Corso Meet & Greet with Puppies

We had the privilege of visiting Moose's breeder in Virginia one Saturday. With so many special canines to see, we started with this lovely lady right here - Moose's mom, Maleficent, who is aging gracefully at 12 1/2! 

After spending some time inside, Stephanie & John were very eager to see Moose who had been hanging out in my air conditioned vehicle. He was all too happy to stretch his legs and get some loving! 

Alas - Moose had to go back in the 4Runner while Nightingale and another puppy came out to meet us! I forget his name unfortunately, but that was Dim's grandson (who we have pictures of later!). Nightingale is Moose's granddaughter all the way from California!! She is only 4 months old.  

It was so funny watching the puppies play together and fight over this stick - who would claim victory??

Oh! It was Nightingale of course! (She does have a little age over the other puppy - he's only 3 months old!)

Giving me a little side eye after Brent picked her up. 

We suggested Moose and Nightingale meet and truly, it could not have gone better! Nightingale was placed in a different fence enclosure so they could still smell each other. 

Moose was very interested, but not mean at all!

After several back and forth passes down the fence, Moose had a huge smile on his face so we decided to give putting them together a try. 

They did great! He was not entirely avoiding her, but not minding when she would come close to his face - according to our breeder - PERFECT behavior for a first time! This is all really good preparation for any future brother we would get. :) 

Since they did so well, we came back out to the front and gave them more space - also more space in the shade!

Stephanie reminded us there are definitely things to learn when having two dogs again - make sure you give them both love so no one gets jealous! 

Moose even came over to give Nightingale a little nose kiss!

Both pups needed a break from all the excitement - and we needed to visit with a few more legends! 

Brent had met Garthim before, but this was the first for the rest of us. Garthim is the only dog bigger than Moose in all of Stephanie's pack. Garthim is two years younger than Moose and is actually his Half-Brother (Same Dad) and Half-Nephew (Mom's side)!

He looks (and sounds - we heard him when Moose & Nightingale were in that first fenced area together) ferocious - but he was such a sweetheart! He would not let go of his stuffed bear and held it in his mouth the entire time! He loved all the petting and leaned up on us for more just like Moose!

His coat was actually a lot different than Moose's - Brent says this is more "typical" of Corsos. He was much more "hairy" than Moose's short fine hair. 

Such a show dog (which he is!) - Stephanie got him to have his ears up on command! 

Garthim had to return to his crate as we wanted to meet another famous boy - Dim - short for DimSum! Dim is a formentino - the rarest of the breeds' color. Dim is a little less than two years older than Moose - he'll be 10 in January. You almost can't tell because this boy has ENERGY! 

Do not stop petting him otherwise he will jump all around - even on the couch! Too funny!

So thankful to have visited with Stephanie & John and see all their Corsos! Moose was ready to be home and nap the rest of the evening - he was exhausted after his play time! 

Glade Valley & Camp Cheerio

 

The weekend before Kade left for sleepaway camp, we returned to the same mountain house as last year—still in love with that screen porch!

We passed on a mountain hike and opted instead for a scenic walk around downtown Mt. Airy - home of Andy Griffith and all things Mayberry! 

Before our window shopping, we fueled up at Angry Troll Brewing for lunch. 

Brock loved this old-fashioned type candy store where you only pay for the weight of the candy in the bag! 

We filled up on those Andes mints! 

Kade started feeling a little too hot, so he and Brent headed back to the truck to cool off. Brock and I ducked into an antique store, but the only thing he was interested in was the old money. Makes sense - I wouldn't be interested in old furniture and the like at his age! 

One Dollar bill from 1934

The street really was a blast from the past! So cute!

We did not notice it at first, but guitars installed every block or so and painted so differently!

The Bank of Mount Airy built in 1923!

Spotted another guitar! So pretty with the flowers!

I stopped in the Visitors Center to grab a few brochures for my scrapbook, and when Brock found out they were all "free", he suddenly became super 'helpful' and started scooping up extras like we were stocking up for an apocalypse!

Back on the porch where I may have taken an afternoon nap sitting in one of these adirondack chairs. 

After dinner Moose received his $9 boutique cookie from one of the posh pet shops! 

Each night Brent and I brought blankets and pillows outside to stargaze before the clouds rolled in. It really is amazing how much you can see without all the light pollution!

Alas, it was time to pack up and head to Elkin for our Cracker Barrel brunch! 

We arrived about an hour early for check-in and we were already behind the sign! 

I could tell Kade was feeling a little more anxious now that the day had arrived, so we left Brent and Brock (and Moose) and I took him on a mini-tour of the camp. You're allowed to walk around prior to check-in - just can't enter any of the buildings.

Look at that amazing view Kade gets all week! 

I showed Kade the upper field where the rappelling tower is located, back down to the lower field, and around behind his cabin to see the riflery range. We were headed around the Dining Hall back to the car when a little rainstorm started. We hid under a tree and watched the swarm of Counselors singing, welcoming everyone to Cheerio! 

I ran through a typical day at Cheerio and just as I finished, the rain stopped enough for us to walk back to our vehicle. Kade was feeling much more hyped about his stay. 

Trunk delivered, bed made (thankfully bottom bunk!), and medicine transferred - all that was left was to take a picture under his cabin name and say our goodbyes! 

Brent and Moose headed home direct from Cheerio, while Brock and I went south to meet Brian and Asher in Statesville. Brock was set up to have his own kind of fun, spending the week with Uncle Brian, Aunt Nancy and his cousins! 

We are so grateful to Brian and Nancy for giving us the chance to take our very first kid-free "getaway" - after 12 and a half years! I think I've told just about anyone who'll listen, but it really was a long time coming. We missed our boys, of course, but we also needed (and deserved!) some time to just be a couple again.

We had a very nice stay-cation - went out to dinner at the Angus Barn and Colletta, spent an interesting and eventful day on the boat (boat needed a little help steering back to the dock), and did some skeet shooting at Deep River Sporting Clays. That was a hot day - very happy we rented the golf cart! 

Brent is so good!

Meanwhile, Kade was having his own sorts of fun at Cheerio!

Kade and his team at one of the Evening Activities!

Kade had a great time at Cheerio - even mailed us a letter home telling us of all his favorite things! Love that he is REALLY excited about returning next year!