Christmas Portraits, Take Two

Ha roo, pups and cool cats!  It's me, Zim!  You all had such wonderful things to say about our first group photo session that we thought we'd share some special pix with you from our second attempt at a Christmas photo!  Ready to get going?  Let's head out to the front porch!

Remember, my captions are in blue, Cam's are in pink, and Maggie's are in purple.

"I am a Siberian Husky and the world is my salad bar..."
"OK, Mom.  Let's get this party started."
"What's up on the porch?"

"What's that down there, Zim?"
"I can only be good for so long, you know..."
"Oooh, there's some snow up here!"

"Fine.  I'll face the camera."
"Looking good, Cam."
"Ooooh!  The Yew bush!  I think I'll just ..."

"Wheeee!"
"Maggie!  Are you diving into that bush again?!?!"
"What's up, Mom?  Mags?  No, I'm sure she's fine."

"Are you alright, little one?"
"Yes, Cam.  I just got something in my eyes."
"Seriously, Mom.  I'm the good one.  How's that supply of treats holding out?"

"I'm sooooo bored."
"You and me, both."
"I need to chew on something."

"Zzz..."
"What?  I'm cooperating!"
"Oooh!  Found something!"

"I wonder what's for dinner tonight..."
"Haven't you gotten the shot you want yet, Mom?"
"Oooh.  More snow!"

"I got nothin' "
"Yep.  Same here."
"I found a leaf!"

"What's that, Zimmie?  A leaf?!?"
"Nah.  Just a wet spot.  And Mom's watermark."
"Sigh..."

Frankly, I think Mom could have stopped at this one.

"I wonder if that cat's out."
"I hope she doesn't see this."
"Whatcha doing, Zimmie?  Squinting?  I'll squint, too."

"Someone's over there.  Maybe it's one of the kids."
"I think there's someone over across the street."
"Where?"

"I'm doing my Serious Look."
"I think I see someone."
"Seriously, Mom.  Quit while you're ahead."

"Mom's out of treats."
"I'm doing the squinty thing Zimmie was doing before!"
"I'm done."

Yep.  The show's over when Mom's out of treats.

I hope you enjoyed Group Christmas Photo Shoot Number 2! 

Play bows,

Zim

Photo Finish Friday: Stairs

Greetings to all, it's me, Maggie Thatcher!  This week's Photo Finish Friday shots center around a very fun thing called "stairs"!  We have several sets of them scattered around Ao4 Headquarters and I've been having all kinds of fun with them lately! Now that I've mastered them, I can go up and down and up and down REALLY fast! I have some photos - are you ready?

Before I get to the actual stairs, this week, my mom moved aside this one little gate that I normally have to knock out of its brackets, climb over, or squeeze through to get to the very upper floor of Headquarters. She was going up to get some Christmas decorations, and I went with her! I discovered something called The Guest Rooms. Here I am in one of them:

"Ooh.  Did you make this quilt?  It looks comfy!  I think I'll just ..."

Are any of you familiar with the word "off"?  Any idea what it means?

Anyway... after I explored The Guest Rooms and the bathroom for a while, Mom said it was time to go back downstairs and gave a "C'mon, Maggie, let's go!"

"I'd rather not.  Thanks for asking."

I was having too much fun!  I guess Mom wasn't exactly asking ... and rather than calling me again, she sent in the big guns to get me downstairs.

"Mom said 'downstairs', Maggie!  NOW!"
"Yes, Aunt Cammie..."

"Oh, look!   There's Zimmie!  Hi, Zimmie!!!"
"Look out, Zim.  Here she comes!"

Zim was off-camera, so you can't see him, but he was down there waiting for us.  I ran up and down the stairs a couple times to celebrate ... something, but I could only go as far as Aunt Cammie; Mom had put that gate back up.  It was really fun, though.  I zoomed all over the place and up and down a few times before Cam could even move!  When I was ready, I did this:

"Cammie!  Mom said 'downstairs'.  NOW!!"
"Oh, Maggie!"

