Fishing for Rocks

Echo has a newfound love for her never-ending curiosity and energy: rock fishing. No, not fishing for rock fish, but fishing for good ol' brown, dirt covered stones. She takes her job very seriously and will fish for hours without stopping, except to pee every so often from all the water she takes in!

She is not picky about her "pond" (wrapping paper tupperware containers are fine by her):

Echo has a method to her rock fishing, first one must stick her front two paws in to test the water and feel for the rocks:

Then, to make it more fun, one must splash around the water and get the rocks moving because everyone knows it is more fun to catch "live" rocks than ones that sit there dead at the bottom:

Finally, at just the precise moment, one must insert her entire nose in the water, blow out through the nostrils to create massive amounts of bubbles, all while biting down hard on the prey and lifting it to the shore:

An afternoon of hard work produces the rock fish limit for the day:

Frisbee Champion in the Making

Echo's got it - the speed, the intensity, the obsession and the drive. She has now found her purpose to put all those things together (and she's only 16 weeks old!!): a floppy, pink and green frisbee. Of course, I am beyond thrilled.

I took Piper and Echo to Marymoor Off-Leash Dog Park today for Echo's first time. I had bought her a cute little mini frisbee but over the past week she has not wanted any part of it. I thought to my self, "Oh well, she won't be a frisbee dog. Just a ball obsessed maniac." Boy was I wrong! What Echo neglected to tell me was she likes the big-dog, full-size frisbee because she's no whimp. It took her all of 2 minutes to watch Piper chase it, catch it and bring it back before she figured out this fun game....

As I grabbed the frisbee from Piper, Echo took off like a shot running full speed in the direction I had been throwing the frisbee for Piper. I told Piper to stay, as I was in shock, and hucked the flying disc toward Echo. It flew up over her and amazingly she heard the sound, looked up and proceeded to track it's arc as it flew over her....and this was all at a dead sprint. She didn't catch it (come on, that would have been *too* perfect) but she pounced on it as it landed, flipped over it while clutching it in her jaws (never seen a dog do a cartwheel before) and proudly brought it straight back to my feet and dropped it. She then looked up at me and was shaking in anticipation for the next throw. I am one proud mama!!

Echo only caught in the air once today when I threw it too her from a few feet away. It's a start and to see such a young puppy with so much work ethic and so many smarts, I am beyond thrilled that she is part of our life and fits into our family so well. Now if I can just harness those spazastic jumps off all 4 feet she does for the ball and transfer it to frisbee catching...she may just end up a champion frisbee dog! Go Echo!! (pics to come - a bit hard to throw the frisbee, grab the camera and shoot good pics all by yourself)

Soccer Balls and Big Ears - A Great Combo

Echo is officially obsessed. As her ears are showing some major signs of wanting to stand completely up (right now they have that cute upright look with a little still flopped over at the top), Echo has discovered she is in love with soccer. As a soccer-fanatic family, we couldn't be more proud! Thanks to Chris and Bob watching the dogs over this past weekend, Echo was introduced to the soccer ball. She can't get enough. She thinks the soccer ball is the perfect "mini sheep" and takes her job of herding it very, very seriously! We now have to keep all soccer balls out of sight, in the garage and up high, when we don't want her to play with them. She just doesn't know how to quit.

Oh, and maybe Nick was right after all -he wanted to name her "Sounder" and I said that was silly :)

A Perfect View (Ice Optional)

Who would have know that the stairs are the most happenin' place to be in our house these days? Piper started the trend 5 years ago when she decided that the lower portion of our stairs (up to about the 6th step) was the perfect vantage point to witness our chaotic household. From the stairs, Piper realized she could watch over both the kitchen and the living room so as not to miss anything. With her huge ears, I find it hard to think she'd really miss anything anyways!

Now that we've brought Echo into our home, she has discovered (from intensely watching Piper's every move) that the stairs are the place to be. Like Piper, Echo does not like to miss anything and perching on the stairs allows her to keep a watchful eye for anyone having too much for where she could join in and they are close to her most beloved item in the house thus far....the fridge.

You must be thinking, oh boy, Echo is food obsessed and has snuck food out of the fridge or something else a typical puppy would be know to do. Nope, not true. Echo does like food BUT her most prized item occurs after she hears the lovely sound of the in-door ice dispenser filling up a water glass. The sheer clinking sound of it makes her tremble in anticipation that hopefully, just maybe, a piece of ice will land on the floor where she can pounce on it. She faithfully sits right next to you as you fill up, hoping that by witnessing her sheer willpower of resisting the temptation to jump up on you to beg (like she's been told not to so many times before), that you will take pity on her and give her one of your coveted cubes.

You've just got to love a dog who like free treats! Piper doesn't seem to understand all the enthusiasm surrounding the ice, but she doesn't mind because that helps to get Echo off her favorite stair so she can claim it as the rightful Princess of the house should.

For the Love of Soccer

I am in love with the game of soccer. Playing this beautiful game my whole life has been such a blessing. I am so happy to share my love of soccer with my son, who seems to be quite a natural at it. We play soccer and love to watch it on TV. The Seattle Sounders FC team, a Major League Soccer team, has really gotten us even more excited than ever to help promote the world's most popular sport. Maybe someday the USA will finally catch up with the rest of the world and realize that soccer is the best sport of all. No time-outs, no set plays really, just a free flowing game where anything can happen.

I'm off to play a soccer game of my own tonight. It's been almost two weeks since I last played, so I will be huffing and puffing out there after eating all that yummy food down in California! I've got only 7 weeks to lose 7 pounds in my challenge with some other moms at Nick's school! The challenge is 8 pounds in 10 weeks and I was down 3 pounds but gained back 2 in California. Oops. Now I have to really work my butt off. Thank goodness soccer will do that for me!

I still am really devastated about the loss of Shyla so suddenly. I miss her dearly and think it's going to be quite awhile before I get over the shock of it. I am looking forward to getting our new puppy on Saturday, though, but it won't replace my beloved "soul mate dog."

Death is never easy...

Our beloved Shyla passed away in her sleep last night. I got the call this morning (Easter) from the wonderful gal who watched our dogs while we were on vacation in California. It was so upsetting and I haven't cried that hard in a long time. I wish Shyla would have held on even another 12 hours so we could have picked her up and at least seen her again one last time alive.

Shyla was the best dog from beginning until the end. Her peaceful passing in her sleep made it so much easier than having to watch her truly go downhill in her health or having to eventually make the painful decision to put her to sleep. I wasn't ready for her to go (and wouldn't have ever been) and she didn't show signs of trouble even on her last day here on earth. I guess she knew not to worry anyone.

Shyla was my first "baby" and I will forever keep her memory alive in my heart. She will be missed dearly and remember for teaching all of us what is means to live life to the fullest each and every day. Hope you are having a wonderful time in doggy heaven, Shyla, chasing frisbees and eating people food all day! I love you.