Future Golden Girls (minus Bea Arthur)

Last Saturday night, Momma, Stew and Claire left me alone to go have burgers with The Rios Family of Edina. Yes, THAT Rios Family... the one that took in an injured groundhog or squirrel or [insert the name of your favorite rodent] and nursed it back to health. I'm willing to bet that same rodent is sitting atop some roof- or tree-top in Edina taking pot shots at unsuspecting hounds (Edina squirrel terrorists wear berets as opposed to a kaffiyeh, the traditional Arab headdress made famous by that al Qaeda-loving Rachael Ray). But Momma and Stew both assure me that The Rios Family can be trusted and are held in high regard with our family. However, I choose to exercise my right to be cautious until I know them better. That said, presenting me with a doggy treat the next time the Rioses come over to visit would be a good start to building trust. I'm talkin' to you, Mike!

One thing Momma and Stew have done to help me get over my suspicions of The Rios Family is to show me photos of their beautiful daughter, Marin. I'm told Claire and Marin had a fabulous time playing together. And Claire - being about 8 months older - was all aloof and tried acting cool around her younger gal pal. But, Marin just laughed at Claire and followed her around. Plus, both girls apparently like the taste of baby fingers, so they have a lot in common (and I agree... baby fingers and toes ARE quite tasty). Claire REALLY wants to spend more time with Marin, but that would involve getting Stew and Mike (Marin's padre) out of their respective houses. So, good luck with that... Stew only leaves our house whenever we're running low on Mountain Dew OR when he has an extra five bucks to spend on a Starbuck's Venti Iced No Whip Mocha.

But, today is special. He's actually leaving the house soon and taking Claire to Costco to buy beer and golfballs for a charity golf tournament in which he, Uncle Kermit and a couple other guys are entered tomorrow. Beer and golf balls are two things Stew seems to "misplace" while on the course (not to mention his ability to speak coherently). The team got Last Place in 2007 (and they were six strokes worse than the second-to-last-place team). Anyway, it's for charity, but I hope they don't get thrown into jail.

Now, I leave you with a couple very cute pictures of Claire with her friend, Marin...

UPDATE: Anonymous inquired as to if Claire received a haircut. She has not had a haircut... unless you count the VERY small chunk of hair Stew took off her bangs before he panicked and abruptly stopped the procedure. He's now taking an online hair stylist course, so stay tuned for future pictures of me looking like a French Poodle.

And Bea Arthur (aka Dorothy from The Golden Girls)