slipped, you could slide all the way down the mountain.

Here's a view looking back along the trail we just walked.

There was a little rocky stream bed area we had to cross and were so tired and cold we thought of turning back, but a couple passed by and said we were super close to the lake and it was just around the corner so we pushed on and finally made it to our destination!

There were low lying clouds so you couldn't even see across the whole ice covered lake, but you could hear avalanches on the mountain side across the lake.

Darwin had a blast doing zoomies in the snow while we refueled with trail mix and bananas.

After taking in the view of the lake we headed back down.

Whew. Just looking back on these pictures tires me out again! Hopefully we'll remember this hike while planning our next one!

{07june2011: serene part 2}

2011-06-07T05:22:00.000-07:00

Here's where we left off. (If you missed part one of the hike, read it here.)
After hiking in for about 1.7 miles we got to a sign that pointed us in the direction of Bridal Veil Falls or Lake Serene.

We thought it would probably be better to take the .5 mile detour to the falls before doing the rest of the hike since it would be a short hike. I wouldn't say it was a mistake, but MAN what a detour!

These were about one of 50 flights of stairs (ok, not really 50, but A LOT).

These steps kept taking us higher and higher and over streams and waterfalls.

Very pretty waterfalls I must say. But we just kept climbing and climbing, I swear it was longer than half a mile, and finally got to some wooden walkways where you could see the spray from the waterfall.

It was amazing! It was hard to stand there too long as we were getting soaked and cold!

We still have the hike to the lake to go! Check back for the last part of our hike!

{03june2011: Serene}

2011-06-03T06:21:00.000-07:00

Or not so much. Jason is no longer allowed to pick the hikes we go on. After last month's epic 9 mile hike I thought we had learned our lesson that we aren't epic hikers. I guess Jason forgot, because his pick for this months hike (one of my new year's resolutions is to go on at least one hike a month) was another epic uphill strenuous climb.
The first part of the hike was pretty easy going. You follow a path through brushy areas and across little streams. It was a little tricky for Darwin to cross this bridge. The wood slats were about 4" wide with about 3" wide gaps between each one.

easy does it

oops! slipped through!

So green and lush!

There were a lot of little streams to cross over and for Darwin to splash in.

We also saw something I've never seen on a hike before. Llamas! Darwin was a little unsure of them at first as we approached them from behind

Jason's a quick walker and the llamas were moving at a slower pace so we found a wider spot on the path so we could pass them. As usual with anything that Darwin is unsure (scared) of she tried to walk pass them with the greatest distance between them as possible.

We ended up passing them three times (we took a detour to the falls where they passed us) so Darwin has been llama proofed! By the third time of passing them she could care less that they were there.

This first 1.7 miles was the easiest part of the hike stay tuned for the rest of the 2000ft ascent to Serene Lake!

A little over an hour's drive north east of Seattle, the hike to Lake Serene is a beautiful, but tough one.

View Larger Map

{27may2011: SLO}

2011-05-27T06:56:00.000-07:00

Last month we spent the weekend in San Luis Obispo, CA for my cousin's wedding (that was when Darwin had her sleepover and her brother Boo's house).
I always find it hard being away from Darwin, even for the weekend. But there were a lot of other things to keep us distracted.
Things like:

In-n-out burgers animal style (that's Charlotte the chickpea in the background)

My cousin's dogs Kava and Pele. (Remember how small they were!) That's Kava giving me love.

One morning we woke up and the sidewalks outside the hotel were covered with these snails.

My uncle took Jason and I wine tasting at a couple wineries and this was the shop dog. So cute!

The winery also had peacocks! They said they had about 80 and it was mating season so they'd probably get 20 or so more babies. You could buy a bag of food and feed the peacocks. They said there were a few birds that would actually eat out of your hand... I didn't run into any.

And the cutest distraction, my nephew!
As you can see there was lots to keep us entertained!

{23may2011: practice}

2011-05-23T12:46:00.000-07:00

We took Darwin's new soccer ball to the park with us so she could get more practice in.

