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!