Random pics from Land of Little Horses

Here are a few more random pictures from our visit.


Breckin just kicking back and having a good time


Bryce ready to run and see everything all at once!

Breckin on the horse tire swing


The peacock following Bryce. I think it thought he had food.


Family pic--Adam, Amber, and Breckin (now 9 mths old)

Land of Little Horses

Today we went to the Land of Little Horses. We had quite a group. Myself, Bryce, my Mom and Dad, Adam (brother) and his wife Amber and son Breckin all went along. We all had a great time and the kids had tons of fun. The LOLH has miniature horses, miniature donkeys, llamas, emus, goats, sheep, pigs, peacocks, chickens, and a few pigeons. Bryce loved them all. He and Breckin both had pony rides, and the whole gang went on a tractor wagon ride. They also had an arena show where some of the horses, dogs, and a llama perform some tricks for the audience.
Adam and I went here as kids, and we have fond memories of this place. It was great to take our own kids and start our own "family" memories. I was going on only 3 hours of sleep, so I forgot my camera. Thankfully, Amber always has hers and she took some photos of Bryce for me as well!

Helping Breckin to pet his first miniature horse

This little guy just wandered around the grounds. Bryce loved him!!

Giddyup!

Good boy!

We had to drive past the Gettysburg battle fields to get to the LOLH, and we all told Bryce about the Civil War. He asked about ghosts and I told him that YES, there were ghosts there. NOW, he won't stop asking me about them! Oh well, guess we will have to go back and do the WHOLE Gettysburg experience next summer when he is just a bit older. Funny how a HUGE piece of history is so close, and I rarely think of going there.

Chance is 11 weeks old

Our house is relatively "calm" this week. There is not much going on--I think it is the calm before the storm. Next week, Bryce's speech classes start again for the school year, the following week is Labor Day and the start of preschool, and the following week is our vacation! Vacation is only 3 weeks away, but it feels soooooo very far. We are all looking forward to the Outer Banks.

Here are some new pictures of Chance and Bryce. The puppy is growing by leaps and bounds. We had to buy him a new collar today because he has just about outgrown the old one.

This picture is from last week. Chance is 10 weeks old in it.

I just HAD to post this pic. It is so funny--the angle of the camera makes Chance look like he is MONSTER sized.


Boxer's--as a breed--love to give kisses. Therefore, it was very easy to teach Chance to do it on command. It is one of Bryce's favorite tricks to have Chance perform--as you can see.


Taken just tonight, a boy and his dog posing for pics! Chance is now 11 weeks old.

Breckin likes to swing too

I can't forget to include Breckin when I talk about swinging. He likes to swing just as much as his cousin (brother as Bryce refers to him). He is all smiles when it comes to swinging--as you can tell by the photos.

I love to swing


Mom and me enjoying the swing


Awww..is the ride over already??

High Flyer

Bryce loves his swing set, and he would swing on it 24/7 if I let him. Tonight, I got to try out the night time picture taking mode on my camera. It worked pretty well--Bryce looks transparent in some pics though because he is going too fast for the camera.

This is a great action shot and really shows how high he gets that thing going.



It looks like he is stopped, but I just happened to get him in forward motion.

He is going sooo fast that he looks like a ghost--transparent

Growing Puppy

Chance turned 10 weeks old this past Monday. We had him to the vet's about 2 1/2 weeks ago, and then he went this Tuesday for shots. He gained 6+ pounds in that short time. He is growing so fast that you literally swear he grows overnight.
He is just a little shorter than Bella now, and he is a little bigger than both the cats. The other animals are tolerating him well now. Bryce still gets reprimanded for being a little rough with him now and again, but overall he is doing great with his puppy.


Bella and Chance chewing on their bones


Tonight, Adam and Bryce were rolling a ball back and forth. Chance LOVES balls. Chance would hide under Adam's armpit and then jump out when the ball reached them. Here are a few pics.

Where's that ball?

Wait for it, wait for it.....

