The Dog Days of Summer

Today is definitely a lazy summer day. Just take a look at these two and see how energized they are...not! Not much going on on the human end either, although I find it amusing that I can put on a clean shirt when I get up and have dribble all over it within half an hour. Is it coffee?? Gosh, let's hope! I have an excuse to be a train wreck today - it's Sunday, and I don't have to work tomorrow!!! So if I want to drool or dribble all over myself, who cares??

We are thinking of heading to PetsMart for some turtle and cat food (that is if I feel energetic enough to change my dribble clothes). Of course, the Kids would want to come along. Just a word of warning to ANYONE who shops in pet-friendly stores.....NEVER BUY ANYTHING FROM THE BOTTOM SHELF!! Why? There is a very strong probability that Digby and a thousand other dogs have "marked" it as their own! That goes for the toys, food, clothing...heck, even an empty shelf will do! On second thought, maybe we should let them "rest" quietly at home!

Oh, and the little blue pool that we bought for Digby and Prinnie to cool off in this summer?? Well, it's become the biggest water dish in the neighborhood.

As for us, maybe a Starbucks Frappuchino will help get us going.........

'Pigs' Gets Equal Time

Peanut Butter was feeling a bit blue today, so we asked her what was up. She had alot of stories about how she doesn't get to write in the blog, and that we post 10 pictures of Digby and Prinnie to her one. So I guess she is feeling slighted. In light of that, TODAY IS "PIGGY" DAY!!! This is her turn to shine, so with tap shoes on her paws and a brimmed hat on her head, here is Peanut Butter's/Pigs story:

"OK, do you want to know the TRUTH about what happened when my brother and sister went to doggie camp?? Well, let me tell you! First, they were bouncing all around like those mexican jumping beans before they got their harnesses on. Then they flew out the door so fast that they left a big storm of fur in their wake, without EVEN saying bye bye to me!! Geez, I had to go around the WHOLE house and vacuum up all the dog hair after everyone left so that I would have a nice place to rest my tuckered little body without having to inhale that nasty doggie hair.

After I took my nap, I went to the kitchen and made myself a little sandwich of cat nip and grass (on whole wheat of course). Ah, the peace and quite was remarkable! No doggies barking and jumping, no mommy yelling for them to "park it" or "leave it", no listening to them try to sing with mommy to the music on the ipod (THANK GOD!), and no worrying if they'd try to chase me as I walked across the floor.

A few hours passed, then a few more! Purrfect time for another nap. I perched myself in one of my baby beds on a nightstand upstairs where I have a primo spot to watch the birdies out the window. It was hot out, so the birdies were hiding I think. I watched for a while till I dozed off into a wonderfully quiet, restful sleep.

I woke up peacefully, stretched a bit, and decided I would show everyone how grateful they should be to have me. I mopped the floors, did the dishes, cleaned the bathrooms (after getting a nice long drink from the potty), and folded the laundry. I'm too little to carry it upstairs, but it is the thought that counts, right??

After all that work, it was time for another nap. Do kitties have a minimum wage law?? Anyhow, I drifted off to sleep with some Yanni music playing in the background. It must have played fully through because instead of the soft, comforting music, I awoke to this horrendous noise! I jumped straight up to all fours, and went to investigate. What on earth could it be, I thought?? An earthquake? No. An avalanche? No. Crap!!!!! It was brother and sister coming home!! They were so besides themselves that they tore into my NICE CLEAN HOUSE with no regard, flew to the kitchen, begged for a treat, and then proceeded to chase me through the house!

Not a word of THANKS, not an acknowledgement that the house HAD looked great, nothing! Nada! My life as I wished it was over, and my life as I knew it was back! And THAT is the REAL story about what happened the day that those two furry monsters went to camp!!

We Went to Camp!!

Here's a little story from Prinnie and Digby about their day at Camp Bow Wow yesterday while we went to the Padres game. Each one wanted to blog about it, and as most siblings do, they battled for who would get to tell their version of the story first, so we drew straws. We have an inkling that their stories MIGHT just be a little different!! Digby won the draw, so here he is...

