Soccer and the Ice Bucket Challenge

     Last weekend was a bit of a slow one apart from my soccer tournament. Other than that, not much else happened. 
     The tournament began on Saturday. However, my team came on Friday. The tournament was in Fort Wayne. That's a three hour drive from where I live. I arrived at Fort Wayne at about nine pm. The IU soccer team was staying in the same hotel! I took a swim and went to bed. Meanwhile at home, Hoover destroyed his toy Bumble. Lizzie mourned the loss of her friend.
      Saturday morning I got up and got ready for my game. We were going to play teams from Ohio and Michigan. On our first game we played a team from Michigan. We had to play catch up because of an unlucky goal. We tied two to two. Our team played great and I had fun.
      The hotel we stayed at also had some soccer players living in it. The Indiana soccer team went to the same hotel as us. It was cool that both Bloomington teams were there. 
      The rest of the day was free time except for mum and her friend who went shopping all over Fort Wayne to get tickets to an IU game that night. Most of the team went to the game. Although most of us played World Cup and watched about five minutes of the game. At least I saw the goal that won the game for IU. 
      The next day we got up early and finished our tournament. The first game of our day was unfortunate because we lost 4-1. But until about the last five minutes of the game, the score was only 2-1. Because we lost we did not play the final at 3:30. Somehow I wanted to play the final but I also didn't want to get home at 9:00. Our next game at 11:00 am was a pretty evenly matched game but we lost 3-2. I think our team still did well though. It was pretty exciting playing teams out of state.  

   I read to the cats at the shelter this weekend. I finally decided to start reading Harry Potter. I don't know why I never read it. I guess I just felt too bias about the Hobbit. Anyway, I took the first book to the cats but a cat at the shelter, named Goose, didn't want me to read. As I sat my book down and looked for a cat toy, Goose rolled on to my book. So I could only watch him lay smuggly on my book. Reading would just have to wait.
     Also this weekend we did the Ice Bucket Challenge. If you don't know what the Ice Bucket Challenge is, it is where you are challenged by someone to dump a bucket with ice and water on your head, and to challenge someone else. The Ice Bucket Challenge is to raise awareness about a disease called ALS. We did some research about ALS before we actually did the challenge. One of things we did was read about Stephen Hawking. You can see his Ice Bucket Challenge here: Stephen Hawking
     On to the challenge. I got the bigger bucket of the two, I wanted it. As I was pouring water on mum's head, I got a bad feeling about mine. When it was my turn, mum started pouring water on my head but she stopped about a third of the way through it. I looked up and I asked is that it? I was wrong! Mum then dumped the rest of the water on my head. Sorry for being a bit of a Captain Obvious, but the water was pretty cold. For once the dogs weren't too excited for us to pet them after having water poured on us. If they so wish to take on the Ice Bucket Challenge, I challenge Michelle and Thomas Burns.
     I hope everyone has a good week. It is the start of football and futbol.

The Tale of a Lost Tail

    This weekend Hoover lost his dignity. It all started on Friday. Mum stripped him of part of his tail. Now there are big chunks outside and in the trash but there is little fur on his tail. The way mum is going at it, Hoover will have a rat tail in a week. In one picture it looks like Hoover's tail exploded shortly after her pecking. I think Hoover has started hiding behind chairs when mum is around. To groom Hoover, mum has now resorted to distracting him by rubbing his belly. While she rubs his belly, she plucks fur off his tail. Poor Hoover falls for it every time. Now mum's attention is on Lizzie. 

     Lizzie is the last dog to start to shed her coat. On her flanks, the fur is falling off in clumps. Yeah, right now, Lizzie's chances of being beauty queen are slim. I'm going to start calling mum Cruella de Vil. She could make a coat off both dogs shed fur. Maybe that's why she's so obsessed...

      Lizzie was tired yesterday. While Hoover went to Bell Trace to entertain people, Lizzie went to Bryan Park. She walked two laps around the park. I ran her a bit until I tripped and fell down. She didn't act her age then but she did Saturday night and Sunday. She slept pretty much the entire day, just like Nikita.

      Today we did some dog sitting for Jet. Jet is a fabulous senior. She is 11 years old and a bloodhound lab mix. Mum and Jet picked me up from school and Jet drooled all over the windows. We're going to have some fun cleaning up. We went back to mum's office and Jet cleaned up what edible snack crumbs were on the floor left by me. It was fun spending some time with Jet.
      I presented on Japan and the Fukushima plant on Friday. I'm not sure Mrs Davis, my teacher, gave grades on the presentations because we were the first to present. I do know I had a great time making my PowerPoint & stop-motion short.

    On Sunday we made a chiton for Greek simulation at school. Hoover likes making crafts even though he laid down on the supplies. While we were folding the sheet, Hoover decided to get in the middle of things by plopping down on it. I'm really enjoying the Greek simulation. I like learning about Greek culture. I got the name Heracles. I'm looking forward to further Greek projects like the Olympics!

