Pretty Girls...

Liddy and Sadie had Christmas hair cuts and looked oh so cute and pretty afterwards...

Happy 10 years Liddy!

In all my life (well, up until 10 years ago) I never thought I'd have a dog. Allergies stood in the way of even being able to enjoy other people's dogs, so how could I ever imagine having my own. Luckily about 11 years ago our friends Kristine & Kathleen got Emma, a labradoodle, that I could pet, snuggle, and play with and without having an allergic reaction! Hallelujah! The hype around "hypoallergenic" dogs was legit and so the hunt was on for a doodle of our own and upon meeting our sweet Liddy it was love at first site - no doubt about it.

Hard to believe that was 10 years ago, but alas, as with everything, we blinked and here we were celebrating our sweet Liddy's 10th birthday! We just love this pup so much - she has always been so loving, such a cuddle bug and protector (sure she barks, but I think it's out of love and concern...), playful, a swimming champ (she's probably the most upset about the sale of the boat) and even though we keep throwing curve balls at her (Adam, Sadie, and now Harper) she remains in good spirits and is as gentle as can be.

I am so thankful to Liddy for making us "dog people" and now with the addition of Sadie to our clan, I know that we'll always have four legged family members adding love and joy to our home.

Happy birthday Liddy Poppins Puddin Head, we love you so much!

OBX 2015...

We've taken some amazing trips this year - I can't deny that - but there's just something about our annual visit to the Outer Banks that has us all counting down the days until its arrival. Mostly it was just going to be great to have the whole family (2 and 4 legged) on a vacation together. 

We started our beach trip as we do most - with a stop at the Williamsburg KOA. With our seasonal site at Bethpage we haven't visited the KOA yet this year, so I was definitely looking forward to getting back there, even if just for a night. The weather wasn't spectacular, but we still got in our traditional photo op, some time on the jumping pillow and a picnic dinner from The Cheese Shop. In the morning we hit up the free pancake breakfast and then it was off to the Outer Banks! 

With our early arrival we were all set up with plenty of time to hit up the pool to officially "dive in" to our beach week and then got in a walk on the beach with dogs. We were looking forward to introducing Sadie to the beach and she seemed pretty excited about it. 

This summer has been odd in that there has been quite a few shark attacks - including one the day we arrived at the campground next door - yikes! This kept us a bit cautious for the week, spending late morning until lunch at the beach and then the pool the rest of the day. It also meant we weren't big on taking the dogs for the early evening swims that Liddy has enjoyed in years past. Fortunately, Sadie doesn't know what she's missing and Liddy got a chance to swim in the sound on our last evening. We still got in plenty of time playing in the sand - Adam had a blast each day playing restaurant in the sand - making us three course meals before jet setting off to Paris or Hawaii for visits whereupon he'd return with gifts - which usually came in the shape of beach buckets and sand shovels. Watching his imagination in action was something I won't soon forget. 

Of course the fear of sharks didn't completely keep us out of the water - just at a reasonable depth. Adam didn't seem to mind and still enjoyed himself boogie boarding in the surf. 

Adam also got to spend some time with fellow campers participating in a puppet show and play and then some arts and crafts time. Good excuse to get out of the sun for a bit. 

Another highlight was getting to have crabs for dinner one night. Adam really got into it this year listening to everything Andy said about how to crack 'em, pull 'em and eat 'em. He really seemed to pick up on the technique - Poppy will be proud! 

The dogs did get some dog park time in - and even met up with another labradoodle - it was funny seeing three doodles of the same color hanging out (Liddy is wet in these pictures having just gone for her swim.) 

We ended our beach trip with a special late night (well, 9:00) dip in the pool. Adam gets such a kick out of night swimming - probably it feels like such a treat, and actually I remember thinking the same thing as a kid. Love making memories with the whole family - and knowing that next year's OBX trip will include one more...

Meet Sadie...

We've been talking for a long time about getting a second dog. We have had so much fun with Liddy and we figured two would certainly be better than one and also thought it would be nice for Adam to get a pup that would only know life with him in it - unlike Liddy who we're pretty sure has yet to totally forgive us for bringing him home from the hospital - silly girl!

So that's how little Sadie entered our lives. A labradoodle with a standard labradoodle mom and dad (unlike Liddy who has a standard labradoodle mom and a toy poddle dad - thus her "mini" size), Sadie is likely to get up to and maybe above 60 pounds. This was a good idea right? :) In all honesty, we are just loving this sweet girl and look forward to having a "big" dog to compliment our perfectly "mini" Liddy.