Saying Good Bye to 2014

Our family really tried to get into the Christmas spirit, then it hit the wall.  Choral Concerts, shopping and wrapping for our church's "Adopt a Family," donated books to a Children's Hospital, two parties and a nicely planned Christmas dinner turned into quiet, lay low and try to keep any thing in to stay hydrated.  That's right - Mommy and Daddy got the nasty flu!  Not the short kind, either.  The long, lingering body aches, high fever, nausea, feel  like you are coughing up a lung kind.

Ringo and I did our best to take care of them.  They rested quite a bit (not like them at all) so we tried to be really quiet.  We like taking naps anyway, so it wasn't too hard.  Every once in a while, we gave them a kiss to make sure they were still breathing.  It's a good thing I don't have to write an essay on "What I did on my Christmas Vacation," it would be pretty boring.

They are starting to feel better now, just in time for Daddy to go back to work.  They still have the cough.  Mommy had to go to the doctor Monday for her yearly cancer screening.  That always causes a little stress.  Ringo and I are keeping our paws crossed.

The last few days have been extremely cold!  Below zero!  At least the Sun has come out!  We had a couple inches of snow, so that was nice to play in for a while.  We are ready to start a new year!  We hope you all have a great new year in 2015!  Thanks everyone for a great 2014!

Love,
Boomer! the Mellow Yellow Lab

Happy Birthday, Ringo!

Ringo turned one year old today.  He's very excited!  He loves his new birthday toy, and had us sing "Ringo Bells" all day.

Love,
Boomer!  The Mellow Yellow Lab

Holiday Cheer

It has been a busy month for us.  The first weeks Mommy and Daddy went to a beautiful Choral concert - a real treat for them since they both were in choir many years ago.  The next day, they bought gifts for our church's "Adopt-A-Families" and then wrapped them.  They said that was very fun.  We also bought a couple of gifts for the "Toys for Tots" program.

Daddy had an all day seminar, so Ringo and I went over to our friend, Jennifer's house for a play date.  We really enjoyed playing with our puppy and human friends!  Ringo is a real character!

This past week Mommy and Daddy went to two Christmas parties.  The first one was for the Writers' Group.  It was great seeing all of our old friends and catching up.  The next day they went to a party at Mommy's friend Sheila's house.  They have known each other for many years.  It was very festive and had a Danish theme!  A lot of fun!

Our dear friend, Kathy gave Ringo his first Christmas present.  It was for both of us, but I let Ringo open it.  He was very excited - they were home made doggy treats!  I know he will share with me because I taught him how to share.  He is a good boy!

Ringo's first birthday is December 22nd!  We are very excited about it, it is hard to believe he has been with us for 5 months - time really flies!

Along with all the outings, we managed to hang up our Christmas stockings, send a few cards and wrap a few presents.  We don't put up a tree because the ornaments are too tempting for a puppy!

We also donated a few books to a Children's Hospital in Wisconsin, filled a few book orders and sent out a couple promo videos.  Very, very busy!

Mommy found out her foot had multiple fractures and three torn tendons, so she is in a tall boot and on crutches.  It had been misdiagnosed a few months ago, so there are some stress fractures, too.  She is adjusting quickly and chasing us around with her little scooter.  It's race time down the hallways at our house!  Never a dull moment.....

Love,
Boomer!  The Mellow Yellow Lab

Busy, Busy

You know the old saying, feast or famine?  Well, we are absolutely in the feast mode!

Mommy and Daddy have had 4 events/bookings in the last 4 weeks.  With nine for the whole year so far, this was a very busy time for us.  Prepping and presenting take a lot of thought, motivation and time.  This was especially challenging, since all the bookings were of a different nature.

In late October, we had the Storytime with Stacy and the Harvest Festival fund raiser.  In November, Mommy was invited to present her story to an adult education group at the First Presbyterian Church of South St. Paul.

She hadn't done one of those in over a year, so she updated and practiced a new presentation.  It was basically the same type of theme, "Taking Life's Challenges and Turning them into Wonderful Opportunities" or "Don't Let Anything Stop You."  Of course, we have had more challenges since her last adult event, that's the way of Mommy's life!

Two days later, Mommy and Daddy had an event for a Mom's Group in Hastings at the United Methodist Church.  It was a quick turn around, but they handled it like pros.  Even when 40 people showed up instead of the 28 expected.  They did great.  We read 3 stories to the children and had an informal chat with the moms about the importance of reading.


Mommy really enjoyed presenting again.  She likes being asked different questions and tries to be prepared for any thing that might come up.  She thinks of possible questions and comes up with an open, honest response.  Of course, there are always a few surprises!

For the Adult Ed booking, she had her presentation, time for questions and some talking points the group could discuss if there was extra time.  There were so many questions, the talking points weren't needed.  Maybe, next time!

We are looking forward to Ringo's first Thanksgiving and Christmas.  Who knows what the weather will be like?  We are blessed.

Love,
Boomer the Mellow Yellow Lab

Ringo's First Halloween and Harvest Festival

Crisp fresh air and falling leaves mean autumn is in full swing.  We may even get our first snowfall soon!

