Where have you been?!

Well, to be fair, Boykins hasn't really gone anywhere. Perhaps a bit of the novelty has worn off, so we don't post as much as we did before. But don't think that means we love her any less. On the contrary: we think Boykins is the best!

So...what's happened since we last updated the site? Well, Boykins turned ONE! That's right, she is officially an Old Lady. Her first birthday was March 21, and since then it's been all downhill. She's not getting any younger, people. Her chin is already starting to show some gray hairs (I'm not kidding), and she does a lot more lounging around than she used to.

That doesn't mean she doesn't like to play and have fun. Just ask her new friends Jo and Justin, who just returned to the States after 2+ years in Gao, Mali. (Where's that? Well, here.) She likes to go on walks with them at Fresh Pond, a place near their house in Cambridge. So far, the weather has been only slightly cooperative, but we go when we can.

What else? Well, for Christmas, Boykins received a great toy that she managed to destroy in under five minutes!















I traveled home to Michigan, where I got to visit with my nephews, Math and Kiernan, and my niece, Tara.


Kiernan, Math and Tara (goofy girl).


Tara with her new Teddy Chair.

Boykins has continued to perfect her "doofus sit," and her "head-rush nap" positions:





We didn't get a lot of snow this year, but what we did get, Boykins loved. She hates the rain, but loves the snow.


Hello!


Wee paw-prints.

The Patriots failed to make it to the Super Bowl, but we enjoyed watching the game at the home of our new friends, Tim and Wendy. They own Blu, whom you might remember from earlier posts. We also met a couple of new dogs, Ben (a pug) and Stoli (who was 10 weeks old at the time). Stoli is the wee pup playing with Boykins in the pictures below.





Boykins has also discovered the joy of warm laundry in the basket. Quan is now kind enough to prep his fresh-from-the-dryer laundry just for her, removing stuff that might get wrinkly and leaving things like socks and towels for her to curl up on. Last Saturday, she napped in his warm laundry for over 3 hours! She's a funny girl. She sees him with that basket and will follow him, or will climb down off my lap on the couch in order to climb in!


Hot stuff!


So nice. Like a clothing hot-tub.


I can't wait until Quan does more laundry!

In March, Quan, Max and I traveled to British Columbia, where we met up with Quan's middle brother, Huan. We spent some time in Vancouver, but most of our visit was at Whistler, where many events for the 2010 Winter Olympics will be held. Boykins stayed with our friend Katherine, her 16 year-old (!) dog Hexe, Katherine's friend Deb, and Deb's pup, Colby. We think Boykins had so much fun with them she was probably sad to leave them when we came home! But we had fun in BC, too.


Our host country.


Quan admiring the socialist dollars at work in Vancouver.


Vancouver! And a sea plane!


The guys on the mountain (Quan, Huan, Max). Where was Sarah? Probably napping at the condo.


Winter in mountain rainforests can get froggy.

A few weeks after we returned from Canada, Boykins tore off her right dewclaw. In order to keep her from messing with it right after she injured it, we bandaged her up.


The "cooperative" patient.

Needless to say, she loved having a human-sized ACE bandage all up her leg.


Get this thing OFF me! I look stupid.

All in all, it's been a great 2007. Boykins is not the active puppy she once was, but she's still a great, energetic girl and we just think she's the best. She has friends she likes to play with in the mornings (thanks to Quan who takes her each day), and she gets lots of love from us as well. Every once in a while, we're reminded just how cute she is.


Why does my paw smell like tuna?

More to come!