Rally the Troops!

Rally the Troops, everypuppy! It's me, Ammy, and Ao4 Headquarters is under siege! Really!

It started with Zim's "friend" that he told you about last weekend. It's gotten bad with that ... "friend", and he actually comes running when he sees Zimmie now! It's horrible! Fortunately, I have started to insist on going out with him when Mom takes him out, so I can protect him. And when this ... "friend" sees me, he turns on a dime and runs off! I put out way different vibes around ... cats than Zim does! He knows not to come around when I'm on the job.

But then... I was downstairs the other day. I stopped by Dad's study to say "roooooo!" to him; I love my daddy a LOT! I gazed out his window and I was horrified! Right there, in broad daylight - a CAT BURGLAR!

I grabbed the camera and shot these pictures:

M-ow?

Sorry about the screen in that one. But you can CLEARLY see that he's trying to break in! And this isn't even Zimmie's "friend" - this is another cat!!! Here's another shot of him:

That's his profile shot; memorize those features! Be on the lookout!

It got worse from there. I went to download the pictures so I could send them to my very good friend Khyra and my other Siber-Mal pals and when I came back into the study, Mom was talking sweet talk to him! She was saying, "Oooh, sweet kitkitkit!" and was tapping paws with him! What is this world coming to!?!?

Clearly, Ao4 HQs is under siege! Of course, I'm not sure Stormy and Zim see it this way ..... what to do!?!? Dave and I are on our own, I think. We need the help of the Troopers in the Ao4. I'm just not sure I'm allowed to rally the troops without the permission of our Supreme Commander. Hrmph!

Love,
Amber

The Animal Rescue Site

Woo. It's me, Dave. Did you see my bee-woo-tiful friend Hollybollyboo's blog yesterday? Sadly, there wasn't a new picture of her or anything, but she did have a great way to help get food to rescued pups!

Her friend (and hopefully our new friend!) Izzie has issued a challenge to all her friends and readers: post the Animal Rescue Site badge on your blog for a day, letting your readers know it will help feed rescued animals; encourage them to click every day for a week!

Like Holly, we've put the badge in our sidebar and will click daily from now on - or will try to! If you'd like the badge for your blog, click here!

Why not give this a click now, and help feed animals in shelters!

If you rise to the challenge, stop by and let Izzie know! And spread the word! Wooooo!

Remember ... food is good. Especially when shared with a pal!

Mmm... Zim, it's cherry vanilla!
Oh, yeah! Move your snooter over, Dave!

Luv,
Dave

He's Out There!

It's me, Zim. My kitty friend is out there somewhere.

I just know it.

Play bows and mrrrows,
Zim

Sunday Salute - Our Great Sisters Pt. IV

Welcome to Part IV of our month full of Sunday Salutes to our great-sisters, Jesse and Lucky! Last week, we shared many of their European adventures with you. They helped Mom and Dad enjoy their three years in Belgium to the fullest!

There came a day when it was time to pack it up and for everyone to head to the States!

Lucky and Jesse, ready to head to America!

For Mom and Dad, this was coming home. For our great-sisters, the US was a land full of curious things! Their first stop was Virginia. There, they met their fur-cousin, Jackie Blue, learned how to splash in a kiddie pool to beat the heat, and were introduced to closets for the first time. See... in Mom and Dad's house in Belgium, as in many houses in Europe, there were no closets. Every time Mom would go into a closet at first, the girls would follow her, then act surprised - like "They have such small rooms here in America!" Ha roo roo roo!

They also experienced crunchy autumn leaves for the first time (it rains a lot in Belgium) and their first Halloween. Lucky didn't care for all the ringing of the doorbell, then no one coming in to admire her, but Jesse thought it was a blast. Mom let her help hand out the candy!

When they lived at Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas, Jesse and Lucky were delighted to see there were a lot of children in the neighborhood. One little girl in particular would stop by almost daily to see if they could come out to play. Here they are with her, playing "Button Button".

It's in ... wait a minute ... not that one ...

It's a game where the biped "hides" a treat in one fist, then presents both fists to the Sibes. The pup then taps whichever hand the treat is in. Jesse really excelled at "Button Button". In the photo above, Jesse was playing, while Lucky patiently waited her turn - while checking out the rest of the neighborhood!

The girls were fed in the kitchen, but Jesse was used to dining in some of the best restaurants in Europe, so she would somehow bring her bowl into the dining room. Mom has no idea how she did it. Here she is, saying grace before eating.

Jesse, giving thanks.

They still went on cool trips in the States. Here they are with Dad in Parkville, Missouri.

