Father's Day Weekend in Rison

I'm trying to make more of an effort in this blogging thing so I can purposefully take pictures at events and write about it. This weekend B & I loaded up the spaniels, dropped off the bigger dogs with a pet sitter and make the short drive to Buie's hometown of Rison, Arkansas. I'm embarrassed to say this, but we hadn't seen my in-laws since Christmas! (I know, shameful, right?) Being right in the middle of wedding season, it's so hard to take off. We jumped on the opportunity to see them on our first free weekend and spent a good 48 hours of family time. 

Lady and Conner love their big backyard and spent most of their outside side chasing squirrels and making sure they had sniffed every corner of their yard. 

We slept in late on Saturday morning which was glorious. We sipped our coffee in our pjs and snuggled with the dogs, watched the news and relaxed. Saturday afternoon we hopped in the car and got the $5 tour from Buie's dad. Mr. Rufus has lived in Rison his whole life. Their family owned The Buie Funeral Home for many years until he retired. If you are not familiar with Rison, it is a town of about 1,300. I always thought I was from a small town...until I went to Rison. Mr. Rufus drove us around and showed us the home where he first lived as a young boy and the home where he and Mrs. Carole lived. He showed us the original funeral home where he and his family lived in a one bedroom apartment in the back for many years. 

We stopped by Rison High School and I begged them to take a photo in front of the football field where they both played football for the Rison Wildcats. I know these are the little things that one day we'll be so thankful we took the time to do. I cherish this time we get to spend with our parents. 

Saturday evening the boys cleaned off the grilled. Buie's brother picked up some steaks. I made some potatoes and B cooked the steaks. We filled our bellies and then piled in the living room and watched a movie. The Buies are movie experts. It's kind of a family tradition to watch movies when we're all together. That's where B gets his love of movies from. 

 Back in Louisiana, my parents went out to eat with my both of my brothers' families and their six kiddos. I called my dad on the phone to wish him a happy Father's Day. I'm sure their dinner was a bit more lively than ours since it's just the 5 of us, but it was a just the relaxing weekend we needed.

Sunday morning we put on our fancy clothes and drove the 200 yards down Main Street to Rison Methodist Church where we were introduced by the pastor and welcomed by the whole church. Nothing like a small town church, where literally everyone knows your name. ;)

Thanks for a great weekend in Rison! We love you guys! B & I are so blessed to have two amazing father's in our lives. They have taught us what real men are! We love y'all! 

Lady Luck

Can you believe this adorable little face has been in our home for almost THREE WHOLE WEEKS but has yet to adorn our blog? What is wrong with this dog mom? I'll tell you what is wrong with me! I've been busy potty training and entertaining this little bundle of energy...and maybe cleaning up poop and pee here and there! 

Lady came to us through two different families. It's sort of a lengthy story but I'll try to make it brief. 

I've always wanted a King Charles Cavalier. In fact, I was told that Conner is HALF King Charles so I started doing more research. They really are a great breed and I really wanted one. King Charles Cavalier Spaniels are known to be a pricey, well bred dog and are usually AKC registered. They can cost close to a thousand dollars or more if you get them from a good breeder. Because I am a big advocate of rescuing dogs and not buying straight from breeder, I knew that the only way I would ever get a Cavalier would be to rescue one. But of course, it's hard to find a Cav that needs "rescuing" because the owner that invest several hundred dollars in a dog are not as likely to either give them up to a rescue organization or heaven forbid, dump them, like so many people sadly do with their dogs they can no longer afford. 

                        

So how did we find Miss Lady? Facebook. It's true. I saw her picture on Facebook. A friend of mine shared her picture and said that her friend could no longer take care of this picture and they were looking for a home for this little girl. I messaged the owners but sadly they had already found a home for her.

Flash forward several weeks and I was sitting around a table with some close friends of ours and the subject of our dogs came up. She showed me a picture of her King Charles Cavalier and mentioned that she had just recently obtained her. I, of course, freaked out a little bit and said something like, "OMG! I LOVE Cavaliers and have always wanted one! Where did you get her?" She told me she got her from our mutual friend on Facebook who was selling their Cav.

Ugh, SHE was the person who had already taken the dog that I wanted. :(  For a split second I was sad but honestly I didn't think anything else about it because my friend had obviously contacted her before I did. She was enjoying the dog that I had always wanted. I would just have to keep waiting for my chance to own a Cavalier.

Well, little did I know, I wouldn't have to wait long. My friend (who just recently obtained the dog) sent me a message and asked if I would like to have her. Well, DUH! Of course I would! I was shocked that she was giving her up but after visiting the dog at their house, it was clear that she needed more room to run. She needed a yard with a fence. Could she have been happy there? Of course! But I think it was meant to be. She is so happy at her new home! 

We took Scooter and Conner to visit her one day just to make sure they would all get along and they did. The next day, she was ours! We named her Lady and she makes animal number 6 at the Buie's Zoo. 

She is crazy hyper and rambunctious, a typical puppy. We basically had to start completely over with crate training so yes, there have been multiple accidents. She HATES the rain and REFUSES to go potty in the wet grass. She gets along well with our cat Hazel but chases Charlie for some reason. Conner and Scooter both like her and sometimes even try to play with her even though they are both old men. :)

Most of the time she does not live up to her name and does things totally unladylike. She eats bugs, chases frogs & lizards, steals Scooter's toys right out of his mouth and my least favorite thing she does is any chance she gets she will run out of the front door as fast as she can and as far away as she can. She's crazy but I love her!