"Herro everybody....Yesterday, me and sister (the little white one) got to go to day camp while our parents went somewhere. I think they said they were going to the moon, but I don't 'member exactly. Oh, maybe WE were going to the moon. Well, anyhow, they pulled out our harnesses early in the morning, which means we get to go for a car ride. Don't tell the other doggies, but they make us get buckled in the back seat cuz they are afraid we'll go splat if they stop too fast, or something like that. So we got bucked up, and off we went. We got to Camp Bow Wow, and I was excited. Sister was jumping all over me trying to get out of the car first. Boy she can be a bully. When we got in the door, I knew I had been there before. Nice people petted me, but then I remembered how scared sister was last time we were here, so I tugged on mommy to let us go to PetsMart instead. Sister ran back to the door and was wailing and pawing to get out. Mommy got sister from the door and kept talking to the Mrs. and didn't even listen to me. Then they made me and sister go out with the other doggies in the little doggy play area. How embarrassing...I'm not little! I'm a big boy. Boy did I like it there, they fed us lunch and dinner and had us take naps after we ate. I was a brave boy and protected my sister the whole time."

Now it's Prinnie's turn. Two kids, same experience, totally different stories. Here she is...

"My parents are meanies. They went somewhere fun without me. I don't know where they went, but they were all happy about it. But it's OK because I like to have jobs to do and boy did I have a big one yesterday. I had to keep reassuring brother that he was OK. We both love car rides, so the ride to Camp Bow Wow was lots of fun. But when we got there, I could tell that brother wanted to leave. I wanted to stay, but I thought that if brother wanted to leave, I'd help him get back out the front door. So I went to the door to try to get it to open (I wasn't wailing like brother says). Once we got back with the other doggies, I had my work cut out for me. Brother was a big chicken and wanted to hang out in the corner. I had to take brother around and introduce him to the other doggies and I had to keep reassuring him that we were at a fun place and there were no monsters there. But I could tell that the other doggies wanted me to play with them too, so I had to run around with them a little, then go back to brother to reassure him that he was OK, then go play with the other doggies then back to brother. The whole gazillion hours that we were there I had to keep doing that. Even when it was nap time, I didn't get to sleep because brother was still scared. Boy, was I exhausted when we got home! But I was rucky because we got home just in time, and I had just enough energy to watch for my spaceships before I crashed for the night"

Happy Monday

How can you not smile on a Monday when you see this little face staring at you??

Dolphins and Whales Galore!!! What a Day!!!

What an incredible day we had!!! As we shared with you on Thursday, we were heading out yesterday to Dana Point to go on a dolphin and whale watching trip. We go as often as we can, but these incredible animals never cease to impress and amaze us.

But before we get to the actual trip, we have to tell you about this really cool sailing instructor who saw us taking a picture of Tiki Boy in the harbor. She asked what he was and what on earth we were doing; so we explained the story. She immediately said "Well, Tiki Boy needs to learn how to sail, doesn't he?" We looked at each other, shrugged our shoulders in agreement and said "Sure!". So she grabbed Tiki Boy, and off we headed to the dock. First she asked how old Tiki Boy was. We said he was about 2 weeks old. She replied "Ok, then he needs a children's life vest....can't go on the dock without a life vest". She picked up a life vest and placed Tiki Boy safely inside.

As we got to the dock, she approached two young sailing instructees who were maybe around 9 or 10 years old. She asked them if they would take Tiki Boy out in their sail boat with them. Of course, these poor kids looked at all of us as if we were nuts, but they shyly agreed. After about 5 minutes sailing away, the guardian boy of Tiki Boy yelled back to us that Tiki Boy was scared. He then began talking to Tiki Boy, saying "It's o.k. Tiki Boy". Just too adorable. Tiki Boy was brought back safely to shore, and off we headed to OUR boat. Sad that a piece of wood got to go out on the water before we did!!!

Our group headed out on the larger catamaran that is now part of the fleet of Captain Dave's Dolphin Safari. Wow, that boat can fly!!! Anyhow, just about 2.5 miles off the coast, we came upon our first whale...a Blue Whale...the largest mammal on the planet. And boy was he big. The captain estimated him to be about 80 feet long, or the equivalent of a 10 story building. We watched him for about 45 minutes or so. We were able to tell where the whale was surfacing by the spray of water from his blow hole just before he surfaced. Then we would see his back slide along the surface as he moved back below the surface. Some times he would do this three or four times, then stay down for 5 to 10 minutes, then off in the distance we would see the tell tale spray and race over in that direction to catch up with him. It was amazing how close we were able to get.