I wonder if they knew Missouri would be the future home of our future president, Tubey! Maybe not. Parkville is actually closer to where the D'Azul Siberians live anyway.

They moved with Mom and Dad again, not too far from the current Ao4 HQs, when Dad got his first assignment to Fort Riley. While there, they made friends with Sam, a really cool guy who was Mom's friend's pup. He did a lot of sleep-overs with them and they had tons of fun. Here they are at Christmas of '87.

Sam, Lucky and Jesse

Oh, we know what SOME of you might be thinking. "Caught looking at Christmas presents", right? No. Not them. Look at how INNOCENT they look! Really! We're sure they weren't peeking at ALL.

When Sam's mom (who is Rocky and Mati's dad's cousin, by the way!) adopted him from the shelter, she was told he was a "beagle mix". It wasn't until she saw him towering over our great-sisters that she realized Sam-the-70-pound-Beagle might just have a little something else in him, too. Ha roo roo roo!

It was during a Sam Sleep-Over in July of '88 that something REALLY cool happened! Mom and Dad were adopted by great-brother Booter! Here they all are on his first day home!

Left to right: Booter, Lucky, Sam, and Jesse

They played and played in the back yard together; it looks like a blast, doesn't it? Then Booter and Sam played fetch with Mom for a long time. The girls were fascinated with this, as they believed in the Siberian philosophy of "you threw it, you go get it". Booter loved the game, though, and would even bring the Frisbee or ball to them thinking they might throw it for him!

Here's the whole pack, taking a break:

Sam and Booter in front; Jesse and Lucky in the back.

Lucky and Jesse taught Boots a lot about the ways of the Siberian, and he, in turn, regaled us girls (Storm and Ammy) with all their tales. Here are Lucky and Boots on his first day in the family; you can see Lucky is praising him!

Good Booter! Obey me and I will teach you the ways of the Siberian!

Remember a long time ago, Storm shared a picture of her first day home - with great-brother Booter!

Lucky and Jesse went on to have many, many more adventures with Mom, Dad and Booter. As this is a celebration of their life, we will end our Salute to Jesse and Lucky right here. They were, indeed, and always will be - GREAT sisters!

The Army of Four

Spring Has Sprung!

Hi everypuppy! It's me - Ammy! I hope all of you are having a happy weekend!

Spring has finally hit us here in Kansas! That means up and down temperatures and very strong storms (with a small "s") ... but also lovely blooms! We thought you might enjoy seeing what's in bloom right now in our yard!

Here's a close-up of our Redspire Pear tree.

Remember what it looked like in our ice storm? We are really happy it has sprung back to life! Dave is hoping it drops a lot of those little ornamental fruits all over the sidewalk and get all smooshed this year; he LOVES those!

Our Redbud trees are looking mighty purple right now! Mom wanted to get a picture of me by them. Since you usually see me giggling, I thought I'd strike a serious pose.

Me... looking serious.

What do you think? Oh, see the splash of red way back there? Sort of in front of my snooter. That's the Texas Quince on the next level down!

Mom wanted to get a picture of me looking at them, but I was pretty sure there was somebunny or somekitty in the neighbors' yard. They are really nice neighbors and have sweet kids who like to pet us, so it's our duty to keep their yard safe, too! Here I am, on the job!

Me, making sure the neighbors' yard is bunny and kitty free!
And... not looking at the Quince.

Oh, see that tree in the upper left-hand corner? That was a huge Weeping Willow tree. They had one on either side of the yard. The ice storm really, really did a number on them and they had to trim them way back. You can see them in our ice storm pix! They have some green growth on them, so they aren't total goners!

I thought I saw something ...

Hey! Who's down there?!!?

...but it was nothing.

Once I knew our AO was secured, I did stop to admire the Texas Quince. I like RED!

Oooh, pretty. And RED!

Here's a close-up of the blooms:

Aren't they pretty?

One last update - and that's our Snowball Viburnum! A late, heavy frost zapped them out last year, but look! We have lots of blooms in the making!

Our snowball bush!

We're hoping this will be a better year for snowballs!

Love,
Amber

ANZAC Day 2008

Today, we give thanks for our friends and allies - the fighting men of Australia and New Zealand.

We invite our readers to learn more about the history of ANZAC Day and the brave men we honor this day by following this link, this link, and this one. We must never forget them! We also provided some interesting links last year and shared a video well worth watching again.

In addition to prayers of thanks, we thought we'd mark the day by sending Mom a mind-meld message to make some ANZAC biscuits again this year. It's not like they have any of the truly forbidden foods in them, so you never know. We might be able to share! We wonder if our Australian friends Opy & Charlie or our newest Trooper in the Ao4, Huffle Mawson, or our friends Prince and Summer in New Zealand were given any of these special treats! We're thinking of you and all our friends in Australia and New Zealand today!

