bye bye old year

Mom tells me that today is the beginning of a whole new year, and in the early summer (June) I will be a whole new year old.... but that's still a little ways away.... but today, we are having a party to celebrate the first day of the new year....

I'm always happy to have people come to visit.. but Trevor seems less impressed. (he can be grumpy sometimes...) but I will have  a good time for certain...

The house soon filled with people... everyone was all excited... Mom says this is another holiday....

But not just humans came... doggies did too... Moxie was here (she looks about as excited as Trevor did)....( I think her Daddy told her she had to be good!!!)

Banjo and Charlie came too... they love to come to the farm, because their Daddy (who is Nate)... can take them outside to run and chase the ball.... Banjo couldn't wait to do that.....

The weather has been very cold... so Mom doesn't let us outside for very long (she says we'll freeze)... Abbie and I have been playing inside... I love playing with her....

She got a doctor's kit for Christmas... and she is always giving me check ups... she says I am very healthy and that I am good dog to do my check ups!!!!



so, onto a new year, and that's the life with.... Rylie!!!!

a very special visitor...

After the snow that came the other day.. this is what the farm looks like...

The snow is pretty deep and I love to play in it... sometimes I have to almost swim to get from place to place. Mom says it might get even deeper as the winter goes on..... that would be fun...

The only trouble is, it's very cold right now, and Mom doesn't let me stay outside very long. She says she is afraid that I might "freeze".... and that's ok too.. I like being inside near the woodstove....

Today, Mom had a surprise for me..... do you all remember Ginger??? she is the second service puppy that Mom raised.. and she came for a visit!!!!! We all went to church together (everyone at church was so happy and surprised to see Ginger again!!!!)

Mom is always so happy when she can see Ginger... I like seeing her too... and Ginger seems so excited when she can come back and visit here at the farm...

Pastor Jane told Mom about all the amazing work that she and Ginger are doing together. Mom is so proud of them.. and tells me that she hopes I can have the same sort of opportunities.... I don't know, I guess I'll just keeping working hard, and maybe one day... I will be a service dog!!!

But for now.. I'm just Rylie.... living the life....

a snowy, blowy day....

The day after Christmas, my Mom wasn't feeling good at all. She even had the rest of the family taking care of us dogs and the other animals... I have never known Mom not to take care of us, and I tried to stay very close to her. There was also a big snow storm on the way... the sky was dark even in the daylight, and you could tell that it was coming.

While Mom stayed inside and rested, the family got very busy.... my family heats the house with wood.. and Dad built this woodshed last fall, but they didn't have the chance to get all the wood inside. So, with the big storm on it's way, everyone decided that the wood must get under cover. They spent the whole day getting every piece inside.

I got to spend the day playing.... Mom put Max, Sandy and I outside and let us enjoy the snow. It was great fun running in the snow with friends.....

Towards supper time the snow came in with a great wind.... I love the snow, but I have never seen it like this....It was very blowy and the snow was alot....

We couldn't even see the end of the driveway.... Mom called it a "white out"..... Dad went out to plow, just to try and stay ahead of the snow..... it was a little scary and fun all at the same time.

Mom was feeling a little better at supper time and she and Dad went down to the barn to take care of the animals there. Annabelle - the barn cat - was all snuggled in her bed... she knew how to stay warm and dry in a storm.....

The horses seem to like the snow too... they have great thick coats and they like to stand out side. When Tonka came in for his supper, his feet were covered in the snow....

The big barn doors were closed.... and everyone was inside, warm and cozy to wait out the snow.....

Just before bed... Mom put us out again for one last run.... the snow was getting  deep, and I think they next few days are going to be so much fun running and playing..... I think I like winter!!!!

The life with.... Rylie.....

my first Christmas...

This is my very first Christmas!!! Mom says it's a very special time for humans, and even thought I only see the celebration of it, there is a much deeper meaning. But, I am only a dog, so for me, it's OK to only see the celebrations. Even though I can feel the excitement in the air, Hunter and Trevor choose to sleep on the couch... they don't see very excited at all!!!! 

There are some doggies that are staying with us right now. Mom takes care of doggies when their people have to go away. I for one, think this is a very good idea, because it always seems that I have new play mates!!!! This is Max, he and his sister came to stay and we had a grand time playing together......






Our tree is still in the house... Mom tells me that it is "empty" right now, but it will soon be filled with gifts... OK.....

On Christmas Eve we went to church. It's not my usual church, but it was very nice, and we met up with some of the family. I like going to church... everyone smiles at me, and for some reason, I am usually the only dog there.... why don't more dogs go to church????

I was a very good girl and laid quietly at Mom's feet, just like I do at my own church. The service was nice, lots of singing and people seemed to be in such a happy mood. One thing I noticed, (and even though she didn't say) Mom wasn't feeling so good... she put on a brave face, but I could tell, she wasn't herself. We didn't stay long after church... Mom seemed a bit anxious to move on, but people still wanted to say hi and many said "we didn't even know she was with you" (which Mom says is a very good thing)

Christmas morning, Mom wasn't feeling good at all. She almost thought about staying in bed all day... but she said she couldn't "miss Christmas".. so, we packed up and went to Kassy's house. There was a lot going on there, food being cooked, all the Flagg family was there, and Abbie was so excited. We went into the living room and the tree had all these presents all around... Abbie could hardly wait....

I watched with great interest as she opened all the gifts and made a big mess with all the paper. I tried to sneak into the middle of all that  paper (it would have been fun to rip that up)  but Mom asked me to "stay"....

Afterwards, though, Abbie and I had some play time together. I was happy to know that even with her new toys and things, she still thinks that I am very special...... I love her!!!!

