Rocky the Box Cat

 Rocky just did something that can either be described as 'amazing' or 'stupid'.

To explain: Junior was acting like he was tracking something, so I followed him into the guest bedroom. His nose soon led us to the closet that we stored wrapping paper and such. At first I couldn't see what was capturing his attention, until I looked closer...

(The picture is terrible, but I was working in dark conditions with an iPod.) Rocky had managed to squeeze into a box that was STILL ON THE SHELF.

He's a little, heavily furred snake!

Peter accuratly depicted our surprise with a little skit, which we could not figure out how to upload. Oh well.

We later found out (thanks to Mom's sluething) that he had found his Christmas present: catnip.

This is the third pet present found this December (Junior found two of his already)! For once, it's not the kids acting naughty!

Now and Then

 So I was looking through Stringer Family Antics, laughing at the ridiculous poses Peter and I twisted ourselves into, and realized that we look really different from back then than we do now. I decided to create a post comparing pictures for each member of the family, including pets. Here we go!

  

Peter, as a widdle chonk to an 11-year-old boy

 

Charlotte, from a little kindergartener to a proud 7th grader

 

Mom, who hasn changed that much

 

Dad, who grew a beard and that's it

 

Baby Rocky and Adult Rocky

 

Pacey and Tippy

 

Connie and Junior

Now that I look back at all the pets, it's kind of hilarious how every one of their names ends in an 'y' sound. Even Junior- his nickname is 'Noonie'. 

Anyways, that's us Stringers from Now to Then. See ya later! 

It's Official

 Rocky has officially taken over Peter's room. He now allows Peter to use the room for Zooms and sleeping. From now on, anyone wishing to enter his room must get permision from Rocky.

No, seriously. That cat spends more time in Peter's room than even Peter.

Happy birthday, Peter!

You’re welcome for that BLAMAZING title (read with maximum sarcasm). However stupid it is, the title actually means something! It’s December 12, and Peter is now 11 years old. 

Sadly, thanks to COVID, we can only have a family party.

Family party doesn’t limit you to staying home, though!

We kicked off the day with our tradition of opening presents in Mom and Dad’s bedroom (in case you’re wondering, this is Charlotte here). We (read: Mom) didn’t get any photos, so we’ll have to just go with pictures taken later of the presents:

A laser pointer for playing with the cats

A ‘Comfy’- which lives up to its name!

A fancy-shmancy Leatherman (with his name inscribed! Ooh la la!)

A mic (it's a mic, trust me)

EVEN MORE TOOLS (Dad gets him some every year- he’s got quite the collection!)

A monitor from the amazing Grandpa Spike and Grandma Jojo (THANK YOU)

We then quickly ate breakfast and headed over to TopGolf  (google it- it’s kind of amazing) to grab a spot and golf (or fail at golf and eat pretzel bites, in my case). Mom managed to snap a few photos of the birthday boy crushing it. 

We’re not the best golfers. ‘Nuff said.

The highlight, though, was BY FAR the pretzel bites!! *rants for three straight hours about them* OK, where were we?

Right! We headed home, chilled for a bit, opened Anna Vance’s present to Peter (Thank you!!), and then Mom and Dad left to run Christmas errands or whatever, while Peter and I giggled at pictures of the chonk that was baby Sonia on The Sonia Show (a blog that was written by our maternal aunt, Auntie Ernie).

We capped off the day with a late gift from Mom and Dad (a cat tree!), a present from the wonderful Malahowskis (Animal Crossing, which is a video game. Thank you, guys!!!), and a burger-fied dinner. The dinner ended with some awesome brownies, which we made while Mom and Dad were off getting the late present. The work was evenly divided- Peter got the box out of the pantry, and I did the rest.

To add something random, here are some perler bead Christmas decorations I made: 

Adorable, right?

Merry Early Christmas, and stay safe!

Mommy's Most Wanted

Ok, to start catching up, I'm gonna start with the Pets. That's right. I capitalized it. They are that important.

I'll be serious now.  Let's start with Junior, shall we?

Name: Larry James Stringer Jr. We already have a grandfather named Larry James Stringer, so he's just Junior.

Nicknames: Puppy, Noonie, Nunior, Hoonie, You Crazy Little Dog, Hey Get Back Here You Silly Goose, etc.

