New Discovery, Part II or III

Hey, pups and cool cats!  It's me, Zim, back to tell you more about my cool, new discovery!   I posted Part I  on Tuesday ... and really Part II was sort of on Wordless Wednesday, so let's call this Part III.  Maybe I should back up and start at the beginning!

Christmas Day, Mom and I took a little drive.  We were going ... I'm not sure where ... but then Mom sort of zigged when she should have zagged and we ended up on this road that drives across a huge dam!  It was really cool!  We eventually turned around and pulled over to look around; that's when she shot that picture of me that I showed you Tuesday.  An iPhone pic.  She forgot the camera.  If she had remembered it, I'd have posted pix of the GORGEOUS bald eagles that we saw flying around!!!  They were AWESOME and HUGE!!!!  We decided we needed to come back another day with said camera, to try to get some photos of the eagles.  That explains Wednesday's photo.

We parked at a little pull-over place and got out and looked around. No eagles. I thought we should do some exploring anyway; Mom was game!

Zimmle Mawson, Explorer Pup!

Oh.  Yeah.  See that yellow thing?  Well, I'm Zimmle Mawson, Explorer Pup, and I won't let something like a barricade stop me from exploring this new ocean! Mom looked around and didn't see anyone... so we headed down the road to the shore!

Here we are, about half way down:

It's the HUGEST ocean I've ever seen! Farther down the path, I climbed on these cool rocks.

"Look at that!  How cool!  Drift wood!"

Mom did some special effects on this next pic of me:

Pretty cool, don't you think?

We eventually climbed back up the path, then got in the car and drove up to a lookout point. We could see EVERYthing up there! (Except eagles, Mom wanted me to add.)

"I wonder if that's part of some old castle?"

Isn't it grand?  I was pretty sure I'd discovered the remains of some old castle!  Stormy said it's actually something called Tuttle Creek Dam ... but maybe it was a castle once upon a time or something!  I ran that theory past Dave and he said that sounded right to him.

Dave said he was looking at the Hunt-Lennox Globe that Amber told him about the other day and said there are actually oceans all over the place and I must have discovered one!  I'm sure Ammy wouldn't lead him astray.  Here's a look at what Dave showed me:

Wowzers! How cool is that?!?!

I looked around a little more to see if I could see any dragons or sea serpents or anything, like on Davy's map ...

"Hey!  Any of you dragon guys around?!!?"

There! Off in the distance! Is it ... ?!?!? Oh... Wait.

Buffalo.  Roaming.

Not exactly dragons.  ...but you never know.  They could have been!

We looked around a little more:

Still no dragons (or eagles), so we headed on back to Ao4 HQs. Mom said we'll go back again soon! I can't wait! I'll be sure to fill you in on what we see!

Play bows,
Zim

Are You Serious?

Hi everypuppy and everycat!  It's me - Ammy!  Zim will get back to you with more pictures and an explanation very soon about just where he and Mom went!  Aren't the pictures of the ocean he discovered amazing?!?!  He's still helping process a bunch of them so I said I could do today's post to give him more time!  I hope that's OK with all of you!

Anyway, a couple weeks ago, Mom and Dad took us all outside to go potty on a VERY starry night!  It was a gorgeous night - crisp and cool and oh, what a star-filled sky!  Dad was admiring this one star that looked kind of greenish.  Since I am the chief meteorologist around here and also like to keep everyone filled in on all things astronomy-related, I decided I should do some research when we got inside and figure out exactly what star it was.

I borrowed Mom's iPad and checked the GoSkyWatch app.  It was just as I thought!  It was Sirius - the Dog Star!  Check it out!

It was very beautiful!

The next time Zim and I went outside, I pointed the star out and told him that it was the Dog Star!  He asked if I was sure and I said, "Yes!"  He looked up and said, "Hey!  Are you Sirius?!!?"  And I said, "Why, yes, Zimmie.  Yes, I am serious."  Hee hee hee!

Here's a totally un-related picture of me, studying the sky out on a walk:

Me.  Ammy.

...and here's a picture of Zimmie after I've told him one of my really funny jokes:

Zimmie.  Trying really hard not to laugh at my jokes.
Even though I'm sure he really likes them.
I think.

Next time you're out on a starry night, look for the Dog Star! It's Siriusly beautiful! Hee hee hee!

