Saturday Night Live - Debbie Downer- Dress Rehearsal - Video - NBC.com

Saturday Night Live - Debbie Downer- Dress Rehearsal - Video - NBC.com




Turns out I've got something in common with Debbie Downer... thankfully I have a better attitude about my gluten intolerance!

the return of the river dogs and climbing adventures

It's still on the chilly side here in telluride but the boys are enjoying the San Miguel River with their friend Stella. Chaos loves swimming more then Mayhem but they both enjoy the time outside.

Dave's been scouting out new places to climb and we went up to a wall overlooking town this weekend. The weather turned south but it was good to go for a hike with the monsters and get back on the rock.

We put a pack on Mayhem with a small amount of weight in hopes of tiring the little man out. Chaos also has a pack but we're giving him a break since he's the big guy.

We even caught sight of this little guy in the tree... thankfully the boys didn't see or meet up with any of these quills.

The boys had fun and learned to stay off our climbing rope. It's important to not let it get too dirty since little rocks or grains of sand can break a rope down.

Also new on the homefront this week is the grumpy kitty's attitude towards Mayhem. She still yells at him for no reason but has been sighted hanging out near him.

Brotherly love

I caught this shot of the boys cuddling after tubby time.

Moab

We were finally able to escape the lingering winter weather that's been in Telluride last weekend and hit the road for Moab, Utah with the monsters. After a bit of searching we found a great campsite along the muddy Colorado River in Negro Bill Canyon. This was Mayhem's first camping adventure and we were a bit worried since he usually sleeps in his crate on how he would do with us in the tent. We had done a few trial runs outside the crate before the trip and he seems to be fine as long as he's near us and Chaos.

We also managed to catch up with some Sugarloaf friends who were on a small road trip for some warm weather and biking. It turns out that Moab also was in a bit of a cold spell but it was still much better weather then Telluride and camping was comfortable. Our sunshade that we picked up last summer for Telluride Festivals was a great hangout for the small rainstorms that hit us during the weekend.

Before we had a fire Chaos helped clean the old charcoal out of the firepit. He wanted to feel helpful and it reminded him of eating the charcoal that we used in the winter at the Maine CampChaos for traction on the snowy driveway.

Chaos and Mayhem would spend time wrestling at camp and Mayhem also had a favorite chew stick to play with. Chaos was allowed to be off leash if he was behaving... which he did until the neighbors made dinner.

I'd also take the pups on the hiking trail and we found a small swimhole for them to play in.

At night there were canyon river tours in the Colorado River and they light the walls as they cruise through.

We did do a drive through Canyonlands National Park and got some great views. We had the monsters with us and the park was not very pet friendly and they were only welcome in the parking lots.

It was a good relaxing weekend in our campsite by the river and I think the boys were bummed when we packed up camp and loaded the 4Runner to head back to chilly Telluride.

 Chaos could have just been bummed to have his brother crowding him in the back of the truck...

Hitting the road...

Moab for the weekend to escape the snow in Telluride

chaos, mayhem and the grumpy kitty

life at campchaos has settled down. the animals are all getting along well and even pissy kitty joins in the snuggle fun sometimes, but mostly she just runs around and meows at Mayhem. 

And I want you to marvel at the fact that we managed to get all three animals in one shot, this may never happen again.

Mayhem and Chaos have started to play more and the living room has turned into a play arena each night. We've traded dogs during the day and they'll take turns coming to work with me or running errands with Dave. Chaos is great at holding the floor down while Mayhem is learning that the chair is for me and not him.

It's snowing again in Telluride. We've begun packing away our winter gear in hopes that mother nature will take the hint. There were a few inches on the ground this morning and tonight it looks like a blizzard outside with fat flakes filling the sky.

mayhem has settled in and is now living up to his name. he's full of energy and even tires chaos out. that's why he's photogenic late at night while chaos just wants to sleep.

camp chaos hits the road

Last weekend we loaded up the 4Runner and headed northeast to catch up with all the folks in Summit County. We even squeezed in a few extra visits along the way. Dave's finished for the season as there isn't much demand for groomers after the mountain closes and I took an extended weekend so we didn't have to rush the trip.

