Miss Molly and Gertrude

Aussie Aussie Aussie......

2010-02-05T22:30:00.009Z

Who is this with Molly? And where can she be?? Hmmm - want to know more.....read on!

Clue - Buddha Boys can FLY! And so can we!

(oh yes, and Ptolemy has taken up bare-back riding with Gertrude....)

Goodness, we have no excuse whatsoever for being such bad bloggers and we are sorry we've been away for a while. Time has just ran away with us....work has got in the way....our little boy has kept us pretty busy....oh, and just the one other small thing -

organising our Big Move to....

AUSTRALIA!!!

In fact, Molly and Gertrude are already in Melbourne! They flew here on February 2nd and have begun their 30 days in quarantine waiting untilwe arrive. We fly out to join them (not in quarantine...!) this Monday 8th February and we are heading for Tasmania. Everything we own is currently in a container out to sea making its rather more slow progress to the other side of the world!!

Paul is Australian and we have finally decided to make the move back there. We sold our house last September 2009, moved in with Kate's dad and had to wait until now whilst Kate finished everything she needed to do to qualify as a solicitor - but now she has completed everything we are free to go!

Ptolemy is doing really well. He is 16 months old now and is a lovely little boy. He and the girls get on so well and he will truly miss them in these next few weeks.

I haven't been able to arrange these photos into the right order, but oh well - you can work it out!

Sue Forrester and Bill Molyneux visited us in qarantine the day after we arrived in Melbourne! They are wonderful people and they took these photos of us sussing out our new environment and to let everyone at home know that we are doing really well!

Gertrude at the fence.....

Bill soon worked out exactly what makes Molly tick - tummy rubs!!

We felt so at ease with Sue - she understands Airedales completely

Tummy rubs and cuddles - we could get used to being quarantine in Australia!

Now here's our little Buddha boy with daddy on the beach back in the UK a month before we left for Oz - you can see he is growing up.

Christmas time - Ptolemy in his jim-jams

Our final run on the pebbles at Budleigh Salterton on January 2nd 2010

Now this is how much our little boy loves us - we are big woolly teddybears to him (well, not since we had out airecuts, but he still loves us!)

Fun in the sea at Budleigh Salterton

Molly's nostalgic pose

sharing sticks with Ptolemy

The amazing red cliffs of home

- spot the Airedale bums!

with daddy and Ptolemy looking out to sea

with mummy on the beach.

Running for the waves!

our entrepid little boy Ptolemy
So - that's us for now! Big news and Big changes. We will keep you updated and let you know how we are.

G'day to you all!

Molly, Gertrude, Kate, Paul and Ptolemy

xxxxx

Gertie is honoured!

2009-04-28T20:42:00.002+01:00

Well, what should we say??!!

It seems little Miss Gertie has a following......

Thank you Leura Dales for naming your very special Airedale Stuffy in Gertrude's honour - little Gertie's mini-me looks adorable and very at home with the Leura Dales: http://www.leuradales.blogspot.com/

THANK YOU! Welcome to little Gertie!

This one's for you GooberStan!

2009-04-26T16:56:00.010+01:00

Hello - it's Gertrude!

We've had requests for more videos and piccies of us with our cute lil' boy Ptolemy

How could we turn that down?!

Here is the Buddha Boy in an Airedale sandwich....heehee

How can you resist that cheeky grin?

Yes, it's true, I love being near to Ptolemy and I love him being near to me.

I follow wherever he goes - it's nice to share every single minute. I even like listening to stories about farmyards and tractors and little lost lambs - I'm just a big softy you see.

I don't mind if he climbs on me -

it's like being stroked and loved and cuddled all at once, and I'm always up for that!
Most of all I just like spending time with him - he's got a alot to learn from me, and he teaches me about things too

Just look at these video clippettes -
I've never had such a captive audience!
He loves it when I snuffle into him - just listen to him laugh!

Molly's in the background just waiting until I'm free for some proper wrestles -
but first there is some serious tickling to be done!

And finally, there's nothing better than a nice snooze and an ear scratch - you can see that Ptolemy knows just the way I like it.

He has found my ears and I think he likes them!

Enjoy!

Love Gertrude and Molly

Just for you nanna......

2009-04-17T09:53:00.008+01:00

Hi guys!

We have let K and P take over our blog just this once so that they can post a couple of cute videos of our little boy. Nanna and Papa John live in Australia a long long way away so they haven't seen our little boy yet in real life. Instead, they can hopefully watch these videos....!

They are pretty cute - we like the second one best!

Ptolemy is 6 months old tomorrow!

Love to everybody else watching too

Love Molly and Gertrude

Our little boy is growing!

2009-04-11T16:15:00.014+01:00

Once again it's been a long while since we wrote on our blog - we are terrible! But we are also terribly busy with our little boy Ptolemy, so we have a good excuse :)

He is growing up fast......

Gerta still likes to protect him - she is his advisor, confidant and general buddy

We'll never know what secrets they share..........

OK, I'll admit I rather like him too -
he certainly seems to think I'm funny when I snuffle in his ear!

Yep - that's Gertrude again - always by his side

Our little boy is getting so big he is even having guitar lessons from daddy!

We clubbed together with him on Mother's Day to buy Kate some nice flowers - aren't we a good bunch?!

Of course we still get out and about - Ptoly comes along for the ride too in his own special Buddha-boy throne

Oh look, here we go again -more piccies of the camera luvvies Gertrude and Ptolemy! Gerta will put up with anything from him, she's so in love......

even THIS!

So that's our happy chappy boy!

But what's this - a THIRD Airedale?! Yes, that's Shane on the left - he is our friend who came to stay with us as a puppy last year - do you remember? Well, he came to stay again, this time for a whole week!

We had a lot of fun showing him all our favourite haunts

Did you know I like to climb trees??

Gert does too - but only flat ones - heehee!

What's this - a FOURTH Airedale....??!! Surely not!

Meet my alter-ego - he's a lazy old boy, just snoozing on the decking.

Haha - almost fooled you - but this Dale only comes out when I have an airecut....it's made out of my fur! You may have noticed we were getting a bit shaggy and all hot and bothered, so daddy got his clippers out for our spring airecuts. Mummy was supposed to be helping by clearing up the fur - but instead this is what she came up with!

Then again, we're not averse to a bit of Dale Art ourselves....what do you think of our modernist take on the beautiful Airedale form?

So, carrying on, with all our furryness now gone we were up for some serious fun with Shane!

He joined in with our 'dale'y patrol

And came with us on all our walkies

We love this place - all the river a girldale could ask for!

Shane in hot pursuit of Gertrude

Hey - he even came with us on our walkies to the shops!

What is it with Gertrude and her soppy mothering instinct?! Shane decides to take good advantage of this and snuggled right up with her!

Hey - even I like a bit of a snuggle with the Gertster from time to time. OK, I know I'm only using her as a rubbing post for my itchy ear...but she doesn't know that! She's always compliant!

It looks as though the love is catching.........what do you think Shane is saying here? I like to think he was thanking mummy for having him to stay.......but actually he was trying to lick any remnants of BBQ from her mouth!

Mmmmmm - BBQ................!!

Mummy, Ptolemy and Gertie

Sometimes, it was good having a third Airedale around - I recruited him to help me gang up on Gertrude - what do you think of our campaign?! Don't feel sorry for poor old Gert in the middle though - when we wrestle it's usually me on my back with my legs in the aire!

We think Shane enjoyed his stay with us - he certainly looks chilled out.

Now, I leave you with this short video clip - it's like counting sheep!!

Thanks for visiting us again - have a great Easter everybody!

Lots of love from

Molly and Gertrude

SnowDogs!

2009-02-06T11:24:00.009Z

What would you do if you were out walking in the forest and came across....

THIS!!!!