Love,
Ammy

Wordless Wednesday

Play bows,
Zim

New Discovery, Part I

WOWZERS!

When Mom takes a wrong turn... she REALLY takes a wrong turn!

Play bows,
Zim

Recent Adventures

Tail wags, dear readers, it's me - Stormy.  We really missed all of you when we were on break and are trying to catch up with everyone!  We are enjoying reading about everything you've been up to!  We've had a lot of adventures here, too - and we're going to try to bring everyone up to speed!

Speaking of speed, here's how Dave spent part of Christmas Day:

Dave and Squeaky Fish!  Go, Davy, go!!!

That LabraPup sure can run!

Ammy spent a little time exploring the backyard!

"Halt!  Who goes there?!?"

She made sure there were no bunnies, squirrels, or moles anywhere out there!

Ammy strikes a pose!

Mom works hard to see that we all get special time each day - either out on adventures, playing in the yard or maybe spending some one-on-one time with a special friend!  Look at who I got to see on Christmas Day!

"Hello, little Squirrel-Puppy!"

It was great to see him; we had lots of fun playing!

Let me see... what else has been going on?  Zim's been all over the place lately. I'll let him share his huge discovery with you himself within the next few days. In the meantime, here he is on a recent adventure at the Kansas Ocean:

Zim, relaxing on the shore at the Kansas Ocean

Zimmie said it was perfect beach weather - sunny and in the 20s. (That's about -4 for those on the "C" scale.) It was so lovely, the Kansas Ocean was frozen! Ah... perfect Siberian weather!

Do you have something special planned today?  I can't wait to hear all about it!

Tail wags,
Storms

It's All About the Cookies

Woo, everypup and everycat.  It's me - Dave!  I hope all of you had a wonderful Christmas!  And for all of you who celebrate Boxing Day today, have a happy one!

Did you like those portraits we posted yesterday? Believe me, some of us around here ... well, OK, let me start over. One of us around here is more than happy to strike a pose just because Mom asks us to.

Me.  Davy.  Being a really good, cooperative boy.

Other members of the family are a little less prone to be cooperative.  One such member (umm... Stormy!) might have even taught some on-line classes about (not) cooperating for photos.  BUT!  When the Happy Hearts cookies come out, even she can't resist!

"Hey, LabraDave!  Whatcha do-- OH!  Are those Happy Heart cookies!?!?"
Storm and me.

See? Irresistible, even for the professional Siberian Husky!  (That's Zim on the left and the Yammer on the right, getting into position!)

We are all very gentle and sweet about taking treats - here's Stormy illustrating how good we are:

"Ooooh, Pumpkin-Oat!  My favorite!"

... and that does go for all of us. Though I have to admit... I do get a bit excited.

A cool action shot of me taking my cookie!
(No fingers were touched in the taking of that treat!)

Mom said she thinks it's funny that everything is in focus except for my head.  I don't think that's right, though.  My head was TOTALLY focused on that cookie!  Ha woo!

I hope all of you are good about taking treats!  If you need to improve, I recommend lots of practice sessions!  In fact, maybe I need some treats to practice with, too.

Luv,
Dave

PS:  Happy Hearts provided by our friend, Zimmie's bestest friend, Huffle Mawson!  Thanks, Huffs!

Merry Christmas!!!

"For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the LORD." 

(Luke 2:11)

From all of us here at Ao4 Headquarters - 

Left to right:  Zim, Stormy, Dave and Amber

We wish you a joyous Christmas, full of more blessings than you can count!

With tail wags from Stormy:

"Is that cookie for me?!?!"

Love from Ammy:

"A cat shaped cookie?  That one's mine!  Hee hee hee!"

Play bows from Zim:

"Oh, boy!  What a treat!"

And luv from Dave:

"I luv cookies!"

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!
Storms, Ammy, Zim, Dave ... and our mom and dad

Updates

Ha roo, pups and cool cats!  It's me - Zim - checking back in!  We've had a LOT going on here and Storm said we have all kinds of updates to share with you.  Now that Ammy got the blog fired back up, I asked if I could post the first update and she said "yes".

