Monday, August 31st

Well I did a lot of running around today. First Mom and Dad took me to the vet so that I could get flea and heartworm medicine. Mom says we have to worry about those things much more here in FL than we did in WA. After that we went to the food court at the mall and had lunch here...



I am really disappointed that Mom and Dad didn't ask them for an apple for me!!

Next we went to the Allstate agent so that Mom and Dad could sign the paperwork to get home and auto insurance...boring! After that we went to Sam's Club and then to Target. Then it was dinnertime so we went back to the mall to walk around since we didn't have time for that earlier, got some basic tools (screw drivers, wrenchs, pliers, etc.) from Sears so that Dad can put stuff up in the new house. They also ate dinner in the food court while they were there. Then it was back to the hotel so that I could actually eat my dinner...about time!!

I was so tired from all that running around..see...



But that didn't stop me from waking up for my nightly apple. First Mom gave me my heartworm pill, and I chewed it right up like it was a treat so Mom seemed real happy she didn't have to have Dad shove it down my throat.



Well I'm worn out so that's all I've got for tonight. Ya'll sleep well, and I'll yack atcha tomorrow.

Sunday, August 29th

Today I got to see my new home. I was so excited I flew out of the car and ran around the yard like a wild man! Oh and Grandma Ruth was there which made it even better. You know what else? There is this HUGE bowl of water in the backyard though Mom kept telling me not to drink it. It was hot, and I was thirsty so it was hard to listen to Mom, but I did.

My new home is very colorful, but there isn't any electricity there right now so Dad didn't take any pictures yet. Grandma Ruth did take a picture of us in front of the new house though. I have no idea what Dad was doing...he looks funny...hehehehe.

Saturday, August 29th

We're here!!!! After two and a half weeks of driving we made it, and I can stop spending long long days riding in the van. I cannot even begin to tell you how excited that makes me. I celebrated by throwing my squeaky cow around the room tonight.

Speaking of cows, I think I found out where all the cows that aren't famous CA cows are working. Today when we stopped for lunch, Mom and Dad ate at this place called Chick-fil-A. There were all these cows wearing signs about eating more chickin...obviously their education isn't good enough to be CA cows since they can't spell.

Dad took this picture of Mom and I at the FL visitor's center shortly after we crossed the border into FL. The weather is pretty nice in FL and notice the nice green grass behind us in the picture.



Mom says that tomorrow we get to go see our new house, but we can't move in yet until they sign all these papers next week. I just want to check the place out and sniff my new yard.

Oh and before I go for the night Mom says to tell Uncle Fred that they had dinner at his favorite place tonight...Waffle House!!

Friday, August 28th

Today was another rainy day...nothing heavy but off and on...you know what I mean. But I didn't care really because when we got to Uncle Nick and cousin Nick's house, I got to run wild in the backyard!! Uncle Nick and cousin Nick were in the process of moving to a new home so we pretty just hung out while the friends that were there to help them move loaded up the pickup trucks and such. After that we went over to their new place to watch them unload it all.

Uncle Nick is diabetic like my Dad, and his blood sugar went too low from all that exercise while moving so Dad gave him some soda and the sparkling cider we had in the van. His friends tried to tell him he was wobbling like he was drunk. Mom said diabetics get funny like that when their blood sugar goes low. Mom just kind of smiled and said she could tell me about all the funny things Dad used to do when his blood sugar would go low too, but that he hasn't had no funny stories in a long time.

So later on they went to dinner at Golden Corral. Mom said it was real good, and she could tell we were back in the south because she could have fried okra and some brussel sprouts. Oh and the other day she had grits for breakfast...that seemed to make her happy too.

So here is a picture of me with Uncle Nick and cousin Nick when we said goodbye at the restaraunt. Mom says that some of you are going to be shocked at how tall cousin Nick is...he's 6'1".

Thursday, August 27th

Today we drove to GA so that we can visit with my Uncle Nick and cousin Nick, Jr. I've never met them before so I'm really excited that we'll get to see them tomorrow. On the way to GA, Mom and Dad stopped at a Hardee's for lunch. Mom said they don't have Hardee's on the west coast so she was hoping for a roast beef sandwich. Well all I can say is what goes around comes around...make me suffer yesterday and be so disappointed...ha...Hardee's doesn't do roast beef any more!!

It rained today during our drive. I swear I thought Mom and Dad had turned around and taken me back to Seattle what with the rain, trees, and grass. Yeah no more rock gardens...yipee!!