After some time, someone in our group spotted another blow spray in a different direction, so we headed over to watch a Fin Whale. Fin Whales are not as big as the Blues, but just as amazing to watch. We watched him surface and go back under several times before heading off to look for dolphins. Unfortunately, neither of them showed their tale this trip. Captain Dave told us that Blues and Fins only show their tails about twenty percent of the time.

As we were cruising along, closer to shore, we could see what looked like white caps. As we got near, it was clear that what we were seeing was about 650 dolphins swimming and leaping. There were also hundreds of Pelicans diving into the water and sitting on the surface. Captain Dave explained that when the Dolphins feed, they stir fish up to the surface and the Pelicans feed on them. Several of the Dolphins played with our catamaran by racing along next to, in front of and under us. We saw Dolphins come towards the side of the boat, then turn to line up with us and stay along side for quite a distance before zooming off.

After playing with the Dolphins for a while, we headed back to shore. On the way, we had one more surprise. Floating near the surface was this large round white flat object. It was an Ocean Sun Fish. At first, S thought it was either dead or dying. Don't dead fish float on their sides? Then it started swimming. It turns out that it was just sunning itself just below the surface, hence the name Sun Fish.

After spending over two hours out in the ocean, we were treated to brownies as we headed back to the harbor. Usually K hands hers off to S because, out on the water, the thought of food wants to make her barf. But this time K wore these little wrist bands that combat sea sickness and they worked like a charm. No extra brownie for S.

We took 577 pictures, but here are a few of our favorites from this incredible day for you to enjoy.

Here's Lookin' At You, Kid!

Just some silly pictures from tonight.....

I Got To Chase The Kitty!!!!!

Hi everyone!!! Prinnie here!!! Mom said that I could FINALLY write my own blog post tonight. Roof! Roof! Roof!!!!!!!!!! Know how I got her to say I could?? I jump on her, lick her and bark at her every night, but she always says I am too small to sit at the computer. So I pulled off Mom's laptop from the stand, put it on the floor (I think it fell, but Mom didn't see it, so don't tell her, ok?), and here I am!! I just got my nails clipped, ya know, so I think I can type real good.

Mom said I could tell you about how good I was the other night, and how I helped rescue the kitty (my bratty sister) when she got out. She's not like me and my brother. We get to go outside all the time. Sister can't. She has to stay in the house and look out the dumb windows. B...o...r...i...n...g!

Anyway, Pigs (that's what we all call the kitty even though her name is Peanut Butter ----who thought of THAT name???) snuck outside when Digby and I were coming in from our "last outs". That's when me and brother have to go out and pee pee before we get to snuggle up in our caves and the family goes nite nite. It was real late, and it was really dark outside. Mom and Mommy went out searching for her with flashlights, but they couldn't find her. Then Mom said "Prinnie, go find the kitty and get her in the house". "Yahoo", I shouted!!! I had a chore to do, and I FINALLY got to chase the kitty without getting in trouble and having to go to that dumb "time out".

Mom followed me out, but she couldn't keep up with me. Mommy was in some far away place looking...I think they call it a garage. I turned right, looked by our Baby Barn.......nothing. I turned and looked at Mom and said "Nope, not there". I checked one more time. Still nothing. Then I ran across the patio to the other side of the house and down by the place where Mommy was. I knew I'd find Piggy cuz I could smell her real good. Just then, the dumb kitty peaked out from behind a trash can. "Ah ha", I screeched! "My chance to chase you and show my family just how smart I am", I thought. So I began to chase the kitty down the side of the house, but she is fast. So I had to kick it up a few speeds and get ahead of her to corral her toward the back door so she wouldn't go out into MY yard.

I think Mom said her eyes were big as saucers. I don't know what that means, but I knew I was doing good! Mom looked happy. So I kept chasing the kitty right into the house, and then I blocked the door so she couldn't get back out. Mom yelled for Mommy that I had gotten the kitty in, and they both came in. Mom started telling Mommy how incredible I was. They picked me up in their arms, and hugged and kissed me....alot!!! Yucky people kisses, but I think they were real proud of me. Then the best part was that Mom and Mommy gave me a treat for doing a good job. They gave brother one too, and all he did was stand there looking dumb. Go figure!

