Happy New Year! Woof! Woof!

We woof season's greetings to all dogs (and my special people friends too)!

New Year's eve was filled with some excitement in our house primarily because of Dad's new hair cut. Bow wow did mom ever shave dad close. Looks like the razor got away from mom before finally getting it under control. We were there when mom said, "Oops" and dad said, "Really!!!!" Here's a picture to show you exactly what we mean.

Dad talked about trying to hide the buzz with a big bandage so he could claim some injury or operation as the cause. Bob suggested he just buzz it completely off, but dad doesn't want that bald appearance any sooner than it will come naturally. Mom tried to fix things up the best she could, but there is still evidence of severe trauma.

Dad has started wearing one of grandpa Gardner's old hats around the house. It hides the buzz and looks cool. We like it! We got to wear the hat and we look cool too!

Naptime Bliss

This picture speaks for itself!

Drying Off ...

Every now and then Mom and Dad give us a shower. I don't like it and Duncan likes it even less ... he doesn't like getting wet at all (he's such a sissy!). Water is fun to splash in, drink, or maybe in the summer time to play in, but when it comes to taking a shower ... leave me out. I try to run and hide but Dad always seems to find me and bring me back.

Mom wets me down and then rubs this froo froo smelling stuff all over my body. I endure, sometimes patiently, until Mom rinses me clean. Then Dad does his best to dry me off, but it's never enough so I have to finish the job myself. I find that the best tool for drying off is that big pile of blankets that Mom and Dad sleep on each night. It doesn't move when you rub against it and its soft. Dad took a few pictures of Duncan and I as we demonstrate the process ... I hope you enjoy!

Santa's Helpers

We love the Christmas time of year. There's always something going on and there seems to be no end of things to sniff out, chew up, or sleep on. This year is a little different from last because Dad has been out in his "man-cave" alot and that means that we get to go out into the man-cave too. I like to sneak in while Dad is concentrating on his work and see what I can find to chew on. The garbage can usually has lots of little sticks of wood that I can take into the living room and chew into a bazillion pieces. Dakota lets me do most of the destruction around the house, but she has been known to lend a hand when she's bored.

Take the other day for example, I got into a lot of trouble for destroying Dad's wallet. I just couldn't help myself. Dad left it out on the fireplace hearth and while he was napping, I had a little quiet time to reflect and manducate (that's a fancy word for chew!). Dad says I'm lucky to be alive and that I didn't manducate the credit cards...What's a credit card? And yes, I do feel lucky to be alive, especially living with Mom and Dad.

I've especially been proud of Dad lately for the way in which he is making lots of little tiny sticks out of those bigger pieces that he has. He's got cool gadgets for cutting, sanding, and drilling and all of them make lots of wood chips and saw dust. Dakota and I should call him the "destroyer"!

Dad recently showed Mom a hole in a piece of wood that he had drilled. It looked funny to Mom and even to us too because it was very crooked. (I probably could have done better myself if Dad would just let me try out his tools, but then it would be nice to have an opposing thumb!) Mom said he could go get a brand new drill press to help him with his crooked hole problem. Curtis Martin, Dakota's boy friend, helped Dad bring home the new "beast" and I decided to have Dad take a picture so you can see it. When Dad turns that thing on I just like to stand back and watch the chips fly.

I've been helping Dad in the man-cave too. He says he's helping Santa. He takes those little sticks and pieces of wood that he makes and glues them together into some pretty strange shapes. He's been making a lot of those weird things for the grand kids for Christmas. I hope they like them because I sure don't have a clue what they're going to do with them. They are a little to big to fit in your mouth and Dad sprayed some kind of stuff on them to make them shiny. Those things don't taste or smell good any more. Dad seems to think that Santa will be pleased with his efforts.

Hey, if Dad is helping Santa make stuff for Christmas and Dad is Santa's helper, and if I am helping Dad make Christmas goodies, doesn't that make me Santa's helper too? It's a good question to reflect upon ... now where is Mom's wallet!

We're So Glad When Parents Come Home!

I think you can tell that when our parents return home after a long vacation, we're very glad to see them...very, very, very, very glad to see them. Let the treats and treating begin anew!

And if my sister is very lucky, and stops jumping and biting me, I may share some of my cookies with her ... maybe.

Breakfast of Champions

[Dakota writes] I'm a little embarrassed by my picture in this entry because my hair looks so shaggy ... but I just had to submit a note about our daily breakfast routine. It all starts when dad pours a bowl of yummy cereal with milk. He then goes into the dinning room, and after a short moment of closing eyes, folding arms, and some muttering, begins to eat. Sometimes it seems like dad just doesn't get it--we are here waiting for our breakfast too!

So, just to make sure that dad knows he needs to feed us as well, I gently, ever so gently, stand up, put my paw on his arm and nudge him. Just like in the photo. That usually gets his attention enough for me to use my beautiful brown eyes and long eye lashes on him. That always works! No sooner do I give him the look, than he puts a morsel of cereal on the spoon and feeds both me and my brother, Duncan. We really like the cereal morsels, but our favorite part is at the end, when all the little squares of Autumn Harvest cereal are gone. Dad always shares the remaining milk with us. It's a challenge sometimes for both Duncan and I to get our noses (and tongues) into the bowl at the same time, but so far we've been pretty successful. So that's how we start our days right ... thanks dad!

Sunset's in the Land of Enchantment

Greetings dog lovers! Duncan and I have been watching Mom and Dad work outside a lot lately, so we thought we'd share a photo of a one of New Mexico's magnificent sunset's that we enjoyed recently. Cool eh?

Can you believe it, Mom and Dad forgot our birthday this year .... uh! Last year Dad made us a real birthday dinner with real human food. We loved it, but this year nothing. We tried to give them hints, but somehow they just seemed too busy to catch on. Especially Mom, she was always sticking her nose in some book (can't image what she was trying to smell...I couldn't smell anything but old paper) or waving sticks in the air. Dad says that she was studying for some big tests, but since we've never studied, we're not sure what Dad is really trying to tell us. Anyway, Mom's peculiar activities have mostly stopped now and things seem a lot calmer. Mom has even taken us on walks with Dad lately. I think she's alot happier now...

Well, she would be alot happier if she hadn't stepped on a rake yesterday. We were kind of dozing in the sun when we heard a loud "whack" followed by a painful groan that sound like "ow". A few minutes later we got a good look at Mom's head and noticed a large, round, bump on her forehead. Where did that come from? Poor Mom ... eventually the pain will fade, but the embarrassment may hang around a bit longer ... sorry.