Road Trip!

Ha roo, pups and cool cats!  It's me, Zim!  Yesterday afternoon started like most other afternoons around Ao4 Headquarters -- lunch, a short walk, some zoomies, and then ...

"C'mon, Mom!  It's time to head out on an adventure!"

Mom (of course) said she was in, then looked at Dad.  Dad said, and this is where things got interesting, "Let's all go!"  Wowzers!   All of us!  How exciting!  My instincts kicked in and I said it as fast as I could -- "I've got shotgun!!!"

Me, riding shotgun.  View from Mom in the backseat, as she did NOT call 'shotgun'!

You've gotta be quick around here.

"Rats!  I didn't know about that!"

Sorry, kid.

We headed out of town.  It struck me that if I was in Australia or the UK or places like that, I'd look like I was driving!

"How cool would that be, huh, Dad?"
"Oh, yeah, Zim."
"Hey, looks like trouble up ahead.  We should slow way down."

"But you're not reeeeeeally driving, Zim!  Is he, Daddy?"

Dad said I was doing a special kind of driving called "backseat driving" and it was every bit as involved as the real deal!

"What's with the dude with the flag, Dad?  And how do I get a gig like that?"

We waited somewhere close to a million minutes there.  I thought it was pretty cool, but never once did I get that guy to look at me.  I'm sure if he had seen me, he would have let us go sooner.

"That was the 'Follow Me' truck.  We should be able to go soon, Zim!"

"I mean 'Dad'!"

Ha roo roo roo!  Cam had it right the first time!

"Oh, yeah!  We're flyin' now!"

Seriously.  Doesn't it look like I'm in the driver's seat?  Of course, I guess if I was in Australia, I'd be on the wrong side of the road.  That probably wouldn't be a good thing.

"Ha roowooroo!  Probably  not, Zimmie!"

Anyway, we were just practicing going on a road trip.  All four of us hadn't ever tried going somewhere in one of the vehicles together.  Mom and Dad said we did so well that we can try it again soon!  Two things to say about that -- YEA! and I've got shotgun!!!!

Play bows,

Zim

Wordless Wednesday

Play bows,
Zim

Work, Work, Work!

Hello, everyone, it's me - Cammie.  As Zim mentioned yesterday, I've been working in the Studio with my Mom lately.  She posted on her blog last night about the new bag concept we've been working on - you can read it here.  Basically, we're taking grocery store plastic bags, fusing them together to make a tough fabric, then are making more bags.  Truly, the whole thing makes my head spin a bit, but I was recently made Head of Security, so it's my duty to be there.

She posted some pix of them on her blog, but I thought you might like to see some more.  Yes, my duties as Head of Security seem to include modeling.  Does that seem right to you?

This bag is one of the first ones we made:

Modeling is exhausting work!

Since you can see PetCo written on it, I think it should be used for something for me and Zim!

The modeling gig isn't all bad. For my first day's work, I was duly rewarded:

"Is that an Aunt Shelli cookie?!?!"

My Aunt Shelli sent those treats and I just love them!

I get to post about the next day's bag before Mom does because she designed it JUST for me! And Zim. Check it out!

It's another little zippie bag, with a bone-shaped carabiner clip to attach to my leash! Wait a sec...

Remember that sad Bulldog who's down here in the Studio? I think he's looking at me.

Anyway, Mom put a little divider section in the bag, so one side can hold more bags (we all know what those are for!) and the OTHER side ...

"Oooh!  A Zuke's!!!  I love those!"

TREATS!  It was delicious!  Being Head of Security (and doing some modeling on the side) really pays well!

I did feel bad for my friend the Bulldog, though.

"Here you go, little guy.  Try posing with this; maybe you'll get a Zuke's, too!"

For details on this bag, check Mom's blog later today.  For now, I'd best go have another round of zoomies and wrestling with Zim, then it's back to work!

Camo!

River Otter Games

Ha roo, pups and cool cats.  It's me - Zim!  Over here with Cam.

