I am slowly going crazy, one two three four five six SWITCH

remember that song... It has been the theme song for my life lately, that or the circus theme music, that would probably work too...

It has been forever since I posted and a lot has happened so this is gonna be a long one, grab a coffee or a beer and settle in :o)


Vacation leave off...

Here are some Vegas/Disney and Beverly Hills pictures:

Santa Monica Pier was great, we enjoyed the rides and the beach, then views were beautiful and it was a great atmosphere.

    

Then we went to Oceanside, it was a stop on the way to San Diego, there was a lot of good shopping.

San Diego. WOW! Loved everything about it. Sea World was a ton of fun with the girls and I loved the zoo and seeing the Panda's. We went to La Jolla beach which was beautiful, there were seals everywhere and the girls enjoyed snorkeling. We also saw dolphins out in the ocean. The girls loved their surprise of Taylor Swift and it was a great show.

Then it was off to San Jose, we stayed at an amazing hotel, it was a mansion that was converted into a hotel. Then we went to San Fransisco to see the Golden Gate Bridge and went through wine country.

Driving up California was beautiful, the Red Wood Forest was beautiful, and the northern oceans were fabulous. I could have lived anywhere in California. I loved our holiday and I can't wait to do it again someday. Our girls were so well behaved, we are excited to have a trip to Hawaii planned for next summer!

Now we are back home... things are back to crazy.

I am working lots. Trying to play catch up is not going well and my old clients are great, new ones are making me crazy. Like today I had a lady mad at me because I didn't have her 14 year old arthritic cocker spaniels legs brushed out and dried perfectly straight, trying to explain to her as I tried to have her dog stand I had to hold up all his weight the whole time as he trickled pee down my arm and shaked because he couldn't handle it. This was after I shampoo'd him 4 times because he smelt to terrible he was making me ill and I still could smell him after that, and after I was done I scrubbed most of my skin off trying to get the smell out, then as I was outside I could still smell the stink in my hair when it blew in the wind, YUCK! So you aren't coming back, OH DARN!!! Then there was the lovely lady who called my home phone 8 times and my business phone 7 times between 9 and 1. New person never groomed her dogs, she wasn't so happy when I called her back and told her I was booking into the middle of October, she started freaking out on me and I hung up the phone. Beauty of working for me, I don't have to put up with it... It may be time to stop taking new clients, I love my regulars... but enough of that rant :o)

Lexi... my big girl is in grade 2 and loving it. She loves her teacher and her class. 10/10 on her first spelling test and she is doing great. She is happy back at dance and working hard on her solo. She is doing a tap solo this year and is loving the hard work! Cello has started again too so she is a busy girl.

Bella... my baby goes to school full time. I miss the little monkey during the day, the house is so quiet, I haven't had a day off yet but I think those wont be much fun without her. She is loving kindergarten and ELP. She likes her teachers and the students. She is happy to go to school everyday which I love! She is also back in dance and will be starting piano lessons in October.

So all in all, life is good. I have lots of plans for some home reno's this winter, we will see what I end up getting done. This weekend is agility so I am excited to play with my girls and hang out with Lexi for the weekend.


I promise to be better at blogging... This was long... over a month and I am sure I missed lots of stuff.

"crazy am I slowly going, six five four three two one SWITCH"

I think the switch should be DRINK!

Fun Fun Fun!!!

I don't even know where to begin!

Vegas-

We had a blast! The girls lived all the lights and attractions. Of course the MnM store was a huge hit! We had Gordon Ramsey Burgr the last night which was amazing!!! I am not sure I can ever eat another hamburger again!

Disney-

What do you even say??? It was magic! I loved seeing the girls so excited to meet the characters. They both loved the rides and we're so great in the park! We had early mornings starting at 6am and we went past 10pm each night with no break and they never got crabby or bad, they just had fun and we all had fun. We enjoyed a morning at the bibbity bobbity boutique, we had a character breakfast and the girls got 24 autographs which was fun and we got in a lot of rides! I can't wait to upload all pictures when we get home... Although that is still 11 days away! Highlights were Lexi and I going on the California screaming at California adventure, it was her first big roller coaster and first time upside down on a ride and she loved it! Bella's was seeing tinkerbell, she was just giddy, and tinkerbell played and interacted with her so lot and it was wonderful! 

