FIORI

A CHIHULY GARDEN OF GLASS

We went over to the zoo for a few hours of skating today. The kids are off school for Martin Luther King day. The rink was a little busier than I thought it would be. But we had fun despite all the ice bumps. There are a bunch of spots where water drips from the rafters and lands on the ice and makes little speed bumps, they can trip you up if you are not careful. Megan was having fun trying to skate over them...she's our little dare devil! She must have quite a bit of Reil blood in her!

Paige our little ice skating princess!
Can you see the concentration on Megan's face? She skated very well today and I did not have to help her get up at all. She is turning into a great little skater!
Paige and Megan posing on the ice....pure sweetness!
I was attempting to take a picture of Paige skating backward when she plopped down on her bottom...so I got this instead! At least she is smiling :)

Paige and Megan look like they are about to collide but somehow they didn't. I think it is cool that I caught Megan with her foot up...looks like a flamingo!

Rowdy thinks he's king of the kongs!

A kong is a little rubber toy (the thing between his paws) and it has a little hole in it that you can put a puppy treat in. Rowdy loves his kong...as long as it is stuffed with a puppy treat. No puppy treat and he just ignores it. If the kong is loaded with a puppy treat then it is like a doggy pacifier...he will lick at it, bounce it and even resort to tossing it down a flight of stairs to get the treat out.

Rebel on the other hand is not so serious about the kong...he will run and chase it just becasue it bounces....treat or no treat. He gets excited when there's a treat in it but he does not get obsessed with it.

We have two kongs...yesterday I gave one to each dog before I went to do my work out at the club. Rebel had his in his dog cage with him and Rowdy was in a sunbeam on the floor working on his. When I returned Rebels kong was stuffed under a blanket in the corner of his puppy cage...with treat intact. Rowdy's kong was empty so when I let Rebel out to play Rowdy thought he would go get Rebel's kong. I told Rowdy to leave it alone. Later when Megan and I were going off to her dance class we put Rebel back in his cage. This really upset Rowdy because he still wanted the kong...he even growled at Rebel. This was kind of funny because Rebel had no clue what Rowdy was so upset about. I was a bit annoyed with Rowdy but I did put another treat in his kong so that he would leave Rebel alone while we were out.

So that is the story of King Kong!

Paige and Megan mugging for the
camera. Our little ice skaters!









Paige getting her skating legs warmed up. The ice was a little smoother this week not so rutted up so it took a few laps to get her confidence back.

We went ice skating again this past Sunday. We didn't get there until 3 p.m. but by 4:30 the place was empty and we had our own private ice rink for the last half hour until it closed at 5.
This is Megan the Blue Bomber...she loves to get going fast then turn around and crash on purpose...it freaks me out...I'm rushing over to make sure she's okay and she's grinning from ear to ear:)
Paige getting a tow from her dad.

Sweet Dreams...


When I came home last night the girls had just gone to bed. After changing into comfortable clothes and watching the Buckeyes get their butts kicked I went up to check on the girls. Rebel was in with Paige...guess the outburst from Mike over his team doing so poorly made Rebel want to snuggle up where there is peace and quiet. Megan looks so sweet snuggled up with her bear that Great Grandma got her for her 2nd b.day. The bear wears a pink t-shirt that says "I love Megan" on it. Megan calls the bear "Sweetie".

This little camera that Paige has takes great pictures in the dark on the night mode...the only light in the room are the girls little nightlights. When you think about it camera's have come such a long way in such a short time. Remember the cameras with the little square light cubes on top. Or the 110 camera of the 70's. We used to tease my grandma about cutting peoples heads off...don't think it was her. It was probably just the old camera she was using. Sorry Grandma!

Here is Megan and Rebel waiting at the front door for Paige's school bus last Thursday. Can you see that Megan has bare feet...it was about 60 degrees and sunny that is why we had the front door open with just the glass storm door closed. We like to let the sun in whenever we can...it was pretty warm for early January. The next picture is Rebel greeting Paige...they are both so thrilled to see each other....after being apart from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. When Paige came in she said "It's like Rebel thinks I'm a movie star, he's so happy to see me". Rebel just knows that Paige will play with him and then snuggle up when he needs a nap.

