Sheep Christmas

I am settling in nicely in my new home. We went to the North Pole to see how the elves live and I was forced to help in the mailroom:

As soon as they gave me a coffee break, I was out of there! I scurried back to my nice cozy new home and the next thing I knew, Erin, DJ and Chris were back. At first I was worried that they were going to take me back to Seattle, but then they explained that Erin is related to the family I live with and they get together a couple of times a year. Whew! I'm liking all the snow here and all the toys make downtime fun.

Racetrack!

I don't know if that compartment is 5-star safety rated

How does this steering wheel work?

Uh-oh

Not a baby toy, but still fun

I think they were a little jealous of all the fun I have here!

Merry Christmas!

(Click to enlarge)

Happy Halloween!

The costume parade was not the only thing we did this year to celebrate Halloween. This year Erin said we could have friends over and carve pumpkins. We were very excited. Especially DJ who always want to play with knives. So we gathered up some pumpkins and friends and got to work.

Ooo so many to choose from.

We each picked a pumpkin and started gutting. D.J. dug right in. Erin said she should have made us wear our rain coats. We got a little messy. Jesse saw the mess and decided that holding the pumpkin was just as good as carving it.

Num...guts!

Erin made us sort the seeds from the pumpkin slim. She said she would bake the seeds for us later. I estimate that we got 9 cups of pumpkin seeds! We will be eating them for the rest of our lives!

I decided to carve a traditional Jack-O-Lantern for Halloween. They are my favorite. Erin helped me.

A little more off the side...and perfect!

D.J. wanted to do something a little more modern. So out came a stencil, a knife, and Paul, who helped D.J. with a Felix the Cat. It come out really well. But don't tell D.J. that, or we'll never hear the end of it.

D.J. I think that knife is a little big for detail work.

And Jesse, well...Jesse just held the pumpkin, saying something like, "pumpkins need love, too."

It's okay pumpkin, I won't hurt you.

I think Jesse needs a vacations. Too much work. Eventually we figured out that Jesse just didn't want to get dirty nor play with knives. Which is okay. We had plenty of friends around to help carve. And the results were awesome!

Happy Halloween!

In the end we had 7 pumpkins carved. For some reason Erin said we couldn't play with knives by ourselves. So from left to right is the names of the humans that helped us on each pumpkin: Erin (owl), Angela (spider), Savita (small pumpkin), Erin (traditional), Vijay (Trick-or-Treat), Paul (cat), and Amol (undetermined). Thanks everyone!

On a sadder note, this year while carving pumpkins I got injured. I was playing with the candles and got burnt. But it is a good lesson learned to be careful around the holiday times. Because being injured is no fun. Hope everyone has a safe and happy Halloween!

Coming to America

Chris as Lady Liberty

Chris was feeling a little patriotic this year. Thus decided to go as one of the great icons of America, The Statue of Liberty. Chris stands at 11 inches, only 151 feet shorter than the real Statue of Liberty Enlightening the World but with as much heart. Chris enters the parade today on the 124th anniversary of the real statues' dedication. Thanks for joining our parade today Chris and for giving us a walk through the history books.

When Chris isn't holding a torch for America or a torch under D.J. and Jesse, the little sheep is watch a favorite scary movie; The Tale of Sweeney Todd starring Sir Ben Kingsley. Good, classic choice, Chris.

Halo Reach

Erin came home from work today and said she had a surprise for us. Said something about how Summer was almost over and that she knew we would be crawling the walls soon. But she said we would have to wait for after dinner to get it. Of course, D.J. couldn't wait. And of course, D.J. drug Sheepy into it. They went snooping in Erin's purse; and what did they find?

HALO REACH!!!

Erin brought home Halo Reach! And on release day, no less. And out it came from her purse. Have we sheep told you lately that we love Erin?

OOO...bonus spartan recon helmet...what ever sheep needs.

D.J. started to put the disk in the Xbox when Erin walked in front and threw up her hands. She said, "Well if you're going to play video games without even eating dinner than you might as well set up the new Xbox 360 I bought."

