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A few weeks ago we went to Duluth, MN to hang out with Daniel’s aunts and uncles (Bill, Beth, Carol, and Preston) and grandparents (Ray and Priscilla).
Since I’d never been to Duluth before, Bill and Beth played tour guides and gave us a true Minnesotan experience. Our first day in Duluth was spent boating out on Lake Superior.
The weather was gorgeous and they even let me drive the boat (a first for me)! I may or may not have squealed “I feel like James Bond!” as I zipped around the bay. Also, Daniel and I may or may not have forgotten to wear sunscreen, thus causing very painful sunburns on our heads.
Beth’s dog Buddy was our constant companion – I am pretty sure he thinks he is a human.
And now for some Fun facts about Duluth, because you know you were waiting for it…
#1. They have an entire park dedicated to the viking Leif Ericson.
Side fact: Before I saw this statue, I thought the park was named after Leif Garrett.
#2. Duluth is the birthplace of Bob Dylan. He has a whole street dedicated to him.
#3. Duluth is also home to the Glensheen Historic Estate – which is basically like Downton Abbey: U.S. Edition. We toured it on our last day in Duluth. I hummed the tune from the opening credits almost the entire time. Daniel looooooved hated that.
While discovering Duluth was really fun, I have to admit, my favorite activity of the weekend involved another first for me: driving a four-wheeler.
Check out our boating-induced sunburns. Ouch.
Oh, and because no Hawkins family weekend is complete without some kind of DIY project, check out the birdhouse bench we worked on for Daniel’s Aunt Beth. The idea was that each Hawkins’ couple/family unit would be given one house on the bench to decorate in their own style.
To fit with the style of our bungalow in Kansas City, we picked the smallest house of the group – the light blue cottage smack in the middle of the bench. During the downtime between outings, I could be found painstakingly working on our little cottage to make it look just right.
I’m not going to lie, I think it turned out pretty awesome. And so us…
We had a blast in Duluth and hope to get back there sometime this winter to check out all of the fun cold weather activities Minnesota has to offer! What about you? Have you done anything for the first time this summer (like going four-wheeling or driving a boat)? For all you Minnesotans, was there anything we missed on our trip?
Polly Pocket here to share with you about my limits. You may not realize this (apparently foster mama didn’t*), but some dogs have limits as to how much they can handle before they go berserker and melt into a puddle of drool and stress toots.
You see, the thing is that I am just getting the hang of being part of a family in a house let alone out in the big bad world! So while I am finally able to be calm and hang out with Foster Mama and Foster Daddy (and Turkey and Rufus), I get really anxious when we leave the comfort of Foster House. I see other doggies and I go bark, bark, bark to let them know that I am not scared but very TOUGH. Sometimes I even bark at doggies who I know are my friends, like Dante.
Yesterday I met up with Dante and his Mama, Amy of Fido Fetch Photography, at the Suds of Fun charity dog wash for the Humane Society of Greater Kansas City. Foster Mama had thought this event would be a good way to both get me a bath and market me to potential furever families at the same time. She knew there would be some challenges though, since many of the factors involved in this outing pushed my limits: (1) Lots of dogs; (2) Lots of people – most of which were not paying attention to me; and (3) bath time (shudder). As soon as we got out of the car I started bark, bark, barking to let everyone know that I had arrived and that I am very TOUGH. I thought Foster Mama would appreciate that I was announcing our arrival, but she looked really embarrassed. She even tried to lure me from my hyper-attentive state with hot dogs, but seriously? I am a terrier, lady…it takes more than a hot dog to break MY focus. So instead of walking around and sniffing other dogs’ butts (which was making me feel growly), we found a quiet corner away from the hustle and bustle where Foster Mama made me “sit,” and she petted me when I was quiet. When it was time for my bath, we had to take this twist-y turn-y way into the bath time building because she didn’t want me to bark or lunge at anyone’s dog. Once inside, I faced death in the face the dreaded bathtub. I made sure to give Foster Mama my surliest glare to show her how I felt about bath time. Then she tickled underneath my chin and made me smile just a little before letting Amy snap this photo – tricked!
After my brush with death bath, Foster Mama got me some brisket for being so brave and took me back to a quiet spot away from the other doggies and let me eat just enough to not get sick, but enough to make my tummy warm and full and happy. I was a little upset when she gave a couple of bites to Dante, but she told me that he was her favorite hot dog, and I needed to chill out.
