Merry Christmas!!!!

Hope that everyone has a wonderful Christmas!!!!

Foster Got His PAX!!!!!!

This weekend in Benton, AR, Foster got his final (20th) Double Q to finish his PAX title in AKC agility!!!! WOO HOO!!!!!! It took awhile to get this last double Q but boy was it worth it!!! Check out the videos below!!

Happy Halloween!!!!

Halloween and Fall

Just a few pics I have taken recently while traveling and of fall and Halloween at our house:)



Our Charlie Brown tree lost all of its leaves in one day!!!

Cotton fields on the way back from Paducah

Pretty fall colors on the way to Paducah

Our Foyer

Muddin' in Memphis

Better late than never...I started this post a little bit ago and had trouble uploading the video. So here it is!!

This past weekend Lexi and I competed in a USDAA trial hosted by 4 PAWS agility here in Memphis. It was great because everyone who normally cannot come to our agility trials when they are out of town were able to be here!! My parents came in from St. Louis and Mike got to come too. We had a great time playing all of the different games they have. We tried Snookers for the first time and I am hooked!! I can't wait to play it again. Lexi Q'd and took 1st place in Gamblers and Jumpers on Sunday!!! Yeah!!!

Also, Susan Garrett was competing here in Memphis as well, getting ready to go to the USDAA Nationals in Arizona!! It was really exciting to see her compete all weekend in person! Here is some video of Susan and Encore competing in Masters Standard on Saturday!





Jill and George joined us competing this past weekend, and they took 6 out of 7 Q's and all were 1st place!!! Wow!!! Poor Atticus (we now know) wasn't feeling well, and didn't want to compete. He has been a sick puppy, but he is on the mend now:)

A great agility weekend in Franklin!!!!

What a great way to enjoy the first agility show for the fall, in Franklin, cool weather, (could have done without the rain), good food, and great friends!!! And a few Q's didn't hurt either! Both Lexi and Foster Q'd in Novice Fast. Foster finished his title, and Lexi got her 2nd leg. The courses all weekend were a mixture of fun and challenging. Foster got 2 more Q's, one in Std, and one in JWW, just not in the same day, so no QQs. I had to pull him from a couple of runs that were just too tight and full of sharp turns. Lexi had a good weekend too, doing her weaves in 3 out of 6 runs. She was even able to put it together with the jumps for her first 2 Qs in Excellent Jumpers with Weaves!!! Very exciting! Hopefully I will have some video soon:)

This weekend Lexi and I will be at a USDAA show here in Memphis with Jill, Atticus and George. We don't do those shows very often, but we always have a lot of fun!

A couple more things...

Congratulations to Marion & Bunny on their MACH!!! Good luck to them at the Lab Nationals this week too!!!

Good luck to Tonya and Jason and their dogs at the DOCNA Nationals this weekend!!!

Monkeys Riding Dogs???

Yes...only at a Fair!! We went to the Delta Fair here last night and that was one of the big attractions that night, The Banana Derby! Very exciting!! A cute act!

A post about nothing....

It was really a very uneventful week! Mike and I started our fall soccer season last Tuesday. It was fun even though we lost by 1. Our porch needed to be cleaned up badly, so I did that yesterday. It was much warmer than I thought it was going to be!! But I got rid of old agility jumps that were broken and had just been sitting there, old tennis balls, dog toys etc. We just don't use the porch much when it is sweltering here in the summer. It looks much better now:)

Lexi, Foster and I played agility over at Janet and Carol's yesterday morning. Lots of people came! Some that I haven't seen in a while, so it was good to catch up and practice for our upcoming shows this fall. Weave update for Lexi...getting better, but we still have some work to do:) She can reliably send through 8 poles, she is about 85% on 10 poles... This is helping her to stay in the poles when she is ahead of me (which is ALL of the time) on the course. She is learning that no matter where I am, if she is in the poles, she needs to do all of the them:)

We spent the rest of yesterday afternoon hanging in the yard and destroying toys:) Last night we went over to hang out at Kim and Lee's house! Their daughter, Sydney, is almost 10 and really getting into cheerleading! She was showing us her back handspring last night! Awesome! She was just bouncing and flipping all over the house! She wants to be a flyer! (The one they throw up in the air, for those non-cheer people) So I will hopefully be able to go and see her squad compete! I love cheer competitions!

