Thanksgiving...We Survived!!!
10 people, 5 dogs, 2 turkeys, and 1 ham later, we can proudly say we hosted a successful Thanksgiving! I'll admit...on Wednesday night when all 5 dogs (Jaxon, Lewis, Sam, Hunter and Wally) converged in the open space between our living room and dining area and left zero space for safe passage from one realm to the other, I had a slight panic attack. But thankfully (and yes...this is the first of many "thankfully" moments noted this past weekend) they each settled down fairly quickly and THANKFULLY (see...here it is again) we have a fenced in yard and were able to nudge them out the back door.
I think I owe you a brief introduction to each of the four-legged characters that graced our home over the Thanksgiving holiday:
Jaxon (aka, The Phew) - Jaxon was the first of this new generation of pups that started showing up in our families a few years back. He's Jodi and Noah's (Ty's sister and brother-in-law) 6-year old yellow lab who's smart as can be. Jaxon has a few signature traits - a tail tip with band-aids (he wags so hard it bleeds), a neurosis for buzzing bugs, a determination to search and destroy all flash-light beams, and a squinty-eyed-body-wagging greeting that leaves you far from doubtful that this guy's a little love. Surprisingly, Jaxon is the smallest of the group.
Hunter - Hunter was second to show up in the line of dogs. I won't elaborate too much on him, as you probably already have an idea for his antics.
Sampson (aka, Sam, Sammy Hammy, and lovingly...DumDum) - Sam is almost three and the big brute of the group. He's a beautiful chocolate lab with signature green eyes. Sam's a farm-dog and lives with Ty's parents on the "Anderson Ranch." As a result, Sam is very skeptical of any noise he hears here in the big city. He's used to the quiet surroundings of the Palouse and around here, even the simple sound of the next-door neighbor's phone-ringing is cause for alarm. We love him though and I have to say...he's getting used to his city-life visits. Sam's signature trait is the shock-collar around his neck (used to help Ty's mom reign in 120-pounds of dog).
Lewis (aka, Sweet Lou) - Lewis is Jodi and Noah's most recent addition. He's almost 2 and was purchased under the pretense that he was a pure-bred black lab. Well...turns out Lewis may have a bit of great dane in him. Each time we get to see Lewis we can't believe how big he's gotten. Lewis is kind of the class-clown of the crew and he's always finding things to get in to. His list of ulcer-causing incidents include getting his tongue stuck in the paper shredder and eating an entire bag of organic fertilizer.
Wally (aka, Waddy) - Again, you know Wally. I'll say just one thing about Wally in relation to "the gang". He knows he's the baby and plays it up, but he's also not afraid to wrestle with the big boys.
Ty and I employed the "if you don't look at it, it's not there" technique over the holiday. I caught myself muttering "don't look down, don't look down", as I tip-toed through the dog-hair laden kitchen and dining room floors. Or, I'd quickly glance in the opposite direction as the corner of my eye would catch smudges of dirt that lined a base-board or wall...placed there by a paw, a tail, maybe even a tongue from one of the 5 beasts roaming our home.
As you would expect with 5 dogs under one roof, there were several highlights to the weekend. More than I can recount, to be honest. But, alas...I'll do my best to share with you some of the moments that made us laugh, groan, and shake our heads in disbelief this past Thanksgiving.
I think I owe you a brief introduction to each of the four-legged characters that graced our home over the Thanksgiving holiday:
Jaxon (aka, The Phew) - Jaxon was the first of this new generation of pups that started showing up in our families a few years back. He's Jodi and Noah's (Ty's sister and brother-in-law) 6-year old yellow lab who's smart as can be. Jaxon has a few signature traits - a tail tip with band-aids (he wags so hard it bleeds), a neurosis for buzzing bugs, a determination to search and destroy all flash-light beams, and a squinty-eyed-body-wagging greeting that leaves you far from doubtful that this guy's a little love. Surprisingly, Jaxon is the smallest of the group.
Hunter - Hunter was second to show up in the line of dogs. I won't elaborate too much on him, as you probably already have an idea for his antics.
Sampson (aka, Sam, Sammy Hammy, and lovingly...DumDum) - Sam is almost three and the big brute of the group. He's a beautiful chocolate lab with signature green eyes. Sam's a farm-dog and lives with Ty's parents on the "Anderson Ranch." As a result, Sam is very skeptical of any noise he hears here in the big city. He's used to the quiet surroundings of the Palouse and around here, even the simple sound of the next-door neighbor's phone-ringing is cause for alarm. We love him though and I have to say...he's getting used to his city-life visits. Sam's signature trait is the shock-collar around his neck (used to help Ty's mom reign in 120-pounds of dog).
