A Lot of Catching Up to Do

Wow!  It's been a really long time since we've updated my blog.  Cappy and John have been really busy, and we've been doing a lot of traveling.  So we'll try to get everyone caught up with all the fun things I've been doing.

Last summer, I learned a lot about boat stuff.  They say it's called tradition, but I'm still not really sure what all of that means.  John told me that whenever a boat gets a new name, it has to be Christened with the new name.  When he said Christened, I thought he meant we were going to have another Christmas, but that wasn't quite right.  Anyway, since we had always had the boat out somewhere when the local Christenings were going on, we never had this happen for her (Boats are girls they tell me.).  So, last year she was in the right place and we had her Christened.  I figured out that what that means is:  You get the boat all dressed up with a bunch of flags and get her really clean; then you make a bunch of food and other party stuff and have that ready for people; and then you smack the front (bow) of the boat with a bottle of something with a lot of bubbles; and someone wearing white says some special stuff.  Then, everybody parties!  I like that part.


We all had fun Christening the boat!




Party food!



I partied too hard!  Had to have a nap.

We had a lot of my family there with us, and we all had a good time.  A lot of people I didn't know came to see the boat and then went downstairs (I think they call that the "cabin.") to do some party stuff.  People just kept coming and I finally had to take a nap because I partied too much.  But John made me a little bed so I could get some rest.

In July, one of my girls, Molly, and her son Riley (He's funny!) came to visit us for a few days and they went to this place in Galveston called Moody Gardens.  They must've had a really good time because they were all still talking about it when they got home.  Riley was telling me all about his mom and him being in a shark tank, just for fun, but that really scared me!

Molly and Riley in the shark tank!!!!!

Later that summer, one of my girls, Maddie, wanted to do some sailing in our little bitty sailboat, so John took her out and they had a lot of fun.  The little boat is called an Opti, at least that's what I heard them say, and it's name is White Caps.  They had a really good time and by the time they were finished, I had to have another nap.

John and Maddie in White Caps

Nap time again

In October, some of my family from a place called Rhode Island came to visit, and I got to see them again.  I don't get to see them very often, but it's always fun when I do. 

Right after that, John and Cappy and I set out on another voyage to Florida on the big sailboat.  The first time we went to Florida a couple of years ago, we sailed way out in the ocean to get there, but this time, we stayed closer to the shore and made some overnight visits to some towns along the way that had these things called marinas.  That's just a funny name for a place you can park your boat for a while, and you can even get fresh water and have electricity.
We sailed for a really long time, even overnight, and then found this marina in a state called Alabama.  It was really cold and wet there, and we had to stay for over a week before the weather was good enough for us to leave.  There was a little beach there that I liked to run on and have fun, and one morning, Cappy and I jumped off the boat to go there, but there was ice on the ground and we almost fell down.  That was really cold!  The good news was that I got to wear my pirate jacket and my Snoopy and Sally sweater.  That was fun.


That's me in my pirate jacket

Me again in my Snoopy and Sally sweater

Brrrrrrrr!

Looks like someone left the comforter on the floor



John was cold too

My little beach in Alabama

Who's that looking over John's shoulder at our dinner?

After that, we kept on sailing and made a few other stops along the way until we got to Naples, Florida.  My Uncle Tom lives there and he was going to help us out with the boat.  I heard him and John talking one time about us leaving the boat there for a while so we could go back to Texas to take care of some business.  John said one of his customers was having some problems and he needed to go and see if he could fix things.
So, Cappy rented a car and the three of us drove back home, with the car loaded with all kinds of boat stuff.  I was hoping we would get to fly home that time, but John said we had too much stuff to put on an airplane.  Oh, well, maybe one of these days.
We got back home just before Christmas, and I was happy about that.  I like to be with my kids at Christmas.  I got to spend time with all of them, Riley, Travis, Harrison, Maddie, Mercedes, and Austin.  I even got to visit with my girl Casey for a couple of days.  I love Christmas!


I love Christmas!

My girls Maddie and Mercedes at the ballet



That's my Casey at Christmas

After that, everybody was really busy, but we made a couple of trips to see my family in Austin, and I even got to see my great-grandpa and my Uncle Cliff, who lives in a state way far away called New Hampshire.  We had fun together.  I always like to see my GP because he likes me a lot and plays with me.

