So...yes...Hunter, Wally, and I have been MIA for a time. Sorry about that! But...we have a good excuse...THE HOLIDAYS!!! :) We've been hustling and bustling around, making the most of our time with family and friends (and some more furry than others) during the festive season.

Allow us to give you a brief recap:

Christmas 2007
On Saturday, December 22, we loaded up the car and took off for Moscow, ID to spend Christmas with Ty's parents. It was a cold day to drive and Hunter and Wally were not shy about letting it be known that the car temp was WAY too hot for their liking. Between the endless dog-panting and Wally's stinky poo-hole...the air in our Subaru reached near toxic levels and oxygen became scarce. We were forced to subject ourselves to the frigid air with frantic window-roll-downs on several occasions. Despite the dog-induced, volatile conditions, we made it safe and sound. Upon our arrival at the Anderson Ranch (Bill and Wileen's place), we took the dogs out for a run in the full-on blizzard conditions that ensued shortly after we pulled up the driveway. We endured the needle-like snowflakes blasting our faces for the sake of peace and quiet the remainder of the evening. Luckily, our approach proved successful and the dogs settled down quite well. Now...you may remember from previous blogs that Ty's folks have the big chocolate lab named Sam. Hunter and Wally love Sam. Wally especially loves Sam, because Sam will play with Wally, as he's got just enough of the puppy left in him. Ty's Aunt and Uncle were also in town for Christmas and they have a wire-haired pointer named Chutney. Wally finally met his match with Chutney, who has boundless (and I mean boundless) energy. Chutney likes to run and by-golly...so does Wally! "Wally...let me introduce you to Chutney...Wally...why don't you follow Chutney...everywhere...k?" It was so nice taking them for a walk together. Wally did indeed follow Chutney...everywhere. Conveniently, this meant Wally would come back to us when we called Chutney in and left us without much worry that he would take off on his own. It was truly a blissful set-up. Wally would become a speck in the distance, loping behind Chutney and trying to keep pace as they'd crest the next hill. Ahhh...we knew we'd sleep good that night! :)

I could go on and on about Christmas and moments that presented themselves as great blog material, but I'll close on this note...it was wonderful. A cozy home with snow outside, being with family, great food, so much love, and all our dingos close by. It was just right.

Here are some photos to help recap Christmas:







Sam and Hunter recovering from being Wally'ed.





Ty and Leanne heading out for a morning walk with the dogs (Hunter, Wally, Sam and Chutney). Notice Hunter's the only one that stuck around as we headed out. Wanna know why? Food...he's afraid he'll miss out on some if he runs ahead.



Hee-hee...Wally got a new sweater. And yes...the other dogs laughed at him. That is, until they saw how much attention he got for being so cute in it! :)

New Year's Eve Day 2007
We headed out early for the mountains, on this final day of 2007. Straight for Essex, Montana and the Izaak Walton Inn. We loaded up the car with skis, snowshoes, warm clothes, and most importantly...dogs, for a day of fun in the snow! Ty and I spent about an hour and a half skate skiing on the amazing trails at the Izaak Walton and then headed back down the road to snowshoe at a spot off the highway. It was the dingos' turn to have an adventure! We'd hiked last Fall at Skiumah Lake trail and there just happened to be a great place to showshoe close by. What a day! It was so refreshing, rejuvenating, breathtaking, tiring...and one of the best days we've ever had.

More photos:




Looking down the road we drove up to get to the Izaak Walton. So purdy!



Just finished up skate skiing (photo courtesy: Canon PowerShot and Subaru Outback roof rack)



Looking up the canyon where we'd been skiing. Sleigh rides were available with the horses pictured. A family was riding the sleigh, pulled by the horses, as we drove in. Wally's never seen a horse before...need I say more? (okay...I'll elaborate...incessant barking as we drove by).

The dingos wait their turn!



We absolutely, could not get them to sit still for a photo...they were too wiggly. Excited from all the snow!


Ty snowshoeing with what we think is a dog behind him (not sure which one, though).

New Year's Eve 2007
Since we'd spent Christmas with Ty's parents, we spent New Year's Eve with mine (Frank and Lori, a.ka. The Franks, the Franzelka's, or in my case, Mom and Dad). It's a little tradition we started two Christmases ago. When we spend Christmas with Ty's folks, we save our Christmas celebration (gift opening, food eating, game playing, etc.) for NYE with my parents. It's a good way to extend the holidays as long as possible. Our goal with taking the dogs snowshoeing earlier in the day was to wear them out. Hunter obliged our tactic and was ready to settle in next to my parents' wood stove...no arguments from him. Wally, however, found some deep well of energy in his toes or something and brought it all out upon our arrival. The primary catalyst for his sudden boost was actually pretty easily determined...new toys. Not "new"...like...just from the pet store new, but NEEWWW-hoo-hoo...as in..."doggie new." As in...it's not mine...it belongs to another dog...it's nice and goobered up already...and I could antagonize it's rightful owners if I prance around with it in my mouth and shove it in their face over and over again. This is the kind of "new" we're talking about. Thus, we had to endure Wally's games for a short time, but eventually he settled down.

Unfortunately, the night didn't go quite as planned. Dad got called out on a fire (he volunteers for the Ferndale Fire Dept.) and didn't get home until 11:00 or so. Molly wasn't in the mood for Wally's enthusiasm for his "new" toys and spent the night in the bedroom (doggie timeout). And our game night consisted of a 1/4 round of Sequence with all four of us, one round with three of us, three rounds with two of us (Mom and me), and Mom and I tackling a puzzle until 2:00 in the morning. It was good, though. Wish Dad could have been there for it, but he was back in time to ring in the new year with us.

New Year's Day 2008
We started out New Year's Day with our "Christmas" and opened gifts from one another. It was lots of fun and included gifts for each of the furry critters (Shayla, Molly, Hunter, Wally, and Rosco were all gift recipients).

And really...not a whole lot more to report back on for New Year's Day. We slept in, took naps, watched football, and had chance to start the year off right by indulging in the always delectable breakfast burritos.

It was a gorgeous, sunny day with fresh fallen snow. The dogs were finally tired, and we were able to relax with them. The year is off to a great start!

Wishing you all a fabulous 2008!!! Can't wait to share more of our adventures in the coming year!!!