TAILS from last week!

Kentucky Greetings, WoodyWatchers! It is Wednesday evening and we are riding down the highways of Kentucky in the trusty old Woody Bus. We are headed to Wallingford, KY. I hadn't written for a while so I thought I would give you a quick, quick update!

Last week was almost like being on vacation. We kicked off our week at St. Catharine College in Washington County. It was a little different being at a college, but we loved it! It made me wish dogs could go to college!

The next day found us in Madisonville. After school, we went to the most delicious restaurant in Hanson, KY. It's called The Campus. Our good buddy, Colton, and his parents own the restaurant. It was the best catfish ever. DEE-lish! We can't wait to go back. Colton was the best server we had ever had wait on us!

After leaving Hanson, we found ourselves with our good friends in Ms. Evans' class at Cravens. Cravens is in Owensboro. They were faithful followers of Mr. Dogwood Goes to Washington. We had so much fun spending the afternoon with them!

Well, Dad says it is time for dinner, so I better close up my laptop! I will write more later! In the meantime, Work and Dream like a BIG DOG!

WOODY

Catching Up on the News

Kentucky Greetings, WoodyWatchers! It is Monday night and past my bedtime. I can't remember the last time I was up past 9:00. It has been the busiest day, but I have accomplished lots of tasks that were on my "To-Do" list. It feels great to accomplish a task and scratch it from the list. One of the last things on my list was to write in my journal, so even though it's late, Mom gave me permission.

I wanted to show you a few photos from last week. This past Thursday, we spent the day in Frankfort at Peaks Mill Elementary. It was a beautiful school and we made lots of new friends. The first four photos were from Peaks Mill. I love the picture of the sunglasses. We look pretty cool, if I do say so myself!

On Friday, we spent a little time with Mrs. Punjack's 3rd grade class at West Point. Her class won the Hardin County News Enterprise Penny Drive. Their prize for winning was a visit from me! There were 10 students in her class - 9 students when the Penny Drive was happening. Can you believe that only 9 students raised over $100 for the Newspapers in Education program? How awesome!!!

This week is CATS testing in the schools. (They aren't really testing cats, but that is what the test is called.) Chloe and I hope everyone has a great two weeks of testing! Remember to concentrate, eat a good breakfast, and Work and Dream like a BIG DOG!

WOODY

The Roarin' Wiener Dogs

Kentucky Greetings, WoodyWatchers! It is Friday morning and Chloe and I are looking out the window as the raindrops splash on the pavement. It looks like it is going to be a rainy day at our doghouse in Shepherdsville! That's a great excuse for me to read my favorite books, challenge Chloe to a checker tournament, and even catch a cat nap! I think I may need a nap! We returned home around midnight last night from one of the most exciting school days!

Yesterday, our family spent the day at Ryland Heights Elementary in Kenton County. We were all so excited about our visit! Mom had been talking with Mrs. Judy Spegal - the librarian at Ryland Heights. We had never met her before, but we felt like we were the best of friends! Once we met Mrs. Spegal, we immediately learned that she loves dogs, children, books, and dogs!!! Did I say that already? Anyway, she planned the perfect day and evening for us!

The students at Ryland Heights made us feel right at home. When Mom and Dad were walking in the school yesterday, students were getting off the school bus shouting, "Woody! Chloe!" Chloe and I were in the Woody Bus saying, "Do you hear that? They are shouting our name!!!" We were so excited! As they were walking into the assembly, they were all smiles!!!

The students asked the principal, Mrs. Barwell, if they could change the mascot from the Ryland Heights Tigers to the Ryland Heights Wiener Dogs!!! Mrs. Barwell said that April 10th could be Ryland Heights Wiener Dog Day! Chloe and I felt like the king and queen of the school! We will be sure to put some photos up on the Picture Page soon. We wanted to show you some of our favorites now!

Chloe just told me she has the checker board ready, so I better say Arff for now! Have a great day! Work and Dream like a BIG DOG!

WOODY

A Tuesday in Tyner

Kentucky Greetings, WoodyWatchers! It is Wednesday and our family is in the Woody Bus, traveling down the Kentucky highways, singing our favorite travel songs! Destination - Ryland Heights in Northern KY. Yesterday, we were in Eastern KY - Tyner to be exact. We spent the day and evening at Tyner Elementary in Jackson County. From the minute we walked in the door, we felt right at home! There were signs everywhere, the cafeteria had been transformed into the Doggie Cafe, and people were even wearing hats and sunglasses! Chloe and I felt like regular rock stars!

Dad took over 100 pictures! We will put photos on the Photo Page soon. We wanted to show you some from the Family Reading Night! Take a look at these faces!!! Aren't they the cutest?

