Halloween and Frankenstorm!!!

Turns out I LOVE Halloween.  I wore my "costume" which wasn't too corny, (well, I guess it was CANDY CORNY!)  and kids came to the door over and over!  The doorbell would ring and I would start my barking welcome.  I thought I was all rough and tough in protecting my house, but then the kids were dressed funny and it scared me a few times.  Mom carved the pumpkin and gave me the cut-outs to munch on, but I like the pureed stuff from the can better.  I did, however, carry one piece of pumpkin around for a good hour or so, so I wouldn't hurt Mom's feelings.  Here are some pictures!

This is me doing an artsy fartsy pose, where I pretend I'm not paying attention to the camera and instead watching cars go down the street.  It's better than looking at that scary pumpkin, which I refused to sit next to.

You can't really tell from here, but Mom is wearing her Whalan Autodynamics jumpsuit here, and giving a scary Halloween smile; almost as scary as the pumpkin.

For trunk or treat at the church, Mom dressed up as a UNC Tarheels fan (not much of a costume, Mom, more like your normal clothes) and Dad wore his baby blue tux.  The tux of course got rave reviews.  Mom and Dad left and then Mom came racing home to bring me there.  She and I sat in the back of Dad's tailgate and handed out candy to the kids.  All the kids wanted to pet me and were impressed at my "dog" costume and how realistic it was.  And all the adults came and patted me and said how good I was being.  

Earlier this week we went through the "Frankenstorm" which was a combination of hurricane Sandy and a nor'easter.  It was really cold with 60mph winds and rainy and gross.  There are some things a dog just has to do outside, but I definitely tried to minimize my time in the elements.  Mom and Dad both got Monday off, so they spend it loving me and playing with my blanket and hanging pictures.  It was pretty great to spend the whole day with them.  I also got to visit Grandma and Grandpa for lunch, which was really fun, as always.  Tuesday Mom went in to work, but drove Dad's truck, with the hay bales in the back and everything.  She drove by a downed power line and a tree that fell over in the road and said it was quite an adventure.  I sat at home and fell asleep as Dad watched Top Secret and Airplane!  and then some work on the bathrooms.  Have I mentioned I can't wait until the bathrooms are done?  So loud and messy!  So, we weathered the storm pretty well, except for about 36 hours of no TV or internet service and the news that we need a new roof.  

It's starting to get pretty cold here, but I'm really enjoying chasing all the winter leaves and not having to get my fur clipped so often.  I've got my full "fro" going.  And, since it's cold, that means that it's almost time for Grandma and Grandpa Williams and Sarah to come out and visit!  AND it means that I might have a friend coming to stay with us!  Hurley, Sarah's dog, might come here to live with us!  We all hope he does.  I wouldn't be so lonely during the day if he came.  Ok, time to go eat some acorns.  

Halloween!!!

I know it's a little early, but I just wanted to show everyone my Halloween outfit!  Mom doesn't have one and Dad doesn't want to confuse any kids by wearing his Santa Claus costume, so it's just me dressing up, I guess!  Here you go!  One is a profile shot, and one is me cheezing for the camera!

You guessed it, I'm a candy corn!  More pictures to come, I'm sure.  Happy Halloween everyone!

Acorns!

I think I have a new favorite season.  In the fall it starts getting cold outside, so I don't have to get shaved anymore (thank goodness!), and there are ACORNS on the ground!  I brought all the acorns we had in the backyard in to my little area in the basement, and pulled each one apart.  At Grandma's house, there are TONS of acorns, and I had GREAT time playing over there with them.  Mom and Dad and I went on that walk to fight hunger, and the sidewalks were covered in 'em!  While I'm on the subject of stuff I like to eat, Mom and Dad got me new food.  Snooty food from Petsmart that was on supersale.  It's Purina One.  I had one sniff, and the whole bowl was empty soon after.  That really surprised Mom and Dad because I tend to be kind of picky about my food.  Anyway, a couple hours and upset stomach later, Mom and Dad felt so sorry for me after I threw up that they even let me sleep with me on Saturday night!  Fall also means that I get to fall asleep with Mom while Dad watches football.  Mostly the New York Giants, but any old game will do.  Dad has been working on remodeling the bathrooms which is a loud and lengthy process.  Mom painted the walls too.  I sure will be happy when they are done with that so they can just play with me!

