Hosts a Christmas pool party, of course!
Last year, we took Finnegan down to Honeymoon Island dog beach--a beautiful, mile-long stretch of beach on the Gulf Coast, just north of Clearwater Beach--then headed back north to share Christmas dinner with Pattie's sister and family.
The plan was to continue this fledgling holiday tradition again yesterday. But Christmas morning we received a text from Pattie's sister, Mary. It read: "Its so nice, why don't we bring the food up so the girls can swim?"
Why not? So we quickly attached a duster to Finnegan's tail so he could help us clean Christmas morning, threw some crab cakes in the oven and prepared to entertain Mary and her sons Bob and Ryan, her husband, Tom, along with Bob's ex-wife Lou and their two girls, Chloe and Marley.
Island Dog knows that this is beneath him. But since snacks were involved, he will make an exception this time!
So while Pattie entertained Lou, Tom and Mary
Chloe and Marley enjoyed the awesome, 80 degree weather and jumped right in the pool!
By the way, guess which one of these guys is Bob--the father who named his second daughter after long time island rocker Bob Marley...
Come to think about it, maybe it isn't that easy to tell. Bob is the one on the left. His younger brother, Ryan, is lounging on the lanai, waiting for the Green Bay Packer game to start...
But what about the cats? Here is a picture of one of our six rescued kitties, Kiwi, whose curiosity has brought her out of hiding--or is it feeding time?
Time to open presents. Here's a picture of Pattie, holding up a pair of big Bucky Badger foam hands.
Note how when held together they for a big "W." That custom started a few years ago when the University of Wisconsin played Miami at the Champs Sports Bowl in Orlando. The big thing for "U" (short for University of Miami) fans to do was to hold their fingers together, forming a "U." Well, the good guys from up north beat the favored Miami Hurricanes that night--the first bowl game we watched after moving to Florida. In a sort of mocking reaction to all of the "U"s, Wisconsin players started walking around the field after the game with their hands together forming "W"s instead. Guess that idea caught on...
But Island Dog could care less about all of that foolishness. Because the only thing he likes nearly as much as a walk on the beach or a pool party filled with young kids that like to bribe him with treats, is opening presents and hugs--lots and lots of hugs!
But the sun is going down, temperatures are dropping and the pool is empty.
Time for everyone to head home, leaving Finnegan to remind us all that:
Life is always great on the island!