From Kassy's house, we went to Meme and Beepa's house. Poor Mom, she wasn't doing too well... I climbed up in her lap just to check on her. She gave me a big hug and said that I was being a very good girl... I'm always so happy when I am doing the right things for her.....

Naomi came and I got to play with both her and Abbie. Now, if this is what Christmas is all about... I love it too. The family had such a great time together... they enjoy being together and it's always such a happy feeling when they are spending time with each other....

More food, more gifts and plenty of visiting time. Christmas must be very special to humans..... but as a dog, I am glad that I get to be a part of it too....










It was a long and fun day... when we got home, even Camille was tired and took up her special spot on the back of the couch. Mom was very tired and went right to bed... I hope she will be OK.... I'm a little worried....

I noticed that our tree had gifts too, but everyone said they could wait until tomorrow... so, I guess we're having Christmas all again.... but for me, being with Mom, the family and feeling such a happy spirit... I think Christmas is pretty wonderful...

 

the life of ... Rylie!!!

day before the day before

This certainly isn't a picture of me!!! It's Duke.... but Mom said in celebration of the "day before the day before" (??) she and Dad went out driving with Duke. Christmas is just two days away (guess I'll see what Christmas is when it gets here), but from what I can tell, it's very fun and filled with suprises....

One thing I do know.. the house smells very good and there's been a lot of baking going on. Abbie loves to help Mom in the kitchen, I love to hang out in the kitchen (hoping to get a little something - which I never do...)

And whatever Christmas turns out to be, I hope it's a happy one for all...




the life with .... Rylie...

a long night....

 Just for the record... today is the shortest day of the year.... it will be dark soon.... but tomorrow the days get longer, and a season called "spring"... will come. What is spring??? I have never seen one, does it come soon..... guess I'll have to wait and see.


and that's the life of Rylie!!!!!

"real" service dog work..

Even after our very busy day yesterday, we were up early again and back in the train station. Mom said of all the days of our trip, this was going to be the most important one, but she also told me that she is very proud of the way both Moxie and I have been handling this trip. I don't see what all the fuss is about, I like traveling and seeing what's out there.

I am getting used to riding the train.. Mom, Dad and I get on... find a place to sit and I go right "under"....

Moxie and her Dad do the same thing.

There were a lot of people on the train with us... but when we got off, there were even more people. So early in the day.. this must be important to have some many people in one spot this early. Mom said we were at a place called Arlington, and if I ever needed to be... this was were I had to be on my best behavior. Being a 'service puppy" was the only reason that I -- and Moxie and Vicki - were allowed there.

Now, I'm a dog, and I don't know about such things, but I could tell right away this was a very special place. People talked quietly, and seemed careful of where they were walking. I had a sense of sadness, peace, and honor all at the same time. Mom said this is where I would be doing "real" service dog work.....

We went to this big theatre, the mood here seemed "lighter"... we sat quietly and listened to speeches... sometimes the people clapped, but Mom told me to hold my down and just be good. I like the sound of clapping, it makes me happy, but this time, Mom didn't want me to react to it....

Moxie and I got a lot of attention from the people in the crowd. I heard our Mom's and Dad's talking alot about us, our work and NEADS... it was a fun time....

After the speeches, Mom said we had to find a truck. It was time to put the wreaths out on the gravesites.... there were alot of people (mom said 20,000 volunteers) and a lot of trucks with wreaths... this is the one that we went to....

Mom got a wreath and we went to find a gravesite to leave it at. After we set our wreath down, Mom and I took a few moments to visit with the person who was resting here. To say thank you for their service and to say that they have been remembered by us. I felt very important and was as quiet as I could be.

There were many wonderful things that happened that day.. but one of them was meeting up with a gentleman that our Mom's and Dad's knew from home. He was happy to meet up with us as well.... Mom wanted to get a picture of the men together... so here I am with my Dad, Officer Tom, Rick and Moxie.....

There was also a gravesite that Mom was looking for. She was asked by someone to please go and pay respects to this gravesite. It took us a long time to find it, but when we did, Moxie and I paid our respects as well. Again, I'm not sure of all of this, but I knew how important it was for all of us to be there.








Once all the wreaths were in place, it made a pretty sight. Both Moxie and I thought that we were done, we were getting tired and the day was getting late... it was only then that we discovered our real work began.....

Because now that people had laid their wreaths.. they now wanted to visit with us. I don't know if you know who these pretty girls are.. but I do... they are cheerleaders from the Washington Redskins foot ball team. They loved us and wanted to have lots of pictures taken with us... that was kind of fun....

And then another family approached.. this is a Gold Star family. Which means they lost someone very special in the war.... but not only are they Gold star folks.. it turns out that this wonderful family is sponsoring a NEADS puppy!!!! They were so excited to see us there, and we had a nice long talk together. (when Mom gets a minute, she is going to see which dog they have sponsored).......

There was a lot of sadness in this place too... both Mox and I could sense that. More than once, I even saw my Mom wipe some tears from her eyes.....

And as we were walking along, people would just come right up and want to pet us, or hug us. Sometimes they talked with Mom and sometimes they didn't. There were many hugs and then people went on..... Mom said that we were working our magic.....

We often got people to smile.. I think our hugs made people feel better.... I was proud to be doing my work.....

And Moxie and I heard many secrets that were spoken just to us....

We visit some important places in Arlington.

And so much walking. Moxie and I just had to take a little break... it was a very long and yet wonderful day. Mom said we couldn't have been better, that we had made this trip possible and great. Moxie and I are glad that we could help.. we like to help....








And we leave Arlington in it's silence.. in remembrance for the upcoming holidays.. in respect... tomorrow we head for home, but this is a memory that Mom and Dad will cherish forever... and they say they'll be back with another service puppy......

but for now, it's..


the life with... Rylie!!!!