Happy New Year!!!!

We wanted to be one of the first to wish you a happy new year!!!! We hope that 2010 treats you better than 2009. Our 2009 wasn't bad, but improvement is always welcome.

We've been very busy this week. Daddy has been away on business, so we've had to help out Mama more than normal. We make sure that we take her for her walks every day. Today, it was snowing, so we decided to just go in the afternoon. She seemed fine with that. She said we could skip our afternoon walk if we wanted, but we needed to check our pee mail since we didn't go this morning, so we went. We've been entertaining Mama in the evenings by trying to learn new tricks. Last night, we supervised the cleaning of Daddy's chair and a few spots on the carpet. We didn't really enjoy doing that because the carpet cleaner is very loud.

Daddy will be home tomorrow night! He will give us ear rubs and lots of hugs. We really miss him when he is gone.

Hope everyone has a nice New Year's Eve. We are staying at home with the folks.

Jack and Scout
The Greyhounds Who Are Ready For 2010!

Santa Came!

Santa came to our house on Christmas Eve. Scout and I were outside and when we came in, there was a big trash bag that Mama said was left for us. Mama handed out our gifts. I love my hedge hog. He squeaks, sqawks and rattles. He has it all!


Here is Scout waiting in line for her present. She received a dog that has squeakies in his feet. Scout wanted squeakies in the belly, so Mama fixed him the next day. She recycled squeakies from some of the toys that we don't play with and put two squeakies in the dog's belly so now Scout loves her toy.


Here I am with Scout's toy. I had to test it out for her.


After we played with our toys, Mama gave us our bones. Look how big this thing is!

Scout is having trouble getting her mouth around it.

Excuse me, I'm busy playing here.

Yesterday, we just hung out with Mama and Daddy. Here Scout is enjoying the warmth of the fireplace.

I was really tired after playing with my new toys, so I took a nice long nap. I like that Santa guy. He brings good things to us.

Hope everyone else had a "greyt" Christmas like we did.

Jack
The Greyhound Who Loves Christmas

I Found Presents!

I think I found my Christmas presents. I was walking through the closet and I looked up and way at the top of a pile of junk, I saw this:

It has to be mine. It looks huge!

Then, I decided that Scout's present had to be around some where. I walked into the next closet and I saw TWO huge bones! I have never seen a bone that big before. We will be chewing on those bones for a long time. There is a bag that looks like it has a stuffie in it. That is probably Scout's, but I know she will share it with me.

I thought that Santa brought presents. I don't understand how the presents got here already and how come they are not wrapped? Maybe there isn't really a Santa, but I met him last year. I'm really confused!

Jack
The Greyhound Who Found His Presents Early

Why Do We Like To Walk?

Mama asked me this morning why Scout and I get so excited about going for a walk. How could she not know? Walks are so exciting! It's like going shopping. You never know what you are going to find. Each day there are new smells. I always have to mark areas to let others know that this is my place. Just the other day there was a new Christmas banner hanging on the mailbox. That's my mailbox, so I marked it. Mama was not happy about that though. Someone keeps marking our rock, so Scout and I both have to re-mark it. Yep, we double team that rock. One of these days the other critters are going to learn that it's our pee rock and not theirs. There's always new things to see. New leaves appear on the road. We have to check them out. Sometimes we find things to eat on our walks, but I have to be quick because Mama doesn't allow us to do that. Today, we saw the UPS truck driving down the road. Scout refused to move because she wanted to see what he was up to. I think she thought he was bringing her a present. You just never know what you are going to see on a walk. You might see people, deer, turkey, skunks, cats, other dogs. It's an exciting world! So, that's why I like to walk. Any other questions? LOL

Jack
The Greyhound Who Thinks Walks Are Awesome

We Are Ready For Santa!

