Contrary to popular belief...

I have not fallen off the ends of the earth! I am still here! YAY!

It has been some time since I last posted.... about anything....sorry :( But you know how it goes, life just kinda gets going and it takes forever to catch up. Now I feel that things have settled down and I can take a break (for now).

Hummm, lets see, what has been going on around here....

Hubby is in the final stages of his fish tank! This has been a looong process, some of the items can be expensive and time consuming (or at least the way he wants to do it haha). So we've been doing it in stages.

We bought the stand and canopy unfinished because we wanted to stain it the color that we wanted, versus what the store offered (only 3 colors).

Stained! Rocks and sand in place.

Down to the final stages. Plants and stick added.

The tank now has water and is cycling to grow the bacteria the tank needs. Hopefully soon we will have fish!

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Grace had her first small road trip with us :) Hubby likes to go off road biking and compete in races, here and around Houston. The first race of the season was 2 hours away, at a cattle ranch that we have been to a few times with Riley. Grace was pretty overwhelmed at first. We had to go into the heart of the event to register, and the crowd, bikes, weird noises were just about too much for her. But, we had 2 hours until hubby's event, so we went back to the truck and ate lunch and chilled. I think that really helped Grace relax.

Riley was wonderful and I think he was kinda a big brother for Grace. Showing her there nothing to worry about.

 Second time was much better! She was much more relaxed and was able to realize there was POOP! COW POOP! DOG POOP! and who-knows-what POOP! Needless to say she had a blast smelling ALL the different smells and was able to enjoy the trip and help me cheer hubby on :)
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Agility practices have been going great, Riley and I are learning so much! The other people at practice have said that we have progressed a lot since the start and they just love how fun and happy Riley is. His tail is constantly wagging and just wants to have fun. We might not be the fastest, but we are sure having fun out there :)
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In other news, a few weeks ago husband and I went on a ski trip with some friends. One of the most amazing  things we did (besides the skiing) was dog sledding! It was so much fun! We got to meet the dogs, help hook them up, drive the sled, and feed them afterwards. It seemed like chaos at first, all the dog barking, jumping, lunging, but the second we were off... complete silence. It was one of the most peaceful moments of my life. Seeing the dogs be so happy to do what they love, run and pull, was just amazing.

One of the greatest things about this facility was, they are a rescue. They take in unwanted/rejected sled dogs and give them a job there. They don't do any breeding and once a dog decides it doesn't want to pull any more, they try to adopted them out to good homes.

The team lead dogs

Second


Third

Fourth

Here is a short 40 second clip of my 10 minute "shift". I was the first to "drive" the dogs and I was so nervous! Hints why I say "I'm gonna die!" at the beginning of the clip LOL :) But it was AMAZING!



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So over the past few weeks we've been busy, but things are settling down and getting back to normal again :) Just in time for spring!

We are embracing this lovely spring weather with smiles and wagging tails!

 HAPPY SPRING!

Mr. Riley and Miss. Grace!

How time flies!

I love course work night! Every other week is course work and it's so much fun to see how far we've come. Riley is doing so awesome! Me, on the other hand, I'm still very unsure but I am getting more confident (slowly) with each class. Riley is very patient with me :)

It's amazing to think how far Riley and I have come :)

Here is our very first attempt to run a small course in our beginners class.

Now!

Although I still need to work on his 2o2o on the A-frame :- /

We still have a lot to learn together but I feel so happy in the progress we've made!

Dog fun filled afternoon

We are loving the warmer weather! 72'F, YES PLEASE! After a couple weeks of 20-30 degrees, freezing rain and ice, the dogs are welcoming this beautiful weather with wagging tails! Now, I know I can't complain too much, because I know some of my followers have it far worse/colder! (But, I must admit, I miss the snow (I'm a former Washingtonian) and I think Riley and Grace would love it). For now, us and the dogs are embracing this wonderful weather, because I know it won't last long before it'll be scorching hot/humid at 90-100 F, sigh.

Anyways, today, after I got back from morning errands, it was play time! I set up the short teeter and worked Riley for a bit, he is getting more confident each time he runs it :) I am slowly putting on taller and taller legs, and right now he is only about 8 inches up, progress is progress!

(This picture is before I decided on the shorter legs)

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Next order of business was playing fetch with Grace! I say with Grace because Riley just wanted to chill after the teeter work. So with Riley laying off on the side, Grace and I played fetch/tug. I love the way she bounds after toys :)... Riley runs...Grace bounds! It is so cute to watch :) Sometimes she will even to one last big bound before she gets to the toy. I'll have to get a video of her doing it sometime.

