Fun Lunch Breaks and my first trip to Hula Girl

The biggest perk of working for an internet company is the fact that I can work from home...so that's just what I'm doing this week from NC!  I love it when we get a chance to come down for a week - we get to hang out for two weekends and each weeknight, and I don't have to use any vacation days!  (Check out how we spent last weekend.)

Monday I took my lunch break and met my friend Jen and her two boys (Silas and Lucas) at Chick-fil-a.  Silas and Lucas had a GREAT time in the play area (Silas even met his new best friend - "the kid in the hulk mask") while Jen and I got a chance to catch up.  It's great to be able to just pick right back up where things left off...even after being apart for so long!

Tuesday I went to lunch with dad, Pope, Faye and Thad Hardee, so we went to the usual lunch spot - Zack's.  Zack's is an awesome Burger/Dog spot in downtown Smithfield that quickly became a meeting place for most of the town.  Their success is four-fold - family-run, great location, fantastic food, super low prices.  They also have some of the best chicken salad ever (at Christmas we get 2 tubs of it to enjoy for days).

After we left Zack's, we decided to make a trip to Hula Girl in Selma for some ice cream.  I'd never been here before, but was excited to since mom and dad talk about it a lot.  Boy, oh boy...it did not disappoint!  Their restaurant is just over the tracks on 301 when you enter Selma - you may see their brightly colored picnic tables and grass umbrellas...that'll be your first hint.  Inside they have at least 30 different ice cream flavors, old-timey candy, Carolina Packer Hot Dogs, BBQ, and lots of other food.

The ice cream was great, but my favorite part was their decor.  Aqua walls, antiques bottles and signs, Selma paraphernalia, manakins dressed in Hawaiian garb...and a giant hot dog squirting ketchup on itself.  Yep...you heard me right.  It was such a fun place to hang out...we'll definitely be going back.

Monday/Tuesday nights were spent playing cards, taking walks, watching movies, and hanging out with the puppies.  Mark's dog, Dexter, is such a ham, so I've had fun taking pictures of him.  His 1 year birthday was Tuesday, so he's officially a big boy!  Happy Birthday Dexter!

Don't forget Riley & Chloe!  These little guys make me miss Toby so much!!  Chloe looks like him, and Riley acts like'm.  Our friend Jess understands how sad I am, so she's been sending pictures and captions of what they've been up to.

Next up...the reason for the visit...Travis' concert at East Carolina University!!

Happy St Patty's Day from Toby

My friend and co-worker, Arielle, has been taking a crocheting class in Boston for a few weeks.  After she finished her first scarf, we were chatting about how awesome it would be to make Toby one for St. Patrick's Day.  The next day, she went to class and did just that, so I thought it would be the perfect thing to share with you for this fun holiday.

Toby's not a huge fan, but doesn't hate it either.  She made it out of machine washable yarn, so next winter we could add it to a sweater if it's crazy cold.

Happy St. Patrick's Day from Toby!

This picture's my favorite...

Happy Halloweenie

Saturday morning was the long-awaited Halloween dachshund meet-up (aka...Halloweenie) on Boston Common.  Travis had a composers' meeting at Gordon College (where he teaches), so Toby and I took off for the festivities.

I love watching Toby when he's downtown.  He LOVES looking at the tall buildings through the sunroof.  When he's not gazing at the buildings above, his face is plastered to the window people-watching.  Happy, happy dog!

It was fun to see some of the same pups we met at Cape Cod Doxie Day.  Toby remembered a few and gave them an extra-enthusiastic wag.  Here are a few pictures of our favorite costumes!

Pea Pods!

Toby in his mummy costume

There were several lobsters present...this was my favorite

Toby hangin' out with a pumpkin.  I was so impressed by the dogs who didn't care there was stuff on their heads!

Toby with Batman and Robin

Sock monkey, bumble bee, and a little guy in a cute sweater!  Toby thought Sock Monkey's dad was AWESOME.

Super cute (homemade) dinosaur outfit!

Toby's friend, Paris, made a cute little pirate girl. 

Haley, the only doxie I've ever seen that's smaller than Toby, was a skunk.  So cute!

Crazy witch costume!

There were several mermaids present.  The winner of the costume contest was the one on the right.  Her "person" dressed up as a mermaid too.  So funny.

Sherlock

Caterpillar brothers

 Toby was so exhausted when we got home that he slept for the rest of the day.  Fun morning!

Get a Long Little Doggie - The Cape Cod Doxie Day!

What's cuter than one adorable dachshund?  One HUNDRED adorable dachshunds!!

Today, we traveled down to the Cape for Cape Cod Doxie Days.  This is an annual event held each September to support the Coast to Coast Dachshund Rescue, which is dedicated to rescuing Dachshunds and Dachshund mixes all across the country.  They raised over $5,000 from today's festival!!

Never EVER have I seen so many dogs - let alone dachshunds - in one place, and it was by far the most fun I've had in a long (haha) time!  The day started out with information on how to approach other dogs and a silent auction, then went into the "superlative" competitions.  The categories were hilarious - Best Ears, Teeniest Weenie, Longest Doxie, Loudest Bark, Senior Star, Most Prized Puppy, Owner/Pet Look Alike, Hairiest Hound, Handsome Hound, Best Trick, Foxiest Doxie, Best Smile, Best Kisser, Best Waddle, and Best Tail Wagger.  The winners for each category got Olympic- style medals!

Who's got four legs and won "Best Tail Wagger"?  THIS GUY!

Another category winner, resting up after the fierce competition.

Jessica and Paris...lookin' fine for the look-alike contest.

There was also a fashion show (so funny) and a dachshund race.  There were so many participants in the race, they broke the pups into "heats", and then had semi-finals and a final race to determine the winner.  Toby was NOT a fan of the dachshund race, even though he won his heat!  Toooo many screaming people!

The starting blocks for the race!

Here are some other pictures from the day!

My favorite dachshund leash ever!  

Three to a leash?  Quite impressive!

There were ramps to go up...

...and down!

There were dogs in strollers...

...dogs in t-shirts...

...and dogs in costumes (someone gave Toby a hotdog costume!)

Did I mention there were a LOT of dogs?

 

17 years old!  So sweet!

Jessica and Paris

"Moose"

Toby and Paris - hanging out while the competitions were going on.

Ridiculous ears picture!  

Suuuper sweet guy!

Can we do this every month?  :)