Aaaaaaaaghhh! Run..........!!

Is it Snow Bears....or Yetis....

Nope - just us Snowy Dales - far less scary when you know us.....heehee

I make rather a pretty Snow girl don't you think!

Gert was working on an impressive snow beard

We were so excited we wanted to get out to play! It was Gertrude's first snow ever!

Come on then - stop taking photos!

So we went to the park and met lots of other folks out having fun

This was us before it got really deep in our back garden - WHY is Gerta lying down??

It was Ptolemy's first snow too - we think he was also trying to be a snow bear, just like us!

Rugged up snuggle baby

Snow fun !!

Snow fights!

The next day it was less snowy - and we took the Mountain Buggy down into the park with us

Tolly didn't seem to mind the cold

We are so glad we have our woolly coats at the moment

Daddy found a HUGE snowball that somebody else had made - we didn't know what to make of it. Watch out Molly, he's coming for you....

Is he trying to roll us up into it too!

Where's Molly gone?? Is she in there?!

We have decided - we love the snow!

From some very happy snowy bears

Molly and Gertrude

Airedale Fun Walk!

2009-02-02T14:28:00.003Z

Ooops - we completely forgot to mention in our last post what an amazing time we had when we met up with some Airedale friends recently for a nice walk by the river!!

There were six of us Airedales (Gulliver, Shane, Roxy, Molly, Gertrude and Beau) and Izzy the Border Terrier - we had a fantastic time!

Let's Go!!

Gulliver, Roxy, Gert and Molly practice their flying skills!

You can't beat a river, a few sticks and a gang of Airedales for the best day out ever!

Gert and Molly racing, as usual!

Gertrude, Gulliver and Molly do a river dash

Stick time!

Here we all are - six Airedale behinds!

We all had a great day and finished it off with a beer and a bacon sandwich in the pub by the river - perfect!

Love Molly and Gertrude

Tolly's Tummy Tub!

2009-01-31T21:15:00.011Z

Wouldn't you just LOVE a go in one of these...?! It certainly beats the cold hose-down in the garden that we have to endure - huh!

Oh well - at least we get to snuggle up to him afterwards, even if he does smell all clean and soapy.

Love Molly and Gertrude

Hellloooooo!

2009-01-15T14:00:00.008Z

Hello Everybody!!!

We have been very busy with our new little brother and we thought it was about time for an update!

We had a lovely Christmas and we hope you all did too!

Ptolemy just loved looking at all the Christmas lights and we just loved posing with him.

Gertrude is the best baby-sitter ever - she really loves little Ptolemy and likes to keep a close eye on him

He never seems to mind about us two huge bears walking around him and sniffing him. We are very careful when he is around.

I wonder what he thinks of having us as his big sisters?

Here's Gertrude again in her new role which she clearly adores. She can't wait until Ptolemy can run around after her!

Sometimes she steals a quick kiss.....

But mostly she just likes to cosy up to him while he gabbles away at her.

Here we are with our daddy and Ptolemy

He is quite a cheeky little thing and is very funny to watch when he starts laughing and squaking!

He does some strange things and never keeps still!

He provides constant entertainment for us.

Our mummy is now a lot better and is back to her normal self - yippee!

She takes us all out together for walks when daddy is at work. Ptolemy comes too - he comes everywhere with us now!

Sometimes he is quiet though, and even our barking doesn't wake him up!

What a cutie!

Oh - take that back.....What a grump!

(perhaps he didn't like wearing that funny hat!)

We've recently enjoyed some great walks - daddy always finds us the BEST sticks to throw into the river!

Molly can retrieve any stick from the river!

And that's us!

One more thing - we have heard that our nanna in Australia has adopted a dog that arrived one day on her front door-step and is now staying for good! Aussie Nanna thinks she was dumped - poor girl.

She is called Kelly.

Good to see you!

Lots of love from

Molly and Gertrude

Our new brother!

2008-11-15T15:53:00.008Z

Meet Ptolemy Saxon Templar Torney!!

This is our new baby brother who was born on 18th October 2008

Unfortunately, things did not go very well and mummy ended up having surgery and being in Intensive Care and hospital for 2 weeks.... both she and Ptolemy were very ill and very nearly didn't come home at all because there were lots of complications...... She is very lucky to still be here with us.

...but gradually mummy got better and after a few days she was able to go and meet Ptolemy for the first time (he was in the neo-natal unit because he was poorly too)

She had to be wheeled across the hospital attached to all the machines just to go and meet him

This was the first time that mummy could see Ptolemy - he was on a cooling mat and she wasn't allowed to hold him, but she could stroke him and say hello.

Slowly, Ptolemy also got better.....But mummy still didn't come home. Every lunchtime and evening daddy would come alone and we wondered where on earth she was. When he brought her washing home we sniffed and sniffed it and wished she would come home soon.

Then, one day she did come home! And they brought Ptolemy with them! This was the first night home. Gertrude immediately took to motherhood - she is fascinated by Tolly and is quite happy to curl up with him and keep him warm.

This is me, Molly - keeping an eye on the strange little creature whi makes funny noises.
And here we both are keeping guard!

Both mummy and Ptolemy have got a lot better and we have been on some trips out with the Mountain Buggy.....

We've had LOADS of visitors - one of them was this lovely girl called Holly and I loved her - she was great fun!

Throughout everything daddy has made sure we still get lots of walks and fuss.

Ptolemy is now 4 weeks old! He is really starting to look like a little person - and goodness does he make a lot of noise!!

He likes his bouncy chair. We like to sniff him when he is in it.

Gertrude is like his Guardian

We can also take him out with us on big walks in the countryside, which we love of course!

Over all, he's not a bad little brother - in fact he's quite cute really, but hard work....

Finally, we are all one big family again and things are getting better and better every day! Mummy has a way to go before she is back to her normal self, but she will get there eventually.
We are quite happy as you can see!
Lots of love from

Molly and Gertrude

xxx

Molly's 4th birthday!

2008-10-13T07:00:00.004+01:00

Hello everybody!

Yesterday was my 4th birthday!

I didn't get any presents or cake this year, BUT I did get to eat the remains of an inside of a pineapple! I love it.

I let Gertrude have a nibble too.
Well - our little brother didn't make an appearance yesterday when he was supposed to, so I got to keep my birthday as all mine, mine, MINE! We are just waiting now for him to arrive.....

K took some pretty birthday photos of me now that I am 4 years old.

Can you guess what K said to me JUST before this photo was taken...??

W-A-L-K!

Daddy has just built us a new gate and here he is showing us his handiwork. He is so clever.

Finally, we have a new cat in the neighbourhood who keeps coming into OUR garden and sitting there staring at us! So our cat vigilance has been stepped up! You can never be too safe.....

We'll let you all know when our baby brother arrives......

Love Molly and Gertrude

Not much longer now...!

2008-10-01T19:43:00.006+01:00

c. 12 days to go..................!

As you know, Gertrude and I have been very interested in all the new things arriving in our house. This funny basket thing moves and there are some very interesting noisy toys inside it that we have our eyes on...!

We are practising our guarding skills - I wonder, do you think we should drag our beds up here too so that we can be on constant baby watch??

You see - I told you there were interesting toys everywhere - just hiding from us!

Here I am checking on everything in the nursery

And look - just some of the Airedale pictures that baby Torney will be able to look at!

It's a peaceful place.
Our Aussie Nana made this great quilt for the baby - it is really clever and has little mice and flowers and toadstools all over it. We are hoping for similar blankets for our own beds.....

And some other friends made these sweet little clothes. We think those mittens look really cosy - do you think they'd fit us?
So - 12 days to go.......

AND 12 days to go until Molly's birthday!! Yippee!! I hope that they don't forget what with everything going on....

Mummy finishes work this Friday and then she'll be home with us for 9 whole glorious months!!

