ZEUS!

This is so fun — ZEUS has sent us his own update. What a talented boy! But first, here is Baby Zeus with his brothers and dad, Major.

Zeus shares:

“My apologies for the belated update! Life is busy for me with a 15-month old to follow around these days...

I know they say to nap when they nap but I also have to stay on guard for the trash truck, mail carrier, Amazon driver, FedEx, UPS or anyone else who may try to drive through the neighborhood.  It's exhausting. 

Carol started walking a few months ago so it's really important to keep up with her and make sure she doesn't need my help with any of her yummy snacks. When she sits in her high chair I am right there to catch anything that may be dropped or hung off the side. Vigilance is key. I also have to clean up her face, hands, and shirt when she makes a mess- it's a dirty job but someone has to lick it up! 

Grandma comes over to play when Mom goes to work so we spend a lot of time together. Luckily, I'm a huge help with Carol. She is a good buddy.  Carol does take my toys and she will try to eat my food sometimes, but more often she feeds me one kibble at a time. She also plays in my water bowl and while I allow it, I don't think Mom appreciates it much. I have become very skilled at detecting stinky diapers and alerting the authorities. 

This year we did lots of fun things as a family.

We love to go hiking, play with bubbles, play fetch, paint, and take naps!

I'm pretty much up for anything...did I mention naps? My all-time favorite (besides naps) is taking my family for walks in the neighborhood. I'm definitely still Mr. Congeniality. I also got a new neighbor on the other side of the fence. We decided we should be friends and made a pact to alert each other to any squirrels, deer, rabbits or delivery drivers that come around- the agreement is working well.

My buddy Raymond graduated from 6th grade this month. I tried to wake him up for school every morning but we'd really rather just snuggle.  Ada graduated from 3rd grade. When she comes home from school I can tell she needs to go outside and blow off steam by playing fetch.  So I tried my best to stay on top of that all year. It's important kids get plenty of exercise! They're growing up so fast. 

When I'm not taking care of my pack, I love laying down on the cool tile in front of the fireplace. I'm always there at the top of the stairs to greet everyone with a wagging tail when they come home. And I'm definitely ready to head to bed at bedtime. Sometimes I have to bark to remind everyone its bedtime. My spot is right next to the bed on Mom's side so I know if she gets up. 

It's been a great year. The pack keeps me busy but I have a job to do. So we play hard and nap harder. From me and my pack to yours: Happy Birthday Wildflowers! We wish you the best naps, treats, and adventures this year and always!” 

😂😂

Thank you Zeus (and Penny, Caleb, Raymond, Ada, and Carol) and HAPPY BIRTHDAY ZEUS!!!!!

Lupine!

I love looking back on these baby photos — this is little Lupine.

Jennifer sends us this Happy Birthday Update:

“I can’t believe the puppies are four already.  It makes me happy and sad.  Sad because there is always a little sadness, for me, in watching our Berners age even a little bit.  Happy because, particularly with Lupine, I’ve gotten to watch her blossom (really no pun intended for the Wildflowers :) into a more confident and playful dog and a master at her unique way of keeping life fun. 

She may not be out in the competitive dog world, but she is has a major role in our lives and I think she’s really happy here!

Lupine has become much more confident on walks and with new people. 

She still doesn’t really appreciate the presence of any unknown dogs in her life.  But I think that’s very reasonable given that I welcome new dogs, but not unknown people :)

She loves to head to the mountains to hike and hang around a campfire and she loves to go for walks on all the routes we’ve mapped out that don’t have loose dogs. 

But her passion in life appears to be honing her ability to steal shoes right from under our noses and creating shoe piles in the house or somewhere in the yard and then watching silently as we find the piles.  Her favorite things seems to be the moment that we make a big production out of finding the piles and pretending to be so upset about it.

Her other favorite things are giving hugs and rolling in the freshly mowed grass or any kind of poop she can find.”

Sparkle says, “💩?! Clearly, we are related!”

Thank you to Jennifer and family for Lupine’s perfect-for-her life and HAPPY BIRTHDAY LUPINE!