a weekend welcome

hey folks! 

i sure hope it's as beautiful where you are as it is here in austin. it is glorious on the other side of my door.

so listen, we're heading up to okc tonight after nik gets out of work, so i'm kinda busy today packing for the weekend, {still} unpacking from the move, and readying the family for paris. but, i couldn't resist stopping by to share some pictures i took this morning of mrs. maude. she is such a good dog, and loves our little oliver so much. anyway. she's the main reason for the trip - we're taking her up to my parents house to stay while we'll be in paris.

it was such a difficult decision to make to leave her here while we are abroad, but we felt this was the best decision for her. so we're at peace with that. kind of.

it's just that she is a bit older, and historically she hasn't liked change. like, as much as a dog can put her foot down in protest she doesn't like change. 

example 1

when we first moved to nevada, she was so stressed out about the move that she got wierd bumps on her feet, and her skin started freaking out and she lost hair on her neck. and after trying tons of stuff, on a hope and a whim, the doctor tried something different. the remedy was horse medicine. 

example 2

when we bought a couch {the one before our current one}, maude tinkled right in front of it. like, 3 inches away from it. and she didn't even look all that sorry about it.

example 3

right after we got her, we drove down from michigan to my parents' house for christmas. on our way back, nik and i went into a burger place for something to eat. when we came back out, maude had pooped in between the seat and the middle console. yep. we drove with all the windows down in the middle of winter.

so now you understand. maude not only dislikes change, but she will make sure you dislike it as well.

but, she knows my parents, likes playing with their dogs, and remembers the treat schedule no matter how long she's been away. we're pretty confident that she'll enjoy her time at spa ragsdale.

here she is on her last morning in austin until summer. napping in the sunlight.

have a fantastic weekend folks. i'm going to try not to cry too much when we leave okc.