OOOO...shiny.

New Halo AND new Xbox!? Have we sheep told you lately that we love Erin!?

We'll we pulled the Xbox 360 out and took a look. It is SOOO COOL! As we were looking at the new improved Xbox I swear I heard the song from 2001: A Space Odyssey.

Very monolithic...if it starts singing Daisy, I'm out of here.

D.J. of course still couldn't wait to play.

READY!!!

But Chris pulled out the instructions and explained that we needed to set the box up before any of us could play.

We need to plug it in first.

Plugging the box in meant that some sheep had to brave the dangerous mess of cables behind Erin's computer. So Sheepy and I nominated D.J. since D.J. was too busy gnawing on the headset cord to be listening to us.

I'm scared!

After D.J. plugged in the cord we were off and running. Time to set it up. Our first language wasn't on the Xbox but Erin told us to pick English. She said that Xbox doesn't support Baaa-ing.

OOO...pick that one it's got pretty letters.

And then we got to a page that asked us if we wanted to have any game restrictions.

Quick, select skip before Erin comes back!

Unfortunately, Erin had never left the room. She always seems to be around when we don't want her to be and never around when we really need her. How does that work?

We were all ready to game when...NO INTERNET CONNECTION! What was that about!? I had to crawl under the desk and check it out this time.

Fix it, Jesse! Fix it NOW!

And of course, I found that D.J. had unplugged the router while he was back there plugging in the new Xbox. You know what they say; Never send a lamb to do a sheep's job. But I fixed it.

Ya, green dots!

And then D.J. said, "Out of my way, I want to play!" But Erin stopped us again and said, "No you have to transfer all the content from my old Xbox to my new one." And she said something like, if we had just waited and ate dinner she would have had it all finished in no time at all. But with all us sheep it was going to take longer. She obviously doesn't understand that we are helpful. Silly human. So I took the controls and Chris and D.J. took over the hardware.

Ready!

And finally, D.J. tossed the disk in the tray when Erin wasn't looking. We were off. Erin said something about cleaning up the mess we just made.

"Clean all this up before we play?" Ya right.

But I didn't hear her because I had my headset on. The opening scene looks good.

Oooo....shiny.

Well if your wondering where us sheep will be for the next few weeks, you can be sure to know we are on Erin's Xbox. Someone else will have to hold down the blog while we are gone.

And to all those Halo fans out there; we hope you enjoy Halo Reach. Not that you have time to read our blog. We all know your standing in line at your closes game store waiting to buy it at midnight when it goes on sale. We'll see you in the game lobby!

We Rested, see!!!

Well someone let Taylor loose again. I don't know what's wrong with that sheep but it's about time for a tranquilizer if you ask me. Anyhow, I wanted to ensure all of our faithful readers that there was in fact resting* at the Sleepy Sheepy Resort and that you should most certainly visit.

I don't quite think this is checkers Chris

As you can see Chris and I played (well attempted) this fun game. I'd tell you what it was, but it was sooooo hard it made my brain hurt and it's been permanently blocked from my memory. I'm sure Chris or Erin might be able to fill you in on the exciting details.

*While we sheep had plenty of rest, you may not want to to tell the humans about this thing called Wisteria. I honestly don't know what it is, but it looked dirty and painful to me.

Hey!! I Thought the Sleepy Sheepy Resort was a Sheep Vacation

Well as you all know, Justin sufficiently tortured us on our way to the Sleepy Sheep Resort. I'd complain, but I know better, plus he's a little crazy so maybe it was some sort of plan. So after being released from the luggage (Thanks Jesse!!) we curled up in bed with relaxing thoughts of mud baths, deep tissue massages and alfalfa. The next morning we found we were sadly mistaken.

Ugg, What do you mean I have to sit next to DJ

It seems we were off to see the Japanese Gardens in Seattle. Hmm, that seems relaxing and serene. Perhaps it wouldn't be so bad. Little did I know that Erin and Justin were on a mission to identify plants, which meant I got the duties of watching DJ. Let me tell you, this is no vacation.