That's me at the bottom, there.  And Cammie was still upstairs.  Ha rohrohroh!!!  I thought it was pretty funny!

We also have stairs on the deck, and they are equally fun!  After I had played in the yard with Mom for a really long time, I tried this new thing:  I zipped past Mom and flew all the way up to the top deck and ran to the kitchen door -- that's two and a half flights of steps!  I did it four times before I decided I'd like to go inside.  Here's one of the few stair action shots of me:

"Wheeeee!"

It was a blast!  Mom and I and Zimmie went on a short walk after that, then before she could unhook my leash, I flew into the house and did zoomies with Cam.  Here we are, taking a quick break:

Me and Cammie doing our Serious Look

Mom kept looking at us, asking where her "little puppy" went.  I must be too fast for her - I was right there!!!

I hope you enjoyed the stairs edition of Photo Finish Friday!  Have a lovely weekend, everyone!

Yours sincerely,
Margaret Thatcher

New Bed!

Hello, everyone!  It's me, Cammie!  As some of you heard, I have a new bed!  My daughter Lindsey just got one and when my mom saw it, she thought I should have one JUST like it!  It's pink camo, so it's just perfect for me and will coordinate with my collar.  Here it is:

"Oh, I just love it!  Can I use it, too, Auntie CamCam?!?"
"Yes, little one, of course you can."

"THANK YOU, CAMMIE!!!"
"Sigh."

Well, yes. My Maggie likes it, too.  We can both use it.

"Well, seriously.  Look at her!"
"Hello."

How can I say "no" to that face?!?

"I love you, Cammie!!!"

As if any of you could refuse her anything!

"Oooh, that puppy in the fireplace got a new bed, too!"

Mom ordered a digital green camo one for Zim, but it's on back order.

"I wonder if Zimmie will let me borrow his, too.  I should go ask!"

I think there's a good chance she'll help Zim break his in, too.  In the meantime, I see an opening!

ME on my new bed!

Not only is it comfy, but Mags got it nice and warmed up for me!

Cammie!

Wordless Wednesday

Yours sincerely,
Margaret Thatcher

Coach Cammie

Hello, everyone.  It's me, Cammie.  I ... um ... excuse me a moment, please.

"That's it, little one.  Find a seam, then go at it with your front teeth until you create a little hole ..."

"I think I have it now, Cam."

OK. Sorry. Just doing a little coaching today.  What's on tap for all of you?

Cammie!

Monday Mischief

Greetings to all, it's me, Maggie!  I'm not sure why I was put in charge of posting about mischief.  Yes, I've been a busy puppy -- but mischievous?  I think there's a misconception somewhere.  Allow me to illustrate ...

For some reason, this was considered by some residents of Ao4 Headquarters as getting into mischief:

"Hello."

I thought the rule was that we aren't allowed on the living room furniture! A chair at the kitchen table is kitchen furniture. Enough said.

And that cool cylindrical laundry hamper? Not only was I just helping Mom reach the laundry at the bottom of the container ...

"I've got it, Mom!  I've got it!"

... but I also think I could be an agility star one day!

"If we knock it ov  lay it over on its side, it's like one of those agility tunnels!
... except there seems to be a dead end in this one... "

And how could it be mischievous to spend time with my Aunt Cammie and my big brother and mentor Zim?

"Great job, Mag-a-roo!"
"Let's toss the white ones around, too, Zimmie!"
"Oh, my..."

Honestly, the bed looked much more creative with the pillows tossed about and the quilt fluffed. Zimmie said so - and he's NEVER wrong about these things!

Finally ... I must ask.

Is that the face of mischief?

I thought not.

Yours sincerely,
Margaret Thatcher

Serene Scenery Sunday: Christmas Portraits!

