Julianne's first trip to the West Coast & Happy Birthday Linda

Julianne, our niece who will turn 1 in August, made her first pilgrimage to California. Of course it couldn't be the easiest trip for her, as they were delayed over night in Atlanta. She came with Cara and Linda for Linda's birthday. It was so great to see how much she has changed, losing her baby rolls as she busies herself crawling. Hana's reaction to having a baby here was pretty cute too but more on that later.

We took Julianne for her first trip to the Pacific Ocean the day she arrived. Her initial reaction was dislike for sand and the quite chilly water but she grew to love it. We took her to Coronado Beach the next day for a couple of hours of fun in the sun (or cloud cover as the marine layer hangs on again). She was so cute in her all American swimsuit and delighted in picking up the sand and watching it dissolve through her fingers. She wanted to put it all over the blanket too.

Julianne loves the zoo so off we went for an early morning stroll at the World Famous San Diego zoo. She watched a Malayan tiger gnaw on a bone, a giant Panda- Su Lin- chewing on bamboo while her sister, Zhen Zhen slept in a tree high above, and polar bears splashing and playing. Jules visited some local attractions like In-N-Out burger and Lamont St. grill, where she was very well behaved! We miss her so much already and wish she wasn't so far away.

Why can't dogs scratch with their front legs?

I have been considering this for a few days. I have never seen a dog use their front paws to scratch. I thought about this as I watched Hana and wondered if she perhaps has gotten fleas. She uses her hind legs to scratch her head and neck, she will even stand on three legs to raise a back paw to her side. She will also contort her spine in a variety of ways so she can nibble on her paws, her backside, her rib cage or her belly. I realize that her hips can open up in ways her shoulders can't but why can't dogs use the front paws to reach down and scratch their belly when they are sitting up? It seems so much more time and energy saving then having to rotate her head and spine 45 degrees to get to a spot that itches.

Hana had her first half day at doggie daycare today so that we could get ready for a visit from our family (more on that later.) I was much more anxious than I thought I would be because she is such a shy dog and being a rescue dog I have limited information on her previous life so I worry. Luckily she went with her good buddy Dude so he could show her the ropes and hopefully make her feel at ease. She made it the whole four hours and more importantly so did I. Apparently though she only played with Dude when she did play but mostly sat back and observed. This is par for the course for a thinking dog and probably Border Collies who aren't sure what their jobs are in this situation and who they should be clinging to. I hope the next time she will have more playmates and be trusting of us that we will always return to get her.

Tim

He became one of my best friends the very day I met him. The day I had to say good-bye also changed my life, but thank God his big sister Becca made him come talk to two girls at the swimming pool that day. It began almost 14 years of amazing times. I think of a country song, "even if I had known how this would end, I would have done it all the same" - Tim was the first person to ever get me to listen to country music.
This is a picture from his last birthday we spent together, doing what he loved, being out on a boat with some friends. Living in Southern California, there are many "Timmy" days, like today where the sun is shining and the sky is clear blue and every time I see a water skier, I hope he is skiing somewhere. I miss him every single day and today especially because it his birthday or my half-birthday as I used to tease him. I know he would want us to take full advantage and get some friends together for a game of ultimate frisbee or to go to the lake or maybe have a chocolate milkshake, which he was pretty sure he had perfected. Happy birthday my good friend.

Yoga challenge update

I am well into the second week of my yoga challenge and doing well. It is very strange because I look forward to going and seeing what my body has learned to do from day to day, but I also find myself looking forward to the two days I take off. I definitely see improvement in my flexibility and strength though any time I do chair pose it can feel as if my thigh muscles are burning and bleeding.
The last few days while I was at yoga and G. Paul was out of town, Hana had play dates with Dude. We are so grateful to have Jennifer in our lives because she feels the same way about her dog as we do ours. It is truly special to find people who love animals the same as us. Hana would get so excited when I would say "let's go see Dude" and run to the back gate. She came home everyday exhausted. This morning she stayed home with G. and I think she thought she should be going to Dude's again. As I got dressed and on my bike, she again kept coming outside and looking around.
June Gloom has been sticking around in July but the humidity is up here. We hope to get Hana to Fiesta Island in order to keep her cool and hopefully kayak often.

Happy Birthday Grandma Hawkins and Happy Independence Day!

Happy July 3rd birthday to Grandma Hawkins! We are hoping to see her in Sept. when we visit D.C. but we still send lots of love from the West Coast to the East Coast.

Happy Independence Day to everyone! In our tiny beach town, almost 700,000 people are expected today and although they banned alcohol on the beach, I think the beautiful weather will still attract most people. We could do the truly American thing and rent out one of our parking spots for some good money, but we are storing the kayaks there temporarily- another San Diego issue- no storage! This will be our 4th celebration of the Fourth in San Diego. Luckily we can wait until 8:45 to walk to Mission Bay and get a prime viewing spot for Sea World fireworks, PB fireworks as well as the three sites along Coronado, Downtown and Ocean Beach-depending on the wind and marine layer we should be able to view all of them. (Hana will be watching Animal Planet at home in an attempt to drown out potentially scary noises though she has done well this season with the nightly Sea World display). Have fun!

Yoga Challenge

Wish me luck! I began a yoga challenge today. If I can do yoga five times a week for the month of July, I get a month free. I have been going four times a week and that gets me pretty tired. Hopefully by the end of July, I will be able to do a forward crow instead of just side crow. :)

Tonight is the second night of Hana's continuing obedience class. Let's hope she is not as stressed as last week. We just played hide and seek with a Kong full of treats and she was pretty excited for that. She played with Dude and his friend Wrigley this morning and handled two dogs well; this is a major improvement over hiding behind the chair the last time Dude and Wrigley were together.

The weather is perfect in San Diego as we gear up for 4th of July. I am not sure the 700,000 people who are expected to come to our beach this year will due to the alcohol ban. It is always interesting and we will see how Hana handles all the noises- she doesn't mind the Sea World fireworks every night but add a few thousand people and a much longer show and who knows what will happen?