Run Kat Run!

Here is me rollerblading with Dad. Dad says that I am the better skating partner because I am focused on just running while Steve wants to stop and smell (or pee on) every tree and bush he passes. I hope that means that I will get to go skating the most!

Kat

Run, Steve, Run!

Since the weather has been getting nicer, Dad sometimes takes us when he goes out on his rollerblades. It's really pretty fun. We have learned commands for mushing while running alongside Mom and Dad on their bikes, but with the rollerblades, we have more freedom to feel the wind blow through our fur.

Here is a video of my turn, and an interview with Dad and me at the end. Next Kat will post her turn! Of course, she was pretty vocal in this video about what she thinks about my turn.
Steve

Steve the multitasker

One day, I told Huffle about how Mom makes us do something every night before we get our supper and how sometimes I try to do everything I know in one motion so I can eat faster. Huffle asked to see my amazing multitasking skills, so without further ado, here I am.

It's pretty impressive, huh? I don't know why Mom doesn't recognize it as a talent. Instead, she just makes me keep trying until I do each thing one at a time. Apparently she hasn't learned much in all of those classes she takes at work about lean manufacturing principles!

Steve

Our new trick

We finally downloaded several videos from the video camera and we are going to share them with you in our next few posts.

First up, a new trick. We have been working hard learning some new tricks. Well, it might be more appropriate to say that I have been working hard. I have learned two new tricks and Steve has just learned one. I have decided that Steve might not be as smart as I am.

This is the trick that both of us have learned - SPIN! This video was taken right after we learned it. We are much better at it now. Mom doesn't have to make her hand signals as big and we can also do a synchronized spin. We'll have to get that on video soon.

Kat

PS. Next up is a video that we created from a special request from our pal, Huffle! Check out our next post.

Role Reversal

Sometimes I like to show my dad who is in charge and I sit on the couch and make him use the ottoman.


What do you do to show your parents who is really in charge?

Kat

I love my mom

Mother's Day is coming up in a few days and I suppose I could have saved this picture for then, but I'm not going to do so. I love my mom so much that I think any day is a good day to tell her that I love her. That's why I cuddled up with her on the couch.

I'm pretty sure she likes it when I cuddle. I mean, sure she said her arm went to sleep, but then I helped her with the sudoku on her iPhone, so I think all was forgiven.

Steve
PS. I have decided to take Jack a-Roo's (NACGCY) advice and just go by Steve with my friends and Steven Oliver, CGC when I need to impress and get steaks.
PPS. NACGCY stands for (according to Jack) Not a Canine Good Citizen Yet. I'm sure the only reason Jack is still NACGCY is because his mom is really struggling with the training. It's a pretty difficult test for humans.

I'm a good boy!

Breaking news! (Or a few days old news!)

I'm a Canine Good Citizen! I took my test on Thursday and passed. Dad says I'm now a CGB, Certified Good Boy. Don't worry though, I still don't listen to a word he says. He never hands out treats, so I have no reason to listen to him. Mom, on the other paw, is pretty sneaky with the treats. I can never tell when she's going to pull a piece of hotdog or cheese out of her pocket, so I try to listen to what she tells me to do and that's how I ended up being a CGC or CGB, whatever.

So what do you all think? Should I sign my name Steven Oliver, CGC or Steve, CGC or just Steve? I'll do all three for today. ;-)

Steven Oliver, CGC
Steve, CGC
Steve

Smiling Steve

Mom took me on a photoshoot. We stopped at a park during the middle of our walk. Mom wanted to get a picture of my cute pinkish nose before it darkens up for summer.

I had a hard time concentrating on her because there were kids playing soccer and I wanted to find a puddle so I could get a drink. Don't you think I look pretty tired?


Then one of the kids made a funny soccer move, so I had to laugh.


Boy, walks sure make me get the fat tongue!


Finally I gave Mom a nice look, but she didn't capture the pink of my nose.