Puppy Update:

Rebel will be 4 months old on January 14th. He has grown so much since we picked him from the litter...when he was 4 weeks old. He was just a little butter ball back then, he could hardly walk in a straight line. Now he is so fast, and he can jump like a jack-rabbit. When we brought him home at 6 weeks old he was just four and a half pounds. Now he is a whopping 9 lbs. 9 oz. He looks so tall and his feet look huge, but if he is standing near Rowdy he is slightly shorter than Rowdy. I think he will be very close to Rowdy's size. Rebel had the last of his puppy shots yesterday, he was not pleased with the rabies shot...it stung and he cried. Poor little pup. He is turning into a good dog...he goes to the front or back doors when he wants out. He even whines, which is more than Rowdy will do. Rowdy will just stare at you like "Hey Stupid get up and let me out"...but it works. Rowdy and Rebel are getting along a little better...meaning Rebel is learning not to chase Rowdy and bite at him...as much. Rebel will drop things like mulch and leaves out of his mouth when I tell him, but not rocks...I have to dig those out with my fingers. Don't ask me why this silly pup wants to eat rocks?! He has become a part of our family and the girls are good with him, and no matter what Mike says I know he loves him too.

The Perfect Day
With Paige and
Joe Boxer


Over winter break Paige and I had a nice outing together while Megan was at a playdate with one of her kindergarten friends. It was nice just sharing some time together and getting to enjoy Joe's company. Ya see Paige usually is in school when I get to go walk Joe. Sometimes Megan gets to come along because she does not have kindergarten everyday. This was a nice treat for Paige.

You can see how much she loves Joe and it was fun to let her walk him....she looks so proud. There is something about walking a big, handsome dog that makes you feel special. We are so lucky to have Aunt Deb, Bud and Joe in our lives. Deb always thanks me so much for taking Joe out and she gets us the cutest little gifts. I keep telling her the best gift of all is seeing Joe. He always makes us smile!

The Izzies on ice.....
on New Years day!

We made it to the Columbus zoo ice rink today. The girls were thrilled and I think it did us all good to get out and enjoy some fun in the fresh air. It was chilly today with a brisk wind. The ice rink is closed in on 2 1/4 th sides so it is not so bad....plus seeing all the Christmas lights is festive. Paige got her skating legs back pretty fast. Today was Megan's first real time on the ice, she has not been skating since she was 3. Megan did wonderful too! She was very determined. At first Mike and I were taking turns holding her hands or we would get on each side of her. After about 15 minutes I told her to try and skate in front of me...Mike would skate backwards in front of her so we were both there to help her up and protect her from other skaters. She has good balance and determination....and she is a tough little skater. She only complained once when she landed hard on her bottom....she went out took a 5 minute rest, had some cocoa and was ready to skate again. We skated for a good 2 hours. When we got home the girls took a shower, got their p.j.'s on and ate a small supper. I noticed that Megan has a bruise on her backside from one of her spills. We plan to go again on Sunday. The ice rink is opened on weekends in January. It is fun to watch the girls having fun plus we are all getting some exercise. Not a bad way to start off the year!

Happy New Year to all from our little corner of the world to yours! May 2007 be filld with good health, peace and all the happiness your hearts can hold! Last night me and Paige and Megan upheld our tradition of spending New Years Eve at the Columbus zoo. Mike said he did not feel like being a duck and walking in the rain so we left him at home to party with the pups. We were only out for 2 hours but it was long enough to take in all of the magical lights (nearly all). We just went up to the N.America area, then down to the new Asia Quest part of it just opened in November. We had fun watching some monkeys at a new indoor area. When we came out of Asia Quest about an hour into being at the zoo the rain and wind started. We were prepared...had our raincoats, boots and hats and a couple of umbrellas. On our walk over to Discovery Reef (the indoor coral reef) our umbrellas did the whoosh inside out trick a few times....that is always funnier when it is happening to someone else. But we laughed anyways. We watched the diver feed the fish and then went across the way to see the Manatees. The Manatees are not into staying up late and were already sleeping in a Manatte dog pile. We ended our outing with a ride on the carasol and then marched back to the parking lot. We did stop at the ice skating rink to see how the ice looked and find out the hours. I think we will go over for a skate later today. The rink does not open until 4 p.m. so that will be something fun to do. We are also taking down the Christmas tree...we need our coffee table back. HAPPY 1-01-07 TO ALL!