Lisburn Carnival

This past Saturday, my Mom and Dad took Bryce to the Lisburn carnival. It is a small carnival that has rides, games, etc to benefit the Lisburn fire company. I was a little bummed because I had to work. However, at 6pm work called and said that they didn't need me until 11pm. Yeah!!! I called and told them that I would meet them there. My brother, sister-in-law, and nephew were also going!
We had a great time. Bryce rode the Ferris wheel (with me), the giant slide (with my Dad, me, and then all by himself), had 2 pony rides, played in this fun house thing at least 10 times, and won 4 goldfish. One of the goldfish has since passed, but the 3 left seem to be doing great. They are at my Mom's house in their brand new PIRATE fish tank!!

Breckin enjoying his FIRST carnival


Adam and Breckin pose for a father/son moment

Breckin loved his first horse ride

Bryce loves this giant slide---i can't remove the red eye!

Bryce always loves a horse ride

One Crazy week

It has been one crazy week here at the Durham household. Monday we brought our new puppy home. He was doing great and then I gave him too much soft food--I didn't take into account that there was no other dogs to fight for food, so Chance at it all at each meal. That lead to 48 hours of diarrhea==gross. He is now back on track, but thankfully, he never acted sick. He was barking, chewing, and jumping around like a normal puppy. Trying to keep up with Chance while taking care of Bryce and Breckin lead to a few interesting days. Bryce is doing really well though with the puppy. He is being gentle with him and overall is doing MUCH better than I ever expected from him!
Chance was born June 3rd, and is a boxer. He loves the family and is fitting in well. Bella, on the other hand, would rather he never showed up.

Wednesday, Bryce went to a new gymnastics school to see if he liked it. He stopped his lessons at Skyline because their male instructor found a different job. The new gym has a competitive boys program (team), but Bryce age wise is too young to start the pre-team class. However, his strength and flexibility are where they need to be to start in that class. Therefore, the owner has to make the final decision what class Bryce should be in and we are just waiting to hear back from them at this point.

Here are a few pics of the new puppy:

Chance checking out Bryce

Twin trouble!!

Breckin and Chance checking each other out

New teeth

Bryce had his dental procedure at Hershey Med Center Friday. He did fantastic and now he has 4 silver capped molars. We refer to them as his "robot" teeth. Since seeing Robocop, he has a different "robot body part" daily. Now the teeth definitely look the part of "robot".

In other news...Monday the 14th we get to pick up our new puppy. Bryce is so excited. He asks me everyday what the day of the week is and we go through the days until we get to Monday. He is quickly learning the days of the week though!!

Bryce's last swim class

We signed Bryce up for swim lessons. He was in level 1 and it was from June 16 through July 9th. He went two times a week for 35 minutes each time. He made great progress, but since he can't swim without his cube--the floatation device--he will have to repeat level one. Actually, I think all the kids in his class have to repeat level one again. He did swim about 3 feet without his cube, but his lower half just sank the longer he swam. I am going to let him practice his skills the rest of the summer and sign him up for a class in the fall. He loved swim lessons and his instructor Miss Melanie. He has a zillion questions for Melanie, and she was a great teacher for him. She answered what she could, and kept the class moving.

Bryce and another swimmer sitting on the pool deck waiting for class to start

Bryce lying on his back kicking with his kick board

Using the kick board to go forward


Doing some more kicking on his back with Miss Melanie

Chance

Wow--this is our 100th post. Pretty cool and I have great news that is definitely post worthy. We went today and chose our puppy. Bryce has changed the name to Chance and I think that name is appropriate. It was purely by chance that we got this dog, so it seemed fitting. We chose a male puppy and he is beautiful. He actually fell asleep on my foot while I was petting him. I AM TOTALLY IN LOVE!!!
Here are some pics!







The puppies are 4 weeks old today--they were born June 3rd. They are pretty much weaned; mostly because the mom is exhausted and tired of nursing 6 puppies by this time. We can't wait to get this little guy--hopefully in the middle of July.
Tomorrow we will go and buy his leash and collar. I am going to let Bryce HELP me choose something. I can only imagine what he would choose if I let him pick a collar all on his own.

I will post more pics when we bring the "new baby' home.

