Labor Day

Hi friends!

This was the kind of best weekend ever! First, my grandma and grandpaw came to visit! It's always the best weekend when they come. Even if they do bring that Emma thing with them.  Grandma, of course,  brought me lots of treats.

Saturday was the worst day though. Grandma and Mommy left me all alone with Daddy, Grandpa, and Emma and I. Did. Not. Like. It. One. Bit. I might have done a lot of things I'm not supposed to do, but I really missed my mommy and treat machine Grandma. Apparently they went to the magical land call Ikea, which is roughly 57th million years away. The worst part was they didn't even get me any treats!

Saturday was also the start to college football season. I love football because it means your people lay on the couch all day! I don't like it because they are very loud. Daddy's team, the Kentucky Wild(kitty)cats lost :( but Mommy's team, the Auburn Tigers, won :)

Grandma, give me treats

Sunday was much better. We drove 98ty million years to Aunt P's house. She has a cookout every year for the whole family. Mommy and Daddy were proud of me today. I let human puppies pet on me and didn't get mad at Emma once! It helps that Aunt P and Uncle L have a really big fenced in yard, so she wasn't all up in my business...literally!

Snuggling with Daddy on the ride there.

I love picnics!

Mr. Phil fell asleep!

Uncle L always builds a fancy tent to give everyone shade, but it was so hot most people ended up in the yard under the trees.

Today is a great day too because it's a holiday. Holidays mean your humans sleep in and stay on the couch (mostly).  That means I've gotten to catch up on my beauty rest.

And that's why this was the best weekend ever!

Vacations

Hi friends!

This has been the BEST WEEK EVER!!! This weekend, I went of vacation with my people! My grandpaw's dad bought a cabin in Canada forever ago, so Grandpaw went up as a little boy and my mom's been going since she was born. Now, my whole family goes! We had great adventures, but I will let pictures tell the stories.

The trip is about 12 hours from my house, so we stopped for lunch and I got to potty and drink water. We stopped for the night in Michigan, in the upper lower peninsula, then only had a few more hours the next day.

I slept most of the way.

Mom tried to take a panorama picture with her Iphone-pod-pad. It's a little distorted, but you get an idea of the view! That's Batchawana Bay (off Lake Superior) in the background.

When we got there, I had a great surprise! Grandpaw and Great-Uncle A completely fenced in the deck. Usually I have to be tied up (which is a problem since I like to wander around and under and get tangled) or penned (again, I'd rather wander). I had to show squirrels, chipmunks, and Emma that it was MY fence!

Lots of squirrels and chipmunks live in Canada, so Emma and I had to patrol. She's a quick learner.

We even got along most of the time and laid down in close proximity to each other. We went back and forth between sun and shade.

I also liked my Gotcha Day present--a cool bed. It has a foam liner and Mommy pours water in it, which soaks into the foam and keeps puppy dogs cool.

Follow me, Emma!

I also liked Mom's deck bed--pillows sewn together.

They call me Old Man Puppy Face. I don't get it.

On our last full day, friends of my Grandpawrents came to stay for a few days. To celebrate, we went to get ice cream. I wasn't allowed inside, so Mommy waited with me. They had a huge yard with a teepee skeleton in the middle, so Mom took my picture.

They also had a totem pole, but I was too excited for ice cream! Daddy did actually give me a few licks. Yummy!

When we got home, everyone ate dinner and then some friends came from down the beach to visit. We had a deck full with 8 humans and two puppy dogs!

The coolest part was the present Grandma and Grandpaw gave me. They just got back from a cruise to Alaska and one of the things they did was visit Happy Trails Kennels, home of Martin Buser, 4-time Iditarod musher winner! They got to meet puppies in training, learn more about the race (including the fact that Martin wins lots of Humanitarian Awards because of the condition of his sled dogs when they reach check-points and are inspected by independent V-E-Ts), and even see a training race! They got me an authentic bootie worn by one of Martin's dogs in the Iditarod (Rachel).

Rachel's info card

Me modeling the bootie. Mom says I probably don't have a future as a sled dog based on my less than excited reaction!

We had a great vacation, but I'm glad to be home with my people. I missed my couch and I don't eat well when I'm not at home. But the smells in Canada are amazing! We even saw what we think was a moose track in the sand one day (way too big to be a deer). And I now own all of Canada...well at least Batchawana Bay!

Christmas Recap

Hi friends!


Sorry it's been so long. Mom got very busy with work and Christmas, plus I didn't have much going on. But now it's the day after Christmas and let's just say best. Weekend. EVER!!!!!  We celebrate 2 Christmases, one with Mom's family and one with Dad's. This year, we celebrated first with Mom's side and spent "calendar Christmas" with Dad's family. We left after Dad got home from that work place to go to Tennessee. We got in late, but Grandma was very happy to see me.  She even baked me treats like she brought for Thanksgiving. I'm kind of talking her into getting a dog. I'm not sure how I'll feel about another dog stealing my grandma though. I have enough of that with The Thing.  But her kitty cats like me and I don't pay much attention to them, so she's thinking about it. Grandpaw was happy to see me too. I even let him take me on a W-A-L-K one evening, just us. Usually I look and look for Mom, but not this time!

