July 13, 2009

Time Off

It’s summer and so, we have taken a few trips with a few more planned. This weekend, we headed south to visit Uncle Paul and Aunt  Patti and my canine cousins — Hope and Ringo. I won’t bore you with all the details, but here are some of my favorite highlights:

I’m Older Now

When I first arrived into the family, the first people I met aside from my moms were my Aunt and Uncle. One of my first photographs was taken on their porch. Here’s a comparison — Now and Then

older nowporchportrait

Hanging Out with Family

My family is pretty silly. My aunt and uncle have a hanging swing and Ann made me swing in it. I was leery at first, but after awhile, I was loving it.

Grandpa, on the other hand, may look serious in this photo, but he’s a real laugh. I mean, just look at that hat!

hanginggrandpaw

Uncle Paul and Aunt Patti have a beautiful home overlooking this amazing valley where grapevines and walnut trees dot the landscape. They also have a really cool garden of their own. Remember, I have a very silly family!

Aunt and Unclebutts up

…a very silly family who LOVES to eat as well as relax and tell stories.

lunchgrandma

Canine Cousins

Hope is the older cousin — 11 years approximately — and Ringo the younger — about 6 years old.  They sometimes have issues with each other, but they get over it pretty quickly. Gretchen tells me that this is common with Jack Russell Terriers. I actually know this first hand since I’ve had a scuffle with a pair myself so Gretchen kept referring to this as my Jack Russell Rehabilitation Camp.

togetherhoperingo

Ringo and Hope like to hunt squirrels who live in the juniper bushes in their backyard. Let me tell you, while I may get excited about a squirrel, these to are amazing, walking on the prickly juniper and diving into without a single qualm.

kingohope

And what’s a summer vacation without running through the sprinklers?

sprinklerkeep away

My orange and blue ball was a hit. Ringo rips up everything, but not this baby! So we went out shopping for his own orange and blue ball. He was very happy with his gift!

a new ballfriends

Lastly, Aunt Patti and Uncle Paul have a hot tub. Now, while I like to go swimming very much, I was banned from diving into the hot tub. That was okay because it looked mighty warm. Ringo, on the other hand, was always threatening to go in.  He never did, but let me tell you, he thought about it.

I thought about how happy I am to have such a wonderful family!

hot tub anyone?I'm happy

Back to work tomorrow.  See you all then!

Rubin

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