The Big Easy

Recently our parents went on vacation . . . WITHOUT US!!  Why do they do that???  Don't we make their life worth living?  Don't we deserve to have a vacation from the every day humdrum too?  The big, easy answer to those questions is a resounding YES, but our parents still aren't budging on this.  Hmpf!

This year they (meaning Mommy) chose for them to go to New Orleans, Louisiana.  They (meaning Mommy) have wanted to go for a while.  They ate their way through the city enjoying all the Southern comfort foods they could get their mouths on.  Most of these foods they've eaten before since they both grew up in the South, but they (meaning Mommy) hadn't eaten them in NOLA!

Eating beignets at Cafe du Monde . . . Mommy was a bit disappointed.  She said they tasted like funnel cakes from a fair.  She was expecting something MORE!

Shrimp Po Boy . . . one of two eaten that week!  Yummy!

A man from England was on one of their tours and asked the tour guide if he could suggest any place to eat that didn't serve fried food . . . Mommy told the man he'd come to the wrong place! 

  A half eaten praline . . . some of these made it home, but do you think we got to try any???  NO!

Turtle soup!  You can't tell it from this picture, but Mommy said it was great and ate her entire bowl!

Fried gator . . . tastes like chicken, but they already knew that!

Chargrilled oysters . . . the only way to eat them in Daddy's opinion!  And a hurricane for Mommy!

Fried green tomato BLT sandwich!  Mommy LOVES fried green tomatoes!!!

Pirogue sandwhich full of breakfast sausage for Daddy . . .

he said this pirogue boat was big enough to row away in!

And a combo platter of red beans and rice, etouffee, and jambalaya to make sure all major food groups of rice, rice, and rice were covered!  Mommy also had gumbo one day.

Much to Daddy's disappointment, they did NOT get to eat here!

While in New Orleans, Mommy and Daddy took a tour of the beautiful homes in the Garden District.  Daddy graciously agreed to accompany Mommy on this walking tour.  When it was over two hours later, he said he thought they'd walked enough for the day.  Mommy glanced at her fitbit and told him they hadn't even walked as much as she normally does with us on a daily basis!  Here are a few of Mommy's favorites.

The Garden District tour also included a tour of the oldest cemetery in New Orleans, Lafayette Cemetery No. 1.  It's quite fascinating to learn all about how the residents must be buried in crypts since most of the city is below sea level.  Nothing would ruin a good Southern tea party more than to have a few dead bodies come floating by in the rain!

Another Mommy approved idea was a tour of two plantations and a swamp tour to see alligators.  They visited Oak Alley Plantation and Laura Plantation.  The Oak Alley Plantation included another southern special, mint juleps!

The swamp tour wasn't that exciting for Daddy since he'd seen gators in the wild, but Mommy hadn't.  She enjoyed seeing the swamp with all of its Spanish moss hanging from the trees and the alligators swimming by.

One of the highlights of the tour was holding Bruce, the nearly two year old alligator.  Before you object to Bruce's captivity,  the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries approves of this tour company raising a few baby alligators because the alligators have about an 80 percent greater chance of survival than if they started life in the wild.  When the alligators reach the age of two, they are slowly re-introduced back into the wild.

Because Daddy was so accommodating to Mommy's wishes for the week, she gladly spent a day fishing with him.  Well, they attempted to fish.  They have now learned that salt water fly fishing is MUCH more difficult than fresh water fly fishing!  It was still a good day and Mommy enjoyed seeing the wildlife (including the dolphin below!), but you can rest assured no fish were harmed that day because no fish were caught!

We hope you enjoyed seeing a few highlights of our parents' trip to The Big Easy . . . personally, we didn't!  Why?  Because we wanted to go with them!

Maybe next time,
Dixie, Jenna, & Ruger

Mommy's Little Helper [Dishes]

My little brother Ruger thinks he's oh so helpful!  He's discovered what all of us preceding him have known . . . it's FUN to lick the dishes in the dishwasher!  He's even learned the sound of the dishwasher opening and comes running to do his part.  It's only a matter of time before he does what the rest of us have also done:  get his collar stuck on the tines of the washer and pull the whole rack out!  That would certainly teach Ruger a thing or two!

 Daddy thought it'd be funny to let Ruger clean the top rack!  Mommy was not amused!

Sometimes Ruger even tries to crawl inside when the lower rack is pushed in!  Mommy gets very frustrated with him.  Every time she closes the door, she has to check to make sure his head isn't in the way.

The one thing he hasn't figured out is that sometimes the dishes in there are CLEAN!!!  Poor Ruger wants to lick EVERYTHING!  Hopefully he'll learn this tidbit before we have guests over.  So far, Mommy's trying to shoo him away.  She just rolls her eyes when his tongue successfully makes contact with a clean dish or utensil before she can put it away.  Don't tell Daddy!

Mommy's hoping Ruger learns his dishwasher lessons soon.  He can't do this when he reaches his maximum potential weight of 85-95 pounds!  That door won't survive.  On the other paw, maybe she's secretly hoping he won't learn this lesson and he'll break the dishwasher???  She REALLY misses her much nicer dishwasher from the previous house . . .