Waiting for Santa Paws

Anyway, Santa Paws dropped a couple of presents early. I got an antler, chewies, and a puzzle game (it has places for treats and the people cover them up and you have to figure out how to move the covers to get the treats. I'm awesome at it). Mom opened the antler when we got home and I love it! She's read up on them and thinks they'll be a safer option than the bones I usually get. I also had a big time burying and finding my chewies. I took one and hid it several times. Then I ate it all up and forgot, so I kept looking in the hiding spots. At least, I think I ate it up. Hey Grandma's kitty cats, if you find my chewy, it's mine!

The tree (and Mommy) at Grandma and Grandpa's

Barbara and Charlie (two of Grandma's kitty cats) inspecting Christmas

Christmas is so tiring!

Grandma and Grandpaw left their house to go visit my Aunt Melanie in Florida. We hung out for a little bit and then packed up and headed back to Kentucky, except we didn't go home. We only rode a little bit and stopped in a town called Bowling Green. We got to stay in Mr. Holiday's hotel! I love hotels because there are so many smells. Our room even had a full length window, so I could look out at all the trees to water. The only thing I hated was the Lelevator. And I had to ride the terrible thing a lot. Boo. Dad took video, so I'll try to get it on here later and show you just how terrible the thing is.

The Mister window

I love hotels!

You can't tell just how flat I am on the ground in the Lelevator, but I got flatter each time I had to ride that thing.

Anyway, we went to Bowling Green because Daddy had to work there on Christmas Eve. Mom and I hung out, then ran an errand and met him at the office, which was across the street from Mr. Holiday's hotel.  I worked very hard and there's talk of giving me a raise! Then a little girl came in to pick up her mommy and I didn't like her. She was very nice, but I didn't like her petting me. Mom said Santa Paws wouldn't come visit, so I apologized, but Mom said the little girl should pet me since I was being so grumpy.

I'm working very hard

After Dad was done working, we went to Mawmaw's house! It's the only place better than Grandma's house. Mawmaw and Grandma both sneak me treats and food. The only bad part was I had to put up with The Thing. By the end though, we were almost getting along. I still didn't like how he was always trying to play with me, but I growled and we played chase. The best part was I'd get bored running in circles, so I'd go off somewhere, but The Thing would keep running and had no idea I wasn't playing anymore. And he wonders why I think he's a dummy.

Uncle Ryan and The Thing and Mawmaw

Helping cook breakfast

Anyway, Santa Paws found me at Mawmaw's house, too. I got lots of treats. Mom made me share one with The Thing. And I did, since it was Christmas. Earning points for next year. After lunch and naps, we packed up again and came home.

Christmas is tiring here, too

The Thing playing with Flat Dog Mom made me I gave him

Me and The Thing

Save me Dad!

Now Mom's off all the rest of the week, so we're going to do all kinds of cuddling and snacking. I'm so excited!

Human Mysteries and Airplanes

Hi friends! I hope everyone is enjoying their Lenten time. So far, I'm rocking my idea of giving up baths! I don't know why everyone thinks giving something up is hard.

Anyway, we had a great weekend around here. Lots of napping and laying around and my people tell me how adorable I am. We even took a surprise trip last night to Fro-Jos. I had to wait in the car (boo), but I do love a car ride!

Today I helped Mom out in the yard. And by helped, I mean I laid in the sun, sniffed stuff and then peed on it, and looked at Mom while she pulled stuff out of the flower bed. Hey, how come when I mess around in the flower bed I get yelled at, but when Mom does it, it's called "weeding"? Just one of the many mysteries of humans, I guess.

Oh well. I hope everyone has a great Monday. We're waking up early tomorrow to take Daddy to the airplane launch pad. He has to go to St. Louis for boring work stuff, so Mom and I are going to stay here. We're going to have lots of fun, like car rides for dinner and letting me sleep in the big bed (you hear that, Mom? I'm sleeping in Dad's spot!). I'd miss Daddy if there's a thunderstorm. I better go check the weather!

Lost Mommy and New Years

This is my first post of the new year! Nothing feels different for me though, so I have no idea what all of that means. Mom says sometimes people make resolutions for things they want to do for the new year. Hmm...I'm pretty awesome already. There's not much to change! So I guess I resolve to nap more and to be even more excited to go on walks. Those both sound do-able.

