The before and after...

My little dogs, trimmed a bit.

I had to help poor Bear out, he was beginning to look like a Rastafarian. Well maybe more like mange, and that's a horrible look for such a cute dog. I do need to even him out a bit though.

now for the after shots...

The puppies

I  took these and posted with my new phone. I'm moving up in the world on technology. I still prefer my camera for the real good shots, but these are fun. I have done some with the editing options that I have on my phone, I'll post some of those later.  These phones will have to be our Christmas presents to ourselves.

Pot Sticker & Dim Sum; you know, to protect the "innocent"

I think my doggies need undercover names, names to protect the innocent, well...if they were innocent.  These are nick names given to my little barking duo by my brother-in-law, one of my brothers-in-law (you'll just have to guess).

This summer has been a while in coming, but now that it's here, I'm afraid it came with a vengeance.  This inferno is just starting and we have another three months or so to go, I'm so excited, really....still not convinced? Me either. 

I am having a difficult time finding a way to bring comfort into our home with this raging inferno going on outside, and I'm too cheap to let the air run all day.  This is where the issue begins, I'm convinced.  I leave the air off, or leave it to only come on if it get's 80 or 85 in the house while I'm away.  Lately this has been an issue.  My doggies are alone all day here in their kennel, and once I come home they wake from lethargy to spin in circles and  bounce up and down to get outside which is a quick trip because after they get into that heat they beg to come back in.  This is when the mischief happens, and I miss it because I'm changing, or just stripping in our room instead of hanging out and watching the water bowl.  Except for this week, when I was on the phone talking with Melissa.  This is when I found the offender, and how the puddle of water ends up on my kitchen floor instead of staying in the bowl.

Dim Sum, yep, the never in trouble always good and cute dim Sum.  She was the culprit. Tossing water out of the dish like a crazy woman.  It was cute, except for the friggin' mess she keeps leaving on my floor. 

She's not as innocent as she looks

In my naivete I felt that the whole mystery had been solved in this discovery, and I had my eye on her.  I mopped the mess up, steamed the floor and continued on to make dinner and move along with the plans for the evening. 

I was reading quietly, waiting for my hubby to get home, and I ear it...splashing.  Like a doggie was digging in water, but Dim sum was sitting peacefully under the coffee table chewing on her rawhide.  Quickly I looked over to their water dish, and yes, there was Pot Sticker pawing away at the water.  Both of them! The little traitors, taking turns soaking the floor, and creating a lake in the kitchen. 

He looks calm, but really he's just recharging to continue the chaos

I have rethought my feelings of affection for the little monsters recently, now with them both conspiring to wreck my house.  It was bad enough with the continuous shedding and fur that has to be cleaned constantly.  I was also looking forward to a reprieve from cleaning the rainbow of mud that they drag into the house every time it rains, summer is dry after all.  But now there is anther seasonal disaster, water being tossed about my kitchen. 

I gave them both ice cubes to chew on, and chase around the floor. I have now contributed to the puddles of water on my carpet, how crazy am I?

Here are pictures of the Ice cubes from when Pot Sticker was a baby, to show you some of the cuteness that happens with ice cubes.

Wordless Wednessday - a Beautiful Cafe retreat

Wordless Wednesday - Sunset

Christmas Eve celebration

fire going in the fireplace

Present under the tree

ornaments properly hung on the tree

New dinner napkins

table set for a feast

All the usual suspects in one group shot

I know I'm a bit late in posting these pictures, but our computer got a virus, and so I did not have access to these for a while.  We have a new computer now, thank you to my father-in-law, and hopefully our laptop will be functioning again soon.

We all have our family traditions, some we keep and pass down, some we inherit from our new families, some we all create together.  Our tradition of Christmas Eve dinner at our place, and Christmas day at my sister-in-laws place, these are fun new traditions that I look forward to each year.

The presents change, people grow, but the love of family remains.

Wordless Wednessday - sponge bath for puppies

Geese at Apple Hill - Another Wordless Wednesday

Super dog!

Bear in "flight", looking rather upset about it too.

Another Wordless Wednesday - mostly wordless anyways

This is a story about Bear

Mandy enjoying her rawhide, minding her own business

A side attack

The beginning of  wrestling around a bit

Bear working on a take down

Mandy's take down

Ending friends again

And kisses for mommy, it's been a great day