Are you ready?

This morning I was woken up at 4:45 to a kiss from Chris saying good-bye. I was slightly confused at first why he was leaving the warm cozy bed, and then I remembered: High School baseball season started today for our sleepy town. I wished him good luck and bid him farewell,  telling him I'd see him again in late August.

 I looked through some old pictures to get myself ready for Spring:

Aside from sunflower seeds, Big League Chew is a baseball necessity. This is the first step in becoming prepared for baseball spectating.

Layla knows when a hat is forced upon her head and a thousand pictures are being taken, it's baseball time!

These umpires are probably getting their eyes checked right now and getting into tip-top shape....

....maybe not.

It's still cold when baseball starts, so it's imperative to gather all warm clothing:

Amanda understands this and is totally ready!

Chris and my dad have been giving up their weekends, and have worked tirelessly on the field...

and now it looks like this:

Ok so not really, but pretty darn close!

I decided this year needed a good luck charm, so I made one. 

We use to make these in college all the time.

Baseball charm bracelet? Check!

Now that I am more prepared than ever before, I just need to convince Chris to let me kick off the first game of the year like Aunt Bethany in National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (start at the one minute mark): 

See you at the field!

You need a Layla in your life.

Some people in the world are what you would call 'cat lovers.' Sadly, I am not one of these people.

I used to love cats. I even had a cat named Maid Marian after the character in the Disney movie 'Robin Hood' (I still don't think you understand the magnitude my love for all things Disney). Here is a picture of my 4 year old self and Maid Marian taking a nap...

Yeah that's me in a frilly pink bathing suit taking a nap with my cat that I dressed in baby doll clothes.....No big deal!

 Honestly, I thought I LOVED cats. Then I turned14, begged and received a cat I named Kobe (go Lakers!). Don't worry about the fact that Kobe attacked and attempted to eat my arms and legs on a daily basis, it's ok.

Although, it kind of looked and felt like this: 

NO KOBE NO!!! DON'T GO FOR THE JUGLAR!!!

Actually it wasn't ok. It wasn't ok at all, and I was tired of getting rabies shots every 2 weeks. Needless to say, Kobe had to go. 

THEN when I was 20 I decided I needed a cat to keep me company in my apartment. Who lets me make decisions!?!? I got an orange fluffy cat Chris named Hank. Let me just say: SCREW Hank. I HATE Hank. That was years ago, and I'm still nursing a hatred for that damn cat. He and I didn't understand each other whatsoever. After that I said: NO MORE CATS FOR ME!! 

Then I got Betty. 

......and she's basically a cat.

Since Betty fulfilled my animal cuddle need (and wasn't snooty like a cat). It was decided that we needed an actual dog-dog, to go with our cat-dog. Enter this thing: 

 

HOWDY Y'ALL!

I'm Laya and I HATE fake pumpkins and art supplies!

Other than eating the burrito I left on the table last night while coaching a basketball game; Layla is kind of perfect.  She is ALL that is dog:

 and a bit of a card shark.

We built a blanket fort last Saturday (pics to come) and Layla just HAD to get in on the card action. Her face says: "I TOLD you to throw down the pair of threes. Now do it. And then make me a snack."

In addition to being a bad ass card shark dog , Layla also thinks she is human:

"uhhhh....NO. You sleep on the floor, I called dibs on the bed. ALL of it. Also, I need a new pillow, yours is too fluffy and hurts my neck."

She will always protect you from the evil vacuum cleaner...

 

She HATES the vacuum cleaner like I hate Hank, the stupid orange fluffy college apartment cat. 

If you ever need a frisbee partner or a running back for your football team, give Layla a call because she's got the moves:

Here she is trying to find a ball for us to play with. She is a bit suspicious that I am holding out on her, and comes back to check on me. When you see Betty, you will understand why I think there needs to be a "doggy braces'' invention......

Layla always stays loyal to her football team even when they lose to the Patriots 34-3......

Chhhhiiieeeffsss........

I think I hear Chiefs offensive coordinator calling.....Layla will get back with him......

The best part of having your own Layla? 

I mean beside the obvious card shark bodyguard, human like qualities, fearless vacuum fighter, physical prowess, ball hunting skills and loyalty?

She's not a cat.

Why you should never leave home with your boxer unattended: a lesson learned twice.

I have three loves of my life. Well I take that back, I have many loves -Pizza, Super Mario brothers, painting, beer, old cars, beer, mexican food, facebook, beer, Spinach Artichoke dip...I'm beginning to see why a diet may be neccessary. Back to the issue at hand, my three true blue "never gonna give you up" loves:

This Guy. 

I said: THROW A SNOW BALL AT ME! so he started to and I said: NO NOT REALLY AT ME! OH MY GOD YOU'RE GOING TO KILL ME!!!

This little lady, Betty. 

Chris bought Betty for me when we were 22, after I begged and begged and begged for a dog. I didn't even know what a pom-poo was, but when I called the breeders about their ad in the paper the lady said: "They're so cute! They look just like little Teddy Bears!" Knowing that this was a no-brainer purchase, I immediately said: "SOLD!", and now I cannot go to the bathroom without her poking her head in to see what I'm doing...(Same thing I was doing last time I was in here, betty!)

And finally.........

this mongrel, Layla. 

Layla came into our lives about two years ago. She has the body of a deer, the speed of a cheetah, the attention span of a child with ADHD who forgets her medicine constantly and the curiosity of every cat that ever lived. She's pretty awesome though, and a good sport. For instance: 

                     She lets me dress her up in an elf costume whenever I feel like doing so.....

                        She does the required acrobatics to come inside JUST to amuse me......

      She's always down for a good time at the lake but, like a good girl, she INSISTS on safety first.

However I had NO idea that Layla hated beyond a shadow of a doubt two things: 

The first: apparently my watercolors, & a tube of gold acrylic paint. 

Who knew? Maybe the colors were taunting her about being a dog, and therefore ,colorblind....

"Red: Ya ya nice try ya doggy, but YOU don't know which one I yam!" I gave red a weird 40's gangster accent in my head for some reason. 

It IS possible that she isn't colorblind at all and just thought the paints were some kind of delicious doggy treat and it was her duty to discover if that was the truth or not..... OR betty tricked her into doing it. The inner workings of her mind shall forever remain a mystery to me.

The second thing she hates, we just discovered:

Fake Pumpkins from Michaels! In the words of my mom: "Who decides to take on a pumpkin?"

We got home to this and Chris tried to use his 'you're in big trouble voice' by saying: "Layla! Your mom got those pumpkins for a good deal at Michaels!"

Layla did show some shame and embarrassment. I was MUCH harsher on her: "YEAH LAYLA! I GOT THOSE FOR A GOOD DEAL YA JERK DOG!" Our disciplining could use some work.

The Shamed Culprit:

"I'm sorry momma, but the little orange one called me fat!" Obviously Layla is tortured and taunted by the various decorations, appliances, art supplies in our house while we are gone.

ALTHOUGH,

the one good thing about having your stuff torn up by a mischievous boxer is....

                                                    they do their very best to apologize....