A few weeks ago, my parents brought home their new 13 week old puppy, Shannon Door. Yes, named after the famous Irish pub in Jackson, NH. Pronounced like the more famous national park. Trey, Midge, and the rest of the Maxons were up in New Hampshire celebrating Jim’s birthday. The pups were all very active playing fetch at Attitash and swimming in the Saco river (more like running through it as it was super low).

Haley took Sandy out for her first taste of skijoring on the baseball field across from our house. It was a roaring success. Sandy had lots of fun pulling Haley around, and Haley remained upright the entire time.

Quite the adventurous ride a few weeks ago on the Saturday before Easter. Plan was to bike for 3.25 hours, which looking at the weather seemed fine as I headed out just before 4, which would have me finished just after 7, which was 20 minutes before sunset (which I had lights so no big deal either way) and before the rain was anticipated to come.

The Maxons and Chabots wasted little time in getting a puppy play date in the new year. It was a soggy day for a walk through Bradley Palmer State Park, but the pups enjoyed it none the less. Sandy still wants to let Midge know who’s top dog, but she better be careful, as it’s only a matter of time before Midge surpasses her in size (and potentially speed?). A few week later, Sandy hosted Midge at our house, though she refused to back down when it came to fighting over who got to sit…

One of the benefits of working from home is the ability to grow your hair and not care how ridiculous you look. For basically forever, I’ve always had the same hairstyle: a buzz cut on top and a trimmed full beard. Usually I have to tend to both every 4-5 weeks. I’ve always wondered what I’d look like with long hair, but before when I tried in high school it took too long to make meaningful progress, and the in-between stage was socially unacceptable. I decided to go crazy with…

On the first weekend of February, the Merlo family descended upon Waterbury for a weekend in the woods. The beautiful house was set on top of the perfect sledding hill, and came with miles of trails for snowshoeing and cross-country skiing. Being only 25 minutes away from Stowe, I just had to hit up the slopes for a few runs in the morning. We also ventured out to a skating rink. Many games of pool were played (Jack won most of ’em), and the hot tub and outdoor fire was enjoyed by all.

Paris-Brest-Paris is a long-distance bicycling event. Specifically, it is the crown jewel in the sport of randonneuring. I don’t know why I became enthralled by it, but I’ve decided to attempt to conquer PBP next year.

Sandy (along with Haley and I) met Midge, Trey and Elonna’s chocolate lab, last November. It was a beautiful fall day with lots of zoomies to go around. Sandy looked quite big compared to this tiny puppy, but hopefully she realizes that before she knows it, Midge will be towering over her.

I can’t believe Sandy turned 1 last week! She’s grown up so fast. She’s gone from a teeny tiny 10 pounds when we got her that was more than happy to be picked up with one hand, to this young lady who squirms and feels way more than 36 pounds as you try to corral her to go to bed. She’s been healthy and warm hearted, which is all we can ask for.

This past May the Merlo clan camped at the Mohawk State Forest. Much fun was had hiking and playing and being with family. I snuck in an ambitious bike ride (was hoping to get all the way into Vermont but the Berkshire climbs are no joke), and Sandy did really well on her first nights camping.