Watch Dog

Lulu’s new thing is looking out the front window. After she chewed a piece of our blinds off, she has a nice little hole to make this even easier. To prevent further damage, we’ve now started to leave the windows up just enough for her to see out. She likes to know what’s going on in the neighborhood. If someone walks by, she’ll let us know. One of her favorite hobbies is to bark at everyone walking to church on Sunday morning. She also enjoys bird and squirrel hunting (she doesn’t know that she’s not very good at it) and eating the annoying brown things that fall off the Oak trees.

Checking things out

Lu on her perch

Watch dog!

Eating the pollen pods.

I had to order this shirt! 

More doodle merchandise! 

Sad Week

You may have noticed I haven’t been blogging as frequently as normal this week. My sweet husband lost his granddaddy on Monday, so we’ve been out of town for the visitation and funeral : (

It was late at night when we got the news, so we were in bed asleep with Lulu. She could tell her daddy was upset, so she cuddled up to him and put her head on his chest. She’s such a good girl! 

I was worried about what we were going to do with Lulu when we had to be gone. My mom was out of town this week so I didn’t really have anywhere to take her. Luckily, my step dad Randy volunteered to take care of her for us. He was a lifesaver and Lulu had a great time playing with him and her cousin Claire.

In other news, Lulu has gone on a chewing rampage lately. She started with the blinds and then moved on to the knobs. She’s also chewed up so much of our rug that we had to roll it up last night and put it in the attic. Our living room looks naked without my bright pink rug, so I’m not too happy. 

Randy sent me this picture of the girls on a walk. Precious!

She went to town on the blinds...

then she ate one of the knobs.

All that chewing wore her out!

Mi Perro es Loco (My dog is crazy)

I’ve been using this Website (restaurant.com) where you can buy discounted gift certificates to local restaurants. They had a special where you could pay $2 for a $25 certificate, so I had to load up! Well, I got super excited about the deal, so when I bought 4 gift certificates to Casa Manana (one of our fav Mexican places), I didn’t notice the part at the top in bold type that said only valid at the west location. That’s really far from our house and we NEVER go there. Ugh! A few days ago we had to run an errand out that direction, so we decided to make a night of it and use one of our certificates. We didn’t ask if we could bring Lulu, but I knew they had a big outdoor patio so I didn’t think it would be an issue. When we got there the deck was pretty empty, so we walked right in with Lu and sat in the corner.

Ever since Lu was a pup, we’ve been taking her with us to dog-friendly restaurants in our neighborhood. You would think the more she does this, the better she would behave, but that’s not true. She acts a fool every time like she’s never been out before. She can’t sit still. She has to wind around the table and chairs until her leash is completely tangled and we have to get up and readjust. She was no different at Casa Manana. She decided she was too good to sit on the ground, so she hopped up on the bench with her dad and put her head on the table. I don't think our waiter was too happy about that, but he didn't speak English so he couldn't really get on to us. There's never a dull moment with the Luper!

Help yourself, Lu.

The food is much closer from this position!

I'll have what he's having!

The Birthday Extravaganza has begun!

One of my favorite holidays is my birthday, April 11. I have such wonderful friends and family that always go above and beyond to make it an extra special occasion. I’ve already gotten a cake from my nephew Cole, flowers from my Dad and Sondi, cards from my grandma and a few of my friends, a cute wall hook from my sister-in-law and two pairs of fab earrings; one from my mom, one from my Dad and Sondi…and it’s not even my birthday yet! I’m feelin’ the love, thanks everyone!

Lulu’s birthday will be here before I know it. She will turn 1 on May 4^th. I’m going to try to plan a fun doggie birthday party for her…nothing over the top, just a little backyard soiree with her closest pals.

We’ve been spending a lot of time on our front porch since the weather has been so nice. Lulu loves it out there. Erik built a wood barricade so she can’t run off. We are hoping to build a wrought-iron fence around our front yard so we don’t have to worry about that anymore! 

Hanging on the porch waiting on me to get home.

Lulu wanted to join in the game!

She likes to be right in the action

This is how she sits. Directly on her bottom.
Erik and I laugh every time!

The Hunt

Today was the big day! Lu finally put her egg hunting skills to the test against her cousin Claire. My mom held the dogs back so they could watch while I hid the eggs. She let them and go and they both raced to the eggs in full speed. As Claire started to figure things out, Lu totally lost all recollection of the "find and open" tactic we had been practicing for days. She started wondering around behind Claire and picking up the empty eggs and carrying them around. FAIL! I had to help her by putting an egg in her face and opening it so she could see/smell the treat inside. It took her so long to figure this out that by the time she had gotten her first treat out, Claire had found all the eggs. Oh well. At least she had fun doing it, that's what really matters right? I'm a little competitive, so that was really hard for me to say. Here are the results:

Claire: 18 eggs

Lulu: 2 eggs

My egg hunting experience went a little differently (yes I still hunt eggs). A few years ago, my mom found some "big kid" eggs. They are designed to be harder to find. Some of them have suction cups so you can stick them under things. Some are clear so they blend in with their surroundings. Some have strings so you can hang them. You get the point. Last year was the first time my husband got to experience hunting with me. Needless to say, he didn't do too well. I found the majority of the eggs pretty quickly. This year was no different. It got a little more physical because we were in close quarters, but I still came out ahead. He got a mad at me because he would have a drawer open and I would lean down over him and grab the egg. I can't help it if he's slow. I had to explain to him that an egg is fair game unless someone has it in their hand. Here's how it ended up this year:

Lexie: 13 eggs

Erik: 8 eggs

so close!

It's right there!!!

That one's empty Lulu

It's empty, keep looking!

Empty.

Yep, you guessed it...empty!

Empty

Claire had to double check a few empties after she saw Lu going for them.

My little Easter bunny!

Good girl Claire

Exhausted after the hunt.