Holy moly, can you believe it’s already been five days since we got back from our great big adventure? I believe I promised I would tell you all about it, so I am here to tell you all about it!

First I will tell you all of the regular-exciting things, and then I will tell you the very-exciting things. Fair, right?

So Mama and Dad spent all morning Saturday pulling things out of bags and putting things in other bags, including my backpack and my brother’s new pack. Once I saw the kibbles go in, I knew it was a good adventure. Doodlebug, on the other hand, was still worried.

So we headed out in the car and we drove for a hundred billion three hours. Naturally, I stayed on guard while my brother dozed off.

When we finally got there, everybuddy put their packs on, and boy were they heavy. Mama made us pack in all our own water, kibbles, bones, and poop bags!

And just like that, we were off!

We crossed creeks and rivers and climbed and scrambled. By the time we got there, we were very panty and very happy.

You must be wondering what place I’m talking about when I say “we got there.” Don’t worry, I will tell you. There was a magic spot on top of a big hill under some cedar trees, with a nice flat soft spot for us to put our sleeping crate, and nobody around for miles and miles. It was glorious! So of course we got right to napping. Notice that I am sleeping in the dirt like a real man dog, but my brother insisted on a yoga mat like a little primadonna!

After our nappings, we felt most refreshed, and went for a little stroll before sunset. We didn’t have to wear all our kibbles and waters and everything, so me and the Dude were both feeling as light and springy as the sun was warm and yellow.

Well I’ll tell you, that walk was a turning point — between the regular great things and the most excellent great things! You won’t even believe them!

First, my baby brother the Bug got to practice some off-leash hiking! I mean, he was dragging his leash so mama or I could always step on it if he stopped listening, but still. He did it! And he was brilliant!

And then, as though that wasn’t cool enough already, Mama and Dad set up our big crate on the nice soft dirt, for us to all sleep in together. I’ve slept in the crate with them before lots of times, which was totally rad, but never with a friend/brother. It was so snug and cozy, we loved it! Only mama was mumbling about getting a bigger crate for next time. Whatever.

And the final most excellent thing that happened was that my baby brother saved us from certain death by tarantula bite!! You wouldn’t believe how giant and hairy this spider was, and it was trying to sneak into our tent while we were preoccupied with kibbles and camp stoves. But my brother saw it and nearly deathed it! Well, maybe he didn’t nearly death it, but he did alert Mama, who shooed it away. Anyway, as a team, we saved all our own lives. We are such heroes.

What an exciting weekend!

When mama came home yesterday with a new backpack for my brother and fished my trusty pack out of the garage, we started to suspect that maybe something was going to happen. Considering we wait around basically our whole lives for things to happen, we got a little bit excited.

Only then remembered: it takes humans FOREVER to actually get ready to DO anything. So we got a little less excited.

You see, yesterday was my mama and dad’s adopt-a-versary of each other, and every year around their adopt-a-versary, we go on a trip with our backpacks. We always drive and drive, and then we all put on our backpacks and walk and walk and walk through the woods, peeing and sniffing everywhere we choose, until we get to a nice spot to rest and eat some kibble. Then I lay there and supervise while mama and dad pull things out of our backpacks and make a nice big crate for us to all sleep in together. It’s a good time!

I’m an old seasoned pro at backpacking, but Doodlebug has never been before! He’s a little nervous.

So to help him feel more prepared for our little trip on Saturday, I’ve been helping him practice one of the most important backpacking skills of all: power napping during breaks while still wearing your pack. As you can see, he’s already a pro!

Happy weekend, everyone!

As it turns out, both of our boys have “official names,” which we never use, in addition to “stage names,” by which the public knows them. Along with these, there are a handful of nicknames for each dog, on top of their original shelter names that they left behind when they came home.

Does that make us weirdos?

When we brought home Mr Chick from the Austin shelter in 2004, his name was “Ralphie.” It didn’t suit him. We brainstormed and brainstormed, and eventually settled on a new name: Tyson.

It seemed to suit him at first. He was a young guy, athletic, confident, and charming. Kind of a jock. A “Tyson.”

Only later did he reveal himself to actually be a big, snuggly, sensitive baby — a chicken — and slowly (we don’t even remember how), his “true” name, Chick, emerged.

Until now, relatively few people in Chick’s life have known all of his different names. His grandparents still calls him “Ty” from time to time, as do some of his oldest friends. But to the rest of the world — and to us — he is Chick (or Cheeko or Chickster).

When Doodlebug came into our life, he was a timid, cowering, whimpery, sweet little mess of a dog named “Red.”

“Red” suited him because of his beautiful red furs, but didn’t really capture his darling, sugary personality. We dubbed him “Snickerdoodle” to match both his rich cinnamon color and his sweetness.

Pretty soon though, Snickerdoodle started to show his real self. He is sweet as anything, yes, but he is also a goofy, mellow dude. “Snickerdoodle” became “Doodlebug,” and “Doodlebug” morphed into “Dude,” and sometimes “The Bug.”

Although we know it’s silly for our dogs to have so many different names, we also love how their name chronology lines up with the development of their true selves.

Who else has found themselves with slowly morphing dog names?

Pop quiz. If your mama came home with a couple of yards of this fabric, what would you jump up and down and demand that she make out of it?

Yes. Of course. A dog bed!

And mama loves us so much, that she responded to our jumpings, dusted off her sewing machine, and did just that. She made us two dog bed covers with our friends the Ray Ban deer, and some other friends too. Pretty nice of her, huh?

Only before I had a chance to formally put my butt-stamp of approval on the new beds, my silly little brother stone cold stole them! Look how non-guilty-feeling he looks here!

So I just did what I always do, and sat quietly by looking very pouty and making some loud sighs. I guess I looked very sad, because eventually, Doodlebug did start to feel maybe a little more guilty about stacking our two new beds and using them both for himself:

So being the nice ‘Bug that he is, he shimmied over, spread out the beds, and let me share. Don’t we look better on them, side by side, together?

Well after we tested them out, we oohed and aahed over how lovely they were and how very smart mama must have been for being able to make them all by her lonesome. She said nah, they weren’t that hard (and trust me, that makes sense because mama is NOT a very talented seamstress). She just took the covers off some of our old dog beds, measured them, and made the new covers just like oversized pillow cases. And even we dogs know that pillow cases are just about the easiest thing to sew. In an afternoon, she was done!

We’re not sure about you guys, but we’re going to spend this weekend decorating our house with ourselves and our new dog bed covers. Many, many naps to come!

What are y’all up to this weekend?