Luckily she gave up at this point and we got back to walking. I much prefer walking to posing!
Steve

Hide and Seek

Do you see anything in this picture?

Let's look a little closer.

Oops, I've been discovered. Time to move.

I could be a tight rope walker in the circus.

And now, my dismount.


The pictures end here because Mom was giving me too much attention and the furry beasts had to come bug me and then she had to save me. They ruin everything.

Meow,
Wilbur

It brings out the blue in my eyes

Mom has been working hard up in the sewing room. First she created the Extreme Crate Makeover. Now she has created a quilt for me. Mom can't take all the credit though because Dave from the Army of Four helped her figure out how to quilt it. (Or maybe it was his mom, I can't remember.)

Now my blanket is finished and I took some time today to model it.

It's pink, blue, and chocolate brown. Don't you think the blue looks good with my eyes?

The bad thing about having your own quilt is that it follows you everywhere you go. Here it is, trying to rest with me on the couch.


It also goes to bed with me too, but I just don't have a picture of that.

Mom has just started on a quilt for Steve. Hopefully in a month or so, he will share his quilt!

Kat

PS. Just so you don't miss Steve too much, this is what he did earlier this week while Mom was putting her hair in a ponytail before our walk. He just gets so excited. (Sorry, it's not a very good picture.)

Medical Care by SKW

The other day, Mom stayed home from work because she was sick. When Dad came into the bedroom to tell her goodbye, this is what he found.

Please excuse our eyes, the lights were off in the room when Dad took the picture.

So as you can see, we are very good at taking care of our sick Mom.

Kat
(I'm also very good at stealing Steve's favorite toy, which you can see under my head if you look closely.)

We've got mail!

Back during the Olympics, our neighbor, Winston, sent us this really cool Vancouver post card. Mom has not been good at getting our pictures off the camera, but she did today, so you can check out the post card.

Here's a close-up of the front. That is the north shore of Vancouver in the picture.

And here's the cool message Winston wrote to us.

It's kind of hard to read in the picture but it says:

"Hi Guys,

Greetings from Vancouver. The North Shore area has the best off leash park that I go to lots. It is right on the ocean so there is lots of beach play.

Luv,

Winston"

Thanks Winston! We love getting mail!

Steve and Kat

Organizing the Garage

Dad decided that he would organize the garage this past weekend. We didn't want Dad to have to do all the work, so we all pitched in (except Wilbur, who knows what he was doing).

I helped by smashing down the dirty dog towels.

Steve helped by supervising and Mom helped by checking her email.

The garage is now organized and I'm not sure how Dad would have done it without us!

Kat

Me too!

Steve told you about how he's taking Mom to school for training (here and here). Apparently Steve needs some help with the Mom training because now I am taking Mom to school.

Before school starts, I have to find a nice chair where Mom can put her stuff. (Note to the Ao4's mom: the Boo Tote is great for school supplies!)

During school, we work hard on leash walking and greeting strangers. I have to eat a lot of hot dogs during leash walking time. It's hard work, but I still take time to look cute.

In fact, we've been working so hard that I have graduated! Mom is holding the certificate like she earned it or something, but really, it was all me.

I even had to walk nicely on a leash while ignoring the horses. If that's not diploma-worthy, I don't know what is!

Kat

Clean Socks

A while back, (ages and ages) Zim of the Army of Four asked me a question:
Hey... how do you keep your socks so white? Do you ever take them off and let your mom wash them? Is your fur grey underneath them?

Thanks for the question Zim! It took my mom a long time to get a picture of me keeping my socks white. Then it took me a long time to decide if I was going to share it. Today I have finally decided that I will.

In the mornings, after Dad takes a shower, I use the leftover water in the shower to keep my paws clean.

I make sure to soap them up and wash them out.

For your other questions, no, I don't ever take my socks off. My socks are what make me cute and if I didn't have them, my mom might not put up with the stuff I do to her. And as for what is under my socks, I will never tell.

