Dear Mom and Dad,

We confess! We had a few friends over Friday night, August 1st. The usual suspects came over, along with some new kids on the block — Sheldon, Rae, Gordon, Tammy Faye, and who knows who else.

Everything was mellow at first. Some of the new kids started a poker game at the dining room table. Actually, it was strip poker. A few collars and soft paws were shed. When they brought out the cigars, we said no way! This is a nuclear and smoke free zone!

Another group wanted snacks so we let them have some of our leftovers. They got a little raucous and soon a food fight was happenin'! We think Gordon started it because he has kind of a bad reputation, but we don't really want to point the paw until we know for sure. Someone pukied in a few places, but we are not sayin' who cuz we don't want to rat on our friends. We cleaned up best we could, but some of it is still around. On Saturday morning, August 2nd, when Aunt Deb stopped in to feed us, she wanted to use the big noisy thing that sucks up stuff, but she thought that Daddy might not like that.

Just before midnight, lots of water and light and noise came form the sky outside. We were ascairt, so we all piled up on top of each other under the sofa. After the storm ended, everyone put on their little yellow rain slickers and tiny boots and left us Furry Bambinos to ourselves. We slept until Aunt Deb came over on Saturday morning to feed us.

Mom and Dad, please don't be mad at us! We promise we will be good!

Your loving bambinos,
Panda Bear, Meerkat, and Padre

we furry bambinos weren't that eager to chow down on friday, august 1st. we were more interested in playing with aunt deb. she said that she felt so honored, like sally field when she declared "you like me! you really like me!" upon accepting her oscar. (later aunt deb realized that we bambinos are just not that into the particular type of stinky goodness that she gave us that day. panda bear "covered up" the food as if he was in the litter box as a sign of his disapproval.)

then aunt deb fed us and filled our water bowls and fountain. mom must have told aunt deb where the squirrel food is, and that panda bear is a huge flight risk when mom feeds the squirrels. because next she grabbed the outdoor critters' food, then announced, "NO escapees, guys!" we bambinos backed off, but watched attentively as she flung copious amounts of peanuts and walnuts out the door. aunt deb said that she had to make up for not feeding them before today. she said that those squirrels looked pitiful waiting around for their usual goodies.

then aunt deb tossed a few toys around to see if she could get some indoor activity going. padre and i went for the catnip carrot. aunt deb settled into the rocker for playtime. i sat to the right of her and rolled around on my back to show off my tummy, as i have done everyday. she gave me some skritches and asked if anyone else wanted some.

panda bear parked himself in his usual spot in the dining room by the pile of toys. he looked rather bored, so aunt deb spoke to him by name, and talked in a soothing voice. he answered by giving aunt deb a "love blink": a slow blink of his eye.

padre posted himself near the door and stood vigil for the squirrels. i said that i wanted to play with the feather toy, so we did that for a good while.

i really like chasing the feather toy through the cubes, then jumping on top of the cubes and squishing them!

we furry bambinos nibbled and drank before aunt deb left. she cautioned us to behave ourselves, because she somehow sensed that we had some plans for that night. after that wild party we had last time mom and dad were away, aunt deb said that she is preparing herself for anything when she comes to see us on saturday morning.

On Thursday, July 31, Aunt Deb did not get to our house until noon. She said that she was really exhausted, because she was up way too late Wednesday. Aunt Deb said that she "had an interview with a Californian just b4 midnight EDT Wednesday and it lasted a long time, then I need to wind down b4 hitting the sack". Yeah, whatever.

We were not especially hungry or angry at Aunt Deb, but we had eaten most of the crunchies. We still had some left and plenty of water, though. Aunt Deb fed us right away as always, and then we played.

One of us Bambinos was especially zealous and had grabbed a feather off the toy, so Aunt Deb disposed of it so that there would be no choking and puking while she was gone. Darn!

Aunt Deb sang us a song with our names, to the tune of O Tannenbaum! Just to make sure it was a multi-cultural songfest, she also sang us a song about us, to the tune of Hava Nagila. We sure do like Aunt Deb's singing!

