Happy Holidays!

As a little pre Christmas holiday Shin took us all away to the Hyatt Spa Resort in Hakone. It was pretty grey and cols but we had a wonderful time with the whole family. Jazz and Dixie were met at the car and taken away for a pedicure and brushing while we settled into our lovely room complete with doggy en suite and doggy toiletry drawer with personal welcome letter!! Despite the weather we rugged up and took the girls to a dog run overlooking Lake Ashi. There was no one there and as the dog run was a bit small we braved it and let Jazz and Dixie off lead to run around the fields. I was quite worried though as we hardly ever do this as you never know what smell a beagle will get wiff of and take off. Anyway we let them have a bit of freedom to run around like complete idiots and then finished off with a walk on leash so mum could relax a bit! We also visited a very well manicured garden overlooking the lake. We had a great time away.

I put up the Christmas tree today with the help of Rena, Jazz and Dixie and then tried to take some pics of them all in front of it. Had to promise J and D their favourite treats to get them to sit there!

Rena's First Trip to Dog Field with J and D

The typically beautiful Japan autumn weather is upon us, so yesterday being a national holiday we set out to make the most of it with the whole family. We haven't been to our favourite dog run, Dog Field since before Rena was born so we all went there for the day. Jazz and Dixie were so glad to be back and able to run around like crazy in the warm sunshine.

Relaxing with J and D

Ahhh there's nothing better than chilling out with the dogs on their sofa while sucking on Jazz's tail!

Rena thinks she is a Dog!

I think our little Rena thinks she is a dog! Now that she is getting around quite well she is able to catch Jazz and Dixie by their feet and she is also interested in what they are doing. Rena has many of her own toys but prefers to play in Jazz and Dixie's water dish and with their toys. Jazz and Dixie don't mind at all and get their own back by sneaking a few of Rena's soft toys and balls now and then. I can't make the difference clear to Rena or the dogs so I give up and I guess they just have to share everything that's on the floor.

Dixie and Rena are Good Friends

Rena has started to commando crawl and worked her way off her play mat to get over to her new friend, Dixie. To my surprise Dixie is more interactive with Rena than Jazz. I thought it would be the otherway around. But Jazz is still looking out for Dixie and now her littlest sister too. I am so happy that the girls like Rena and are starting to show more interest in her. Dixie has worked out that if she plays with Rena she gets extra attention from us as well.

Beating the Heat!

Wow 2 months have passed since I last blog and little Rena is 6 months this week! Where does the time go? Its been very hot here in Japan these past weeks. I wanted to go swimming with Rena but there are many places that don't allow babies unless you join a class that has oh so many rules and turns out to be quite expensive. Anyway we have been splashing about in the back yard in a small paddling pool that I bought for Jazz and Dixie a few years ago. This weekend Shin bought us a new much bigger pool that can fit us all in, including Jazz and Dixie. Now some of you may know that Jazz and Dixie are not really fond of the water, especially Dixie. It was so hot outside that we thought the girls should also benefit from the cool of the pool so we put them in as well. Both stayed a short time before jumping out and rolling around on the grass. Jazz waded around in the tummy high water but Dixie didn't move around much. Maybe after a few more times they may get used to the water??

A Weekend Away

Last weekend we went away for the first time with Rena to celebrate Dixie's 4th Birthday and Jazz's 7th Birthday. We stayed in a dog hotel that just opened. The concept of the Caro hotels group is to provide good quality hotels that people can take their dogs to and enjoy good food as well. We have stayed in a few of the other hotels in this group and think they are great. Shin made use of the grooming room and washed and blow dried the girls so they were looking lovely for dinner in the hotel dining room. After dinner Jazz and Dixie shared a cream berry sponge cake made especially for them which they devoured in no time! The next day we took them to the beach for a walk along the water. We had a great family holiday.

Kinuta Park

The weather was great today so we took Rena, Jazz and Dixie to Kinuta Park. The wisteria were flowering and smelling beautiful.

Taking Time to Smell the Flowers and Roll on the Grass!

Another beautiful spring day and garden is looking quite colourful. Hello to all our buddies.

A warm spring day in the garden.

Such a beautiful warm day to be out in the back garden with Jazz, Dixie and Rena.

A new baby sister!

No not another beagle! but a two legged sister for Jazz and Dixie! Now you all know what has been taking up my time! When things settle down I will try to get back to blogging more regularly. Hope all our old friends out there are doing well.