Agility, Surprises and Houseguests!

(I created this post a few days ago and tried to upload the videos but couldn't get them to work. I figured I better get this post up before weeks went by. I'll work on the videos more and getting them posted.)

There has been quite a lot going on that I need to catch up with!

Firstly, Sirius and I spent 8 weeks taking a beginner's agility class. We had a lot of fun learning to do some beginner obstacles and how to get through a course. Henry was able to go to the graduation class with us on May 3rd and was able to take some videos of us going through the course. We were in a metal building at the Fairgrounds during a CRAZY storm so the video is pretty loud.



My hand is filled with hot dogs to give him treats but he would get so excited to get a hot dog piece that he would bite me a lot. He actually made me bleed at one class. He did a great job and we are very proud of him.

Our next adventure involved a surprise trip to California for my dad's 60th birthday. We had actually been discussing this trip for a year and a half, unbeknown to him. We flew in on May 5th, his birthday, and were picked up at the airport by Rob. Then Karen had arranged for a limo to pick up all the kids and spouses first, and get them last.

Here is the video of us surprising Dad:

Everything went so perfectly! After that, we went to an AMAZING restaurant called The Kitchen. It was the best meal I have ever had in my life. Ever. First you come in and are taken to your table and order whatever you want to drink. Then for the next half hour or so, you are free to wander around anywhere you want, including the kitchen! They told us nowhere is off limits. We could go back and watch the chefs preparing the food at anytime and they would explain everything they were doing. It was so fun. It was also amazing how nice the whole staff was - they servers were running around trying to get all the water filled and the chefs were trying to cook and you have a bunch of civilians wandering everywhere. At no point did we ever feel in the way or that we were bothering someone.

After that, they came out and introduced everybody, explained what to expect from the evening, and talked about the menu and where it all came from. Then the insanity started. I can't even say enough about the food. Words don't describe how good it was. The best part, was after the second course, we were raving about how good it was and the server asked if we wanted some more. Turns out, it's all you can eat!!!!! If you want seconds or thirds or fourths of anything, they'll make you another one!! Let me tell you, we all took advantage of that. Especially at the dessert course. It was five courses, with an intermission of sushi and sashimi. I felt like I had died and gone to heaven. The whole evening took about four and a half hours. Even the tea they made was the best ever. You would go up and tell you what flavors they wanted and they took these cast iron tea pots and a huge box of fresh herbs and made you herbal tea. Seriously? I didn't even know you could do that. I thought it had to come dried in a tea bag. I could go on for hours about the food but I will try to restrain myself.

We had a few more days in California after that so we got to do some really fun stuff like go to the Cheesecake Factory and spend a day in San Francisco. Henry had been there once before a long time ago but it was really fun to show him around, show him the marathon course, and take him to USF.

Then we got to go see Iron Man 2 at IMAX and have a dinner with the whole family - kids included this time. It was a great way to spend the weekend and fun for us to get out of town for a little while.

In the meantime, the ten days leading up to our trip to CA, we had a little furry houseguest staying with us! Dad and Karen had found a little Brussels Griffon puppy from Absorkee. They were able to get the puppy to us and she stayed with us until we left for California and took her to her permanent home. We had a pretty fun time with little Dali while she was here. It took some getting used to - the only dog I have had is Siri and we definitely know how to take care of big dogs more than little dogs. The little nugget was only four and a half pounds and went with us everywhere. She came to work with me and loved sleeping on our laps. She was a lot of fun but we realized we are a one dog family, and that dog shall be a Labrador.

We had such a busy and fun start to our May! It's nice to be home and getting ready to start summer in Montana. We have a lot of house and yard projects we're trying to get done and Henry is staying busy with school. It's shaping up to be a great summer!