On Wednesday, July 30th, Aunt Deb arrived at 7:45 am — can you believe it?  I did not know that Aunt Deb is a Night Owl and a late sleeper, and I cussed her out a little for being late for breakfast.  Aunt Deb hastened to get that stinky goodness in the bowls.  I chowed down, but Panda Bear and Meerkat wanted to play first.

Usually Panda Bear observes for awhile before playing, but this morning both he and Meerkat competed for the feather toy.

They waited to eat for awhile, but they did get to the stinky goodness before Aunt Deb left.

We all watched a squirrel climb up the bird feeder and raid the goodies.  Aunt Deb said that it was amazing how agile that squirrel was!  BTW, Aunt Deb thinks it was the same squirrel that was waiting on the outdoor back porch railing when she first came in today.  She felt bad that she did not have any peanuts to give him or her.  She asked us, where are the peanuts?  We told her that the squirrel food is in the blue plastic tub in the kitty feeding room, but she didn't understand what we said.

Also, Aunt Deb was wondering if there was a litter box somewhere where she could get to it and clean it out.  She said that she didn't want us Bambinos to get disgusted and leave any poopies for Mom and Dad.  We didn't care, though.  Would serve them right for abandoning us!  Heh.

aunt deb made it over to our house by 10 am on tuesday (july 29).  padre greeted her in the front room.  panda bear was sitting under the front room window.  we bambinos had eaten all the fancy feast crunchies from one bowl, and some iams, but still had a full bowl of dry fancy feast crunchies, and plenty of water left.  aunt deb replenished everything, and gave us our stinky goodness!

after we chowed down, we played with the feather toy!  padre and i were into it, but panda bear just sat near aunt deb and groomed himself.

aunt deb sang songs to us: a butchered version of frere jacques, a silly rhyming song that she made up about us, and a few more.  we especially enjoyed when aunt deb sang "the wheels on the bus".  when she sang "the wipers on the bus go whoosh whoosh whoosh", i got all excited.  i rolled around on my back on the floor next to aunt deb.  she reached out to me, and i met her finger with my paw, like ET.  awwww — so cute!

we saw a yellow and black butterfly and a squirrel.  that was fun!  aunt deb stayed about 1/2 hour and reminded us about the NO PARTIES rule before she left.  we didn't promise anything.

Our poor traumatized feline cousins!  Poor Rainbow, Muse, Cinnamon, and Toast!  Even Bruiser, the woofie, had to endure being cooped up in rooms that moved for days and days!  And to think that Mom and Dad (gasp!) helped.  How could they stoop so low?!

Over the next few days, we Furry Bambinos will report on the events of the cross-country M word, as we experienced them.  If you want to know what stupid stuff Mom and Dad were up to, go read their stupid blog.

We should have suspected that something was up when the big rectangular boxes with zippers started appearing all over the house.  Mom and Dad put lots of clothes into them.  They even brought home two new PTU's (Prisoner Transport Units) and two new comfy cat beds.  Meerkat slept in the pink comfy cat bed over the weekend, thinking it was for her.

Then on the morning of Monday the 28th of July, Mom and Dad mysteriously left.  When they returned, they had a ginormous room that moves with them!  This is what it looked like:

It made all of us a bit nervous, what with the ginormous room that moves and all.  Mom and Dad put all of their rectangular boxes with zippers into it.  Then they left us all alone.  Hoomph!  And I wanted Mom to help us blog!  Well, at least they didn't drag us along!  We had a relaxing day, napping, watching the birdies and squirrels, and munching on crunchies.  We knew that Aunt Deb would visit us, give us our stinky goodness and crunchies, and play with us, so we weren't worried.  And with Mom and Dad away, maybe we could try to get a few cats together for a par-tay!

We Furry Bambinos welcomed Aunt Deb, and kept her entertained during her visits, as you can tell by the toys all over the place.

