Dogs, Dogs, Dogs

We have pictures from our latest "play date"! So exciting! It was partly in celebration of Tito's birthday (he's three years old now) and we had a great time. His parents even found a vodka label that we consider "his" now because it shares the same name.

We even have a few pictures of the "parents" thrown in this time! Tito lives in an area called La Paloma, which is gated. However, it's pretty gorgeous. Its basically build around this mini canyon (or at least the neighborhood part is) and there's lots of BIG houses in there. Tito's dad used to work for the Boston Globe (though I'm not sure what exactly he did) and he helps to organize the Tucson Book Fair every year. Although I missed it this year, I'm very excited for next year. Maybe Barbara Kingsolver will come back next year!

Here are the pictures... there are a few close ups of Izzy's very cute face.

Bloomin' Arizona

Even more things have started blooming since I last posted. Another cactus has gone wild with yellow flowers that have red lining inside while our oleander has bloomed. The flowers look like mini white hibiscus. Our rose bushes have also bloomed too, which is exciting for me personally. Roses are one of my favorites.

Although I don't have a picture of it, we have a hummingbird nesting on top of our hanging outdoor lights. Dad is going to take the bulbs out so when we turn on the lights, she doesn't get electrocuted. Its quite cute really. I can't wait to show Aunt Susie when she comes out to stay with me next weekend! So exciting!

Doggie Play

This morning, we went to something called "Dog Play" which is where we, our neighbors, and a few friends get together with our dogs to hang out and talk. We do it once a month and this week, we went to Tito's. Tito is a Havanese that lives in a neighborhood called La Paloma, a gated community near my school. His parents hosted our little 'get together' since it was his birthday.

Last month, we were at Butzie's (a dog who lives two blocks away from us). She and Izzy are very good friends. Her parents, Barbie and John, are friends of the family and are fun to be around. One of the other human companions took a bunch of pictures and set them on a SmileBox slideshow. The pictures are absolutly adorable! All of the dogs are Butzie (a curly-haired Havanese), Tito (a straight-haired Havanese), Chico (a gray "old man" as we like to call him. He really has a face like an old man and he's very calm), Chili (a curly haired white dog), Chloe (a miniature female who is the smallest of the group,) Piper (Butzie's giant half-brother), and Oliver (a gray and white mutt that is the newest addtion to the group).

THIS is the link to the pictures from last month.

We will hopefully have more pictures later this week from the latest playdate.

New Beginnings

Many new things have appeared in our yard, and not just in the trees or on the ground. In out front planter, we found a surprising little treat from a local quail: 12 quail eggs. Mum is going to try to plant new flowers around them. I remember the baby quails from last year before very cute. They look like little fuzz balls following the rest of the group.

We also have flowers blooming all over the place. Our cacti in the front yard are starting to bloom, their flowers a bright pink. As well, our orange tree has bloomed, which Mum and I absolutely love. In the early morning, the smell is overpowering and you can't help but stop to sniff the air. The bougainvillea at the front of the house are starting to climb up the trellis that we have and a bunch of other plants are sporting flowers.

The weather has been spectacular this week. Seventies and eighties in the early afternoon, dropping to the forties at night. Every day is sunny with almost no clouds in the sky. We've been enjoying it almost as much as the new episodes of American Idol, Project Runway, and Shear Genius.