Ha roo, pups and cool cats!  It's me, Zim, here with Serene Scenery Sunday.  More or less.  Mom decided it was time for the annual Christmas portraits on the porch session yesterday and she thought we'd have plenty of lovely shots of the three of us to share with you today.  You know - my sisters and me sitting sweetly, looking at the camera, some Christmas lights and greenery ... sounds so serene, doesn't it?  Yeah, well, that was the plan, anyway.  Let's just go with it, since we don't have anything else planned, OK?

Keep in mind that yes, Mom had treats, and yes, she got us tired first.  This first one is really pretty good, I think:

Yeah, well, Cammie was looking at the camera.  Maggie and I were pursuing other interests.  One out of three isn't bad.

Mag decided to go up onto the porch, which is what Mom actually wanted in the first place.

"Oh, I wonder what's down there?!!?"
"Don't do it, Maggie!"
"Aw, let the kid have some fun!"

We took a short break after that photo, so Mom could brush all the leaves and Yew needles off of Maggie.  I'm not sure why there aren't any cool action shots of it, but Maggie dove head-first into the Yew bushes.  It was great!

OK.  Back to the portraits.  Let's try again.  Check this out -- Cam and I are facing the right way!

"May I have another cookie?"
"Yeah, Mom.  Where's the rest of the Stinky Goodness?"
"Oooh!  What's this, you guys?!?"

Cam and I covered Maggie, while she checked something out.

"Oh.  What's that, Mom!?!"
"Yeah.  Look over there, Mom!"
"Thanks, you guys!"

It was a crispy leaf.  She loves leaves!

Maggie has figured out how to open doors already and even how to lock Mom out of the house!  Isn't she smart?  She took one look at how Mom had our leashes attached to the front door and assured Cam and me she could unhook all of us.

"I'll have us all loose before Mom can say 'NoNoMaggieNo!'!"
"I just can't look."
"Hey, Mom!  Look at me!"

Seriously.  It was a nice shot of me!  I was looking right at the camera and everything!  Mom seemed to be more interested in what the Magster was doing.

"Maggie!  Don't make me come over there!"
"I was just ... um ... seeing what was over behind the flag rock."
"Hey, Mom!"

I thought it was great.  While the girls were horsing around, I was getting Stinky Goodness treats!  What a deal!

Since Mag stopped trying to free our leashes, Mom backed up and tried to get our attention.

"There's someone across the street!"
"Really?  Who?"
"You guys!  There's a pile of snow back here!"

That wasn't the shot Mom was aiming for, either.  Here's one where Maggie isn't behind the trees:

Mom mentioned something about frozen hands (she took the pix at the hottest part of the day, though, so I don't see what the problem was -- it was up to 20 degrees!) and decided to throw in the towel.  Actually, she said we'd try again later.  Works for me -- more Stinky Goodness Treats!

So ... um ... how about a sunset?

Everybody feeling the tranquility of the Zen of Zim Zone now?  

We'll be heading out later today to try again with the porch portraits.  It's snowing, so it'll work out really well - I just know it!

Play bows,

Zim

Nothing To See Here!

Hello, everyone!  It's me, Cammie.  So there we were ... just hanging out together in the living room ... not doing anything we shouldn't have been doing ...

"Are you two behaving?"
"Yes, of course we are!  Right, Zimmie?  Let's do zoomies!"
"You're kidding, right?!?  OK, baby sis!  You're on!"

I knew Mom was right behind me, but apparently they didn't.  She did one of those "a-hem" things and asked what we were up to.  Us!  "Up to" something!

"Busted!"
"Uh-oh!"
"I tried to tell them.  Really."

"Quick, Mags.  Look innocent."
"Like this, Zimmie?"
"I'm not even going to look at her."

"Better toss a head tilt in, Maggie; I'm not sure she's buying it."
"How's this?"
"You two look totally innocent to me.  Is she gone yet?"

Yes.  Just a typical day here at Ao4 Headquarters!

Cammie!