Cold Feet!

Okay, so I've shown a lot of horses, no big whup... but I have to admit our first approaching dog show is making me nervous.  I'm definitely feelin like I'm getting the cold feet!  So we practice and practice...  But the trick is, we can't practice too much because if a Mastiff decides he isn't going to do something, you can't force them..  So it has to stay fun for the big guy or I can forget it...  So we do a lot of little practice sessions...  almost everyday.  And I force Mike to take pictures of me so I can see how we would look to a judge...  I have millions of pictures I think!
Oscar does really well.  I put the show collar on him and he pretty much knows what we are gonna do.  I think he thinks its a pretty easy way to get some treats!  :-)

Come on!  Speed it up!

He's not a very fast runner though.  I keep trying to move him along and we do tend to be a little pluggy...  Now I have never claimed to be very speedy but I'm pretty sure if a bear were chasing me and Oscar, I'd be safe.  ha ha!!  Just kidding Oscar, of course I would throw myself between a bear and my favorite guy!  ha ha!

I don't think I'm gonna make it!! 

gimme the treat, gimme the treat, gimme the treat!

My breeder tells me Oscar looks fabulous...  And I have found a dog handler that we are going to try out in Albert Lea in August just to see how it goes...  The handler is from Bronson so if we use her, looks like I'll be making a few mid week trips to Bronson Iowa to drop Oscar off with her!!  Never been to Bronson, Iowa.....  But that still leaves me and Oscar in Omaha on July 16th and 17th.  Please send me all of your good karma so I don't embarrass myself!  :-)

Did I win?

Here's our victory pose!  Hey, even though I have cold feet, I gotta think positive right!  Gotta be prepared...  ha ha...  No actually Oscar just likes to stand on stuff like this...  and my feet, and the cat, and Apple...  Don't be too impressed with my fancy jeans...  Paid a lot of money to get jeans with holes in both legs..  ha ha!  (not really but it took me a long time to get primo holes in my pants like this!)
So, while we are practicing, Dora takes advantage and steals Oscar's chew bone.  Here Oscar is pouting until Dora gives it back to him...  She never did give it back...

Dora, why don't you feel sorry for me....

Enjoy the beautiful weather.  Looks like a few days of the nice stuff which is great...  No more rain!!  More sunshine and green grass!

Oh ya!  I forgot to mention, Oscar went in for a check up last weekend...  He's an even 100 lbs at 6 months.  Hard to believe he's gained 75 pounds since he came home in March.

Watermelon Days!

Kasey, Kelsey, and Brent made the trek to our house to make sure they didn't miss Watermelon Days in Quimby.  Watermelon Days has always been special to the girls ever since they were small so we always try to make it when we can.  Karley was still at band camp and unfortunately couldn't make it...  But Oscar went with us in her place...  ha ha...  Just kidding Karl!

Seriously though we did take Oscar.  We thought we should take Oscar to get him into a crowd situation.  He did great as always.  He wasn't so sure he liked the dragon kiddie roller coaster but other than that, it all went pretty easy and lots of interesting things to look at!

Wow!  So much to look at!!

So we did a quick walk through of the carnival and scoped out all the fun.  Looked pretty much the same as always...  Midway, carnival rides, gut bomb food, watermelon, and bingo!  Whooop!  So we did a little waiting around for the watermelon to start...

Kasey, Jeri, and Kelsey killing a little time before the Watermelon

Kelsey, Brent, and Kasey waiting for Watermelon

A helicopter came and landed...  That was a little random...  Then the free Watermelon started.  Everybody got their big hunk and dug in.  Seeds were flying!!

Then Kasey was convinced she wanted to win a poster so the kids scoped out the booth looking for the ideal poster.

Kasey decided she wanted a Superman poster and as she mustered all her dart skillz, she actually was successful hitting the poster she wanted.  Way to go Kasey!!
Then we had some wild late night Bingo action.  It got a little heated and we never did win.  Kasey was out for blood but alas, never victorious...  next year you evil Bingo stand!!

