Elsie and Puppy Kenya

Elsia and Kenya are buds -- they've become Best Buds, in fact.

Baxter and Kenya became fast friends, too. :o)

Ridge and Puppy Kenya

Kenya and Ridge became fast friends.

Returning to Blog Land

I can't believe it's been almost three months since I've entered Blog Land.

Wow.

Where has the time gone? Well...I suppose I have some idea:

• adjusting to life with FOUR (count 'em) Labrador Retrievers


• acclimating to Puppy-dom again


• caring for Kenya when, as a 12-week-old, she broke her leg!!!


• empty-nesting for the first time ever (human kids all away at college)


• taking up Kayaking (our new empty-nest hobby)


• getting through the holidays


• juggling work (my day-job) with home and Lab responsibilities


• traveling (mostly to-and-from human-kids' respective colleges)


• managing a super busy eBay-selling season (I have a small eBay store)


• welcoming extended family for visits from November through early January


• learning new techno-gadgets (digital camera, MP3 player, printer, software)

I supppose that's enough to keep me away from blogging for a short season. But I've missed it.

And now I've learned that, during my absence, blogger reconfigured their blog-management system, so I have another learning curve to master.

So, we're back, all five of us (me, plus the four Labs). Here's a brief reminder of our gang:

• Baxter: the giant, 100-pound, neutered, almost-four-year-old, black male


• Ridge: the 80-pound, in-tact, six-year-old, fox-red male


• Elsie: the sweet, gentle, 85-pound, in-tact, tank-ish, two-year-old, yellow female


• Kenya: the rambunctious, can-hold-her-own-with-the-big-dogs, 50-pound, peanut-headed, in-tact, six-month-old, black female puppy

And in case you've forgotten, or you're new to LabTails, here are their nicknames:

• Baxter, aka: Baxter Boos, The Boos, Blizzard Boy, My Bud, and My Big Buddy


• Ridge, aka: The Ridgers, and Knucklehead


• Elsie, aka: The Tank, The Elsie Girl, Sweet Elsie Girl, and Sweet Gentle Soul


• Kenya, aka: The Bean, Peanut Head, The Kenya Bean, and The Little Imp*

[ *My astutely observant friend Kathy just remprimanded me because she knows that "The Little Imp" used to be Elsie's nickname when Elsie really was an imp. Kenya, however, has commandeered that nickname, filling it far more completely than Elsie ever did. It's her name now -- oh, as Kathy says, the beauty of hand-me-downs! ] :o)

To catch you all up to date, I'm posting a series of photos via picasa above (blogger photo inserts, despite their upgrade, still don't work well). Enjoy!

I'm glad to be back.

'Til next time (which will be very soon, I promise),

Joan

The Retriever

Elsie would retrieve all day. She's a natural! And she has the strongest retrieving instincts of the bunch.
 

Retrieving 101

Kenya: "Wow. This retrieving thing is fun! But, boy, it's tiring. Even Baxter has had enough. Looks like he's bowing out. Gee, maybe I will, too." 

Another Simple Request

Kenya: "C'mon, Elsie. Let me catch you just once.... pweeeeeeezzzeeee!" 

A Simple Request

Kenya: "Elsie, may I chew on your tongue?" 

More Than One Way...

Kenya: "Ah ha! If I just wait by Mom while YOU guys do all the work retrieving, then I can pounce on you when you bring the ball back to her! Hehehehehe..." 

Just Wait!

Kenya: "See... I can almost catch you! I'm gettin' faster, and pretty soon I'm gonna be able to keep up with you guys. You just wait and see!" 

Can I Have a Turn?

Kenya: "C'mon Ridge! Give me a turn. Please!!!" 

No Fair!

Kenya: "Buy the time I get half way to the ball, you guys have already retrieved it and are on your way back." 

Kenya Retrieving with the Gang

"Hey Ridge! Wait up! I'm too little to keep up with you!" 

Kenya: "I really like people feet." :o)

 

More of What Kenya Likes

Mom's trying another way to do photos, so I can keep telling you about what I like.

Hmm... I like the dishwasher: it has really neat smells
I love my big sister Sarah.
I really like things to chew on, like my big rope ball.
Oh, and I really like to run and run and run and run. I'm really fast.

Bye for now,
Kenya 

Kenya's Likes and Dislikes

Note from Joan: Here's a post from Kenya! She decided she wanted to tell you about herself and about her new life in the Esherick pack. Remember, she's just a pup, so her descriptions will be short and sweet! Enjoy!

I'm Kenya. This is me on the day when Mom and Dad brought me from Virginia to my new home with them in Pennsylvania. It's kinda fun here, but I'm not so sure. I miss my real mom and littermates.

This is me now. I'm ten weeks old. I'm growing fast! See...my legs are getting longer. I can jump up the back steps now without any help from Mom.

I thought I'd tell you about what I like and don't like at my new home. Here goes!

• I REALLY like people, espcially Dad's lap

• And I REALLY like my new littermates
• And snuggling with Baxter
• And hanging out with Ridge and Elsie
• And romping in the back yard like the big kids
• And chewing on tennis balls.

I like a whole bunch of other things, but Blogger is giving Mom fits again about posting photos. So I'll tell you about them later.

Bye for now,

Kenya

Kenya: The Snuggle Bug 2 (Canine Version)!

If a picure is worth a thousand words, then we've got at least 4,000 here (and maybe then some!).

Some of you have wondered how Kenya is doing with the Baxter, Elsie, and Ridge these days. Perhaps the better question is, how are Baxter, Elsie, and Ridge adjusting to Kenya?

The images speak for themselves. :o)

'Til next time,
Joan

 

Kenya, the Snuggle Bug!

She snuggles with Aunt Jeanie (aka: Joan's sister, Jean... yes we're twins).


















She snuggles with Mom (aka: Joan).




















She let's Mom nuzzle her, and she still sleeps undisturbed. :o)

















She snuggles with littermate Sarah (aka: Mom's junior-in-college daughter).







Yup, the Kenya Bean is a snuggler. We'll enjoy it while it lasts. :o)

'Til next time,
Joan

Buds

Baxter, Elsie, Ridge, and Kenya are settling down, becoming fast friends and companions.

They don't just romp and race and try to establish dominance: they rest and snuggle together, too.

Yes, the rowdy moments get a bit crazy around here, especially adding a puppy to the mix, but I'll take the craziness any day if it means we get the sweet, quiet, heart-warming moments, too.

And we do. More than I can count.

'Til next time,
Joan 

Kenya and Ridge

Wrassling buddies.













Someone for Kenya to chew her toys with (without fear of them being take from her, and with easy access to a canine ear to chew on, too).











Someone for Kenya to chase, especially when he has his own toy. Ridge is smart enough to jump up on the couch where Kenya can't reach him. That won't keep him safe for long!











Someone for Kenya to sleep near.