Got Korra - 11.13.13

Seriously, what's wrong with us? Get rid of one dog, get another. I don't know. In my defense I feel strange having just one dog. Like the dog would be lonely. So while Amyra was at school, Lateef and I took the kids to the pound to find a dog. Ryan came and helped and after seeing many sweet dogs, we settled on Daisy! Mya suggested calling her Rapunzel, and Amyra wanted Emma, Diamond, and Marina. Unfortunately, neither Lateef nor I liked any of those. Thankfully, I came to the rescue and suggested Korra (After the Avatar show) and everyone agreed! Anyway, Korra exhibited all the "signs" Ryan said to look for if we wanted a mellow dog like Leo. And this time, he got it right! She is seriously the best dog ever. Not too excited and she doesn't "lick" all the time. She is calm and mellow and so sweet and I just love her. I almost feel bad for Aliya but at least Amyra still loves her. 

Random Trip to England - 10.28.13 to 11.4.13

So when I say we went on a random trip to England, I'm not exaggerating. It truly was RANDOM! Lateef ended up having some unexpected downtime between clients, and when we realized it coincided with a trip my mom was taking to England, we decided we should join her there and surprise everyone. I honestly think we planned it in less than two weeks and the best part is that it was almost completely free. Lateef used points for flight and hotels and though we had to pay the taxes for flying, we still all got there for less than $1200 and only spent about $2400 total for the whole trip. Not bad, not bad. These are the definite perks of Lateef's travel job. Anyway, here are some pics and details about our memorable trip

Oh, side note, we ended up giving our dog Jeannette away to TaReon while on our trip. We were thinking of giving her away because it had been a year, and she still pooped in our house. And so when Ryan unexpectedly ended up watching her while we were on our trip, T fell in love with her and our poop problem was solved. It was a happy ending for everyone! We will miss you Jeannette but it's nice to know she's in great hands.

Sokka - 4.18.13

Oh Sokka. So daddy randomly surprised us with a kitten the day he got Starlight. Apparently, the lady there had millions of cats on her farm and asked if he wanted one. This is how you know Lateef loves his family. Lateef hates cats but still got a kitten for his girls. We decided to name him Sokka after a character on the Last Airbender. 

Well, unfortunately, a week into having Sokka, things took a turn for the worst. Long story short, we noticed Sokka's mouth was really infected and when we took him into the vet they suspected feline aids! We didn't want to euthanize him but Lateef definitely didn't want the cat back at the house. So after a bit of a hassle, the humane society took him. They were supposed to call if they put him down (we never got a call) so I am hoping that he did in fact not have feline aids and that he was able to be adopted out. Lesson learned: don't get free kittens from weird farm cat ladies.

 Aww, he was a really cute sweet kitten too. :( He totally put the dogs in their place and everyone was getting along perfectly.

 I initially took this picture because I wanted to capture my Lateef's sleeping. Then I saw cute Sokka sleeping at their feet. He was such a cute kitten. 

Starlight - 4.18.13

So we got another horse? Why you ask? Well, the idea was that we would get a really well trained horse that beginners and the girls could ride with no issue. Lateef went to check her out by himself (Ryan couldn't come to verify) and now, 5 months later, Starlight is one of the hardest horses to ride! WTF! So now we kind of have another useless horse in that she didn't live up to our expectations of her. She is however a sweet sweet horse. 

I had asked some of our Facebook friends to help us name her. At first we were going to go with Pearl but then Amyra came up with Starlight and I think it was the PERFECT name. Now we will just give her time and I know she will be a great horse. 

 Helping out at the Ranch.

 Pretty Starlight.

Carmello Dies - 4.13.13

Awwww, poor Mellie. Carmello was our first joint pet (Lateef and I) and we got him over the summer in 2004 soon after I moved to Vegas.

Now I'm not going to lie. Carmello wasn't my favorite dog. He just didn't have the Loyalty that one associates with dogs. I often joked that a murderer could potentially just give him a slab of meat and then Carmello would probably then allow the murdered to have his way with us. 

That being said, he was a GREAT dog. He lived with my parents from 2007 to 2012 and then we took him back last summer. He stayed out of the way, and listened and just ate, drank and slept. 

Unfortunately, his health took a turn for the worst and FAST towards the end of March. I noticed it looked like he was getting major cataracts and then within 1 week, he was blind. It happened so fast and when I looked up the symptoms we discovered his body was failing from being Diabetic :( We researched our options and deciding putting him down would be more humane than stringing his life along with daily shots. 