Did everyone have a good weekend? We did! Lots of walks, lots of zoomies, lots of Guard Duty -- a mighty full weekend.

I even did extra Guard Duty shifts so Cam could help Mom downstairs in the Studio a bunch.

They came up with some new bag idea; we'll show it to you within the next few days.

I'm not sure what all's on tap for this week, but I'm sure we'll find some way to keep busy.

It's not supposed to be real hot, so hopefully some cool adventures and stuff.

We'll probably need to whip up a fresh batch of Stinky Goodness treats this week, so that'll be fun.

In other news, does anyone know why Mom keeps calling us crazed river otters?

Have I mentioned lately how much I love having a kid sister!?!

Play bows,
Zim

Serene Scenery Sunday

Hello, everyone, it's me, Cammie!  For this week's dose of serenity, I thought I'd take all of you with us on one of our early morning walks!  Are you ready?  Let's go!

Those of you who are long-time readers of the Ao4 Digest may remember hearing about the Giant's Castle - it sits high on the hill across the creek from Ao4 Headquarters.  That was our first stop.  We did a quick pose by these flowers:

We let Mom snap one close-up:

Then Zim said we had a long, long way to go and that we'd best get moving. He took the lead and I got confused as to where we were at first.

"Zimmie, wait up!  There's some weird pagoda thing here!  Where are we?"
"China, Cam.  We're in China!"

Oh, my.  China!  I had heard it was on one of our walking routes.  (Click here for explanation.)

I did my best to catch up with him, then it hit me --

"Ha roowooroo!  Hey, Zimmie!  Unless the Trolley moved to China, I think you're pulling my leg!"

"... unless this is really The Orient Express ..."

I decided I'd best keep walking.  In fact, I took the lead from then on out.  It seemed better that way.

"Ha roo roo roo!  Oh, how I love having a kid sister!"

"Walking to China!  Like I'm going to fall for that one!  ... not more than once, anyway ..."

I stopped alongside a beautiful meadow.  This is where we often see deer, so I had a good look around.

Zimmie caught up and helped me look:

Mom loves this picture - us, the meadow, the sunlight ... very serene!

"Yeah, yeah.  Let's get a move on!"

He's a Drill Sergeant; he gets paid extra to say stuff like that.

It IS awfully serene on this route, though.

Once we looped down and around the Hospice House, look at who we saw in the parking lot:

Turkey DINNERS!

I'll sign off with one more serene thing from our walk - a little piece of Kansas for all of you:

A beautiful sunflower - with a bug in the center!

I hope that brought a smile to all of your faces.  Have a warm, wonderful, serene Sunday!

Camo!

Weekend Plans?

Ha roo, pups and cool cats!  It's me, Zim!  Anyone have big plans for the weekend? Cam and I did zoomies, walked our 2-mile loop past the Kansas Ocean, had a another round of zoomies, had breakfast, went on another short walk, and now, at 10:30, we're trying to figure out what to do with the rest of the day.

"I've got the high ground, Cam!"

Does anyone know what "no horsing around on the stairs" means?  And why does Mom look tired?

Play bows,
Zim

Photo Finish Friday!

Hello, everyone, it's me, Cammie!  This week, I'm bringing you some miscellaneous photos from actually the past two weeks.  They didn't really fit anywhere else, but Zim and I thought you might be interested in seeing them.  Ready?!?

As you know, Zim just isn't my brother - he's my Drill Sergeant, too. As such, he not only mentors me in lots of important stuff, but he makes sure I get plenty of PT in.

"Now get in there and give it a go, Camo!"
"But... but... yes, Drill Sergeant!"

He wouldn't tell me to do it if he didn't think I could handle it.  Right?

"Not sure about this..."

Mom said just looking at it was good enough for the first time.  I'll try again soon.

Speaking of mentors, I hope I'm not letting the cat out of the bag with this one, but I also have another mentor.  A cat.  I know, I know.  But he lives in Australia, so I think it'll work out OK.  Yes, it's Mr. Teddy Westlife!  He reminds me a lot of Zim, only he's a cat, and has a LOT of great ideas for me!

