Marley--the Sled Dog!

On Christmas Day, Kristen (my older sister, that is), brought over her beloved dog--Marley.  Honestly, I was not looking forward to watching him for a week while Kristen and her family lived it up in San Diego (along with Newel and my parents).  Honestly!  A house full of hair.  Muddy footprints.  MORE slobber on the couch.  (My kids provide a bit of their own already.)  And POOP!  All over the backyard!  Where my kids run and play!  Where I run and play!! But, I love my sister, and she and her family love that dog.  So we agreed to watch him.  Although we visit Kristen often enough, I've never noticed Hallee paying any special attention to Marley, but when he moved in for a week, Hal fell in LOVE.  She cuddled, snuggled, and talked to that dog constantly.  Casey and I have actually CONSIDERED getting her a puppy for her upcoming birthday.  Honestly!!!  What are we thinking?  Hallee is our fireball, and it was heart-melting to watch her act in perfect sweetness towards another living thing.  The afternoon that I took these pictures, Hal came inside with a large, thick slick of dog mucus in her hair.  Did she care?  (No.)

TRUE love!!

Ya, Zeke's still digging Hallee's pink scooter, even though he has NO IDEA how to make it go.  He just stands on it and rocks forward and backward to get a bit of action.

Last Friday we met Neal and Kellee Goebel (with their son, Jed) up Millcreek Canyon for some sledding action.  Neal and Kellee were the occupants of Wayne's Bar (our basement) when they were first married.  They had their son Jed a month after we had Sophie.  And we all learned to be parents together.  It was a great way to segue way from being single with roommates to being married.  We were two married couples, living in the same house together.  Best of both worlds--spouses AND roommates.  It was a fun time and we still get together whenever we can.  (They live in Corvallis, Oregon right now.)

Casey tied Marley to one of the sleds and the kids took turns being pulled up and down the snow-packed road.  I'd taken Marley running last Tuesday with my morning running group.  I was thinking that I'd wear him out running three miles with the ladies, but I was the one beat when we were done.  He runs SO FAST that my shins STILL ache a week AFTER that run from trying to hold him back.  (And I made each of my three friends take a MANDATORY rotation with him on the run.)  Hence, the dog sled idea.  We thought that MAYBE hauling a sled full of kids would tire him out.  Marley loved it.  The kids loved it.  And I think that we DID tire out that big dog after a morning full of runs.

Casey, Neal, and I all took turns on the Marley sled, although we only had him pull us DOWN the road.

This is some CLASSIC footage of the Marley sled.  At one point (NOT pictured in this video clip), Marley took off running after a group of dogs up canyon.  Zeke and Jed were in the sled.  Casey had been running alongside Marley for some time without incident, but when Marley spotted the dogs he BOLTED towards the action.  Casey, running at top speed (and he is a fast runner) could not catch that dog (and his little passengers).  It was funny to watch, but I was worried about the kids barrelling behind Marley at break-neck speeds.  They were having the time of their lives, no doubt, and thankfully, after a tense minute or two, Casey FINALLY caught up to them, saving the day.

 

The kids artfully crafted a snow man near the parking area.