Here are some pics of the pups :) Until next time...

A little fuzzy, but the happy sun flying thru the air was to funny to pass up!

Bay jumped thru the pic I was taking, but doesn't it look like Lexi is sticking her tongue out at her??!!

Happy dog!

Lexi is ready to pounce!

No Lazy Sunday for the BCs!

Lexi and Bailey competed in an ASCA herding trial this morning! Lexi was doing Started Sheep for the first time in ASCA and she Qualified!!! YEAH! She moved much better since it was nice and chilly this morning! Bailey was trying to complete her titles in Advanced Sheep and Ducks....and she got both with a 3rd place and a 1st place respectively!! Very exciting!!

After we got Foster up and moving after his nice and lazy Sunday morning, Lexi, Foster and I went to go and practice agility. Time to start ramping up for the Fall Show Season! It starts the first weekend of October:) I can't wait! They both had a great practice today! It was going to be a test to see how much Lexi has improved on her weaves since we have been practicing them....and she passed with flying colors:) There is hope for Lexi completing the weaves in competition on the first try!!! We are going to keep at it!

I don't know how long this fall like weather is going to last but I am definitely not complaining! It is tough to stay inside and clean up when it is just so pretty out! In fact, I think I am going to head out now and enjoy it until the sun goes down! Cleaning can wait :)

Soccer Pups!!

Mike enlisted the pups to help in get his touch back for the fall soccer season!

The Itsy Bitsy Spider....

Wait! Its the Enormous, Gigantic Spider in its just as HUGE Web!!! The lighting was not the greatest to take a picture, but check this out!!! I took the dogs out one last time last night, and flipped on the floodlights and BAM! there it was!!! I am so glad that I did not walk into that!!! EWWWWW!!!




This morning I went to see if it was still there, and it was completely gone!!!

Cat Poop - Snack or Cologne?!

Apparently we have been having a cat in the yard while we were gone and he left some tasty presents in the yard. Last night Foster decided they were not only a snack but a cologne as well. He likes to put a little behind his ears! EWWWW! Took forever to get him clean...and I still need to wash him again, because there is still a trace of Scent a la Poop. So then at 7:15 this morning, Lexi comes in with the poop applied more as an all over body splash. So I had to give her a bath before I left for work...so I was late. It is SO disgusting! I probably will still have to wash her again because cat poop stench seems to hang around for awhile. Needs 2 or 3 washed before it goes away! Foster used to do this as a young pup, so I am pretty sure he coached Lexi in what to do with cat poop! Thank goodness Bailey doesn't seem to feel the need to join in!!!

There is Hope!

For Lexi herding ducks at least! We practiced Thursday night, and at first, it wasn't looking too promising. Then, I think after Nancy had to change out a duck from the group, and Duece caught it, the excitement seemed to get Lexi focused on the ducks for the rest of the lesson! She was right behind them, moving them along!!! After the first couple of tries on ducks in the past couple of weeks, I was beginning to think I was going to have to lead her by the leash or my hand to get her to follow them! WOO HOO! HOPE! We will have to see how she does on Sunday!

Mike and Bailey are practicing for the Advanced ASCA courses on both ducks and sheep at a trial we are doing later in August. They are doing really well!! Lexi and I are going to do Started Sheep at that trial. We haven't made it to an ASCA trial yet, so this will be our first one.

Well this is going to be a short post as I have to get Foster and Lexi out to practice agility this morning!! YEAH!!

