June Vacation Part 2: Washington, DC Day 1

Last Sunday we left Roanoke and took the Skyline Drive up to DC!! So beautiful!!! We stopped a bunch of times at different overlooks. It made for a relaxing drive up to DC.

Monday was a crazy, non stop day! We started out in the Air & Space Museum for the morning. We flew a F-18 Simulator, looked at so many amazing exhibits, and saw the IMAX movie To Fly!

Next we headed over to the National Archives to see the original Bill of Rights, Constitution, and Declaration of Independence. It was really surprising to see how much all of the documents have faded!! Mike, Aunt Barbara, & I all went down to the research area, and got signed up to research in the archives. We didn't have a whole lot of time to look though....we will definitely be heading back there on our next trip to DC!

Then we all met up at the White House! I guess I always thought it would look bigger in person. Maybe if we weren't so far away! lol I think we will plan ahead next time and get the signed up to take an actual tour. ( You have to do it 4-6 months in advance) Apparently, the Obamas were entertaining, so you see the snipers on the roof, and this officer with the big gun cleverly hidden in a black bag. There is no way you could guess what was in the bag...no way at all!! (lol)

From there we headed over to the WWII memorial and the Lincoln Memorial. I really liked the Lincoln Memorial. I hated that they were renovating the Reflecting Pool:( Ugly!!! Then we all went and had dinner at Miewah's Chinese Restaurant, all 14 or so of us!

DC is just amazing! I can't believe I never made the trip before:)

June Vacation Part 1: The Wedding in Roanoke

So we left on Thursday to start our trip to Roanoke, VA for our niece, Lauren's, wedding to Daniel. We stopped in Knoxville for the night, and finished up the trip on Friday. The ride up through Tennessee and Virginia was beautiful!!! So Friday night we went to the rehearsal dinner at Sundara near Roanoke. It is a gorgeous bed 'n breakfast! The dinner was wonderful and it was great to meet Daniel's family. Dan's family went all out, and it was great!!

On Saturday, we squeezed in a drive down part of the Blue Ridge Parkway! Beautiful!! The weather was so nice, in the 70's and sunny! In June!! (I don't even think the lows in Memphis this time of year get near 70! lol) We saw Uncle Joe and Arlena, and Uncle Fred and Aunt Connie at a couple of the overlooks too!! Thanks to Uncle Joe for taking a couple of the pics too:)

Blue Ridge Parkway

Mike & I at our first overlook

Uncle Joe & Arlena at the 2nd Overlook on the Parkway

Best part of Saturday was of course the wedding!! It went so smoothly, the weather was perfect, and Lauren looked absolutely beautiful!! The reception was wonderful and the music by the quartet was wonderful!! So were the tunes later by Chelsea's boyfriend, Matt! Lots of dancing, and fun!! Highlights were the dance stylings of the groom, Dan, and our nephew, Owen!! The send off for the bride and groom was something I have not seen before, and I can't wait to see the photographer's pics...everyone had these huge sparklers as they came down and went out!! Scott & Peg looked so happy, and they did a wonderful job with the wedding!

Mike & Mom

Mike & I

Dan & Lauren

Dan & Lauren cutting the cake

Last event in Roanoke was the family breakfast on Sunday at The Roanoker. Nice, laid back, wonderful way to see everyone before we all headed out in different directions! And a Happy 23rd Birthday for Kristen too:)

For anyone that we missed before we left, it was wonderful to see you, and we will have to do it again soon!!!

Part 2...Washington, DC!! So excited!

HAPPY 10TH BIRTHDAY FOSTER!!!!!

Foster is now 10 years old!!! I really can't believe it!! For the last 10 years, he has brought a smile to my face each and every day. Oh, he has tipped his fair share of trash cans, doused himself in mud,but all done with the goofiest grin so that you can't stay mad for long. He has introduced me to many people, pups, and my favorite sport of agility. Here is wishing the sweetest, goofiest, and much loved pup a Happy Happy Birthday!!! May there be many, many more :)

Foster & I in July 2001, the day I picked him up :)

Foster & I in Nov 2009 after he got his PAX title

March 2011

Happy 5th Birthday Lexi!!!!

