Family Portrait

Jake's parent were out visiting and Stan has this amazing camera and loves taking pictures so we asked him if he would take a few family portraits. He agreed and we went out on the coldest day of the season so far and got some good shots. Here is the best one. What a cute family huh?

Stitches

Today is Day 3, which means that Nico's foot can be unwrapped. It can also stay unwrapped as long as he can keep it clean. Today was the first time I was able to see his stitches and they look pretty good. He's being a good boy and not licking them either. We'll see how long that lasts.

Lady Luck

It seems Lady Luck is on Nico's side and his foot isn't broken, not even fractured. He did need stitches in his toe to close up a large gash. $250 later, he has another pretty scar.

We're home

The wedding in CA was very nice. It was a very short stay for us after a very long drive, but it was worth it. Jake was able to see all of his college buddies. It was a lot of fun.

We come home to news that Nico had his foot stepped on by Reno. I guess Reno ran out of his stall and Nico wanted to head him off and they seem to have met in the middle and Nico's foot was squished. I just took him to the vet today where they will x-ray it and maybe stitch up a pretty deep cut that is between his toes. I'll let you know how it goes. I've included some pictures of horse's feet so you can see how much damage they can cause. I've been stepped on... it hurts.

Pumpkin!

Well, I promised pictures and here they are. Nico decided to help to show exactly the size of this monster. We will end up carving a design on 3 sides and putting it out for all of the trick-or-treaters to enjoy, but for now it is safely on display until later in the month. We are still thinking of an appropriate name for it. Last year's was "Humphrey". Humphrey had a big smiley face as the main carving because he was a huge, big, fat, happy man. It only seemed appropriate to be smiling. Once we carve him, I'll post more pics.

Too Much to Do!

After reading Sara's latest blog entry, I was inspired to go pink and as you can see, I changed our blog to support Breast Cancer Awareness Month. And as my cute little sign says, don't forget to "Feel Your Boobies."

Jake left for California today to help his folks bring some furniture out here to AZ this weekend. He left early so he could get an oil change in the truck before the long drive. I woke up as he left and started my chores. I vaccumed and dusted and did a little laundry. I still need to mop the tile (if you've been to our house you know that is almost the entire place!) and clean the bathrooms and then go grocery shopping.

I went running this morning as well. Starting October off well, I went about 2 miles today. Mr. Nico went with me. I think 2 miles is about his max. It was starting go get a little warm and he was pooped. Maybe I'll give him a bath later.

I also need to go and pick up some hay for the horses. We're almost out and that would be a bad thing.

Wow, I sure have a lot of stuff to do! Bummer.

A Kabillion Stars

Out of the last 60 hours I have worked 24 and I'm kinda tired. Jake had to work tonight and I was half asleep on the couch as he was getting ready to leave. Nico was bouncing off the walls with energy. He would run outside, run back inside down the hall, slide on the tile, turn around and run and almost attack us. He was a little hyper. I felt really bad for him and I really didn't want to play. I did, however, suck it up and put on my running shoes. Nico and I went for a quick little run at about 8:15 tonight. Our street is pretty dark and I was amazed at how many stars there are. I swear I could see a kabillion! I forget how relaxing it is to just stare at them all and think about how far away they are. It really made me appreciate that Nico got me out to run tonight. Thanks buddy!

Trauma

Today was Nico's second vet appointment. He had to have an ultrasound of his tummy and good news... HE'S NOT PREGNANT!! It also showed that he has no mass hanging around his spleen but his spleen is enlarged... a lot. His pancreas is also very inflammed and irritated. Both of these indicate that he has had "trauma" to the area. This also means that "Mr. Mahookie-Butthead Nico" probably was chasing the horses and was KICKED... again!! Big surprise huh? Well overall, it's good news and bad. He's going to be fine but she also saw in an x-ray that he has an enlarged heart. 75-80% of large dogs get this condition called Cardiomyopathy. Ultimately his heart muscles will become thick and it will be hard for his heart to pump. He isn't showing any signs of it yet, other than the x-ray. It will be awhile for it to really bother him and we know the signs to look for. So pretty much Nico is a healthy boy for now!

We did take the opportunity to take some pictures of him while he was sedated (snoring quite loud mind you) and having the ultrasound. Enjoy!

