Merry Christmas Y'all!

For unto you is born this day 

in the city of David a Savior, 

which is Christ the Lord.

Glory to God in the highest,

and on earth peace,

goodwill toward men.

We hope you have a wonderful day full of love and laughter!  We'll be relaxing and kicking up our heels today (all twelve of 'em, sixteen if you count the parents).  Our family begins to arrive tomorrow for a week of fun and excitement.  There will really be a LOT of heels in the house then (big and small).  Yippee!  Do you think the youngest is bunking with us??  Hmmm . . . something to investigate . . . 

Merry Christmas, Y'all!

Woof! Woof!

Hunter, Dixie & Jenna

The Night Before Christmas

Twas the night before Christmas and all through our home

Three frisky labs did nothing but roam.

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care

In hopes that rawhides soon would be there.

Occasionally the dawgs would lie down for a nap,

With Ma in her jammies and Pa in his cap.

Hunter snoozed and snored and kicked his back legs

While visions of dawg bones danced in his head.

Dixie settled on the sofa with a tiny little pout,

While keeping an eye on her sister's whereabouts.

Jenna stretched and turned, claiming the rest of the space,

Her paws were everywhere (including Dixie's face).

Gifts were under the tree just waiting to be opened;

A third arm for Mommy?  The dawgs were hoping!

Soon will arrive good old Saint Nick

Getting down the chimney will be quite a trick!

He carries in his sleigh all our desires,

Good health and good cheer are all we require.

We're crossing our paws with all our might,

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!

Making Our Lists . . . Jenna

Dear Santa Paws,

I've been such a good girl all year long.  What do you mean, you've heard different?  All those stories you've heard about the trash can, the dishwasher, the toilet paper, Oreos, Spaghetti-O's, etc are just a bunch of nonsense!  I cannot help that the humans in my life leave all sorts of tempting tidbits lying around just waiting to see if I'll make a move on them!  I'm just a dawg and can't help myself sometimes!  Surely behaving as my ancestors have done for hundreds of years cannot be held against me . . .

It can?!?!?!?

Do you do this to human children too???

Well, since I have had a few incidents of misbehaving this year, I will be kind and limit my list to one item: FOOD!!!!  Any kind of food is fine with me: dawg biscuits, rawhide, bones, tissues, salad, pizza crusts, roast beef, ANYTHING!  I won't be picky.  Just pick up something from McDonald's as you swing by on Christmas Eve.  Or better yet, when you stop to feed the reindeer, just hitch your sleigh to the posts at the grocery store like the Amish do and run in and grab something for me!  Anything is fine by me!

Thank you, Santa!
Jenna


PS: Please don't hold it against Dixie for writing "loosing" yesterday instead of "losing."  Mommy has already given Dixie a hard enough time as it is.  I think it's Mommy's fault since she's our proofreader, but don't tell her I said that!

Making Our Lists . . . Dixie

Dear Santa Paws,

I really have only one item on my list and I bet you can guess it already . . . TENNIS BALLS!!!  I received a few last year from you and Aunt Kelly gave me an entire bag (HEAVEN!!), but they are almost all gone by now.  Tennis balls don't last as long as you'd think they do!  They can tear up, start losing their yellow fuzz, get a hole in them, fly over the fence into another yard, and just simply disappear!

You don't even have to leave anything for me under the tree.  Just fill up my stocking with tennis balls and I'll be good to go for another year!  Daddy says tennis balls are like crack-cocaine to me, but I disagree.  When was the last time you heard about someone overdosing on tennis balls?  That's right, NEVER!  Of course, if you ever do hear that headline on the news, it will probably be about me!  What a way to go!  [sigh]

Thank you, Santa, in advance for LOTS of tennis balls!
Dixie

Making Our Lists . . . Hunter

Mommy said we could each write to Santa Paws this year instead of having to share a list.  Since I am the oldest and wisest, I get to go first!  I figure mine has the best chance of reaching Santa, so if he doesn't receive the others' letters, at least my wishes will come true!