P.S. Don't tell my family, but I really do love the kitty. I just want them to think I don't.

Camp Bow Wow or Nanny Cam.....

OK you animal lovers, we're looking for some feed back on this one. You've all read by now that we are going to Hawaii in a few months in celebration of Shar's birthday this past month. A part of the planning process any time we travel always includes the question "What will we do with our "kids"?". This trip is no different.

We began planning early this time....first by exploring all of the valley's best pet resorts. We've been through the interview process at Camp Bow Wow in Temecula and they've been accepted. Geez, it was like trying to get your baby into some prestigious preschool. We had to give referrals, bring in their vet records, be interviewed with our dogs, then the dogs had to stay and be evaluated for three hours. We liked that they are selective about which dogs they will let in because we feel secure that our "babies" won't be left with aggressive dogs and come home battered from a dog fight. We also like that they have a "Camper Cam" so that we can check in on them during our travels. BUT, their "Cabins" turned out to be nothing more than cages on a cement floor. The outdoor play area, while equipped with little dogie pools and ramps for them to climb on, has no grassy area what so ever. It's all sand and gravel. During their 3 hour evaluation, we watched on the Camper Cam from home. While Prinnie ventured out to check things out, Digby stayed huddled in the corner and watched the other dogs from afar. Their rates are right in line with other pet boarding places, but they only take dogs, which would leave our Peanutbutter home alone while we're gone.

Today, we bought a "nanny cam" because typically, when we go away, we leave "the kids" home with our awesome neighbor kids and their mom who coming in to feed, water and play with them several times a day. We know we're pitiful, but we bought the nanny cam because if we decide to go the route of leaving them home instead of boarding, we get to see our kids from Hawaii. The neighbors are truly the greatest and we would plan to pay them about what we would pay a boarding place. Our kids love them and are always happy to see them. But, they are a busy family with the kids in school, sports and social lives and we worry that having to look after our animals would be a huge imposition, especially now that we have our hyper active Prinnie.

So what do ya think? Camp Bow Wow or nanny cam?

The Kids Get a Haircut...

Today was grooming day at our house!

"I am SO not happy about this, Prinnie!!"

"Yea, you look like a mutt, but aren't I adorable?"

Let Me Wake Up Please...

We definitely are not, repeat not, morning people, so on weekends we like to sleep in. Our neighbors have been trained not to knock on our door or call on the phone if the morning paper is still in the drive way. Our friends and relatives have been trained not to call us until we've at least had our morning Starbucks, which would be late morning. For years they've known that not to follow this rule, they risk being greeted by the worst grouches ever.

So here's our dilemma: How do we train our "kids" to differentiate between a work day and a weekend day? Do they not get it that it's in their best interest to let us sleep in a little? Do they not get it that we can't put together a two word sentence until we've had our cup of Jove? Oh no, of course not! As soon as the sun peeks over the horizon, Prinnie starts whining and pawing at her kennel door, Digby sits at the side of the bed and stares at K and Peanutbutter (who I swear gains a hundred pounds overnight) starts walking all over our bodies, pawing at our hands and sniffing our faces.

Now, I think Prinnie can tell the difference between a week night and weekend night. Why? Because, all week long she pees up a storm during her "last outs" of the night. But, I'll be darned if on Friday night she suddenly doesn't have to go potty during last outs. We'll stand outside for what feels like an hour waiting for her to do her thing and all she does is walk along the edge of the patio, then chase God knows what in the grass, then go to the door like she's saying "OK let's go in, I'm done."

Today, Saturday, was a mandated "shopping" day, so we picked up what we hope might help us in our training class for the "kids"......a neon sign that K hung on the back yard fence that comes on when doggies go out for the final sniff-fest of the night. It reads "PEE NOW OR DIE AT SUNRISE". I think it might work.....once we train them how to read!!!

For our lil' Eileen...