Meow,
Wilbur

Fun, fun, fun 'til my dad says my paws are too dirty!

Dad took me to the dog park recently. I had a lot of fun, doing my favorite things. Running, chasing, play bowing, mud puddling. You know, all the good stuff. Dad's not good at taking a lot of pictures, but he did take this one. I think all of you pups can read between the lines and imagine the fun I was having.

Steve

Final Woolympics Results

The results for the last Woolympics event, leash walking, have been tabulated and the winner is Kat! Not too much of a surprise there, but what did surprise us was that Wilbur took home the silver. Pretty good for a feline.

In the secondary event, Kat won for the loudest non-walker. If you think she was bad in that video, you'll have to listen for her in a video Mom made this weekend. We'll get that posted soon.

So the final results from the Woolympics are as follows. It's pretty amazing how we all won the same number of medals!

We also mentioned that our crate has undergone an Extreme Crate Makeover. It's a pretty remarkable change. Let's take a look at the crate before the makeover.

It was pretty bad. Some pups (no idea which ones) had chewed the bottom of the cover to shreds back in their younger days.

And here's the crate now.

Huge difference! The cover now covers all four sides and goes all the way to the floor. It can be tied up on any side. There are dowel rods (removable for washing) at the bottom of each side panel so they stay weighted down and hanging properly and the top has a pocket where Dad slid in some foam core to make the top solid so Wilbur can sleep up there. Mom made the cover, so it's customized just for us. It works out pretty well, nice and cozy.

I misunderstood, honest!

What was that, Mom? You wanted me to go IN my crate? Oh, I thought you said to get ON my crate. Honest. That's what I thought you said.

Steve

PS. If you don't want me to get on my crate, please do not put Wilbur's dishes on it, even if it's just for a second.

Stay tuned for pictures of the new and improved crate!

Woolympics Event #4

Today is the final night of the Winter Olympics and that means it's time for the final event of the SKW Woolympics. Before we get to the final matchup, it's time for the medal ceremony for the last event, Fast Eating. This event wasn't even close! Steve ran away with it to win his first gold medal of these Woolympic games. Kat won the silver and Wilbur won the bronze.And now for the medal count.Our final event of the games is the leash walking event. Now you might think that it's totally unfair for Wilbur to complete in proper leash walking, but until recently, Steve and Kat were also incapable of properly walking on a leash. So without further ado, the leash walking event!

Editor's comments: This video is longer because we wanted to leave in the post-event wrestling matches and also doesn't feature the Woolympics theme music so that we could also have a secondary event with Steve and Kat of who made the most noise while the other was competing.

Voting will be open until Wednesday!

New York Style Pretzel Bones

It's been a really long time since I did an episode of Kat's Crazy Kitchen and for that, I fully blame my mom. I gave her a guilt trip this weekend and we worked together to bring you a new episode. Today, we're going to make New York Style Pretzel Bones.

First, gather up your ingredients. Mix up 1.5 cups of oat flour, 1.5 cups of brown rice flour and 0.5 cups of oat bran.

Add to that 0.5 cups of grated parmesan cheese, 0.25 teaspoon garlic powder, 1 egg and 1.25 cups chicken broth. Mix everything up to form a soft dough.

Roll the dough out on a floured surface to about a quarter of an inch thick. Use a cookie cutter to cut the dough into your desired shape.

Place the cookies on an ungreased cookie sheet. My mom cuts the bones in half, but hopefully your mom isn't stingy and will give you the whole bone. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes.

Let cool on a wire rack and store in the refrigerator.

These cookies were very easy to make. The dough rolled out nicely. You can also brush the cookies with egg and top with sesame seeds if you want to make them more pretzel-like, but we did not do this step.

As you can see, Steve and I were eager to try the cookies! We both give them two paws up.

Hopefully it won't be as long before I do another Kat's Crazy Kitchen episode. In the meantime, try out the recipe Shiloh and Shelby posted on their blog. It looks really tasty.

Kat