Visiting Grandma and Grandpa!

Mom surprised me Saturday morning with a trip to see Grandma and Grandpa! We haven't gone there in a long time 'cause Mom had the flu and our car was broken before then. That meant that I hadn't gotten to see my grandparents in a long, long time. I was SO excited when Mom told me we were going.

We actually went to visit my Uncle Matt and Aunt Kiana before we went to Grandma and Grandpa's house. My dog cousin Dakota lives there, along with some of my people cousins. The baby people cousin was so funny. He kept squealing really loud and laughing when I walked by him. He did that over and over again. It was funny. Mom said he really likes me. She helped him pet me a couple of times, but she was super careful -- she didn't want him to pull my fur. I didn't want that, either!

So we visited them and then went to Grandma and Grandpa's house. Guess who showed up right after we got there? Hossy and Uncle Weenie (a.k.a. Uncle Marty)! Hoss is my buddy. We played in the backyard for a while and everyone stayed outside watching us. Then we went inside and hung out there for a while. Mom's Uncle Barton and Aunt Ginny came by to visit, too. Haven't seen them in a long, long time. Uncle Barton was a weenie, though, 'cause he meowed at me like Uncle Marty does!

I may or may not have had a little accident in the living room during our visit. Shhh. Don't tell.

It was a long day of visiting, and I was super-duper tired when we left to drive home. I was sound asleep on Mom's lap on the way home and I had another dream about peeing on trees. Yeah...I did it again... I peed on Mom in the car. Oops! At least she can't get mad at me for that. I didn't mean to do it. I was asleep!

10 Things about Me

I read my friend Shawnee's blog today and saw that she passed on a passer-on thing to me! Here's the passer-on thing...it's this picture...

So what I'm supposed to do now is to write 10 things about myself. Shouldn't be too hard to do since I'm one of my favorite subjects...right up there with meat, of course.

1. I'll start with my family. It's Mom and I. I'm an only-child and she's an only-Mom. I like it this way, though, 'cause that means that I don't have to share her and she doesn't have to share me. I've got a really cool Grandma and Grandpa, too. (Grandma actually bought me my very own bag of Cheetos. She rocks!) I've got several dog cousins. Some people cousins, too. And aunts and uncles. My uncle Marty is mean, though. He "meows" at me and says "here, kitty kitty." He's a weenie.

2. I rode a motorcycle years ago. I did not enjoy it. Uncle Marty (the weenie referenced above) was supposed to pick me up from my grandparents' house and take me to my Mom. What did he do? He zipped me into his winter coat with him so that only my little head stuck out, right up by his chin. And then he drove me there on his motorcycle! I nearly peed on him. I was SO happy to see my mom. Uncle Marty thought he was funny. Mom was not amused.

3. Mom adopted me when I was two years old. I used to live with a different family and they had lots of people and lots of other animals. All the other dogs were really super mean to me, though. They ganged up on me all the time. I couldn't ever play with toys 'cause they took the toys away from me. I was underweight, too, 'cause the dogs never let me eat. All that changed when Mom adopted me, though. Now I rule the house! I still get pretty scared around other dogs. I don't want to be bullied like that ever again.

4. I pee like a boy. There, I said it. I like to sniff everything outside, and then I hike a leg and potty like a boy dog. I pee on trees. I'll even do hand-stands sometimes so that I can pee higher up on trees. It's a talent. It really confused Mom, though, until she got used to it. Now people think I'm a boy dog when we go for walks. Mom thinks it's funny.

5. I've got lots of ouchies and I'm supposed to take lots of pills and medicines. Here's my list of ouchies:

• dry eye -- mom makes me take eye drops twice a day
  
• arthritis -- got a pill for this one
  
• bad teeths -- vet stole 10 teeth already from me
• bladder stones -- got two horse-size pills for these each day. I've had surgery twice, too.
  
• liver failure (probably from a shunt) -- got a pill for this and some icky, sticky liquid medicine. Also have special doggie food that is rather yucky.
  

My vet says that I'm lucky that I'm so cute and that my Mom loves me so much. Isn't that just her job, though? He he he.

6. I love to write poetry. I've posted lots of it here on my blog. Mom helps me sometimes. One of my animal friends from Twitter called me the puppy paw-et laureate. I thought that was funny.