Hunger Walk and Birthday week!

Yesterday was Saturday, September 29th.  Mom and Dad and I went to Robinson High School and walked with about 1000 other dogs and people to raise awareness about hunger in our area.  We brought a case of Chef Boyardee to drop off.  We had a great walk.  I got to sniff all the thousands of acorns on the sidewalk. And there were other dogs for me to greet.  I got a water break halfway through, and again at the end.  Everyone thought I was super cute (duh) and wanted to pet me.  Talk about Hunger Walk, I was STARVING afterwards!  So were Mom and Dad, so we went to Chick-fil-A for breakfast, and they just made me smell it and not eat any.  But then I saw a squirrel, and it TOTALLY got me sidetracked and I wanted to get out of the truck SO BAD to chase it, I was jumping all around the truck.  Then we went into Home Depot.  Mom put me in a shopping cart, which was a little uncomfortable, but pretty nice when I lied down (which I did because my legs were pretty tired after our 2 mile walk!)  After that adventure, we dropped off some lumber at Chris & Biddy's house and I got to play with Kathleen and Alex and the golden retriever next door.  It was a great morning!

I should also say that on Monday we celebrated Mom's birthday!  31!  Wow, she's old.  Anyway, Mom and Dad went out to eat dinner with the rest of the family, but then to my surprise, everyone came home to hang out with me!  Well, and eat some ice cream cake too, but that's not the important part.  I got to play with everyone, and I even got a present myself from my cousins Elfie and Fiero in Utah!  (I love my raccoon by the way!)

Dad got sick that night, and spent ALL DAY with me on Tuesday.  We watched TV and took naps, and he blew his nose, and I played with Raccoon.

Oh!  And last Thursday, the 20th, was Grandma's birthday.  She really wanted to see me on her birthday, so she made a special trip just to pet me.  I love my Grandmas!

Date Night!

Saturday night, Mom and Dad took me along for date night!  We went to Shirlington and had Thai food.  (well, I had a little bit of Drunken Noodles, wow that was spicy!)  They didn't offer me any dumplings or anything.  Humph!  I got petted by all kinds of people and I met lots of other dogs.  Then we headed out to Dairy Godmother because they make ice cream pops for dogs like me!  However, the line was out the door, and I don't like to wait, so we just headed back to the truck.  On the way there, though, I met Mom's co-worker Jen Price, walking her baby Eli!  I was very good and sniffed Eli and let another little girl pet me.  I was "the cat's meow."  Instead of Dairy Godmother, we just got some Dairy Queen, a distant relative.  Dad let me like the cup afterwards, and I was up to my eyebrows in blizzard.  Mom and Dad couldn't get their blackmail pictures fast enough, but just take it from me, they were laughing pretty hard.

Mom and Dad's Alaskan Cruise
Ok, I'm switching to let Mom write this one, since I was hanging out with Grandma and Grandpa Whalan all week.  Signing out!

Josh and I took a cruise on Holland America starting from Seattle, then Juneau, then Glacier Bay, Sitka, Ketchikan, Victoria Island, and then back to Seattle.  We got to join Jeanne and Bruce Williams for a week-long double date.  While Alaska was only 50-60 degrees, it was mostly sunny and beautiful!!!  We had a fantastic time.  My favorite thing was the heated tile recliners in the spa.  The calming music was playing at there was a great view of the mountains, and it was nice and warm.  I also caught my first fish!!!  I would love to go check out Victoria again some day.  It was a great, relaxing vacation.  After over a week of spending about 99% of my time with Josh, I am still totally smitten.  And I have the coolest in-laws I could ever hope for.  They are fantastic.  I'm a very lucky girl!  But after it was all over, I was so happy to get back to my sweet Delta!!!

