Somewhere on a beach

Dadthzs,

I know you're somewhere on a beach right now, enjoying a break from the darkness and cold of your post in Thule.  I hope you are enjoying the sun and warmth.  Things have significantly warmed up here too, and we took full advantage of that this past weekend.

Saturday morning we got a weekend camper added to the roster - my friend Stella Matchey.  I first met Stella on New Years Eve this year, but JuJu didn't get a picture of her at that party.  As soon as Stella got to Camp on Saturday morning, we headed out to walk the lake with Kasey and Bailey.  We had a blast and walked 3.65 miles.  I did really well, especially considering we haven't been walking much lately in this bitter cold.  Here's all 5 of us with JuJu:

Both Summer and I had to take some Rimadyl Saturday afternoon, but it was worth it. 

Saturday night we had some Church with Stella (and Kasey too):

It's so nice when you have friends you can just be yourself with.  You know how much I love Kasey, and Stella is really a nice friend too.  She gives me just the right amount of attention and just the right amount of space.  Dadthzs, it was pretty funny all of us sleeping in JuJu and Brett's bedroom Saturday night. It was truly like camping.  Wait, kinda like Glamping actually.  We did great!

Sunday morning we were back on the lake and walked another 3 miles.  I try to introduce myself to all of the people out there as we walk by.  It feels so good to get fresh air and exercise!  

Sunday night we had friends over to watch the Vikings game.  That's all I'm going to say about that.

We are supposed to get a snow-nami today.  The weather geeks are guessing 4-12".  Summer and I stayed home from work today since Brett will be back to the home office by 12:00.  JuJu didn't want to take us out in the Brubaru if she didn't have to.  I'll keep you posted if we actually get some good snow totals.  It will make your time in the sun feel that much more special.

Love you Dadthzs,

Bru

A break from the deep freeze

Hi Dadthzs,

I finally got outside yesterday after 2 long weeks in the deep freeze!  Summer and I have had cabin fever really bad, and it felt so good to get outside.  Yesterday the temperature finally got to 20+something.  It felt like a heat wave, and I could actually take my time to go potty without freezing my noogies off.  (Oh wait, I don't have noogies anymore.  But if I had them, they would have been frozen the past 2 weeks).

Here we are, getting ready to go for our long walk on the lake:

We went for a 2 mile walk with Kasey & Bailey, and their parents, and Brett & JuJu.  Kasey's mom and dad found this awesome stuff on the internet called "Paw Wax" and it's designed for us red heads who get ice chunk build up in our paws.  Kasey shared some with me and it worked GREAT!  And way better than those embarrassing booties we tried a month ago.  I made it 2 miles and only had to stop 2-3 times to quickly pick at my paws.  Here we are on our walk:

Bailey is 4 months old now, and she has the energy to try and keep up with Summer and Kasey.  I just hang back, patient.  Slow and steady wins the race.  Halfway through the walk, Bailey slowed down and hung with me and we kept a pretty similar pace.  What a great day!

We also spent some time outside, burning boxes, shoveling the rink, and just goofing off.  I slept like a rock last night.  The fresh air did me good.

I am really looking forward to seeing you this weekend Dadthzs!  I can't believe how fast the first half of your assignment has gone.  I know after this trip I won't see you again until June, but I think it will go pretty fast if I can stay active and busy.  There is always some action at Camp, and work is keeping me busy too.  I just miss you a bunch and can't wait to see you.

Love,

Bru

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year from Camp Carnelian, where it's been so cold we haven't walked in a week!  Dadthzs, I can barely go potty without freezing my paws.  Summer and I have cabin fever so bad, and so do Brett and JuJu.  We've been cooped up inside and we are all dying to get out and get some fresh air.  It looks like we have a few more days to wait.  I am hoping for some really good walks this weekend when the temps are supposed to be back above zero.

So, what do we do at Camp when it's too cold to go outside?  We EAT!  And we DRINK!  And we wear the same sweat pants for 3 days in a row.  Ew, that sounds gross doesn't it?  Nobody said Camp was glamorous.  We are in survival mode.

On New Years Eve we had some friends over for games and appetizers.  It was really fun because Stella came over (JuJu forgot to get a picture of us) so we had 3 furkids, 4 teenagers & 6 adults.  We played games all night while we snacked.  Since this is my first NYE at Camp, I had no clue that NYE is a marathon, not a sprint.  Here is the evolution of my night:

10:30pm:  Already you can see, I'm down for the count.  The Walsh girls were so great to me & gave me lots of attention.  But I couldn't keep my eyes open any more.  (PS:  the Walsh girls are Colleen's kids - remember Colleen?  She was JuJu and Jill's 3rd sister growing up)

12:18am:  Happy New Year!  I am celebrating with my eyes closed.

Monday mid-morning (New Years Day):  Clearly, I had too much tequila!!  And no one offered me a Bloody Mary, so I napped.

Monday (New Years Day) we had put a brisket on the Big Green Egg the night before and it slow cooked all night.  Pastor John Cheese coached Brett through his first attempt on his own - making a brisket outside overnight when it's minus 18 is pretty tricky.  

When the humans were done eating, Pastor John conducted a church service for me, Summer and Elli Bleu.  That brisket was really delicious!!  We hadn't been to church with Pastor John Cheese in quite a while, so it tasted extra good in my opinion. 

So we closed 2017 on a cold note, but with a lot of warmth in our hearts, as we are grateful for our friends and family who help us get through cabin fever.  As we start 2018, on an equally cold note, I am looking forward to some walks on the lake pretty soon (Kasey's mom found some paw wax we are going to try), and I am also looking forward to seeing you soon when you come home again to visit.  

Until then, I've got my nose back to the grindstone at work.  It's certainly way better than being lazy on the couch all day!  

Happy New Year!!

Bruiser