7. I'm scared of my food bowl. I won't eat food out of a bowl or off of a plate of any sort. I make Mom put my food on a food mat on the floor. And she tried to switch the food mat once but I would have nothing to do with that new impostor. She had to bring the old mat back before I'd go near my food.

8. I've got my own TV. (I bet you're jealous now!) I watch QVC on my very own TV all day long while Mom's at work. It's a little TV, but it's the perfect size for me. Mom put it right by my office door (my office is my crate, of course). Perfect viewing location for me. Sadly, my TV is starting to get funky, though, 'cause it's old. The colors don't really look right anymore. Mom said Grandma is going to give me her old TV, though, so that I have a better one to watch. I told you my Grandma rocks!

9. My favorite song is the Cookie Monster song. That's 'cause I'm a cookie-eating maniac. I love cookies! I don't know why Mom bothers giving me nasty dog food. She should just give me cookies! I get all excited when Mom sings the Cookie Monster song to me because she usually follows it up with cookies. All she has to do is start to say "'C' is for..." and I go crazy!

10. I am an expert at begging. I get SO much stuff just because I can really put on a cute face. It helps, of course, that I'm so adorable to begin with. I've discovered that it's pretty easy to con Mom out of all sorts of food. I just have to give her that "I'm so cute" look and she melts every time. She won't give me tons of people food because she claims I'm supposed to only eat my stupid prescription doggie food. I'm still working on that...

Ta dah! There's the 10 things about me that I was supposed to write. And now I'm supposed to pass the passer-on thing to more animal friends. Hrm. It looks like most of my friends have already done it, though, so I'm not sure who to pass it on to. Anybody want to take the passer-on thing?

Dog-Sitting My Cousin Dakota

This is my cousin Dakota. Uncle Matt and Aunt Kiana asked Mom and I to dog-sit for them last weekend, so Mom and I stayed with Dakota at their house. We've dog-sat before, but it had been a while. I forgotted what it was like to have a big doggy around a lot.

Dakota is a silly, silly boy. You know what he did when we got to the house? He actually peed on my Mom! He was a little scared, I think, 'cause he didn't recognize us. He was probably missing his family, too. So when we got there and Mom went to pet him, he peed on her leg. Then he did it again and got Mom's other leg! Almost peed on her another time, but Mom jumped out of the way in time. I couldn't believe he did that. (It was a little funny, though.)

He sure liked sniffing me. All weekend long, he sniffed and sniffed my booty. I don't think he sees little doggies very much or something. I snipped at him once. I was just tired of the sniffing!

And he tried to steal my Mom just like Hossy does, too. Dakota kept sitting between Mom and me all weekend so that she couldn't pet me. He was actin' like he had to protect Mom from me, but that's just silly. I got jealous of him...but I think he was just jealous of me, too. At night-night time he jumped in the big bed with her. I just roamed around, checking out the house and stuff. I don't like big beds anyway. They're too high off the ground for me!

Dakota loves to play with balls. He has a little one that Mom threw for him lots and lots and he has this big one, too. Look at how he chomped a big hole in it from carrying it around! Anyway, Mom kept kicking this big ball for him and he'd chase it across the yard. They did that all weekend. While they were playing ball, I set off to explore the yard. Uncle Matt and Aunt Kiana have a really, really big yard with a fence around it. I had a LOT of stuff to check out and sniff!

Here's a picture of me checking stuff out while Mom and Dakota were playin' ball. Aunt Katie calls me a "free-range doggie" when I get to explore like this. (She said that when we were on our vacation in Galena. I did lots of exploring there.)

Look at how brave I was this weekend! Can you see me in this picture, all of the way down by the slide? I was a long, long ways away from Mom but I wasn't scared!

Each day, Mom said that we needed to go out and get the paper and check the mail, so we headed down the long lane to do that. Dakota and I loved to run out there, too, but Mom got after us if we ran too fast towards the road. She didn't want any cars to get us. We didn't see any, though, so I think she's just a worry-wart.

After we got the mail, Dakota and I had to wait for Mom to let us back in the house. I wanted to be first this time, so I jumped up on the porch before Dakota could get there!

