It's always weird being the odd man out. This Thanksgiving was one of those "odd man out" situations. For the last two years we have eaten over at my in law's house. My father in law got remarried about four years ago, so, now when family gets together, it's all his wife's family. They are nice, but still, it's just not the same. My husband's brother doesn't even come over because his family doesn't get along with the new wife's family. We don't get to see any of Mr. Cowboy's Aunts or cousins and my family is way too far away to go and visit. It just doesn't feel like a holiday. I was asked to make mashed potatoes. I was all freaking out about how many I should peel and mash. My potato peeler broke after the first potato. But some how I make it through, thanks to duct tape. I made a small bot of mashed potatoes, and I brought home about the same amount I took. Next year I am making instant mashed potatoes. Nobody here in the south eats them. Weird, I know! And when it was time to eat, by the time I walked next door, they already started with out me and my kids, and my husband wasn't back from work. It just wasn't the family fun day I was expecting. Not like the Thanksgivings I am used to. If I didn't live next door, I would start my own family Thanksgiving dinners. But besides missing family, the food was really good. We had lots of turkey and ham. They were both really yummy. And I am very thankful to have food to eat and for people to spend the day with. And the best thing about eating a lot of food, is taking a nap afterwards.
Cowpokette just tossed out all her bibs and climbed in the drawer. She was plum tired. 
I hope every one had a wonderful Thanksgiving!! Oh, and last night Mr. Cowboy and I found out that our septic tank is back washing fumes into our bathroom. It really stinks. I have been blaming it on Mr. Cowboy, poor guy. Hopefully Mr. Cowboy can just flush the system and it will get better. All fingers and toes crossed.
Cowpokette just tossed out all her bibs and climbed in the drawer. She was plum tired. I hope every one had a wonderful Thanksgiving!! Oh, and last night Mr. Cowboy and I found out that our septic tank is back washing fumes into our bathroom. It really stinks. I have been blaming it on Mr. Cowboy, poor guy. Hopefully Mr. Cowboy can just flush the system and it will get better. All fingers and toes crossed. 
Awh ha, there she got the sheep! The sheep says, "Heeeelllllpppp!"
"Mom, look! She has the sheep!" Cowpokette finds it her responsibility to watch over Belle. She feels it necessary to bring Belle her toys. It's really sweet. 
Now Belle can play. 
Hey, no wonder I can't fall asleep at night! Belle has my number 36 sheep. I was counting and counting and I just couldn't get past 35! 
The sheep looks a bit nervous about the situation.
But that doesn't stop Belle, the incredible sheep dog!
She is such a killer. But by the end of the day, after all her hard work, she defiantly knows how to crash.
So does Mr. Cowboy. I am telling you, that man can sleep anywhere. 
So can Belle. By the time Mr. Cowboy gets home she is always ready to crawl up next to him and sleep. Mr. Cowboy always says, "You broke my dog!" But I like her all mellow and tired. 
They always end up in the chair. Work hard, play hard, sleep hard. 
My Dad is helping the Chocolate Cottage, (which so happens to be the best chocolate place on the planet), get a toffee business started. And I was chosen to be a Guinea pig. I don't mind being the "pig" for these types of testings. 
I received two pounds of toffee for my tasting pleasure. Now, most of the toffee I have ever had, has been really hard and crunchy. This toffee was soft and easy to chew. It didn't "snap" like other toffees do. It really melted in my mouth. Oh it was so good. There are three different kinds that you can get. 
There is the 
The 
The 
She is really active in the mornings and then as the day goes on she slows down. Thank goodness. I am not sure I could handle her being excited all day long. I am grateful for active Cowpokes that can entertain her. 
Little Cowpoke loves to play with Belle. Cowpokette will bring Belle toys and get all excited when Belle grabs them and plays with them. Cowpokette is so helpful.
Brodi, on the other hand, is not too sure about Belle. He will play with her for a few minutes, but then he is done. I think he is hoping that one day he will wake up and the puppy will be gone. But we all make sure Brodi gets a lot of attention. 
Can you see the love? Brodi is such a good boy. He listens so well. I hope Belle will listen like he does. 
I do have one issue with Belle. She is tries really hard to be dominant. But I don't let her. I do a lot of things to make sure she knows that she is at the bottom of the pack. When we walk through the back door she is the last one to come in, after Brodi. But the one thing that she does, is when she is sleeping. She has done this twice. Cowpokette and Little Cowpoke have gone to pet her and she growls and snaps at them. I quickly intervene and then put her in her kennel. What else can we do? I have had Little Cowpoke play with her in a way that he is the boss. He will take her toys from her and then when he wants her to have them he gives them to her. I know it sounds mean, but those toys are our toys and we let her play with them. And she is good with that, it's just when she is sleeping. 
I hope it's just something that she will grow out of? I did notice that when Freddy was playing "army" with Little Cowpoke, Belle jumped in front of Little Cowpoke and barked at Freddy. Belle is protective already. I hope we are doing the right things to not make her more aggressive. I have heard that bulldogs have a different mind set than other dogs. One thing I do know is that I miss my mellow yellow lab. Oh sweet Bear would have never snapped at my kids and he would scare away the meanest FedEx man. But this is not Bear and I should probably stop comparing the two. So, if anyone has any bulldog advice, let me know, I will take any suggestions.