Ms. Gabbard (the librarian), and a host of other people planned the perfect day! They worked hard to make our visit so successful and enjoyable! Chloe and I are still barking about it!

I better go! It is hard to concentrate with Chloe singing On the Road Again.

Have a great night! Work and Dream like a BIG DOG!

WOODY

A Visit to my Birthplace!

Kentucky Greetings, WoodyWatchers! It is a gorgeous day today at our doghouse! The sun is shining a bright yellow, the grass is nice and green, and our bird friends are singing a pretty song! We love springtime!

Once again, we are packing our Scooby backpack for another road trip! Tomorrow we are going to the eastern part of the state to be with our friends at Tyner Elementary in Jackson County. We can't wait!

Last week, we were at the opposite end of the state in Western KY - Paducah to be exact - my birthplace. Of all the places to go, Paducah has to be a favorite since my roots are there! Not only was I born in Paducah, but my Granny and cousins live there too!

Our day at Hendron-Lone Oak was absolutely perfect! Ms. Wetzel, the librarian planned the perfect visit! I saw so many of my friends, and like always, made new ones too! My Granny came to see us at the assembly. I had to be on my best behavior!

I better go. Dad is loading the last few items in the Woody Bus. I am always the last one in the bus! Have a great day! Enjoy the sunshine, sing with the birds, and Work and Dream like a BIG DOG!

WOODY

A Visit to Sebree

Kentucky Greetings, WoodyWatchers! Hope everyone is enjoying the sunshine! The weather man says it is going to start raining, so Chloe and I have been taking advantage of the sunshine! We are packing our backpacks to head to Paducah! Everyone knows that Paducah is one of my favorite places. It's my birthplace! We always love a trip to Western KY!

Speaking of Western KY, we have spent a good bit of time there lately. Last Tuesday we were at Sebree Elementary. Sebree is in Webster County. It was our first time in a Webster County school. Everyone made us feel right at home. A great big thanks to Ms. Mary Steely, our coordinator for the day. It was a perfect day and evening! We will put pictures up soon!

I have much more to tell you about, like our weekend in Madisonville, but I am so behind on my packing. Chloe's bag is ready to go and I haven't really even started! I don't want to be in the doghouse before we leave!

Have a great day! Enjoy the sunshine and Work and Dream like a BIG DOG!

WOODY

A Day at Mary Todd

Kentucky Greetings, WoodyWatchers! Hope this finds you having a PAWS-atively perfect day! Once again, sorry I have been a bit slow in writing in my journal. You should see my "To-Do" list. It gets longer every day. We have been traveling, writing, and enjoying March Madness! Everyone knows how much Chloe and I love sports! I have also been a bit slow since we had some trouble with our email. By the way, if you tried emailing us and it was bounced back to you or you didn't receive a reply, send it over again!

Last Thursday our family spent the day at Mary Todd Elementary in Lexington. Mary Todd is located right off North Broadway and though nobody ever said for sure, I am certain it gets the name from Mary Todd, as in Mary Todd Lincoln, the wife of President Abe Lincoln. She was from Lexington, you know!

It was a perfect day! You could feel the energy in the building. For one thing, the Kentucky Wildcats were playing in the first round of the NCAA tournament. Almost everyone, including Chloe and me, had on their Wildcat blue! Unfortunately, the Wildcats lost - or came in second as we like to think. Even though we were sad, it didn't spoil our day. Nothing could have spoiled it! Everyone made us feel right at home! Ms. Campbell and Ms. Carroll (last photo) planned the perfect day and evening! We hope to see everyone at Mary Todd again soon!

I better say ARFF for now. Today is a busy day and I want to chop away at my list. Besdies, it is raining outside and it's a perfect day for a game of checkers or Old Maid. I will write later - promise! In the meantime, Work and Dream like a BIG DOG!

WOODY

Trouble With Email

Kentucky Greetings, WoodyWatchers! Chloe and I wanted to let you know that our email hasn't been working for the past week or so. We just found out about it this past Friday. It was tough to figure out because we were getting some of our email while other emails were being sent back to the sender.

We are so sorry about this problem. The minute we found out about it, we contacted the people in charge and they were Speedy Gonzales and fixed it on the spot!

If you tried to email us last week or so and it wouldn't work, try again. Everything is up and running!

Thanks so much! I will be sure to tell you all the neat things we have been doing soon! In the meantime, "Work and Dream like a BIG DOG!"

Woody and the Gang

A Snowstorm in March!

Kentucky Greetings, WoodyWatchers! Once again I have to apologize for not writing in my journal sooner. Where does the time go? As usual, our family has been busy with lots of exciting events.

