Just a Girl & Her Little Dog

Well this post is going to be all about miss Lilly!

She turned 4 years old this month (can't believe it!) and I wanted to do a little walk down memory lane about this little girl! I think it's pretty clear to everyone who knows me just how much this fur baby means to me! I never knew I could love a dog so much! 

Lilly is a teacup Maltese and is from Korea. She is honestly the sweetest lil pooch ever. I remember before we got Lilly I begged and begged my husband for a dog! I sat online and searched for a teacup maltese for over a year. I always wanted one since I was a little girl. A little white puff ball. FINALLY we purchased our first home and Sean agreed to getting a dog! We flew to Vancouver to pick up Lilly and I couldn't have been more excited. We were sent this photo from the breeder before seeing her for the first time...

Oh. My. Goodness!! It was love at first sight! 

I will never forget seeing Lilly for the first time. She was the quiet one out of all the dogs, just wagging her little tail and standing up on the glass of her little fish tank she was in. 

She was SO tiny! She was 8oz and fit in the palm of my hand. 

I remember getting into the car with her for the first time and being like "Woah. We just get to drive away with her and keep her now?!" 

During our drive back to Fort St John we debated what to name her for pretty much the whole drive home.. Lilly just fit perfectly. Even though we seem to rarely even call her by Lilly anymore haha I mean how many nicknames can one dog have?! 

Lil, Lillian, Lilly Diva Murphy (that's her full name), Lillybug, Fluff, Fluff n' Stuff, McMuff, Muffin, Muff, Scruff, Duff, Little Butt, Squirrel, Moof n' Doof, Pooch... the list goes on and on!

Once we were home Sean had told me she was NOT allowed to sleep in our bed.. but that quickly changed once he was on night shift and I would sneak her into bed with me ;)

Lilly has become quite the traveling pooch! She goes everywhere with us. She LOVES long car rides and sleeps the whole time during plane rides.

First time staying the night at a pet hotel in Vancouver!

First time at the cabin!

Summer trip to Minnesota!

Walking in Jasper!

Christmas trip at Lake Louise!

Christmas trip at Lake Louise!

Lilly may be a teeny little dog, but she sure loves all the same things big dogs do!

Loves sitting on the couch looking out the window & barking at people who walk by..

Going for walks until she is tired. She then comes to a complete halt & waits to be picked up and carried for the rest of the walk..

Playing with her toys..

Visiting dad at work...

Bathtime... 

Hanging out at the beach...

Going for car rides...

Winning contests...

Oh and dressing up...

Lilly is my sidekick & I just love all the memories that have been made these past 4 years! 

I do have to say I am a little nervous for when the baby arrives in November with how she is going to act. She is so used to being my center of attention and I just hope she can get used to sharing me with the baby! I've been reading up on some ideas with how to introduce your dog to the new baby and hopefully she will be just fine! 

Lilly will always be my first baby.. I just love her with all my heart!

xo Ashley

Birthday Trip to Minnesota

So a couple weeks before my 25th birthday my amazing husband told me I was flying to Minnesota and will be there over my birthday and my sister's birthday!! Oh my gosh I was so excited! I haven't been back to my Minnesota home since August and just couldn't wait to be with my family & friends!

A beautiful morning flying to Vancouver!

Well an early morning & long day of flying calls for some Starbucks!

My sweet sister greeted me with some birthday brownies!! (It was my birthday at midnight!)

Getting my hair done with a yummy birthday treat!

A little birthday dinner get together!

I was told birthday shots were a must...

I had a lot of shopping trips at Target of course! Gosh I remember the days my sister and I would go to Target almost everyday... seriously miss this place! Oh! And on my birthday it was announced that all the Target Canada stores were closing... worst news EVER. I still can't even believe it! (I could go off about this forever, but I won't!!)

So I had been eyeing these heels at Target since last summer and I found them on clearance for $8!! UM of course I had to buy them! I have them in solid black as well and they are my absolute fav! You can't see the jumpsuit I am wearing in this picture, but it was another great find from Target!

We went for a birthday dinner at the Smack Shack downtown Minneapolis & wow was it delicious! 

Mom eating oysters!

They mean the world to me!

Continued the night in Minneapolis for some drinks with my girl Sam!

One night my mom, sister & I went for dinner at the St Paul Hotel and then went across the street to walk through Rice Park. They were setting up for the Winter Carnival Event in downtown St Paul and it just looked so pretty! My senior year of high school I went to school right across the street from Rice Park so it brought back a lot of memories being in the area!

My beautiful school in the background.. ah memories..

I do have to say living in Canada I just miss a good ole bloody mary once in a while :)

Time flies by every time I go to MN to visit & I don't always get to see everyone I would like to, but I sure am glad I got to see a good friend's adorable little girls!

I love this little baby girl!!

My sister's birthday is exactly a week after my birthday and I was so happy to be able to be with her to celebrate her day! We went shopping and out for lunch.. was such a fun day!

Celebrated this birthday girl at the Old Spaghetti Factory in Minneapolis!

Felt so good to be home with my longtime girlfriends! Love ya Jordan!

Love my sister so much xo

So while I was in Minnesota a coworker/friend of my husband's (Adam Horst) was in Minnesota to be racing in the Red Bull Crashed Ice in St Paul over the weekend and he was able to join us for dinner! It was just so surreal to see him IN Minnesota. It's kinda like my Canadian life and US life coming together as one if you get what I mean...

It was pretty fun at dinner talking about Canada vs the US just with what things are different/similar and our American friends asking Adam a bunch of questions about Canada and the city we live in!

The last night I was in Minnesota we went to go watch the Red Bull Crashed Ice in St Paul! I've watched in before on TV and whenever they are in St Paul I always wish I was there to watch it and experience it with friends and now I finally could!

Going to keep warm with some Canadian whiskey ;)

There were SO many people! Thank goodness it wasn't too freezing out though!

It was pretty fun to be able to be there and cheer Adam on (he's the guy on the left) I told his girlfriend I would try and scream extra loud for her!! :) Would have been so great if she could have been there and my husband to join us!

That's Adam in the lead!

(later found this cool picture on Instagram)

I don't know how these guys do it! The course was insane and they were flying by SO fast! The crowed was pumped and it was so fun to watch.

After the Crashed Ice was over there was a big block party in downtown St Paul and the streets were filled with party animals, dj's and mini bars. Such a fun night!

As you can see my birthday trip to Minnesota was jam packed! It was filled with visiting friends, shopping, going out for dinner & drinks, birthday celebrations and making wonderful new memories!

Thank you again to my hubby, mom & sister for the amazing birthday gift!

I just know 25 is going to be a fabulous year!!

Until next time Minnesota!

xo Ashley