The First Week

     From fifth grade to sixth grade. This week I went to my school for the first week of sixth grade. And I've got a project. To me, that's a good sign because I get to work a lot. My project is going to be common because I will redo it every nine weeks. We call the project Current Events. I will collect information about a country and what is happening in that country now. I've chosen Japan to study. I want to talk about radiation and its dangers. I'll be doing a PowerPoint and stop-motion. 
      Along with it being the first week of school, it is also the first week of soccer. I'm excited for this season. I'm really just hoping we win more than one game in regular season. I hope having an extra practice every week will help.

     Hoover got a little too excited for the start of school. Hoover made a big mess of his toys at the bottom of the stairs. It looked like a massacre. There was stuffing all over the floor. He didn't help much when we had to clean up the family room. Hoover was all tuckered out after his party. He had trouble waking up this morning.

     We looked at some old photos this week and found a puppy picture of Nikita when she was stung by a bee. She learned the hard way that bees should be left alone. Her lips swelled up and stuck out. She was so uncomfortable she couldn't put her head down. The vet told my parents to give her Benadryl. To compare, here is a normal picture of Nikita and a picture of what Nikita looked like several hours after being stung. Here are some other dogs who learned the hard way that bees should not be messed with.  http://www.buzzfeed.com/erinchack/dogs-who-learned-the-hard-way-not-to-eat-bees. Let me know if you  have had a furry friend that learned about bees the hard way.

Nikita v.s. the Vet

   Nikita faced her biggest enemy yet, the veterinarian or, the vet. Nikita got in the car with a struggle but this was the least of our problems. On the way there Nikita couldn't find a comfortable way to sit down. We had to take the old car because mum couldn't lift her up in the Element.  We took Nikita into the office and she was pacing too much so I took her outside. So I tried pushing the glass door and Nikita walked into it twice. I finally pulled open the door and we ventured outside. In my defense, I was still recovering from a sleepover.
     We took our turn to see the vet. When we arrived in his office, Nikita started pacing and panting heavily. She paced in circles for most of the visit. When the vet came in, she got herself stuck in a corner. She lay there listening facing the wall. When we got her on her feet, the vet listened to Nikita's heart . He had to close her mouth because she was panting so hard he couldn't hear her heart. Then, Nikita had her nails trimmed. On her first paw, Nikita was silent. On the second, Nikita finally became her usual chatty Kathy when it comes to trimming. The vet called in a tech who held her down. Nikita really dislikes having her nails tampered with. She whined and cried. Despite really bad arthritis, not the best eyesight and some deafness, the vet thought Nikita was doing pretty well for 14 years.
     Nikita was glad to leave the vet although she was grateful when he helped her in the car. Nikita respects the vet in some ways. Or she was just exhausted.

 I had some friends come over this weekend for a sleepover, although there wasn't much sleep. We mostly played downstairs. The dogs were sensible. They stayed upstairs and played with my parents. Hoover even came down and took his ball upstairs. He has some brains. The only other time Hoover came down was to get some tasty popcorn. He knew we were messy. My friends say they know where he gets his name. 
      The dog's are happy about school starting next week. They no longer have to deal with my friends and I. Now they can get all their sleep in without disruptions.

Random Thoughts on Competition and Animal Rescue

  This week I'm going to golf camp in the morning. To get prepared (because I haven't played much golf in a year) we went to the IU driving range. I am not a good golfer. I think I'll stick with soccer. We also went to the putting green and I had a competition with mum. I destroyed mum! I beat her once in about 10 games. I'm really gonna stick with soccer.

     I also learned how competitive my family is when it comes to sports. We got the old foosball table up and we went at it. Mum and I battled it out. We teamed up on Dad and he still beat us. Then we started putting handicaps on Dad, like no goalie. He still beat us 10 to 5. Dad played a lot of foosball in college! I still think I'm sticking with soccer.

     There's one thing I can beat both of them at, soccer! But to give me competition, mum uses many different tactics. One time she fell on me! Dad and I gave her a yellow card. Hoover helps on defense by laying in a lane. So when I'm about to take a shot I have to hold it back for Hoover's sake. I don't want to maim Hoover. 

     I've been to golf camp for a few days. The first day I won a putting competition by luck. I hit my ball half way to the hole and I thought I had lost. But, the next kid in line hit his ball and it hit my ball boosting it to the hole. I won M & M's! The next day was uneventful but on Wednesday golf camp was almost rained out. A big storm hit Bloomington but we continued. Although, all we really did was play dodgeball but it was still exciting. 
     Now, I was going to write about Shasta the sled dog when Howl the bird came along. Dad thinks I watch too much of Hayo Miyazaki's anime. I was at a friend's house today when we discovered an injured bird in his yard. We think a cat got him or her. There was a gash on his side. My friend and his dad got Howl in a box. Mum and I took Howl to WildCare. I hope he's all right. What's your tale of animal heroism? Stay tuned for more stories. 