I was a bit of a bad boy today though so Mom wasn't very happy with me. We stopped at the rest area and welcome center for GA and I jumped up on the greeter lady. Now the greeter lady didn't seem the least bit phased by my exuberant hello...she even said she had a doggie just like me at home, but Mom was not pleased and told me to get off of her. Mom has also been working very hard on making sure that I stay on the back seat of the car until she says its OK for me to come out...well...OK so I'm sick of being coopped up in the car with all this driving and jumped off the seat a few times, but I never left the car. Doesn't that count for something? Oh...and well...then I kind of tried to eat my dinner before Mom said I could. I guess I better go cuddle up with Mom and try to get her forgiveness. I'll just look all sorry and give her my puppy dog eyes...I'm sure that will work.

Wednesday, August 26th

Well there aren't any pictures today, and I've got to say how disappointed I am! Do you know that we drove through Memphis, TN and Tupelo, MS...the home and birth place of THE KING, and Mom would not let me stop!! I was crushed when she said we couldn't go to Graceland. They play lazy in the morning and don't even check out of the hotel until after 12 noon, and I get told there will be no extra stops as it was a long driving day. I hardly thought that was fair. I think I'll have Mom look for a Elvis halloween costume for me this year just to make up for all this disappointment I've suffered today.

Tuesday, August 25th

Well today I got to travel to Little Rock, AR. On the way out of OK we stopped at a rest area so Dad and I could do our business and stretch our legs. Well I just got to tell you that someone with a sense of humor made this rest stop for us dogs. Mom just cracked up when she saw what you're about to see in the two pictures below.





Somewhere along the line, we stopped for lunch. Yeah, yeah I mean they stopped for lunch...at Subway...I had to sit under the table and smell all that yummy stuff in their sandwiches.

Once we crossed the border into AR, Dad pulled into the first rest area. It was a welcome center too, and the nice ladies there were very complimentary to me!! One of them said I was so calm. Mom just laughed and told her that it would be a whole different story if she was to let me off leash and tell me "free." It was a pretty big place and had lots and lots of brochures. I'm sure I could have got one of each for Mom if she had just asked me to. Here is a picture of me and Mom outside the welcome center.

Monday, August 24th

Tonight I am in Oklahoma City, OK. Last night Uncle Fred called Mom and told her she should stop in Groom, TX on the way to see this really huge cross that they had seen many times when they were truck driving cross country. They never had the chance to actually stop so I've got a lot of pictures to post for everyone to see. It was this huge cross (I mean huge...wait til you see how small Mom and I look compared to it) and all around the cross were sculptures of Jesus' path to the cross. Here are the pictures.

Squint real hard, and you can see Mom and I.

Jesus is condemned to death



Jesus carries his cross


Jesus falls the first time


Jesus meets his mother


Simon helps Jesus


Veronica wipes the face of Jesus


Jesus falls the second time


Jesus comforts the women of Jerusalem


Jesus falls the third time


Jesus is stripped of his garments


Jesus is nailed to the cross


Jesus is crucified (also shown in front of the crucifiction is the last supper)


Jesus is taken down from the cross

This was the statue and waterfall just outside the gift shop.

The lady at the gift shop thought I was just the cutest looking puppy ever. She told me that they have their own website. You can go and read more about this place at http://www.crossministries.net/.

Well that's about all I have for tonight. See you tomorrow!!

Sunday, August 23rd

Not much to tell today. We traveled to Amarillo, TX. We saw 3 picnic areas and 1 parking area on the way to Amarillo and not a single rest area. I guess humans in TX don't need to pee when they're on the road.

Saturday, August 22nd

Well Mom is a little bummed today because she didn't get to see her friend Aaron. I'm a lot bummed because I didn't get to play with the boxer dogs. Aaron called Mom this morning to tell her that his mother-in-law went into the hospital last night and things weren't going well so they were packing up to go to NJ. I sure hope things turn around for her. Mom invited Aaron to drop by anytime he's in FL since he travels so much with his job, but that still means I don't get to play with the boxer dogs.

So instead we had a lazy day. We did go out and get some lunch, but then Mom wanted to get out of her wheelchair so we came back and lazed around. Dad took a nap and Mom played around on her computer. She just now let me blog. Tomorrow we're off to Amarillo, TX.

Friday, August 21st.

Today was yet another travel day in the car. We went from AZ to NM today. The weather is much nicer here in AZ. Here are some pictures that Dad took.

This one is of Mom and I at a rest stop in AZ that had a scenic view.



I do have a complaint about this scenic view thing. Why aren't the telescopes low enough for me to use?



Later on the trip we stopped at a rest stop in NM. This place was amazing...go ahead guess why...give up? They actually had a fenced in area for us dogs to run around in. It was like going to a little dog park...I just wish there had been other dogs there to play with.

