Off to the Vet

Mommy recently took both of us for a ride!  Don't be too happy for us.  We were only going to the vet . . . for a vaccine!  No matter, we were still happy to be out and about in the car with Mommy.

Whenever we get into the car, Mommy always opens the second row door so we can both hop in together.   She's wasting her efforts because we NEVER stay there!  One of us moves into the driver's seat and the other into the front passenger seat!  Mommy then has to coerce us to move over so she can drive.  For some reason none of the states we've lived in sees us as good candidates for a driver's license.  Strange, don't you think?

On our most recent trip I settled into the foot well of the front seat!  I was so sure I smelled something good down there.  I should have known it was just wishful thinking.  Mommy rarely eats in her car and goodness knows she's such a neat freak in her car that IF she did eat and IF she did drop something, it's not like it would still be there! But a girl can hope!

I thought I smelled something good on the seat cover too, but nope, nada.  (The seat covers are not there for our comfort, but to protect the leather seats from being scratched by our nails!)

Finally, I was ready to go.  I gave my permission for our chauffeur (Mommy, aka James) to drive us.

Thankfully, we were only at the vet's office for about fifteen minutes.  In and out.  We were good girls.  Well, Dixie was good; I was GREAT!  Naturally!

Jenna

My New Security Blanket

Just a short while back I told you how I loved to carry Leopard and Giraffe everywhere I went.  Don't worry Grandma, I'm sure I'll eventually play with them again.  In fact, they still find their way out of the toy box every now and then.  But they aren't attached to my teeth every waking moment.  I have a new "security blanket" that goes with me everywhere.  Even to bed!

Yep!  It's my soccer ball!  I LOVE IT!!!  Daddy calls it Wilson after the soccer ball that starred in Tom Hanks's movie Cast Away.  I'm not sure why.  My ball should clearly be called Adidas!

Mommy isn't too thrilled about the ball coming to bed with me (not to mention a few other toys as well).  She tolerates the ball for a little while if she's reading, but eventually she tries to quietly put it on the floor.  I'm wise to her ways and I usually hop down onto the floor immediately to retrieve it.  After all, I'm not called a Labrador Retriever for nothing!

Here's to Sweet Dreams!
Jenna

ANOTHER???

Look what the wind rolled in!  Within the span of two weeks, two balls have appeared in our yard.  You'd think the neighborhood children would have learned when their soccer ball disappeared, but apparently not!  This time it was a KICKBALL that rolled in! (With a Halloween theme?!?!?)

Mommy thought we'd be very excited at the prospect of another ball until Jenna put her teeth on it . . . instantly, Mommy realized her mistake. Unlike the soccer ball, the kickball has no inner parts that help it keep its shape.  There's only air in there!

One bite and it was toast!  I didn't mind.  Jenna had her ball and now I had mine!

Along with my tennis ball of course! (Can you spot it?)

Shortly after this picture was taken, one of us began to really try to tear the ball apart.  I won't name names to protect the guilty.  Once the ball was in more than one piece it found its way into the trash can . . .

Oh well.  It was fun while it lasted!
Dixie

My New Favorite Toy

I know what you're thinking.  Another new toy??  I know I just recently introduced you to Leopard and Giraffe, but to be fair they've been around since Christmas.  I have an even "newer" favorite toy that I like to play with daily.  It's new to me anyway.  I truly have no idea how old it is exactly because I found it!

Mommy came home one day and this beautiful pink soccer ball was just sitting in the yard waiting for me to get my paws (and teeth) on it!  It's like it was meant to be!  We do have a few kids in the neighborhood, so it probably belonged to one of them at some point, but . . . FINDERS KEEPERS!  At least that's the philosophy I'm adopting in this situation.  Any child growing up where we currently live should know how windy it is on a daily basis and should know to put their toys away at the end of the day.  If they didn't before, they do now!  That's my story and I'm sticking to it!