I can't believe Lexi is already 5 years old!!! She has been a wonderful addition to our family and became exactly what we wanted when we got her...Foster's best friend! Those two are like 2 peas in a pod:) She has been great fun to train and has taught me so much as each of our pups have.

Lexi & Foster playing - March 2011

Lexi - 2006 (about 6 months old)

Lexi - March 2011

Happy Birthday Lexi !!! (And Happy Birthday to her litter mates Blue, Jean, & Parker!!)

Lexi's 1st NADAC Trial!

Last weekend was Lexi's first NADAC trial, and she was amazing:) She ran 11 times, qualifying and placing in 9 of those runs!!! That is unheard of for us! I was so proud that she was running fast, and having fun!

We played a lot of new games like Hoopers, Weavers, Tunnelers, and Chances! Hoopers is all about handling skills. It reminds of Snookers because you have to plan your own course. We had never run under a Hoop before, but she picked it up really quickly @ the practice hoop before our first run! Hoops can appear in any course (except Jumpers I think) I found out, so she got really good at them by the end of the weekend:)

Weavers has 3 sets of 6 weaves in Novice, plus tunnels and hoops! Very fast and even though weaves aren't really Lexi's thing, she did great! Plus got lots of practice on weaves.

Tunnelers is my new favorite game! So fast and so fun! It is all tunnels!! 13 of them. One weird thing about tunnelers is that it is the same for every level, but you only compete with people at the same level as you. Every venue should have tunnelers:)

Chances was the one class that I figured would be tough. It is all about distance work! That is something that Lexi and I need to work more on:) BUT Lexi surprised me and did amazing! Especially on the 1st course on Saturday! It was a send from a tunnel to the dogwalk, and the dogwalk was at least 10' away! In other venues, novice sends are about 1/2 that distance and don't usually involve a contact... She ran that course like she read the course map before her run! She did great! I wish I had taped it!!!! Here is the map of the course by Matt McCarter:

On Sunday, she did just as well!!! Amazing girl is always surprising me:) Hope you enjoy the video of some of her runs!!

http://youtu.be/IYBxPZOLqdc

I am so grateful for the opportunity to run Lexi at a show, and boost her confidence when running at a trial!! She really looked like she was having just as much fun as I was!!

Fun with Foster last weekend!

Last weekend Foster & I had a great time running together again at the NADAC trial in Huntsville, AL!! It has been a while since we have competed since he can no longer jump the 20" height in AKC. So we started back in NADAC where he can jump 16".

I haven't done a NADAC show since 2005, I think! There just aren't that many NADAC shows in our area:( The games they have are SO much fun!

We did Jumpers, Weavers, Tunnelers, and Hoopers! He had 5 runs and Q'd and placed in 4!! Tunnelers is a little tough to make time, but it is really fun to play! 13 tunnels...that's it! No jumps, no weaves, no contacts....just tunnels!!! How fun!!!

Here are a couple of Foster's run from this weekend:)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jGablFZmMD0

Lexi went too and had an amazing weekend!! I will post more about her weekend and some videos later!!

So I spent most of this week in Phoenix, AZ for training for work. I was excited to go because I had never been to Arizona, and I wasn't disappointed! It was beautiful! So different from here, but just gorgeous!!

Kristin, a girl that I work with, and I went hiking on a short trail right at sunrise on Wednesday before the training began. So here are some beautiful pics that I took :)

Congrats to Carol & Luke who finished 6th in the 24" Height at the AKC National Agility Championships!!!!! An incredible achievement at their first Championships!!!!

So glad to get home tonight to Mike and the pups!! Got a little practice in tonight before the show with Lexi tomorrow. Then the rest of the weekend is dedicated to the herding trial that Mike and Bailey are competing in!

Have a good weekend!!!