Bark in the Park (and a great weekend all-around!)

Wow, what a wonderful weeked it was! I can't find much to complain about- except maybe the wind. The boys seem to be completely healed from their surgery, although we still had them take it pretty easy for the whole week. Their personalities are definitely still "all-puppy" and they are ready to play all the time! I wonder when the "calming down" begins from neutering...
Since Greg and I had made plans on Mother's Day to go rock climbing months ago (I didn't realize it was the same day as Mother's Day!!), we celebrated a day early. I had heard about Bark in the Park being advertised for months now, and really wanted to take the boys. I didn't really know what it was all about, but Cari, who taught our puppy kindergarten class, said that she would be there doing demonstrations. I also heard that there were a lot of different pet specialty vendors and several off-leash "play" areas. Basically, it was a good opportunity for the pups to get out and meet lots of other dogs and dog-lovers!

We made plans to meet up with Mom, Joe and Brady and battled the wind as we walked around Utica District Park. (Check out the shot of Joe holding mom's purse!) It was packed- doggies everywhere! Luckily it was pretty warm out, but the wind was pretty crazy! We walked around for a while and tried to find Cari, but never ended up seeing her. Then my mom pointed out a cute little Golden puppy across the way- and it was our buddy Stryker! Stryker is this adorable Golden Retriever that is just 2 days younger than L&J and was in their puppy kindergarted class. All three boys were so excited to see each other, and we took them in the off-leash area to play.

I was a little nervous letting them go- only because I wasn't sure if they would get bullied by any of the bigger dogs. But, they were GREAT! They LOVED it! Lance and Jackson would run around all over the place, but would still come back to us to "check in" every so often. They were clearly having the time of their lives! It was so funny- the boys kinda stayed with Stryker and kept coming back to this one waterdog (like the White House dog, Bo) that they met earlier in the day. I was so happy that everything went well- now I know that they'll be just fine at the "controlled" dog park off Patrick Street.

We went over to Mom and Joe's later that day and had a nice dinner and let the boys run around with Brady in the backyard. They were still trying to eat pinecones, of course, but were a little better behaved than the last time they visited. It was such a great day- and the boys were completely worn out by the time we got home that night.

Sunday was another great day- despite not spending most of it with the pups. Keith and Sarah met up at our house late in the morning to head over to the Watershed to do some rock climbing. We signed up for an intro to rock climbing class through the Trail House, which has a partnership with Shenandoah Mountain Guides. It was only $25, which includes all of the gear and four hours of climbing! And seriously, it was the best $25 I have ever spent. It was challenging, exhilarating, and just plain awesome. We had such a blast, and were all so proud of ourselves for doing so well. The photo at the bottom is the four of us on top of a rock at the end of the day.

Keith and Sarah came back to our house to enjoy some great food and wine and relax and laugh about our day. The pups were extremely excited to have us back home (and with extra visitors) and got their share of attention for the rest of the day.
It was a perfect weekend, all around. And I'm excited to be able to get back to hiking with the pups next weekend!