Magoomba Better Late than Never

I still want to devote an entire post to my birthday. Hopefully that will happen before next February. Yes, it seems life has been moving that fast.

- No surprise, having a puppy is time-consuming, both a lot of work and a lot of fun. At the end of the day we are all pretty exhausted. Not to mention the much earlier wake up call we get in the form of licks, nibbles and kisses:

- Then to add to the mix, last week our good friend Cruz had surgery on his knee, so we watched his two great danes, Summer and Gage. Kuma loved having other dogs around as I still think he misses his brothers and sisters. The danes, who are both 8 years old and the size of small horses, were not to sure what to think about this energetic little pup nipping at their feet (like how Summer took over Kuma's bed? It was like musical beds all weekend):

There is no doubt what the cats thought about the danes. The look on Friday's face says it all:

-To complicate matters, we had another storm come through that promised more snow. It didn't really deliver much but it was cold and wet and muddy outside so having 3 dogs and 2 kids going in and out was well, let's just call it interesting.

-The kids were disappointed that we didn't get enough snow to play in, so on Sunday I drove them up the hill to a part of the park called Black Rock. Unfortunately, the snow was still just a little higher but the kids had fun playing hide and seek in the bushes (you can see the snow on the hill behind them):

- This past week was extra busy. Jadyn had ballet (they are gearing up for the June recital), Jake started practice for the new season of baseball (Go Red Sox!), Jadyn had her first of two appointments for her cavities (and was super cooperative and brave, so proud!) and Kuma had his first vet appointment (not so cooperative and brave, but what can you do?).

- The weather has been mild enough that I have been able walk/run an average of 10 miles a week. Now I just need to catch up from the beginning of the year, and I will be on track to complete 500 in 2011.

- I finished reading the book "Little Bee" by Chris Cleave. For me, it did not live up to the hype. I liked it. The first half was definitely more engrossing then the second half. It really makes you appreciate what we have.

- I watched the Oscars last week and like everyone else was a little disappointed in the hosts. I thought Anne Hathaway overdid it and was annoying. James Franco just phoned it in but honestly that didn't bother me nearly as much. I haven't seen the King's Speech so I was disappointed they won so many awards. Maybe I will feel differently when I do see it but I was hoping that The Social Network would get a few more than they did. I thought Natalie Portman, was not only deserving but looked radiant.

- Super excited that the Amazing Race is back on and with an all-star type season of returning favorites, I can't decide who I am rooting for (well, actually I do seem to be favoring the cowboys). Even more exciting is that the kids watched it with me and love it. All week they ask me when the race around the world will be on again. I love that it provides opportunities to talk about cultures other than ours. It has been quite a learning experience.

I think that about catches me up (except for my birthday of course). Much better weather on tap for this weekend so I am hoping we can spend some quality time outdoors. Hope everyone enjoys their weekend!