Yesterday, Mama visited Petsmart and she saw the jolly old man. We didn't visit him because Mama promised us that we never had to see him again. We visited him last year and our photo is from that visit. We didn't mind visiting him, but we didn't like all the other dogs that were barking and carrying on. It made us nervous. Then, we were in line and this dog that was two people up from us trying to attack Scout. That was enough for us. No more visits with Santa.

Mama said she told him what we wanted which are bones. He said he knew the perfect one for us. It's like two feet long and peanut butter flavored. Yummy! He said he will throw in a few other surprises for us. We can hardly wait.

Today, we baked cookies with Mama and listened to Christmas music. It sure is a fun time of the year.

Jack and Scout
The Greyhounds Who Are Dreaming About Christmas

...And The Stockings Were Hung With Care

Mama decorated our fireplace and put up the stockings, but there is a BIG problem. Do you see the problem? There are three stockings. That doesn't add up because there are two hounds and a Mama and a Daddy. Someone is getting left out!!! I say it's not me because I was here first and there were three stockings at my first Christmas. I say that Scout is the outcast. Scout says that she is legally adopted and one of the family. So, who is being left out? Maybe the third stocking belongs to Bob, the beta. That would work, but then what about Mama and Daddy? I guess we will have to wait and see what is put in the stockings on Christmas morning and then we will know who is the outcast here.

Jack
The Greyhound Who Knows That Santa Is Watching

It's Beginning To Look Like Christmas!

Mama told us that we were not going to have a tree this year. She reminded us that last year we were not happy that the tree took up some of our play area. We also were "corrected" a few times for getting too interested in the ornaments. Daddy doesn't care if we decorate or not, but he told us that if we didn't have a tree then Santa wouldn't visit us. WHAT?! Santa won't come? Well, we told Mama we have to have a tree. She said she would look for a small table top tree. She couldn't find anything that she liked. Then, I remembered that we have a rustic tree in the basement. We've decorated it and put it on our porch a few times, but Mama never thought about using it indoors.

Mama brought the rustic tree upstairs and set it in the foyer in front of the window. She put lights on it and a few ornaments. We supervised her and celebrated when she finished by throwing our toys in the air and playing a song with our squeakies.

Here's our tree.
We live in a rustic type of house, so we think it looks nice. It solves all of our problems because Santa will now visit, the tree is out of our way and Mama has always wanted to have a tree in front of the window but never has before.

Mama said we will put up our stockings on the fireplace this weekend and we will add a few more decorations around the house. Christmas time is fun!!!!

Jack
The Greyhound Who Is Making Out His List For Santa

Camping Season Is Over!

We are home from our Thanksgiving camping trip. We camped at Bennett Springs which is a trout fishing park. We arrived on Thursday and the weather was chilly. It got down to about 29 degrees overnight, but we were prepared with extra blankets, our jammies and hats. We didn't wear the hats in the camper though. Mama and Daddy went to Shoney's for dinner. Scout and I were left with Frosty Treats. Mama brought us back a little of her dinner. She had country fried steak instead of turkey. Why would a person choose country fried steak over turkey? We don't know either!

Friday, Mama and Daddy went to Camping World and bought their Christmas gifts for each other. They bought each other lounge chairs and The Little Red Campfire. Campfires cause Mama to have migraines, so this should allow them to have a campfire without a migraine developing. We had to stay at the campground because there was not enough room in the Jeep with their presents and us, plus it was too warm to stay in the Jeep. We had the air on in the motor home. Later in the day, we took several walks around the park and looked at the water and the deer. The park is full of deer.

On Saturday, we sat outside most of the day because it was very warm. It was in the 70's. Mama and Daddy used their lounge chairs and Scout and I used our beds. The Little Red Campfire is in the background, but we forgot to take photos of the new lounge chairs.

Mama says all our camping photos looks the same because this is what we do. We lay on our blanket and bed.

Here we are on another trail. Basically looks the same as last month's trail pictures.


Here we are with Daddy.


This is Scout watching a guy fish.



Here is a better photo of the guy. He's in the waterfall.

