Kenzie's First Christmas

Whew ... what an exciting couple of weeks Kenzie had celebrating Christmas in Texas with us! I won't lie and say it wasn't a bit stressful, but it was special that she got to come and meet more of the family. Her favorite relatives were Aunt Annabelle, cousin Izzie and cousin Taryn (see below). She just felt like she had more in common with them. ;) Hanging at Izzie's house:

Izzie on the left, Annabell on the right:

Meeting Uncle Grant and Taryn at the dog park at White Rock Lake:

It was adorable seeing our neices, Abbey (4) and Laura (3) play with her. They were a little scared at first (Kenzie likes to take off running sometimes) but warmed up to her with time. Laura even kissed (translation: licked) her on the back, pretending to be a dog. haha ... so cute. By the second meeting, at their house, they couldn't stop following her around.



Laura even got Kenzie a special present (a bright pink fashion bow on a lapel pin). I'm having fun picturing her picking that out and knowing it was perfect for Kenzie! And here's the rest of the gifts Kenzie got - what a spoiled puppy!

Due to the busyness of holiday plans and my being pretty sick (awful 7- to 10-day virus ... ugh), Kenzie did spend several nights boarding in a kennel. To be honest, it broke her mommy's heart. We'd never left her in any kennel before, so I was just taken aback by the barking and the smell and the thought of her sitting there alone, thinking that we had abandoned her forever. She did have her own run, though (which looked pretty cozy), with her crate and blankets and a bunch of her toys. That made me feel better ... and ... she survived and was still a happy little puppy when we got her back!

Kenzie capped off the trip with an appearance in the annual Summers family photo:

Many, many thanks to Scott and Ashley, Curtis and Crystal and Mom and Dad Summers for hosting Kenzie in their homes! She is very grateful, and so are we.

Oh, and did I mention that Kenzie rode on the plane with us? The vet had given her a mild sedative, which definitely calmed her, and despite a few barks and squeals and clawing-to-get-out-of-the-bag episodes in the airport itself, she didn't make a peep once the airplane took off. Thank goodness! I was relieved it went so smoothly.