Get down here, NOW!!!

No matter what we did, the little rascal was off to the races. The gardens were indeed quite nice, although a few more edible flowers would have been much appreciated. We tried to get some group photos, but no such luck.

Don't make me count, 1...2...

It was just endless. Running from one end to the other. DJ even nearly took out a sweet old woman. That was when I just about had it.

No those coins are not for you, but that candle may be

So just as it seemed as if my wool would turn grey and fall out, we decided to sit down on the bridge for a little rest. No way DJ would go into the water right, he knows better. Silly silly me.

Don't fall DJ...wait there's an idea

Yeah he pushed that button and it was on. Hey DJ, if you like playing in that pine tree I bet you'd have even more fun on this lily pad.

It'll hold you DJ, I promise

So he didn't buy my lily pad gambit, worth a try anyways. Well where you fail once, just have to try again. Hey DJ, why don't you pet the ducks

Just don't mind the duck food I put under you

Man even the ducks didn't want anything to do with DJ. I wasn't going to be thwarted though. Has to be something in that pond that likes mutton.

Ohh, that one looks hungry

Well it was a successful trip to the Japanese Garden by all accounts. It was also a restful weekend at the resort for those of us that made it back.

Short Deep Breaths

We made it to the airport and flung open Justin's suitcase. The poor sheep were alive, but barely. They were suffering from heat stroke and dehydration but after a little First Aid and water they were all better. Good thing sheep have better recovery rates than humans.

Drink more fluids...but stay off the carpet.

I think everyone learned a valuable lesson today. Don't get caught in a suitcase for more than 48 hours. Remember when you get stuck in a suitcase your human has no common sense to guide them. Only you can prevent human stupidity.

We're Coming!

We had just finished playing some Xbox when we decided to see what was going on online. And we found Aerin's distress post.

Sheep 911, what is your emergency?

Erin told us everything would be fine but she knows nothing. We have to move. So we are off to go save Aerin and Taylor.

Everyone in and buckled?

If you read this, Aerin, know that help is on the way. Stay strong!

Dirty Laundry

With all the new house guests, we have to up the chores around the house. Ewww, I know. But there are so many in the house now and they all have been in the attic for so long. You can't believe how dirty these toys got just laying around. So Erin's mom showed up to help us out.

We had piles and piles of laundry, and the washer and dryer were just not going to get to it all. Erin's mom showed us how we could speed up the process. And I think Erin figured out how to use the record button on her camera just so she could have proof that we sheep do know how to clean.

Remember this moment people, because it is not going to happen again for a very, very, VERY long time.

Henry Ford would be proud.

Well, we got all the clothes cleaned and dried. And more important, we found a use for Erin's salad spinner. Poor thing never gets used; like Erin would ever make a salad.

Toy Story

The other day Erin insisted on going to a horror movie. I mean a really really horrific movie. You know the one I'm talking about. The scariest movie ever made...Toy Story 3. O the horror of it all, leaving toys in attics and at day care while their human goes off to college and...and...and...make it stop! Ok, it did have a happy ending, big woop.

It did get me to thinking about all the toys Erin had before she moved to college and got us. I mean I always envisioned Erin as an "adult." You know what I mean? I mean I never thought of the fact that Erin probably had toys and even stuffed therapy animals before us sheep. I guess I just never thought of it. What kind of childhood and toys would create such a human as Erin? *shutter* Little did I know that I was about to find out.

Well, was I in for a surprise when Erin opened the door one day to see boxes and boxes of her old childhood toys sitting on our step. Apparently, they found out somehow that Erin had bought a house and is starting to settle down. And when children grow up and get a house of their own, their toys leave the attic of their human parents and move back in with their human.

Anyway, Erin had a lot of stuff. At first, it didn't look so bad. I mean just a few boxes, right? how bad could that be? We do have a big house.

