Patton - 6 Days Old

I guess I should have mentioned that Patton is a great dane! Yes, he's going to be huge.

Here's his 6 day old photos. He was born on May 27, 2010.

Thistle Hunting in the Forest

Shhhh, Dave's hunting thistles.


Yes, we have thistles. Stupid things anyway.



We've been out twice cutting them down.

Notice our so-called lawn. It got a little out of control. We attempted to hire a landscaper and plant grass in the spring, but he didn't get back to us until it was too late (not a happy story). We'll get grass in as soon as possible later this summer.

In the meantime, we bought Dave a new toy. Even upgraded and purchased the brushcutter attachment.

So far, a good investment. But so much more to go.

Patton - Birthday Photos

Warning...Lots of Patton photo posts ahead!

Here's Patton, his mother, Thelma, and his siblings on their birthday! Ten puppies in one litter. Can you imagine?!?

Of the two mostly white puppies, Patton is on the left.



Patton passed out on his sibling.



Patton is the 4th from the right.

Meet Bentley and Winston

As I mentioned, Mom, Andrea, and I traveled to McCook last Thursday to pick up Mom's new puppies. After much deliberation, they were officially named Bentley and Winston.

It was a long trip and Bentley was exhausted on the ride home (though I think Bentley has since proven he'll sleep anytime, anywhere).


Winston on the left and Bentley on the right.


Andrea and puppy.

We stopped in Holdrege for a break. It was also in Holdrege that we found out these guys would rather dump the water dish and play in it than drink the water.

Napping.

At home, inspecting the camera.

Exhausted. It was a long car ride.

Rolo used to love sleeping on this shelf when he was little. Bentley actually pushed the items that were on the shelf onto the floor so he could nap. Rolo would be proud.

Sleeping on stinky boots.

I think he's smitten (even though he won't admit it)!

Patton

Last week was probably the most exciting week of my life (at least so far). Just one surprise after another and 4 new additions to our family.

First, I'll start with our new addition. Meet Patton...

Isn't he adorable? I'm totally smitten!

Here's Patton's story...I had gone back for the holiday on Wednesday, June 30th. Mom and I were heading to McCook on Thursday to pick up her new puppies (more on them later). On Thursday morning, I was checking my email while eating breakfast. One of my emails was from our breeder. You should have seen my reaction! I was hollering and running for the computer (my phone wouldn't load the photos fast enough).

We had put down a deposit a few months ago and were patiently waiting for our puppy. We figured it would be a while which was ok because we don't have a fence yet. Anyway, this little guy's adoptive parents couldn't adopt him anymore as one of them lost their job. If we wanted him, he was ours. I immediately called Dave who of course was in a meeting! I told his 7-month pregnant co-worker to tackle him as he exited the meeting. By the time Dave called me back, I had already decided Patton was the cutest thing on the planet and there was no way I was going to not adopt him!

He'll be coming home to our house on July 16th! Only 2 long weeks since we were told he was ours. Of course I panicked because instead of 8 weeks to plan, I only have 2 but we are making due! Lots of projects that we thought could be put off are being fast-tracked.

Oh, now you are wondering about the other 3 additions to our family? Well, mom has 2 new puppies. I'll have lots to say and lots of pictures soon.

The third addition? Well, I'm going to be an aunt! Michael and Andrea are expecting a baby in early December!!! I just found out last Monday! See, I told you it an exciting week!

Beeswax

Do you know how beeswax is made? I didn't but I do now. Let me share.

Apparently worker bees develop special wax-producing glands on their abdomens. The bees consume honey which causes the glands to convert the sugar into wax which is extruded through small pores. It takes 8 pounds of honey to produce a pound of wax! The wax appears as small flakes on the bees' abdomen. The flakes of wax are removed by worker bees from their neighbor's abdomen and then chewed until it reaches the right consistency to be applied to the honeycomb.


Why would I take the time to look this up? Well....

Let me introduce you to my dad. He loves to use beeswax.

Here he's putting beeswax on the nails which he uses to hang our trim. Dave and I are so grateful that he has the skills to hang all our trim (or at least instruct Dave on the process). We are also grateful that he is here hanging the trim.

But what this photo doesn't show you is the pile of beeswax shavings on the stairs. I have beeswax everywhere! I'm constantly scraping it off of my floors. It's actually quite comical. I have to admit that of all the warnings we received about building a home, beeswax was never one of them.

Where's Waldo?

We have our own version of Where's Waldo here. Except Waldo is a deer and is a little tougher to find here.

Can you find the deer in this picture?



Did you spot all 5 of the deer in that photo? No? You mean you couldn't see them all because our weeds are hiding them?

Here's another photo.

We have a small weed problem (and some would say a deer problem). We have to wait until later in August to plant grass so we aren't bothering with the weeds until then. In the meantime we have lots of hiding spots for deer.