Grandpa and Uncle Cliff

A couple of weeks ago, John and Cappy said it was time to go back to the boat.  The three little girls who live next door to us agreed to watch our house and water Cappy's plants while we were gone, so that made everyone feel good.  They are so cute, and sometimes when I'm out in the back yard, they come to the fence and talk to me.  I like that.
Finally, we all piled into John's truck with all of our boat stuff, and off we went.  It took us two days to get all the way to Naples, but we made it.  Before we left  home, we all decided that if we could manage the time, we would sail around Florida for a while, then spend some time sailing around some little islands they call the Keys.  I'm not sure why they call them that, but they do.  After that, we want to go to some bigger islands called the Bahamas.  But it seems that the Bahamas are a foreign country and since they are not very close to this country, we have to have more insurance on our boat, just in case something bad happens to it.  John made the arrangements to get the insurance changed, but there was one problem:  someone would have to do something called a survey on the boat, and to do that meant the boat would have to be pulled out of the water.  Seems like a lot of trouble to me!

Anyway, the guy couldn't come to do the survey thing until next week, so we all decided to use the time to sail down to these Key places, and then sail back up to Naples in time for the survey.  For now, at least we're having a grand time!
We spent a few days getting the boat ready to go, and then we headed south.  We spent two nights floating around in the water instead of being at a marina.  John said that's called being at anchor.  Whatever.  Then, we sailed to Marathon Key, Florida.  We've been to Florida a bunch of times, but we never got this far south, or at least that's what John said.  We were there for a couple of days, and then we went to some other place called Key West.  John and Cappy were both excited about that.
One afternoon, we all got into the little boat that we carry around with us and did something called sightseeing.  The little boat is called a dinghy.  Funny word, huh?  It's not a very big boat, and it bounces around a lot, so I had to wear my life jacket.  We stayed out in the dinghy until we all got too hot, at least I did, and it was time to go back in.  But it was still fun!

I have to wear my life jacket in the dinghy

Now, we're in Key West and it's a really cool place.  I've been on walks and I keep running into these weird looking birds called chickens and they make a lot noise!  They're everywhere!  There are a lot of people here, and the marina where we're staying has a lot of boats.  But it's fun to see all the  people and some of them stop and talk to me.  There is all kinds of cool stuff going on here. 

They also have the strangest cats I've ever seen.  They do all kinds of tricks and they even jump through this funny looking ring that's on fire!  I don't think I would want to do that.

Holiday fun!

Everyone is still very sad about losing Grandma, but a couple of months after she left us, John and Cappy decided to do a big sailboat race that happens every year.  They've done it lots of times before, and sometimes they even win.  Grandma always got excited about these races, so they knew she would have wanted them to do it.  This time, some people had asked Cappy if I could stay with them while Cappy and John were racing (The race takes several days to finish.), but at the last minute, something happened and they couldn't keep me after all.  So Cappy talked to the people at the place where I go to get my hair done and she made arrangements for me to stay there in a "luxury" suite.  I was a little nervous about it, but Cappy promised me that they would be back to get me in a few days, and that the people there would take good care of me.  I still remember being left at the Poodle Rescue Center for several months, and I was so lonely.  But then Cappy and John came there and took me home to live with them forever and ever.  I was pretty sure that since they went through all that trouble to find me in the first place, they would come back for me soon.  So, off I went to the Majestic Pet Hotel and to my luxury suite.  I had a flat screen TV on the wall where they showed me cool doggie movies, and people came to play with me and take me for walks four times a day.  And, they have a really cool doctor there, Dr. Adams, who takes good care of me. I hate to admit it, but it was actually pretty cool.  Although, I was really happy when Cappy showed up a few days later to take me home.  There's no place like home!



Me in my "luxury" suite

 A couple of weeks after that, the three of us drove up to Ft. Worth to watch Riley play in a football game.  I'm not really sure just what football is, but it sure looks like fun.  The kids all run around on the grass knocking each other down and chasing a funny looking ball.  I wish they would let me play!  Riley looked really awesome in his "uniform."  John said that's what clothes are called when everyone's has to look the same.  I like his pink socks.



That's Riley, number 33.

 

We went back to Austin for Thanksgiving, and all of my kid people were there, even Casey.  I was so excited to have them all together, and they had lots of fun.  On the day after Thanksgiving, my grandpa came back home with us to stay for a few days.  I like him a lot.  Since Cappy and John were working almost every day, Grandpa and I spent a lot of time sitting in the sunshine on our deck, and just hanging out.  I was sad when he had to go back home, but I heard Cappy and John talking the other night about him coming back for another visit soon.  I can't wait!