A Beautiful July Weekend!!!

Wow!!! The weather here was amazing this weekend! No humidity, 50's and 60's in the morning, and the low 80's for a high! Unheard of in July in Memphis!!! The pups and I have been making the most of it of course!!! Saturday we started out the day playing agility! Bailey went too, and ran the course like she still does agility all of the time. (just at a much lower height) Lexi was doing some great weaves with a really hard entrance, and Foster was just having a blast running the course and playing with his toy! Then we all went over to play Sydney( our friends' Kim and Lee's daughter). The pups haven't seen her much since they moved back to Memphis in May from New Orleans! I think they all had a blast! Today started out with a longer walk this morning since it was 58 degrees!!! Love it!! AND it is supposed to last until next weekend:) Too bad I have to work!


The stuffed alien? toy looks scared for its life!!

Handsome Foster

Foster 19th QQ!!

Here is the video of Foster's 19th QQ in Paducah, KY on June 13th. A little late, but you haven't missed anything as we are still hunting for the elusive 20th QQ and his PAX title. We don't have a show again until October in Franklin, TN. (Vacation in August, and the St. Louis show in September is a little too close to the Franklin show which we do every year) So we will just keep practicing until then!!

Famous Foster!!!

Today, I went to Drs. Foster Smith .com to buy some Biotin powder for Foster. I was going to check what they had on sale before I checked out on the Sale Center page, and just as I clicked on Dog Supplies....I realized that I was clicking on Foster!!!! I couldn't believe it!! How did they get a picture of Foster?? The picture is from a contest they held all of last year. You would submit a picture each month, but alas we did not win! So I guess they can use the pictures however they want.
Check it out here... http://www.drsfostersmith.com/general.cfm?gid=142

I can't believe I forgot !!!

I completely did not even mention how the pups did at the AKC herding trial on the 6th and the 7th!!! Lexi finished her AKC Started Sheep Title with a 3rd place!!! Bailey got her 1st 2 legs towards her Started Ducks Title, with a 1st and a 2nd place!!! It was a great weekend, the weather was wonderful, and we had a great time!

Here are a few pictures by Bill Owens Photography!

#19!!!

Foster got Double Q #19 this weekend!!! He almost got #20, but we had a slight bobble in Jumpers:( Onto Murfreesboro in 2 weeks to try again!!

We had a great time at this new venue for the Paducah Show. It was indoors on soccer turf!! No dirt, soft landing for me and pups, and air conditioned!!! What more could you ask for?! We will definitely be signing up for their show in the Fall!!

However, while I was driving up there on Friday, Olive Branch got slammed with an F2 tornado and severe storms all across Memphis too!! All is well for us and our friends here. Just a little damage to our fence from a falling tree, which Mike has already fixed! We had some nice neighbors who helped him cart all of the tree up to the curb with their 4 wheeler. Mike didn't have power for about 24 hours luckily, but we still have friends who may be out of power all week! Speaking of electricity, our just went out and came back on, but there was a large boom! that accompanied it...kind of scary!

Well I guess that is all for now, as i am pretty tired! I will upload videos of QQ #19 this week!

Congratulations to Tonya and Jason on qualifying for the DOCNA Nationals in October!!!!!

A Quick Post...

before I have to head off to work, and then, this afternoon, to Paducah for an agility trial!!! Not too much excitement here, but I did get to see the Goodyear Blimp yesterday!! It was hovering above work since we are right next to the St. Jude Golf Tournament.


Complete with Red Baron Snoopy!!

And of course, here are the pups playing in the yard the other day. Thank goodness for the big oak tree in our neighbor's yard which shades our entire yard in the afternoon!!



This picture is hilarious!!! Lexi looks SO vicious charging Foster!

Lexi getting Foster for once in their wrestling match!


This picture was by accident. I was taking a picture of the 2 of them lying down together, and Foster started to roll over. He looks so funny!!!