Last week our family spent four days at Kentucky Crafted: The Market. It is one of our most favorite events of the year. We see our old friends and make new ones too. (I always say that, but making new friends is my favorite part of being the Kentucky Wiener Dog! That, and eating, of course!) This year we had a great big surprise at Kentucky Crafted! We had a snowstorm! It wasn't just a little snow, but a good old fashioned snowstorm. It started snowing on Friday night and the flakes kept falling! It snowed so hard that it even thundered! On Saturday morning, Dad said it had snowed almost 12 inches. Dad had to shovel off a spot in our grass so Chloe and I could go outside. If he hadn't done that, the snow would have covered our body! It was the most snow I had ever seen! (The second picture is one Mom took on Saturday morning while we were driving to Crafted. Dad drove extra slow to keep us safe!)

The first picture is of Lynne, my Chief of Staff. I was obviously taking a break from my busy day. Lynne handles all our office work - and she has the perfect lap to sleep in when I need to catch up on my rest!

The last photo is of Mom, Kendall, and me. Kendall's dad is Mr. Keeling, with LG&E. The LG&E-E.ON Company sponsors our newspaper stories. We had met Mr. Keeling lots of times and heard all about Kendall, but had never met her. There I go again, talking about how much I love meeting new friends! Thankfully since Mr. Keeling sponsors our stories, I wasn't sleeping when he came to our booth! I was working!

Chloe missed Kentucky Crafted. She actually used a few vacation days. As you know, Chloe has really bad allergies. She has to take allergy shots every three days. (She never complains. She acts like the needle doesn't even hurt.) Anyway, because of the soaps and smells and all kinds of things at the show, Mom decided Chloe should hang out in the Woody Bus. Everyone missed her, but Chloe didn't miss the sneezing and scratching she would have done had she been there!

Whew! I still have so much to tell you but I better stop for now. Mom says Chloe and I have to take baths tonight. That is not one of my favorite activities, but Mom said I didn't have a choice. So, I have to find my rubber duckie, a nice clean pair of jammies, and four socks! I promise to write again soon!

Have a great night! Work and Dream like a BIG DOG!

WOODY

More Stories from Southside

Kentucky Greetings, WoodyWatchers! TGIF! What a week! This has been the most exciting week! We are still getting photos in from Southside. I told you in my last blog entry about my new girlfriend, Woodie. Here is a photo. You can see how I am holding her, looking for her in her pretty little basket, and giving her a sweet little hug! Did I tell you how beautiful she looked in her green sweater???

Woodie is writing her own blog about Southside. Mrs. Jones, the media specialist, said that Woodie misses me too. That made me feel better!

Not only did we make new friends like Woodie, we also saw Olivia. Olivia is a student at Southside. She has a dog named Itchy. Itchy is a chiweenie. I had never heard of that before. Olivia said it was a cross between a chihuahua and a dachshund (or wiener dog, like me). So, they call it a chiweenie. After our visit, Olivia wrote a story about Itchy. She also sent us this picture. Isn't it cute?

We have so many great things to tell you about - like about our brand new book. I will tell you all about it next time! It is 4:05 and supper time is right around the corner. Everyone knows that meal time is one of my favorite times of the day!

Have a great weekend! Work and Dream like a BIG DOG!

WOODY

Southside in WOODYford County

Kentucky Greetings, WoodyWatchers! We hope everyone is having a terrific day! Chloe and I are enjoying the sunshine. The snow has been lots of fun, but it was nice to see color outside our window this morning!

We had the greatest day on Tuesday! Our family spent the day and evening at Southside Elementary in Versailles, KY. Versailles is in Woodford County. We have asked the mayor about possibly changing the name to WOODYford County. It's probably not going to happen, but fun to think about!

Mrs. Anita Jones (Southside's media specialist, last photo) did a PAWS-atively perfect job in arranging our day. Mrs. Jones said Southside had "Gone to the Dogs!" She was right! There were dog pictures everywhere and even a big doghouse in the front lobby! Their plan is to read enough books and gain enough Accelerated Reading points to put Mrs. Cassady (the principal, second photo) in the doghouse! Chloe and I would love to see that!!!

In addition to meeting the students and staff, my favorite part of the day was WOODIE! Woodie is a little girl black and tan dachshund. She isn't real, just a stuffed animal, but that didn't matter to me. She was pretty! She had on a beautiful green sweater with fur all around it. Everyone laughed when I put Woodie in my mouth to hold. I was just trying to say "ARFF!" You can see Woodie in the first photo. She is in the basket. Just seeing her in the picture makes my heart go pitter-patter!!!

I could talk all day about our visit to Southside. We will be remembering it for years and years!!! Hopefully one day we can visit everyone again. I would love to see our new friends, especially Woodie!

I better go! This is an exciting week. Our new book comes out tomorrow! We can't believe it! I will keep you posted!

Have a great day! Enjoy the sunshine and Work and Dream like a BIG DOG!