Ringo and I have enjoyed jumping through leaf piles.  Ringo tries to catch them as they fall off the trees!

Mommy and Daddy participated in an event at the church called the Harvest Festival.  They said it was very fun.  Some kids were dressed up in costumes, many people shared their talents and wares and a big chili cook-off rounded off the evening.  Mommy and Daddy talked to many people and even sold a few books!  Laughter and music filled the room.  What a great event for Fall!

This was Ringo's first Halloween.  He didn't know what to think about it.  We had matching costumes!  We were both bats!  I think we should have called ourselves the "BOO! Brothers!"  Ringo kept trying to eat my hat while it was on my head, he was very confused.  I included a picture so you can see how cute we looked.

Mommy and Daddy have two events scheduled in November.  On November 16th, Mommy will give a presentation for an Adult Ed. class.  She will talk about not allowing challenges to get in the way of achieving life's goals.  She believes everything happens for a reason and we should treat every day as a blessing.  I think she will do well.

The other event is a program for a Mom's group.  There will be about 30 people there; many little children.  Mommy will have a great time!  She met one of the moms at the Story Time last month.

We had a nice book order from Canada earlier this week.  We always appreciate the support from our friends north of the border.

My little brother is continuing to charm many people.  At the groomer's last weekend, he gave the woman a hug while she clipped his nails.  She thought that was so cute!

We had a couple friends over for dinner last night and they thought we were both very cute!  Ringo was bouncing all over - he is a puppy, after all.  I tried reminding him of his manners.  Our friends thought I was an excellent big brother - very tolerant!  We had a great time and were very tired!

Love,
Boomer the Mellow Yellow

Storytime with Stacy

Our "Storytime with Stacy" on Thursday, October 16th in Hastings was so much fun!  To summarize it - we talked about kidneys.  What did we learn?  Kidneys clean blood, we only need one, Nyla's birthday is on Saturday, Greta likes to read and Amos has a friend named.... Noah!

To add a little more detail - Programs in October are tough.  You never know what the weather will be like, so it is hard to plan.  On Thursday, it was beautiful - sunny and 70!  Mommy was worried no one would come, it was too nice outside.  It didn't look good at first.  The librarian told Mommy and Daddy right away two of Mommy's biggest groups were going to the apple orchard and apologized for missing her this time.  Mommy replied, "I don't blame them, I'd be at the orchard, too!  It's gorgeous today!"  Soon after that people started coming in - many of them new friends!  Everything worked out all right.  Mommy had a great time talking to the group of 2 to 7 year olds for a whole hour.  One little girl thought she should dress up for the event, so she wore a tiara and wings (so cute)!  We sang "Happy Birthday" twice, read three books, shared many fun ideas and enjoyed treats!  Starbursts seemed to be the favorite.

All the children were very well behaved and seemed to be enjoying themselves.  The librarian was amazed that they were so attentive.  Mommy's secret?  Ask them questions, explain things and engage them.  Go along with the flow and never be surprised by what they come up with at any given moment!

Here's a little slide show of the event!

Love,
Boomer the Mellow Yellow Lab

Vacation and Upcoming Events

After little brother, Ringo graduated top of his class from puppy kindergarten (he was the only one who showed up), the family decided it was time for a mini vacation!

Mommy and Daddy went to Las Vegas for 3 days, while Ringo and I went on a sleep over to our friend, Jennifer's house.  We like Jennifer.  She has many puppy friends and they like to play!  Jennifer's oldest daughter likes Ringo and the youngest girl loves me!  It's nice to have human friends to hang around with when our furry friends leave for the day.  When we were on our puppy pack walks, Mommy and Daddy went on a gondola ride, visited a wax museum and saw a couple of shows.  Fun for all!

Ringo did very well on his first sleep over.  I watched him closely the first day, but he was great!

Last week, Ringo and I both had check ups at the vet.  We are in perfect health!  Ringo was a hit - everyone thought he was cute and friendly.  I have really taught him well!

Our vet clinic decided to carry our latest book, "What's it Like in Heaven, Rudy?"  We really appreciate their support.  They have a very soft spot for our sweet Rudy and miss him, just like us.

Next week, we have a children's program at the library in Hastings.  It's called, "Storytime with Stacy."  She has a big fan base over there.  It will be a lot of fun.  She is looking forward to it.  We plan on sharing our books about kidneys, "Rudy Gets A Transplant" and "Rudy's Incredible Kidney Machine."  Since it is MEA week, we wanted to make it more educational.  Of course, questions will be answered!

At the end of October, Mommy and Daddy will be taking part in the Harvest Festival at First Presbyterian Church of South St. Paul.  It will be a big event on Sunday, October 26th from 4:00 to 7:00 pm.  A chili cook off, baked goods, hand crafted items, fun and us - who could ask for anything more!?

Our last event currently scheduled is in November.  It is an adult education class.  They asked Mommy to come in and share her life story.  Wow!  She has a lot to share!  It should be very interesting.  She could talk for days about her cute puppies, but I'm sure she won't.  She's also had a very interesting life besides her awesome furry children.

Welcome in fall, everyone!

Love,
Boomer! the Mellow Yellow Lab