Lots of love from

Molly and Gertrude

Happy Birthday Gertrude!!

2008-09-08T19:48:00.005+01:00

Happy Birthday to you!

Happy Birthday dear Gertroooooode......

Happy Birthday to you!

Well - today was Gertrude's 2ND birthday!

Mummy made her a yummy liver and garlic cake....

Gertrude was so keen to eat it that she singed her beard on the candles!

(no harm was done by the way!)

Enough of these photos - let us EAT it!!

Come on then - cut the cake.....!

Is your slice bigger than mine??

Can we eat it yet?

Come on then! -this is torture!!Then mummy put the cake away - what a spoilsport! I tried my most pleading look to get her to change her mind (on behalf of the birthday girl of course!)

I even kept guard of the cake all afternoon - again, all for Gert's sake.....

Please Sir....can I have some MORE.....???!!!And here is the birthday girl - looking pretty pleased with herseld after her scrumptious treat. Who needs presents when you have got liver cake and a big red special birthday bow to wear!
Happy Birthday gorgeous girl

Lots of love from Kate, Paul and Molly-moo

xxxx

Update!

2008-09-07T14:13:00.004+01:00

We haven't updated our blog for a while - so here's a quick taster

of what we have been up to!

We've had LOTS of great trips out - daddy took us to Dartmoor one day and we walked and walked and climbed and ran and had a wonderful time.

We especially love climbing on the rocks.

Molly is always the King of the Castle

Surveying the wilderness
Some horses came by, so we kept watch from afar
Another day, mummy took us to the local park to play with some of our doggy pals Alert Gert!

We love meeting new friends

Sometimes our old frined Chester the Airedale comes to this park, but we haven't seen him for a while now. He is very slow and old and has trouble with his hips, poor thing.
Here's daddy giving us a little lecture on how to use the baby equipment. This is apparantly a seat for the car - now we both know how to strap little baby Torney in so we'll be able to help out if neccessary.
We listened very hard and had a good sniff - just to be sure we understood properly

This is our mummy THREE weeks ago! Blimey - you can imagine how big she is now! We are worried she is going to burst.

Here are some photos of baby Torney's nursery
There are lots of toys....we're sure he wont want to play with any of those for quite a while.... Do you think WE could instead??

There are quite a few Dale pictures around the place - this little baby is going to grow up loving us Dales of course!!

Mummy drew this little picture of Molly sitting in our front door for Baby Torney - we hope he likes it.

Well - bye for now!

Lots of love from

Molly and Gertrude

xxxx

Sad to see Shane go home.....

2008-08-03T19:46:00.003+01:00

Well - Shane's owners came to collect little Shane this afternoon

But for a couple of days we were the Three Amigos

Look at his cute little face.......

We hope to see him again some day soon

In response to all your comments - yes, we did get some rest!!

Love from Molly and Gertrude

Shane pup came to stay!

2008-08-02T12:43:00.004+01:00

Little pup Shane has come to stay with us for THREE nights!! Yippeee!

Look at us all together - such good Dales......

Shane hasn't met Gertrude before. They certainly seemed to like each other straight away!

What shall we do with him Molly?

Shane tagging along like Gertrude's shadow

Play with me Molly!

Well, this little puppy likes to play rough and tough! We have spent most of the time charging around with him jumping on us one by one. He is like a little kangaroo!

We love having somebody extra about to chase us with our toys!

Just look at this little pup go.....
First he picks his victim.....
Then he exerts his puppy power.....
Help me Gertrude, I'm going down.....!
Ok, I'm down! (Molly - he is only half your size!!)
Finally the little pickle settles down, cheeky thing
Thank gooodness for that - he does sleep sometimes

I think I'll just sit up here for a while out of harm's way and recharge my batteries.

It is fun having another little puppy here to take out on walks and play play play!

Love Molly, Gertrude and little Shane

xxxx

It's getting hot!

2008-07-26T20:39:00.005+01:00

Caught!

It has been quite hot these last few days and we were beginning to look a little woolly,

so daddy decided to get the clippers out......

Gertrude certainly looks rather relaxed about it!

And THIS is why!

Because she knew daddy was transforming her into a

beautiful stylish young lady.

Look at her pose!

Is this my best side?

And me? Well, I thought I looked pretty good too!

Gertrude again....

Love from two smart summer Airegirls

Molly and Gertrude

(ps - it was daddy's birthday last week - a big one apparently.....

Happy Birthday daddy)
xx

Strange things arrive....

2008-07-03T20:13:00.008+01:00

Hmmmm......

What's this then.......?

This funny big black thing arrived at our house the other day. Gert was a little scared of it (she's scared of anything that moves) but I reckon we'll get used to it.

Daddy told us it was where our little brother will sleep and sit - and the best bit about it is, it means he can come out on big walks with us - yippee!

Some of our frineds have told us that the big black tray underneath is where all the puppy treats will go, so we'll just have to wait and see about that.
You see - Gertrude did get brave enough to come and sit next to it for the photo.

Here I am having a little natter and nose-poke with my baby brother. We do bark at him quite a bit, so he'll know who we are when he arrives. I think he knows me quite well already!

Do you like my close-up?? Mummy and daddy finally got a new camera that will take nice clear photos of us without blurring. Apparantly it is the same as the Thuglets' camera - and Molly and Taffy's - so it comes with great recommendations! Thanks guys!

Why am I ALWAYS on the floor with my legs in the air, and Gertie is ALWAYS standing on top of me?! (I like to play the victim, but she knows I could floor her any time I like.....)

You see, I've got my paw over hers just to keep her in check - cheeky pup.
Oh yes, it's me again! I'm not so sure about this close-up lens....!

Haha - now just look at this photo below.... What am I supposed to make of that?! That's my little sister Gertrude trying to toy with me. First she slowly crept towards me ready to pounce (I just lay down in readiness watching her trying to creep up on me - as if!) and then suddenly with a little jump and a prance she thinks she can charge at me! She is such a funny pup. We had a bit of a wrestle and a chase, which seems to be her favourite past-time.

Other big news!

A couple of weeks ago mummy took me over to a house in our town to meet Shane, a new little Dale puppy who has just moved in! We played together in his garden for a long time until he was exhausted - he has some great toys! He was a cutie pup and kept trying to jump on me.

Here's Shane with his owner below. And me, trying to be a good Airedale and set him a good example. We will introduce him to the Gertster another day.....!! Hahaha!

Hopefully when he's a bit bigger we can all go on a walk together and have a proper race around.

Look at him go - the flying pup!
Well, that's about it for now.

Lots of love from

Molly and Gertrude

Meadow flower-girls

2008-06-08T21:31:00.002+01:00

Pretty meadow girls

Love Molly and Gertrude

Walkies with Harry!

2008-06-01T08:16:00.003+01:00

It's Harry!!!

We were so lucky we got to go for a walk with Harry, the 10 month old Golden Retriever.

We've never met Harry before, although our mum and dad first saw him when he was a tiny bundle of goldenness....but now he is old enough to run and play with us!

Here we are all posing together in the green fields.

Harry was great to chase - and a good sparring partner for Gertrude too We love Killerton - it is so pretty in the spring sunshine
Here I am relaxing with a stick in the long grass
Oh yes....almost forgot to mention...there was quite a few cow-pats around....I couldn't help but try one on for size....

What do you think of my stylish new headgear - I thought I looked quite the bees-knees. Just like daddy's flat-cap I reckon.

There was greenery everywhere and lots of lush grass to eat

By the end of the walk, Gert and I were pretty worn out!

Oh yes - and how could we forget..... Mummy went for her 20 week scan on Wednesday so they could have a good old look at our new baby......and, guess what....

It's a boy!!!

