The Pups - Part 3 - Riku

Riku (Re-ku) is the oldest and biggest dog. I got Riku in 2003 from a person who lived in an apartment and though having a Husky would be a great idea. Husky's need a lot of attention and they love to have room to roam. Husky's do not make good kennel dogs! Riku's got quite the personality, he's very protective and he's an all around good dog. Sure I had to run for 5 miles after him when he took off as a pup, but that's all in the past. When I wrestle with Riku, Raimo always jumps in and attacks hi older brother. Dispite this, Riku always sticks up for Raimo when I wrestle with him, just like his dad he always tries to stick up for the little guy. Riku used to talk more than he does now, if you've been around Husky's you know they can carry on a pretty good conversation.

All in all we have some petty good pups, they are all quirky in their own way. They listen well and don't cause too much trouble with the exception of Mikka and her desire to eat my training equipment!

The Names - All my dogs are named after hockey players from Finland. Why? I don't know, I just started doing it. In Cheyenne I had Teemu and Teppo. Riku came along and he made the trip to TN while the T's stayed with my ex-wife and my daughter.

The Pups Part 2 - Mikka

Mikka (Me-Ka) is the middle dog in age and at 55lbs is the smallest in stature. She is a quirky dog who comes off quiet and shy, but leave her alone and she is the trouble maker! Just the other day she broke into the house while we were at work and chewed up 1 of my boxing gloves and 1 of my MMA gloves. When neighborhood dogs come into our yard she is the 1st one to start some crap with them, and she usually ends it too. The boys like to wrestle and fight with each other and she usually starts barking at them to break it up. She is a big pain in the rear!

The Pups - Part 1 - Raimo

This is Raimo. (Ray-mo) Raimo is about 1.5 years old now and the youngest of the pups. At 65lbs he is the middle dog size wise. Raimo's hobby's include running in the back yard, running in the front yard and begging his mommy for treats. He enjoys acting like a big boy by barking at the neighbors yet he runs behind his big brother at the very hint of any real action. Although Raimo is mostly Labrador the 2 Huskies have trained him to howl, it's pretty funny to see a Lab act like a Husky. Since Riku is my dog and Mikka is McKenna's dog Krista was feeling left out. Some friends rescued a few dogs from a bad situation and were able to give away all of them except 1 so it was great timing and a good fit for our family. The pups are all secured by the invisible fence and they have a full acre to run around in, they love it.

Football friends shower

One of the showers that was thrown for us was by what we call our football friends. These are the guys, and Shanna that we have Vanderbilt season tickets with and do all our fun sports stuff.
We had dinner at Chris and Mary Lynn's house.

More Baby Showers

We had 3 baby showers for Riley. The 1st took place at Krista's work, the 2nd at mine and the 3rd was a group of our close friends. All in all they were good, our friends and family showed tremendous support by going out of their way to help us out with some of the items needed to support a new edition to the family. We received a ton of outfits, bids, socks, blankets, wash clothes, toys, a pack 'n' play, a high chair and probably more things than I can name. Items for the car, bottles, more toys and gift cards that were ultimately used to pick up the stroller and high chair we will be using for the next couple years.

To all of our close friends and family, THANK YOU! You mean a lot to Krista and I and we appreciate you.