Happy Tuesday everyone! Not too much to report here....no earthquakes, no hurricanes, and of course, still no rain. Who'da thought that us reformed New Yorkers would wish for rain?? It's hard to justify complaining about gorgeous sunny days, when for years we lived in either extreme cold, snow, icy conditions or the scorching heat of the southwest desert. But a little rain now and then would be nice! We're practicing a new rain dance (and that is ONE SCARY SITE!!!) to help bring that liquid gold here to So Cal. Maybe it's back to the "kids" pool after all!!

This flower is for you, lil' Eileen! We love you!

A Cloud In The Sky...

As we were driving away from our house yesterday, we saw these really weird clouds. Maybe they were weird because we hardly ever have clouds. I know, what a sad story for those of you that so rarely ever see a full blue sky. Anyhow, we thought they were odd enough to take a few pictures of.









This formation of clouds looks to have a hole in it. It actually looked better in person, but you get the
jist.

This is just an odd picture that we thought was intriging of an outdoor fan and it's shadow that we have on our patio.

Pup's Pool Update

Well, we were hopeful. Isn't that what a parent is when they buy their kid that perfect toy?? Seems like our "kids" weren't too fond of their new pool after all. I mean, what did we do wrong?

The water had hours to warm up to a nice 75 degrees, the placement on the concrete meant their little paws wouldn't get filled with mud or grass, they wouldn't have to share with the neighbors "kids".....geez, what more could a kid want??

Treats! All they wanted was treats!! Go in the water? No way - not without a treat. Digby got the hang of it pretty easily, first going after one of his favorite balls, and then....the treats! Prinnie, on the other hand, was stedfast in her determination to get the treat...WITHOUT going in the water. That dog can run circles for days in hopes of creating a moment of weakness by the treat holder (mommy).

We even tried "showing" them how to use it. All to no avail! But all is not lost. Maybe we can use their pool to practice our snorkeling for when we head off to Hawaii this fall.

The New Pool...

OK, so the "kids" were bored today. It was a typical hot summer day for this time of year, right about 100 degrees. We, on the other hand, were lazily hanging out in the air conditioned house. But wait....it's Saturday - the law in our house is that we MUST go shopping each weekend day, and yep, this was a weekend day.

So other than the "have to's" and "we really shouldn't, but...'s" of shopping, we had to get some turtle and cat food. With Starbuck Frappacino's in hand, off we head to PetsMart. What do we see as soon as we get in there (beyond the gazillion animals that S is forbidden to look at)? Yep, that's right, a doggy pool. Probably actually just a smaller version of those plastic kiddy pools back in the day (you know, the days LONGGGGG ago).

"Ah perfect" we both shout at the same time, ignoring all the other people looking at us in the store. Yes, we NEED this pool for the dogs, we both agree. Somewhere deep in our psyche, we ALL know that the pool is for two overgrown moose who long for the days of sitting in those metal tubs that we thought were the best swimming pools in the world! So grabbing this blue little pool, off we head.

We get home, and fill it up. Well, almost up. Don't want the dogs to drown. We HAVE to show the dogs how to step in it. How would they know? They've never had a real pool before, we both say! But wait - the water is cold. "Poor things, they can't go in this water", I screech! So the obvious thing for a mom to do is to "test the waters", right? Right!

We decided that it takes TWO adults to test the water! One, and then the other. Hmmm, not sure if it's ok for the dogs yet. Better wait until tomorrow, we both say in unison.

So here we are...the day is winding down, and our dogs have a new pool! Stay tuned tomorrow to see how much they like it, and how much the adults have to "show them" how to use it!!!

UPDATE

Site Meter is up and running - as of right now, at least!!! Great news for all of us monitoring geeks!

Technology...UGH!!!!!

OK, so it seems like we are back up and running, but apologies to all who have tried to log in to our blog and had problems today. Apparently, one of our widgets, Site Meter, crashed today as they were beginning to update their system. For some stupid reason, it caused many of us using Internet Explorer 7 to be blocked from accessing our blogs. We love that dumb widget, but have hopes that it will be up and running in a few days (or maybe it's just wishful desires from this blogger junkie).

Regardless, it is maddening when technology doesn't work like we want it to. But after the drama, it's kinda funny to look back at how a perfectly normal adult (no comments!!!!) one minute can turn into a fire breathing dragon screaming at inanimate objects the next!