An Early Visit from the Easter Bunny

The Easter Bunny came to Levi a little early this year... it might have had something to do with being  at my parent's house last weekend.  Maybe the Easter Bunny doesn't know where my house is so he left Levi's basket at my parent's house knowing that we would be visiting.  Levi didn't mind that it was early because it meant presents for him.  Such a spoiled boy!

Excited to see what the Easter Bunny brought him!

Promptly removing every toy

then wondering why the basket was now empty

Happy 9th Birthday Kobe

Yesterday would have been Kobe's 9th birthday if he was still here.  He was just under 8 when he died, but I never really thought of him as getting older.  Looking back at pictures I realize that he was actually getting pretty grey in the face but I never seemed to notice it when he was alive.  He never acted like he was aging at all, he always seemed his happy, playful self.  Anyways, just wanted to wish him a happy birthday even though he isn't here to celebrate it.  Always missing you!

Morro Bay and the Scary Washing Machine

Levi and I are back home at my parent's house for the weekend since it's our last semi-easy week before we get into 2-3 tests a week at school.  He's always so happy to visit and wants to play endlessly.

Today my mom and I took Levi out to Morro Bay (about a 20 minute drive from our house).  They have a stretch of beach that is ok for off-leash dogs.  Levi hasn't been to the beach since summer time when he was only 6 months old.  He seemed to love it even more now that he's "grown-up."

A group of snowy egrets

Thanks Mom for taking all the beach pictures.

I wish that the water would have dropped off sooner so he could have swam more, but he still loved running through the water to fetch his bumper.  He had such a great time and wanted to keep going and going.

He was nice and mellow when we got home and decided to follow Mom around while she did laundry.  That is, until the scary new washing machine in the laundry room starting making weird noises.  It sounds a lot different than the older type washing machines that he was used to so he was a little bit unsure of it at first. 

Then he thought it was nice to peek through the little window and watch the clothes go round and round.  He perked up again when the laundry was done and it started playing a little melody.  He thinks it's more like an alien than a washing machine.

Sunday Funday

Levi and I spent the day today in the bay area.  It started with a great obedience lesson and ended with a nice 3 hour hike.

Levi and I started taking obedience lessons with a great trainer in the bay area a few months ago.  Its about a 2 hour drive from Davis though so we only get to go about every 3-4 weeks.  I've been meaning to make a day of it and take Levi for a hike after our lesson because there are so many great hiking locations in the bay area (compared with the very flat Davis).

My roommate is a San Francisco native and recommended a hike that was really close to where my obedience lesson was, at the Windy Hill Open Space Preserve.  She warned me that it was a little bit steep but I figured we were up for the challenge.  It was definitely a work-out but it was doable especially with the nice weather (sunny but not hot).  We made it to the top (with a few water and rest breaks of course) and there was a pretty nice view of the surrounding area and the San Francisco Bay.  Everything is so green and beautiful right now.

Levi was deciding which path to take at a Y in the trail.

Levi blinked

One of the things that I thought though as I looked out at the beautiful scenery was how much clearer the sky/air is on the Central Coast.  I guess there are pro's and con's to every location.  I must say that I really love living in the middle of everything right now.  To be so close to the snow/Lake Tahoe and also to the beach and hiking in the bay area is unbelievable.  Levi and I are very lucky!

Weekend in Tahoe

This past weekend Levi and I headed back to Tahoe for a couple days of fun in the snow with some friends.  Last year at a silent auction fundraiser a couple of friends and I decided that we should bid on a weekend stay at a cabin in Tahoe.  We won the auction for an incredible price and got together a group of friends to join us.  The "cabin" was really more like a mansion...ok maybe not quite, but it was huge and really nice! 

The back of the cabin (photo credit to HP)

We figured out that it could have slept 17.  We had a total of 11 people and 4 dogs which turned out to be a perfect amount.  Levi and I even had our own room!  The other three dogs were all little dogs and it was cute watching Levi playing gently with them.  His favorite was a miniature Yorki that he was obsessed with.

The cabin backed up to this small river (photo by HP)

On Saturday I went snowboarding with two friends while the rest of the group went snowshoeing.  My roommate was super nice and took Levi snowshoeing with them.  It sounds like he had a great time (which he always does in the snow) and found quite a few giant sticks to chew on.

Thanks to my friend, HP, for taking these pictures.

On Sunday I took Levi out snowshoeing again with the two friends that I had gone snowboarding with the prior day.  It ended up being the perfect day for it: beautiful, sunny, and warm.  

 

Levi really loved posing for pictures.

Waiting for Connor to throw a snowball for him.

We met a group that was camping in the snow learning about cold weather survival.

It was a fun time had by all, and a good way to close-out the 2010-2011 snow season.  Now we're ready for the sun and some bay area hiking.