Snowpocalypse 2014.

I'm not sure why North Carolina decided we needed to have an actual winter season this year, but I think we can all agree it was a mistake.

Regardless, if it's going to snow, you might as well be out there playing in it.

Here are some fun sights and sounds of playing in the white stuff.

Chewie had so much fun running around in the snow. He also had his first ever sled ride!

Kid+Dog+Another Kid

My oh my.

This kid is moving from little girl to not so little girl way to quickly.

Her eyes say, "I'm my own person."

She'll be 11 in 17 days.

 And this not so little kid really loves her dog.  

Hey Chewie, look over here!

 I can hear her saying, "who's a good Chew Chew?" in that Mommy-speaking-to-a-baby voice that comes so naturally.

 
 And then this kid.  The one in blue? 

I think he's up to something. 

Neurotic? Sure. But At Least It's Entertaining!

Let me start with a little back story: When we first brought Chewie home we set out Lucy's old stainless steel food and water bowls for him to use.

He had no trouble with the water bowl and dove right in. But when we put food in the other dish, he freaked out. We weren't sure if it was the reflection of the food in the bowl or if it was the noise that the food made when he moved it around inside the bowl that bothered him.

Whatever it was, he seemed too scared to put his face in the bowl and eat. We coaxed and prodded but he would not eat out of that bowl. So we grabbed one of the kids plastic cereal bowls and that worked just fine.

Then, yesterday morning, Eliza Grace found the metal food bowl in the pantry and asked if I thought Chewie had gotten over his problem with the bowl. I said yes, he probably had, so she switched out the bowls and then we left to take her to camp.

Fast forward to last evening: Scott and I passed each other in the neighborhood, he coming home from work and me heading out to get the kids. Through the car window I asked him to go ahead and feed Chewie and start dinner when he got inside.

When I got home with the kids, Scott greeted me by saying, "This has been great entertainment. Did you do it on purpose?" Since it was obvious I had no clue what he was talking about, he handed me the video camera to show what he had been watching for the past 15 minutes or so.

Suffice it to say, Chewie is obviously still freaked out by the metal food bowl. And instead of just feeding the poor, hungry, pleading dog, Scott, being male, simply video taped Chewie neurotically barking and dragging the food mat holding the evil bowl.

So we went back to the pink plastic bowl and Chewie is happy and well fed. And, yes, Scott was right, neurotic dogs are pretty entertaining.

What Have They Done To Me?!

Woof. Bark. Growl. Howwwwllll

Oh, sorry, I forgot I needed to speak human.

Alpha let me borrow her blog because I just had to vent.

You see, it all started about 2 weeks ago. I was just sitting around minding my own business, licking what I pleased and chewing on my toys. Life was great!

I mean, Alpha was always trying to brush the giant knots out of my fur but aside from that, life was one big air-conditioned dog house!

Then one evening, Alpha started running around like a crazy lady, dragging down these big things with wheels and throwing clothes in them. The older pups started grabbing pillows and stuffed animals - which, by the way they do NOT share with me - and Alpha's mate started stuffing all kinds of wires and gadgets into bag after bag.

I had no clue what was going on but when Alpha told me we were going for a car ride, I was psyched! She was so nice, gave me a treat and didn't even make me sit in that crate in the car.

When we pulled up to the "place that shall not be named," Alpha was all "come on sweet Chewie. That's a good boy, Chew Chew" so I was not too freaked out. I overheard Alpha say something like "please do what you can with his fur" but I figured they would try to brush me or give me a bath. Not my cup of kibble but I figured I would survive.

What happened next makes my nub of a tail tuck way under. In fact, I think I've blocked most of it out but suffice it to say it was the worst 9 days of my entire 6 month old life!

After Alpha left, the days all blurred together. One day they stuck me with needles. Another day I took a nap and when I woke up, I was missing my FAMILY JEWELS! The family jewels people. There goes any hope I ever had for leading my own pack!

And if that was not bad enough, just look what they did to me.

This is what I looked like the day before Alpha took me to the vet:
And this is what I look like now:
When she came to pick me up she told them they had the wrong dog!

It was humiliating.

Ok, sure, less fur means I am cooler but, seriously? I. Look. Ridiculous!

My name is Chewbacca people. Have you ever seen a HAIRLESS WOOKIE?

Please tell me it will grow back!

And while you are at it, please tell Alpha to stop calling me the "The Rat."

So Long Third Grade!

Eliza Grace poses with Chewie to show how much they both have grown over the past couple of months.
Only 2 more years of Elementary school left for my little girl!

Stormy Weather

This is what we kept an eye on this afternoon. At 3:38 PM EDT to be exact.
See that arrow just west of the letter "C" in Cary? That is where we live.
All that bright red and purple had us running for our designated severe weather safety location: our master bedroom closet. At one point there were six separate tornado warnings over a four county area.

When we told the kids to grab a couple of lovies and head to our closet, Will became very concerned. Thankfully hugs, reassurances and prayers helped Will relax as we all crammed into our closet with our most prized possessions in hand. Mine were my laptop, iPhone and Nikon camera, naturally.

Chewbacca took advantage of all the blankets and warm bodies and took a nap. I don't think we will be able to depend on him as any kind of early warning system.
Eliza Grace, who is blessed with an amazing spirit that finds an element of fun in nearly every situation, created her own fort and settled in to play her DS.
Thankfully the very worst of the storm missed us by a couple of miles. Unfortunately, the storms did a great deal of damage in the surrounding areas and our thoughts are prayers are with those who were affected.

Aaaacting!

The kids and a neighbor friend dragged Eliza Grace's "theater" out of storage the other day and sorely tested my engineering skills.

After a few missteps, I finally got it together and and then the fun began.

Getting ready for the show. Will has already secured his popcorn and candy.
"I'm gonna to sing a little song. Like to hear it, hear it goes."
Jadon delighted the crowd with jokes and riddles.
Even Chewie was rolling on the floor laughing.
A little waltz during the intermission.
And Will finished the performance with an aria...or a really loud belch. One never knows what will come out of his mouth.

Heeeere's Chewie!

Yes, I am sure he is really missing all those loud, yappy puppies at the breeder.

And he never has any fun. See?

Let's take another look at little Chewbacca in that last pose:
Now take a look at a Star Wars AT-AT walker (and imagine it laying on its side in the same position as Chewie above):
Is it just us or is there a real similarity? Scott thinks giving him a Star Wars related name was providential :)

Fitting In

We're pretty sure Chewie has adapted to his new family. What do you think?
I had flashbacks this morning to when I had toddlers, as Chewie sat whining in his carrier while I took a shower. I wonder if he would prefer an Exersaucer? :)