Some photos....

So...what have we been up to? And why haven't I been blogging? Well, we have been up to quite bit..in fact, the last two weekends I have had no plans - which has been amazing! We trialed like MAD to get to our MACH, went to a few FB games with some friends (Penn St and Michigan), traveled for work, traveled up to Michigan, Christmas, more travel to Michigan...and now just trying to re group. So...in no particular order...here we go....

 Baby Ace at 5 mos - taken at the Cleveland trial in May. Lord, was he cute...a holy terror, but cute. How has he changed? Primarily, he has gotten darker - and he does listen better. Like all men, he has selective hearing.

 This picture is priceless to me. Taken by Virgil Smith of Pawprints.

 Ellen, my breeder, sent me a CD of photos and videos from the first 8 weeks of Ace's life...this was on there. How can you not love this face? (he thrives on that by the way - you can't yell at me cuz I am too cute. Yes, little buddy, I can.)

 Love this picture...captures the spirit of my little girl when she is on the agility course. Taken at the Cleveland trial site, sometime before her MACH.

 Ace was about 6 mos old in this picture. He wanted the ball and told me about it. After he yelled at me, it got put away. One of the hard and fast rules in this household it that you DO NOT bark at your mom for a toy.

 Ace and his littermate, Ella (MS Total Elation) in October. Lee and Ella live about 15 minutes from the trial site in North Olmstead and invited us over for a swim and a BBQ. She has a pond on her property and they had a geat time - although Ace nearly drowned. He latched on to a wire in the middle of the pond that usually held the fountain, which Lee's hubby had taken out to repair - he would not let go and was clearly getting tired. We had to get in the paddle boat and go out and force him to let go. It was terrifying.

 Which one is Ace? In December and January, I had the opportunity to show Ace's mom, Amber, for my breeder. She was recovering from a broken foot. Amber was just a few pts away from being invited to AKC nationals - and by the time Ellen realized it, it was too late to get the points. I had told Ellen I would have gotten the points for her. So...I went and ran her. We finished our short time running together 22 pts shy of MACH - we got three QQ and 106 pts. For 2012 nationals, we got half the QQ needed (6 needed) and 1/4 of the pts (400 needed). She is an awesme dog and was a blast to run. Not many dogs will run for another handler, let alone run as awesome as Amber did for me. More important, she had fun. Oh yeah, who is who? Ace is on the left, his brother Blue, is on the right. Ace is a bully bruiser...and Blue-y is a lover, wants to cuddle all the time.

 Seriously...what did you do all day while I was at work making money to pay for dog biscuits and agility?

 Take a guess on who this is....ok, its Blue. He is significantly lighter in color than my little wild thing. :)

 Ace, Blue and Mama Amber. Amber is barely 20 inches tall and 45 lbs...petite. The sire of this litter was black, Amber is a dark golden...and look at these boys, esp Blue! And only one black puppy in the whole litter...go figure. These puppies are nice size, as they have small lineage - Cody, the father, is about Chelsie's height and about 8-10 lbs heavier. This is on the small side for a male. No complaints from me.

 Ah, the fun ones....at the beginning of the run for all the marbles, our MACH run. I always bend down and kiss her and rub her back - I nuzzled her nose for a few seconds longer on this run. Key to note Bill and Maggie in the background. I think they were more nervous than I was. :)

 I can do it mom...just give me the signal! I love this photo...it speaks volumes of our relationship and the trust she has in me...

 We did it! The judge, Christie Bowers, is a good friend of mine...she really wanted to be standing on that course when we took our victory lap. It was meant to be. I love Chelly in this picture...I did it mom, I did it!

 Love this picture too...so, so proud of her.

This was on the CD my breeder sent me. Hours old in this picture...his mom's paw protecting him.

Our MACH run. I still remember it like it was yesterday....

Ok, all for now...I am working from home tomorrow...in case anyone hadn't heard, the Armageddon is coming tomorrow....