So, sorry Persephone, it looks like we wont be stealing your name after all, or any of the other girls names for that matter.....Buster, well, we'll think about yours but no promises ok!!

Looks peaceful in there don't you think?

Love Molly and Gertrude

Airecuts and BBQ's!

2008-05-10T16:22:00.005+01:00

My daddy gave me an airecut.

I am pretty pleased with my smart new look!

Gerta's tail looks like a whippet - she's a whipper snapper alright!

AND -we got a new toy -

THE GOOD CUZ!!

(this is the one without the devil horns - because we are angels)

Watch out - Gertie's about! You've got to keep your wits about you if you want to hold onto a toy when Gertrude is on the prowl...

Cuz is so much fun!

Stand off!

So we just played and played while daddy tended to the BBQ.

There were sausages and chicken -we could hardly wait!

I decided to see what I'd look like with a red curly fringe...
Then it was out to the front garden to bask in the sun until the BBQ was ready

Just checking if it's ready yet dad?

It's a nice life when the sun shines!!
Love Molly and Gertrude

Pawty Down Under!

2008-05-05T08:22:00.002+01:00

Wooofarooos!!!

We are going to a pawty!

AND

it's in Australia!

Willow and Putter have kindly invited us to their joint celebration this month and so we better start packing our bags and decide what we should take.

We hear there will be lots of activities: we vote for climbing Ayres Rock best of all - can you believe it??

Thanks for the invitation guys -

can you book us a place on Aire-Ruby - we're coming on down!

(see, it's not just our mum and dad who get to go to Australia - now we're invited too!)

Love Molly and Gertrude

Back home!!

2008-04-21T13:39:00.015+01:00

Well - three long weeks are up and it was finally time to leave the Thuglet Basecamp - sigh.

We have had such a great time with the Thuglets and K and A - they have all been so generous to us and made sure that we had the best holiday ever!

THANK YOU THUGLETS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

(and thanks to everybody who went to visit us on their blog - didn't they take some brilliant photos??!!)

Here I am on the long trip home watching over daddy's shoulder just to ensure he knew his way home......

Well - 3 weeks of raucous playing in the mud with 6 Airedales can have its toll on girls like us - so when we got home we had a warm soapy bath. Actually, we did smell rather nice and weren't too dirty at all, but you can't beat a good bath to make you all fluffy and cosy again after a long journey.

I leapt into the bath and curled up, waiting for the fun to begin - can you see my huge smile??!!

Gertrude waited patiently for her turn to go under the shower!

But don't worry Thuglets, I've reserved a small amount of special Thuglet mud under my left paw so that I can lick it now and again and remind myself of the fun we all had together....

That evening we were so tired. Everything suddenly caught up on us and we slept and slept for as long as we could. We were both a bit confused and bewildered by our adventures and took a bit of time to adjust to being back home.

Whilst they were in Australia, our mum and dad met up with Noah and his sisters, Brooke (Opy's mum) AND Jo and Tim who are Ellie and Baz's pawrents!

Jo and Tim sent us some amazing squeaky toys - one is a kangaroo an the other is a koala -

THANKS so much, they are brilliant!

Come on, just let us play with the toys!!

Gertrude rather took a shine to the Koala!

AND the Thuglets sent us home with some toys too - we are so so lucky you wouldn't believe it!

We loved playing with the Thuglet's pink hedgehog so much that they gave us our very own hedgehogs - one pink and one yellow!! They make a great noise and are such fun!

As you can see, I am quite fond of the hedgehogs....

Mmmmm....hedgehog.......

I love this pink one!!

There was also this strange looking creature called a wombat.

It isn't for us (yeah right...) but we still tried to see if he would play with us.

(He wouldn't, by the way - boring wombat)

I wasn't so sure about Mr Wombat....

Aaaaah - back home and chilling with daddy.

We have had such an event-filled 3 weeks that we need a bit of time to just recover our breath.

We have so many lovely memories and I know I'll be dreaming of Thuglet Towers for a long long time.....

So long Thuglets - thanks for the fun and for the great howling opportunities!

This video is really funny - here we are meeting Wally the Wombat for the first time....

Hmmm - not too sure about him at all.

(warning, I do bark quite a lot - and Gertrude just does some silly waggy tail dances)!!

With lots of love from

Molly and Gertrude

xxx

What a special birthday!!

2008-03-27T19:47:00.002Z

Well - here it is! Our little sister/brother.......

Apparantly it wouldn't keep still and kept leaping about, but then curled up all sweet for the photograph.

You can see its head on the left and a hand on the chest, then a little foot sticking up on the right - it is tiny!

AND the best bit is.........

We now know it is due on

MY 3RD BIRTHDAY!! (Molly's)

12TH October!

I always knew I had the best birthday in the world and I really hope we can share it.

Imagine the joint birthday parties....

Well - we are all off tomorrow to far flung places, so for the next three weeks you can catch up with us over at the Thuglets blog!

See you!

Love Molly and Gertrude

BIG News!!

2008-03-23T12:05:00.007Z

Hang on...........

..........something looks suspicious here.

I tried to ask Gertrude to investigate with me

but she just sulked and refused to join in.

Well - the news is out - our mum and dad are abandoning us for THREE WEEKS and going all the way around the world to Australia, where our daddy is from.

But - it's not all bad.....because......

Guess who we're going to stay with for the whole time????

Only

The THUGLETS!!!!

How could we not have fun with these great Dales and their lovely humans??

(we are so lucky!)

But, that's not all. There are also some other strange things going on around here.
For one thing - why are all these toys appearing in the attic room?? That's MY sanctuary, where I like to go for a bit of peace and quiet.

Are they for us?!!

Somehow, I doubt it. But they look like great chewies!

Hmm - there is news of us getting a new 'puppy' brother or sister to play with, but it wont be quite as hairy as us and we hope it wont have a beard. Mum has been collecting these toys for a long long time now, but we have never been allowed to play with them. I hope this new little sister/brother will share with us!

There's talk of all this happening at the beginning of October - hey, that's MY birthday!! Wohooo!

On Thursday, we get to see a photograph of this new little person which will be really magic - I wonder what it will look like?

Well, that's enough news for now -

Take care

Love

Molly and Gertrude

Crufts and Dartmoor - all in one day!

2008-03-10T19:52:00.006Z

Aren't these flowers gorgeous? Our mummy was given them on Friday by the people at work because she was moving to a different office - they smell lovely!

On Sunday we decided to go for a romp on the moors. We went to Princetown which is famous for its huge grey prison that looms out of the mist on the moor. What a place to be locked up!

Still - we felt free as ever with so much space to run and play!

We came across this funny little canal on the moor - it used to serve some tin workings further up, but they were now all dismantled and only the ruins remained. There was a cute little bridge that we ran across several times!

There's always an excuse for a bit of rough and tumble, even after a long walk....

And there's ALWAYS an excuse for getting wet and muddy!! The weather kept changing from sunny to rainy to hailstorms back to sunny - it was really strange.

When we got home daddy thought it was well and truly time for us to have a shampoo......

Here we are afterwards ready to get nice and cosy for an afternoon infront of the telly to watch...

CRUFTS!!!!

Now Crufts has got to be one of our favourite shows - and we only get to watch it once a year!

We loved to watch the agility and fly-ball events.....

We also loved to watch Ben Fogle!

When it got really exciting we both rushed to the screen to cheer them on!

We were very happy to see one of our Planet Airedale friends WIN best of breed - she is sooo famous!

The last photo is of Gertrude looking rather wistful. We think she was planning her day in the big lights of Crufts....keep dreaming Gerta!!
Love

Molly and Gertrude

For the Thuglets

2008-03-03T21:12:00.003Z

Dear Thuglets,

Don't worry - we do get muddy quite a lot!!

It's just that the camera doesn't come out all that often when we look like this......!

We love a bit of mud as much as the next girl!