We leave you with the beautiful words of the fourth stanza of the poem For the Fallen by Laurence Binyon (1869–1943):

...They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old;
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them....

God bless them all,

The Army of Four

Ch-ch-ch-changes

Woo, it's me - Dave. Remember that old David Bowie song Ch-ch-ch-changes? I don't remember the song well enough to know if he was happy about his ch-ch-ch-changes, but I know I don't really care for the ones around here. As my brother Zim mentioned the other day, Mom rearranged the outer part of the Quilt Studio. No, she didn't ask me first. I'm trying to cope, as best I can. Many thanks to those of you who have asked about me.

Me. In the Studio. Woo.

I'm OK ... really. But check this out! The outside part of the Studio should look like this:

And now? Now it looks like this:

Here it is from another angle:

The big table with the machines should be 180 degrees the other way! Woo. Sure, everything else is where it should be... but the table is all spun around! It's enough to freak a guy out! Oh, woo is me!

On the other paw, when I'm in the inside part of the Studio working and Mom's at the machine, we can see each other now. I kind of like that. She likes that she can see out the windows/doors now and can see the TV better; I like that I can make sure she's implementing all my color choices! Here I am with a recent bag I helped her with:

Groovy, isn't it? She never would have put these fabs together without my help! And since she did trust me with the fab choices ... I guess I'll trust her with the rearranging. As long as it ends there! Woo.

Luv,
Dave

It's a Girl!

And another girl ... and a boy, a girl and a GIRL!

Our heartfelt congratulations go out to our friends Gloria and Juarez of the D'Azul Siberians!

Gloria (D'Azul's En Vogue Salsa Queen)

Juarez (Champion D'Azul's El Presidente)

They are the proud parents of five gorgeous, healthy PUPPIES!!!!!!!!!!! Here they are with Gloria, right after they were born:

Gloria and her glorious puppies!!!!!!!!

Aren't they all gorgeous?!!? The black and whites are girls, as is the deep red. The lighter red puppy is the male. They all are stunning, just like their mama and daddy! GREAT job, Gloria!

Congrats to you, Juarez, and to ALL members of the D'Azul family! Please stop by the D'Azul Siberians blog to wish them well!

Tail wags,
Stormy

"Wolf of the Steps"

Hi everypuppy! It's me - Ammy. Did you see Zimmie's post yesterday? "Wolf of the Steps". Hee hee hee! Oh, my little brother just cracks me up sometimes!

Hee hee hee! Good one, Zimmie!

Sorry, everypuppy. I just can't stop giggling! "Wolf of the Steps". Hee hee hee!

Love,
Ammy

New Book

Hey pups. It's me, Zim. Dave was going to post today, but he's pouting. Mom rearranged one little area of the Quilt Studio and it's totally thrown him off his game. Maybe he'll tell you about it later in the week. He doesn't respond well to change; we'll have to see what happens.

Anyroo, Dad's starting to read a new series of books by some guy named Harold Lamb. It's all about the Cossacks and the adventures they had. I think this first book might be about me.

Really. I think it is. It's about me.

Wolf of the Steps.

Ha roo roo roo! I've gotta run this one by Ammy.

Play bows,
Zim

Sunday Salute - Our Great Sisters Pt. III

Welcome to the third installment to our Salute to our great-sisters, Jesse and Lucky! These great Siberians helped teach our parents all there is to love about our wonderful breed - and did lots of training for we who follow in their paw-prints!

We've already shared some baby pictures with you, but we found this one and couldn't resist adding it to our Salute.

Jesse on the left and Lucky on the right

Totally adorable, don't you think?

When we left off last week, we promised to show you more European travel pictures. We found another cool picture of the girls and Dad in a park in Namur, Belgium.

What some of us wouldn't give to do some digging around there! We mean "in the town". You know - exploring. Yeah, that's what we meant. Not digging up the plants or anything. No. Not us.

In addition to going to Namur and Dinant (they usually fit both in on one day), another very favorite day trip for them was Monschau, Germany. Here is a shot of Dad, Lucky and Jesse there:

Apparently, in addition to being a town filled with snow, lovely snow, there were some very nice gasthauses there where the people were very welcoming to our great sisters. According to Mom, the gasthaus owners would usually bring the girls a little treat and fuss over them and that was before they even asked if Mom and Dad would like anything. Ha roo roo roo. What a great place that must be! No wonder Jesse and Lucky liked going there!

