Olympic Training

As some of you know, the Blogville Olympics are fast approaching (apparently, so are the human Olympics, but really, who cares when there Blogville Olympics going on at the same time?!?).  Among the many events Abby and I have entered, our personal favorite definitely has to be the discus (also known as Frisbee).   So we are continuing to train long and hard for the discus event!  Mom has been good to help us train on the weekends, and when she gets home from work.  We are SO going to be in peak condition for the discus!

To help our fellow competitors (because this is a friendly competition, after all), we've added a few tips for peak performance:

First, always check the tensile strength of your Frisbee!

Keep your eye on the Frisbee!

Ear flappage helps increase your amplitude!

Using your tail for leverage can help you catch even the most poorly thrown of Frisbees!

For safety, have a partner spot you when getting 'big air'!

The wider the jaws, the greater the likelihood of a successful catch!

STRETCH!

Don't forget about style points!  The more limbs in action, the better!

A stylish miss is better than a boring catch!

When in doubt, jump high and hope!  (Note tail use and ear flappage for maximum amplitude!)

Seriously, don't underestimate stylish misses!

Trust me; spectacular misses can earn you high points!

 

Pick up tips from your training partner, when possible!

Always bring the Frisbees back to your Designated Thrower for more quality training time.

I have heard that actually letting go of the Frisbee so that it can be thrown again helps, but I'm not so sure.

Finally, make sure you have high-quality, accurate press photos for the media, so your fans can recognize you at all times!

Heehee!   Now you won't miss us in a crowd!

We're so excited for the Blogville Olympics!  This is going to be Most Excellent!  We can't wait to see all our fellow competitors in action!  Good luck to everyone!

*kissey face*
-Fiona and Abby the Hippobottomus

My (belated) Birthday!

First, thanks for all the wonderful birthday wishes from everyone!  I was so thrilled every time Mom would read me new comments on my birthday post!  Thanks everyone!

Since Mom has been 'busy working' (something about 'consenting patients' - whatever THAT means - some times I think she makes this stuff up; she says it has to do with getting permission to access patient data, so maybe she's not making it up, but you never know...) she wanted to wait until the weekend so my birthday could be more properly celebrated.  If waiting a bit means more goodies for me, then it's all good!

We started off the morning with a walkie.  (No photos, as Mom "didn't have her act together"...)

Then we headed off to doggie class for funballs times!

Check out my awesome 'down and stay'!

Silly young pups!

Abby spent a fair amount of time socializing with the spectators...

"Hi! My name is Abby.  Do you have any treats?"

Why does Abby look so much bigger than me in this photo?

See what a good dog I am, while my sister tries to escape?

Heehee.

After doggie class we stopped by the Magic Cheeseburger Window!!!  (Alas, no photos of the actual Magic Cheeseburger Window, as it was raining quite hard, and Mom didn't want the camera to get wet.  But trust me, even with the rain, it smelled great!)

And when we got home it was time to have the Birthday Cheeseburger! 

Nom! Nom! Nom!

And being the Great Sister than I am, I (of course) shared the cheeseburger with my sister!

Watch your fingers, Mom!  (Just kidding! Neither of us takes off fingers when we get treats!)

After the cheeseburger (and the appropriate amount of rest time so we didn't have digestion issues), we went out for some Frisbee Time!

Mom was trying to get some 'discus' photos for the Blogville Olympics but the sky was getting cloudy and rainy again, so we'll have try again, tomorrow.  Still, we had fun frisbee times, and I got to play tug-o-war with Dad!

Abby and I also engaged in some bitey-face (as is the custom after Frisbee Time).

After a much-needed nap, Mom made 'birthday bones' - sort of mini birthday cakes in a muffin tray.  (Peanut butter-carrot cake, if you are curious, and fit for human and doggie consumption.)

Yummers!

And then Mom frosted them (with cream cheese and peanut butter), and put on my birthday candle!

Mom blew out the candle for me, but I wished for world peace and bully sticks for all!

And then, of course, we had to have some birthday cake!

More nomming!

 And, of course, Abby got some, too!

You might think these photos look an awful lot like the cheeseburger-eating photos, and you would be right, except here we are eating birthday cake! 

Then, finally, Mom broke out the dreaded birthday hat.  You would think that as a present to the birthday girl, the non-birthday girl would have to suffer the humiliation of wearing the hat, thereby making the birthday girl (me) not feel like a fool with this silly hat on my heat.  But apparently Mom doesn't agree with me.  And if I used that logic, I'd have to wear it for Abby's birthday, so nevermind.  Besides, Mom did buy us a cheeseburger and make me bone-shaped muffin cakes!

There, I've got it on.  Are you happy now?

Okay, fine.  Another one for posterity!

Heehee!  Mom was happy that I wore the hat, so I guess it was wasn't too awful!  It was a Most Excellent Birthday, and well worth waiting a few extra days for the big celebration!  (Although I am looking forward to Abby's birthday when I will get my part of a cheeseburger and cake without having to wear the birthday hat!  Heehee!)

