We found the 'sweet spot'!

About two nights ago, we made a very emotional decision. We both, well maybe all three of us, (but definitely the momma and the daddy) have not been sleeping all too well. This is not a new thing, this is actually an on-going thing and it has about 98.5% to do with the Nana Bug. Savannah takes up the entire bed...yes, she is small but she lays horizontally in the bed and when you try to move her, she growls, kangaroo kicks you and even has tried to bite me in the middle of the night. I swear she is just like a toddler...but worse! See in the middle of the night, I have to crawl to the foot of the bed to be able to get off the bed to go potty. Well, she lays horizontal at the foot of the bed and probably gets "rudely" awakened by my getting up so she gets grumpy...it just hasn't been going over well. Since the weather has been on our side and hasn't been getting cold at night we decided to start putting her in her crate at night....gasp...the insanity! It was a hard decision (well, for me) because we like to snuggle with her and have her be part of the family but it just takes too much of a toll on our sleep. For the past two nights, she has been put in her crate after movie night or TV (yes we get TV reception here) until we get up in the morning. Let me tell you...it's been the best nights sleep since we left the cabin! The reason we had a crate for her in the cabin was for sleeping because she likes to get right up in your grill and we're always half awake trying not to crush her in the middle of the night! Goodness, are we dog people or what!? I'm sure it sounds silly to those who are not. So all in all, she will be crate-ridden at snoozing time (until it gets colder) because we are loving this sleep thing A LOT right now! In the morning, before we all truly wake up, I get her out so we can all snuggle together...I'm a true softy for her!

[caption id="attachment_2814" align="aligncenter" width="225"] Under Cover Bug[/caption]

After we all got out of bed, J' actually took Savannah on her morning walk/hunt. She truly enjoys this because 1- she's with the daddy and 2- she doesn't have to be on a leash! As I was making coffee, I saw them running from hilltop to hilltop...they were having a ton of fun. I came out of the van to watch them and J' waved me up to the top of one of the bigger hills. I got up to the top and it was a pretty cool view. Yesterday, we got here at sunset and we knew we were kind of in a 'gully' but it was really cool to see it from this point of view!

[caption id="attachment_2815" align="aligncenter" width="300"] "Their" side of the mountain[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_2816" align="aligncenter" width="300"] "Our" side of the mountain[/caption]

We're both pretty happy with our new spot. We get a great wifi connection here...(even though it's still 3g, doesn't look like LHC even has 4g here!) and we get crazy strong TV reception here...oh and we're only about 3 miles from Walmart and 7.5 from Main Street! Not too shabby for free! We were also told by Charlie (the camp host) to really watch for Coyotes and Mountain Lions they are definitely around. He also told us one of the other campers saw a Wolf within the past week, so to be extra careful with the Bug...will do! We had to get a little creative with her this time because there's nothing to tie her up to, I don't want her too far away from the van and I don't have any place to tie her up to the van, due to her leash always getting in the way of the door and it not being seen (almost broke the door, oops). Luckily, there were some pretty big block rocks around.

[caption id="attachment_2817" align="aligncenter" width="300"] She doesn't even know she's bait![/caption]

The block rock is nice to have because we can put it anywhere. What I do is J' puts the rock where I want it, where I can see her in any direction but she's not too far from the van. I put a short regular leash around the rock and then connect her retractable leash to the leash on the rock, that way she can walk around and still hunt but she can only go as far as the leash will let her go. Also, what's nice about the rock is she doesn't get tied up in anything...this little dog can get wrapped up around a blade of grass! It works out really well and most of the time she just wants to chew on sticks and sunbathe anyway, so it's a win win for everyone. The first time I had her out there and she was laying on her "blankie" in the sun, I felt like I was putting my baby out for bait, kind of like in Jurassic Park when they put the goat out for the T-rex...but I've got my eye on her at all times and J' can see her when I can't and we're always surveying the land around us. I think we'll be okay.

[caption id="attachment_2818" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Our set-up[/caption]

After getting Savannah squared away and making a nice lunch for us (we have meat again), I gave myself a mani-pedi with some holiday cheer. We've decided to upgrade the polish I've been using. Instead of getting the cheapest (that always gets taken off a half hour later because it's so cheap, doesn't set at all and totally gets me in a tizzy) we are going to go up a notch or two and get better quality polish that will stay on and last more than 15 minutes! haha I think I'm going to like this new idea!

[caption id="attachment_2819" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Welcome to the family Gold glittery buddy![/caption]

Savannah and I got in a good three walks today, not including the one this morning with Daddy. They aren't super long walks, but they are long hunts, which she loves and it gets me out of the van so it's nice for both of us!

[caption id="attachment_2821" align="aligncenter" width="225"] Pretty baby[/caption]

I've also started doing a new thing with Savannah. Since she has decided to make potty time a game now, especially at night when it's pitch black outside, I take her on a really long walk right when the sun is setting. I'm thinking maybe she'll think, since it's dark it's bedtime and this is her last chance! She ain't no dummy! haha Hopefully it works and she'll stop thinking we're all going for a night hunt at bedtime, silly pup!

Well, tonight we're actually the rest of the games that were on today and maybe something entertaining will come on after that. TV is nice to have again, we like to watch the weather at night and a little bit of the Today show or Good Morning America to get the energy in the van in the morning. Not a must have but definitely a like to have! Hope you all get to watch your favorite show or movie tonight, whatever it may be!

PEACE