We are in Beverly Hills now, off to Santa Monica in the morning to see the pier and ocean and do some more rides.

On the road!

Yeah!!!! Our big trip is finally here! I really should be sleeping because the alarm will be going off very early tomorrow, but I am way to excited to sleep!

We left Friday morning around 7am and left for Great Falls, MT. We got there just after lunch ( it was crazy at the border) we did some shopping and headed in for an early night.

This morning we were up at 5 am and on the road! Thank goodness for the good people at Starbucks! We made it to Idaho Falls before noon and stopped for some shopping to stretch our legs and some lunch. Bella was so excited we found her a Sophia the First back pack and lunch bag for school. Then we got back on the road and headed towards Utah.

Salt Lake City is HUGE! We arrived in Provo just before supper, it is a beautiful place, I wish we had more time to explore. We grabbed some supper and a bit more shopping and made a stop at the hotel pool for the girls. Got them both tucked in and alarm set for 6 am to go to Vegas! I can't wait for the girls to see everything! They have done very well so far on our trip and the fun is just about to start.

playing catch up.... AGAIN!!!

I feel like I am always running 5 steps behind... I thought once the girls were done dance and school life would get back to normal, but I am beginning to think chaos is the normal around here.

Work is busy, just no other way to put it, I am swamped. I am trying to work as much as I can before holidays so I am not behind when we get back, but I am thinking that is just a dream and I am always going to be booking far ahead.

We did get to enjoy a down day last week. We always take holidays in Waterton for at least a week, but with our big trip this year that won't be happening, so we decided to go for a day trip instead. James and I got the girls up bright and early and headed off for the day with Clover. We enjoyed hiking and a picnic, playing in the water and at the park and a bike ride and then headed home. Clover was a champ, she was good with the deer around and all the people, plus she was wonderful to hike with, she kept up and didn't chase birds like Storm does.

James and his girls <3

Mommy and her girls <3

Miss Clover on top of the world!

One thing that is nice is I can finally say we are all planned for our trip! 11 hotels in 19 days all booked and ready to go. We leave August 2nd and head to Great Falls, MT, and the from there we go to Provo, UT, then to Vegas, Disneyland, Beverly Hills (seeing Hollywood and Santa Monica), Oceanside, San Diego, then starting our trip home through San Jose and then over the Golden Gate bridge, up to Eureka, then Portland, Spokane and home. We have so many exciting things planned for the girls, this is going to be such an amazing trip. I keep looking for the fast forward button for July so we can be on our way!

a little rant...

I have been working on this post for weeks... I come on here type a bit and save it... contemplate deleting it, walk away for a couple days and start  over again....

At the beginning of competitive dance our girls and moms sign a contract, the basics of listen to your teacher, wear your hair in a bun, no drugs or alcohol ( I should make sure that this one is just for the kids... not sure if I can make a dance year with no drinking!!) and then a piece of the contract saying that you will not be mean to any other dancers/teachers, meaning no talking bad about your team mates, other dance studios, ect.

After our last agility trial my 6 year old makes the comment... "I think everyone at agility should have to sign a contract like I do for dance, I can't believe how many mean things people say about each other"... then she makes the comment "I wonder what someone has said about me" My heart hurt. I LOVE that Lexi loves agility with me and I don't like that I now feel like I have to second guess if I want to bring her along.

Why as adults do we think it is ok to bring others down? Why do we want to see our peers fail? I am pretty sure there isn't millions of dollars on the line (if there is I am entering the wrong places because all these years I have just been spending millions of my husbands money) We are all in this sport for different reasons. I do this because I love it, I have no desire for world team, I don't really care about Regionals or Nationals. Right now I have 2 little girls that my main focus is to raise and love and make sure their childhood is as amazing as mine was, I want my girls to have every opportunity I can give them. For this year that meant I didn't go to Regionals, probably Ava's last kick at the can to go, but I didn't want to interfere with our holiday planned if we did make Nationals. So I stay happy with the time I have had with her, and I look forward to watching her and Lexi play.

