We've been a bit busy the past month. It's still hot, so that hasn't changed, but we've been getting creative on figuring out ways to get out of the heat!
We spent a weekend up at the lake last weekend. That was very nice. They have hotels with kitchenette's so we stayed in one, played in the water and had a great time! The girls are true "lake rats" and love the jet ski and tubing behind the boat!
Jeff spent a week diving in Belize with his brother at the beginning of August. The girls and I did some shopping, got our pictures taken in a photo booth and did a lot of crafts and painting.
Jam and I have been to a couple shows and we did GREAT! She is now one qualifying leg shy of being in Masters! :) She did earn enough Jumpers legs to compete in Masters Jumpers at the next show (not until October) so she's getting there. Cool thing is she's only 21 months old! She's truly one special little dog!
September is a little less busy, though we are planning another trip to Legoland since the girls (and us!) truly enjoyed themselves. I'll also start sending pleas to every agility person I know to volunteer to work at the USDAA Nationals. I'm the volunteer coordinator again (4th time) this year and need all the help I can get! :)
Showing posts with label diving. Show all posts
Showing posts with label diving. Show all posts
Monday, August 20, 2007
Thursday, May 24, 2007
Bermuda, agility and life in general...
Simply put...Bermuda is one of THE most beautiful places on this Earth! When you fly in, you see the white-roofed houses all painted in different colors of pastels. It is so pretty! The water is turquoise blue and oh so inviting. And to think I was headed there with my husband and my dog!! We stayed with friends I had made on a previous trip...Frank and Kathy. They have a 200 year old house with an incredible view of the ocean off their back patio. It was spectacular!
We arrived on a Wednesday and within 3 hours of touch down, my husband was off diving and I was off with my friends practicing agility on their beautiful agility field. Oh, and we had already had a dark 'n stormy or two! :) Five of us traveled from the states to show our dogs, so we enjoyed a lazy afternoon with our dogs and our Bermuda buddies. At night, we had dinner at one of the Bermudian's houses.
Thursday I went shopping in Hamilton and at the Dockyards with agility friends, Darlene and Jane. We had fun "power shopping." We ended up missing two ferry's because my watch was 5 minutes too slow! :) My husband went diving with Frank again, though the water was a bit choppy. That night we had dinner at the Bermuda aquarium. I got to pet a grouper (!) and dance with a skeleton (long story). Many rum swizzles and dark 'n stormies were available.
Friday we woke up to a pancake breakfast cooked by Frank and Kathy. We then headed to the show site (the Botanical Gardens) for the first day of the show! The first day was the Team event. I was on a team with Jane and her dog Tizzy and Rose and her dog Kelly (Rose is from San Diego but has been living in Bermuda with her husband for the past 8 years). After the first two classes (there are 5 total) our team (Two Tollers in a Tizzy) was in last place. By the end of 4 classes, our team was in 1st place!! The last class is Relay in which all three members of the team are running at the same time. All of our dogs ran clean and we ended up winning the gold and qualifying to run in the National competition in Phoenix, AZ!! :) I was elated! :) Friday night we went to Rose and Jonathan's for a wonderful dinner and swizzles!
Saturday we woke up to rain...LOTS and LOTS of rain. It rained all day. Despite that, Jam and I ended up earning 3 of the 7 qualiying scores towards our first USDAA title! She Q'd in Snooker, Jumpers and Pairs. We crashed and burned in the Grand Prix, but that's OK. She is a baby dog after all! Saturday night we were supposed to have a beach party, but the rain prevented us from doing so. We ended up at a Bermudian's house for BBQ chicken, burger and dogs...and more swizzle! :)
Sunday it was misting in the morning, but then cleared up by afternoon. Jam and I earned 2 more Q's towards our title!! We Q'd in Gamblers and Standard. She needs only 2 more Standard legs at the Starters level to earn her Agility Dog (AD) title! :) I couldn't be more proud of my baby dog. She is awesome!! After the show, Jane and I walked the dogs down to a small beach and let them play in the water. Jam barked and bit at the water and had a blast! Sunday night was the big farewell party. More swizzle, stormies, good food and dancing with the skeleton! :)
Throughout the weekend, my husband was diving and eventually earned his Advanced Open Water Scuba certification!! He was thrilled to be able to do so...especially since his cert. card will say he did it in Bermuda! :)
We left, grudgingly, on Monday. We had a nice leisurely morning of sitting on the back patio and taking in the view before departure. Leaving was so hard, but I also missed my girls and was anxious to get back home to them.
We came home (to Wisconsin) when they were asleep. The next morning, Dani opened our bedroom door and her face just lit up! :) Erin was right behind her. It was Erin's 3rd birthday so we had a small celebration with cake and presents. We flew back to Phoenix in the afternoon. My parents were thrilled to be able to spend a birthday with one of their granddaughter's!
All in all, the trip was a HUGE success for everyone. I got to show Jam in her first USDAA show and qualify for Nationals, my husband earned his scuba cert., my girls had a ball in Wisconsin, and my parents got some much-needed/wanted bonding with the girls. We didn't get to go for that romantic walk on the beach, but that's OK...it'll give us another reason to go back!