Josh and I on the deck

Cooking class. Zesting a lemon.

Jeanne, Bruce, Josh, and I at Glacier bay

Brrr!  Them glaciers is cold!

First time fishing and I caught a salmon!

Our loot!

Butterfly house in Seattle

He's a stud

Beautiful sunrise!

Josh and I at Mendenhall glacier

Josh and Bruce at the waterfall at Mendenhall glacier

Jeanne learning how to use her camera

Great double date photo at Mendenhall glacier 

Calving glacier at Glacier Bay National Park

Josh and Bruce sightseeing

Beautiful Sitka

Juvenile bald eagle

Gorgeous flowers at the Pike Market in Seattle

Gum wall in Seattle

Seattle at night

Backpacking Trek (That I Missed!)

Mom and Dad went on a backpacking trip for the Girls' Camp for the stake Monday to Tuesday.  They were supposed to hike with their backpacks for 8 miles, on level ground.  Instead, they did 10 miles up the mountain and down the mountain, over and over.  They wanted to bring me originally, and I knew I'd have fun, but in the end, it's a good thing I didn't go.  Here's some pictures of what I missed.

The View from Bear's Den

Josh and I, one of the times we were "almost there."

The soles of Mom's shoes peeled off, so she duct taped them, and then also had to tie them up with rope.  She's such a fashion icon.

Instead, I got to spend my Monday night and Tuesday morning with Grandma Whalan!  Suckas!

USA! USA! USA!

Well, this past week hasn't really been photo-worthy.  Last week we got back from the beach and I was SO TIRED!  I took Monday to take a bunch of "cat" naps and catch up on sleep.  Dad left for business for the rest of the week so it was just Mom and I.  We watched lots of Olympics.  I've seen a lot of commercials.  My favorite is the Chevy truck ad where the dog gets to pick if his owner buys the truck or not.  Mom really wants to watch some field hockey, but we haven't seen any on TV yet.  I got to join Mom over at Grandma's house to learn how to make bread with the Laurels from church.  I even got petted by a 6 month old baby!  I was very good and let him grab my fur.  Mom came home really late Thursday night so she could go to a class to learn how to cook Thai food with Grandma.  She did give me some to try out though!  Spicy!!!  Then, Mom made a pie on Friday night, and all the sudden I heard Dad's truck and I was so excited, I just started barking and spinning around in circles.  Mom was happy too.  We all cuddled together for a little while.  Until I fell asleep (as usual).  Saturday I got to go for a ride in the truck to the pharmacy (they gave me treats!), the carwash, and a garage sale where Mom got some golf clubs for $10!  And I got to play with BJ and Jenny one more time before they leave for Utah.  I sure am going to miss them!  BJ did scare the pee out of me Saturday night though.  Then Sunday they all went to church and when they came back they had a rotisserie chicken Dad made, and mashed cauliflower and corn on the cob, and I got to eat 2 leftover cobs!  YUMMM!  I didn't get any peach pie though.  One thing I know for sure after this week:  Mom and I love to have Dad at home instead of away on business!

Back from Vacation!

You know, my life is pretty great.  2 weeks ago Mom was home sick, and I got to spend a whole 2 days with her, just catching up on daytime TV and relaxing.  Then, on Sunday morning, Mom and Dad took me on the longest truck ride ever!  They got me a new toy, Duck, for the trip.  Here we are!

We went to Duck, North Carolina, to a house by the beach!  I got to play with Mom, Dad, Grandma and Grandpa Whalan, GP, Biddy, Chris, Kathleen, Alex, Uncle Mike, BJ, and Jenny.  I had so much fun, I barely slept!  Well, actually, I cried so much that Mom and Dad let me sleep with them, IN THE BED!  They don't need a whole king bed anyway.  I got to check out the beach too.  I didn't really like the surf though!