After my brisket, I calmed down enough to walk around to look at the different booths for a little bit. Some people’s dog’s were on retractable leashes, and a few times those dogs were out reeeeeeaaaallllly far on the leash and would just get up in my face! IN. MY. FACE! But luckily, Foster Mama and Amy were keeping a close eye out for me so Amy ran interference with Dante a few times and Foster Mama knew to redirect my focus if I started to get growly. One time, she even redirected my focus with a teeny tiny pup cone from Sheridan’s(my new favorite thing). I love the ice creams but not the cone, so I gave that part to Dante. See? I can share.
When I finished my cone, Foster Mama felt like I had done enough for the day and chauffeured me back to Foster House. Â She told me that I had “made some strides” but we still have a lot to work on. Walking around by the end of the night without barking or snapping at any dogs – good. Trying to hide between a hunky firefighter’s legs for three minutes because I was nervous – not so good. But honestly, can you blame me on that one?
* Foster Mom here – although Polly doesn’t think so, we do recognize that she has some boundary issues when out in public. I do want to help her work through those though, which is why I took her to this event. I was very careful to read her signs and take her away from the group when she was feeling overstimulated. The firefighter though – she beelined for him. Not sure what I could have done.
** Polly Pocket is still available for adoption – see her profile here!
Fridays are tough for this blogger. Statistically, it is my lowest readership day of the week. Why? I’m not sure. But because of that, it is always tough for me to come up with something to write for Fridays. I also tend to come up with half-baked post ideas. Ones that sounds great when I am in the shower pondering blog topics, but aren’t super content-rich when I go to write. So I came up with this idea: Fridays are going to be for the random half-baked content I come up with while plucking my eyebrows but aren’t enough to have an entire post dedicated to it. Sound good? I hope so! So here goes…
Random Stuff:
1. I recently attended a Kansas City Blogger event at Saks Off 5th at the Legends Outlets. While this blog is not fashion-focused (unless it’s doggy fashion, and in that case…), I do love to shop and I couldn’t pass up the free $25 gift card they gave all of the bloggers spending time with my fellow blog chicas.
A fun time was had by all and I walked away with these amazeballs Carrera sunglasses. Win-win.
2. Last weekend Daniel & I ran in the Color Run. If you have the opportunity, run this race. It is so. much. fun!
3. We are gearing up for a big garage sale this weekend. I’ve never been super successful with them but I figure if we are going to move, we need to get rid of a lot of stuff – and making a few bucks in the process would be great! We still don’t know where we are moving, but the ball is officially rolling…
4. It. is. hot. Like, hotter than H-E-Double-Hockeysticks. Which means we are visiting the pool a lot and the dogs are hanging out inside doing their best to stay cool. This is how they look on any given day…
Of course Polly Pocket, ever vigilant, refuses to snooze regardless of temperature. Luckily she has a delicious antler to keep her occupied. Speaking of Polly…
5. She got her stitches out yesterday and is now officially available for adoption through Heart of America Humane Society!
Have an awesome weekend and think of us as we melt away sell lots of our belongings at our garage sale tomorrow!
Turkey here with another confession: I am actually a Southern gentleman.
Well, not a Southern gentleman in the way of being born in the South or actually living there, but more in the way of watching the Kentucky Derby, wearing bow-ties, sittin’ on the porch on hot summer days, and drinking Mint Juleps. And I make the BEST Mint Juleps…one part simple syrup, two parts peanut butter, three parts crushed dog biscuits (or more if you are feeling sassy), and add a sprig of mint on the top. Deeeelish!
My Southern gentleman-side was never able to truly come out until Mama ordered my latest Sirius Republic collar and bow-tie. She said it’s for our upcoming photo session with Fido Fetch Photography, but I know she understands my need to express myself through my clothes!
Rufus is finally getting to express his inner Professor with his new collar and bow-tie, spouting off about deadlines for assignments and quoting famous poets. He looks sooo ridiculous. Annnnnd he doesn’t even have his own recipe for Mint Juleps! How does he expect to entertain guests?!
Oh wait, it’s Rufus. He doesn’t entertain. That just means more people to party with moi….score!
This time Mama even got her own present from Sirius Republic! It’s a pretty awesome hoodie with Chilly the Elderbelle (our sister from another mister) on it! Pretty sweet, right? Mama kept talking about how it was “so soft” and “so warm.” Like I can’t be “so soft” or “so warm” for her? Pssssh!
Alright, now back to perfecting my julep recipe … it’s not quite right … maybe more peanut butter? Or is it more dog biscuits? I can never remember!
XOXO,
Turkey
Our Waldo Bungie 