Lucky 13 !!!!

Today is mine & Brad's 13th anniversary,actually it's Sept 29th but this dumb blog has the wrong date!!!!......last year Brad was in Lethbridge working while I was still in Thunder Bay, so we didn't get to celebrate. It is nice to be together this year...it is actually one day that Brad "doesn't" mind celebrating!

Hope you can excuse me if I post pictures from our day...I am quite sentimental about it still! Call me quirky!!! (private joke!)

Getting my veil on that morning......

Walking down the aisle with Dad......

In the back room after signing our marriage certificate......

Walking out as a married couple, whoo hoo!!......Outside the church......

Our First Dance......, which I cried through!!......

Father-Daughter Dance, ......which we both cried through!......

Thanks for putting up with me & my pictures,....I just think it is so sad that after the wedding the pictures all get put away, never to be looked at again!
I just couldn't resist adding these....

My sister Debra & her son Aaron, 3 yrs old in this picture, now 15!!!!

My niece Sherri, who was 9 at my wedding & is now 22!!,& Aaron......

How Fast They Grow!

It's just amazing to me how fast puppies grow....I have had Kort for 3 months now & the change is crazy!! However, the dynamics are the same.....Kort is always following his big brother, here are some then & now shots......

Tate & Kort the day I picked Kort up from the breeder......

Yesterday in the park......At the breeders......

In the park!......I love my 2 boys!

Lovely Fall

I love fall!!! The crisp mornings with the warm sun & all the beautiful colours make me a happy girl!

This morning I took my camera along on my walk to Nicholas Sheran Park....

Here are the results!!......

I couldn't resist taking a short video too!......

Tate's Visit To The Edmonton Holistic Vet Clinic

Since I knew I would be in Sherwood Park in Sept. I looked on the internet & found a really good holistic clinic to take Tate to. This clinic does acupuncture as well as chiropractic work on dogs & people. I have never liked to over do shots & medications, except for the puppy series, & if I can do something naturally I will. Tate has been slowing down due to his arthritis, so I thought this might help.

The visit was an hour long & boy do they take a detailed assessment of your dog! The vet I had, Dr. Veronica Devall, was not convinced Tate had arthritis in both elbows & both wrists like I had been told. She said that without an x-ray she couldn't say for sure. She did feel arthritis in his left elbow for sure though. Tate also seems to be loosing muscle mass in his rear....Dr. Devall wondered if it was a side effect from being infected with the lymes bacteria a year ago.

Tate ended up having his neck adjusted both front & back, & his spine & pelvis as well. He had acupuncture done in 4 areas....to help with any pain he may be feeling & to help increase his appetite. He has lost 8 Ilbs since April.

I was sent home with some exercises to do on him & some natural supplements...the supplements really seem to be helping his appetite, he is eating much better & he does seem to have more energy...

All & all I enjoyed the visit & hopefully I have done something to help my Tate feel better. I was also happy to know that Dr. Devall is going to be practicing in Calgary in Nov. so I can go back for a follow up.

Here are some pictures of my couch potato at Debra's having to share his comfy space with Brad, Aaron & Shane!

The West Edmonton Mall

One of the most exciting days we had was when we visited the West Edmonton Mall, it is amazing!! We saw as much as we could while there, & I took some pictures of my favourite things.

Here is me posing in front of the pirate ship as I called it!......

Some shots of the ship....you can't really grasp how big this thing is unless you see it in person, but you have to imagine it sitting in the middle of the mall, in water!!!......

I don't know what to call this but I think it has something to do with New Orleans & Mardi Gras!......

This was my favourite place to wander around....you actually felt like you were wandering around the streets of New Orleans, but you were totally inside...very cool!......

They also had huge aquariums with all these exotic fish in them....I only took a picture of the shark!!
What a great day, can't wait to go back!

Visit To Davenloch Kennel

On our third day in Sherwood Park we went out to visit with Kort's breeders, Dave & Shawn at Davenloch Kennels. My sister Debra was wonderful & came out with me.....what a drive that was!! , Davenloch has moved to Gwynne AB on 60 plus acres of land, & it took us a bit to find it, I won't even talk about our ride home in the dark!!!
When we arrived we were treated like royalty, Dave & Shawn were perfect hosts!! How wonderful it was for me to be able to talk collies all night with someone that loves the breed as much as I do, & also is crazy about pedigrees!
We had a tour of the property, which stretches as far as your eyes can see, visited with all the collies, including Gavin which is Korts litterbrother, & just as bad says Tate! We were in time to see the sunset, & what a gorgeous sight that was. After a supper that included roasted chicken , stuffing, rice, salad & the most delicious brussel sprouts I have ever tasted!!, they melted in your mouth!...we saw the moon rising from the front of the house, & both Debra & I were ready to move in! Did I mention that the house is over 100 years old & it has oak trees in the front yard that were as old!
My sister was in heaven, she loves oak trees...
I couldn't leave without having Dave put Kort's ears in..., all you friends of mine know the full ear story & just how rotten my son is about having them done....well, Dave, Shawn & I set out to do them.... Dave didn't pull out any stops, he put glue & extra glue, we waited through each stage until the glue dried to make sure they were in good & tight....Shawn went in to cut up the apple pie while Dave & I finished up with the brace...I let go of Korts head, he did one quick shake & out came the brace!! You should have seen Dave's expression!!!! He said he has done hundreds of ears & he has never had a dog get out the brace.....of course I laughed & told him "see, I'm not crazy!!" , Kort's a brat! After that Dave kept saying , "I'm soooo sorry!!" That's ok Dave, I'll get him in line someday!!!
Then the evening had finally ended & it was time to go.
I'd like to thank Dave & Shawn for showing Debra & I such a great time...
The pictures that follow are only a few my sister Debra took while I was busy yakking up a storm with the guys, thanks Debra!
These 2 pictures are when Kort finally realized who Dave & Shawn were...he just kept kissing & kissing them......
Kort visits with all his relatives...... Talking collies on the front porch......this reminds me of the Waltons!! Good night John Boy! I just love these shots Debra got of Dave leading the way to watch the sunset with Tate & Kort following behind......
The sun sets at Davenloch...... Back of the house......
Dave, Shawn & I do Kort's ears......
Beautiful Oak Tree......
New Friends!......

Holidays, Day 2

On the second day in Sherwood Park it was Brad's birthday. We spent the day at the West Edmonton Mall, then later had pizza & German chocolate birthday cake!!
I had bought Neil Diamond tickets months earlier and surprised him with them. The concert was wonderful!!!! I would go see him again in a heartbeat.....it wasn't long enough though, I could have listened to him all night. Here are a couple of pictures of Brad opening the tickets......
Here we all are ready to go see Neil!!...... By the way, I had so many pictures from this week that I decided to go on flickr to post them....you can see some that I have started putting on of my trip to Davenloch.......more will follow! The link is on this page under favourite blogs.