We even went to Grandma and Grandpa's house while we were dog-sitting. I liked that. I got to ride in the front of the car like always, but Dakota had to ride in the back. My cousin Hoss was at Grandma's, too, so that was cool. I like Hossy, and Dakota and Hoss like to play together. That let me have some time with Mom -- since Dakota was playing with Hossy, he wasn't always stealing Mom from me. Mom took some pictures of all three of us in Grandma's backyard, but she didn't notice that Hossy was going poo when she did. (That's so funny!) So this picture is just Dakota and me. She wouldn't let me post the picture of Hossy going poo. He he he!

Mom and Grandma thought it was cool that we had three doggy cousins together in one spot. We were only missing Pheebs. She's Uncle Mark and Aunt Kari's pug doggie. If Pheebs was there, we would have had all of the cousins together!

Anyways, Dakota-sitting was cool 'cause I loved his big yard. I didn't like him stealing Mom from me, but that yard might just have been worth it for the weekend! I was really happy to get back home on Sunday. I walked in our door and then just fell asleep on my doggie bed in the living room. Mom said I didn't move for five hours!

Playing with Hoss at Grandma and Grandpa's House

Mom and I went to Grandma and Grandpa's house this weekend! Hossy was there, too, of course. He didn't try to steal my Mom this time, though, so we were cool. Uncle Marty didn't even "meow" at me, so it was a good weekend.

Here are some pictures of Hossy and I playing in Grandma's awesome backyard.

And here are some pictures of just me playing. Isn't that a cool yard? Grandma's got a big fence, so I can run all over without my stupid leash!

I liked to sniff in the tall grass. (Mom said that's 'cause Uncle Marty needs to mow.)

And look at me run in this action shot. See those ears flying?!

I didn't want to go back inside when Mom called me. She took this picture of me bein' naughty... I refused to budge from that spot!

Only downside to my weekend were some big booms and things going on outside. Mom said that they were just from fireworks. I didn't care -- they scared the heck out of me. I hid behind the toilet in Grandma's bathroom. Seemed like a good place to me!

Hossy is Mean!

Mom and I went to go see Grandma and Grandpa today. I was really excited to see Hossy. But you know what he did today? Hossy tried to steal my Mom!

Hossy kept budging in when Mom was petting me. He kept playing with her and with that silly Kong of his. He acted like she was his Mom and not mine! I got so upset with him.

He can't have her!

Lazy Weekends Rock

Know what Mom and I did yesterday? Nothing! She and I were lazy all day and just watched TV and napped. So cool! I'm really liking this "Mom's done with school" stuff. Mom even played with me yesterday instead of getting after me for buggin' her 'cause she had to do homework. This rocks!

On Saturday we didn't have a lazy day, but it was still a good one. We went to go see Grandma, Grandpa, and Hossy! I love playing in their backyard. I walked all over it all by myself. Didn't even pay any attention to where Mom was. I was having too much fun! There's so much stuff to sniff.

Uncle Marty was a little mean. You know what he did to me? He kept meowing at me and saying "here, kitty kitty." How rude! I'm a little doggie, not a horrible cat! So, just to get back at him, I pooped a couple of times in Grandma and Grandpa's backyard...right before he went out to mow it! he he he!

Just Visiting

Mom and I went to go visit Grandma and Grandpa yesterday. Mom said that it was Mother's Day and that we were going to go help Grandma Cindy with some stuff.

I was SO excited when I got to that nice, big backyard. I ran and ran in circles out there. It was so much fun! Uncle Marty had mowed, too, so there were lots of grass clippings for me to roll in. Mom hates it when I do that, but it's pretty fun in my opinion.

Grandpa Marion kept picking me up and carrying me around. I have no idea why he does that. One time he actually held me backwards and was acting like my booty was my head. Weird!

My Hoss Dog Buddy came by in the evening. He wasn't there for most of the day. I did get to play with him some, though. He's so silly with that Kong of his -- he has to have that thing in his mouth every time he runs around outside.

Mom and I even went out and visited with Great Grandma Thompson yesterday, too. She has a really nice rug in her living room that I spent some time napping on. Very cool.

The only downside to the day was when Mom was planting some flowers for Grandma Cindy. You know what she did to me??? She hooked my leash to the swing in the yard and then put the other end on my collar. How rude! I'm supposed to be able to run free at Grandma and Grandpa's house! Stupid leash.