She was softly pushing the keys and singing. She would only sing one note, but she was beautiful. 
Cowpokette would lightly press the keys. She did not pound like the boys do, she was soft and sensitive. I think she has piano hands. She just naturally places her fingers on the keys and plays. Not songs from sheet music, but random notes. Cowpokette thinks its beautiful. 
She even took some time to admire her audience. 
She is so talented she doesn't even have to look at the keys. I think it's so neat how she loves to play the piano, being that I rarely sit down and play. And I am not the world's best player at all. I quit piano lessons when I was eight. Out of 6 children, I am the only one who does not know how to play the piano. I really wished I had stuck it out. But I didn't want to be inside playing the piano, I wanted to be outside in the fresh air. After Cowpokette was finished playing, she did a small bow. 
"Thank you, Thank you!" 
And I had to add this last one, because I just love her squishy baby feet. She is growing up so fast. She no longer is my little tiny baby, but a crazy toddler that rules the roost. I do hope that when she is a bit older, she will be able to play us all some songs on the piano.
Mr. Cowboy drove into Canada. He was questioned by customs why someone from Louisiana wanted to come to Canada. Mr. Cowboy said he was getting ready for them to strip search him. They had him get out of the car and asked him some questions, then they let him go. Strange. But I guess you can never trust those Cajuns, huh? Mr. Cowboy drove past Niagara Falls and went to Janie's house to get our puppy and to see some other Olde English Bulldogges. She had a few at her house and a bunch at some friends houses near her. 
That guy is only 10 months old. His Dad and our puppy's Dad are the same. So, I am sure our puppy will look similar to this when she is 10 months old. Next is a female, I am not sure anything about her, but I think Mr. Cowboy said she was a year and a half old. 
I think she is pretty. Then Mr. Cowboy got to see a young male. He is a year and a half old. 
I think he has a huge head. And you can see the deck was wet. There was also snow in the yard, brrrrrr. I do not miss that white stuff. Then Mr. Cowboy got to see a female named River, have a litter of 12 puppies. 
At the time of the picture she only had 9 of the puppies out of her. Mr. Cowboy said the majority of those were brindles. Then Janie told Mr. Cowboy that she is going to spade River and give her away to a good home. Mr. Cowboy volunteered himself as the good home. My goodness, I can't send that boy anywhere? Janie did not give Mr. Cowboy a definite answer, but I am kinda hoping River finds a good home. I am not sure I want three large inside dogs. After Mr. Cowboy finished visiting the dogs, he headed over to Niagara Falls. Forgive his photo taking skills, he is a bull rider not a photographer. 
Mr. Cowboy said it was cold and rainy so he didn't take any self portraits of him self and the dog. I was really looking forward to that. But he did take some photos of the puppy when they got to the hotel. 
She is a stout little thing. But they went to bed and got ready for their plane trip the next day. They flew home to three very excited children. 
Mr. Cowboy got Belle out of the truck and the kids attacked her with hugs and kisses. Cowpokette even got in on the kissing. Brodi was not too sure about Belle, but he doesn't get excited about much these days. 
The boys were so very excited. I think Belle was a bit scared. But she played and played and played with the boys. She is a little aggressive. She will growl and bark. She defiantly is nothing like my big sweet Bear dog, that I miss so very much. 
The boys played and played with her. Then they had to take her over to Paw Paw's house to show him their new puppy. I am sure glad the kids have all the energy to play with Belle. Brodi and I will just sit back and watch all the craziness. 
Cowpokette just wanted to love on Belle. She wanted to pet her and kiss her and try to pick her up. 
Cowpokette was so happy to have Belle sitting next to her. Belle just wanted to take a nap. She was pooped after playing all evening. 
Big Cowpoke took a picture of me with Belle. She is a really active puppy. She doesn't like to be held too much, especially if there is some playing going on. But when the Cowpokes went to bed, Belle finally calmed down. 
Belle has been a bit calmer today. We played outside a lot this morning. She has not had an accident today, yet. But I take her outside about every twenty minutes. I even got up with her last night at 2:15 am to let her go potty. It's like having another baby. We are taking her to the vet this afternoon and then we are going to buy her some toys. She is a very active pup.
I love self portraits. They are so fun. Big Cowpoke took this picture and then a few others. 
He had a bunch more of Brodi laying down, but I didn't dare post all 23 of them. My little photographer. Big Cowpoke really likes taking pictures. Then that night we had a big Camp Out. The boys played so well together, so we put up the shark tent. 
Oh No!! They are in the belly of a whale!! Okay, it's a shark not a whale. Those two boys are two peas in a pod. 
I love it when they all get along and love being with each other. It gives me warm fuzzies inside. Sigh. I can't wait for Mr. Cowboy to get home. We all want to play with the new puppy. His plane lands in New Orleans in about 10 minutes. Hooray.