We arrived on a Wednesday and within 3 hours of touch down, my husband was off diving and I was off with my friends practicing agility on their beautiful agility field. Oh, and we had already had a dark 'n stormy or two! :) Five of us traveled from the states to show our dogs, so we enjoyed a lazy afternoon with our dogs and our Bermuda buddies. At night, we had dinner at one of the Bermudian's houses.
Thursday I went shopping in Hamilton and at the Dockyards with agility friends, Darlene and Jane. We had fun "power shopping." We ended up missing two ferry's because my watch was 5 minutes too slow! :) My husband went diving with Frank again, though the water was a bit choppy. That night we had dinner at the Bermuda aquarium. I got to pet a grouper (!) and dance with a skeleton (long story). Many rum swizzles and dark 'n stormies were available.
Friday we woke up to a pancake breakfast cooked by Frank and Kathy. We then headed to the show site (the Botanical Gardens) for the first day of the show! The first day was the Team event. I was on a team with Jane and her dog Tizzy and Rose and her dog Kelly (Rose is from San Diego but has been living in Bermuda with her husband for the past 8 years). After the first two classes (there are 5 total) our team (Two Tollers in a Tizzy) was in last place. By the end of 4 classes, our team was in 1st place!! The last class is Relay in which all three members of the team are running at the same time. All of our dogs ran clean and we ended up winning the gold and qualifying to run in the National competition in Phoenix, AZ!! :) I was elated! :) Friday night we went to Rose and Jonathan's for a wonderful dinner and swizzles!
Saturday we woke up to rain...LOTS and LOTS of rain. It rained all day. Despite that, Jam and I ended up earning 3 of the 7 qualiying scores towards our first USDAA title! She Q'd in Snooker, Jumpers and Pairs. We crashed and burned in the Grand Prix, but that's OK. She is a baby dog after all! Saturday night we were supposed to have a beach party, but the rain prevented us from doing so. We ended up at a Bermudian's house for BBQ chicken, burger and dogs...and more swizzle! :)
Sunday it was misting in the morning, but then cleared up by afternoon. Jam and I earned 2 more Q's towards our title!! We Q'd in Gamblers and Standard. She needs only 2 more Standard legs at the Starters level to earn her Agility Dog (AD) title! :) I couldn't be more proud of my baby dog. She is awesome!! After the show, Jane and I walked the dogs down to a small beach and let them play in the water. Jam barked and bit at the water and had a blast! Sunday night was the big farewell party. More swizzle, stormies, good food and dancing with the skeleton! :)
Throughout the weekend, my husband was diving and eventually earned his Advanced Open Water Scuba certification!! He was thrilled to be able to do so...especially since his cert. card will say he did it in Bermuda! :)
We left, grudgingly, on Monday. We had a nice leisurely morning of sitting on the back patio and taking in the view before departure. Leaving was so hard, but I also missed my girls and was anxious to get back home to them.
We came home (to Wisconsin) when they were asleep. The next morning, Dani opened our bedroom door and her face just lit up! :) Erin was right behind her. It was Erin's 3rd birthday so we had a small celebration with cake and presents. We flew back to Phoenix in the afternoon. My parents were thrilled to be able to spend a birthday with one of their granddaughter's!
All in all, the trip was a HUGE success for everyone. I got to show Jam in her first USDAA show and qualify for Nationals, my husband earned his scuba cert., my girls had a ball in Wisconsin, and my parents got some much-needed/wanted bonding with the girls. We didn't get to go for that romantic walk on the beach, but that's OK...it'll give us another reason to go back!
Wednesday, May 2, 2007
Prepping for our Bermuda trip!
Getting a dog into Bermuda is no easy task! Humans need only a passport...dogs need:
- an import certificate
- an international health certificate
- a rebies vaccine given more than 30 days ago, but within a year
- a microchip
- a tick/flea treatment from the vet (not from the owner)
It's crazy!! Luckily a friend of mine has been through this process a couple times and gave me all the information I need to safely transport Jam into the country!
Now...I've got to get Jam ready for competition! Today she "comes of age" for USDAA-style agility. Dogs have to be 18 months old in order to compete...Jam's 18 month birthday is today! Our training is sporadic at best. I have limited equipment to train on in my backyard and I have 2 kids to work around! We head to class once a week, but as any agility enthusiast knows, you need more than once a week practices before competing so you won't be laughed off the course! :) She's competed successfully in a few trials now, so there is hope!
The girls are anxiously awaiting their airplane trip to Wisconsin. Every day they ask if it's time to go on the plane...and when they're going to Build-a-Bear with Grandma and Grandpa! They've already packed their backpacks (Dani has a Dora pack, Erin has a Hello Kitty pack) with breakfast bars and raisins for Grandma and Grandpa...oh, and a few toys too! They can't wait to get on the plane and have it go fast, fast, FAST into the sky!
Jeff is researching dive sites in Bermuda and I'm looking forward to simply having fun! As a friend said, this is the ultimate vacation...agility, kid-free, beaches, tropical drinks...all in a romantic setting...couldn't ask for any better!
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