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After a wonderful afternoon outside, it was time to relax inside. As a special treat, I got the dogs bully sticks while out on my errands! I don't know if Grace has ever had one before, but she loved it! As did Riley :)

Nom, Nom, Nom

 

 Fetch + Agility work + Bully sticks = Happy, tired dogs

Happy + Tired dogs = Happy human

I just had to share a picture of the beautiful roses and adorable plush puppy my husband got me for Valentines Day ♥

I have the bug! The agility bug that is :)

I've made a few jumps a long time ago, but I've wanted to expand to my equipment list for a long time. Now I am! First "big" piece is the Teeter. Recently Riley has developed a hesitation on the teeter (he hasn't always had it, it's a new thing), I don't think it's a fear, just lack of confidence. He'll run up onto the teeter... then slowly walk... get lower....creeeeeep....slowly tip....creeeeep.... get a little higher.... and make it to the contact.

So, to practice in between weekly classes I built my own Teeter! Pictures of it fully competed and maybe even some with Riley on it will be posted tomorrow.

 The base

 The Teeter board

My teeter and my friends (Red's mom) mini A-frame

Living in an apartment has it's major down falls. Like, lack of a yard for example :( But we do have a nice grassy area right outside, I just have to haul everything out each time I want to practice. I only have to laugh to myself, imagining what my neighbors think of me when I am out there. I'm sure they just peek out their windows, shake their heads, perplexed, or are maybe even a little intrigued.

"What the hell is that lady doing?", "Is she part of a circus?", "Why would you make a dog do THAT?", "Hey Dave, come look at this crazy lady outside!"

LOL, Glad to know I amuse my neighbors I guess!

Now, when we finally buy a house, my one requirement is a large enough backyard for my agility/future agility equipment :) And God bless my husband for agreeing to it! Unfortunately we are about 1-1.5 years away from affording the down payment it requires/ my husband wants to have...

So, until then, I shall be known by our neighbors, as the weird circus lady that makes her dog do crazy tricks!

Yay for crazy agility people!

:)

How we love play-dates!

I am so happy and thankful we have such a great group of friends who love having play-dates. Us hanging with friends, dogs hanging with doggie friends, what could be better? It brings joy to my heart :)

This is play date number two for Grace! Once again she was such a lady and enjoyed her self. Her, Riley and Red (who has grown so much since we last saw him!) wrestled and ran just about the entire time!

 DOG PILE!

Rawr! 

Red and Grace putting on their scary faces!

Aww Grace, that's his cheek haha

Handsome Red

  

Next we played some ball outside. All the dogs were great about sharing the ball, although at first Grace did express her distaste for the boys being faster then her :) Riley and Red would zoom after the ball and Grace ran behind, when either Riley or Red got the ball, Grace would bark a couple times as she caught up and then all three would run back haha.

Every once in a while the boys would let her win!

 Go Grace Go!

Red loves his tunnel!

Now, you can't have a fun play date without posing for some pictures

Riley and Red posing on the mini A-frame

Got to get Grace in there!

The boys and the tunnel.

Everyone smile! Aww Grace you blinked.

 Take two, Perfect!

Everyone had such a great time! And now I have two happy, tired pups

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On a different note, Grace had obedience class number two today as well! She is very anxious in new places, and there were lots of strange people and dogs she didn't know (well a lot for her, there's only 5 other dogs/handlers in class). She has done great thus far, but today we worked on downs... and she was not about to lay down with all the strange people around her. But thankfully our instructor is very patient and understanding (one reason why I picked her). It took about 15 minute before Grace did her first down and when she did, you would have thought she had done some spectacular trick with the way I cheered! YAAAY! GOOD GIRL! YOU ARE SO AWESOME! YOU DID IT!! GOOD GIRL GRACE! 

(Lots of treats and rubs ensued!)

After getting over the big hurtle of doing a down in front of all the strange people and dogs, the following downs were a bit easier!

Go Grace!

Grace goes on a play-date

Tuesday was Grace's first play date at another dogs house. She behaved very well and she had a blast! Grace was like the cool new kid to play with, her and Sadie played together most the evening, while Riley just played with the toys, which he was happy to do, he had all the toys to himself  :)

 Don't ask how I got this picture LOL I called them all over, told them to sit, and this is what they did! I was so surprised they did it the first time asked, with no repositioning, I almost forgot to take the picture! Such good puppies!