First, I would like a new blanket.  I love to suck on my blankets (yes, that's weird, but don't hold it against me!) and the ones I have are becoming a bit worn.  It doesn't help that Dixie tries to put her claim on my blanket when it's outside.  It also doesn't help that Jenna thinks when Mommy throws the blanket for me, that she is supposed to snatch it away from me.

Second, I would like to have a box full of tissues.  Yes, the kind you humans blow your nose upon.  I know that's gross.  I could have asked for a whole box of snotty tissues, but that might be asking for too much.  I love to eat tissues and a whole box to myself that I don't have to share with my sisters would be heaven!

Third, I would like to have an elevator installed in the house.  I'm doing okay going up and down the steps, but we all know I'm not getting any younger.  Besides, I could take the elevator straight to the basement floor.  I've never been down there in eight years of living in this house!  Jenna tells me about all of her adventures down there; I want to see for myself!  Surely there can't really be that many spider webs in one room!

Fourth, I want Mommy to wake up on Christmas morning with a third arm.  I've asked for this gift more than once, but it hasn't happened yet.  What's a dawg gotta do to earn this special treat?  Mommy just can't love on all three of us at the same time with her two arms.  I tend to be left out of the group hug simply because I'm not as pushy as my sisters are.  With a third arm, she could love on us equally.

Santa, I hope I'm not asking for too much.  A few edible treats and toys would be good to round out the list.  Safe travels for you and your reindeer.

Love,
Hunter

Stick a Paw in It!

I think Daddy might ban Pinterest from our house.  Mimi sent Mommy an idea and Daddy wanted to kill both of them!  I tried to tell him it wasn't Mimi's fault.  After all, Mommy didn't have to actually MAKE the idea she pinned.  Mommy totally blamed Mimi for the whole idea.  Without Mimi, this idea would never have happened.  Here's what took place Sunday afternoon . . .

Mimi sent Mommy an idea to make paw print Christmas ornaments.  Mommy mixed 1/2 cup cornstarch, 1 cup baking soda, and 3/4 cup water together over medium heat to make a dough.  Then she rolled it up into a ball, flattened it out a bit, and stuck our paws into it!  It sounds so much easier than it actually was!  (The original idea can be found here.)   In retrospect, mixing and rolling was the easy part!

In actuality, there was dawg hair on the floor and on our paws to contend with.  Black hair definitely stands out on white dough.  It also took about three (or ten) tries with Jenna and Hunter each before the perfect paw print was formed.  Jenna and I had to be banished to our crates until it was our turn to stick a paw in it because we thought the dough was something good to eat.  (After all, we watched Mommy mix it together on the stove top, and that's where food comes from, right?)

Jenna watches Mommy's every move . . .

The good news is that I was the "One and Done" dawg!  I only had to stick my paw in the dough once and it was perfect.  Just like me!  The bad news is that after baking the paw prints just like the directions said, Mommy broke Hunter's while trying to put a ribbon through the hole she had made.  Apparently the dough wasn't actually dry on the inside.  I thought Mommy was going to cry.  I think Daddy wanted to cry as well.  But we all chipped in and helped out and went for round two.  Mommy convinced Daddy to make a second ornament of me and Jenna too (just in case).

Hunter's broken ornament

In order of adoption from left to right: Hunter, Me, Jenna

In the end, we have five beautiful ornaments that our parents can keep for all time (or until they break).   Perhaps we should send those extra paw prints to Mimi as a thank you.  What do you think?

Perfect Paws,
Dixie

PS: Thanks, Mimi, for the good idea.  Thanks, Daddy, for your patience.  We all know, "If Mama ain't happy, ain't no one happy!"

Let it Melt!

Don't tell Mommy, but I am secretly hoping this white stuff will melt soon!  We received another two inches Saturday afternoon and then freezing rain on top of that.  I do LOVE the snow, but it's causing some sibling rivalry that I could do without.  If it would just melt, I think my problems would be solved.