I was affectionate, and purred, and let Aunt Deb give me a lot of scritches. Meerkat was playful and a little sneaky. Panda Bear was a little shy at first, but then he started a very emotional and philosophical conversation with Aunt Deb. Aunt Deb got a good photo of Panda Bear giving her the Stink Eye when she photographed him eating.

As the senior Furry Bambino, I believe it is my responsibility to report that although we were well-behaved MOST of the time, we did get into, ahem, a little trouble Thursday night (July 17). We were bored after napping in our hammicks, watching birdies through the window, and playing with our toys all day long, so we decided to invite a few of our furry feline friends over to keep us company. One thing led to the next and soon the fur was flying!

Panda Bear admitted that "just a few good friends came over — Tammy Faye, Onyx, Oreo, and well, maaaaybe some others dropped by, but I don't want them to get in trouble by naming names. Pretty soon the catnip was flowing freely. You already know that Tammy Faye is one big flirt with the guys, so you can just imagine what went on. It wasn't my fault! I tried to tell doze guys that they were acting like wild animals. Meerkat is a little sneak, too!"

After we ate on Friday (July 18), Aunt Deb noticed that someone had VOMITED! No one would confess, but she saw greyish hairballs in the area. Meerkat admitted that "I can be a little sneaky sometimes, but I wasn't the one who pukied on the carpet".

A Big Bambino Thank You to Aunt Deb!

This is a picture of Aunt Patty and Uncle Chris's wedding cake:

The oversized cupcake as the top layer is because Aunt Patty LOVES cupcakes!

The "M" and the tiger on the next layer from the top are for the University of Missouri. Uncle Chris will start work there soon, and Aunt Patty will go back to school there. The tiger is the university's mascot.

The Sticky Little People (and they really are Sticky and Little People) represent the children where Aunt Patty used to work. Aunt Patty was the director of the children's art studio at the Carnegie Museum of Art. She recently quit her job because she and Uncle Chris are moving to Missouri.

The cats represent our feline cousins: Muse (tuxedo girl), Rainbow (calico girl), Cinnamon (orange tabby male), and Toast (orange and white girl). The woofie on the bottom layer is our new woofie cousin, Bruiser. He is a beagle / basset hound mix, from a Pittsburgh rescue organization where Uncle Chris and Aunt Patty volunteer. Rainbow, Muse, and Bruiser live with Aunt Patty, and Cinnamon and Toast live with Uncle Chris.

The bicycle is because Uncle Chris likes to bicycle.

This is a picture of Aunt Patty and Uncle Chris cutting the wedding cake:

Grampa (Mom's Dad) gave the blessing at the start of the wild party wedding reception:

Aunt Patty is holding her "gong" which makes sounds like a drum. She used it to get everyone's attention. Aunt Patty was thanking everyone who came to their wedding and wild party reception. She was also telling all the Sticky Little People that there was an arts activity table where they could have fun, instead of being bored listening to grown-ups talking about boring stupid stuff:

Uncle Chris has two younger brothers, Steve (left) and Peter (right). Peter was called the "Best Man". The lady is Andrea, Steve's wife. They are having fun blowing bubbles.

Dad's parents were also invited to Aunt Patty's wedding. This is a picture of Mommy and Daddy posing with our other Gramma and Grampa:

Check out all the loot Aunt Patty and Uncle Chris got! I wonder if they got any catnip? Mom says I have to mention that the "card box" was made by Mom, Dad, and Gramma (Mom's Mom). It's the thing that looks like a cake. Whatever.

Mom said that she had fun dancing to music that she and Aunt Patty used to go out dancing to: Yaz, Erasure, Nitzer Ebb, Prince. And Mom said that a few people at the wild party reception had too many niptinis and acted silly.

Next time we will tell you all about the fun we had with Aunt Deb, who visited us and took care of us Furry Bambinos while Mom and Dad were at Aunt Patty and Uncle Chris's wedding!

