New Pickles!

Hello, everyone!  It's me, Cammie!  I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and Boxing Day!  Was Santa good to you?  I'm happy to report that all that the wearing of the Santa hats and other assorted items got us on the "Nice List"!  One of the favorite things we received was new Pickles!

I only like to play with the chew-type of toys if there are treats stuffed in them, so Santa teamed them up with some Zuke's!

"Look, Cam!  New Pickles!"
"Mmm... new Zuke's!"

Mom loaded our Pickles up for us, then ....

"PICKLES!!!!"
"I can't get the treats out!"

"Use two paws, Cam!"
"Got it.  Thanks, Maggie!"

I may be the older sister, but Maggie is REALLY good at getting treats out of things!  That was great advice.

We love playing with these Pickles!  They aren't "leave down all the time" toys, as Maggie can destroy them eventually, but they last a lot longer than SO many others!

"Thanks, Santa!"
"Yeah!  Thanks, Santa!"

There's a chance that after that photo was taken, we launched into Crazed River Otter Games, but I think I'll just leave things right there for today!

Did you get fun toys from Santa, too?

Cammie!

Boxing Day 2016!!!

Greetings to all!  It's me, Maggie, here to wish you a most joyous Boxing Day!!!

"To Boxers and non-boxers alike, Happy Boxing Day!"

Special shout-out to my favorite Boxers, Casey and Jessie!  This special day is right up there with Siber Monday, isn't it?!?!  What joy!

"Would anyone like to come box with me?!!?"

Enjoy this special day, everyone!

Yours sincerely,

Margaret Thatcher 

Christmas 2016

And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. 

And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. 

For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. 

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. 

Luke 2:9-14

"From all of us at Ao4 Headquarters ..."
"Merry Christmas!!!"

"Time to ditch the hats now, right, Mom?"
"Right?"

From our hearts to yours, Merry Christmas!!!

Cam, Mags, and our mom and dad!

Almost There!

Greetings to all!  It's me, Maggie.  We've almost made it.  It's Christmas Eve Day, and Cammie and I have been oh, so good!  ...especially when it comes to wearing Santa hats.

"Santa!  Santa, please! Please hurry!"
"We've been so very, very good!"

It's like those Chipmunks sang, "We've been good, but we can't last! Hurry Christmas, hurry fast!"

I'm really not sure how much more of this we can take.

Yours sincerely,
Margaret Thatcher

Gone Overboard!

Hello, everyone.  It's me, Cam.  Our mom has gone OVERBOARD with the posing in hats and other accouterments this Christmas!  Today, we thought we'd share a handful of miscellaneous poses with you.  And may these show Santa just how GOOD we've been!!!

There are always porch poses and more porch poses:

"Yeah, right ... whatever."

At least I look fairly cool there.

Then there is the posing by one of the trees with the Santa hat on:

"Old Mother Hubbard's treats, Mom.  And keep 'em coming!"

Sometimes, we try to look pitiful so Mom will stop.  Sadly, it doesn't work.  Here's Maggie:

"For the love of all things snowy, Mom!  Please!"

And Mags doing the ever-popular snooter hanging:

"Seriously?"

But only a couple more days until Christmas!  Until then, please remember ...

"Santa, we've been SO GOOD this year!!!"

Keep it merry, everyone!

Cammie!

I Thought We Already Covered This

Hello, everyone.  It's me, Cammie, here with Mags.  Yep.  Out here on the front porch.

"I really thought we had covered the 'Posing on the Porch' thing, Mom."
"Yeah, seriously, Mom!"

Sometimes it's really, really hard to be good around here.  Sigh.

Cammie!

Wordless Wednesday

Cammie!

It Went A Little Something Like This

Greetings to all!  It's me, Mags!  Like many of you, we've been having icy, snowy, and frigidly cold weather lately -- isn't it great?!?  Except for the ice.  Because of that, we couldn't go on our long morning walks.  To make up for it, Mom did her best to keep us entertained and active; I even played a little indoor Fetch!  We also got to play with "under supervision only" toys a couple times, and I thought I'd share one of those sessions with you today.  It went a little something like this ...

"Hi, Mom.  I'm just guarding the tree."
"Uhhh... yeah, me, too.  You know.  In case Sock Monkey tries to make a run for it or something.  Whatcha got there?"

A-hem.  Anyway, Mom let Cam play with her Beyond Tough toy ...

"I love this toy!"

... and I got to play with a Wubba!

"Awesome!"

I had some good, quality chew time, then I grew bored.

"Hey, Cam.  Wanna trade?"
"Mom said you shouldn't have this one."

Well, yeah, that's true.  But then, Mom says a lot of things.  I thought I'd take matters into my own paws when ...

"Wait ... Santa might be watching, right?"
"I'm sure he is, Maggie!"

So I did what I had to do.  Given the time of year and all.

Please click here to see what good girls we are on YouTube.

It wasn't easy, folks.  It wasn't easy, but I resisted the urge to trade anyway (or to launch into a round of Crazed River Otter Games).  Whew.  This must be what they mean about all that stress during the holidays!

