Emme & Jack's First Frozen Yogurt Experience!

Holy WOW! This was a cool experience for all of us except Lauren who is a regular! Emme loved picking out her toppings and taste testing the flavors. Even Jack got in on the action. SO much fun and just as expensive as King Kone but better. Too bad it is so far. Thanks Lauren- it was great seeing you!

Uh Oh.......

 Thanks Shannon Kelly for the really cool stickers. I used as many as I could right away. I love decorating with them as you can see!

Ooopsie, Mommy how could you let this happen?

Excellent Scorekeeping!

This past weekend Emme came and sat with me at the score table while I did some work. She wanted to write on some scribe sheets so I gave her some blanks. I think she did a great job as both a scribe and score keeper. Whoever was running this dog was super fast! Great job Emme with your zeros!

Fun Weekend

Even though we didn't Q for our ADCH, everyone had a great weekend. Jack rolled over for the first time, we ran some great runs with the dogs and Jack rode his first big boy swing. Many of my agility friends are planning their next trial but I am taking this return to agility slow. It is so hard to compete and take care of two little ones. My parents are a great help but it is still hard to manage all these things in your head and compete on top of it all. I am so lucky that Emme and Jack are so good or I would never even be able to get out of the house never mind hang out in a hot field all weekend. Hopefully we will be able to trial before the end of the summer.



Blackthorne Weekend

Jack and Papa Mike decked out in their Adidas Blues!

Roll

Roll

Roll

Roll Over- He did it a bunch of times. So proud! He definitely has enough weight behind him to move him over!

So we were going for our ADCH today and I had a great partner and Tom and I ran clean. I think we did awesome but our partners Larry and Ginger made a few errors and we were over time. I have never been so nervous in my life. I was glad to have run clean though. Even though we didn't Q I wouldn't mind pairing with them again. Still one leg to go for the ADCH!

SNOOKER SUPER Q!!!!!!!!!!

I am so excited to say that Tom Jones is only one leg away from his ADCH which is a huge accomplishment for us. Memorial Day weekend we were in Saratoga for Y Agility's trial and we Super Q'ed on a really tough course that ate up a lot of greedy competitors who were going for lots of points. We kept it simple which is so hard since I have been trying to get this last snooker leg for awhile but we did it and we placed fourth. What I thought was even cooler was that Tom's sister Bean with Shannon Kelly and his cousin Zeke with Jeannie Bonsignore also placed and super Q'ed too on the same course!

We have been competing now for almost 4 years and I have had two babies during that time. I have taken a good amount of time off and Tom is always so good about jumping right back into the game. We have has some ups and downs but I have truly loved every second so far. Coming this far is an accomplishment in itself. Now all we need is a pairs leg and it will be our ADCH! Then we can set our next agility goal!

Jack's First Trial

Breeze, Abbie, Smartie, Jerry, Jack, Emme, Tom, Maddie & ROO!

This was taken on the last day of my first trial back after having Jack. We didn't get any Q's but we ran a ton. It felt great getting back into the swing of things even though I know it will be a slow, long process of getting back into shape and the dogs too! Jerry has shown a lot of maturing and he follows the courses better instead of doing "his own thing." Tom is amazing- just jumped back in and all of the mistakes we made were mine so I can't complain. My mom is exhausted after now having to keep an eye on two but good thing Jack is still staioned in his stroller. Wait until both kids are up and moving. Hopefully by then Emme will be running her own dog! ( the two dogs on the right are our friend Lauren's dogs- ROO stays with us when Lauren goes away on long trips- she is so fun and Emme loves her)

Hanging Out

 Jack amuses himself at dog trials by sleeping A LOT! We are outdoors all day so he gets a lot of fresh air.

 Emme loves to be in the ex-pen. This is her choice. She likes to be locked up with the dogs. She sings to them and dances around them and occasionally snuggles up with one and rests. Don't worry someone is always watching her with them. We don't just lock her up and go run our dogs. My mom is stationed just outside the gate with Jack.

Here is Jack's first picture at Stew Leonard's Little Farm!

Roo comes to visit

My agility friends are all on their way to Kentucky with their dogs for the Nationals. I would have liked to go but it would have been difficult taking time off from work and I really only have one dog that I could compete with. Jerry is still too wacko to run competitively. So instead I offered to dog sit my friend Lauren's special needs dog Roo. Roo fit right in at my house and Emme was so excited. She loves all animals and loved having crazy Roo all to herself.

Emme keeps herself busy at the Contact Agility Trial. Since she can't run a dog yet she spends her days on the playground at the trial site and also watches her favorite dogs run!

Auntie Lauren & I match! We coordinate our trial gear all the time.

My First Popsicle

It was a hot weekend at Blackthorne doing a dog trial so Lauren went and got some popsicles and shared with Emme. She didn't know what to think of it at first but she ate as much as could before it melted. This is Emme and her "pop!"

Saratoga Continued

Here is Emme hanging out in the ex-pen with her friends while we were breaking down the tents. She loves to go in and play with all her "gawggies!" They are all so sweet with her. Sometimes they knock her down and suffocate her with sloppy kisses but she wouldn't have it any other way!

Bark For Life 2010

Brody
Our Team!

Thank you to all who donated to the American Cancer Society Bark For Life. Our team raised over $1,500 to help in the fight against cancer in our human and canine friends. This was our biggest team so far and hope to raise even more money next year. Maybe you will consider joining our team. You don't even need a dog!

Adidas Man and his Sidekick Adidas Baby

Coming soon to an agility trial near you!