(Gertrude even wades in the stuff and drinks it when she gets the chance)

So, we'll love getting muddy with you guys - no fear!

Love Molly and Gertrude

Day out in the forest

2008-03-02T15:04:00.004Z

We found the forest that Mojo always goes to - it is 5-minutes

away from the other woods that we always go to, but it

is always nice to find new places to go for a run!

(we didn't see Mojo there though - sigh)

Like Mojo said - it was very VERY muddy!

Suddenly, we came across this fallen down tree - it had been snapped off the very top of a tall tree in the strong gales the night before. There were sticks and bits of tree everywhere!

We tried to eat it out of the way - but that was going to take a long long time.

Then daddy started trying to scare us with the Tree Monster - but we're not stupid.....(see our video below!)

Alas, when we got home we were so muddy that the inevitable happened....

Just look at my sorrowful eyes, how could they do this to me??

Below is our video of daddy being a stupid Tree Monster.

I mean - who does he think we are??

Love Molly and Gertrude

Silly hats!

2008-02-13T20:38:00.003Z

Heeheeheeheeheeheehee

(Gertrude loves silly hats!)

What a poser!

I was persuaded to wear this silly hat too - but I just can't carry it off like Gertrude can....there is too much fluff.....

Well - that was the weekend - and this is today! Daddy gave us both a well-deserved airecut so now we feel refreshed, smart and ready for anything!
What are you looking at??
Love Molly and Gertrude

Molly's bakery

2008-02-11T19:34:00.001Z

Well - our home-made bonio biscuits have received a rave review from our friend Harry.......

http://www.atouchofgoldenhappiness.blogspot.com/

Our daddy gave his daddy a special package of our biscuits for him, hand-selected by the chef (me) - only the best for Harry!

Here he is waiting patiently to open it up...

Mmmmmmmm....his eyes are popping out!
This is the start of a new career for me in the bakery industry!

(ps - hasn't he grown??)

Love Molly

('Molly's Marvellous Munchies' - copyright)!

Cooking cookies!

2008-02-04T20:49:00.000Z

Do you remember the doggie cook-book that we got for Christmas??

Well today we were allowed to make something from the cook-book!

We chose a recipe for some biscuit bones that had CHEESE, BEEF GRAVY and PEANUT BUTTER in them!

Delicious!!

So...we assembled our ingredients and equipment....

Here I am being Chef Molly - I would have liked a chef's hat but oh well

It took me a while to work out what I had to do first....
Gertrude was no help - she preferred to watch me from the comfort of her bed!

Cheeky thing!

But of course she wasn't far away when there was the delicate matter of tasting and licking to be done.....

I soon mastered the rolling-pin, which was a little tricky

Look at all those bones! Where on earth can I hide all of them??
I was quite proud of my achievement - Master-Chef here I come!
I needed a little help to put them in the oven - my job was to keep Gertrude well out of the way here!

The finished product!

I am considering starting a bakery chain.

'Molly's Marvellous Munchies'

The best part is sampling the results of our combined efforts.

Far better than a Bonio any day!

I claim these bones to be mine!
And of course - licking the bowl is one of the best parts of the whole process......

Lucky it's a big bowl!

I wonder which recipe we will make next??

Lots of love from

Chef Molly &

Sous-chef Gertrude

Beach trip and we got pressies!

2008-01-27T20:36:00.000Z

Last week we went to the beach - yippee!! It isn't very far from where we live -

in fact it is where our mummy works. She tells us that her office is just five minutes away from

this beach and she often come here at lunchtime and thinks about how much we would love to be there too....

Although it is January, the beach was packed because it was sunny - but it was also blustery and quite cold - perfect for us! We just love running through the waves.

Daddy always manages to find a stick from somewhere -

he is the best stick-thrower ever.

BUT - to make our week even more special...

WE GOT PRESSIES!!

(why is it that Gertrude is always so polite and well-mannered when there are pressies going around??!)

Well, to be more accurate MOLLY got presents - but being a generous kind of gal (and because I don't stand much of a chance against Gertrude when she wants something from me...) I decided I would share the prizes from Goober Stan's 'Most Improved Beard' title.
We got a cool squeaky stuffy toy, an even cooler fridge magnet with a photo of Stan the Man himself (!swoon!) and some great treats. One was a pigs nose that was almost (almost!!) as big as our noses, but not quite (with a bit of poetic license)!

We LOVED the sweet potato chewy treats - they are just yummy and last a long time. We must try to find some over here. They look nice and healthy for the discerning girl who is watching her waistline....

Thank you Stan. Your magnetic photo now reigns over our kitchen from the fridge and has an exclusive view into our very own dinner bowls - how good is that?!

We must have been very good and very lucky girls this week because we also got some other pressies from some friends in America. A quacky duck, a frisbee that flies for miles and yet more treats!!

Here we are getting down to some serious bonding time with our new toys. That duck is just asking to be quacked don't you think?

And who was victorious.....why me of course - Molly the Marvellous!!

We are truly spoilt and will enjoy all these things for a long while to come.

Love from Molly and Gertrude

We're Home!

2008-01-20T16:27:00.000Z

Happy Holidays!

Well - we are back and boy did we have a great week away in the Lake District.

We are true Majestic Mountain Bears.

This is a really long entry because we have just so many photos to share and stories to tell....

So sit back and hear all about our holiday.

We stayed in a cute little cottage with an open-fire and slate floors

It was certainly a 'Double-Airedale proof' cottage

Here we are checking out what is cooking in the kitchen

The weather was wet and soggy all week long. Here is poor Gertrude being pelted with hailstones during a particularly wild and windy walk. We had to be protected by mummy and daddy until the hailstorm was over because it was like little stones being thrown into our eyes. Molly hated it.

The Lake District is an exquisitely beautiful location. We climbed lots of mountains and enjoyed some lovely views despite the bad weather (when the clouds lifted!)

Peek-a-boo Molly - I am the King of the Mountain
Here we are on a far-away rocky ridge with mummy. Our agility skills are perfectly honed and we could leap and scramble up anything!
As we said - the weather up in the mountains can get pretty miserable in January. But we were always careful not to go anywhere too dangerous.
Look how windy it was! We had to hold daddy down else he would have blown away!
One day we met up with a beautiful Airedale called Ted. Here he is leading the pack with us behind - it was great to be able to run and play with him. ps. - the signpost next to us here said 'Dales Way' and it is pointing right at us!

Ted lives in a lovely place called Windermere - he took us up his nearby hill to show us the sights. Afterwards we had pigs ears back at his place and Gertrude snuck a snooze in his bed!
Here I am trying to blend in with the long grasses - do you think the camouflage works??
Here we are nearly at the summit of one mountain - showing daddy the way. It was so rocky we had to scramble all the way!
At the top! We claim this to be Our Mountain.

And then you always have to go back down again - ah well.
Climbing with daddy
I am a great one for fine views. I love just sitting and taking in the beauty of the Lakes and hills. Daddy clearly had the same idea.
Do you like my back-drop?
Gertrude is never far behind me when I am racing up the mountainside - being a hardened mountain Dale I like to show her the way and how it should be done. She was getting braver and braver by the day.

Hey mum - look at me!

A stile like this is nothing to me - it's funny to think I used to refuse to go over stiles and had to be lifted over! Hang on Molly - I'm coming too! Did I mention that Gertrude will follow me anywhere?!

Well - almost anywhere....
Poor Gertrude couldn't manage everything and got a little stuck here, poor pup. We had to show her the way up.

Do you know what - this holiday thing is pretty good!
Gertrude makes a great fireside pillow.

One day we had a day off climbing mountains and instead went into pretty Keswick. We like to people (and dog) watch from the coffee shops!