This year didn't start off so great though. I thought I lost my mommy! I looked and looked and looked for her all night Friday and couldn't find her anywhere! All I could find was That Daddy Guy. She wasn't even home that morning! Luckily, That Daddy Guy was here. I finally decided to stop looking for Mommy so much and laid down. Daddy was pretty proud of that. After 500 millionty-thousand years (which was Sunday), Mommy finally came home! Turns out she went to Grandma and Grandpa's (and without me! The nerve!) and they all went to the Liberty Bowl in Memphis. She said I wouldn't have liked it, but Memphis is famous for barbeque, so I think would have liked it just fine, thank you. Oh well. She's home now and my world is going back to normal, just how I like it!

Thanksgiving

Wow! This has been the best weekend EVER! I knew there was a reason Thanksgiving was my favorite holiday. As I mentioned, my grandma, grand-paw, and great-grandma all came to my house. Then we all went to Daddy's grandparents' house. I had a big weekend, so I've got lots of pictures to share.

Of course, I helped Mawmaw and Pawpaw in the kitchen as much as possible

I even threw in a "sit" just for good measure. It worked, too. Pawpaw gave me lots of little turkey pieces.

There were two other puppy dogs there and I didn't like when they tried to chase me. This was my home base and they knew not to bug me there!

Daddy protecting me from the other dogs

Me and my mom

Me and Grand-paw (on Dad's side)

Grandma (on Dad's side) giving me part of her dessert

This is everyone. On the couch is Aunt Reva, Sadie and Barker, Uncle Ryan, Daddy, me, Mommy, and Great (on mom's side). Standing is Grandpaw and Grandma (on Mom's side), Mawmaw (on Dad's side), Uncle Rick, Grandma and Grandpaw and Pawpaw (on Dad's side). That's a lot of sides...I think I ran out of paws counting all that!

This is Grandma (Mom's side) giving me belly rubs the rest of the weekend. Yes please and thank you. I even let Grandpaw (Mom's side) pet on me. Not much, but he was excited.

The fun didn't stop there. On Saturday, Daddy's football team, the Kentucky Wild(kitty)cats beat Tennessee. I didn't understand for a long time why everyone was yelling and everyone on TV was crying. They should be happy! Well, Dad explained that Kentucky had not won since Mommy was 8 months old. She's like, a thousand millonty years old now, so that's a long time. The people were crying because they were so happy and never thought they'd win. Humans are weird. On my walk that evening, I had to wear my bandana to celebrate!

The bad news was Mommy's team lost, so that made her sad, but I cheered her up by giving her lots of kisses. Mommy is lucky to have me.

Now that the turkey is eaten, it's time for Christmas. I think instead of one week-long series, I'll just post tips as they come up.

Family Reunion

Hi friends!

Sorry for the silence lately. We've been very busy around here. This was the greatest weekend ever! I finally got to go back to Grandma's house! Usually, when the people bring out the duffel bag, that means we go there. But lately, we've been going every where else. That makes me sad because both my grandma's spoil me even more than Mom and Dad.

We went to Grandma's because Daddy had a family reunion. The best part? Well, besides the neighborhood kitties that hung out on Grandma's porch (which I didn't really pay attention to at all), was that I ended up being invited! Since it was being held inside a church, Mom and Dad thought I wouldn't be allowed and would have to stay in my crate at my great-grandma's. Phooey on that. I still had to hang out in my crate, but only when the 2-legged puppies started to arrive and while everyone was eating.

Me in my crate :(

How many humans does it take to figure out the oven?

The delicious smelling food. Mawmaw snuck me some ham when they were cleaning up. So I can verify that it tasted delicious, too!

Everyone going through the line

Standing around after and taking pictures

The older puppies decided to play some ball

Me and my mommy

No weekend is complete without my morning big bed snuggles!

My mom and dad were very proud of me this weekend. I only whined a little bit in my crate and that was when everyone was filling their plates. I just wanted to make sure they saved me some! I don't have a lot of experience with 2-legged puppies, so my parents watched me and them very carefully. They all were pretty nice about gentle hands and loving on my side and not the top of my head. One liked to chase me, but when I actually hid, they made him stop.

The best story was when we got back to Grandma's. Well, maybe not the best, because I puked once we got home. Everyone was so proud of me, I got a lot of pretzels...maybe a few too many :) But no. The best part was Mom and I were laying on Uncle Ryan's bed and Dad and Uncle Ryan were hanging out with us. Mom looked over and saw a mouse. She directed Dad and Uncle Ryan to where it was and they watched and saw it too. That's when Grandpa got a trap out. He put peanut butter on it to catch the mouse. I wasn't allowed to have any. Boo. I guess it's because I puked a little before. Mom was proud of me again because during all of the commotion, I never even tried to chase it...or even really noticed it. In the morning, Grandpa said the mouse was gone. That's sad. I would have liked to bring him home for a pet!