"Do you mean up here, Mr. Westlife?"

Isn't he clever?  The sitzbank!  I just might give it a try!

Here's a shot of Zim and I behaving quite nicely in the bedroom:

"Who, us?  (Quick, Cam!  Act nonchalant!)"
"Uh-oh..."

I wasn't quite as quick as Zimmie.

"Hey, Mom.  What's shakin'?"
"Zimmie and I were just ... um ... err ..."

I'm still working on snappy answers.  Zim said I do have the innocent look down pretty well, though.

We always appreciate your comments and questions!  We received a great question from our very dear and handsome friend Goose!  Last Friday, he asked what kind of milage we put in on our walks!  We had Mom and Dad track that same route that took us past the Trolley, the deer, the KSO, up to the water tower, and back home using their GPS apps on their iPhones.  Mom could have sworn (especially during the up the hill to the water tower part) it was 10.3 billion miles, but it seems that the real answer is just shy of 2 miles.  Like 1.9-something.  As the Sibe walks, it's probably much more, as we like to weave around and check everything out.  Most of our other morning routes are about that long, too - then we go on lots of shorter ones throughout the day.  When it's not Summer, we'll go on longer ones during the day, according to Zim!

The walks are great for our health, they're great for bonding, since we walk a lot of the time on sidewalks, it files our nails nicely, AND after a nice walk, Mom can occasionally get a shot like this:

Zimmie and me!

Zim said Mom should have to work for nice photos - and I'll bet Teddy Westlife would agree!  (And Zim made sure that we got treats, too!)

That's a wrap for Photo Finish Friday.  I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Camo!

Senior Care Day

Ha roo, pups and kit-cats.  It's me - Zim.  I knew there was something different going on yesterday when Dad took me outside by myself after our walk.  I came back in and Cam's breath smelled suspiciously of breakfast.  Hmm.  This could only mean one thing - time for my semi-annual Senior Care appointment with the good folks at the Veterinary Health Center at  KSU.  (We have to fast before those.)

Anyway, Mom and I headed out to K-State for my big day.  (These are long appointments - click here to see what all they involve!)  I thought I'd share some highlights with you.

In the exam room, they provide these nice tables in the corners, just right for denning purposes!

You can't see me, but I'm under this table

Having a camouflage leash helps tremendously.  No one knew where I was.  

They do a lot of different crazy eye tests as part of the deal.  Mom took a couple shots during one of them.

" ♩Don't it make my brown eye,♩ don't it make my brown eye...♩"

" ♩... don't it make my --- no, wait.  This one already WAS blue!"

Ha roo roo roo!

Anyway, they finished doing all that poking and jabbing and making me hold still (I can't stand that "holding still" part!) stuff, then our most wonderful vet and my student gave me the WHOLE BAG of Stinky Goodness Treats Mom brought!  It was great.  It was the best part of the visit -- other than all the test results, which were all mighty good for me.  I still need to put a little weight on, but I did gain a little in the past 6 months!  I am one mighty blessed 13 and a half year old!

Anyway - time to go, right?

"Thanks, everybody!  ... now let's blow this pop stand, Mom!"

"Can I drive home?"

My eyes had been dilated for part of the exam, so Mom thought it best if I didn't drive.  What a bummer.  Does anyone even say that any more?  Well, it was.  Bum-mer.

Anyway, when we got home, Cam was waiting for me.  I think she missed me.  We had a quick late lunch, then ...

BOOM!

Since it was overcast and the sun wouldn't be too bright for my eyes, we did some of this:

"Ah!  It's great to be home!" 

What a full, full day.  Only one thing left to do.

"Zzzz...."
"I'll be right here if you need anything, Zimmie!"

It's nice knowing she's got my 6 when I need a little down-time!

Thanks to all of the great folks at the Vet Health Center/KSU for another great Senior Care check-up and for helping me be the healthiest Zim I can be!!!

Play bows,
Zim

Wordless Wednesday

Play bows,
Zim