Mom made Dad take this picture of me in a tree...yeah I climbed up there in the trunk. Mom thinks it is one of my best pictures ever.



After that, Dad took a few pictures of the mountains which he thought were pretty.





Tomorrow we are going to see a friend of Mom's. I overheard her on the phone talking about his two boxer puppies that I get to play with!! Sounds like another good day to me!!

Thursday, August 20th

Well it was such a busy day that I'm a day behind in posting. I had so much fun that I was just too pooped to blog as you can see. So here is what all happened.



Aunt Alice picked up my cousin John in the morning, and they came to the hotel to meet me (well OK maybe Mom and Dad too). We all went to the mall and ate lunch...actually they ate lunch...once again I was left to lie on the floor and try to behave as Mom would say. Afterwards, Aunt Alice had to go home to get some sleep since she had to work that night. The rest of us hung out at the mall until Uncle Fred got off work, and then we all went to cousin John's house.

On the way there, I saw more famous people on the side of the road. First it was those CA cows on the commercials and now it was all those cactus' that are on the commercials for Taco Time!! Don't you think that all these famous people would make enough money to get a house or something so they didn't have to live on the side of the road?

So guess what? When we got to cousin John's house, there was Bruce waiting to meet me. I was so thrilled to see another dog and get to play.





Dad even took a video for me so that I wouldn't forget how much fun I was having.



Here is a picture of Uncle Fred and cousin John being silly. I just want to know why John gets to stand on the furniture, but Bruce and I weren't allowed? It just doesn't seem fair to me.



Later on we went back to the house where Uncle Fred and Aunt Alice are staying until they get their own house. They are living with Amy's parents (Mark and Lillian). They had what smelled to me like a wonderful meal. Mom did tell me how proud she was of me for behaving so well at Mark and Lillian's home.

Wednesday, August 19th

Another hot day in AZ, but it was a fun day! I don't think I've ever had so much water. I'm usually very picky about when and if I decide to drink, but not since we hit this heat. Mom, Dad, and I were sitting out on the lanai waiting for Uncle Fred and Aunt Alice to get there. I think the heat has affected Uncle Fred's mind because he was convinced that I had forgotten him since he left to move to AZ back in April. He was a little hurt that I was a bit more excited to see Aunt Alice though. Here are some pictures on the lanai.











After that reunion, we went back to our hotel room and waited for Uncle Fred to take a shower. Boy did he looked wiped out after working in that heat all day. Once we got back in the room, Aunt Alice gave me an apple that we had picked up in the lobby...it was yummy!!



Later we met Lillian (the mother of my cousin's wife) at the mall and walked around until the whole gang met at Red Robin to celebrate Uncle Fred's birthday. I loved walking around the mall, but I hate it when they make me go under the table at restaraunts. Here's two pictures of me trying to look like the poor little pitiful puppy dog that Aunt Alice keeps calling me.





Here is a picture of my cousin John.



This is a picture of his wife Amy.



Here is a picture of Amy's sister Melissa and her husband Tory.



This is a picture of Uncle Fred enjoying his birthday sundae compliments of Red Robin.



Here is the last picture which includes John, Amy, Melissa, Tory, Lillian, and Mark (Amy's dad).



By the time we came out of Red Robin it was dark and the temperature was still 106 degrees...amazing.

Tuesday, August 18th

Today was HOT!! Do not believe anyone who tells you that 115 degrees isn't hot whether it's dry or wet!!

I left the hotel with Mom and Dad this morning, and it was just beautiful outside. When we stopped in Blythe for lunch it was 109 degrees. Wow is that hot on my poor feet!! Mom says I was doing a prancy dance and said she might have to get me some of those dog booties. I don't know if I'd like that or not. And would someone tell me what happened to the grass? I am not fond of doing my business on rocks!!

Well not much else to say for today. I get to visit with all my peeps here in AZ tomorrow so I'll be sure to have Dad snap some pictures of me. Right now Mom and Dad are too busy watching Big Brother so I'm not allowed to bother them which is OK with me because that means I get to play on the computer.

Monday, August 17th

Well first let me wish a big 'ole HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my Uncle Fred!

Today was a lazy day in the hotel. Mom calls me a lazy boy. You know what? Dad took me outside earlier and took a few pictures from the hotel here and I've got a store named after me...I knew I was famous!!





Here's a picture of me waiting for Mom to stop playing Farmville so that I can blog. I tried putting my head on her hand so she couldn't move the mouse, but she just made me move and said I had to wait for my turn on the computer!



And here's two more pictures of me in front of the hotel here in Santa Clarita. I don't know why they keep on insisting on these silly pictures. I mean really, do I look like I'm having a good time?