I don't have unlimited time to practice, my backyard is not an agility playground it is a kid zone, I get out to practice and work when I can, I trial 2 may be 3 times a year, when I can. Ava will never get her ATCH, I am ok with this, she hates Gamble, I hate Gamble, 4 master gambles, NEVER gonna happen, she has her steeplchase title, she has her bronze jumpers, we are one q away from her bronze snooker, if she gets it she gets it, she doesn't oh well. None of those things matter anymore, I care about the titles and q's she helps Lexi get, those ones mean more then all the ones I have with her, I know she loves agility because she wants to play with her kid, and her feelings have been hurt lately with Lexi playing with Clover. Blossom is who she is, some times she is the fastest little firecrackers that is just amazing, the next time she is the dog who walks the course and really shows no interest. I love her for who she is, it is always a surprise who I will get to play with :o) Then there is Storm, I learned how much she really feeds off of me, she has always been super crazy running agility, the last trial I was super stressed out and it showed in her, she was slow and kept trying to hide, this was not my dog, and I feel bad that I let her feel my anxiety. People can say what they want, I know that she is ready to trial, I see her in practice and at fun matches, she is great, I need to get my shit together. There is no amount of pressure anyone can put on ME at practice that will simulate a trial and get us working on the same page, so we practice this at trial. It is my money and my choice to do this, no one elses and no one else should have an opinion on this. We had some great break throughs at the last trial, a wonderful gamble and an amazing snooker run, I am happy, I need to learn to handle Storm how we practice and leave the crap of every thing else at the gate...

My wish is that instead of hiding in your tent (or standing off to the side, you never know who is videoing around you, I have heard some interesting conversations in video's, if I posted them WOW would shit hit the fan, I have so many agility runs I can not post because of this) talking about other people's run or how their dog behaves, take a look in the mirror and realize you are not perfect either. Remember that we are not all in this for the same end result, but we are all in this because we LOVE our dogs and LOVE the sport. I choose what height and category to put my dog in, I choose what style of contacts I want with my dog, I choose what method I train. It is no one's business but mine, I am not judging you on your choices. People aren't going to break agility by handling different then you, watch for a minute, may be you will learn something new to try with your dog. How boring would it be for the judge to watch the exact same pattern all day? Instead of complaining how a dog is behaving, may be go to that person and ask if they need some help, may be let them know you have some tips on how to stop their dog lunging on the line or running off course, may be you don't know yourself but may be you can suggest someone for them to look up on the internet or talk to at the trial. The worst they will do is say they aren't interested, but then at least you tried. Does it change anything to talk about them behind their backs?

We all see in the news about bullying getting worse at schools, where is this coming from? Kids learn things from what they see around. Thankfully Lexi has enough sense to come talk to me about what was said and who said it and I was able to have a conversation with my daughter about why that was wrong for those people to say those things, I will tell you I will be much for cautious of who Lexi is allowed to be with at agility trials, although she already feels those are not people she wants to be around. What about those kids who don't talk to someone about it...

I know that I have been guilty of things in the past, but I know that I will be much more careful to watch my tongue, I just want to have fun and enjoy my dogs and time with my daughter, my outlook on trials will be much different going forward.

 

I love this picture taken by Aine, I know that as stressed as we both were, she did have some fun :0)

and just like that is it over...

The beginning of the dance year was frustrating to me, I won't deny it, I was done with it all by November and I wanted Lexi to quit. I like seeing an end product, just as Lexi does, practicing all the time and not seeing what is going on and just having bill after bill and the next item we need to order. I was happy when Lexi said she didn't want to do it anymore. Then came the first competition. They danced their first dance on stage and I cried. I saw the passion Lexi had in her dancing and the happiest smile on her face. She came running off the stage and told me she wanted to keep dancing. That is my girl, Lexi LIVES to be on stage, she can handle being judged and losing ( I credit agility for that)

