Our Entertainer

After a photo shoot with our niece & nephew last weekend, we tried to get a few shots of Riley. You can tell that Mike and I were entertained a whole lot more than Riley was. :-)

Woman's Best Friend

Whoever coined the phrase that a dog is a "man's best friend" doesn't know my Riley. He's a WOMAN's best friend, too.

Riley's LAST Softball Game

Mike had a softball game tonight and we wanted to try taking Riley with us. We took him to a game last year and soon realized that he was too young to behave at the game (too much going on), so we decided we'd wait another year and try again. Keyword: TRY.

We've come to the decision that in Riley's mind, every ball being thrown, hit, grounded, tossed, etc... was for him and not the softball game. Which also means I got pulled in every direction at the game tonight and am pretty sore.

To distract Riley from the softball game (and to give my shoulders a break) I tried walking with him to the opposite side of the park as the baseball diamonds, but that didn't work because when we got there, someone was playing a tennis game. Yeah.. more balls... this time tennis balls... Riley's FAVORITE! I couldn't get out of there quick enough. I ended up loading Riley up in my car and we drove around the block while we waited for Mike's game to end. He was just too excited about all of the balls.

As Mike and I were driving home after the game, Riley finally calmed down. Apparently going after all those balls (and almost ripping my shoulder out of the socket) made him tired. This video is of Riley falling asleep as we drove home.

Riley Takes A Leap

After work tonight, it was so nice out, Mike and I packed up the dogs and went over to Fort Ben. Lucky for us, it was free to get in instead of the normal $5.00. (We need to get a season pass! We've been saying that for 2 years now...)

We did our normal walk around the lake, and when we got to the stairs that walk down to the lake, we stopped at the picnic table and had our dinner. It was beautiful to just sit by the lake and eat. (Not to mention very PEACEFUL! While we were eating, there were two dogs (one was a black lab) on the other side of the lake that were chasing after something in the water. It was fun to watch their dogs swim. If only our black lab would swim...

Mike went and picked up a stick and started throwing it along the trail, and Riley would catch it. After Riley became very interested in the stick, Mike threw it into the lake, and Riley would tiptoe into the water after it. He wouldn't get any deeper than his belly though. So Mike, the dogs, and I walked to a different spot around the lake. We found a block of cement that was surrounded by water, so Mike jumped out on it with Riley. You'll have to watch the video to see the rest:

Super Riley

Mike and I took the dogs to the track near our house yesterday. It was so nice outside! We like taking the dogs to the track because of the big open green space in the center of it - it's a great place for Riley to run off leash. (We can't let Catie off of her leash - she'd never come back!) It's also a great place for Riley to play catch with his Frisbee because the space is so open. Here's a video of "Super Riley" catching his Frisbee mid-air.

Riley's New Soccer Ball

Two years ago today, Mike and I brought home a little black puppy who has become our best friend: Riley. He has so many nick names (Rye Rye, Buddy, Boogie) but the best name, that he holds so true to, is "Man's Best Friend."

We got Riley a new toy this week - a soccer ball. His eyes got sooo big when he saw it! I'm quite positive he had never seen a ball so big... and this dog LOVES balls! Riley LOVES playing with his new soccer ball, but we're only letting him play with it outside since he's so rough with it.

It was so nice outside after work (and still daylight - yes!) that I took Riley out to play with his soccer ball and his other favorite outside toy, his frisbee. Here's a video of Riley playing with his new ball:

Puppy Play Time In The Snow

Can ya tell Riley was having fun playing in the snow?

I thought this was a funny picture of Catie with her tongue out!


This picture says it all between Catie and Riley. "Come get me - I double dog dare ya!"


Riley was so excited to come out and play with Mike. He's SUPER PUPPY here jumping for his Kitty. (Kitty is Riley's version of a doggy security blanket...)


Riley was anxious for Mike to throw Kitty...


...and Riley got Kitty! I love how you can tell he's running in this picture.


Man's Best Friend - without question!

Riley

My Riley is getting big! Mike weighed him yesterday and he's up to 50lbs already! The vet wasn't joking when he said Riley would be a 90lb boy! WOW!