When I last posted, I told you that I was coping pretty well with all those "changes" in our living room.  My chair, my lovely chair that I could hide under, is apparently gone for good.  Sigh.  I tried a few other things, but nothing was quite as comforting as my chair.  Sure, the Weather Lab was comfy, and I still hang out there from time to time, but that's Ammy's special place and I need to let her hang there to do her forecasts and naps other work.  Anyway... the good news is that I think I've found a suitable substitute!  Check it out:

I know you can't see me, but if you COULD, 
you'd see that I've found a little den under the bridge formed by my dad's legs!

Perfect, isn't it?!?  No one will find me in there!  This is great!

"Woooooo!!!!!"

Uh-oh. I think it's time to head back to the ol' drawing board!

Santa comes tonight - I hope all of you have been good!  Ha roooo!!!

Play bows,
Zim

Hello?

Hello?  Is this thing on?  Testing... testing... 

Hello?

Love,

Ammy

Happy Thanksgiving!

All of us here at Army of Four Headquarters would like to wish all of you a Thanksgiving full of too many blessings to count!

We have many reasons to give thanks to God this year.  Topping the list is our time spent together as a family.  We hope you will all understand that we have decided to take a break from blogging for a while, to spend more quality time en famille.  We will check in with you when we can, but for now, from all of us ...

Stormy

Ammy

Zim

and Dave

... we and our bipeds wish you health, happiness, and very cool adventures!

Tail wags, love, play bows and luv,
Storms, Amber, Zim and Dave

Wordless Wednesday

Luv,
Dave

Let's Go!

Ha roo, pups and cool cats!  It's me - Zim!  So ... the other morning, we took Dad on our really long forced road march, then in the afternoon, we took Mom on one, too!  Dave and I were having a great time afterwards, just relaxing in the living room like we like to do, when Mom said that funny thing she says about someone having excess energy.  I have no idea what that was all about, but the next thing I knew, Mom and I were in the car, heading down the road!

Before I knew it, the scenery started to look like this:

"Wowzers!  I know JUST where we are!"

I knew exactly where we were! We were at the Top of the World!!! How exciting - I hadn't been there for quite some time. Something about tall grass, fleas and ticks. I have no idea what that's all about.

We walked down this way for a bit:

"Oooh, check out the Flint Hills!"

Then down this way:

It was loads of fun, but I admit I was a bit zapped when I got home. It was all I could do to kick back with Dave for a while before it was time for another walk!

This cooler weather sure is great, isn't it? I hope you're all enjoying it, too!

Play bows,
Zim

Coping

Ha roo, pups and cool cats!  As many of you know, we've been in the midst of a living room re-do.  It's been tough for me, as my favorite chair apparently is gone for good.  Sigh.  I'm coping as best I can.

Remember I showed you I have more room by my window now?  That's been real nice.  They also took that one table away, though, and switched it with another one, so I can't stick my head under there any more.  That's OK - really.  I have lots of room to stretch out:

Very comfy. And my very cool Army quilt is right there by the fireplace, so I can lay on that when I want to.

Ammy's Weather Lab is still in place over on the other side of the room. In fact ...

...it's mighty comfy in the Weather Lab.

I'll be right here if anyone needs anything.

Play bows,
Zim

Serene Scenery Sunday

Tail wags, dear readers, it's me - Stormy!  I have a lot to share with you for Serene Scenery Sunday, so grab a bowl of water and some treats, sit back, and get ready to relax!

Remember the other day I told you I was out admiring the sunset?  Here's a look at that to get us started:

The colors were so rich! Here's a close-up:

It was mighty spectacular!

The leaves are still turning all kinds of lovely colors. Here is a look at some of them:

Our Japanese Maple

Check out the Burning Bush:

While I was out front helping Mom get that photo, a friend of mine showed up!

Little bunnies support our troops, too!

Can you see him? Let's get closer!

"Hello!"

I meant "closer" with the camera. Remember -- today's post is supposed to be soothing and calm!  Please don't scare my friend Osletto!

We got a good dose of snow flurries this past week! It was lovely, but we didn't get any really good photos. We also got a heavy frost one morning and did get a good shot of that on some mums!

Lastly, here is a look at last night's full moon:

"Ha-ooooooooooo!!!"

For more leaf color, please feel free to visit our FlickR Garden Pix Set!

I hope you enjoyed our Serene Scenery Sunday post!

Tail wags,
Storms

PS:  ...Please quit staring at the bunny.  He's my friend!