Our team's competition season was AMAZING! Our girls had 4 competitions which is 12 dances, 1 High Gold (this is a pretty big deal as many teams do not ever receive these), 10 Gold medals and 1 Silver. They had a runner up high ballet points, MANY judges choice awards and their teacher got many choreography awards for their routines, which I credit the girls for too, they make the dances look good! They also made dance off at a competition with 2 of their dances and placed 2nd and 4th, with a prop breaking in one of their dances! Even with blips in the dances our girls remained strong and "professional" carrying on like nothing happened, not easy for a group of 6 year olds. They have a group of very proud moms. I can't wait for next year, I am sad for the year to be coming to an end, Lexi is going to be having a tap solo next year which scares me to death, not her doing it, but how I am going to handle myself not crying every time I see my pretty girl on stage. Who knew I would love to be a dance mom???

But with the end of dance comes AGILITY TIME!!!! Yahoo!!! I love dance, but it will never take place of agility in my heart, that is special because I get to do it with my little girl. Lexi is excited to show Clover off to everyone this weekend and she can't wait to run Ava. Lexi will be running Ava in Master Snooker this weekend not as a junior but as a regular handler, Ava is one Q away from her Bronze Snooker and as much as it pains me I would like to see Lexi and Ava get this title together. They are such a great little team, I miss playing with Ava, but I like seeing how excited she gets to play with Lexi. I will get to have my own crazy this weekend. It is Storm's and Blossom's first full trials this weekend, plus I am running a friends Border Collie this weekend (Torn is my rent-a Border Collie and I just loving running him!) So it will be interesting running 3 dogs in full trial, but I always like the challenge! I am not sure how much my legs are going to like me Monday morning that is 26 runs this weekend, and it is suppose to be rainy, blah! It sucks for running Blossom, but if it is raining there will be no birds which gives Storm and I a chance!!!

I also have several of my students entering their first trials with their dogs and I can't wait to see how they do! And the best part of agility weekends are hanging out with Lisa and Lexi! Plus it feels like forever since I have seen everyone I know at agility, this summer there won't be much agility for us, Lexi and Clover will have a lot to do and with our trip this summer there isn't much time for trials, but that means more next summer :0)

getting caught up in the tornado

WOW... the last few weeks have flown by and they have just been crazy!!!

Dance... we attended a competition in Lethbridge last weekend and it was amazing. Our girls got HIGH GOLD!!! That isn't something easy to get at a dance competition, meaning they scored over 90, well first dance of the day they got a high gold for their ballet dance of Dainty Ladies. They also received gold in their jazz and tap! We made the dance off for the first time and boy was it fun! Chaotic of course, but fun, their ballet and tap made it in the dance off and we placed 2nd and 4th!!! YAHOO!!!!

Agility... We are back outside which means Storm's brain has fallen out... sigh... my bird dog loves her birds, nothing else distracts her from agility except birds... back to working her through it. Last night we had a lovely practice, it was windy so no birds around, she was super fast and right on. Her weaves and teeter from a distance were lovely. I am planning one more practice with her for Monday night before trial next week then lots of focus and recall work for the rest of the week outside so she remembers how fun it is to come see me instead of the birds!

Ava... I have been feeling down with my Ava lately as some of my blog posts have reflected. I have been stressed, getting ready to say good bye. She is 8 and in cavalier terms that is getting old. I have had a check up planned for a bit for her and been worried about taking her before trial and being told that she can't run, it would devastate Lexi, but I had to know she was ok to run. Heart is the biggest issue, cavaliers have a mitral heart valve problem that pretty much all cavaliers will get. We have been lucky to make it 8 years with no problems, and the lucky streak continues. Her heart looks and sounds amazing!!! YEAH!!!! The vet was in shock and kept listening and looking at the tests. It isn't often you see a cavalier with a good heart, she has no signs of a murmur and she has wonderful blood tests and xrays. I am breathing a big sigh of relief and ready to watch Lexi and Ava play for a long time! I can't wait for agility next weekend and watch them take on master snooker!!!

Well it is off to Regina for our last dance competition of the season. I can't wait to watch our girls dance!