Dog Speak

    Today's blog will be special. Today I will talk about how our dogs communicate with us. I'll start off with Lizzie because she is the biggest talker. The way Lizzie tells us she wants to be petted is she whines. And when she whines, she whines. She stops as soon as you place a hand on her and she starts whining again as soon as you take your hand off her. 
     Lizzie woo-woos when she hears the word walk. She has learned English! Hoover just follows Lizzie's lead. She has also learned the concept of time. Around 8:00 pm , Lizzie starts woo-wooing again, she knows when dinner time is. We really hear it when we haven't given her dinner on time. Lizzie also will woo-woo when she wants out but barks when she wants in.  Lizzie will bark at Hoover when she wants to play, but Hoover doesn't like her loud voice. 

      Next up is Hoover. He is a pretty quiet dog except when the neighbor's dogs are out. Then he is a big loud mouth. When Hoover wants to come in he knocks on the door like a fine old gentleman. However, when he wants to go out he waits by the door. Sometimes Lizzie has to bark to let us know they both want out. 

      Hoover LOVES attention. If he isn't getting it, he will paw you. His big paw can be dangerous. Everyone in the family has experienced a Hoover paw to the face. Hoover even uses his paw to acknowledge Lizzie and Nikita by patting them on the head.   

    When Hoover wants to play, he throws his toy in the air. Sometimes he will catch it and other times he'll toss it at you. That ball really stings if you get hit in the face. Hoover takes his playing very seriously, as you can see in the picture at the end. 
      And last but certainly not least is Nikita. She is more subtle than Lizzie and Hoover when seeking attention. She will rest her chin on a leg. She is usually sleeping so she doesn't ask for much attention. Nikita will also put her chin on your leg and stare at you if there is no water in the water bowl or she wants a snack.
       When it comes to going outside, we just kind of have to guess. If she gets up, that is a good indication she wants to go outside. When she wants to come in, she gives one very demanding bark. If we don't come to the door right away, she waits a little bit and gives one more demanding bark.

      Nikita also has a history of tattle telling on some of our fosters. In other words, Nikita is a snitch. One time Alue managed to get the pantry door open and pulled out Nikita's dog food. So, Nikita found mum doing laundry and started barking. She lead mum right to Alue. He was busted. She also has a history of ratting out other fosters, like Sebastian.

Alue

 

      This is a just a bit of how our dogs speak to us. How do your dogs speak to you?

Buddy the Stray

     

    To start off this week's post, I'll tell you the tale of Buddy the Tramp. Buddy appeared in our yard one day last week. We think he was a Jack Russell mix.  We know he wasn't a sled dog. Buddy was a stray and he roamed the neighborhood that morning. We tried to get Buddy into our yard but he didn't like leashes so we would have to lure him. I got a biscuit but Buddy went after a rabbit. At that point mum left for work and dad and I stayed to look for him. Buddy returned so I got another dog biscuit. Dad held Hoover because we were afraid Hoover might scare Buddy away by barking. Then I lured Buddy in with the biscuit. Hoover was then friendly. He just dislikes dogs on the other side of his fence. Buddy was friendly and liked being petted. He liked the dogs and the dogs liked him. The animal shelter came and picked Buddy up. He did NOT want to leave our yard. He had made himself quite comfortable.       
    If Buddy's owner doesn't pick him up, he will be up for adoption. It will be a few weeks before we see Buddy again because he has to be neutered and get a microchip as well as be checked for diseases. But I look forward to see him.  Mum already says we can't adopt him, darn!
     It was the Fourth of July recently and we celebrated with a cookout. There were lots of fireworks in the neighborhood and Hoover wasn't a fan.  He stayed inside and hid downstairs for awhile. Then he followed my parents everywhere. Lizzie didn't mind and Nikita couldn't hear. 
     The next day a friend came over and we went to Ellettsville to a cookout with another friend. We ate and had some Nerf wars. Then, we all went to a fireworks show. It was spectacular. I love fireworks. They are so fantastic and bright! I spent the night with my friends. We spent the night playing video games and watching a movie. We stayed up until three. We had french toast and bacon the next morning. It made me think of Bradford Woods. I was happy to go home and take a nap even though I couldn't sleep.

  To make myself feel better about the World Cup, I made my own World Cup Hockey tournament. I'm Argentina and Mum is Germany while dad is Albania. The games have been close, competitive and a little pushy. I have to put the Hockey World Cup on hold for the rest of the week for the Bloomington South soccer camp in the evenings. We will be having a World Cup challenge at camp!