Dad's been buried in the sand!  But I wanted to check out Kathleen's castle!

Getting my feet wet!! (And running away from the waves)

This is what happens when my feet get wet.

There were some monster storms while we were there.  I sure was glad I got to cuddle with Mom and Dad during all that lightening!  Dad was barbequing dinner during one of the storms.  He got soaked!

Well, this is a night without a storm.  Sunset on the crab pots.

Here comes the clouds!

Uncle Mike surveys the double rainbow.

I wasn't here for these pictures, but I figure I'll post them anyway.  I'm too scared to ride those waves!

Mom looks scared!

Kill Devil Hills, NC.  First in Flight!

I don't have any pictures to show my hunting skills off, but I will just say that I am the ghost crab whisperer.  We went to look for ghost crabs at sundown, and I was chasing them all over the beach!  I even caught one, but it clawed my nose and I let it go.  One more day, and I could have gotten the family dinner.  I also caught a lot of leftovers and table scraps by hanging out under the kitchen table.  In fact, I never did eat any of my dog food.  Alex hooked me up.  He even let me eat off his fork!

On the ride home from the beach, I couldn't stand it any longer.  I just passed out in the back seat of the truck.  I tried so hard to stay awake and enjoy the ride!  And once we got home, I just fell right asleep again, while Mom and Dad watched the Olympics.  Dad left for Colorado today, so it's just going to be me and Mom this week.  I miss Dad already! And the beach.  And the family.  And the food!  Oh well, I'll just keep chasing the crabs in my dreams.

Well, I'm back on the keyboard again!  This week was so great.  Josh's brother BJ and his wife Jenny came up from Hampton Roads to celebrate the 4th of July, and they miss their dog, Tucker, and I just LOOOVE attention!  Here we are!

They arrived just in time for dessert (without me!) Tuesday night and played games all evening with Josh and Lorena.  Wednesday morning Josh left early to go make pancakes for the church pancake breakfast, and I got to go wake BJ and Jenny up!  Once they all came back from the breakfast, we got to play on the sofa a little bit, but they left me home to go to the Air & Space museum and again to watch fireworks downtown.  They got back really late, probably because of traffic.  Then they left real early Thursday morning.  I hope they come back soon.  Or maybe I can go with Mom and Dad when they go visit them down at Busch Gardens.  I'm used to getting twirled around.  Just strap me in and I'm good to go!

In other news, Mom and Dad got a new bed!  Well, they had the mattress, but now they have a frame!  It smells like the woods in their room now.  And it's nice and big so that I can sleep horizontally and they can watch TV vertically and there's room for all of us. Now I just have to figure out how to make them let me sleep there with them.  Hmmm....  Please note the quilting genius of Grandma Jeanne, by the way.

Yes, I can blog!

You might think I can't talk, and wouldn't be able to type, but I'm a pretty smart dog, actually.  I might catch food with my face, or run my head into the sofa when I try to jump on it, but I just do it to fool Mom and Dad.  I had this great idea to start blogging so my friends and family could know what's up in the Williams house.  To start, here's a picture of me!  You're welcome to follow my blog.  I'll update weekly.

My summer has been great.  I started it off at Aunt Wanda and Uncle Frank's house on the river.  This was my first big trip in the truck, my first time on a boat, and my first time in the water.  I was pretty terrified of swimming!

That's me watching Dad about to water ski

That was a pretty great trip, but most of the time I just hang around the house, waiting for Mom and Dad to get home from work, terrorizing my toys.  Check out my work!

Monkey used to have the squeeze ball inside, but not anymore!  <evil laugh>

The remains of Mr. Elephant

I don't like ears.  Or eyes.  Or feet.  Or whiskers on the right side of the face.

My favorite place to be:  the leather chair.  On the armrest, with Dad keeping me company.