Yours sincerely,

Margaret Thatcher

How Fitting!

Hello, everyone!  It's me, Cam.  I'm in here in the living room, helping Mom put some final touches on the Christmas decor.

"Hello.  I'm just ... oh.  Oh, this?!?"

Oh.  Right.  Well, I was just hanging onto it while Mom made a good place for it on the tree.  It's a Chrismon crown that Mom's mom made a lot of bunches of years ago.  We place it at the top of one of our trees every year; it symbolizes that Jesus Christ is KING!!!  King of kings, and Lord of lords!

Of course, it could also be a good reminder also that yes, a certain someone might be the Prime Minister, but ...

"Queen Cam has a nice ring to it!"

Right?

Cammie!

PS:  Note from Mom:  Cam is very, very gentle with the handmade crown or I wouldn't let her pose with it.

Santa Hat Sunday

Hello, everyone!  It's me, Cam.  So ... after we had a good round of Crazed River Otter Games the other day -- this was after a long walk, of course -- we got just a tiny bit tired.  Mom seized the opportunity and ...

"Hey, is this great or what?!?!"
"This is so great!"

Then it hit us - what if this is what Mom had planned all along?!?!

"Very sneaky, Mom!"
"Very sneaky indeed!  Are you part Siberian?"
"I've learned from the best, Cam!"

Oh, well. We got some great quality playtime and Mom got us to wear the hats like she wanted. Something for everyone!

Ho ho ho!

Cammie!

We'd Let Rudolph Play With Us!

Greetings to all!  It's me, Maggie.  You know how Cam mentioned yesterday that we did a REALLY great job posing without hats on?  And how, when Mom did eventually reach for the Santa hats she tortures us with, that a round of Crazed River Otter Games (CROG) may have erupted?  Well ...

Please click here to watch on YouTube.

It's like Cam said.  Those reindeer get to play Reindeer Games, so why not CROG for us?!?!  Besides, if Rudolph was here, he'd be MORE than welcome to join in our games!

Yeah, yeah.  More about the hats tomorrow.

Yours sincerely,
Margaret Thatcher

Photo Finish Friday: No Need For Hats!

Hello, everyone!  It's me, Cammie!  We thought we'd bring back an old tradition here at the Ao4 Digest of doing Photo Finish Friday -- this week's title says it all!  I mean, Mom wanted a couple Christmasy shot of Maggie and me.  So ...

... we struck a sweet pose on our bed near the fireplace.

"Look at how cute we are, Mom!"
"Yeah, Mom.  We're being SO cooperative."

I mean, seriously.  If she had so much as touched those Santa hats, trust me when I say that all kinds of chaos would have ensued!

"Yep.  Just sitting here, being REALLY good."
"Touch those hats and we're outta here."

How much more Christmasy does she want this scene to get?  Am I right here?  It was perfect without the hats!

"Is she making a move toward the hats?  Or just trying to get more decor in the shot?"
"I'm not sure.  She still has treats, though..."

Since it's Photo Finish Friday, I'll stop right there.  Why?  Because, yes, she reached for the hats!  So in an effort to avoid having to put those babies on, there's a good chance Maggie and I launched into some Crazed River Otter Games. Hey. If they have Reindeer Games at Christmas, why not CROG, too - right?!?!  Besides, we gave her a good number of "money shots"!

Cammie!

No Worries Thursday

Hello, everyone!  It's me, Cam.  I'm just in here with Maggie, by the tree full of special memories.

"Yeah.  You know, by the tree with Sock Monkey on it.  Way up high, where I can't see it.  Heck, I don't even know it's up there."
"Don't worry. I'm watching her."

"... more or less."

Cammie!

Wordless Wednesday

Yours sincerely,
Margaret Thatcher

Sitting On The Sitzbank

Greetings to all!  It's me, Maggie!  Mom hung some of our Christmas quilts over by my sitzbank, so I thought I'd hop up there and show you!  Check 'em out:

"Ha roo, everybody!  Doesn't this look festive?!?!"

Oh, no.  No, I'm still not "allowed" up there, but why let a few rules stand in my way?!?  Besides, I was doing a Christmasy pose!  At least she didn't make me wear the Santa hat like last year!

"Oh, come ON, Mom!"

I really shouldn't have brought it up!

Yours sincerely,
Margaret Thatcher

I Was Set UP!

Hello, everyone.  It's me, Cammie.  As many of you know, each year, we put up a Christmas tree with nothing but patriotic ornaments on it.  It serves as a reminder of our troops stationed all over the world -- many of whom will spend Christmas away from their families.  It has many special ornaments on it, like this one:

That's a the brass buttons from one of Dad's Army uniforms! Frontier Army families used to tie the uniform buttons to their trees with ribbon for ornaments - and it's a tradition Mom likes to carry on!

Mom wanted us girls to pose by the tree. Maggie went over first ...

"Oh, yeah.  'Pose by the tree.'  Piece of cake! ... or a cookie or two!"

And then ...