It isn't called The Lake District for nothing....there are Lakes and water EVERYWHERE! Gertrude just loved to splash in the shallows of the lakes. We also climbed the mountain in the background of this photo.

Here I am contemplating my next swim on Derwent water.

We even found little lakes (tarns) on the tops of the mountains! We just loved all the snowy mountains.

Oh look - another lake! This one is Buttermere.

I was keen for a swim on Derwent water so excitedly followed daddy onto the jetty....Gertrude came too......

Oh dear Gerta - did daddy throw you in? I bet you regretted following me!

But I just love to swim and retrieve sticks from the water. It is my favourite thing ever.

The water was like glass - still, tranquil and perfect - (that is until Gertrude came splashing in after me!)

Magical.

So - there you have it. Our magical holiday in the Lakes is over but we will dream about it for a long time. You can't fail to be impressed by the beauty of nature when it surrounds you like this - we are both so lucky.

Lots of love from

Molly and Gertrude

Big walks planned!

2008-01-11T13:15:00.000Z

Apparantly we are going on holiday tomorrow! Yippee!!

We are all packed and ready. We have heard there will be lots of walks up mountains, lots of swims in lakes and lots of fun. We are also meeting up with a fellow Airedale called Ted who lives in the Lake District - we just can't wait!

Before we go though, we had to sit patiently and listen to mummy telling us all about it.

It was an interesting discussion, but of course we are wise dales capable of such intellectual conversation.

We will miss you all next week - but when we come back we will come and visit all your blogs to say hello. We are sorry if we have not been very good at doing this lately.

....Now - what to pack......red blanket, green blanket, food, teddy, more food, hairbrush (for meeting Ted), towels, Gertrude, hmmm.....some more food and better not forget the food. I think that's about it. Gosh, I think of everything.

Love Molly

and Gertrude (hey Molly, you packed me a bit too early)

Our story.....

2008-01-09T20:32:00.000Z

Well - we were tagged by Noah in the Blue Mountains to tell our story of how we came to live here in Devon with our mummy and daddy. So here goes.....

Our mummy and daddy first saw a photo of two Airedales in a magazine - advertising curtains in a grand castle!! They both loved the photo and wished they could have an Airedale of their very own because we look just too cute and wise and characterful - but they thought they would need a castle before they could have such a HUGE BEAR of a dog....Wrong!

They used to see other people with dogs and go on walks together and just wish they could have (me!) as company. So - they started looking around for puppies. One day their friend told them about a website that advertises all kinds of puppies, so mummy looked that evening. She could not believe her eyes when she clicked on 'Airedale puppies' for our area (there are hardly ever Airedales available in Devon!) and she saw an advert for 12 little Airedale pups 5 MINUTES DOWN THE ROAD IN THE NEXT VILLAGE!! It was a one-off litter and the mum Tess was going to be speyed afterwards....so now was their chance!!

It is true that some things are just meant to be....

The next day (yes, just like that!) they came to get me! We were all scampering around the kitchen looking cute and being goof-balls - there were only two of us girldales left and they really wanted a little girl. When they arrived, me and my little sister (now called Jess) were only trying to squeeze ourselves through the crack between the kitchen cupboards, and generally getting up to no good. In the photo at the top of the page you can see two of my brothers nibbling on daddy's shoe-laces....! After a while we were all sent out into the garden.

I was having none of that. I squeezed my way back through against the flow of puppies and ran up to mummy and put my cute little paws up on her lap and said 'pick me, pick me!!'

That was that - I was picked!! (I think I picked myself!)

In the car on the way home mummy held me tight all wrapped up in a sheet and said 'I want to call her Molly' and that was that too!

Look how adorable I was!

It was raining when I first got home and I managed to put my tiny little paw-prints all round my new house just to show I had well and truly arrived. Our old house was a cottage and we had a lovely warm wood-burner - I loved lying next to that in the evening and toasting my paws.

Below is a photo of my Dale mum Tess - she is a beautiful girl and I really think I take after her. I am really pleased because both she and my brother Harry (who stayed with Tess) have signed my guest-book above, so I keep in touch with my real family. For the first few weeks after I came home we would all get together at the local vets for a puppy party!! Most of my brothers and sisters were there - but at the first party I was a really silly and spent most of the time hidden nice and safely under a chair and I would not come out! After that I realised what fun the parties were (see the video below!)

My mum Tess

As I got bigger I started to discover the wonders of the great wide world -

I learnt that I loved to swim and run and chase things and play.

I also loved the snow!

And daddy taught me to be brave and adventurous.

I just kept growing and growing......

In the end, my mummy and daddy even had to get a bigger car just for me!

After a while, mummy and daddy thought how nice it would be if I could have an Airedale friend to play with and take on long long walks. The plan was for me to have my own little puppies....but then......fate intervened again!

Mummy picked up a free newspaper that had been lying on the doormat for a few days - she was about to put it in the bin when she just thought she would have a look at the puppies page. By complete chance - there was an advert for more Airedale puppies in Devon!! (And to think we almost put Gertrude in the recylcing bin.....heeheehee!)

So - that very weekend they disappeared off down some windy roads on a trip deep into the countryside and moorland. Who did they come home with but Gertrude - my Nemesis!!

My puppy plans went on permanent hold (sigh) but instead I had my very own naughty little sister. And what a whirlwind of love, delight and disaster she has brought to our family!!

Here I am curled up with our little pup being the perfect big sister.

I cannot say that she is reciprocally the perfect little sister however...but we all love her. She is our funny little goofy, quirky girl and she adores us all.

Now it is my job to teach Gertrude everything I have learnt about the world and how to be an Airedale through and through!

So - that's our story. That is how fate decided that we should all be together and share our lives. Who knows what the next chapter will be...???

Now - we are going to tag Mojo to ask her mum and dad to tell her story. We are sure they will have some stories to tell!

Video clip: my puppy party aged 12 weeks!

Love from Miss Molly and Gertude
xxxx

Our friend Harry

2008-01-08T22:17:00.000Z

Hello there.

Thanks to Noah and his sisters for tagging our mummy - she can't wait to tell our tails and share our stories about how we came to live with them - watch this space! We loved Noah's mum's stories about how they ended up with FOUR Airedales....now that got us thinking.....!!

In the meantime, we wanted to introduce you all to our new friend Harry http://www.atouchofgoldenhappiness.blogspot.com/ (above) He is a cute golden retriever pup and he lives nearby. We haven't met him yet, but he is the proud owner of that mystery Wubba we told some of you about - the one that arrived at our house and then promptly disappeared before we even got a sniff! We hope he hasn't eaten it yet.... Our mummy and daddy say he is very playful and wriggly - he is new to blogging so go on over and visit him to say Hi!

That's all for now folks.......

Love Molly

Molly's Trophy (cont...)

2008-01-06T16:53:00.000Z

We thought we would have a go at posting a little video clip!

This is just to show you what expert un-wrappers we are.....

(ps - the parcel was Molly's Trophy! see below!)

Love Molly and Gertie

(ps - thanks Noah)

I am officially an IDOL!

2008-01-05T20:26:00.000Z

Yes - you may worship me......

Because today I received a very special parcel!

Gertrude helped me to open it.......

It was my TROPHY! I have just won

Planet Airedale's AIREDALE IDOL 2007 Competition!!

http://www.planetairedale.com/

The Results are announced each year on

Christmas Eve.......!

You can see I am very happy with this new title!

I also got a cool bandanna of my very own, and some

yummy treats which I have shared with 'le Grenouille/Gertrick' (Gertrude)

Here I am having a quiet moment to reflect on my new-found honour....

......I am just not sure I can pull it off.

We also had lots of excitement today with Stanley's beard contest results! We would like to congratulate Buster for his AMAZING beard! And of course, congratulations to all the other entrants! We loved all of your beards - they were quite stunning.