Only time will tell what happens in the dish washing world . . . and me.  I'll be sure to let you know if Ruger has any major incidents!

Jenna

Mommy's Little Helper [Hose]

Since it's been so dry here, Mommy has had to water the plants at least once a day if not twice a day!  I'm super great at helping her.

I sometimes carry the hose around.  That hose can become heavy when it's full of water and Mommy's trying to lug it around the yard.  I'm such a big boy!  (And I've been told my big brother Hunter helped Mommy with the hose as well!)

I also like to carry the hose to my bed.  When it's with me, I can keep an eye on it and make sure it doesn't get away!

I really like to help water the sweet autumn clematis.  It was planted last summer long before I was born and has finally decided to GROW!  Hopefully it will bloom this fall . . .

I don't know what Mommy did without me!  Maybe I should ask Dixie and Jenna . . .
Ruger

Mine, All Mine!

I've loved having Mommy all to myself on our morning walks this summer.  To tell the truth, she admits it's been super easy walking one dawg instead of the usual two . . . what's she going to do when Ruger's old enough to go too?!?!?!?

Recently we've been stopping at the playa lake in the neighborhood to help me cool off since it's been so hot this summer (we peaked at 110!!!!).  After just one dip in the lake, I started leading Mommy there every morning.  She is not a big fan since I usually come out pretty stinky.  Overall we've had a dry summer, but a few weeks ago we had about eight inches of rain in a week.  Where we used to live that amount was nothing, but here that much water causes flooding.  The lake moved way out of its boundaries and caused fish to wash up and then unfortunately die on the shore as the water receded . . . those fish are SO MUCH FUN to roll around in!!!!  Mommy doesn't agree, but what does she know?  Has she ever tried it???

Mommy and I took these pictures one morning after the rain.  Normally this water is a good 15-20 yards on the other side of these trees!

This pump isn't normally in the lake!  

Here's the pump after the water started receding . . .

The past few weeks we've been making TWO stops at the lake.   The first is to help me cool down so I can prepare for the second half of our walk.  I don't go off-leash on this first stop.

The second stop has been to help me cool down and PLAY!!!!  Technically, dawgs aren't supposed to be off-leash at the lake, but we're there pretty early in the morning when others aren't so Mommy's been breaking the rules!  And she's gone prepared to do so . . . she's taken tennis balls with us!

A recent sighting of the Loch Ness Monster . . . 

I've had so much FUN!  These pictures aren't the best.  Mommy doesn't have pockets in her walking clothes, so the phone goes in her, um, well, her jog bra!  When she whips out the phone to take pictures of me, the lens is a little foggy!  Too much information???

I've enjoyed the time I've spent alone with Mommy.   Jenna is ready to join us now . . . sigh . . . but I'm happy for Jenna.  She's ready to RUN!!!  And she's been a MUCH better sport about being cooped up than I would've been!

Dixie

Let Sleeping Dawgs Lie [Dixie]

I know Jenna recently told you how her crate is being taken over by Booger, um, I mean Ruger!  So far this is the only area of Jenna's life that has been invaded by Ruger.  I cannot say the same!  My brother LOVES me, or at least loves to torture me!  He will stand on his hind legs and grab hold of my back with his teeth and just follow me around like that!  Mommy keeps telling me I don't have to take it, but I do.  He's only a baby, right?  I'm just doing what a good big sister should do.

Sometimes to save myself I take shelter in my crate in the evenings.  I'm good with Ruger invading my personal space by jumping on top of me, but I don't want him near my crate.  Every so often when I go mind my own business in my crate, he'll come to the crate door and bark at me!  The nerve of that little booger!  Ruger's incessant barking drives Daddy nuts to the point that either he or Mommy will come retrieve Ruger and distract him with a toy to remove him from my presence.  (Decor note:  Please ignore my terrible mix of patterns.  I have the camo covered bed because I kept tearing up the other bed cover and Mommy grew tired of patching it up.  The other bed cover matched my floral blanket better. I haven't even tried to mutilate the camo for some reason.  Maybe it's a subliminal hint to Daddy that I too should be taken on his hunts??)

Ruger needs to understand that no matter how much torture I take from him, I WILL NOT ALLOW MY CRATE TO BE INVADED!!!!  Ruger has only dared to lie down in my crate once!  I dare say he won't do it again.

This is me when I discovered Ruger had invaded my crate.  I was not happy!  Ruger kept on snoozing.

I was so agitated, I couldn't settle down elsewhere.  Mommy tried to convince me to come back towards her, but I was NOT having it.  I kept trying to get Daddy's attention.  I knew he could save me.

In the end it was Mommy to the rescue.  She finally came over and picked Ruger up and moved him out of my crate.  THANK YOU, MOMMY!!  I was able to settle into MY space and block out the rudeness of this puppy we call brother.  Mommy tried to remind me that's exactly what little brothers are for.

Hopefully my little booger, um, brother learned a valuable lesson that day.  You can mess with me outside my crate, but not inside!

Dixie

PS: Happy belated birthday to my Uncle J (Mommy's not so young little brother), Great Aunt P, Great Aunt S, and happy thirteenth anniversary to Aunt C and Uncle W!  Lots of celebrations yesterday in our family!