I will be off to Paducah this weekend so:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY EARLY MOM!!!!! (June 14)

HAPPY 2nd BIRTHDAY IMMA-JANE!!! (June 13)

GOOD LUCK Tonya and Jason at your agility trial in PA!!!!

Happy Birthday Mike!!!!!

Taking a shot on goal

Getting his picture taken w/ Phyllis (the snowwoman)

Catching up!

It has been a few weeks since I last blogged! I have been slacking! Mike and I celebrated our 4th anniversary on May 28th!!! He sent me some beautiful roses at work ! I love the vase! I am really liking this color green in everything right now:) (The picture doesn't really show the color very well.)



Last weekend, while we were shopping for new sneakers, we saw these 2 hot air balloons flying over! How cool! I would definitely like to go on a hot air balloon ride one day! When I was little, we used to chase the hot air balloons when they had the big balloon race at Forest Park in St. Louis! Too fun!


We finally got the rest of our downstairs flooring laid last weekend as well! YEAH!!! Here was the 2 rooms we had left to do. We got the carpet ripped up and the old wood floor ripped out, and then we found that the concrete subfloor was really unlevel in a few spots. We had no experience with that, so we had someone finish out the last 2 rooms.

Before



After



The pups and I have been practicing for the upcoming herding trial this weekend, and the agility trial the following weekend. We have been learning a few new handling moves (well, new to us :) ), and just having fun! The agility trial is in Paducah, and in an indoor soccer arena! We have never trialled on the artificial turf! I am so excited!

And today, in support of the Relay for Life at work, I entered the T-shirt design contest and got 2nd place!

So I guess this catches everything up until next time!!

A Beautiful May Afternoon!

It was such a pretty day for this late in May! Mid 70's, sunny, a nice breeze....We shouldn't have to work on days like today! But since I did have to work, I didn't get out to enjoy it until I got home. The dogs and I ran outside with new toys to destroy!!!





Once again they did survive , squeakers and all!

Number 18!!!

This weekend was the DAKC agility trial in Decatur, AL. Lexi sprained a ligament in her left back leg on Tuesday and the vet said she needed to rest it for 7 -10 days. So Lexi wasn't able to go with us to Decatur. It was just like old times, just Foster and I! Plus, Jennifer and her crew weren't able to go, so it really was just Foster and I.

Either way, we had a GREAT weekend! We just showed 2 days. Foster QQ on Saturday, and today he Q'd in Standard on a extremely trappy course!! AND was 10 seconds under time! We were very lucky with sits on the table both days. (Friday was the down day) So that QQ was his 18th on his way to the 20 needed for his PAX title!

Mike was home with the 2 BC's and was working on ripping up carpet, and was going to start laying the pergo in the front room and foyer. However, we discovered a big dip in the concrete in the front room. So now we need to get some kind of compound to try and level it out before we can lay the floor! He was also scrapping glue from the concrete in the foyer. (the old flooring was glued down) Not really a fun weekend for him, but I am so glad to be getting to finishing the last of the downstairs with Pergo.

Until next time...

Happy 8th Birthday Foster!!!!

Foster is 8 years old today!!! I am thankful for the 8 wonderful years of love and laughter that Foster has brought me! Happy Birthday!!

Foster on his 8th birthday

Foster soaring over the triple jump in agility

Foster at 2 months old @ Shelby Farms

Herding some ASCA Sheep!

Mike and Bailey had a good weekend herding sheep in the Open Farm Trial for an ASCA trial! They Q'd in both runs. It was a long course (taking everyone around 7 minutes) with a tight chute (I think some of the sheep need to go on a diet so they can fit thru that chute more easily!! :) ), a couple of gates, and then the sort at the end. Bailey gets a little excited at trials, but other than that they did a really great job!!! Unfortunately, with the rain, there isn't any video:( The next herding trial for us is the AKC trial in June!

Happy Mother's Day!!!!