HEY!!... Did you know you can click on these pictures and they get huge? I didn't! Nico is even funnier HUGE!

Mass

The past few days, Nico has seemed like he was a little sore in his left hip. He would whine as he stood up, or cry as we petted his hips. Fearing hip dysplacia, we took him to the vet. As they were poking around, he just about jumped through the roof as they poked at his belly. We decided to do x-rays of his abdomen and hips. When we picked him up later that day, they showed us the x-rays. They pointed out his liver, spleen, stomach, bladder, colon, kidneys, and a large tennis ball sized mass they couldn't identify. They say it may be cancer, a hematoma, tumor, or even something else, they just don't know. Another view showed that his spleen and colon, which are supposed to run down the center are pushed to either side of his body. Nico will have to go back on Tuesday afternoon for an ultrasound so they can pinpoint what it may be a little more accurately. Now, about his hip x-rays... his hips aren't too bad-- They aren't great, just not too bad. He probably will have hip dysplacia at some point. Also, they think his miniscus in his knee is slightly torn. It's not so bad to need surgery for it but it is kinda torn. Also, he already has arthritis in his knees as well. Poor guy. We'll keep you posted. (I used a lot of big words that I can't spell, so forgive me.)

Poor Nico

Well, it has been a long time coming but Nico finally got kicked by Miss Soda Pop. He ran up behind her and tried to bite her on the back of her leg and she really let him have it. I originally thought she dislocated his shoulder just by the way he was holding it back and not putting weight on it at all. Thank goodness, I was wrong. She did slice his shoulder up pretty good though. It was about 2 inches long and about 3/4 of an inch was completly through the layers of skin down to the muscle. We cleaned it up and waited overnight to see how it would react. The next day, we decided he needed stitches and took him to the vet. Sure enough, he had to get 4 staples. They had to knock him out to do it so his recovery was pretty long. He was practically falling off the seat in the car on the ride home and he slept for hours once we were home. Well, this was definetly not something that made us laugh that day, however, it could have been SO MUCH WORSE! Thank goodness it was just a cut and not a broken leg, or worse. Poor Nico )-:

Nico the Clown...

OK so here is a story I meant to put on a long time ago...

Nico gives us something to laugh at everyday, but this one takes the cake. It is so funny I can't help laughing but I feel guilty at the same time... but I have to laugh... and feel guilty. You'll understand why:

I was driving out to my folk's house in our Camry and Nico was in the back seat. Now he LOVES to stand up and hang his head out of the window. Well, I'm driving and looking in the side mirror, because I adjusted it so I could only see his face in it, and laughing hysterically because he is so wrinkly and droopy that his lips are doing their darnedest to make him fly! They are flopping up and down so fast and with so much fury that they are hitting him in the eyes and making him flinch with each pass. Now not only are his lips preparing for lift off, his neck skin is helping as well, and to top that off, his eyes are being blown open by the wind like he is terrified! So like I said, I'm driving and staring and laughing out loud thinking, "I'm going to video this and send it to America's Funniest Home Videos... we could win $10,000!" So we come to a corner where I turned to the left very slowly. Now I always make it a point to go extra slow because Nico is a little clumsy and loses his balance easy. Well, I heard him stumble a little and I glanced back at him over my left shoulder and all I could see was his tail bouncing up and down, back and forth as he was walking across the street... HE FELL OUT OF THE WINDOW!!!! Now first off, he wasn't hurt at all, not even a scrape and can't tell you exactly how he did it. It was just a split second, just a little rustle in the back seat and out he went. He also defies physics because he was hanging out of the left rear window... I turned left (very slowly mind you), and he fell out the left window... He should have gone to the right like most things do in the car as you turn left. Go figure. He wasn't even jumping out to chase anything because he was just casually walking across the street when I stopped and got him. He just looked at me like nothing at all happened. He got back in the car and was perfectly normal. Weird huh? Now I really wish I had this on video!

Update...FINALLY!!!

Well hello there. I know, I know... it's been way too long since I updated this. Well, we've had some things going on lately. Jake's grandma, Texana, in New Mexico passed away so we travelled over there for her funeral. I had never been to that part of NM before so it was fun and exciting. I got to see the Rio Grande River... never seen that before.

Jake's brother, Sam, graduated from the CA Highway Patrol Academy. Yep, he's a CHiP now... more John than Ponch though.

