HDA Medal Has Arrived in Washington State!

[Linda, Charlie Brown and Beau]

On Thursday morning, as I was driving down our driveway, I noticed a postal truck driving slowly down our street.  Of course, I did not see that sign on the driver’s door, or I would have immediately turned around and went back home!

Upon returning home, I noticed a large box on our doorstep.  I have to be honest here, Janie, Jackson & Jilly had given me a heads up that it would be arriving, however, it was supposed to arrive Friday and it was a day early!  Can you believe New Jersey to Richland, Washington only took 3 days!  I was so excited.

I brought the box into the house, and Charlie and Beau were spinning circles to see what was in the box.   I decided to wait for my DH to come home, so he could help with photos.   While I was waiting for my husband to arrive, I started thinking about how I found the Doodle Kisses site and what it has meant to be a member.   Charlie was 9 weeks old when we brought him home Valentine’s Day 2011 and little did I know what impact a doodle would have on our lives.  One day I was googling doodles and found the Doodle Kisses website!  I immediately signed up and the first welcome on my page was from Donna and Quincy.  It was a photo of beautiful Quincy with the words “Warning, like peanut butter,  DK can be addictive, proceed with caution!"  As soon as I started navigating this site, I was hooked.  I have met so many wonderful, funny, helpful DKers who happily give their time, knowledge and energy to this site.  I visit this site at least once daily and yes, I am a Hopeless Doodle Addict.  So thank you Adina (and Clark) for creating this doodly site, a big thank you to all the fearless group leaders who help us each and every day, and to each and every member that makes this site such a wonderful place to just hang out!

My DH soon arrived, and I got the camera out.  As soon as I asked the boys to come up on the couch with me and I slit the box open, I could see that they were not going to sit politely while I opened it up so I set the box on the floor and Charlie & Beau immediately lunged into the box to see what was there!

Charlie quickly found the purple kong ball (his favorite thing in the world), and Beau found the red crab and they went running around showing us  their new treasures.    

Then we sat down and went through the rest of the contents. The boys were so overwhelmed because there was so much in that box for them:  2 kong balls, a blue Wubba, a red crab sqeaky and a blue lobster squeaky, a Kong stick, Oryjen treats, chicken jerky treats.   It was like Christmas!  When Beau saw the Blue Kong stick that was it, he dropped his crab and as you can see – he is in love with the kong stick!

I gathered up all the gifts and asked Charlie to drop his purple ball and put them all on the table for this photo.  Charlie did not want to relinquish his new ball for long.

Janie was so thoughtful in her choices:  There was a bottle of my favorite lotion Pure Grace by Philosophy (the best lotion around); a blue “life is good tee” for me; and very tasty  Meltaway from the Haisch Bakery in NJ (I have never been to NJ, but I so want to go there ( and to this bakery!!).   Then I opened the last box which contained the HDA medal, along with a list of recipients and the journal.  Before I send the award on, I am going to read each and every entry!  It is such a wonderful part of DK history. 

I quickly put on the tee shirt, made a cup of coffee and sat down to enjoy a piece of the Meltaway coffee cake.  It was out of this world! 

Janie ~ I hope to one day to meet you in person.  Thank you for choosing to pass this honor on to me.  I appreciate every ounce of thoughtfulness you put into choosing the contents of this gift.  Each and every item was just perfect!   You made this day a very special one - full of fun and laughter. 

As soon as possible, I will forward the HDA award to the next recipient.  You Janie, will be a tough act to follow!  

[Adina P]

I keep saying that there needs to be a doodle meetup here in our PNW wine country.  Lots of places to stay and places to take the doodles!

[Joanne ~ Spud*]

Oh, that sounds fun.  Someone needs to schedule one and get it planned!   I wish I were there

[Lori, Quincy & Frankie]

Congratulations!  I wish I had a piece of that cake right now!  I am also going to look for that blue stick for a certain doodle boy.  Awesome pictures and treats!  

[Linda, Charlie Brown and Beau]

Lori ~ I think Ro mentioned she found a Kong stick on Amazon.  Two day shipping if you are prime member - it can be there by Tuesday!  LOL  Beau does not have near the attention span that Charlie has and I am truly amazed that he is still carrying his Kong stick out the door to play fetch!  It is funny sometimes because he will grab directly in the middle to carry it and if the door is not open wide enough he will get stuck! Ha Ha I should video that one!

[Ginny Nightingale]

Congrats!!! Love all the photos and that box was full of treasures!! Lucky you! and the doodles too!

[Linda, Charlie Brown and Beau]

Yes, we are so lucky and thrilled to be a part of this group!

[Anne & Mr. Haley]

Congrats and welcome to tne club! Great pics.

[Linda, Charlie Brown and Beau]

Thanks Anne.  I have a bridge camera (the Canon SX 40) and I would love to get a dslr - but when I start looking at the options it gets mind-boggling!

[Jarka, Monty & Auggie]

Congratulations, Linda! And what a wonderful choice of gifts, Janie.

[Dee & Chloe]

Congratulations Linda! Your boys look so happy and excited! Great photos and blog!

[Bonnie and Kona]

Congratulations! This is a great addiction to share. We welcome you with open arms and look forward to hearing who gets to be the next recipient. Janie was very generous in her gifting. Now I'm hungry for coffee cake too!

[Linda, Charlie Brown and Beau]

Thanks Jarka, Dee & Bonnie for all the kind comments.  The coffee cake was a real hit!