Just wishing all of the moms that I know, a wonderful mother's day, especially my mom!!!!!

Another Video....

This is Lexi's 2nd OA leg in Memphis, TN this past April. Her confidence in the ring on this run is so great!!! It wasn't a clean run, but as her confidence increases in the ring, we will be able to improve on our handling in the ring:)

I promised agility videos....

I am so excited about how well Lexi is doing with her contacts, her weaves, and especially her table. We started competing last year at the Memphis show in April, and for all of last year, the table was one of our enemies on the course. Most often, Lexi would run around it, maybe get on it, and avoid looking at me. Every now and then, she might sit after awhile. It was far from the kind of table I imagined we would have. We have been working hard on having fun in the ring, no stress, and increasing her confidence. So I just have to share her progress on her table performance this year!!!

A great weekend in Decatur!!!!

We had a great weekend in Decatur at the HOTC agility show despite the constant rain and thunderstorms! I really enjoyed meeting Tonya and Jason's agility instructor, Jacquie O'Neill! My dogs and I really liked running on her courses this weekend!!

Lexi earned her Open Agility Standard Title today AND her Open Agility Jumpers Titleon Friday!!! I was sooooooooo excited!!! She did wonderful! She also competed in her first 2 Excellent A Jumpers classes this weekend, and did really well! No Q's, but we still have a lot of work to do on her confidence and stress in the ring. She has come so far already!!!

Foster was no slacker this weekend getting 2 QQ's!!! One on Friday and one on Sunday!! He also finished his MJP3 title! He was incredible!

Jennifer and Moana got their first Excellent A Q in Jumpers this weekend!!!! They also just missed another Q in Excellent A Standard today where Moana was 1 sec under time, but knocked a bar on the triple:( So close!!! Moana is running great!!! They had a great weekend!!!!

Jill and Atticus racked up a few Q's this weekend! Jill and George came really close to quite a few Q's this weekend too!

I didn't get much video this weekend as it seemed to be jinxing our runs!! :) But I will get the videos from Memphis up soon!

Happy 3rd Birthday Lexi!!!

A Dogless Weekend....

Well last weekend I went to St. Louis to go to Scrap St. Louis, a scrapbooking event, with my mom. I love being creative, usually on projects more so than actual scrapbooking pages, and this event had a little of both from some seriously creative instructors. I had a really great time spending the weekend with my mom. Take a look at some pics from the event...

Mary Englebreit signing a print for me...she spoke at dinner the first night

Teresa Collins and I after her class...what a talented and sweet person!

My favorite project of the whole weekend from Wendi Vecchi's class. Grunge Paper is about the coolest medium I have seen!!!

A very cool chipboard album from Margie Romney-Aslett's class!

3 of my favorite instructors from the weekend, Wendi Vecchi, Margie Romney-Aslett, and Teresa Collins

On Sunday, I went up to the house and hung out with my Dad for the morning. We went for a long walk at Souix Passage Park, and then headed home and BBQ'd some burgers for lunch. A great weekend, but I missed Mike and the pups!!

Well, I am back home, and spending this week getting ready to head to Decatur, AL for an agility trial this weekend! I am so excited to meet one of the judges who trains with Tonya up in PA. I know that I promised videos from the last trial... and I really am going to try and upload those this week... really!!! :)

The Last Day of the Stuffed Pineapple...

Unfortunately, we lost the stuffed pineapple today after a vigorous game of tug of war between Foster and Lexi. All 3 pups watched sadly (well I think they thought they were going to get cookies actually, so they look quite happy, but they were sad on the inside...) as we laid the remnants to rest. On to the next stuffed toy....

A Beautiful Morning for a Swim

Yesterday after class, Foster did a little swimming in the lake. Lexi played with Splash and Pebbles for a bit, and got close enough to the lake for a drink. It was beautiful outside!! I wish this lake was in my backyard!!

Foster
Splash

Lexi