Hammy, one of our male cats, was found this evening by one of our neighbors. He had passed away under their front porch. He had been missing for a week and we had an idea he has passed, as he was never gone that long before.
He was a real character who couldn’t just walk by our other cat, Joey, without slapping him on top of the head and just continue walking. He had the typical cat mentality that he was too cool for the rest of the world and we were here to entertain and serve him.
When we got him as a kitten he was very hyper and active and the movie, “Over the Hedge” was just out. He reminded the kids of the hyper active squirrel in the movie and was named after him.
Stephanie graduated from Granville High School today. We started the day with a nice breakfast at Nikki’s cousin’s house. Nikki’s Aunt and Uncle were down as well and it was nice getting to visit with them for a couple of hours.
Not only were Nikki’s parents here to witness it, but my parents and my two sisters also came down from Michigan to help Stephanie celebrate. After the graduation ceremonies, we picked up Chipotle and brought it back to our house. Every ate and chatted and then Stephanie opened her cards and gifts from everyone. Then my parents and sister’s made the trek back to Michigan, which had to be a very long for them.
We thank all our family members who traveled 300 miles each way to celebrate Stephanie’s big day, it meant a lot to her to share this exciting day with family.
Ashley turned 25 on May 30th. Nikki’s parents came down on the 31st to celebrate Ashley’s birthday and Stephanie’s graduation. We went into Columbus so they could meet Apollo and we had a very nice dinner at Marcella’s. We then spent some time back at the kid’s apartment and had a nice time socializing. It was a very nice day will the family.
Jonny ran in the Licking County League Championships this week. The meet was held over two days, Tuesday was mostly field events and preliminary events. The one final event that Jonny ran in that day was the 4×800 relay. He was also scheduled to run the 4×400 relay and was a last minute entry into the 400 meter dash as a replacement for another Granville runner.
The 4×800 meter relay the team took 2nd with a combined time of 8:16.85. Jonny ran the 2nd leg with a new Personal Best of 204.1. The next race Jonny ran was the 400 meter dash. He ran it in 54.98 which was a fast enough time to get him in the finals on Saturday. He was only one of three freshmen to run in the heats and the only freshman to make it into the finals. His last race of the day was the 4×400 relay. The team took 2nd overall with a time of 3:34.9 which also put them in Saturday’s finals. Jonny ran his leg in 56.7 in the windy conditions.
Saturday, Jonny only had the two races. During his warmup and the 400 meter dash race it started to rain and the wind picked up with the temps falling back into the upper 40’s. Jonny ran the race in 54.39 and did not place. He was one of two Granville runners in the finals. This was the first time he got to race against his team mate Casey Lenfest who won the race with a time of 49.73 in the less than desirable conditions. The 4×400 relay the team took 3rd place with a time of 3:33.6. Jonny ran the final leg in 54.1 which is another personal best for him.
Ashley and Shane brought Apollo out to our house to visit and give Nikki her Mother’s Day gifts. It only took a few minutes for Apollo to feel comfortable around Zoey and Penny. Zoey was calm and curious about Apollo and once Penny got over her first few minutes of total jubilation, she was nice and calm around the puppy as well. After making the mistake of getting some tennis balls out, Penny forgot about the puppy and started to play serious. We had to remove the balls and put Penny in her crate, until she calmed down again and then this happened.
Shortly after that all the dogs went outside and played nice some more. I think all the dogs will become friends and once Apollo is bigger and can hold his own, I think he and Penny will have a blast together as Great Danes like to run and shoulder into each other, and Penny likes that type of rough play as well.
After the sudden loss of Gunter, Ashley and Shane realized their apartment didn’t feel like a home without a dog to greet them. The family searched and we found a number of prospects. Ashley contacted several breeders and finally found one that she liked. She made arrangements and her, Nikki and Stephanie drove up to Southington and meet the puppy and parents.
Ashley fell in love and brought home her new puppy Apollo.
Jonny ran at the Tri-Meet at Dublin Coffman with Dublin Coffman and Wothington Kilbourne.
Jonny was scheduled to run in the 1600 meter and the 4×400 relay.
He ran the 1600 meter and kept with the leaders for the first lap. Another runner came up from behind and took the lead and Jonny stuck with him right on his tail. Jonny started to make his move with about 300 meters and steadily picked up his pace until no one could keep up with him. He won the 1600 with a time of 4:57.7.
He was scheduled for the last race of the evening, which was the 4×400 relay. Unfortunately there was a lightning strike in the area and the meet was cancelled before he could race.
This evening we lost a family member. Our Great Dane, Gunter, passed away unexpectedly. Our family is devastated once again losing a beloved pet that quickly became a part of the family. He had a few nicknames, Goony, Goon and our favorite Puppy. It was always interesting calling for “Puppy” and watch people who have never met him react when he come prancing over.
Gunter had been living with Ashley for a couple of years now and loved the city life. Ashley asked to have him spend a week with her and he enjoyed himself so much living in the city and taking walks where everyone seemed to be be attracted to him. He loved being the center of attention. He always thought of Ashley as “his girl”. Nikki and I would go to visit after he was living with her and he would be very excited to see us and so happy to spend time with us. But, when we were putting our shoes and coats back on, he would would walk behind Ashley as if to say, please let me stay another night. A couple of times he had to spend the night with us because Ashley and Shane were going to visit family. He was always happy to come in an greet us, but when Ashley and Shane were leaving, he made it obvious that he was supposed to go with them. The country life is no place for a Great Dane that craves attention everywhere he goes in the city!
He had a wonderful last day going for walks and playing around with Shane and Ashley. He always had his own bed and would get extra excited when he was getting his sheets on the bed changes out for fresh ones. Ashley and Shane just purchased him a bed, so he had a place to hang out with them on the porch. He always prized his beds and bedding more than any toy.
Puppy is very tired.
Puppy in the snow.
He loves fresh blankets and bedding.
Goony and Phoebe chasing each other around.
Goony and Phoebe napping after some hard play together.
Stephanie and Marcus are attending the Granville High School 2014 Prom this evening. We had to rush back from Lexington where Jonny had a track meet earlier today. Nicole and Stephanie went out this morning and picked up the boutonniere for Marcus. Stephanie had to go on her own to get her hair and make-up done as Nikki and I were on our way to Lexington for the track meet.
Nikki was able to make it just in time for pictures at the Bryn Du Mansion in Granville. The kids were going out to dinner after pictures and then back to the mansion for prom.
I bought a GoPro HD camera last week on Woot.com for about $50. It was delivered yesterday and was able to use one of the mounts to attach it to an extra dog collar we have.
This morning I thought I would give it a try and experiment with it on a walk with Zoey, while Penny was downstairs “helping” Nikki with laundry.
The camera just hangs from the collar and bounces around while Zoey is running, so the video isn’t that great, but it still gives you an idea of what it’s like on a walk for Zoey. Here is the video from walk.
