Charlotte: 15 Weeks

It's time for a Charlotte update! This week, she's 15 weeks old, and has now been ours for over 5 weeks. Everyone says they can tell she's getting bigger, but she's still just a little puppy to me. She seems very happy and I think she really likes us. She still acts like a puppy, but things are getting a little easier as time goes on. Overall, she seems to be fitting in to our life very well.

She and I spend lots of time together when Curtis is at school. She's actually mellowed out quite a bit,  she doesn't get aggressive as much and bites less. When Curtis gets home, that all changes - she gets so riled up and starts biting him like crazy! Does her biting him more mean she likes him more or less than me? Anyway, on the few occasions when she does get aggressive when we're home alone, I have found that the way to get her to settle down and respect me is to play Curtis' trumpet. No, I can not play the trumpet. I just get weird sounds. If I were her, I would be scared too. This picture shows her timidness toward the big shiny horn I'm holding. However, when Curtis plays for her, she's fine with it. Should I be offended? :)

On Charlie's first hike with us to Mt. Wrightson, we rewarded her by introducing her to Peanut Butter. She will now do whatever she can to have more. Yes, she's standing on our table here in this picture... yeah, I put her up there. I'm a sucker for her puppy dog eyes.

We got a package! More importantly, Charlie got a box! I put her inside just for fun. We like to put all her toys inside, and she likes to grab it by the flaps and turn it over.

I took this picture because 1. She's adorable, and 2. She fell asleep with the margarita mixer bottle, and it was just an opportune picture moment. No, we don't let her have any - We take empty bottles and put treats inside for her to play with!

One outing we had this month was walking to our favorite sushi restaurant. Hurray for outdoor seating! We brought her dinner with her, and she enjoyed getting love from other people and getting to check out new territory!

Then this week, she joined us on a lunch date to Culvers, where she discovered french fries! These are the puppy dog eyes that I give in to on a daily basis. This is what I have to put up with, people!

Curtis is home! We get so excited to play with him! She can jump up on the futon on her own now, and I'm pretty sure she thinks it's hers - she starts biting and gets a little territorial up there. She doesn't seem to realize that there's definitely enough room for 2 humans and 1 very small puppy!

Charlie giving me her crazy eyes look - I get this look all the time. And it is always hilarious.

She still doesn't like it when I try and take pictures. This would be attempt #73/156, and the best one we can get all day. ;)

We went and had dinner at Mitchell's one Sunday night, and Charlotte was also invited! It was a struggle to keep her off the carpet in his new home, but she behaved herself. She enjoyed having the backyard to roam around, but only if there were people outside with her. I took a picture when she finally settled down and fell asleep on my lap. :')

And here, I wanted to share some pictures that my Mother-in-law Julie took of Charlie. Most of my pictures of her end up blurry because she rarely stops moving (and sleeping pictures can only be so interesting!) but Julie is a photographer and got some adorable shots of my baby! You can visit her photography website here: http://countrymilephotography.smugmug.com

Charlie in action! Isn't she the cutest? I love it when her ears perk up like this!

Baby Charlotte. :) She never ceases to amaze or amuse us! Whether she's hiking to a 10,000 ft peak or cuddling with us on the futon, she always makes us happy by being an adorable, curious, and lovable puppy.

October Occurrences

On Monday, (10/27) I turned 22. It was a wonderful day/weekend of celebrating with my husband and puppy, and feeling the love from friends and family, near and far. :)

Today I'm just sharing some pictures and memories that we've had this month. Between hiking, family visiting, being with friends, church, and learning how to be puppy parents, we've stayed very busy this month!

An Arizona sunset! I made Curtis and Charlie come outside and enjoy it with me. 

I love having palm trees all around. I still feel like I'm on vacation or something. It's been a beautiful October!

Sunday outing with a friend in Marana (North of Tucson) and watching a storm pass through the city!

My husband is amazing. I can't say that enough. He helped a friend disassemble, move, and build this whole thing without instructions! 

The Catalina Mountains while we were driving to Sabino Canyon to go running.

BAM! How about that sunset!

Tea time, with tea and adorable mugs provided by my loving family. :)

Checking out the solar eclipse with our own "pinhole camera"!

Birthday dinner #1: Texas Roadhouse. A girl shouldn't have to live 22 years before she experiences her first Bloomin' Onion.

Late night shenanigans in Kohl's trying on hats. Just like in high school. :)

Birthday selfie! (I finally had the courage to style my haircut and wear the bangs down... not too bad, right?) :p Also thanks to my family for the dress, it arrived just in the nick of time before we left for a dressy dinner date!

We went out to a restaurant called Vivace - it was undoubtedly the most upscale restaurant we'd been to! We got all dressed up and enjoyed amazing food and the beautiful atmosphere.

Charlotte agreed to one good picture with me, because it was my birthday. ;)

This has been a wonderful year, and I'm excited to see what the next year will hold. There will be lots of changes happening, we know that for sure!