When Mommy throws the tennis ball, I WATCH to see where it is going to land.  Dixie does NOT!  Instead, she looks around dumbfounded (dumb being the operative word) when the ball disappears into the snow.  I do a pretty good job of locating the ball when it is swallowed up by the snow.  Dixie just walks around in circles and becomes totally frustrated.  When I find my tennis ball, she can't stand it.  So she does the sisterly thing and proceeds to snatch it right out of my mouth!  How rude!

To solve this issue, Mommy began throwing the frisbee to me.  It doesn't sink into the snow, and as long as Dixie has two tennis balls in her mouth, she couldn't care less about which toy I'm using.  Although our frisbee has seen better days, it still sails pretty far into the air.  I am great at catching it in mid-air!  I think it makes Dixie jealous.  She can catch the frisbee too, but she usually won't let go of the tennis balls long enough!

Melted snow would make life easier for Hunter too.  Although he loves to go outside and eat it all day long, it makes walking difficult for him sometimes.

"Is it just me, or does this look awkward?  Oh well, at least I have my blanket out here."

So for now, my holiday theme song is, "Let it Melt, Let it Melt, Let it Melt!"
Jenna

In the Dawg House

I know it's going to be hard for you to believe this, but Jenna recently found herself in the dawg house with Daddy.  I guess technically, she was in the dawg house without Daddy.  He says he realizes who really loves him and it must not be her!  It's ME!!!  I have moved back into the position of favorite girl.  Yippee!  I must admit I am surprised at how easy it was to regain favor with Daddy.

Our parents left us behind recently as they traveled yet again without us (there is seriously something wrong with that idea!!).  Mommy rescued us upon their return and we each took our place in the car.  I sat up front with Mommy and was a great girl.  I LOVE to go for a ride and look out the window.  There is so much to see.  Jenna took her spot in the middle and Hunter remained in the third row.  We each apparently have our own spot, but mine is the best.

Upon our arrival at the house, Hunter and I ran to greet Daddy where he was waiting for us on the sofa.  Jenna did not!  We were all shocked that she didn't go love on him the way she usually does.  We're really not sure why she didn't (only she can say and she's not talking), but she held back for at least thirty minutes.  Daddy was seriously disappointed in "his" girl!  I was THRILLED!  I was all over him like white on rice.  We had our very own love fest and Jenna wasn't around to interrupt.

Where was Jenna you ask?  Curled up in her favorite spot that she obviously missed while at the kennel: right between Mommy's and Daddy's pillows!

Number One Girl (for now),
Dixie

PS: I was also the first to hear Daddy's return from a business trip late last night!  Bonus points to me!

Snow Day!?!?

We had our first snow of the season this past Sunday!  We were only expecting a few flurries, but we ended up with about five or six inches instead!  Being Minnesota born and bred, I LOVED it!  I love to just go out and eat the snow.  Survival experts say that you should not do this because it only makes you thirstier, but what do they know??  My parents told me this fact and they should know.  They did all kinds of research when they had to move to the American version of Siberia: Minne-SNOW-ta!  Daddy looks back on that time as his own little version of Hades on Earth, but if he hadn't moved there he wouldn't have me, right?

My only real problem with the snow is that I tend to forget my boundaries since everything is white.  As soon as Mommy let me out Monday morning I made yellow snow right on the deck!  She was afraid I was going to make brown snow too, so she grabbed me by my collar and forced me across the deck to the yard.  Geez!  I'm not that old!  I don't just go potty anywhere . . . do I???

Dixie and Jenna also loved the snow.  This was the first real snow we've had since Jenna's been with us (remember no snow days for Mommy for the past two years!!).  They ran and chased each other around the yard numerous times.  They would run inside to be toweled off only to turn right around and ring the bell to go out again.  It drove Mommy crazy.  Mimi reminded Mommy that at least the girls didn't require gloves and coats each time they wanted to go out!

