Park Review: Lebanon Hills/Shultz Lake Beach

We are so lucky to live in an area that has A LOT of parks. There are very nice trails just blocks from our house that we go to almost daily. This particular day, however, we decided to go to a park a little further away so we packed up the stroller, the leash and the "kids" and drove to Lebanon Hills Park in Eagan. Specifically, we stopped at Schulze Lake Beach, where our church has their annual picnic. 

This is a fantastic park to visit year-round. The visitors center is really nice and you can rent canoes and kayaks there, or even camp!

There is a VERY nice, sandy beach with big umbrellas for shade. Just watch that you don't get there after all the geese, if you know what I mean.

I hope you get the chance to explore some of your own neighborhood parks this summer!

Happy Birthday Wallum + Dog Treat Tutorial

Six years ago, a very special little furry guy was born! Wallum (Wally) is named after Jesse's late grandfather. Wallum was his middle name and we had always thought it would be the most perfect (and funniest) name for a roly poly puppy.

According to this chart, he is 44! Woah!

Wally has brought such joy to our lives and it is extra fun seeing him and Haley start to interact (and by that I mean she pulls his ears and whiskers and he sits there nicely and sometimes he steals her toys).

A few notes about the best dog ever:

He has always snored! This is him on his first day home.

He looks just like his daddy.

Wally in 2010.

Crow River's Cougar Mad Max . He is actually a Canadian and he  still competes in national field trials and regularly places in the top!

 He is ALL BOY - loves being dirty and goofy, playing, swimming and rough housing.

He is so amazing with Haley - they will surely be best friends! (Yes, it is hard to tell, but the fire screen IS closed and they are a lot farther away than they look. Cameras flatten spacial relations if you didn't know that. It is why they say that camera add 10 lbs if you didn't know that either!)

TUTORIAL:

So, about a month ago we (Wally, Haley and I) were visiting in Duluth while Jesse was in TX watching the NDSU Bison win ANOTHER FCS National Football Championship (Go Bison!) and Andrew decided to make yummy puppy treats for Wally! Here is the recipe - it was easy, healthy and Wally LOVED them. :)

Whole Wheat Apple Dog Treats

Ingredients:

• 2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup cornmeal
• 1 finely chopped or grated apple
• 1 beaten egg
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 1/2 cup cold water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease cookie sheets. Blend flour and cornmeal in large mixing bowl, then incorporate apple, egg, oil, brown sugar, and water until well blended. Flour your work space and roll out dough to desired thickness.

Cut cookies to desired shape and size. Place dog cookies on baking sheet and bake 35 minutes.

After baking, turn oven off and leave cookies inside for another 30-45 minutes until crisp.

Give to your dog - puppies deserve special treats!

Tutorial: Re-Flavor Your Dog's Bones

Does your dog lose interest after they lick all of the flavor off of their bones (real, not rawhide)? Ours does. Now he has a large collection of bones laying around the house that he doesn't even touch...like a mini graveyard.

So, I did some Googling and learned how to re-flavor his bones so he will like them once again. Here is how:

1. Collect bones and place them in a large stock pot.

2. Make either beef or chicken broth...enough to cover the bones. I used 8 cups of beef (that is what Wallum T. Doggie picked). 

3. Bring to a rolling boil, turn down to a simmer and simmer for 30 minutes.

4. Watch your dog act funny in anticipation.

5. Take bones out and let them cool. DO NOT give your dog a scalding hot toy. That is just mean.

6. Watch your dog stare at their "new" toy. Note: It took about 30 minutes for them to be cool enough for him to have one.

7. Give your dog their bone.

8. Watch your dog be happy. :)

Happy Wally!

There you have it! Happy dog and $30-$40 savings!