Last Weekend

Guess who I got to see last Saturday...HOSSY!!! It was Great Grandma Thompson's birthday, so Mom and I went back home to visit. I stayed with Hoss at Grandma Cindy and Grandpa Marion's house, and Mom went out to the birthday party. Then when they all came back, we just hung out at Grandma and Grandpa's house. Hossy and I played in the backyard and that was so cool. Started raining on us, but I didn't care! Hoss had that silly Kong of his in his mouth just about the entire day. He's so funny!

More Stupid Snow

It's snowing outside AGAIN!!! I'm so tired of this stuff. It freezes in my little paws and hurts my feet! And it's just pretty darn cold on my belly, too.

Mom's obsessed with me pooping when it snows. The woman is nuts. I don't understand why she has to fixate on that. Sure, I get all antsy and agitated when I don't go all day, but I think she takes it too far. Tonight she carried me far from our house, put me down in the snow, and then made me walk until I went poop. How absurd!!!

The last time it snowed lots and lots I was actually staying at Grandma and Grandpa's house. Mom went to some place far away called Mexico. (I don't know where that is, but I think it's by Ohio.) I got to stay with Grandma and Grandpa while Mom was gone. Grandma Cindy is nicer to me when it snows. She doesn't make me walk in the snow until I poop!

I got to spend a lot of time with Hossy when I was at Grandma and Grandpa's house. He's my buddy. And Grandma Cindy took us for lots of rides in the car. That rocks! Mom's not cool like that...she never takes me for rides...

My Christmas Story

Whew. I think I finally recovered from Christmas...now I can tell you about it!

Mom and I went to Grandma and Grandpa's house on Christmas Eve. Hossy and I spent some time together in the afternoon, and then all of my aunts and uncles and people-cousins came over in the evening. There were a LOT of people at Grandma and Grandpa's house.

Mom and I spent the night there. We hung out with Grandma and Grandpa on Christmas morning, then Hossy and Uncle Marty came by. Hossy and I stayed at Grandma and Grandpa's house while everyone left for a bit.

You know what Hossy did???? He was a BAD doggy when all of the people were gone. He got up on the counter and ate some people food! He had a coffee cake and a thing of pecan rolls. He shouldn't have done that. Everyone was pretty upset when they got back 'cause they wanted to eat the things that Hossy ate. Mom got worried that I was involved...but I was in my crate, so I had a good alibi.

The best part about the whole trip up there was Grandma and Grandpa's backyard. I LOVE THAT PLACE! I went all over, investigating everything. It was icy, so I fell on my belly a lot, but I still had fun. Each time Mom tried to take me back inside, I would run away from her. I didn't want to go inside when there was so much to check out in the backyard!

I don't like my Uncle Mark, by the way. On Christmas Eve, he kept trying to smoosh me by stomping on me. He's so mean!

Hoss, Uncle Marty, and Grandpa Marion

Guess what...I got to go see Hoss yesterday! He's my buddy. We had fun barking at each other for a bit, and we sniffed each other, too. Then, we went back and forth in Grandma and Grandpa's backyard, trying to pee on the same stuff. Hossy is a lot bigger than I am, though, so he has a lot more pee. He didn't have much trouble covering all of my spots. I sure tried, though.

The only downside of the day was in the afternoon when Uncle Marty and Grandpa watched Hossy and I. Mom left with Grandma Cindy. I think Grandpa Marion might be nuts. You know what he did to me??? Uncle Marty was sleeping on the bed, and Grandpa Marion picked me up and held me over Uncle Marty. I wasn't sure what to think...and I still don't know how Grandpa caught me. Uncle Marty woke up and told Grandpa to put me down, but he just put me on the bed and not the floor. It was WAY to high for me to jump down. I was stuck there!

And Uncle Marty just went back to sleep. I stood at the edge of the bed and tried to figure out how to get down, but it was too high. I didn't want to be up there -- seemed dangerous to me. I never get up on the bed at home. Finally Uncle Marty woke up again and helped me get back down to the floor.

I was sure glad to see Mom when she came back...

Playing with Hossy

Tuesday was a work day, but guess what... Mom and I went to see Grandma and Grandpa in the afternoon! I got to play with my cousin Hoss in the backyard. We romped around for a while. Hossy played with his Kong, too. He loves that thing. We both think that Grandma and Grandpa's backyard is awesome.

