Dogs and dogs and dogs and dogs

Over the weekend of June 12, we were the lucky couple to be blessed with not one but TWO boxers. (Sidenote: can I just say thank god Tim was around this weekend?! I would have died by myself). One of the boxers was Bella, the other my neighbors (who, is now a total saint in my eyes for watching two boxers many days each month). Things I learned during this whole experience: 1) Two boxers are a lot of work even though they do keep each other entertained, they don't really sleep/relax much 2) Bella is as INSANE with energy as previously thought 3) It was CRAZY, beyond comprehension to have a dog that only poops TWICE a day. Pictures, below, of the adventure:

First thing in the morning Saturday we picked up our neighbor's pup, Sadie. My goal for the day was to get the dogs so tired that they couldn't do anything BUT sleep that night. So, we went straight to the park to let them run for 15 minutes.

Of course, Bella did a beeline straight for the disgusting mud puddle so smelled like she bathed in complete shit. Sadie, of course, was the un-pig dog that avoided the puddle. We then had to stop at a gas station to give Bella a quick rinse... otherwise, the two people in the car would have been puking. And if you know my thing with puke, well, yeah... a quick rinse was necessary.

And again. She was not a fan. She likes smelling like shit. My neighbor thinks she is part pig. I tend to agree.

Since that Saturday was the first day in MONTHS of gorgeous weather, we took full advantage and went to the mountains for hiking... after of course the park sprints for the dogs, the quick rinse, and a stop at caffe ladro for tea and cookies to munch on for the 30 minute car ride to the mountains. Once there, it was PACKED. Shocking (sarcasm). Seriously, we hadn't seen sun OR 70 degrees, in, I don't know, FOREVER, so everyone had the same idea. We had decided just to do Mount Si, a relatively easy 8 mile hike just because it was easy, accessible and we didn't have to deal with snow while we had the dogs. Up at the top, we had a great view!

With Bella...

And... one more try....

A picture of Miss Sadie at the top.

And Miss Bella....

And one more of Sadie where she's looking at me. Gorgeous views that day!

A picture of Tim with the pups. They sort of look like sisters! Both reverse brindle but Sadie has more white on her face.

And me with both dogs. They did SO good on the hike! We were HAULING up the mountain and were passing people left and right. It's 4 miles up and I think the elevation gain is 4500 feet or something and we did it in just over an hour... I was SUPER impressed with us (and the dogs)! It was a great workout, we worked hard! Going down we made it in an hour or so.

After the hike we went to the beach... gorgeous! Both dogs got to swim because it was actually hot out. Sadie was not a huge fan. Neither was Bella, really, but she's used to us making her swim. And it cools them off, which they liked.

Sadie hanging out on her towel, basking in the sun.

And getting ready to go swimming again.

The next day was pretty much a repeat of Saturday...except for the weather, because god forbid we actually have two awesome days in a row! Sunday was MUCH cooler and more cloudy but we decided to still tough it out. We went to the woods closer to our house and did a mini-hike (not as many inclines). It was still probably 8-10 miles, though, so by the end we were tired and sore given all of our hiking over the course of the weekend. We went to the beach again afterwards and tried to catch a few rays of sun though it was not as prevalent as the day before. After that, Sadie went home. And I subsequently enjoyed the rest of my sunday. Quietly. With only one dog. And a tired one at that.