Mama said this tree looks like it decorated for the holidays. It is full of lures.

We had a very nice time, but we are sad that camping season is over for us. We will go again starting next March. Mama already made our reservations for Memorial Day weekend. We will be camping right on the lake. We stayed at the same place this past October and really liked it.

We will still visit the nearby state parks throughout the winter. We will go there to walk and give Daddy a little taste of camping so that he can make it through the winter months.

Hope you had as much fun as we did it over Thanksgiving weekend.

Jack and Scout
The Greyhounds Who Are On A Camping Hiatus

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!


We are going camping. Scout and I just finished packing. We have our camping lights. Since the weather dude says it's going to be cold tomorrow, we have our coats, hats and jammies. It's going to be sunny the rest of the time, so we have our sunglasses. I think we have everything we need. We are ready to go!

Hope you have a "greyt" Thanksgiving!

Jack and Scout
The Brindle Kids

Mama Made Me A Coat.....HELP!

Mama bought a sewing machine earlier this year. She took sewing in high school, but not since. She is not very good, but she tries. She has made us several collars and those turned out pretty good. She has now ventured into clothing for us. She made me a coat a few months ago, but it was so bad that she didn't even take a photo of it. This weekend she completed another coat for me.



I don't like it. The collar looks silly. Daddy says I don't have to wear it. He says it needs to more boyish, so I'm off the hook. Mama says she will try again. Yikes!

I heard Mama say something about making me a hat. Does anyone know an easy way to break Mama's sewing machine?

Jack,
The Greyhound Who Hopes His Mama Gets A New Hobby!

Look What Mama Ordered!

It's me, Scout on a pendant. Isnt' it beautiful? Mama found this lady last week on Etsy and immediately fell in love with her work. She sent her a picture of me and this is the result.

Mama felt bad choosing between me and Jack, but Daddy said no one will be able to tell the difference, well, you can definitely tell this is me. LOL We cannot wait for it to arrive so Mama can show me off.

Mama said the lady was very nice and so easy to work with. Here is her information if you are interested. This is not a paid advertisement. Mama just thought you might be interested. Shopmollyd

Scout
The Beautiful Brindle

It's My Birthday!!!!

Today is my birthday! I'm four years old today. Mama says that I have to be a big girl now. Do you know what I did when she said that to me? I cried. I really did. I don't want to be a big girl.

Mama says I can do whatever I want to do today. So, this is what I'm doing....



I love the big bed!

Scout,
The Birthday Girl

We Got Presents!

Mama went shopping and brought us each home a gift.

I got this super cool flashlight that I will use when we walk at night while camping. Isn't it cool? I bet I will really be the talk of the campground if I wear this with my jammies!





Scout received this pink hat.



Who do you think is happier with their gift? LOL




Better luck next time, Scout! LOL

Jack,
The Greyhound Who Can See At Night Now

Loosing Weight Is Hardwork!

Mama and I both need to loose weight. We started taking an extra walk at lunch time this week. We walk to the end of our road which includes going down the "mountain" as our mail lady calls it and then coming back up again. Going down is easy. Coming up is not as much fun. It usually ends up with Jack acting like he is pulling us both up. He takes the lead, then Mama and then me trailing behind. Mama says we look like a train and I'm the caboose.

After we come back from our walk, I collapse on the floor until Judge Judy comes on.

Jack just laughs at me. It's not fair that his metabolism is better than mine.

Mama weighed herself and she gained a half of a pound this week. I refuse to get on the scale. I'm not going to be humiliated like Mama.

Scout
The Greyhound Who Wishes She Had A Faster Metabolism

Our Last Camping Trip?

We camped this past weekend at Hawn State Park. The weather could not have been any better. It was in the upper 70's. This is November! It should be in the 50's. We made our reservations five months ago, so we really lucked out.

