Trip to see Grandma!

We headed up to Albany this weekend. Logan and My cousin Josh and some of his friends entered in a "Tough Mudder" event. (www.toughmudder.com) You should look into it and see what my crazy husband put himself through!! but he finished, I am so proud!

I spent Saturday night and Sunday with my mom. We went out to lunch, shopped a bit. It was a good time. WE tried to go to the Tulip Festival, but we drove around for an hour looking for a place to park and finally gave up. Next year we will plan better and get there earlier.

The trip up was pretty uneventful. Maggie really does well in the car, but she goes through stages.

Stage 1. Happy Dog - blissfully unaware of the 3 hour car ride ahead of her.

Stage 2. Restless dog - at this point she had climbed into the back window to lay down....

Stage 3 - Sleepy Dog (best stage!) This is what the majority of the car rides turn into. As long as she stays cool, she sleeps.

We Had a really good time and Maggie enjoyed herself as well, except for one small incident involving Merlin the Cat.

You see, Merlin is not a fan of Maggie. The last time they met, it went okay. Merlin let her lick him and what not and only swatted her once and she got the hint (she was also half the size last time) This time, he had no patience for her shenanigans. Merlin was sitting in the doorway minding his own business when Maggie saw him. She ran over but stopped right in front of him. They had a bit of a stare down. Merlin was hissing with his ears back the entire time, but I figured he is De-clawed, so he can't "hurt" her, and she really needs to get her but kicked a few times so she learns some boundaries. . Then she got really excited and started to get in her "playful stance" with her butt up in the air and what not. Then it happened. She let out a loud "BARK", and Merlin lost it. He lunged at her, body slammed her onto the ground and started pummeling her from both sides with both paws. Mom and I couldn't get to her fast enough, we were both going "OOO,OOO" and trying to get over to her. She was crying the entire time . I was a Little afraid that he was biting her because she was really carrying on, but after an inspection, she was no worse for the wear and may have finally learned to stop when the kitty says stop.

I would also like to report that we had NO POTTY ACCIDENTS THIS WEEKEND! She went to the door each time she had to potty. She also went to the door every time she wanted a "cookie"

She is getting much smarter too. This morning she did her normal routine is whimpering to get out of her crate. It was a bit earlier than normal, but I got up as her sleeping pattern is a bit off from the weekend away from home. Normally when I let her out she runs for the door. This time she jumped up on the couch and sat there looking at me as if to say "won't you join me?" I forced her outside and she did not go potty. when we came back in she got on the couch again. By this time I was going to have to get up and get ready for work in like 10 minutes anyway, so I caved and cuddled on the couch with her. Either she's getting smarter, or I am being trained.....