We loved taking part and I am frankly quite amazed that my beard has grown the most....hmmmm......and I'm not entirley sure the measurements stated are quite accurate, but I'm not complaining!! I had thought Gertrude had done quite a good job of cropping it for me, but perhaps all that extra saliva she has provided did the trick and made it GROW?? Or perhaps it was her expert pruning skills - to divert the growth downwards rather than outwards...? Who knows - it may just be all the treats I eat, heeheehee!

Well - that's enough excitement for one day!
Time for a snooze on my throne.

LOVE

Idol Molly

and

her Princess Lady Gertrude

xxxx

The Beardometer

2008-01-04T21:19:00.000Z

Thanks Stanley!

We weren't sure when your fantastic beard competition

was due to close.......

And now we know!

Here was Molly's beard back in October - a very

luschious 8 cm.....

Now - this evening there was a sudden flurry of

hair-brushes, combs and a new beardometer...

uh oh, I thought -

Not this again!

There is no way you are measuring MY beard all over again....

I think I'll just laze about here for a bit looking fluffy.

Aaagh! Captured. Ok then, go ahead -

measure me up.

And the results??

Well - Gertrude's beard has grown from an impressive 8cm to - err -

an even more impressive 8CM!! (sorry Gerta)

And Molly's beard has grown from 8cm to a glorious, babylicious
incredible, bushy, beardy 9CM!!

Oh Gertrude - you did try so hard (to trim my beard for me....!)

We have added a photo of your beard at the top of the post

just for good measure -

you do look funny!

Thanks for the fun Stan -

Love Molly and Gertrude

Christmas fun!

2007-12-28T15:13:00.000Z

Well - phew!! This is Gertrude flopped out on various people

during and after all the

Christmas/birthday celebrations.....

But why is she so exhausted......?

....... Because we all had so much FUN!!

There were guests and presents galore

Here we are opening some special presents ALL the way from....

AUSTRALIA!

Normally we would just rip open the wrapping

but this time we were under supervision!

We got a lovely pink collar (that'll be mine!),

a squeaky fluffy toy(that's to share)

and......

.......A PINK DALEDANA!!!

(Gertrude has decided that's for her!)

She looks very cute wearing it.

Here we all are on Christmas Day - in the

calm before the storm!

Thank you for all your lovely Christmas good wishes!
Love from Molly and Gertrude

Dastardly Dogs!

2007-12-23T20:57:00.001Z

Well - we have some new books in the house that make for

exceeedingly good reading!

No.1 - we have the best-ever cook-book as it is just for us!

It even comes with a bone-shaped cookie cutter so we can make some

delicious treats of our very own!

No.2 - Here I am having a good old laugh at some of the

funny tales in the Dastardly Book for Dogs.

It really does have soem great advice for us Dales and other doggies -

for instance: 'How and where to hide a bone' 'How to embarass your owner'

'How to avoid wearing silly costumes' 'How to lick all the peanut butter off a not-so-cunningly-hidden pill' and 'When is it ok to eat another dog's poo'.....! (ps - the answer is 'always' of course)

It really is priceless!!

Now here I am swotting up on what I might bake after Christmas...

mmm - peanut butter and cheese cookies.... tasty tea-time snacks.....

beef and onion biscuits.....

My tummy is rumbling just thinking about it!

So that's me set for Christmas -

I shall settle down by the fire with a glass of something and a

jolly good read.

Happy Christmas folks!

Love Molly

It's Christmas!!

2007-12-17T21:23:00.000Z

Yippee! It's that lovely, magical time of year again!

CHRISTMAS!!

It is that time of year to start getting cosy in the evenings,

and to watch the twinkling lights on the Christmas tree.....

(there's a funny 'angel' on the Christmas tree this year)

We LOVE Christmas so much!

We love the crunchy frosty ground under our paws!

It is an exciting time and we hope it brings

lots of love and magic to you all

Happy Christmas from Molly and Gertrude

Thanks Mojo!

2007-12-15T23:41:00.000Z

Oh wow! We are lucky girls.

Mojo sent us this beautiful golden rose award.......we love it!

One day Mojo, we really must go for a lovely run together - we would love to meet you!

Thankyou x

We are going to send this rose onto our good friend Ellie in Melbourne - we think she could do with it right now xx

Love Molly and Gertrude

xxxx

Goodbye Harley Bear

2007-12-12T19:12:00.000Z

Dear dear Harley bear -

we are so sorry you had to go but we know you are now somewhere where you

will be happy forever and nothing can ever hurt you again.

Sleep tight little girl and watch over Jo, Tim and Ellie always.

Our VW Camper van holiday!

2007-11-17T14:36:00.001Z

Hello everyone! We have just come home after a week away -

camping in a VW Campervan!! The van was a lovely old girl

called 'Jackie Brown' and we had some great times driving

around North Devon and Exmoor in her!

The weather was perfect - we love autumn.

We did lots of big walks - some were 17 miles long
but the way we run backwards and forwards
we think we probably ran about 100 miles this week!

Here is the coast path near Lynmouth.....
We loved looking out of the windows and showing everybody how
pretty we are!

Sleeping arrangements were interesting.....most nights it was so cold that
daddy had to wrap us all up in blankets and
tuck us in so that we were all snuggly.

Exmoor is full of pretty little villages like this one.

Just checking my reflection!

The light is just beautiful at this time of the year

Sometimes I sat up on the seat in the van so I could watch

the view as it whizzed by

Gertrude preferred to be up front to oversee the driving

Daddy giving Gertrude kisses after a long walk!

Wow! The morning mist was so beautiful.

More photos to come........(below)!!

Camping Holidays continued!!

2007-11-17T14:17:00.001Z

Here we are crossing the clapper bridge at Tarr Steps....

We loved bounding through the woods chasing pheasants - they were

EVERYWHERE! They make such a silly noise! Here is Gertrude up high on a bank

in the 'pheasant woods'.

The camper could be pretty cosy!

We went to Dunkery Beacon on Exmoor - it was a long old
trudge to get there but worth it for the view. It was the perfect clear day
with brilliant blue skies!

Everywhere we went it was so pretty - the golden light and fallen leaves
really set us off don't you think?

One day we had lunch sitting under this great oak tree - in the photo mummy is

giving me some of her lunch, lucky old me!

Driving across Exmoor - the little camper was great and

never let us down.

We even had got a new wax jacket each - we have never owned a coat before,

but it was really cold so we needed them! Gertrude looks rather dashing wearing

her new coat and daddy's flat cap!

The new coats being tested out!

Our little van winding her way along.....

Gertrude (winking!) and mummy sitting in the VW van -

we were sad to say goodbye to her at the end of our little holiday!

Until the next holiday.......

Love Molly and Gertrude

Wubba Wubba Wubba!

2007-11-03T16:44:00.001Z

In addition to our post earlier today - we wanted to write about our Wubba for Noah.

These photos were taken in the summer this year -

before our Wubba went to the great Wubba-world in the sky....

But we did have a great time playing with it with daddy!

Wubba-attack!

Wubba tugga

Tired after too much wubba-ing

Broken Wubba. Oh well.

So Noah - if your Wubba is still going strong with four of you playing with it -

we salute you!

There's a bear on the stair...

2007-11-03T15:50:00.000Z

Me and my bear are still getting along fine. I like to sit at the top of the stairs with him - then I can keep an eye on the front door at the same time. You never know who might knock....

I have always liked sitting at the top of the stairs - here is an old photo of me and Gert when she was a squirt standing guard.....

And here we are now in the same position - looking very very shaggy though!
(that's my bear there too) When we think we are about to go out for a walk, we stand here expectantly, waiting for the sound of our collars - and then RUN headfirst downstairs as fast as we can!

This is a long diary post today as we have not written for so long.
We have been having such lovely autumn weather - sunny, crisp and cold -
here I am basking in the golden light.