Traits: Super fast, super sweet, super silly, loves Mommy.

Next up: Tippy!

Name: Tippy JoAnn Stringer. No explanation needed.

Nicknames: Tipster, Tipster Maroo, Sweet Little Kitten, Cat, Tip Tip Banana Bell, Tippers, etc.
Traits: Kinda fat, loves it when you turn on the sink just a bit, does this sorta chirpy purring, loves Mommy.

And finally, Rocky!!!

Name: Rochester James Stringer.

Nicknames: Rocky, RoKitty, One Floof, Schnocky, etc.
Traits: Fluffy, loves catnip, DOES NOT like to be picked up by children, loves Mommy.

BOY GOES CRAZY

By Rocky Stringer

   Last night, a male human by the name of Peter Stringer was seen at the household movie watching of The Crimes Of Grindlewald, and at the end, he unexpectedly lost his pants! The boy's mother was astonished, and the sister was on the floor, laughing. I interviewed Junior to see his point of view on this horrific scandal. He answered, "Woof". For all those who can't read dog,I will translate. In human, he said, "Why should I care? Food me." 

Hi! . . . Again

Hi! I’m Charlotte! Remember me from, like, 5,000 years ago?

I am now taking over this blog. Warning: I am currently 11, and it is summer
(in 2019), so I might forget to add on sometimes. Sorry if I do. Oh, holy cow.
There is SO MUCH TO ADD!!!!! How on earth am I going to catch up??

Anyways, this is Peter, now 9:

This is Dad (I have no idea what his age is):

And this is Mom (Again, no idea what her age is):

There have been two changes, pet-wise, since the blog was last edited. First of
all, Pacey and Connie have passed away (R.I.P), and second, we now have
Tippy the fat cat (No offense, Tipster) and Junior the crazy dog. Here they are:

Rocky is still the same, furry, slightly human cat. These days, when any child
picks him up, he meows like someone put a white board on his tail. Here he
is:

The news in the pet world is that currently, Puppy (Junior's nickname) has an
infection in his left ear. Poor buddy! Luckily, he seems to be feeling better than
yesterday.

Oh, by the way, did I mention it's SUMMER? Peter is overjoyed. I don't know for
sure, but I'm guessing Dad is happy, too. "We're going camping!!!!!!"

Wow. I just read through this again, and this is LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-
OOOOOOONG. Holy cow. I should probably stop writing now, or start a new
entry. Bye for now!

Traverse City Trip

Two weekends ago, Charlotte and I drove to Traverse City to visit the Taylors.

We left Rochester after Charlotte's school got out, we jumped in the Mustang and shot up I-75.  First stop was Spike's Keg o' Nails in Grayling.

Yes.  We sat at the bar.

After dinner, we drove west from Grayling to the Taylor's house in Traverse City.  

The next day, the Taylors took us hiking in a lakebed.  This was formerly a lake, but Traverse City recently removed the dam.  The Boardman River settled back into its old riverbed.  Neat place to hike.

Aunt Lisa pointing something out.  I'm not sure what she's pointing at . . .  because I was busy taking a picture of her while she pointed.  

Charlotte heads down to the riverbed.

Mishi (did I spell that right?) had a blast.

We found a cool birch tree with massive mushrooms growing off it.

Charlotte on an observation deck.

The lakebed.

Charlotte and Aunt Lisa exploring.

Afterwards, we shopped Front Street a little bit.

Like these glasses?

Aunt Lisa, Charlie, and Ellie.

We found some cool food trucks and watched the Kentucky Derby together, which is a Taylor family tradition.

What is this pose, Charlie?  After dinner, we headed over to West Bay and the new breakwater.

Me and Charlie.

Ellie and Charlie.  Ellie was so good to Charlie on this trip!

The next morning we woke up to snow.  Because . . .  Traverse City.

On Sunday morning, we ate at a pancake breakfast at the East Bay Firehouse.

And then we got back on the road . . . we cranked tunes on the iPod (Charlotte developed a taste for Beastie Boys), and we stopped for pizza in Midland - Pizza Sam's.  (It was great!)

It was great to spend time with Uncle Dave, Aunt Lisa, and Ellie, and tremendous fun to take a trip with my little Charlotte.