What do you think is in all these boxes? Presents for me?!?!?!

D.J. always thinks there are presents. But I told the others that the boxes were full of Erin's childhood. To which they both cringed but I told them it probably wasn't all that bad. I mean only a few boxes. But then things started to crawl out of them.

Run for your lives!

There was chaos everywhere! Barbies started crawling out of boxes, music boxes started playing warped princess melodies, baseball cards smashed up against the side of the clear boxes just staring at us, and then a flood of stuffed animals came. There were so many... I knew Erin was damaged but I had no idea she had a whole team of plush therapy buddies trying to fix her for years. And apparently there were even more that hadn't made it.

Remember when Erin's 1st sheep showed up a few months ago? And Chris was so upset that there was a sheep in Erin's life before us? Well...that little 1st was on a scouting missing. Checking up on Erin and seeing if her new home was suitable for the rest. And now that everyone else is here, the 1st was in charge of negotiations.

We'll give you the upstairs closet and poke holes in the boxes so you can breath. And you can come out every other Tuesday of the months that have a blue moon.

We're still working on the living arrangements, but Erin told us that everyone was staying so we better learn to get along. She also said, that each of us sheep could have one of her childhood toys to play with. So we forgot about the old therapist and ran off to find our toy!

D.J. jumped right in without ever looking around. A cool blue Rainbow Brite car was exactly what that little sheep doesn't need. But then I didn't get to pick out D.J.'s toy. That sheep didn't even care that the car came with a passenger.

Buckle up hot stuff. Let's see what this baby can do!

Chris wasn't as open minded as D.J. but was still very popular with the ladies.

Hehe...ok ladies...your both pretty but I think there might have been a little misunderstanding.

Poor Chris spent most of the day hiding from the girls that have been locked in a attic for 10 years. I tried to tell Chris that the ladies just needed a little attention and then all would be good. Sheepy should have taken my lead.

More tea, ladies?

See? I made some new friends and then found my toy. Erin's trumpet. Oooo...I just know I was going to be great. Watch out Louie, here comes Jesse. I did my own rendition of "Hello, Dolly!" and waited for the tip jar to fill up.

Hello, Dolly! This is Jesse, Dolly.

My tip jar did fill up...unfortunately it was filled with a trumpet mute. Ok maybe I need a little bit of work before I can compete with Louis Armstrong but I didn't think I was THAT bad.

So I went upstairs to practice some more and I found Chris, who had found the prefect toy. Chris had picked Erin's bats. Said something about being able to defend against all the hostile women that were out there. O Sheepy...

Sorry ladies...I'm off limits.

In the end I think we were all pretty happy. We all got "new" toys to play with, the toys got to be played with, and some of us even made new friends.

O but wait...I almost forgot about the 1st. You see the 1st was missing someone very special to him for the last few months. That's right, the 1st was reunited with Little Bo Peep. Bo Peep had been looking all over for her sheep. She was the one that lead all the other toys to Erin's house. She crossed the boring planes, climbed mountains, and after 1,820 miles of tracking, found herself on our doorstep. Along with all the other toys who followed her.

I told you I would always find you and love you.

It's nice to see that Erin had good role models in her life. Hopefully she was paying attention and will always find and love us like Little Bo Peep.

Meeting Franklin

A few months ago, Erin went to Dave's place and let us come along. We found out that Dave didn't live alone, he had a roommate. His roommate was a cat named Franklin. You know, like the Franklin the dog that is supposed to be watching us sheep but we scared off so us sheep can really do whatever we want. And in fact we do.

Anyway, Franklin the cat is rather interesting. At first I don't think he liked us. But then ew

Hey, that tickles.

He licked my back. And then he licked my eye ball!

Hey, those are not contacts!

And then it just got worse...

Ew..

EWWW!

EEEWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!!!

Ok, that was too much. I don't like baths. Not in a tub, not in a washer, and defiantly not from the tongue of a cat. So we had to rethink this meeting Franklin approach.

Bring it.

And a good time was had by all.