Smiles!

Sometimes, Ruby can be such a ham.  She, of course, has her moments of sadness, temper tantrums, and toddler mood swings, but overall, she is a really happy, smiley kiddo.  Here are some recent pics of her flashing her pearly whites.

At the toy store: she loved wearing the play hats!

 

Playing in the sun (the dogs were nearby and Gunnar was trying to sneak a kiss, which made her happy):

 

Pigtails (smiling even though she was sick and mom made her wear pigtails):

PetsWALK 2013!

Last Saturday I volunteered at the Kitsap Humane Society's annual summer event, PetsWALK.  In years past, they've held it in June, around the time of our anniversary, so I haven't been able to be a part of the event.  But, the event got moved to July which meant I finally got to be a part of it.  This is one of two annual fundraising events that KHS hosts each year and so I tried my hand at fundraising, and although I didn't meet my goal (about $95 short - bummer!!), I feel like I was able to play a role in the fundraising efforts towards KHS. 

The main event is the walk.  Participants can choose to walk a 1K or 5K trail with a furry friend (most bring dogs, although there were other critters in attendance).  Other events follow the walk (more on that in a little bit), there were pet-related vendors all over and KHS' Outreach trailer set up with animals up for adoption.  It was a pretty fun morning for all.

I wish I could take credit for the awesome photos, but they are from Chance Keso Photography.

Okay, so on to the day's events.  First, some of the awesome canine friends I got to meet:

Aren't they beautiful?!  I didn't get to bring Sadie and Gunnar since I was working the event, so it was great to get my "dog-fill" from everyone's pooches.

Here's a shot of the starting line before everyone got there:

And later, when all the participants were on their way:

And then there were the events after the walk.  There was a talent contest.  This dog impressed me...he held that treat there until the owner gave him the command to eat it.  There is NO WAY Sadie and Gunnar would ever do that.  Impressive!

We also held a costume contest.  I don't have a photo of the winner, but this one was pretty cute too.

My favorite part of the day was the "Super Fun Little Dog Race."  It really was super fun.  There were actually 2 races.  One was for dogs with legs 4" and under and the other was for dogs with legs 4" to 8."  It was hilarious.

Oh, and back to the other animals that were in attendance - they were amazing!  One kiddo brought his hedgehog and another lady had her cat in a carrier (okay, that was a bit much....I don't think the cat was happy about it).  I enjoyed the lamas, who participated in the walk, and the burros (donkeys) who were at one of the vendor booths.

And finally, a quick shot of me and my bestie from work, Laura.  She is the volunteer coordinator at KHS and we get to collaborate and share an office.  I think we make a pretty good team and she makes me laugh every day at the office.  

Summertime is in Full Swing!

It's become a beautiful summer as usual in western Washington; the sun is out, the temps are up and our poor yard is turning yellow (we are one of the few homes in our neighborhood without a sprinkler system).  Oma bought Ruby a small pool when she was in town a couple of weeks ago, so we thought that it was finally time to pull it out.  Ruby was a little unsure about the whole idea at first.  Noa had to coach her each step of the way.  It probably didn't help that we waited to fill the pool in the afternoon, thus leaving little time for the water to warm up.

Our little visitor, Valentina, had no reservations whatsoever about going in the water.  It's no doubt that her daddy was a swim coach.  She's got swimming in her genes!

Little Valentina was hilarious - splashing, climbing in and out of the pool, chasing after the toys.  Ruby took her time and mostly sat on the edge of the pool, watching her friend enjoy herself and occasionally patting for the toys.

Thankfully, Ruby warmed up to the idea of a pool and within days she was climbing in on her own and enjoying the water once she realized how fun it could be (and when we filled the pool earlier in the day).

Summer brings about other events - like the end of the academic year for family medicine residency students and the beginning of the next.  At the end of June, we attended the Family Medicine Residency graduation (for the medical residents at Noa's hospital) and then the Hail and Farewell.  Each Hail and Farewell is really fun: food, skits, awards, dancing, but my most favorite part is the theme.  The theme leads to costumes, which always leads to good times and funny photos.  The past couple of years brought some great themes: roaring 20s and superheroes.  This year's theme: rock stars.  It was epic.  I have never seen such participation in dressing up before.  There were so many great costumes: Abba, the Beatles, Billy Idol, Madonna, George Michael...you it.  I decided to resurrect an old costume that I had worn in Okinawa (okay, I actually had to make it from scratch, but the idea was the same).  So, I present our version of Bjork (at the Academy Awards in 2001) and Bono (at the Superbowl halftime show 2002):

We had a great time, despite the lack of A/C in the venue due to sequestration (grrr....).

And with summer comes kitten season in my line of work.  It seems like each day, I meet a new group of fuzzy little kitties needing foster care before they are ready for adoption.  Here are some of their photos (warning: even if you aren't a cat person, you can't deny their cuteness):