Agua Caliente, MUY Caliente!

October 25, 2014

Agua Caliente Hill

After last week's hike, we were anxious to go out and do another with our hiking pup. We chose to hike to Agua Caliente because we heard it was dog-friendly and one Curtis had only done once, 3 years ago. Last time he did it was in the "winter," and according to him it was cold and cloudy and he wasn't able to enjoy the view. Today, it was perfectly clear and the 3 of us set out, excited for a new adventure!

Agua Caliente is on the Northeast side of Tucson, between the Catalina and Rincon mountain ranges. The trail begins with a lot of elevation gain in a short amount of time, and uses stairs to help with the incline. It goes up the East side of a hill, and then evens out on a ridge. Charlotte did a great job with this - she had plenty of energy and spunk that helped her to jump up even the higher stairs. There were 3 different groups that we ran into within the first mile, all heading the other way and all took time to give Charlie some love.

One hiker showed us how to get Charlotte to drink from our Camelbacks. This turned out to be super helpful, especially because we forgot to bring her water bowl this time! To get her to drink, we sit down next to her and take a drink with her watching. Then, we hold out our hand and pour water into it. It didn't take her long at all to figure it out, and she really enjoyed it - which is a good thing, because it got HOT!

That very green pool is called Cat Track Tank. Gross...but still kind of cool looking, not something we've run into before! This is about 2 miles into the hike. After following the ridge past several hills, the trail descended at this point and continued through a valley.

Looking ahead to where we're headed

We thought that peak in the background was our destination. It wasn't until we were past it that we realized the trail went much further than we thought! 

Looking back (Southwest) and waiting for Charlie and Curtis to catch up. It was starting to get hot...WAY too hot to be out here! But being so far already, we weren't about to turn back! The peak we *thought* was our destination was getting closer and closer!

Here they come! Charlotte walked for most of the first 3 miles, with some help at an especially steep part, and then one more mile before the end of the trail. She was a bit slower and more distracted than last weekend, we think it was because of the heat and because she didn't have new exciting people and another dog to follow!

Only 1.5 miles left! At this point, she was getting tired and was constantly looking for the next shady spot to take a rest. Here, she's standing in my shadow. :)

Waiting for Curtis to share some of his cookie with her!

Nap time! Poor girl. We were giving her lots of water, but it was just too hot! This trail doesn't provide the same shade as the trail to Wrightson does either.

Facing East

Looking ahead (East) - we thought that peak was it. Nope! However, the trail up here was very pleasant (besides the heat). After a steep part getting here, we walked along this ridge, over a few hills, and then on past the peak we were looking toward.

At the point where we realized we had a bit further to go... New destination: the peak further ahead in this picture! It was a little discouraging, but the trail at this point was still easy so it didn't bother us too much. Last time Curtis did this hike, this whole stretch was cloudy, so he didn't remember anything up here.

After a very steep end of the trail, we finally made it! The end of the trail was more difficult than the rest. It consisted more of rock face and loose rocks, while the majority of the rest of the trail was well maintained and easy to walk on. Curtis gave Charlie a lift for the last part, but as soon as we reached the top, she miraculously regained her energy!

Facing West, toward Northern Tucson

Facing Southwest - this peak gave an amazing view of Tucson. And to think we thought that those smaller peaks in the foreground were the end! ;)

Facing South - to the left is the Rincon mountain range.

Facing North, toward the Catalina Mountain range.

Micah Mountain

Micah on the left, Rincon on the right!

Curtis and Charlotte went off and found a Geocache together. :)

We did it! Family picture at the top. Sadly, I couldn't find a way to get us and the view!

Family selfie!

Charlie stopped cooperating so we let her run off to eat cookies while we took more pictures looking into the sun. :)

Facing East - away from Tucson!

The way down was difficult for Charlotte. Even though it was all down hill, it was around noon and just too hot. She didn't like being carried either, all she wanted was to lie down in the shade!

Admiring all the green in the valley...while waiting on my small dog to give in to Curtis. She's turning out to be quite the stubborn little basset hound!

Letting her walk when the trail was less rocky. She's still looking out for shade!

We actually managed to make great time heading down, despite a stubborn puppy. We only stopped twice for her once we started carrying her. She was so happy to finally reach the truck - she went and laid down under it and wouldn't come out...until we offered her cookies. After the hikers/joggers we saw earlier, we saw no one on the trail, and there were no vehicles in the parking lot. I guess everyone else was smarter than us and checked the temperature before setting out on a 9 mile hike! The high was only in the mid 90's, but out on the trails it felt much hotter.

Charlie, enjoying the breeze on the way home. She was pretty lazy the rest of the day, and took many naps. :)

Map My Hike app - here's our trail!

The elevation gain - you can see that the last part of the trail (in the middle of this graph) has a ridiculous amount of incline in a very short amount of time! However, I really think that if it wasn't so hot, we wouldn't have struggled with it so much!