I think she could be an excellent mascot/team dog for the Seattle Sounders.

I tried to get her to pose next to the ball, but the grass was too comfy and inviting she thought it'd be better to take a nap instead.

After soccer practice we walked around to the little pond so she could get a drink of water. She saw a stick floating under the surface of the water and made a move to get it out.

No such luck though and all she had to show for in the end was a wet face.

{18may2011: wordless Wednesday}

2011-05-18T12:24:00.000-07:00

soccer edition:

{17may2011: Discovery}

2011-05-17T07:30:00.000-07:00

When we know a walk just won't cut it for Darwin, and we don't feel like going to a dog park (it's hit or miss with Darwin playing with other dogs at dog parks), we'll often opt for Discovery Park where we can get her to run across the fields.

During the winter they turn off the water fountains, so when they do get turned back on, Darwin HAS to make a pit stop at them.

After she's filled up, it's off to the fields.

As you can tell by Jason's lovely outfit, it still felt like winter though it should've felt like spring.

Darwin likes the chilly weather though because she can keep running without getting too hot!

Is it Darwin? Or a long armed kangaroo?! hehehe

She's like the energizer bunny and can keep going and going and going.

With spring slow coming, the cherry blossoms were still blooming, which I love.

After all that running Darwin was just tired enough to stop and take in the view and do some posing.

Don't look too closely! Her Sirius Republic Tweet Tweet collar is on upside down and it bugs me! It's actually pretty dirty too!

After a good run through the park we can all go home and relax.

{13may2011: new park}

2011-05-13T07:33:00.000-07:00

The other week I ran a bunch of errands and decided to take Darwin to a new park. We tend to go to the same parks so I thought I'd see if we could find a new one to add to our list. We stopped at Jose Rizal Park in the Beacon Hill neighborhood, just south of downtown Seattle. As I pulled up the park I pulled out my phone and read a review about how it's a nice park but seems underutilized and garbage from transients laying around. Uhhhhh.... I got a little nervous, because I'm a little scaredy cat sometimes and worry about being attacked, or mugged, or rapped. (I won't take Darwin on the trail near our house by myself even in the daytime because we've seen tents and know homeless people hang out there, even though I've seen other ladies walk/run their dog through that area.) Even though Darwin's a big dog and I'd assume most people would be wary of her size alone, she's a bigger scaredy cat than me and I think if someone ran out and jumped me, she'd run away barking. hahaha.

Anyway, back to the park. As I was sitting in the car contemplating I saw a girl and her dog walk in so I figured it had to be ok (it was the middle of the day, on a week day). We entered the gates and from there you have to walk down a curvy path to a smaller open grass area. It had been raining a lot that week so it was pretty muddy, but Darwin loves the mud so she had fun. She got a little playtime in with the dog we followed in and another pittie that showed up, but other than that there were no other dogs (or people) there. It's a smaller park just off the freeway, but it had a great view of the city.

It was fun to check out someplace new, but I don't think we'll be adding that park to our list of regular stops, just not enough activity or space for a big girl like Darwin.

{10may2011: Groupn}

2011-05-10T12:56:00.000-07:00

There are a dozen or more of those deal sites now, even ones for pets (barking deals), but today Groupon has a great "deal" for people to donate money to PAWS Seattle.

"Since its founding in 1967, PAWS has found homes for more than 120,000 dogs and cats and today takes in hundreds of animals every month, many of whom are malnourished and dehydrated. The nonprofit organization never euthanizes healthy adoptable companion animals, and 3,000 dogs and cats are taken into new households every year as a result of PAWS' efforts. PAWS is able to make the most of its food budget thanks to discounts on pet food from manufacturers and distributors, but the cost of feeding its four-legged wards remains substantial.

Join G-Team and donate $10 to help PAWS feed homeless dogs and cats. If G-Team members raise $600, PAWS can purchase enough pet food to feed all of the dogs and cats in its care for one month. Each additional $150 raised will fund a week’s worth of food for PAWS' animals."