Chaos in blue and Mayhem in green cuddle in the sunshine

We left Thursday morning and stopped in Vail to see our friend Sandy who currently lives in Alaska and was in Vail for a conference. We walked the dogs along the busy ski town paths and grabbed dinner at a local pub. Big Dave also made the trip out of Telluride as he had to drop a friend off for knee surgery and met up with us at Sam & Meghan's house. They rent a farmhouse in Silverthorne and it has a big area for all the dogs to run and play in. They had borrowed a Wii for the weekend and it kept the boys up late each night for some rounds of bowling and golf.
Friday we started our day with a breakfast at Kula's in Dillon. It's a small cafe and run by the nicest people... they also happen to specialize in gluten-free goodies. It's not often I get to enjoy gluten-free french toast and I made sure to document the occasion for my GF blog. Sam had the day off and the three boys and I headed over to Copper for the day. Meghan was able to meet up and ride with us for a bit as did Jon in the afternoon. We also spent some time watching Alex and a crew of CVA kids compete in SBX. Alex had stayed with us last December when the World Cup hit Telluride and it was great to be able to watch him race and take 5th.
Saturday found us with a repeat at Kula's before Team Dave and I hit slopes at A-Basin. It was a cloudy day near Loveland Pass and colder then expected. We had taken Chaos, Mayhem as well as Kaya and Echo on a big walk that morning so we didn't feel too bad about ditching them. Saturday night was Courtney's birthday and we hit their house for Chinese food and birthday cake. Chaos and Mayhem had a great time playing with their cousins and the girls even took Mayhem and Chaos for a walk with me. Both dogs were on their best behavior as the girls held the leashes. These days Chaos only pulls when he sees another dog and Mayhem had on his gentle leader harness which reigns him in nicely.
Jon and Courtney had Sunday off so we hit Copper for a ski day with the crew after our 3rd Kula's breakfast of the trip and another big dog walk. Kula's also had great pocket snacks for me. They made this incredible GF carmel bar with a rich chocolate topping that was great fuel for both A-Basin and Copper. I can't ski without loading my pockets now as I never know where I can find "safe" food. It's imperative that I don't have gluten while traveling since it would kill the trip with a migraine and other issues that I'll spare you the details on. This last weekend I was a huge fan of Kula's treats and fruit snacks.

The kids have progressed a lot since the last time we were able to ski with them, and Courtney and Jon aren't half bad either...

Team Drabik ripped it up and we ended a big ski day with free music at the base of the mountain in the sunshine. It was a very full weekend and we're both looking forward to a quiet time at home with the monsters this weekend to recover from the Summit County crew and the trip out of Telluride.


Spring Travels

life with chaos and mayhem

Mayhem is settling into life at camp chaos nicely. Chaos is learning how to be a big brother to someone who likes him a lot more then Mu-nee Kitty does and Mayhem is learning our rules and routines. Dave has another full week of grooming and being a creature of the night before off-season hits the lifts stop for the summer. Chaos and I are really good at taking up the whole bed now after a season of Dave working 5 nights a week. Mayhem sleeps in his crate as it enables Chaos and I some sleep in and cuddle time in the morning. Once I let Mayhem out he springs onto the bed with us and squirms vying for attention. Mu-nee has also figured out that Mayhem's crate time and take the opportunity to have her free roam of the house back.

Munee and Mayhem have had some kitty therapy time and Mayhem is actually afraid of the grumpy cat. She tends to avoid the new monster at all costs and was pretty upset when we made her spend some time with all of us in the living room one day. I think she now realizes how good she really had it with Chaos.

The boys and I play outside each morning then Mayhem has some crate time while Chaos enjoys some couch time before Dave comes home from grooming. He also takes them out for a bit before going to sleep for the night.

In the evenings I like to avoid the mud pit and slush that has become many of our trails and drive the boys to a empty cul-de-sac to play. It's at the base of a hill and tennis balls roll back to me in case one of the dogs (Chaos) loses interest and drops it. Mayhem is quite the ball dog and will play for as long as I let him. Chaos loves to play fetch while swimming but quickly loses interest on terra firma.

Our new spot is great as the hill also lets me pretend to be the ski coach from hell and I make the boys do uphill sprints. I keep waiting for them to catch on to my game but they just keep running. These workouts let Mayhem (and the rest of us) have a quiet night.

Mayhem enjoys sleeping in the tub on occasion and isn't afraid of it like Chaos. They each had a shower on Sunday and the lavender puppy shampoo scent lasted a few days before the spring mud smell returned.

Chaos has been excellent about sharing his toy collection and Mayhem is learning how to use the treat spot in the kongs and Planet Dog Toys.

We're working on our manners and although Mayhem eats like he hasn't been fed in years, he is sitting before his meal is presented just like Chaos. We've been adding some toys to his food bowl so he has something to work around and helps to slow down his pace. This little step also ensures that each pup is in his own spot and we haven't had any food fights at all. In general the boys don't wrestle with each other. This helps keep things at campchaos pretty calm overall.

Mayhem had his first vet visit on today and he was dropped off early in order to get neutered for an early birthday present. I'm sure he'll love spending his birthday on tomorrow wearing a cone... perhaps we can dress it up like a birthday hat?  When I picked up Mayhem, Chaos had a few routine shots done. We don't get to schedule vet appointments very often... usually chaos will find some reason to see Dr. Taylor, he'll do anything from getting sick to a ski injury to see his favorite vet.

We have less then a week left of lift service here in Telluride. We lucked out on Saturday and had 22" with bluebird weather. Jared, Dave and I even did a hike-to. Bald Mt is a 20+/- minute hike for some pretty deep snow.