Lewis (aka, Sweet Lou) - Lewis is Jodi and Noah's most recent addition. He's almost 2 and was purchased under the pretense that he was a pure-bred black lab. Well...turns out Lewis may have a bit of great dane in him. Each time we get to see Lewis we can't believe how big he's gotten. Lewis is kind of the class-clown of the crew and he's always finding things to get in to. His list of ulcer-causing incidents include getting his tongue stuck in the paper shredder and eating an entire bag of organic fertilizer.
Wally (aka, Waddy) - Again, you know Wally. I'll say just one thing about Wally in relation to "the gang". He knows he's the baby and plays it up, but he's also not afraid to wrestle with the big boys.
Ty and I employed the "if you don't look at it, it's not there" technique over the holiday. I caught myself muttering "don't look down, don't look down", as I tip-toed through the dog-hair laden kitchen and dining room floors. Or, I'd quickly glance in the opposite direction as the corner of my eye would catch smudges of dirt that lined a base-board or wall...placed there by a paw, a tail, maybe even a tongue from one of the 5 beasts roaming our home.
As you would expect with 5 dogs under one roof, there were several highlights to the weekend. More than I can recount, to be honest. But, alas...I'll do my best to share with you some of the moments that made us laugh, groan, and shake our heads in disbelief this past Thanksgiving.
- Lewis decided to start the Thanksgiving pig-out session early. On Wednesday night, only Jaxon and Hunter were downstairs with us and the rest of the house was too quiet. Ty wandered upstairs to scope out the situation and stumbled upon Lewis with his head plunged into his and Jaxon's food bag. Where were Sam and Wally? Standing behind Lou, staring. They were either in awe of his "skills" or attempting to snap him out of his mesmerized state.
- There was a lot of "cookie tossing" that took place. Not totally sure why...something in the air? Sammy tossed his dinner on Wednesday night, Hunter tossed his breakfast on our Thanksgiving run, and Wally had a little spit-up on Thursday night. And the funny thing is...Lewis got sick at Bill and Wileen's house before they came to our place. Maybe we had a case of the "doggy flu" running through the pack.
- The dogs tried "Texas Toothpicks" for the first time. Only Jaxon was smart enough to say "Hell no...I'm not putting that in my mouth!". What's a Texas Toothpick, you ask? Think Rocky Mountain Oysters, but the other half (straight up: rawhide bull wee-wee's).
- Jodi, Noah and Ty braved the cold and went for a Thanksgiving run with Sam, Wally, Lewis and Jaxon. Imagine what the neighbors thought!
- Hunter got to run on Thanksgiving with his best-gal-pal Sonja, Deb's two golden's - Ridley and Griffin - and a black lab named Ebony (I think Roo had a crush on her) on the Bigfork Nature trail.
- Lewis was the only dog that made the decision himself that he would sample two of our Thanksgiving day foods. He managed to slurp out a little over half of the ranch in the veggie dip cup. And...upon clean-up, he snuck around to the mashed taters and gave them his seal of approval.
- Out of desperation, we fried one of our turkeys in true Montana style...in the drive-way! After serious evaluation of the back-yard situation, we all agreed we'd sacrifice reputation for safety. 5 dogs and a vat of hot oil don't mix well together.
- Occasionally, and out of no where, one of the dogs would flip upright and lunge for something in a corner or behind the couch. Or sometimes charge up the stairs at full speed. Random...yes...but then we'd see Rosco (the cat) and it all made sense.
- Barking...yeeezz...we had a lot of barking. Any time someone came in the front door, went out the front door, or turned the door knob to the front door...barking. If one of the dogs spotted a person walking down the street...barks ensued, followed by barking from 4 other dogs. Just because. They hadn't seen the person, nor did they know why they were barking. Just 'cause.
- At one point we had 7 dogs in the vicinity. Shayla and Molly came over on Friday night, but only made it as far as the garage to eat their dinner.
All-in-all, we had a fabulous Thanksgiving. Thanks to Bill, Wileen, Jodi, Noah, Jon and Raminta for making the trek to Kalispell to spend Thanksgiving with us. And thanks to my Mom and Dad for offering that much-needed support with tables, chairs, food, etc. to help make it all possible.
Would we do it again? OF COURSE!!! Theses dogs are such a huge part of our lives and spending a holiday without them is unbearable to think of.
.JPG)
