Summer in Wisconsin

I was actually back in Wisconsin twice in less than a month.  I went back in May for a week to spend some time with my family, see my cousin, Nicole, graduate from UW-Madison, celebrate my cousin, Tyler, and my Dad's Birthday, and also attend Tyler & Monica's Bridal Shower.  Unfortunately, my second trip back was specifically for my Grandpa's funeral.  You can read about my Grandpa, Edward, here: My Wonderful Grandpa but we were able to enjoy the few days I was home with some fun as well!

Dad walking the pups!

It was my Dad's first time meeting Rutherford B Hayes, and also Rutherford's first airplane ride.  He got his Wings (Thanks Southwest) since he was such a good traveler and the flight attendants fell in love with him!  Dad was very excited to have a new puppy in the house but I'm not sure our dog back home, Cheli, was very happy about it.  Rutherford figured it out pretty quickly that Cheli would let him kind of 'rough house' with her, meanwhile, she was just annoyed with it, and would try to get away from him, any chance she got.  She even let him play with her toys!  They did have some cute moments together, like when Dad would take both of them for a walk, but they were both pretty tired by the time the trip back to LA came around for Rutherford and I.  We lost Cheli just this month, so it's been a very difficult year of loss for my family and I hope that we can all stay positive and find the lessons that God is trying to teach all of us.

Cheli & Rutherford taking a nap together <3

Bobby and I were able to go and see my Dad do his Trap Shooting one night and after we went and had Dinner at City Club.  There burgers are pretty darn good!  Lindy and Dave came to meet us at Pour Vino, which is always a go-to when I'm back in Wisconsin (especially for half-priced Wine on Tuesday nights). Dad and I planned a Boat Day for Thursday, since Bobby needed to get back to Madison that night and I was heading back to LA on Friday evening.  Lake Winnebago is less than 45 minutes from Plymouth, and I was very excited to see Dad's new boat, although I was skeptical at first, it was very cool.  We always make a stop and get Lunch and I had to get a good old fashion, Wisconsin Bloody Mary (Lyndsey style, of course) while we were there.  Rutherford even joined us on the boat, he's quite the adventurer!  Dad let me drive on the way back which was a lot of fun and it was the perfect sunny day!

Enjoying the Sunshine and a Coors Light on the Lake!

I know that as mad as my Mom would have been that my Dad bought a new boat, once she got on, she would have really enjoyed it!  Even though I know she was with us while we were out that day, it's family moments like that, that make it really tough to not have her physically with us.  I miss her every day.  It was really nice to be home with my Dad for a few days and get to spend some quality time with him :)

My Week with Diego

So this last week, Neil went out of town, and needed someone to take care of his Chihuahua, Diego, for the week.  I love Diego, and have been wanting a dog for the past year or two so I was happy to take care of him while Neil was in Chicago.

It all started on Monday when Diego and I dropped Neil off at LAX and we were on our way back to my place.  Deegs likes to sit in the driver's lap, and look around, and I wasn't used to this just yet, but there was no stopping him, so in my lap he sat, looking out the window and smiling at me because he got his way.  I'm just glad we were stuck in traffic.

At home, I had  toys for him, treats, his leash, etc.  The first thing we did was play for a little bit with 'Freckles' and after getting some work done, it was time for our daily walk.  There's a great park just a block from my place so we took a lap around the park and then walked around the block before coming back to my place.  Our first visit to the park took a little longer than it did the rest of the week because he was in unfamiliar territory, smelling everything, watching the kids play in the baseball field, watching the people on the tennis courts, and of course, checking out cute girls.  Diego is really well trained, so the only reason I kept him on his leash in the park was to keep him moving, otherwise, he would sit down and just stare at me as I walked down the path, but once we got onto the sidewalk, I could take it off because he enjoyed the freedom and would stay close by.  He was constantly complimented, how cute he was, what was his name, he's so well-behaved...

It was nice to have a little snuggle buddy on the couch, even though he dictated how I sat so that he could nestle into a specific spot, I was glad to have him there.  His favorite thing about sitting on the couch was having my purple blanket to bury himself in.  I watched him the other day for 2 minutes straight, moving, digging, burying himself into the right spot on the blanket, while still being covered but able to see everything around him.  Apparently, this was an art form that he had been working on for years, because he did that when he slept in my bed too. 

Deegs & Freckles

Every morning he'd wake up with me around 9 am, yup, he slept in till 9 with me, but knew I needed 10 minutes to just lay awake and think about my day, so he'd come and snuggle in right by my shoulder and lay his head on my arm until I was ready to get up.  Then we'd take a short walk outside to start our day, play for a little bit, and then have Breakfast.  We got into our routine quite easily and taking our walks together was probably the hi-light of my day!  During play-time we could throw 'Freckles' or 'Elephante' for 20 minutes without stopping.  He'd get all excited and drop one of them in front of me and I knew it was time.  If I didn't pick the toy up fast enough, he'd pick it up and drop it closer to me, and if I didn't pick it up then, he'd speak so I knew he was ready.  He's just such a fun little creature.

Now, I had to work at Karaoke on Wednesday and Friday for 5 hours, and Bartend at Irish Times on Thursday for 8 hours, and had an Audition on Friday morning in Palos Verdes, and I couldn't believe how hard it was to say goodbye to him.  I would find myself wondering what he was doing, was he drinking and eating, was he playing, where was he sitting?  Before I left, I'd put him on top of the couch so he could look down around the apartment and be the King while I was gone and as soon as he heard my key turning in the lock he was right at the door, waiting to give me kisses and play.  Because I was working a bunch this week, when it came time for Game Night with my girls up in The Valley on Thursday night, he was my Buddy and definitely coming with me.  There were a couple other well-behaved dogs, but just as Neil said, Diego would be a snob, because he was a 'human' and was better than they were.  He sat by my side all night, but he wasn't any help with Balderdash ;)

Needless to say, this week absolutely flew by and I was so sad to see little Digalo go home on Saturday night.  As difficult as it was, hiding him, because we're not supposed to have dogs at our Apartment, and he'd bark making it even more difficult, as much as he would lick me and be a little trouble-maker, I love that little man so much.  I love all his little quirks and nuances, his excitement for the simple things like taking a walk, playing, or laying on the couch, how smart he is, and how much love he gives and happy he makes me.  I can't wait for our next adventure together <3