My sister and I both love to play fetch.  Dixie sticks to the tennis balls and I usually prefer my frisbee.  But this toy has given my fetch game new purpose.  I love for Mommy to kick the ball.  If it's early morning and she's about to go to work and is wearing nicer shoes, she'll pick up the ball and toss it for me.  Either way, I can chase after it or try to catch it in my mouth (this happens more frequently than you'd think).

The only drawback to my new toy when it first arrived was that it was so tough and large I couldn't REMOVE my mouth from the ball when I was told to drop it.  My teeth got STUCK in the ball!  It was quite a challenge to give the ball back to Mommy for the next toss or kick.  I learned I had to put it down on the ground and use both paws to pull it from my mouth.

Through all this tugging, pulling, and puncturing, I've kind of deflated the ball a bit.  Don't worry.  No need to feel sorry for me.  It still works!  The ball has kept most of its shape and Mommy can still kick it around the yard.  And the best part is that it's easier for me to drop it now!

When Mommy's not paying attention to me, I try to regain her attention by chewing on my new ball.  She doesn't like that!  She's told me if I peel it too much, she'll have to take it away . . .

I even try to get Mommy to play ball inside the house.  I found her on the kitchen floor recently repairing the rug.  I thought this was prime opportunity to get Mommy's attention!  Don't you agree?

I'm going to enjoy my new soccer ball for as long as it lasts.  Perhaps I'll start training for the US Women's Soccer Team . . . I could be the next Mia Hamm.  I don't really need to be the next Brandi Chastain.  She was the first woman to remove her shirt in celebration of her soccer victory (eighteen years ago . . . do you remember that?).  I don't think my fans could contain their excitement if I removed my fur coat!

I'll let you know when my first official game is and I'll expect to see you there!
Jenna

The Eyes Have It . . .

They say the eyes are the window to the soul.  We aren't sure who "they" are, but we do have pretty expressive eyes some days . . .

Apparently our soul is telling Mommy we're concerned about what our sister is doing and about how many pictures she's taking!  Except that last one.  My soul is definitely telling Mommy to FEED ME in that last one!

What do your eyes say?
Jenna

Meet Leopard and Giraffe

When my grandparents were here at Christmas, they brought EACH of us a new toy  . . . however I seem to have adopted both as MINE!  Don't worry, Dixie doesn't seem to mind (most of the time).  She is perfectly content with her many tennis balls around the house.

Meet Leopard and Giraffe!

I think technically Leopard was mine, but I'm not picky.  I'll play with either toy.  And some days I play hard . . .

Mommy has already had to perform surgery on both Leopard and Giraffe.  She's quite a gifted surgeon, but she does have trouble with her surgical assistants sometimes!

Surgery is required because we play Fetch, Keep Away, and Hide and Go Seek with Leopard and Giraffe sometimes.  I'm usually the winner!

I share with Dixie sometimes . . . 

Please ignore the dawg hairs in the pictures.  We recently spent a couple days in bed with Mommy when she was sick.  We tend to leave our mark all over the bed on days like that!

I'm sure the presence of Leopard and Giraffe, plus me and Dixie helped Mommy have a speedy recovery.  I know it made ME feel good!

I hope you have someone like Leopard and Giraffe to keep you company!
Jenna

Rise and Shine

We may not have the best landscape here in our new location, but we definitely have great skyscapes!  Mommy wishes the sun would rise earlier than it does (no matter what the season), but she has really enjoyed watching the sunrises here. The sunsets are just as beautiful, but we don't have any great pictures of those for some reason.  We're going to have work on that!

Mommy's favorite shades of purple make an appearance every now and then . . .

Sometimes we're out and about right as the sun is making its grand entrance.

We like to walk by the playa lake and watch the ducks and geese swim.  Sometimes Mommy lets us off the leash to wreak havoc on their quiet morning swim.

Other mornings we take advantage of the heat indoors and just enjoy the view.

We hope you're able to sit back and enjoy the sunrise where you are too!
Dixie and Jenna