Marc and Marilyn and Andrew!

Strike a pose

They turned to look at Marc at the same time haha

Happy 4th birthday to Nikki! The bestest husky in the world.

Marc plays with Nikki all the time. On occasion, they get into this hyper rough housing type of play. It’s really funny to watch. Sometimes they would play this staring game where they would be really still just staring then Marc would playfully jerk forward and Nikki totally reacts and starts running around or she’ll just lick his face. It’s sooo funny. Or when Marc would run around and chase Nikki and Nikki would run around and chase Marc. Or when Marc would just hug Nikki completely, engulf her in his arms and she would just sit there motionless. I always imagine her thinking,  “grrrreat. when is he going to let me go so that I can run around again”. haha. I always warn Marc to be careful; she may accidentally hurt herself.

So yesterday so another fun morning of play. Marc and NIkki were playing and sure enough at some point they bump heads, cuz Nikki started running around the condo like a crazed dog. Marc now has a mini reddish blue bruise on his head and I’m sure if Nikki didn’t have so much fur we’d see the matching counterpart. haha.

Rough housing is fun… until someone gets a bruise. haha.

So tonight was quite interesting. Marc went for a run with Nikki while I met up with Cousin and Jose at Gap just down the street. After his run, Marc gave me a call to meet up with us. Cousin, Jose and I finished up shopping and started walking toward our condo. We met up with Marc and Nikki a few stores down. He says that he saw a stray dog that was following him a Nikki for a bit then the German Shepard mix bolted up the staircase toward the AMC.

So Marc handed Nikki over to me and ran up the stairs to find the lost dog. Cousin, Jose, myself and Nikki followed after him. When we got to the top of the staircase there was a movie theater worker and 3 teenagers petting the lost dog, Maple. Marc was on the phone calling the number on Maple’s tag. Unfortunately, the number was to an animal hospital in Highland Park. Marc was on the phone with the hospital trying to get information on Maple and her owners. Luckily, she was chipped and the hospital was able to find contact information, but the owners were not picking up their phones. In fact, the numbers went straight to voicemail. Marc was trying to figure out if there were other contact numbers available. We started thinking about taking Maple all the way to Highland Park and leave her with her animal hospital. There was no way Marc was going to leave without finding a safe place for her. Such a dog lover.

I tried calling the owners again and left a voicemail for the owners to call me back since we had their dog. Then poor Maple threw up. She was probably eating a bunch of junk while roaming the streets. Poor thing. I bet she was scared and wanted to be with her family. Then my phone rings! It’s the owners! He says, ” You have my dog???” and I happily say, “yup we’re at the AMC on the 2nd floor of the Marina Mall.” He explained that she got loose from his office just down the way. Shortly after we hung up the phone, he showed up and Maple was so happy. She was so thrilled to see her owner. He thanked us and they went on their way.

We gathered our things, said goodbye to Cousin and Jose and we went our separate ways. I took one look at Marc and gave him a big kiss. He was going to stand by Maple until he found the owners or until we took her to the animal hospital in Highland Park. Just another reminder why he’s so wonderful.

Marc and I spent a good portion of the day wrapping presents. It was awesome. We had the Laker game on in the background and we even played the 2nd volume of Glee. I find wrapping presents super relaxing. We bought some festive Christmas tins, curling ribbon and candy to make some presents for coworkers. I think they turned out pretty good considering they were home made.

We wrapped all the presents we purchased today. We had a good system going. Marc helped cut the wrapping paper , tape and ribbon to size. I did most of the wrapping, since we learned from last year that this is how Marc wraps. haha. A for effort.

We found some cute decorative boxes to package some presents. I love them! Except for the fact that they don’t need wrapping. Here’s one of my favorite boxes: (the eyes move )

I’m kinda sad there’s nothing else to wrap, but it was a good evening at home with Marc and Nikki.

Dougie fresh lit up

This was forwarded to us by Tricia…

1. My life is likely to last 10-15 years. Any separation from you is likely to be painful.
2. Give me time to understand what you want of me
3. Place your trust in me. It is crucial for my well-being.
4. Don’t be angry with me for long and don’t lock me up as punishment. You have your work, your friends, your entertainment, but I have only you.
5. Talk to me. Even if I don’t understand your words, I do understand your voice when speaking to me.
6. Be aware that however you treat me, I will never forget it.
7. Before you hit me, before you strike me, remember that I could hurt you, and yet, I choose not to bite you.
8. Before you scold me for being lazy or uncooperative, ask yourself if something might be bothering me. Perhaps I’m not getting the right food, I have been in the sun too long, or my heart might be getting old or weak.
9. Please take care of me when I grow old. You too, will grow old.
10.. On the ultimate difficult journey, go with me please. Never say you can’t bear to watch. Don’t make me face this alone. Everything is easier for me if you are there, because I love you so.

So we usually board Nikki at Rover’s Kennel (here).  We love the place and so does she.

I just wanted to point out the latest thing that they did that I thought was pretty cute.  Nikki got a report card lol.  What did you guys think she got?

She’s sweet, friendly AND plays well.  That’s our baby!!!  And check it out…her best friend is another husky named Luna.  Dope!