As you can tell from that picture, Mom was going through a "black and white" phase in her photography. Here's a photo we call "Black and White in Black and White".

Lucky: Cover Husky!

Here's our family on a trip to the Netherlands! They're in a place called Keukenhof, a HUGE nursery/garden for millions and millions of Dutch bulbs plants like tulips and daffodils! As you can see, Lucky discovered something under the bridge FAR more interesting than flowers. Ha roo roo roo! We wish there was a picture of whatever THAT was!

Since Jesse and Lucky were born in Northern Belgium, where Flemish is spoken, they probably translated for Mom and Dad on that trip. Flemish is a lot like Dutch. Mom and Dad lived in the Southern part of the country, where they speak French.

Speaking of French things .... here is a look at a vacation they took in La Baule, France.

Mom and Dad thought the sunrise was beautiful. Jesse and Lucky seem more interested in the HORSES!

Here's one last trip we'll share with you. This was over a long weekend - they all drove to Engi, Switzerland. Here are Dad and the girls hiking in the Alps!

Yes, that's more snow, lovely snow. Sigh. Here they are on the way home in Elm, Switzerland.

This reminded us of a picture we saw a long time ago of our friends Steve and Kat, so we thought we'd share it.

On the way home, they drove through Germany. When Mom was in her last year of college, she developed an ad campaign for Fürstenberg beer. As they buzzed down the autobahn, she saw a sign for the town of Donaueschingen - the home of the Fürstenberg castle! They just had to stop! Here are Dad and our great sisters in front of the Schloß!

Lucky, Dad, Jesse

They look like they own the place, don't they?

Tune in again next Sunday as we once again salute our great sisters!

The Army of Four

PS: We've provided the best links we could find for further info on the cool places our great sisters visited! Please click the highlighted words to learn more!

Hey ... A New Friend!

Ha roo, pups! It's me ~ Zim! Yesterday evening, Mom said I was acting kind of "squirrelly". I'm not sure what that means, but even though she'd already taken me out, I tried to zip into the garage and go out again when she was taking the girls out. I wanted out REAL badly! So ... after the girls had their turn, Mom said, "OK, Zim, let's go!" and she took me out again. COOL!

We usually go right from the driveway to go use the yard, but I said, "Hey, Mom, no! Let's go left!"

I was really adamant about it, so she gave in. (She talks tough, but caves easily.) It was there ... the reason I wanted back out ... at the end of our next-door-neighbor's driveway! I froze!

"Mom! Look!"

She said it was the neighbor's newspaper. "No, Mom, not that! Look further! At the end of the driveway!"

"Can you see it now?"

She still couldn't see what I saw. I had to take her closer. That's when she saw him - and he saw us!

Well, hello... Kitty!

Mom shot this high-action video:

Can you believe it? And I think he liked me. He came over to say, "Hey". Or "Mmmmeow," as was the case.

See his feety-feet? They were really cute and he was sort of flexing them. Then he did this cross-legged thing:

Tia? Does that mean anything in Cat? THEN, he flopped himself down and was rolling all around!

Mom thought maybe I scared him by trying to get too close. I don't know how she comes up with these crazy ideas! Anyroo, she decided we should go home ... only guess who else wanted to come?

Not only is Mom using a REALLY strange tone of voice, but why did she tell my new friend "no"? She's really no fun sometimes.

I hope my new friend is out there again today. I stayed by the side window until it was too dark to see anything last night. I've never seen that kitty before, but I think we have a good start to a friendship!

Play bows and mrrrows!
Zim

PS: Wilbur? Any ideas from you on what he was saying with his body language?

New Fabs

Mom has gotten some new fabrics in lately and I REALLY like a couple of them!

Oh... I'm sorry. Hi, no ... this isn't Dave, Guide Dog for the Color Blind -- it's me - AMBER! Hee hee hee! Sure, Dave usually gets to look at all the fabs Mom gets in and helps her match them ... but she got a package in the mail the other day and I REALLY liked the fabrics! See?

Ooooh, PINK camo fabs!

I REALLY like them. I don't usually feel this way about fabric. My daddy thinks I look like I'm wearing a tutu in this next picture:

Hrumph. A tutu? (I'm giving him my Kirsten Kemp look for that! You know, the one she gives on Property Ladder when the house flippers don't take her advice and then they lose a lot of money because they should have listened to her!? That one.)

Anyroo, Mom has some plans for some of the fab, but I'm not sure about the rest of it. Maybe she'll make me something with it. In the meantime, I told Davy he could have his Guide Dog for the Color Blind job back.

Woo!

He looks relieved, doesn't he?

Love,
Amber