*kissey face*
-Fiona and Abby the Hippobottomus

Happy Birthday to Me!!!

Yep!  That's right!  Today is my birthday!!!  I'm four years old today!  For some reason, today is NOT a national holiday.  I don't understand why.  Perhaps I'll start a letter-writing campaign to my congressperson to see what he can do about that. 

Don't I look all dignified and adult-like?

Unlike a certain sister of mine, who, well, wouldn't know 'dignified' if it bit her in her ginormous snooter....

Heehee.  I love my sister, I really do.  But what good is a sister if you can't tease her?  Mom's brothers would certainly agree with this statement!

So, what wild excitement is planned for my birthday?

In a word, nothing.   Nada.  Zip.  Zilch.

Actually, that's not entirely true.  Mom is not doing anything for my actual birthday because she has this silly job thing that totally interferes with her ability to spend every waking minute with me.  However, she is breaking out the bone-shaped muffin pans, the dog cake recipes, and the cream-cheese 'frosting' in preparation for a party on Saturday. So on Saturday, there will be birthday cake:

Last year's birthday cake was Most Nommy!

And there will be a stop by the Magic Cheeseburger Window:

Half the fun is being able to take in the aromas as we near the Magic Cheeseburger Window

And, unfortunately, there will probably be the dreaded birthday hat...

Really?  How is a girl supposed to look dignified with this thing on her head?

But, it seems to amuse Mom, so with the proper application of treats, I suppose I can tolerate the hat for a few minutes...

I'm sure there will also be some frisbee time...

Abby might have even caught that one...

And I'm sure many treats will be doled out in Doggie Class.

So even though I have to wait until Saturday for my birthday celebration, it will be Most Excellent!  And, of course, there will be pictures to commemorate the occasion!

*kissey face*
-Fiona (the Birthday Girl) and Abby the Hippobottomus

The Best Laid Plans of Moose and Men

Heehee.  I couldn't help myself with that title!  As I mentioned in yesterday’s post, Abby and I had great plans to train for the Blogville Olympics; we were going to focus on some discus practice and some freestyle zoomies.  But, it was not to be….   Mom took us on our morning constitutional, and then went grocery shopping.   When she returned home, she was a wee bit surprised to find this:

Whaddya lookin' at?

 Moosies (especially Momma moosies with still-nursing baby moosies) are not compatible with free-range doggies such as ourselves.  So Mom insisted we stay inside, while the moosies enjoyed a mid-morning snack.

Nom, nom.

Baby noms.

Then the moosies decided to get comfortable.  It was quite hot today, and apparently our shade was Good Shade.

Could you turn on the sprinkler please?  We're hot!

After a while, it looked like the moosies might have moved on (Mom thought maybe our barking was annoying them).

Hey, moosies!  Can we have our yard back, please?

Upon closer inspection of the property, the moosies had just gone up into the shrubbery.

 

And once they left the shrubbery, they took a leisurely stroll around the property.

 And they decided to see if there was anything interesting on the back deck.

 And then they peered in the kitchen door.  (You’ll have to pardon the reflections in this photo; Abby and I were busy defending our turf while Mom was feeding us dried lamb lung pieces in an attempt to keep us quiet while Dad snapped some pictures.) 

Hi.  Um, it's hot out here. Do you have air conditioning?

Really.  Mom and baby were At. Our. Backdoor.  I think if the door had been open, they would have walked right in!!!  After decided that we weren't going to let them in (the only room that has air conditioning is the bed room, and we didn't think there'd be enough room on the Big Dog Bed for Mom, Dad, me, Abby, AND the moosies), they settled back into the shade in an attempt to stay cool.

They were in our yard ALL DAY, so Abby and I never got a chance to get out and work on our discus skills.  Actually, around 4pm we made it clear that we couldn't cross our legs any longer, and we needed to go out, so Mom loaded us into the car and took us down to the park at the bottom of the neighborhood.  Mom didn't want to disturb the moosies - she said it was too hot to urge them to leave.

As some of our faithful readers know, this is not our first visit from moosies.  In fact, we get moosies on a fairly regular basis, and you may wonder why.  Well, we've decided that it has to do with our weather-vane.

Mom says that it is like a hobo sign for itinerant moosies; she says that it roughly translates to: "Welcome Moosies!  We have good food and good shade!  Don't mind the dogs; they make a lot of noise but are harmless."  We're not entirely sure about Mom's translation, but it must be close, with all the moosie visits we get!

Anyway, the moosies took off about dinner time, and hopefully they won't return for a few days, so Abby and I can practice for the Blogville Olympics!

*kissey face*

-Fiona and Abby the Hippobottomus

PeeEss: All of the moose pictures were taken from the safety of balconies (or behind the kitchen door) - at no point did Mom or Dad ever get close to the moosies, as they can be dangerous - particularly mothers with young calves.