If you're expecting to see pictures of my nieces and nephews having fun with their haul from Santa, sorry to disappoint. Santa comes for all the furry, four-legged children who've been good, too - and it's always good for a few laughs. Surveys this year showed that, despite the down economy, people still planned to spend the same amount or more on gifts for their pets. Since our "kids" tend to be a bit rough on toys, we usually head to a dollar store for something to give them a few moments of fun. (Our only long-lasting Christmas toy is a rubber Mr. & Mrs. Claus that Bam Bam has had since his first Christmas with us nine years ago - not sure what it is about that thing....but I digress.) This year on Christmas morning, we headed outside with a fabric ball, a rope pull toy, and bright yellow thing that was sort of a cross between a monkey and a wiener dog! We tossed the ball and Buddy made the successful grab for it, while Lucy decided to carry the yellow thing around in her mouth like a doll for a complete lap around the pasture. Ricky decided to leave the rope toy and check out what the other two had. A couple days later, though, the rope toy became the hot property and we snapped a few pictures of the fun. And the best news - the toys are still around more than a week later! It takes close supervision to make sure they don't meet a fluff-unstuffed demise!

 Lucy and Buddy play tug of war

 Lucy makes an evasive move, forcing Buddy to leap over her!