Mom took some pictures of us playing. Aren't we adorable? Mom thinks it's funny 'cause I'm so little and Hossy is so big.

Here's a picture of Hossy and I romping in the yard. Grandma and Grandpa have the coolest yard ever. It's SO big!

And some more romping... I was afraid Hossy was going to run over me! See that silly Kong in his mouth, too? He really loves that thing. I don't think he knows that there's supposed to be food inside it!

Then we sat outside for a while, just enjoying the day with Mom and Grandpa Marion.

Hoss got pretty tired and he flopped on Grandma Cindy's bed!

I got tired, too, but I waited until we were driving home. I zonked out in the car. Good thing I don't have to help drive!

My Mom's a Dork

Mom keeps asking me where Hossy is. He's at Grandma's house, not our house! She thinks it's hilarious when I start looking for him after she asks. So why is she asking me where he is if he's not here?!

Good grief. I'm a DOG. How cool do you think you are by tricking me?! Mom's such a dork.

Just Visiting

Mom and I went for a ride yesterday...and we spent the day at Grandma and Grandpa's house! I got to play in the backyard and go for rides in Grandma's car. I even got to hang out with Hossy! Uncle Marty stopped by, too. I got lots of scratches and rubs from everyone. What a cool day.

We even sat outside and watched a parade go by Grandma's house. I got a little scared when the firetrucks went by because their sirens were SO LOUD. Grandpa Marion put his fingers in his ears!

You know what the best part was? We only went for a day-long visit! Mom and I came home late, late last night. I love going to Grandma's house...but there's no place like home!

My Summer Vacation

Oh, wow...has it REALLY been almost a month since I've had a chance to write?! Things have been a little crazy for me.

Mom got super busy with homework, so I got to go spend a couple of weeks at Grandma and Grandpa's house. I have so much fun there -- it was sort of my summer vacation. Grandma sneaks me scraps of food and stuff. he he he. I love that. I'm not supposed to have people food anymore 'cause of my bladder stones. Grandma spoils me, though.

I spent a lot of time with Hoss when I was at Grandma and Grandpa's house. He's my cousin, and he stays at Grandma's house a lot of the time, too. I think he's there a lot more than me, though. Uncle Marty drops him off every afternoon when he goes to work.

It's fun to hang with Hossy. He's got Grandma trained to take him for rides in the car...so I got to go, too! That was so much fun. Grandma would drive us around town. Hossy got the backseat -- 'cause he's such a big doggy -- and I got to sit up front with Grandma and Grandpa. I love going for rides. Mom doesn't take me NEARLY often enough!

Grandma has an awesome backyard, too, and it has a fence all of the way around it. I got to just romp all over the place. So very cool. I liked to find a good spot and then just roll around on my back in the grass. Awwwwww. There's also a cool tree at the far side of the yard. I went and sat in the shade there quite a bit, just to watch the world go by. Grandma usually sent Grandpa out to get me when they decided it was time to go inside. They weren't very happy when I didn't just run back up to the house. I really didn't want to leave that nice, shady spot!

Mom's been pretty busy with work lately. I guess she's done with school for the summer, though. Maybe now she'll let me use the computer more often to write stuff here... Let's hope!

Going to Grandma and Grandpa's!

Mom got out the backpack tonight and that only means one thing...we're going to Grandma and Grandpa's house!!! I'm so excited!

Going to Grandma and Grandpa's house is SO much fun! It's a really long ride in the car. I love looking out the window, though. I eventually get a little tired of that so I just curl up on the seat beside Mom and I take a nap. She pets me most of the way, too.

And you know what Grandma and Grandpa have? A huge yard with a fence around it! I don't have to wear my leash. I can go running through the grass as fast as I want and I don't have Mom slowing me down and cramping my style. There's a whole lot of stuff to sniff, too. I love that yard!

Inside Grandma and Grandpa's house I get to have my own spot on the couch. Grandpa gets the middle of the couch and I sit right beside him. That's my spot. Grandpa likes to feed me lots of people food, too, even though Mom tells him not to. I love Grandpa! Grandma has cooked me my very own egg before, too. That was SO cool.

I can't wait to go to Grandma and Grandpa's house! I wonder when we're leaving...