Hawn State Park is wonderful. Mama said next year, we should start doing a rating system on the parks we visit. We loved this one because there are so many places to walk. Mama and Daddy liked it for it's beauty. It's full of pine trees and has a creek to play it. I didn't play in it, but Scout did.



On Sunday, we were surprised when some friends showed up from our greyhound group. Blu and Roy were there with their folks. Scout and Blu know each other because they carpooled together all the way from Tulsa to St. Louis. I know Roy from before I was adopted. His Mama does a lot of meet and greets and he joins her from time to time. We walked around with Roy and Blu. Roy, Blu and Scout got in the creek, but I didn't. I don't like water. Mama got me to try it once and I fell in a hole. I thought I was going to die, so no more water for me.

This was the view from our camper. Isn't it pretty? Deer like to play on the rocks.

Here is the sandy area that Scout didn't want to leave. She really wants to have a sand pit at home. I hope we get one. It will be fun to run and play in.


Mama said this could be our last trip of the season. However, if the weather is nice for Thanksgiving weekend, we will camp. Can you imagine camping on Thanksgiving? It will be a first for us.

Jack,
The Camping Greyhound

Reports Of My Death Have Been Greatly Exaggerated by Mark Twain and ....

...Bob, the Beta.

Mama called us into the kitchen and told us that Bob, the Beta, had died. She was sad because she has had him for 3.5 years. That's longer than she has had me. She adopted him after Sami died because she was very lonely. I'm not sure what she thought Bob was going to do for her, but she said he was nice to look at.

Anyway, back to tonight. Mama asked if we wanted to see Bob once last time and we really didn't care, but decided to act interested because she might give us a treat if we shared her sympathy. She moved the tank and then screamed because she saw Bob move. I thought it was because she moved the tank, but no, he was actually swimming. I have to say that Bob doesn't look very good. He's pretty old after all and probably doesn't have much time left, but he is still alive. Mama put his tank back and now we are back to laying on the couch. Life is normal once again.

Jack
The Greyhound Who Really Doesn't Care About Bob

We Are Bored!

After spending eight days on the road, we are bored at home. On Monday, we had to do a lot of exploring around our house because others critters came in and tried to make it their own. Scout and I had a lot of work to do to re-claim it. Yesterday, it rained all day, so Mama wouldn't take us for walks, so we were very bored. We walked this morning and found some spots that we missed on Monday, but now we are bored again. We are itching to get back in the motor home. Mama said we are heading out next weekend for a few days.

Our vacation was fun. We basically had the campgrounds to ourselves. We didn't have to deal with any ankle biting dogs at all. We could walk where we wanted, when we wanted. We had one day that it rained the entire day. Seriously, it rained for 18 hours. We made our trips outside when the rain slowed down, but we still got pretty wet. That was the worst day, but Scout and I were able to catch up on our sleep. We went to a civil war battlefield the next day. It was not as exciting as it sounds, but it was better than staying in the motor home all day.

Here are a few more photos from our vacation. See the yellow marker? This is where the water was during the flood of '93. This was taken at Wakonda State Park.

This is the view we had from our campsite at Wakonda State Park. We are going to go back next summer so we can play in the water.

This is Mark Twain's boyhood home in Hannibal. Mama and Daddy didn't take us here. We had to stay in the motor home.

Unsinkable Molly Brown's childhood home in Hannibal. It was not open even though the sign said it was. Mama even called the day before to make sure they would be open, but they were not.

A pretty farm that we passed while driving.

Thanks for visiting!

Jack,
The Traveling Greyhound

Home Again!!!

We are home from our eight day camping trip. We had a wonderful time and were sad to come back home to our boring lives.

Camping is exhausting. It is full of lots of walks and exploring. Here we are relaxing on the first day.



This is Scout walking with Dad.





We walked along the lake a few times.



After our walks, we came back to the motor home and relaxed.



We will post more photos of our trip tomorrow. Thanks for looking!

Jack and Scout
The Camping Greyhounds