We took Riley back to the ponds on Saturday to see if he'd swim again. No luck! But he and Mike sure had fun together. (Riley is, without a doubt, Mike's dog. He's man's best friend - wink wink!)













Mike has taught him quite a bit, but Riley's new favorite "trick" is to give you a high-five. So now, both Catie and Riley can give you "5" if you ask for it! (Catie is so smart - that if you ask her to give you "10" she puts both paws up! Riley will be there soon - he's smart!)

We want to play too!

After work today, Mike started sanding down the garage and painting it. I was out "helping" him for a little bit. Catie and Riley wanted to come out and help too, but it was just too messy for them. So to make them happy (and so they would stop barking) we put up the dog gate so they could at least look out into the garage while we were painting.

They looked so cute - I had to take a picture of them.

Puppy-dog eyes

One can get lost in Riley's eyes...

That reminds me of a Debbie Gibson song (ha - I know - that's old!)

I get lost, in your eyes, And I feel my spirits rise...

This little guy sure does keep my spirits up (and our paper towel bill, and carpet cleaning bill, and dog food bill...)

The Shower-dog

Riley is a unique dog. He has a habit that is rather annoying, but quite cute (until he is full-grown. Then he'll break something!) Riley likes showers.

Now don't get me wrong, when it's time to give Riley a bath in the bathtub, he takes off running the opposite direction. But when it comes to him getting in the shower when either Mike or I are in there, he's ready to go.

An example for you: This is Riley this morning climbing into the shower with Mike...... and sitting on the edge of the bathtub (his favorite spot...)

What does Riley do when he's sitting on the edge of the shower? He sticks his tongue out and tries to catch the water on his tongue. As soon as you turn the water for the shower off, he hops into the tub.

YES - he is a unique dog!

T.G.I.F.

I can't remember the last time that I was so excited for a Friday! Work has been busy (that's the understatement of the year...) the last few weeks, and I just need this weekend to relax.

After work, Mike and I took Riley and Catie on a walk around the neighborhood.

Then, Sarah, Phoebe and I went on another walk. It was so gorgeous out. I wanted to be outside as much as I could!

After I got back from the last walk, Catie and Frankie were so cute looking out the back door at Riley - I had to capture it!

More Photos

Here is my one and only Frankie Bob! (Or as Naomi called him last night, just Bob.) With the windows open today, Frankie spent most of his day either laying on the window or laying in front of the screen door. Last night, when Mike got home from watching Brian's brother's band play at Pin-Heads, I woke up to Mike laughing. I opened my eyes to Frankie asleep on my face!




My two puppies! Well, "McFatty" (a.k.a. Catie Mae) isn't so much a puppy anymore, but she still thinks she is! Now that Riley is around to keep her active, we're hoping we can rid her of her newest nickname.

Riley's Playground Part 2

Here are more pictures of Mike and Riley from the playground...

Riley's Playground Part 1

Tonight, because it was soooo gorgeous outside, Mike and I took Riley to the playground. Mike had taken him there yesterday and found out that Riley LOVES to play on the slide! So here are some photos of Riley playing at the playground tonight. (He's such a good puppy!)

New puppy!

Life has been crazy around the Derringer house the last week! I'll post more pictures soon, but first a little story...

Last Monday evening, Mike and I met up with one of the fosters from Love of Labs rescue to meet our new puppy! (UPDATE: WE NAMED HIM RILEY!)

We brought him home Monday night, and between the excitement of coming to a new house, meeting another dog, a new cat (who wasn't too fond of him at that moment), trying to learn to go potty outside, and it raining non-stop - we had quite an evening!

Luckily, the sun has come out since last Monday and he's now sleeping through the night. Mike has already taught him "Sit" "Down" and "Come."

This little guy is pretty special to Mike and I. He was born on December 17 - our Anniversary! (And Josh and Phoebe's birthdays too!)

After Easter dinner today at Matt & Sarah's house, Mike and I gave the pup a bath. We figured he would like it because in the mornings, he tries to climb in the shower when we are getting ready for work.

Yeah - apparently that was just a "phase" because I've never seen a dog try to climb out of the bathtub as quick as he did!

After his bath, he cuddled up with Mike for a few cute pictures.