Aunt Patty and Uncle Chris got married last friday in a very large, very special church called a cathedral: St. Paul Cathedral. it is in pittsburgh, pennsylvanicat, which is where mom's fambly lives, and where mom, Aunt Patty, and Uncle Jim grew up. This is a photo of the outside of St. Paul Cathedral:

this is a photo taken inside the church. note the beeyootiful stained glass windows:

mommy had a funny title: matron of honor. she wore a scooped neck, sleeveless, knee-length, sable (brown or taupe depending on the light) dress. the dress has a petal pink bow around the waist.

Aunt Patty was escorted down the aisle from the back of the church by Uncle Jim. midway down the aisle, Grampa joined Aunt Patty and Uncle Jim, and the three of them continued up the aisle to the altar. Jim removed Patty's blusher veil, Jim and Grampa gave Patty kisses, and then Patty joined Uncle Chris.

this is the part where the priest says, you may now smootch you may now kiss the bride. you can see Patty's bouquet of calla lilies very well in this photo.

this is right after the priest introduced Aunt Patty and Uncle Chris as a married couple for the first time. Patty is looking toward the camera, and you can see how very happy she looks. you can get a good view of Patty's gown and headpiece in this photo. Patty's gown is a deep ivory strapless a-line gown with rouching around the waist. Patty wore a matching Juliet cap with a veil that Gramma sewed on just hours before the wedding! Doesn't Aunt Patty look just beeyootiful?

this is a photo of Gramma and Grampa with Aunt Patty in the church after the wedding ceremony was over. Gramma and Grampa look very sweet posing with their younger daughter. Aunt Patty is wearing Gramma's borrowed pearls from her own wedding, 42 years ago!

some of the photos were taken outside the church. this is the wedding party, including mom, Patty, Chris, and Peter, the Best Man. Peter is Uncle Chris's youngest brother.

Aunt Patty and Uncle Chris planned to walk from the church to the reception, about five city blocks away. so they got started walking. mommy said that Uncle Chris's outfit was called "a three piece tuxedo with tails". funny, he doesn't look anything like panda bear or any of the other tuxedo kitties i know! where are his tails? and why would he have more than one tail?

however, it was sunny and about 90 degrees F (about 32 degrees C) on their wedding day. after they walked about a block, Uncle Chris said he was too hot, and Aunt Patty said that her feeties hurted. so they were escorted from the church to the reception in mommy and daddy's white room that moves. mommy and daddy call it a "honda civic" (whatever that means).

ok, that's all for now! next time, panda bear will tell you about their wedding reception! be sure to come back to see photos of the best wedding cake ever!

Mommy's fambly lives in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvanicat vicinity, so Aunt Patty's wedding was held there. The bad news is that Mommy and Daddy had to leave us all alone while they were away. The good news is that Miss Deb, our favorite taker-carer visited and took great care of us!

Aunt Patty and Uncle Chris came to visit us in December, so we got to meet them personally! Both Aunt Patty and Uncle Chris are animal lovers, so we enjoyed their visit very much!

Aunt Patty and Uncle Chris's wedding was on Friday, so there was a practice on Thursday. This is a picture of Mommy from the practice. Mommy had a funny title: Matron of Honor.

This is a picture of Aunt Patty and Mommy pantomiming in the Church. You can see the priest (or padre, as I always say), Uncle Chris, and Peter, the Best Man (another funny title). Peter is Uncle Chris's brother. Peter likes cats too!

This is a picture of Aunt Patty and Uncle Chris pretending to be just married. They are not really married yet in this picture. The trick to knowing this is that they are not all super dressed up in their fancy wedding clothes.

After the practice at the Church, there was a "practice dinner" at a restaurant. I guess they must have needed practice eating, because there was going to be formal eating after the wedding on Friday.

There was a problem with the practice dinner. The original restaurant where the dinner was supposed to be held went out of business two days before the practice dinner. So Aunt Patty and Uncle Chris said lots of words on our bad words list. Then they found another place to hold the dinner instead, and it was even nicer! The new restaurant was on top of a mountain, so there was a great view! This is a picture of the view from inside the practice dinner restaurant. That is downtown Pittsburgh in the background.

And this is a picture of the view from the overlook next to the restaurant:

OK, that's all for now! Meerkat will tell you more next time!