Mommy did NOT have to go to work on Monday.  Yippee!!  We aren't sure if this actually counts as an official snow day or not.  Technically, the students were already scheduled to be off for a teacher workday.  Although Mommy's very happy she didn't have to report to work, she feels a bit robbed of a real snow day!  Once again, Daddy reminded her that people with "real jobs" have to go to work no matter what!

Here's to more SNOW DAYS this winter!
Hunter

Paws Script: Mommy has an official snow day TODAY!!!!  Yippee!!!

Another Dawg?

It seems my parents DID get another dawg!  I seriously think three is PLENTY, but they obviously had other ideas.  The funny thing is that I didn't even realize it had joined our family.  I say "IT" because I'm not sure if it's a boy or girl!

I didn't realize IT was even in the house until my sister Dixie alerted me to its presence.  She discovered IT hiding in the corner of the guest bathroom.  I personally don't travel into that room often.  It has a huge span of linoleum that I do not care to cross.  Fortunately for me, the room has two entrances so I can peek my head into either door for a good look at what's going on inside.  I heard a slight commotion recently and saw Dixie had something cornered between the toilet and the wall.  She had her hackles raised and was staring at IT eye to eye.  Imagine my dismay upon seeing another dawg in the house!!

Lucky for me, I am taller than IT.  It goes without saying that I am definitely more handsome!  So far I haven't heard any lip from this newest member of our family, so I guess we can keep IT.

I wonder if IT is a distant relative of Jenna . . . after all, IT seems to always have its mouth full and shares her love of paper!

Always the Big Brother (to Dixie, Jenna, IT and anyone else that comes our way),
Hunter

The Birds!

Have you seen Alfred Hitchcock's movie The Birds?  We recently filmed a sequel at our house starring the birds and Hunter.  The birds invaded our neighborhood one Saturday morning and circled several times from the front yard to the back and from house to house.  Not only were they amazing to watch, but they were seriously LOUD!  The movie sequel proved to be even better than the original for two reasons:

1) Live birds were used (unlike the animated birds in the original)
2) No humans (or dawgs) were harmed

Hunter does his best to protect the yard from the birds!

Do you think Hunter will have good luck if one (or a hundred) of those birds drops a little something on his head?  Just a thought . . .

Dixie

Christmas Card: Behind the Scenes

Have you ordered your Christmas cards yet?  Most normal people have not, or they are just now considering their options.  It shouldn't come as a surprise to you that Mommy already has ours!  She began working on them even before Halloween!  She's such a nerd, isn't she??  Please don't hate her; it's just part of her personality.  I really don't think she can control it!  (And she had a really great coupon.)

I thought you might like to see the torture she put me through all for the sake of the card.  She planned to use pictures of each of us from last year's Christmas torture, I mean photo session.  She was pleased with her choice of photos of Hunter and Jenna, but Daddy said the ones of me made me look scared.  I can't imagine why.  The pictures Mommy planned to use of Hunter and Jenna featured lots of Christmas lights with the decorated tree as a back drop.  The problem with having the perfect shot of me was that we don't usually have a Christmas tree in the house before Halloween.  What?  You don't either??  Mommy looked at Daddy with a crazed look in her eyes as an idea occurred to her and he just shook his head.  I should have run for my crate.

Mommy proceeded to head to the basement where she pulled out a strand of Christmas lights.  She seriously considered putting up a small artificial lighted tree for the background, but thankfully a moment of sanity prevailed.  It was temporary, but still . . .

Daddy captured this moment on his camera phone for all the world to see how much Mommy tortures, I mean loves me.  I'll admit she only pestered me for about twenty minutes before she finally decided she had a decent shot.  I guess I should be thankful she was willing to capture a better looking me.  I wouldn't want the recipients of our Christmas card to see me looking less than my best.

I guess if the truth were known, I would gladly suffer through another photo session just because I love Mommy. However, my real problem with all of this is . . .

SHE DIDN'T USE THE PICTURE!!!!!  SHE CHOSE A TOTALLY DIFFERENT PICTURE!  AAGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  

Going insane,
Dixie