Babysitting Staycation

Some people go to the beach or some exotic destination for vacation. I stayed home to babysit 10 dogs. During this past couple of weeks, along with our kids, we’ve had Murphy, Sabrina, and the Stumpf kids. Actually, the Stumpf kids are still here through this coming weekend. More on that later. And Murphy is back for another week starting tomorrow.
Feeding time is always fun. This is the main feeding area.The requisite top shot. Starting with Kris on the couch is Murphy, Stanley, Stella, Jaime, Cali, Shiloh, Sabrina, Dana, Dante, and Parker. It rained almost every day for a week, we had sheets on the couch and in front of the back door in a feeble attempt to keep the mud out.Dante truly fits into the fuzzy bed the best. He even has room to spare for a dog bone stuffie.Shiloh: Help, Cali stole my bed!Where are the humans supposed to sleep? Dante on the pillow, then Jaime and Stanley in the middle, then Shiloh, Dana, and Stella at the bottom.Jaime and the ceramic turtle guarding the top of the deck stairs.Jaime is a vicious guard dog. She always smiles at Kris as she comes up the long back stairs to the deck.Dante couldn’t get over the fact that our stuffies still had squeakers that squeaked.Parker gets his bed back, while Dante enjoys a cushier higher position on the couch.The stuffies took a beating and the kids needed some rest before the next round.Dante and Cali are not happy that I disturbed their sleep :)Dana: Hey, where is everybody? Everyone else: Dana, we’re up here. Yoohoo! Turn Around.Stanely, Cali, Stella, and Jaime waiting for Dana.Shiloh was ever vigilant that her mommy might be coming through the door any minute.The reason we’re still watching the Stumpf kids is that Jason and Trina ran into a snag with getting their new house. Trina will update her blog once she settles in. Let’s just say that they were ‘homeless’ for the weekend, so they came up and stayed with us and got to see their kids.Cali stays cool by balancing her daddy’s bourbon and ginger ale.Left Cali alone downstairs for a few minutes. What did I find when I came back down?That same afternoon, I saw this. Round 2. I don’t think I could have posed her in a more incriminating shot. Cali: What? It wasn’t me. I found it like that.Dante: She’s touching me isn’t she?My lens died while I was trying to get a group shot of the kids. I upgraded to an EF-S 18-200mm IS. I practiced on some bugs in the yard. A fly on the patio.A bug on the euonymous plant.A new Wegmans opened up this weekend in Fredericksburg. Since this is our first high-end grocery store, the police were out to direct traffic for all the people coming out for the grand opening. Since we are all foodies, we decided to check it out. We got some fresh brussel sprouts, greens, thick ribeyes, and a fresh cut swordfish steak (cut off the whole fish as requested).A parting shot of Cali taking her shot at Parker’s bed.