Jake and I have been working like crazy. Our schedules have changed... again... so we only see each other about 4 nights a week. We do have the same days off though so that is nice.

Jake and I are going to the gym quite often. There is a half marathon in Sedona next February and I have been dared to take part. I can do 6 miles on the elliptical but running is a different story. We'll see how that works out... I'll keep you posted... really I will.

Well, our local minor league hockey team won the league championships and the President's Cup. Jake went to the celebration and got his picture taken with the cup. He was so excited! It is pretty cool. It was fun having season tickets again this year and watching them go all the way.

We found this great little trail/road across the street from our house that Nico really enjoys. We let him off the leash and he runs around like an excited child on Christmas morning. He finds bunny rabbits and roadrunners and chases them. We encourage this of course knowing that there is no chance in Hedes he'll ever catch one. He's a little too big and clumbsy for that. He's a good jogging partner though... he has more energy than I do and way more than his huge body should have.

Here is the view on that trail. Isn't AZ beautiful. Just 2 days ago it was pushing 100 degrees, and now it's raining... go figure. I love that kind of weather though. It keeps you on your toes.

Well, I guess that is about it. I promise to try to be better with this updating thing. I've added a few pics and a video to the past blogs as well. I worked very hard on these, computers don't come natural to everyone, so check it out. Have a good one and enjoy!

Our Info

Well, this last year has been a little crazy. Many of life's big events have happened. We rescued a new dog. His name is Nico and he is a Neapolitian Mastiff.

He's a big, clutzy goff but a lot of fun. He has been a challenge but fun. He loves to play with the water and loves to be right next to you all the time. He's about 125 lbs and thinks he is a lap dog. And yes, with those droopy lips, he drools. We've adapted though, by having towels next to every door and nearevery water bowl.

We also got a new car. It is a 2007 Toyota Camry. It has all of the bells and whistles. We love it. We still have the Dodge truck as well.

Both of us got a job working for Lockheed-Martin as air traffic controllers and we could not be happier! It is a fun, exciting, and challenging job that we enjoy doing. We give weather briefings to pilots and inform them of what is around their route of flight. It is amazing! We love it. We enjoy going to work everyday... funny huh?

My mom and dad bought a house about 7 minutes away from ours. They have 2.6 acres and they have all 3 of our hourses at their house. Their house is beautiful!

We went to Las Vegas for our 1 year anniversary in November. We stayed at the Mandalay and it was so fun! We don't really gamble much so we went to the show "Stomp" and it was amazing We went to the other hotels and just looked around. Wow. It was fun.

In December, Jake and I found a house to rent. We just love it. It is about 1760 sq. feet and is almost brand new. We moved in late Dec, early Jan. and absolutly love it. We have been working on furnishing it and doing a pretty good job I think. It has a waterfall and pond in the back and we know Nico will love his "swimming pool" in the summer.

In September we got a phone call that my Grandpa Hart up in Oregon was having health problems. It turns out it was liver cancer and it was failing. I lucky enough to get the chance to go up there and visit for a weekend before he passed away. It was a great visit and I was able to say my good bye. On September 11th, he passed away. One month after that, my uncle Don passed away as well. Needless to say, it was a hard couple months. My grandma decided to come down here to AZ for awhile just to get away. She stayed until last weekend. I expect she will be back in not too long. I imagine it is hard to go home without your husband there. They were married for something like 55 years.

Just about a month ago, we found out that my parent's dog Smokey had bone cancer. She was doing so well and was still so happy and excited to see everyone so my parent's decided to just keep her comfortable until her quality of life changed. Her left hind leg was very swollen (that was where they found the cancer) but it never seemed to bother her. Last weekend, her leg became more swollen. She was taken to the vet and found out she had licked her leg so much that there were sores where you could see the bone underneith. They decided that the time had come and put her to sleep. They said as the vet started to inject her, she looked at them and wiggled her little nub of a tail. She seemed happy.

On a happier note, as I am typing, it is snowing outside, big flakes. It is not sticking but it is pretty anyway. I think this will be the last storm of the season. We have had a lot of rain and snow this year. It has been wonderful. Well, I think that is all I have for now. That is a quick update of our last year. Hopefully we are all caught up and we'll stay in touch.

Love to you all!

Kayla