That's me and Grandpa

Next thing I knew, it was Christmas time!  What fun!  We went to Austin for a few days, and I got my picture taken with Santa!  He's nice.  I got to see all of my family over the holidays, and that was great.  They all like to play with me and watch me run.  Cappy says I run funny, but I think she likes the way I make her laugh.  I got tons of presents and treats from Santa and from my family.  I like Christmas!









I've been really busy!

Wow!  It's been a really long time since I wrote a new post.  We've all been really busy, and I have to try to get to the computer when no one else is using it.  And it seems like either John or Cappy is always using it.

Anyway, like I said, we've been very busy. Last summer, we had visits from some of our family.  Cappy's youngest daughter Molly (That's actually Dr. Molly.) came to stay with us for a few days with her son Riley.  He's seven.  Riley and I had a lot of fun.  We played with Legos and he taught me all about our country's presidents.  Boy, is he smart!  Then, one day while they were here, John, Cappy, and I took them for a sail.  We sailed over to a place called Redfish Island.  It's not much of an island, but John said that for Galveston Bay, it's about as good as it gets.  While we were there, Riley and Molly swam ashore to look for buried treasure.  Riley was sure there was some there.

Molly and Riley swimming to the island

They didn't find any treasure on the island, but on their way back to the boat, they found a big ole bag of coins that had gotten stuck to our anchor line.  Riley was so excited!  So was I!  I never saw "treasure" before.  It was really cool.  The coins were from all over the world!  Riley showed us each one and read when they all came from.  There must have been about a gizillion of them!  After that, we had a picnic lunch and then sailed back home.  It was a fun day. 

The next day was one of my kid's birthday.  Mercedes was turning seven and we had a big swimming party for her.  All of her brothers, (Travis, Harrison, and Austin) and her sister (Maddelyn) were there; so were her mom and dad, Riley and Molly, and John and Cappy.  I didn't get to go to the party because it was at the yacht club, which is where we keep our boat, and for some reason, I'm not allowed in the pool.  I can go just about any place else at the club, but not the swimming pool.  John says they don't allow pups in the pool, but he thinks they should allow ME, since I would behave myself and not get into trouble.  Maybe those people don't know that pups can swim.  Oh, well...  So everyone but me had cake and swam in the pool.  I got to have some fun with them when they all got back to the house, though; but after a little while, Mercedes and her family had to go home.  Then, the next day, Riley and Molly had to fly back home.  I don't like it very much when my people have to leave.



These are my kid people at the birthday.  I'm not there.

During the summer, I got a really nice present from Cappy and John.  I am really afraid of thunder and the noise that fireworks make, and Cappy heard about something called a Thundershirt that makes things better for us pups.  So, she ordered one for me, and when it came, I got really excited.  It wraps around me and makes me feel like someone is holding me and comforting me.  It doesn't make all of fear go away, but it sure does help.  Now, every time they think there is going to be a storm, or if it's the time of year for fireworks, they put it on me and I feel better.

That's me in my Thundershirt.

A couple of months ago, things in my family got really sad.  My grandma, Cappy's mother, died.  I really loved her a lot, and I'm pretty sure that she loved me too.  She lived in Austin and whenever I went there, she would always hold me in her lap and tell me how sweet I was.  She was so nice!  I miss her a lot, so does Cappy.  I don't understand why people have to go away sometimes, but Cappy says not to be too sad because we will all see her again some day.  I'm not really sure what that means, but I like knowing that.

The only good thing about that whole time that we were in Austin, was that I got to spend some time with my Casey.  She's only six, but we have a good time together.  She likes it when I sit by her or lay under her bed and protect her.  She is very special.

That's me protecting Casey.

A Visit from the Beagles

A couple of weekends ago, my "sister" Megan came to visit us from Austin, and she brought my two cousins, the beagles with her.  There were some people at our house building a new deck in the back, so we couldn't go outside and play very much, but we still had a good time.  Meg took them for walks in the neighborhood, and when the deck was finished, we got to spend some time out there, just hanging out.  They're pretty cool pups.  Peanut is almost ten years old!  Franklin is just a kid; he's just one year old.

Cappy doesn't like dog hair very much, so she put sheets and blankets and stuff all over the furniture while they were here.  That looked kind of funny.  She says she likes poodles, like me, because we don't shed, whatever that means.  I will get to see the boys again in a couple of weeks when we go back to Austin and stay at their house.  That will be fun.

