Puyallup and Portland

Well.....the dog shows are finally over! Or at least until my handler recovers from pregnancy! I will enjoy the rest from it all......Sizzle did very well for just being an eight month old puppy. Out of the 5 days she was shown she won her class 4 of those 5 times and ended up going Reserve Winners to major points. She showed beautifully and we were all very proud. The handler also did beautifully and she survived going around the ring numerous times!

Sizzle's Next Show

I thought I was done with this dog show stuff and then I got Sizzle! Thank goodness her handler has moved home! She has been shown once and won her class of three puppies! We have three shows coming up this next weekend and then the Portland Specialty the middle of January. Thank goodness we will have to take some time off due to the arrival of Aiden Paul. I always knew I liked babies!

Trying to be serious!

On the move.....notice the handler!

Looking pretty good!

Thinking she is pretty hot stuff!

Wish us all good luck next weekend! Will post the results!

Christmas Presents

Happiness is not all about the Christmas presents you get on Christmas morning but the people you share that morning with. Seeing my family together opening their gifts is what brings me the most happiness. We even opened gifts for someone that is not even here yet but next year I am sure there is going to be even more happiness!

Jason getting started!

Anthony very happy with his book....a chef can never have too many cooking books!

Darcie very happy with her Coach Diaper Bag....now isn't Aiden going to be changed in style!

It is tradition every year that Jeff and Jason get a Dilbert calendar...this was Jeff's year to open!

I hope everyone received lots of nice gifts this year but most of all I hope everyone got to spend Christmas with their family.

Winter Girls

Winter brings on all new challenges for the girls! From frozen water, ground so cold you can't come out of your house because your feet get cold and the fact that chickens molt in the late Fall. Hello.....why would you want to lose all your feathers so close to Winter. Everyone seemed to be doing fine until poor Oprah went into such a heavy molt she lost almost all of her feathers! Well, Jeff and I were so worried about her so I went online to my handy "backyard chicken blog" where it told us it could either be bugs or molt! Have you ever stood out in the freezing cold holding a chicken looking for bugs on them! Well, I have and thank goodness I didn't find any! So the advice they gave was to increase their protien and you could do that easily by feeding them dry cat food. So the only cat food that I had was Sydney's really expensive cat food so now the chickens are sharing! And to my suprise Oprah started growing her feathers back in just a week. She still looks a bit ratty but she now is warmer and comes out in the yard and does chicken things like scratching and pecking! We love our girls!
Beyonce, Michelle and poor Oprah enjoying a cold sunny morning!

Beautiful Beyonce....Jeff's favorite!

Michelle and Oprah!

Let it Snow!

This past week our friends on the East Coast have been hammered with snow and very cold weather. Here on the West Coast we have been teased with the threat of snow! Jeff says every year if it is going to snow then just let it dump! I think I am beginning to agree with him. If I have to deal with the icey roads and worry about driving to work then it might as well just dump!
In 2008 we had a huge snowfall and I remember it staying around for so long I was tired of seeing everything being white! Enjoy the pictures and maybe we will get some snow this year!

Our house December 2008.

View of garage and driveway and neighbors house.

View of back yard and patio.

I say LET IT SNOW!

21st Century vs. Pioneer

Have you ever wondered how we got all the gadgets, electronics, appliances and anything else that needs a manual to operate. In our house we now have 5 adults (two grown children, one child's spouse and us) I took a look around the other day and I found that we have 3 laptop computers, one desk top computer, 5 cellular phones (4 havng data capability),4 televisions with Direct TV, Dvr's, Dvd and blueray players, 2 Wii's, X-Box, 2 land phones, 2 refrigerators, 2 freezers, 2 washing machines, 2 dryers, 2 ovens, 1 microwave, 1 dishwasher and a whole buch of kitchen appliances I haven't even learned how to use yet! But let me tell you I like that rice cooker!
At any given moment all or most are in use! I have witnessed at one time all of us in one room and 2 are using their laptops, 1 is on their blackberry and the rest of us are either watching television or running upstairs to check their facebook page! I wonder how we got to this point.....and would we ever be able to go back to the pioneer days?

Deciding that we wanted to watch a movie downstairs but needed the blueray player.....unhook and move downstairs! We know how to do this...right?
I know how to do this!

Moved downstairs....plugging it back in!

Evidence of way too many gadgets!

Evidence of multitasking...movie and wireless internet.

I ask how did we get to this point and how do we get back!

Merry Christmas and A Happy New Year!

I hope everyone had A Merry Christmas and are looking forward to a Very Happy New Year! I know at least I am! To say the last few months of 2010 have been eventful would be a huge understatement! I should have been blogging all the way along because if I tried to make up the time now I would be here for at least a month! So....I will just tell you that we are all well and very busy! Enjoy a few pictures from Christmas!
The saga of the Christmas Tree begins!
We named this Christmas Tree the tree from hell....2010 never to be forgotten and the stories oh the stories! From a trunk too big for any tree stand made in the USA, to not being decorated for a very long time, to the lights then not staying on....I have to say come Christmas morning it was a very beautiful tree!
Every year we always try and take the dogs pictures in front of the tree....but since now we have 9 in the family it seemed like a very daunting task! So we attempeted to take Kirby (being th oldest and Amelia's last living puppy) I should mention Kirby hates to have his picute taken, must be from all the years of show photos!
Darcie just trying to get the bow on!

Trying to get him to Sit/Stay

Sizzle not seeing what the big deal is all about to pose in front of the tree! See Kirby this is how it is done!

50 takes later and still not a good picture....Sizzle has given up!

Finally Success!

And Sizzle one take and she is off to her next camera shoot!

Merry Christmas everyone!