Today was a very interesting day. We woke up in the middle of the night with high winds and torrential rains. We went right back to sleep but woke up to storms again around 5. Dad went outside and discovered that while it was really windy, it wasn't raining much. So we decided to take the puppies out for a potty break before it started raining again. When we got back inside, we went back to bed, but then we started hearing funny noises. We heard a transformer blow behind our house. Our lights were still on at that point. Soon afterwards though, we started hearing the transformer closest to us make noises too. It sounded like it was revving up. The clock in our bedroom flashed a few times, and the little fan stopped a couple of times before the lights went all the way out, shortly before 6. With the two of us and all five dogs in the bedroom, it started heating up pretty quickly. Mr. M, who gets hot quickly, started panting, so we put the puppies in their crates, where they would be cooler.
We tried going back to sleep, but at that point, we were already wide awake. In the days before getting the puppies, we used to camp regularly. Because of our camping habit, we are fairly well equipped for bad weather. We got out our propane stove, and set it up on the porch. We would have used it in the house, but it needs to be used in a well ventilated area. We got out a cast iron griddle and a tea kettle and went to work. Then we ate our bacon and eggs and drank our coffee by candlelight. The puppies were a little disappointed that they didn't get to share.
The lights were off for about 5 hours before they came back on again. It stormed off and on pretty much all day. There were branches down all over the neighborhood. The people two houses down from us had their fence blow over completely, which the puppies noticed of course.
Later in the day we decided that we needed to do something for Miss M since today was her birthday. We had planned on going to Buddy Bites for a birthday cookie, but the weather was just too bad to go anywhere. So instead we went to Petsmart and got a container of Pup-kin Spice Latte treats. The puppies loved them. We got Miss M a little pumpkin costume as a birthday outfit. All in all, it was a successful birthday.

Okay, seriously? Again with the flooding? Why do we always have to have rains of biblical proportions? Can't we just have a little bit of rain like normal people?

It started raining Saturday afternoon and really hasn't stopped since then. Every time we take the puppies out, they just stop and look out, and then they look at us like, "can't you turn it off?" Normally if we open the door, we have to watch out because they all fly out. This weekend, I'm pretty sure we could leave all of our doors wide open, and nobody would even get up off of their blankets and pillows. If you look closely in the picture below, you can see Miss M looking out at me while I was taking pictures of the backyard. Notice that the door is open, but she is quite content to just sit and look at me. She eventually ventured out onto the porch, but that was as far as she went.

The Weather Channel keeps telling us that the rain should start coming to an end  later this evening. I'll believe it when I see it. I will say though, that it has actually been pretty cozy with the bad weather. It is a little cooler (65 outside) because of the rain. I was able to bake some bread yesterday, and we made brownies today. I also had a little bit of time to work on puppy sweaters. So even though it is a pain in the neck when it's time for potty breaks, it's not bad otherwise. Plus, the puppies have been super cuddly this weekend- which is nice.

It should come as no surprise that we go through a lot of dog food. I got tired of running to the store constantly for more dog food and discovered www.chewy.com a while back. I love Chewy. They give free shipping on orders over $50, which is kind of a big deal when you buy big bags of dog food all the time. Their prices are really good, and their shipping is always really fast too. We get most of our dog food there, along with treats, crates, puppy shampoo, etc. Today when I (Mom) came home from work there was the usual dog food package on the front porch, but there was also a smaller package with it. I was a little confused. I didn't remember ordering anything extra and didn't think I had ordered anything from anywhere else. When I opened the package to see what it was, I was totally shocked. We had sent a picture of the puppies to the customer service people at Chewy's when I had talked to them about returning something I had ordered in the wrong size. They emailed back saying that they had the puppies' picture hanging up on their wall of fame in their office. I didn't think much of it after that. When I opened the package, I was surprised to find that they had commissioned little hand painted portraits of each of our puppies. We both loved the pictures and were quick to hang all of them up in our dining room. I'm not sure who their artist is, but I think they did a really good job! Check out Mr. M and his portrait.

Doesn't it look just like him? They even got the little bit of pink on his nose. We were completely surprised that Chewy did that for us. Talk about good customer service! Look at these cuties!

