River Deep, Mountain High

Max & Millie had their first holiday together from 11th to 18th September in Snowdonia National Park, North Wales and they LOVED it, they had an absolutely wonderful time!

The Puppies travel to North Wales

We hired a lovely big house in Beddgelert Village, deep in the National Park, surrounded by mountains, lakes, rivers and woodland - idyllic for us and a giant playground for the dogs....We were going to be joined by 'Nana Joyce' and Aunty Joanie, but unfortunately my lovely Mother-in-Law was taken ill just days before we were due to go and Joanie stayed to look after Penny, Joyce's dog, so in the end it was just us with Max & Millie. 

Here's hoping for a speedy recovery back to the cheeky Minx we all know and love!

The Mother in Law

Get Well Soon Gorgeous Lady!

When we arrived, the weather in Wales was lovely, sunny and warm and big fluffy clouds in the sky. We got there on the Saturday afternoon and on the Sunday it was absolutely scorchio, really hot and sunny and what Summer SHOULD feel like.  

Gorgeous & Gorgeous-er!

So, as it was warm and sunny, we thought we'd take the dogs to the beach. Of course, you all know Max has been to Cornwall but as far as we are aware Millie has never been to the seaside.....we took them to Borth-y-Gest near Porthmadog which has lovely sandy beaches and they both had a marvellous time playing in the sea and running around on the sand.

'The Kids' cool off

While on holiday, we saw a bit of a change in Millie, becoming more settled with us and towards us, feeling more comfortable in our company. It was good to see and more importantly to watch.....as you can see, when they want to play they really do go for it.....!

Yes, that IS Max in Millie's jaws!!!! 

They had so much fun, they were completely and utterly knackered every single night, which was a blessing considering what they're usually like at home. They must have walked miles on their little legs, but they were game for it, so we milked it for as much as we could get!

My Perfect Family at Aberglaslyn Bridge

There were a couple of things that we both REALLY wanted to do with the dogs while we were in North Wales. One was to take them up '3 Lake Walk' to the foot of Snowdon's summit and the other was to take them to Blackrock Sands, not far from Borth-y-Gest. 

Blackrock Sands

Blackrock Sands is a HUGE golden sandy beach where you can see Harlech Castle on the distant horizon and the mountains of Snowdonia behind you.

How big is that stick Max is dragging?!?!?!

Well, the beach trip was accomplished without too much fanfare and the dogs really enjoyed it - Millie was even let off the lead and she didn't run away!!!!

Millie off the lead

Three Lake Walk was not so straight forward to achieve. We tried it on the Wednesday of our holiday and the weather was a bit wet to say the least. It always seemed ok until we opened the car doors and then the rain descended in curtains. I do believe we experienced the Welsh Mountain Monsoon!!! There are no photographs of this attempt as the weather was too wet to get the camera out, never mind take pictures of us all looking like drowned rats - even Max stopped walking and started crying!

3 Lake Walk - Attempt No. 2 and Millie has had enough!

We tried again on the Friday and I am pleased to report that we did it.....yes, as you can see above we got wet again, however it wasn't until we were halfway back that the heavens opened and we experienced another deluge. The walk is about 3 miles each way and when the weather is pleasant it's a lovely walk, I recommend it to everyone.

We Did It ! ! ! !

So, apart from the obvious disappointment of not having Nana Joyce and Aunty Joanie with us, we had a lovely time in the mountains of Snowdonia.

Me and my Boy on the way to Snowdon - May we return again very soon!

Is THAT a Chihuahua???

As a regular visitor to the Marvellous Adventure of Max & Millie you will already be more than aware that we take the dogs for walks through Camberwell New Cemetery which is across the road from us and next to the allotment. On these walks it's pretty much the norm that we don't really bump into anyone and have the entire place to ourselves which is bliss. However......one evening last week we were walking through the Cemetery and there were a group of young people (how OLD do I sound?!?!) sitting down on the grass, probably planning their next robbery no doubt, and one of them asked us, "Is that a Chihuahua?" pointing (condescendingly) at Maximillian Sydney Bruiser McEllis!!!

Does I look like a Chihuahua to you?!

Well, you can imagine my horror as I responded with, "Does HE look like a Chihuahua to you? He's a miniature Rottweiller thank you very much!" and I then promptly flounced off....Max is not an 'It' or a 'That', he's a cute little dawg and it's more than obvious that he is in fact a Boy!!! I'm pretty sure I also heard a doggy-style snigger from Millie after this unwanted question of Max's lineage but perhaps that was my overly fertile imagination....

Me and my "Chihuahua"...

This week also saw another milestone for Millie - she now uses the dog flap automatically, with no help or guidance from us....*Go Millie, Go Millie*......

Millie gets in a flap

The Girls (Poultry Stars of http://hensinthecity.blogspot.com) have been VERY lucky this week...in fact they escaped with their lives, literally! On Thursday evening my Husband called me at work and asked me, "What would be your worst nightmare?"....I was thinking along the lines of another perm would be quite bad or indeed wearing banana yellow corduroy trousers with red patent leather shoes in public again would be a rather hideous crime against fashion, but no, not THAT sort of nightmare (by the way, both examples given are fact not fiction, from the memory archives of Mr John McKenna!!!).

 Millie, Max and The Girls

When Dad 1 got home, there were no dogs in the house, so he checked their outside area and again, no dogs, BUT, the barrier to the garden had been opened and they had got in with the Hens!!! Dad 1 feared the absolute worst and ran to the garden and found 3 hens and Max all alive and well but no Millie or Tallulah. After a search of the garden, the missing culprits were found in the shed....they were both alive and unharmed (Tallulah can be quite formidable when the mood takes her!). So, Millie is fine with the Hens and there's nothing for us to worry about.......HOW lucky were we??? It could have been sooooooo bad!

 Miss Millicent Hermione Oprah McEllis

This only reinforces what we as their 'Dads' already know....that we have the best little dogs in the world, little diamonds who are a joy and a pleasure (except when they're really bloody annoying!!).

Max & Millie ROCK!