An Anniversary

A year ago, on June 30th, Alan asked me out on a date. Finding each other again, 10 years after our first meeting (and in completely different places in our lives), was a total surprise to both of us. Reconnecting and becoming a couple has been the best experience ever. I love this man so much. And I feel his love for me so completely that there is no question of its existence. Somehow we both knew we were meant to be together.
And here we are, a year later, and it flew by so quickly but at the same time it feels as though we've been together forever.
Our initial courtship began during the week of the 4th of July and so our anniversary of finding each other will always be accompanied by fireworks and long starry nights.
I couldn't ask for anything more perfect.

An Anniversary

Sunday morning snuggles with Charlie.

Charlie getting snuggles with her daddy.

. . .
We hiked today for a short while with the dogs. The weather has been ungodly hot this past month and today we have a one-day reprieve from the 90-degree heat and humidity we've had recently. Even though it's only in the 70's today, the humidity is sticking around so it feels much warmer. And the bugs have been unreal.

Boat launch below the dam.

Dam off in the distance.

We opted for a short treasure-hunting hike below one of the dams on the Wisconsin River near Wausau. I've begun collecting small smooth stones to paint and hide around our area. I recently discovered a movement of people painting rocks and hiding them... finders post up pictures on Facebook and can either keep the rocks, re-hide the rocks or replace them with their own painted rocks.

I happened to find one of these hidden rocks about a month ago and since then have bought art supplies and began collecting rocks of my own to paint. I like the idea of sending a positive and beautiful message back out into the world.

We found several turtle egg nests that had been raided, most likely by raccoons. Sad.

Charlie and Jake continue to grow their bond together. I worry that Jake is not learning his training commands, but only following Charlie around and doing what she does. Maybe this is good... Charlie helping with the training, but I think we'll be spending some one-on-one time together over the next few weeks so Jake gets his own individualized training. I want him to understand the training words by himself for those situations when Charlie may not be near him.

Jake is almost the same weight as Charlie now... he's up to 45 lbs. and Charlie is at 47 lbs. He still has one baby canine to lose, but otherwise is growing up beautifully. He's lost that gangly clumsy puppy walk and is getting more coordinated all the time. He and Charlie wrestle, play tug-of-war and even eat out of the same dish on occasion. It's miraculous how well these two have bonded.