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.