It's hard to believe that Miss M is almost a year old and that it has been almost a year since Mr. M and Miss S got their first rabies shot. We have to go get their rabies booster in the next few weeks. How is it that they are already old enough for their boosters? It seems like yesterday that we were just taking them to vet for the first time.
I have to say though, one thing I don't miss about them being little puppies is the whole potty training thing. 
When we got Miss B and Mr. C home, it took several weeks for them to get the idea that they should always go outside. Once they figured that out, we were halfway there, but their bladders were still small. So we still had to take them outside every few hours in the middle of the night for a potty break. Just about the time they started sleeping through the night without any accidents and without waking us up to go outside, we brought Miss S and Mr. M home... and the potty training started all over again.
We were still sleep deprived from the first set, but not taking them out every 2 or 3 hours meant cleaning up puppy messes in the middle of the night or first thing in the morning. So every 2 or 3 hours, we were out with the little ones. They did pretty well with the potty training. I think they worked hard on it at night so that they could sleep in the bedroom with us and with the big puppies (not in the bed yet of course). Right about the time we got them sleeping through the night, along came Miss M, and the potty training started over. Again. So did the waking up every few hours.
I think that people who have a hard time sleeping at night should just get puppies. After a few weeks of taking them out every 2 or 3 hours, they wouldn't need sleeping pills any more.
Another thing I have noticed is that the bigger our puppies get, the more they like to snuggle. When they are little, you always want to cuddle them, but they pretty much just tolerate your kisses and snuggles. When they get older, they realize how cozy it is to snuggle up next to you. So the snuggles get better and better. Pit bulls are the best snuggle dogs as far as I can tell. Their skin isn't particularly oily like a lab, so they don't have a very strong doggy odor. They are also solid enough that you can hug them without having to worry about the weight of your arm hurting them. They are like warm teddy bears.
​The one thing I have to admit that I do miss is the cute little puppy breath. 
I'm really glad we had more than one puppy at a time. They keep each other entertained and exercised. Plus, Miss B has a ton of energy, and without the puppies, Mr. C would be worn out all of the time. They stay much happier when they get plenty of playtime and exercise. Notice how Mr. M is keeping Miss B on her toes...

It's the middle of the week. Thursday is a strange day. It isn't hump day, so we are almost to Friday, but we aren't quite to the weekend yet. We still have to get up early tomorrow, so we can't go to the beach. But, we still need a little exercise and fun. This Thursday, the puppies decided to change things up a bit. Mr. M found a nice used toothbrush in the bathroom trashcan. Miss S thought it was her lucky day when he put it down and she was able to snag it. About that time, we realized what they were chewing on and took it away. Mr. M tried to reason with Dad to get it back.

Miss M tried to help him reason with Dad. Mr. M didn't appreciate her help and leaned way back to see what she was doing. 

Mr. C was a little concerned with all of this talk about toothbrushes.

Eventually Mr. M got bored with the toothbrush and made the argument that we should go outside. It seemed like a good idea.

We let Mr. M and Miss B play together first before bringing the others out. They both like to run and will wear each other out if we give them a few minutes for their zoomies.

Once Miss B and Mr. M were tired, we took them in to cool off and brought out the others.

Before going back in, Miss M took the time to play chase with Dad.

All in all, I guess it was a pretty good Thursday.

The last few days the weather around here has been perfect. Cool at night, moderately warm in the daytime but not hot. Basically I think we have been experiencing the kind of weather they have in California all the time. For us, this kind of Fall like weather is very rare. We decided we had to celebrate, and what better way to celebrate than with a trip to the beach?
The puppies were so excited! They were surprised when we got up and started getting ready to go for a ride. They were even more surprised when we got to the beach.
The beach was perfect. The weather couldn't have been better. It was pleasant enough that it wasn't hot, but not cold either. There wasn't a cloud in the sky, and there was just enough of a breeze to keep the mosquitoes away. When we first started walking, the sun was behind us and wasn't very high int he sky yet. On the way back, it was higher in the sky, but with the cool breeze, it was still pleasant. 
Everything is more exciting for the puppies at the beach of course. There were shells and birds and sticks. And more importantly, there was sand. Lots of sand.

Apparently mid morning is a dangerous time to walk the beach. We could smell people cooking breakfast at their campsites. Miss S and Mr. C were convinced that they needed to go help cook breakfast and kept pulling us in the direction of breakfast. 

After such an exciting morning, the puppies were totally exhausted. They played a little in the backyard when we got home, but after that, they all fell asleep on the floor while Mom made bread. Miss M volunteered her blog editing services for this post- she slept while Mom typed.

It's fall, but apparently the weather didn't get the memo. I hear that it is supposed to be cooler this weekend. For now though, we are still enjoying summer. In October. Complete with air conditioning and flip flops.

The puppies have been enjoying the backyard. Mom has been working on knitting more sweaters so that they will each have a sweater by the time it gets cold. The sweatshirts they had last year are too small, and they looked a little ragtag. We will probably get the puppies each another sweatshirt to wear around the house and in the backyard, but the sweaters will look more stylish when we are out and about.With as slow as the Texas winters are in coming, she probably has a few more months to get the sweaters ready. 

In other news, the cats are getting fat. More specifically, Kitty P is getting fat. Kitty S is just looking normal. We suspect that Kitty P is hogging all of the food. We would like to think that she is just fattening up for the winter, but I think she's just a little piggy.