We rang in the New Year back in Minnesota at our friends Tim & Karen’s 80’s themed party. The party was mostly filled with Jeff’s Ultimate Frisbee friends, which is fitting because January also kicks-off the start to high school Ultimate for Jeff. After three years of coaching White Bear Lake Ultimate, the pattern is now well developed and Jeff seems more prepared than ever to start a great Frisbee season. He is already meeting with this year’s captains to review goals & objectives for 2009.
Baxter also had a pretty big month in January. He has grown 3-4 more lbs since we picked him up in November and is now much larger than Ruby. Ruby has had to work extra hard to establish her alpha dominance b/c Bax can easily push her around. Baxter went in for surgery to be fixed mid-month and is already fully recovered. Bax has also had some low points this month expressing his terrier-puppy personality by chewing two holes in our upper level carpet. Why this happens, I will never know, but Ruby did the same thing when she was his age. Thankfully, we were planning on replacing the carpets within a year or two anyways.
Ruby has adjusted well to having a new playmate in the house, but still intends to remain the queen bee. Ruby picks most of the fights (play-fighting) between her and Bax. She is very good at teasing Bax with a toy and then growling at him if he comes too close. Ruby has also become somewhat of a herding dog in our household. Whenever we try to get Bax to come, he tends not to listen, but Ruby then runs up to him and gets his attention until he follows her back to us. It is pretty amazing to watch her herd him like that. She is such a huge help.
January has also officially kicked-off hockey season for Jeff & me. We started with the Schwan’s Cup at the Xcel Energy Center on New Year’s Day and have now averaged one-two high school games per week. So far this year, we have seen nine out of the ten top ranked teams in the state. It is a ton of fun and a great past-time during winter. I’m excited to start viewing our local Roseville Raiders play as well. The ice arena in Roseville is conveniently a mile and a half from our house and is also my daily park-and-ride.
Other January Tid-Bits:
- Jeff completed a Mini-Masters Program in Project Management at the University of St Thomas
- I have almost completed the 2009 update to our family web-page with a new look and feel: www.nicolehagen.com
- Ruby has become quite a role-model for Bax. When I say a command, Ruby obeys and Bax looks to her to see what it is I’m asking them to do. Like I mentioned, she is quite a help for us right now.
- Bax is now able to jump up onto the big, king-sized bed in the master. Ruby no longer has a safe hiding spot from him.
What to Expect in February:
- More updates on high school hockey
- A resurgence of home improvement postings (I’m already considering new colors for the house)
- Some fun outdoor activity posts
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