Ok I know I'm way behind on keeping up with our blog. I haven't forgotten but we've just had so much going on.
At the end of August we had the boys 4-H Dog Show. This year was the first year they held it at the same time as the Wilson County Fair. They also, had it in their brand new arena, at the same time as the Wilson County Open Dog Show was going on. It was very crowded and very busy. There were almost as many dogs as there were people sitting in the bleachers. It was a lot of fun and considering everything very well organized.
Here's just a shot of us the boys and I (and dogs) sitting around waiting for everything to begin. The guy on the end is Shane's friend Kris. He tagged along for the festivities and was a really good sport even though the show ran pretty late.
Here's just a little bit of an idea of the number of people there. This is just the 4-H crowd. If Vance had turned around and taken a picture of the bleachers the other direction it would have shown many more varieties of dog breeds, and a lot more people. Some of the people for the Open Show were just down right rude. Towards the end of the evening we'd taken our dogs for a walk and a potty break and they moved into our spot on the bleachers. They just pushed our stuff over and sat down, kind of annoying and a whole lot snooty. Fortunately we'd brought chairs and we just moved out further into the arena and made our own spot.
Shane and Hambone competed in the agility class. He and Hambone had a good time and placed 3rd in their class.
In the middle of the agility class the handler has to have their dog sit or lie down for a timed period, usually 3-5 seconds.
Vance competed with Maggie in the Costume class. It's his favorite and he and Maggie always look so cute together. This year we decided to go for a Day at the Beach theme. We dressed Maggie in a bikini top and bottoms and gave her a sun hat and scarf. Lil' Vance did a surfer dude costume.
I really stuffed the bikini top to make sure Maggie was busty enough to win!
It was down to just Lil' Vance and Maggie and another boy and his dog (they used the same costume last year) when Maggie decided to heck with it. She took off her hat and there was just something so cute about it that everyone watching laughed and the judges were decided. Lil' Vance and Maggie won first place again!
Shane surprised us all by placing 2nd in the obedience class. Actually the effort was all on Hambone's part as Shane only practiced with him a week before the show. The judge was really tough and there were close to 30 kids in the class. Way to go Hammy!
Shane surprised us all by placing 2nd in the obedience class. Actually the effort was all on Hambone's part as Shane only practiced with him a week before the show. The judge was really tough and there were close to 30 kids in the class. Way to go Hammy!
Bill, Tammy and Adam joined us at the end. They'd been competing in the Go-Cart races. Adam won second place! What's even more impressive is the fact that he was competing against experienced professional racers. Awesome racing Adam!!As for the rest of our news... Quick updates.
Vance and Shane both had birthdays in August. Shane turned 17 this year! Wow! He got an electric guitar and a amp. I'll have to get some pictures up.
I'm still working for the elementary school. There was quite a bit of hub-bub about lay offs and budget cuts. But I think all of that's over for now. Most days when I get home I almost still like kids. The tough part I'm really wrestling w/ is I passed my postal exam and could apply to carry mail part time. The pay is better, but it wouldn't have the schedule that I enjoy w/ the job I'm at. I'm still trying to come to a decision and don't know if I'll make one soon.
Sorry this is so rushed I'll try to post a bit more this weekend.
PS We also painted our sailboat, and I'll try to get some pictures of it looking snazzier posted soon too.