Boat News AND Our Trip to Moody Gardens

I know it's been a really long time since I've updated my blog, but I've just been so busy that I haven't had much time, and of course, not having thumbs makes it really hard to type.

Anyway,everything has changed for us.  Cappy took a new job (She won't have to travel all the time anymore, and it pays better - more treats for me), and she said it doesn't look like she will be able to take much time off from work for a while, so that means no trips for us, for a while.  So, she and John decided that rather than leave the boat in Florida, and just drive out there when we can to use the boat, they would bring the boat back here to Houston, so we can use it when ever we want.  Cappy said that just means, "Now John can WORK on the boat when ever he wants." 

Anyway, since it took us forever to get the boat over to Florida in the first place, Cappy was afraid that she wouldn't have enough time to do the trip.  So, John's brother Tom (I like him a lot.) agreed to help him bring the boat back.  Fortunately, as John said, they had good weather and good wind, and it only took them four days to get to Houston from Destin.  I remember on the trip over there, it took us four days just to get to Louisiana.  And if you look that up on a chart, you'll see that's not very far.

So, in the middle of April (That's what Cappy said.) the boat came back home and now we get to spend more time on it.  Since then, we've done a lot of work on it, and we got to take a really cool trip.  We had a long weekend (I think they said it was Memorial Day, what ever that means.) and we sailed over to a place on Galveston Island called Moody Gardens.  It's really pretty there, and they have a nice beach and all sorts of fun stuff to do.  John said the wind wasn't very good that day, although it seemed OK to me, and it took us a long time to get there.  But when we did get there, there were some other boats there that were friends of John's and Cappy's and we had a really fun weekend.  My good friend Lilly came with her people and we got to hang out for awhile.  That's always fun.

We had to come back home on Sunday, and John said the wind was a little bit better, but it still took us a long time to get home.  I managed to get in a couple of naps on the way, but I was still right there when they needed my help.

The Boat is Back

Well, a couple of days after our fun trip to Moody Gardens, John had to leave to go help his brother Tom (the one I mentioned earlier) sail his boat from a place called Naples, Florida to some really cool sounding place called the Bahamas.  Cappy said, "Poor John has to go help his brother with his boat."  I don't know for sure, but I think she was being silly, because she really wanted to go too.

While John was gone, we didn't do much on the boat, but my "cousin" Travis came and spent a Sunday night with Cappy and me while he was waiting to start sailing camp on Monday.  We had a really good time, and I think Travis is now officially a sailor.  I wish I could have gone to camp.


The last weekend that John was gone, Cappy and I drove over to Austin for a weekend.  It was my "sister" Molly's birthday and we went to help her celebrate.  I got to see my cousins Casey and Riley, and we had a really good time.  Cappy and I drove back on Sunday and we were supposed to pick John up at the airport on our way, but he had some problems getting home, so we didn't see him until really, really late that night.  Actually, I didn't see him until the next day, because I was asleep when he got home.

The next weekend, we got some really bad news.  My good friend Sammy died, and everyone was very sad.  He was such a cute little dog, and everybody liked him a lot.  But something happened and he got really sick and died.  We are all still very sad.

This weekend, John and Cappy, and I worked on the boat and took a bunch of stuff apart.  John said we can't take the boat out again until we get it put back together, so I am hoping that will be soon.

A Nice Sail

The night after we did all that hard work on the boat, I got back to Morgan's house and found her bed empty. So, I was able to get in some really good back scratching before she caught me.

Then, the next morning, we drove over to the boat and John worked on some stuff for a little while, and then we went for a sail. It was an awesome sunny day, and I got to get a very nice nap in the sunshine. I love Florida!

We sailed aroudn the bay for awhile, and I could see that the water was a really pretty blue color. The wind was perfect, according to John, and it was nice and warm.

After we sailed around for a bit, we came up to this really big bridge thing that went from one side of the water to the other. John said it connects Destin to Fort Walton Beach, but he said it's not tall enough for our boat to go under it. Our main mast (That's that tall stick thing in the middle of the boat.) is almost 50 feet tall, and he said that there isn't enough room for us to go under it.

After a couple more days of working on the boat, John said it was time to go home. So, we loaded up the truck again, and drove back to Texas. I can't wait to go back to Florida again, but I'll be glad to get home, at least for a little while. I'm tired.