Recent Trials

My dad took Tom to the Regionals and he got his first Master Gamblers Q! It was a really tough Q and my dad said that out of the 80 or so dogs that ran only 6 got a Q and one of them was Tom. I do have to say he has really done so well in Gamblers. While he doesn't always get a Q because of a refusal or dropped bar he has gotten the last FOUR gambles. Some of them were really tough. Also my dad got him his last Advanced Standard leg so now he is in ALL Master classes. Of the last two trials we have both been running him and he has done well. My dad and I have had our share of mistakes that have led to NQ but all in all we have been really working hard with Tom. He picked up his first Master Standard and Master Pairs Q's and he got another Team Q with a draw team this past weekend- AND of course his A.A.D. (Advanced Agility Dog Title) We got three Q's in all events too to prepare us for Master's Classes. Our next trial isn't until August and maybe then Jerry will be trialing too. We will see how his training is going by then.

Doggie Art

"Mow The Lawn"

Check out the link below- it is pretty funny.

My agility friend Lisa writes:

Schmutzy, Wedgie and agility are my loves, but writing silly, funny commercials is what pays the bills.
While I've never bugged anyone to look at stuff I did, this is an exception.
I just finished a viral spot for Wilkinson sword in Europe (it's Schick in the USA), for a new trimmer made especially for a ladies', um, bikini area. It's actually pretty cool - a razor on one side, and a trimmer on the other.
To get the word out, I wrote a little diddy about how great it feels to have a well-groomed bikini area -- it's a music video called "mow the lawn." It does get a little raunchy, but it's also pretty darn funny.
It's alreay getting quite the buzz on places like twitter and it has over 150,000 views on youtube.
Anyway, this is viral, so I really need help getting it out there. The more people that see it, the better its chance of winning big awards, and the better chance I have to demand time off to go to more agility trials and volunteer as a scribe or ring crew!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MvFSgXpyhoM&feature=related

Photo Shoot with ALL the dogs!

Today I visited my mom since she is off from work this week. She got to spend all day with Emme since my sister hogged Emme while we shopped on Tuesday. We had to get a picture of the dogs together with Emme for the PCOTC Trial Catalog which had a deadline of today of course. It was a complete train wreck. The dogs didn't try to hurt the baby or anything but in over 100 photos we barely got what we needed. In every photo there was at least one uncooperative dog- or a screaming infant. It seemed quite odd that there was one dog in particular that did not listen very well. Bet you would never guess who. It is ironic that the dog who would not listen is the dog that modeled for the dog food company- Miss Abbie Einstein! Here is what we ended up with. These photos will appear in the Trial Catalogs for the four PCOTC trials this year.

Tom's Last Trial of 2008

Well since I can't run Tom- then how could he have competed? My dad was willing to run Tom over Thanksgiving weekend and I must say I was quite surprised with what came about. My dad worked super hard to control the beast inside of Tom. No he wasn't charging other dogs or running like a psycho out of the ring. He was being a big fat momma's boy. He did whatever he could to make eye contact with me or run towards me ( who was very outside the ring.) This made running a course with a Tom quite difficult for my dad.

Tom is a very skilled dog but could not keep an entire run together without messing up because he was looking at me. Everyone though this was very comical knowing how Tom used to be. He had trouble focusing on me for a long time and now he can't seem to handle running without focusing on me. I was glad though that the very last run- Tom's first Master Jumpers run he ran "almost" clean. He dropped the first bar why? Why else- he was looking over his shoulder at me when my dad released him therefore knocking the bar down. My dad kept super control over him until a tunnel when he came out looking for me. He ran wide and was called for a refusal but my dad got him back and nailed the rest of the course. I was so proud of my dad for sticking with "stubborn" and making the best out of it.

I think it was just as hard on me knowing how good Tom is and I couldn't run him. I miss running but it would have been a complete disaster had I tried to get out there. I can't even fit a sneaker onto my right foot. Well let's hope the baby comes early enough for me to get some run thrus in!

Here are some great pics of Tom from trials earlier this year and his 2008 collection of ribbons!

(Thanks Barry Rosen for these great pics of Tom!)

Tom achieved 8 titles this year- Go Tom!

Starters- Standard, Jumpers, Gamblers, Snooker, Pairs

A.D. Agility Dog

Advanced- Jumpers, Gamblers ( and only one leg away each in Pairs and Snooker)

Next year's goal is Standard!!!!

Happy Birthday TOM!

TOM TURNED 3!

Delicious cupcakes

Tom turned three on September 23rd and what better way to celebrate than at an agility trial with all of his friends. He had a Thomas the Tank themed party complete with party box favors for all the doggies and yummy personalized cupcakes made by his momma. He even sang Happy Birthday to himself when we started to sing.

Contact Trial

Yes I am still running my dogs at 24 weeks pregnant. I feel great and my doctor says keep going until it is uncomfortable, hurts or makes me dizzy. I am even allowed to fall down but I managed to keep my balance even though Tom fell off the dogwalk during gamblers. He was fine although it was very scary. JoAnna's mom took some great videos of Tom. Enjoy. This is what agility is about- running and leading your dog around a course quickly with little to no mistakes taking the shortest path and of course handling your dog correctly. I think Tom & I did a pretty good job considering I am 24 weeks pregnant. Thanks Mrs. Lou for the videos. Tom ran 4 runs on Saturday and four runs on Sunday. There are videos for a few of them. And yes it is a lot harder than it looks.
Here are the videos of Tom and me



Here are the videos of my dad and Smartie