If you have $10 to spare, check out this link and help Groupon raise money for PAWS.

And because I hate picture-less posts, here's a random puppy picture of Darwin.

{09may2011: Road Trip part 2}

2011-05-09T07:24:00.000-07:00

If you missed part 1 of the road trip you can take a look here.

After a quick R&R session at Boundary Bay for lunch we headed back south to the beach at Larrabee State Park so Darwin could run around a bit more.

It's not a very big stretch of beach, but we found some space we could let her off and chase a stick.

Though the sun was out the water was still ice cold and I was surprised Darwin was willing to get in the water as far as she did. She did spend time on the sand too, chewing her sticks.

She always makes me so nervous when she decides to play with sticks. She doesn't carry them perpendicular to her body, she likes to carry the end of it straight out in front of her. I'm always worried she's going to impale herself one day.

On our way out, we passed this little Pomeranian puppy who was very excited to see Darwin.

Then as Darwin passed by it snapped at Dar, and it's owner scooped it up really quickly. The whole time Darwin just kept walking by like nothing happened.

After that it was tulip time!

Because of the colder spring we've been having not all the tulip fields were in full bloom, but it was still beautiful nonetheless.

It was already getting late and we were tired from our hike, so rather than stop at another brewery for dinner, we headed back home so Darwin could get a bath. :)

{05may2011: birthday}

2011-05-05T06:57:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday to me!
One year ago we were still dealing with Darwin's gimpy-ness, trying to find the cause and a solution. This year she's healthier and stronger and I'm one year older!

***Sorry for the confusion. It's not Darwin's birthday (her's is in February), it's my (Darwin's mom) birthday!

{04may2011: Wordless Wednesday}

2011-05-04T07:41:00.000-07:00

Spinning training edition:

{03may2011: Road trip part 1}

2011-05-03T06:48:00.000-07:00

While it feels like it's taking spring forever to get to the PNW, we found one partly nice weekend to make our annual road trip up north for tulips and beer!

We started with our favorite bakery/cafe, Farm to Market Bakery, in Bow, Washington.

While we ate delicious baked goods, Darwin munched on grass.

We were a little less organized on this road trip than last year and it ended up affecting the number of stops we made. After breakfast we stopped at Larrabee State Park again for a hike. We parked in the main lot and thought we'd try a different trail to Lost Lake. Because of where we parked we were actually 2.2 miles away from the trailhead and so our hike started on an uphill climb up a service road.

As I said before it was only a partly nice day (some sun breaks, but also clouds and drizzles) so we were dressed in layers for our hike. But of course climbing uphill = HOT in layers, so as we made our way to the trailhead I removed layers til I was down to a tank top and my puffy vest, it really is not a flattering look.

Don't judge me. hahaha

From the trailhead it says it's a 2.5 mile hike to the lake. They lie.

While it was a lovely (steep) hike, after about 2.5 miles you climbed up to the ridge of the mountain and started working your way down, and could see the lake, but never quite got to it. After walking the 2.5 miles, we stopped a passing runner to ask how much further it was to the lake. She told us she's actually never gotten to the lake because there are fallen trees that block the path, and you'd have to climb over them to find your way to the trail. After hearing that, we decided to turn around and head back to the car, after all there was beer and tulips to still get to!

Darwin did have fun though, since it was rainy earlier, the trail was pretty muddy and she had a blast going through the mud puddles.

Let me just tell you, I'm in no shape for a 9 mile uphill hike. It took us at least 2-3 hours, and the next few days my booty and legs were so sore I walked funny.

And I was so exhausted I only managed to take one picture of beer!

Unlike last year's three brewery stops, we only managed to stop at Boundary Bay, but it was really good! That darn hike just took up way too much time (and energy).

Part two of the road trip to come!

{29april2011: flashback friday}

2011-04-29T16:35:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday Jason edition!

{28april2011: wordless Wednesday}

2011-04-27T17:09:00.000-07:00

Weekend slumber party at Boo Radley's house edition: