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.

This weekend is the final weekend of the summer. Next weekend it will officially be fall. In honor of the passing summer, we decided to be lazy all weekend. The puppies are pretty good at being lazy, except that they already have a routine down and know what time we should be taking them for their walk. So we were almost super lazy- with the exception of the required walk.
We played a lot in the backyard. Miss B demonstrated proper stretching techniques for being lazy.

Miss S decided that laziness should come with a required snack. Dad had been eating a cookie, so she felt it necessary to check his hands to make sure he didn't have more.

Apparently there is something interesting in the grass right now because all of the puppies had to check it out.

Eventually, Miss M decided it was best just to soak up the last weekend's worth of summer sun.

It's hard to believe, but the puppies are almost finished with their advanced level of puppy school. Where did the time go?!! We really enjoy puppy school, and I am kind of sad that it is almost over. The puppies are very popular at Petsmart. They get attention from all of the employees when we go, and they love their trainer. I think we are all going to have puppy school withdrawal when they are finished. We may have to visit from time to time just for fun. The puppies don't really seem to know that they are about to graduate. It's just been business as usual at our house. Summer is rough, but luckily, there are cats to torment and slobber on, boxes to tear up, teddy bears to de-stuff. 

Today at puppy school, there were boxes in the store that had been flattened. Mr. M found the boxes immediately and was convinced that he needed to tear them up for Petsmart. At home, he is in charge of initial box destruction. Once he decides the box is sufficiently mangled, he lets the others have a turn chewing up the box. He got to practice the "This way" and "Leave it" commands as we hurried past the tempting boxes in the store.
Miss M discovered the toy aisle today. We have been walking down that aisle almost every week since like March, but usually she is looking around. Today, she happened to glance down and notice the bright yellow Kong squeaky balls like she plays with at home. She got super excited and figured those must be for her. She was a little disappointed that we had to leave those in the store.
It started raining outside just before time to leave, which was wonderful because it cooled things down to the low 90's instead. You know it's hot when the low 90's is an improvement. The picture below was a couple of days ago.

Most of the playtime in the yard has been a little tamer than normal. The puppies burst into zoomies from time to time, but mostly they just chill for a while until we take them back inside. They have developed a new zoomie skill. They run around the yard at top speed and then zoom into the house as soon as we open the door.

Mom checked the weather today and this is what they predict:

We collectively decided that we need to go on a weather strike. Alaska is looking pretty good right about now. Miss M pointed out that she already gets along really well with rabbits. She could learn to get along with bears too.

Mr. C decided that he had everyone beat. He's been getting along with (teddy) bears since he was just a little puppy. Unlike Mr. M who likes to chew them up. Mr. M was quick to explain that in his defense, that pink teddy bear was looking at him funny. It was downright rude and just had to go. Plus, who could blame him with all that fluffy stuffing just begging to be set free.

Miss S has decided that she is okay with going anywhere cold as long as there are plenty of treats. This kind of rules out Alaska. I am sure there are dog treats, but being so far away from the contiguous US, all of the treats would have to be shipped in, and who knows how long that would take. Miss S and Mr. C have been seriously considering Washington state. It looks like it might have everything the puppies want (treats, cold weather) and also everything Mom could want- good coffee, sailing opportunities. Even Bruce Lee lived there for a while, so it must be good for Martial Arts too, which would be good for Dad. 
Miss B is fine with anywhere as long as the laser pointer will still work. Plus, she looks good in sweaters. She made sure to tell us that they were going to need new sweaters if we go somewhere cold. There's no way Miss M will even fit her sweater anymore, and Miss B's is just so last season.

Miss M is a little worried about the cats not having sweaters. We tried to tell her that cats aren't too into clothes, but she wasn't very convinced. She offered to give Kitty S her old purple sweater since it is too small to even fit over her head anymore. Kitty S told her it was just too hot to even try on sweaters right now and to talk to her in a few months.

Last week after taking the puppies to puppy school, we had a serious adventure- but not in a good way. Earlier in the day, we had noticed that the blower on our air conditioner wasn't working right and had already called Mom's brother, who thankfully, fixes air conditioners for a living. He agreed to come look at it after work. It was already a little warm in the house when we left for puppy school but we put out some fans and turned off all of the lights so that the house would stay a little cooler for the cats while we were gone to school.
We went to puppy school and had a great time. Class was uneventful. The heat was brutal outside, so after a couple of potty trips and their class, the puppies were fairly tired and ready to go home. We stopped to get something cold to drink and some ice for the puppies. We turned onto the main road and started our trip home. A few minutes into the trip, the car lost power. The a/c and electronics were still going, but the engine was not. Neither was the power steering. Mom pulled over to the shoulder and tried starting the car again. Nothing. We were already too far to walk back on the hot sidewalk in full sun to Petsmart. There was a little business not too far away, so we decided to walk over and at least wait in the shade on the side of the building. When we got there, Mom went inside and asked if we could bring the puppies in out of the heat. The car thermometer had said 98 degrees- so it was really hot. At first, they agreed to let us sit with the puppies inside for a while until the wrecker could come and pick up the car, but then the main lady decided that it might be a liability to have dogs in her shop and asked us to wait outside. I will not share my opinion of her here. Suffice it to say that I don't think she was much of a dog person.
We took the puppies outside and sat in the grass beside the building while we waited for a wrecker to come for the car and someone to come for all of us. One of the ladies that had been in the business felt sorry for us and brought us a pitcher of water for the puppies.
After about an hour, Dad decided to try the car to see if it would start again after sitting for a while. Mom was waiting with the puppies in the shade when Dad came driving up. The car had in fact started, so we loaded everyone back into the car and took off again. Mom wasn't too convinced that our problems were over, but Dad went ahead and cancelled the wrecker. About five minutes into the drive, the car did it again- this time in front of a feed store. Mom immediately got out and started unloading puppies again. We walked over to the feed store, where the guy working there had come out to see what was going on. The puppies were all very polite and didn't bark at him. He was very impressed by all of them and couldn't get over how well behaved they were. He told us we were welcome to stay there as long as we needed to. We didn't bother asking to go in, and just stayed in the shade in the front porch area. Miss B didn't understand why we weren't going inside where it was cool and even whimpered at the door. They aren't used to not being allowed inside.
The man there talked to us for quite a while. His son had pit bulls too, and he was so impressed with how ours looked that he even asked to take pictures of our dogs so he could text his son. The owner drove up and he told her what was going on with all of the pit bulls on the front porch. She brought out a Tupperware container with water in it for the puppies and even offered us something to drink. They were incredibly nice.
The wrecker finally arrived and whisked the car off to the mechanic. Dad had gotten in touch with a friend who had a car big enough to hold us and all of our dogs. His wife was at the dentist, but he agreed to come get us as soon as his wife was finished. Finally, just before 6 PM our ride arrived. The puppies didn't quite understand the idea of getting into someone else's car, but as soon as they felt the air conditioner, they decided it wasn't so bad and calmed right down. The four big puppies sat in the back of the small SUV and Miss M sat on the middle seat with us. She took a minute to greet everyone, then laid her head on Mom's leg and went to sleep.

When we got home, we were glad to see that the house was only 85 degrees on the inside. It would have been a lot warmer if we hadn't turned on the fans. The kitties were very happy to see us. Mom's brother got there just before we did, so the puppies visited with him briefly and then rested on the tile floor while he fixed the a/c. We filled up the little pool in the backyard to cool them down the rest of the way. 
Our fuzzy children were completely tuckered out, and were still a little lethargic the next day. Miss B's muzzle was very pink- I think she must have gotten a sunburn. It's starting to get back to normal now. All of the puppies went out to use the restroom first thing in the morning the next day, but then they went back to sleep and stayed asleep until around 11 AM! Talk about sleeping in!
Since we haven't posted any pictures of the cats lately, here is a picture of Kitty S trying to convince us that she needed to have a piece of birthday cake. We are glad we got them spayed. They have actually been a lot calmer since then. Kitty P has gotten extra cuddly since then and jumps onto the bed to snuggle up next to us any time we are in the bedroom.

The kitties have a routine that they go through pretty much every night. Once we send the puppies to bed to start calming down for the evening, the kitties chase each other up and down the hall. I caught them playing in the hall one morning and caught a picture of Kitty S jumping over Kitty P. They play just like the puppies. 
I think the previous owners must have fed them things directly out of the fridge because every time I open the door, they run over and stand up on their back paws to stretch up as far as they can so they can check out the selection. I have to actually physically move them before I can close the door again.