"Hey, Cam! Why don't you come on in here!  Mom wants us to pose by the tree!"

It seemed like a harmless enough thing.  And I saw Mags just sitting by the tree -- no props or anything.  So ... I walked on in there and ...

"Oh, yeah.  You look great.  Let me adjust your hat a bit!"
"Hey ... wait a minute!"

What a set up!  But Mom had those little Old Mother Hubbard cookies ...

"How's this?"

I mean ... those cookies are WONDERFUL!  Mom offered me another one, since I was being so very, very good!

"Another one?!?  Just for me?!?"

I might have crunched a bit loudly, because before I knew it ...

"At least I got to ditch the hat!"
"Yeah.  Whatever.  Move it on over, Cam.  You still have plenty of those cookies, Mom?"

It IS hard to resist those treats!  And even if Maggie DID set me up, I was happy to share with her!

Cammie!

Movie Time

Greetings to all!  It's me, Maggie.  Today, I thought we could all kick back and watch a (very short) movie together.  You'll be able to see just how TORMENTED I am around here.  It's a bit scary.  Are you ready?  Roll it:

Please click here to view on YouTube.

See what I mean? They're there watching every move I make!

I deserve really good presents from Santa for this, because I'm being SUPER good!

Yours sincerely,
Margaret Thatcher

PS: For some odd reason, they have now been moved behind glass. I have no idea why.

Thanks, Santa!

Greetings to all!  It's me, Maggie. Let's cut right to the chase today, shall we?  I knew.  I knew it was here.  "Knew what was here?" you might ask.  The new toy from Santa.  This one:

This is it!

The new Goughnuts Stick.

Isn't it a thing of beauty?!?

Behold, the new Goughnuts Stick!

Oh.

Oh, right.

I know what you're thinking -- and you're right.  It's not Christmas yet.  But see, in an effort to make things easier for himself on Christmas Eve, Santa Amazon-Primed my Goughnut Stick (and an orange one for Cammie) to our house early.  He thought Mom and Dad could just store it in the pantry until he got here, then he could get it and stick it under the tree.  One slight problem -- I SAW THEM try to sneak it into the pantry.  Yes, yes, I did!  And so, I gave them the Sad Eyes Look.  I even sat by the pantry door for a good half hour and weefed.  I wore them down, people, pups, kit-cats, and assorted other readers.  I. Wore. Them. Down.

"Fa la la la la, la la la la!!!"

It's awesome.  Goughnuts are one of the few toys (I have two rings!) I don't destroy!  I love having a new shape.  Excellent choice, Santa!

Oh.

And ...

"You're going to need to get another Amazon Prime order going there, Santa!"

Isn't Christmas a great time of year?!?

Yours sincerely,

Margaret Thatcher

Decking The Halls (Actually The Living Room)

Greetings to all! It's me, Maggie!  So there I was the other day, just helping Mom decorate living room, getting it all Christmas-y looking ...

We were going through the ornaments for the more eclectic tree. We unpacked the Husky Knocking A Snowman Over ornam----- I mean the Husky Helping A Snowman Up After He Fell Over ornament:

"Oh, cool!  I like this one!"

And a seashell Mom's mom painted for her years and years and years and ("MAGGIE!") - just a few years ago:

"Hi, Santa!"

And we also unpacked the special Beagle and Black Lab ornaments:

A Beagle to remember Sam and Rookie; a Black Lab to represent our great-brother Booter

Sam and Rookie are the Beagles Mom grew up with; our great-brother Booter was a Black Lab/Australian Shepherd mix!  Mom loves hanging ornaments on the tree that remind her of them!

Then ...

THEN ...

THEN ...

Mom seemed to be trying to sneak something out of the box-o-ornaments.  I had to see what she was trying to hide!

"Move that paw out of the way, Mom!"
"Nothing to see here, Mags!  Reeeeeally."

Yeah, right.  I reminded HER that Santa was watching ... and she moved her  -- did I say "paw" before?  I meant "hand".  She moved her hand out of the way ... and I SAW HIM!!!

"SOCK MONKEY!!!"
"Uh oh."

Yes, it was Sock Monkey!  The last time I saw him, I was helping Mom box him up after Christmas last year.  I wanted him, dear readers.  All Christmas season long.  But every time I tried to even get close to him, either Mom or Dad were watching me, or Cammie was watching me, or ...

"I think it's time to hang this little German bell on the tree, huh, Mags?"
"Not the triple M!"

Yep.  The ol' triple M - Maggie Motion Monitor.  Sigh.  Once known as the Zim Detection Device, it was renamed as I try to carry on Zim's legacy of Christmas fun!  Sadly, it's quite effective at letting everyone know when I'm trying to make things interesting -- or as the saying goes:  "Every time a bell rings, a Siberian is too close to the Christmas tree."  Yeah, well ...

"Heh heh heh heh heh..."

Laugh all you want, Sock Monkey, from your perch high in the Christmas tree.  This is the year!  I can feel it!  I WILL get you!

Yours sincerely,

Margaret Thatcher