Fortunately, right before we were going to take him to the vet for the procedure, I had this thought to call around for a service that would come to our home. SO GLAD I DID THIS! A vet came to our home on that Saturday, Melly got to be in in our family room surrounded by his family. He was never shaking from fear (as pets so often do when they go to the vet). The best was that the veterinarian confirmed our decision by informing us that so many dogs are fearful of shots and I was so happy we didn't subject him to that fear. He went peacefully and is now buried at Ryan's place. Oh Carmello, I hope you are eating a steak up in Heaven as I type up this post. You sweet dog.

Pets

These are from Nov and Dec of 2011.

 The good ole' days when we used to doggy sit Leo 

 Christian seriously never comes in the house anymore. I'm not sure if he is more scared of Aliya or Mya.

Amyra really is a "dog" person.

Walking the Dogs - 7.22.12

How cute are these two? Shayanika is going to be 3 years old in October so she and Mya will probably start school at the same time which is so cool. They get along so nicely and it's sweet to see them play and keep up with Amyra and Shagnika. Here they are walking Carmello together!

Second Snow of the Season - 1.16.12

Finally, our first legitimate snow of the season. The girls had so much fun running around eating the snow (however Myara's hands got cold pretty quickly) and I'm sure could have spent hours out there had I let them.

 Unfortunately, this is what the backyard looked like the very next day. It melted pretty fast (except in the shaded areas) but we are hoping at least for ONE opportunity to sled this season. Come on SNOW!

 Aliya kept trying to eat Amyra's mittens

 Ryan's dog Leo

Aww, Aliya, you get better and better each day we have you. I am happy to report she hasn't eaten the couches or my shoes in a few months now. Yeay Aliya!

Aliya the Doggie Sister - 10.15.11

Oh Aliya, Aliya. So we have had Aliya for almost 6 months now and it has been a labor of love. Let's just say we got used to having a trained older Coco so to have a one year old puppy again has been interesting. Our couches have been chewed up, our shoes and stuffed animals have been shredded, and I honestly didn't see the cats in our house for 2 months straight.

The good news is that, the cats are back and everyone is getting used to each other. And the best news is that Aliya and Amyra are best buds. Amyra even calls Aliya her doggie sister. So whenever we have moments of wanting to pawn Aliya off to my brother, I remember how much Amyra loves her and we calm down. I also believe that once she's an "adult dog" things will be easier. Just one more year of shoe chewing to go...

Aliya - Our new Dog - 6.19.11

So we got a dog. It was pretty random too. Sof emailed me a link to an essay contest about "how your life has changed since owning a Pit bull". While I was reading about the essay, the Humane Society was advertising that Pit bull adoptions were $5 until the end of the month. Of course I told Lateef about it and his response was "let's go get one". And get one we did.

We spent the weekend looking at dogs and had even adopted a big 90lb black Pit bull we named "Big Daddy" for about an hour. It was all good until he tried to attack Leo (Ryan's dog) and we had to return him. But, we found this cutie below and named her Aliyah. Actually, Amyra wanted to name her Lea (like Leo - I thought that was so clever of her) and then I added the "A" and there you have it.

She is a very sweet/submissive dog. She's about a year old and is SO easy to walk on a leash (a requirement for me). We are still working on the 'chewing up stuff' bit and I also haven't really seen either of my cats for the last month... but, all in all, it's nice to know that I have a dog here for added protection. She is also Amyra's "Doggy Sister" so she is definitely a part of the family now and here to stay!

Days at the Ranch (Part II) - 5.23.11

So this is just another excuse to post up pictures from our days at the ranch. Seriously, it's so fun! And yes, I'm officially a Cowgirl with a hat and boots. And what?!

I'm not exaggerating - she loves the goats.

Myara doesn't love the goats. Am I the only one weirded out by their pupils?

Sorry Myara, I couldn't resist :)

Days at the Ranch - 5.1.11

Moving the horses to the ranch has completely changed our routine in a positive way. We go there at least once a week so that Amyra can ride her horses and Myara can eat poop/dirt. The bonus is that this ranch also has cows, goats, rabbits, and hens that lay green eggs. It's like our own personal petting zoo! Amyra has really taken to the goats and they have taken to her. I think they are surprised that a little girl is actually hugging them and not trying to rope them (as I soon learned was the purpose of the goats at that ranch). When Ryan gets his own place and moves the horses I will miss this and I know the girls will too.  But maybe I can convince Ryan to either get a goat for a pet or to marry a goat. We will see.

Black Jack

Amyra's favorite horse Nugget (an only because he's brown)

Ryan getting mad at the way I handle the reigns

Lateef is a goat whisperer

Aww, they love each other

Look Mom, I can jump over the poop!

My future track star