WOODY

A Friday at St. Michael

Kentucky Greetings, WoodyWatchers! It is Saturday morning and Chloe and I have been doing our usual Saturday activities - you know, watching cartoons, reading the comic section from the newspaper, and doing our Saturday chores.

Yesterday, we ended a very exciting week with a terrific day at St. Michael School in Louisville, KY. Since there was ice on the road, school was delayed for two hours. We still had to leave home plenty early since we had to drive slow. Dad was extra-careful in driving the Woody Bus since the roads were messy.

Anyway, everyone at St. Michael made us feel right at home. We had the program in their Community Center. It was gorgeous. Chloe and I felt like big-time superstars performing in the center! We took a few photos to show you. The second photo is of a fellow UK Wildcat fan! Since we were in Louisville, there were plenty of Cardinal fans, but not as many Cat fans! It was nice to see a little blue!

The last photo is of Mrs. Goehagen, the librarian. She was originally from Boston. Dad explained he was from Boston too. She laughed and said she was from Boston, Massachusetts. Dad is from Boston, Kentucky!!! She was so nice and planned the most perfect day for us! We hope to see our friends from St. Michael again soon!

I better go. The CATS have a big game today. Chloe and I have to finish our chores and eat our lunch before tip-off. I smell chicken! It must be lunch time! I better run!

Stay warm and Work and Dream like a BIG DOG!

WOODY

A Day of School - A Day of Snow

Kentucky Greetings, WoodyWatchers! Hope you are staying inside and keeping warm. It is freezing here at our doghouse in Shepherdsville. In fact, when we go outside to stretch our legs, Mom won't even let us walk on the driveway. She is afraid we will slip and fall. Chloe and I aren't very good at ice-skating!

Our morning started out in Cynthiana, KY at Northside Elementary. We finished our first assembly and the principal said, "Guess what, Woody! We are dismissing school at 10:00." The weather was getting bad, so, the stduents went home and our family loaded up the Woody Bus and drove back home too. We made it home just as the roads were getting really icy. Our day at Northside was so short that we didn't even get a chance to snap any photos. Maybe we can do that when we return in May.

We were able to snap a few photos from our school this past Tuesday. Tuesday found our family at St. Rita School in Louisville, KY. It was a perfect day! The students and teachers made us feel right at home. You can see from the photos that we made lots of friends!

If the weather is nice, tomorrow we will be at St. Michael School in Louisville. Chloe and I are hoping the weather warms up and the ice melts! We are ready to go to school!

Speaking of, I have to brush my teeth and go to bed. It is getting close to my bedtime and I am pretty sleepy. Mom said Chloe and I could have a glass of milk and a cookie with our bedtime story. I better put on my jammies!

Have a great night! Stay warm and Work and Dream like a BIG DOG!

WOODY

A Snow Day and a School Day

Kentucky Greetings, WoodyWatchers! Hope everyone is having a super day! It is pouring down rain. Chloe and I have been looking out the window watching the huge drops hit the ground outside. The weather has been doing all sorts of things lately. This past week, we had a great big snow - the kind of snow that we could play in. We were supposed to be at Northside in Cynthiana, but school was cancelled, so our family spent the day building snow dogs and sledding down our big hill!

On Thursday, the snow had melted enough that we could go back to school. So, we loaded the Woody Bus and drove to Temple Hill Elementary in Barren County. We were there on Valentine's Day. You could feel the love! The entire building was decorated with hearts, flowers, and candy. The school had a Valentine's Day dance. Chloe, Frannie (our body guard) and I all were asked to the dance. The fourth photo is a picture of Frannie and me with our Valentine's dates!

This week will be a busy week for our family. We will be in Cynthiana to make up the snow day we missed, as well as Louisville for two schools. Can't wait to tell you all about it!

Since it is raining, I may take a little cat nap. Chloe is snoring so loud that I can't barely hear myself think!

Have a great day! Stay dry and Work and Dream like a BIG DOG!

Woody

I'm Back! Arff!

Kentucky Greetings, WoodyWatchers! I know you think Chloe and I must have walked to China or something. We are usually so faithful about writing in our blog, but lately we have been behind. We have had the busiest schedule. We have been in so many schools, are getting ready for our new book to come out in a few weeks, writing a brand new story for the fall, the list goes on and on. Speaking of lists, I feel like Santa Claus. I am constantly looking at my "To Do" list and checking it twice! I promise I am going to get caught up soon!

Anyway, this past week we were at T.C. Cherry in Bowling Green, KY. I thought I would post a few pictures. It was a perfect day!

Keep checking back. I promise I am going to put some photos here from the neat schools we have been in the past few weeks!

Better run. My lists says it is now dinner time! My favorite part of the day!

Work and Dream like a BIG DOG!

WOODY