And here I am looking very very muddy! We went out for a lovely run on Dartmoor whoch is one of our favourite places to go walking. It was so quiet and still - there was nobody around for miles.

Here is Gert prancing in the grass! She has her funny ways does that girl!

We found this big rock and jumped up to get a better look at things.

It was such a beautiful day.

Here we are with our daddy just looking out at the view.

We love Dartmoor so much - it is food for the soul and we get to run and run and run and run and run and run and run.................!!

Molly and Gertrude

The woods!

2007-10-20T12:02:00.000+01:00

Happy weekend everybody!

Gert can fly!!

We had a fantastic day in the woods with K today.

It was a beautiful autumnal day - so pretty -

with golden leaves floating all around us.

Here's Gert running back after taking off after a

squirrel in the woodland.

We didn't catch anything - we never do -
but it's fun trying!

For some reason we had to have our photo taken

infront of this tree. Who wants to sit down when

there's fun to be had and places to run?!

I found myself a nice chewy stick - yum! Gertrude did try to

steal it from me, but I told her to get her own. Pups, eh?!

Measuring Up

2007-10-14T16:42:00.000+01:00

Ok, ok - we hadn't realised that there were TWO elements to this beard competition, we just thought it was the longest beard....so, to enhance our chances we are also entering the 'most growth' competition too - and this requires measurements! We hope that's ok with you Stan?!

So - our vital statistics....... We have made a special beard-ometer for reference purposes. Can you see how optimistic we are...it goes all the way to 14cm!

At the moment, it looks like we are on a level with the Aussie Dales, Noah, Willow and the gang - both our beards are a good 8cm long - yippee!

These photos are both of me, Molly - Gertrude just wasn't playing along today so you'll just have to take our word for it - Dales honour.

8cm each.......come on - let's see what you others are made of!!

Our daddy says he loves his bearded girls - (that's me and Gertie by the way...!)

Love Molly and Gertrude xx

The beards

2007-10-13T19:33:00.000+01:00

Well - we have decided to take part in Stanley's beard competition!

We wont reveal the current length of our beards (for competitive reasons you understand....)

but here are some photos to give you a taster...

1st up - Gertrude. (above) Does she get a concession for only having had one year in which to grow her beard?? We like the way her beard can be fashioned into a sharp point - it gives her an aristocratic touch.

Next up - it's me, Miss Molly. Once again, is there a concession for having to put

up with a little pup trimming my beard for the last 10 months?? I used to have a fine long beard,

but it is only just about taking shape again after Gertie's stalwart efforts at de-bearding me - hmmph!

So - what's the verdict? Do you think we will stand a chance??

Also today, on other matters, we had a fun afternoon wrapping ourselves up in blankets and pretending we were off camping.

We strolled around with our blankets on our backs, then had a little wrestle together, then checked what was going on outside - all the while be-blanketed.

Then we lay down and had a cosy little sleep, with our blankets curled up around us.

We like Saturdays!

Here is our big girl Gert guarding the house -

doesn't she look fierce..?! (she thinks so)

I thought I had better give her a hand - I am her big sister after all (that's me in the red)!

Today we also went to the post-office with K, to the park, a walk around the block AND to a wildlife park for a run-around - phew, no wonder we are tired and looking forward to our baskets tonight!
AND we even had a bath PLUS our beds were all washed and cleaned - what a day!

Love Molly and Gertrude
xx

My Birthday Bear!!

2007-10-12T21:13:00.000+01:00

Hello everybody,

It was my 3rd birthday today and you would never guess what my birthday present this year was....Go on.....Have a guess......

A bubble machine?

Nope - Gertrude got that for her birthday...

A new Squeaky Red Boot?

Nope - but would have been nice (Gertrude killed that too)...

Bonios?

Nope - I get them anyway.....

ummm - what could I possibly want most for my birthday........?

A NEW TEDDY BEAR!

I am a really lucky girl. My new bear is almost as good as my last bear, if not better!

Love Miss Molly
xxx

2007-10-06T09:28:00.000+01:00

Well - we were having a good old think about who we wanted

to pass this award onto, and we have chosen.......a joint award to

Molly and Taffy and Alf and Mindy!

We love your blogs!

Mol and Gert

My Teddy Bear

2007-10-03T07:41:00.001+01:00

Now let me tell you about my bear.

I have loved and sucked and cuddled this teddy since I was a pup -

I can spend a good few hours just sitting there sucking it, in a trance.

I love my bear - here he is looking quite fluffy....

But - over the months and years I have worn him down a little,

he had no eyes or nose, one ear and half his body was made up of thread after K has had to fix him....and he got lots of washes!

BUt then Gertrude arrived. I have been protecting my bear ever since she has been here, and doing a fairly good job of it - she had him a few times, but nothing that wasn't fixable.
Then, the other day THIS happened.....

She swears it wasn't her......

Poor poor bear, my best friend for almost 3 years, in the rubbish bin.
I made sure Gertie got what was coming to her - naughty little pup.

For now, I have been given a 'temporary bear' but he isn't the same. It's just not fair. I wish I wish I could have my old bear back.......

Love Molly

2007-09-30T16:29:00.000+01:00

We got this award from Ludo - thankyou so much!

We are very grateful to all the people and Dales who

gave us the inspiration for our blog.

Big Day Out!

2007-09-29T17:36:00.000+01:00

Today we met up with our two Dale friends Oak and Ash - they are none other than Teddy Rocket Man and Mindy's brother and sister - how cool is that??!

Here we are all waiting for John to throw a stick in the river for us - Oak and I were having swimming races to get the stick, but Gertrude and Ash just stayed on the bank to watch.

We wonder whether we can persuade K and P to get a couple more Dale friends for us.....??!
It looks as though they could easily manage it!

We zoomed around liek crazies......most of the photos came out blurred!

Oak and Ash waiting for me to get to the river bank to try and get my stick!

Oak waiting patiently.....

Phew - after our mad runs and swims we all sat down at a pub on the river and had lunch - fish and chips!!

Here is Oak and Ash again - aren't they lovely?

Love Miss Molly and Gertrude

Bubbles!

2007-09-23T07:34:00.000+01:00

Well, it was Gertrude's 1st birthday a couple of weeks ago and one of her presents was a bubble-gun that blows bacon-flavoured bubbles (great idea Thuglets, thanks!)

Now, the next thing is for me to master the trigger myself so that when K and P are out we can have some real fun!

2007-09-18T19:52:00.001+01:00

Watching the mist rolling over the tors on Dartmoor, swimming in the sea at Branscombe......oh what a wonderful life!

Hello - it's the girls from Devon!

2007-09-18T19:42:00.001+01:00

HELLO! We are so excited to be starting our own blog as we have lots of Dale friends who already have them and and we felt it was about time we joined in. We are Molly (sitting in the photo) and Gertrude (lying down in the photo) and we live in Devon with our humans Kate and Paul. I am almost 3 years old and Gertrude was 1 just last week - we have lots of stories, adventures and photos to share with you as we are really active girls! I am a sensible, gentle pacifist by nature, whereas Gertrude is proving to be a right naughty little bossy boots - she always grabs onto my beard or legs if she wants something from me (I hardly have any beard left since she arrived...) and I always give in. Anything for a quiet life (although secretly I admit to quite enjoying a good wrestle with her - but if I always look as though I am losing I get all the sympathy too, so I'm not that silly!) Over all, I'm really happy to have a little sister but goodness is she hard work at times. I LOVE licking her ears inside and out, so she's good for one thing at least..... My favourite thing is running and swimming - I could win awards with my swimming as I am pretty good at it now. Gertrude isn't so keen about the water yet, though she has had a go....but I don;t think she'll be winning any awards any time soon....what a splash she makes!!