Puppy coming

Well, after months of debating--me telling Jason we are getting another dog, and him saying NO--he caved. I was actually going to wait until Bryce's birthday next April. However, Jason came home Tuesday from work and proceeded to tell me how this guy he works with has American Boxers for sale. Did I want one? DUH!!!! Then reality set in and I thought about how much work it would take not to mention the cost---especially since we have to kennel 2 dogs now when we go on vacation. SO....I told him no. Then he comes home Wednesday saying that they are so cute etc. Well, I am now the one who caved. He said that he will help pay for expenses etc so I am putting that in writing should he ever debate the fact that he uttered those words. So.... Monday we are going to choose our male boxer from the litter. Bryce is so excited and has already chosen the name Carter. We have to pick out a collar and leash, but we have time since they are only about 4 wks old now. Bryce can't wait to pick out those items at the Pet store!!!
I will post pics as we get them!

Little Olympian

On Father's Day, Bryce's gymnastics school held an Olympic event. He did great. It was a little show where the kids could show their parents and family what they can do on different pieces of equipment. They all got trophies afterwards. I have to get a picture of him with his trophy. He was so proud of it, but now he doesn't want to pose with it.
He did fantastic and I cried when he got his trophy. They had a little block where the kids stood after receiving their trophies. Bryce got his trophy, proceeded to the block, and said, " TAA DAA". That is what made me cry: he was so proud of himself.

I only took pictures of him on the rings because all the other events were too far away from where we were sitting with the camera.

Bryce doing his "L" pose on the parallel bars

Hanging (pushing?) in a perfect vertical on the rings--all with his own strength

Doing his backward roll down the mat

Swimming fiend

Bryce decided on Wednesday evening that he wanted his life vest on in the pool. I put it on him, and he proceeded to glide out into the pool off of the ladder. At first he scared himself, but with a little coaching to put his legs down and his arms out, he quickly up righted himself. From there, the rest is history. He loves to swim in the pool with his life jacket on now. He loves the fact that the stroke he does is called the doggie paddle.
A few weeks ago, we couldn't get him INTO the pool; now we can't get him OUT. He is getting quite good very quickly, and 2 days later he can shoot a squirt gun with one hand as he paddles along with the other. This Monday he starts actual swimming lessons, so I am sure that by the end of the summer, even the life jacket will be gone.
I can't believe how quickly my little boy is growing up!!!

Dinner and a swim

Yes, it is a cheesy title, but that's what I'm all about!
Family has always been VERY important to me, so I love having my family all live close-by. The fact that we can all get together and have a fun night once a week is really special to me. Thursdays we all have a standing date (my immediate family) to come over to my house for dinner, swimming, smores, and fireworks--weather permitting of course, and to have a little fun and socialization. Creating great memories along the way is just an added bonus. So.....if anyone is ever around this area on a Thursday and the sun is shining, stop on in. There is probably a party going on!!!!

Here is Bryce enjoying the fireworks aspect.

He LOVES sparklers now



Adam and Breckin enjoying the "swimming aspect" of the party

Knoebel's May 2008

On Memorial Day, my brother Adam, sister-in-law Amber, nephew Breckin, Bryce, and I traveled to Knoebel's for a fun filled day in BEAUTIFUL weather. We had a great time. Breckin enjoyed his first amusement park trip, first train ride, and first carousel ride. Bryce had a fabulous time as well. He rode the cranky cars at least 10 times and his new favorite ride is the giant slide--he only rode it 3 times.
Bryce is totally in love with Breckin. Bryce keeps telling me that Breckin is his brother and not his cousin. I said it was OK to call him his brother. SO, Bryce and "his brother" had fun together too at Knoebel's. Actually, Bryce played this ping pong ball game and he won himself and Breckin medium and large sized prizes. I have to laugh only because the adults all tried the same game, spent twice as much money, and Adam only won Breckin a small prize. Bryce actually closed his eyes each time he threw the winning balls==beginners luck!

Our first ride of the day, and Breckin's first ever train ride

Bryce and Breckin--2 peas in a pod

Bryce on his favorite cranky car ride

Bryce coming off of the GIANT slide

Dorwart family picture--they had that hand carved plaque made while they waited. It is really pretty.