When we were finally discouraged enough to quit pumping our quarters into the bingo cards, Brent decided it was time for more food...  Kelsey and Brent had already downed a bag of cotton candy and Watermelon, but they hadn't experienced the Watermelon Days Funnel Cake yet...  We couldn't miss out on that!

mmm....  Powdered Sugar and Grease!

Then it started getting late and cool so we decided it was time to head home.  Oscar was pooped as well.  So, we wrapped up another Watermelon Days.  I was a little disappointed I didn't get to see many of my old classmates.... There were a lot of people I didn't recognize.  I guess nothing stays the same unfortunately.  But we all had a fantastic time.

It was a great Watermelon Days!!

Sunday, the weather was a little cool to start out with but eventually it warmed up to a nice humid June day.  Mike and the boys decided to take a little break from all their outside work and enjoy the shade in the cool garage for a few minutes.

Rasmus (or melon head), Mike, and Oscar

Mike took care of the yard work while the girls and I ran to Spencer for groceries.  Brent had to leave fairly early this morning as he had a trip to Chicago planned so he needed to get back to Minneapolis to pack so he could leave again.  The girls ended up heading back to Fargo at about 3:00 p.m.  It was a great visit and we are always sad when they have to go.
Finally though we had the opportunity to actually do some riding later this afternoon.  We certainly have some warming up to do.  Mike's horse Rev was a little goosey...  Lucy did great just like always.  At least we finally got that first ride of the year out of the way.  :-)

It was so nice, even the kittens decided to appear for a little while.  This was the first day I have seen them venturing outside.  The are still tiny little pip squeaks..

It was a great weekend.  Now as the weekend is winding down, I'm looking outside to a stormy looking sky. It's looking green and the thunder and lighting are really rolling!! Hopefully no hail tonight!  Keep your fingers crossed!  Talk to you next weekend!

Happy Father's Day

We headed to Quimby for Father's Day to spend the day with Dad.  Oscar jumped into the truck and off we went.  Can you tell he loves to ride in the car?  He always thinks we might drive through McDonalds or something...

I see the Golden Arches... Oh no wait, just a mirage...

It was a beautiful day out on the deck so we spent a lot of time outside.  It was a little warm so Oscar enjoyed his ice water beverage...  He loves the cubes..

We were joined by my family.  Uncle Ron, Aunt Cathy, and Cousin Jonathon.  Somehow dad managed to avoid all my pictures that I took.  Not sure how he worked that..  But I caught Mom once...

Oscar met a new friend.  Patches...   and promptly stole his toy...  And got it all drool y...

The grilled chicken was good.  Mike only started one big fire.  And usually I'm the fire starter...  so I felt vindicated!

One, Two, Three, Kick!  One, Two, Three, Kick!

I half way expected the chickens to start dancing every time Mike opened the lid of the grill.  I'll probably have nightmares about that tonight!  Eventually it got a little warm on the deck for Oscar so we moved inside where Oscar got to know Aunt Cathy and Bella a little better.

Then we ended up heading home.  Oscar missed his pals so we couldn't be gone too long...

Happy Father's Day Dad!  Love ya!

Oscar's activities

Flagfest

Oscar continues to travel around and gain lots of good social experience.  Here's our picture from the parade last week.  He did such a great job!  I was so proud of him.  He was quite a hit.  We continue to practice all of our showing techniques and have actually registered for our first show mid July.  Oscar is entered in the 6 to 9 month Mastiff puppy class.  Too bad he's saddled with me because I really have no idea what I'm doing.

But I've gotten lots of advice from my Iowa Great Lakes Kennel Club so I guess we will just show up and have fun.  Oh well.  Can't be too embarrassing right?  If I can show a horse, I would think I would be able to show a dog.  Here's more pics of us practicing...  Please note my fancy shoes...  I think I'll wear this special outfit when I show.  What do you think?  Ha ha.

All the practice is actually a lot of fun.  Molly and Rasmus didn't want to get left out so Molly gave it a shot.  She actually did excellent for a first try.  I was impressed with how well she listened...

This is easy!

Then unfortunately Rasmus gave it a shot...  What can I say..  A picture says a thousand words...

This is hard!  Now what am I supposed to do??

Yep, I can tell this isn't one of Rasmus's gifts...  He can shake, sit, and roll over so I guess that will have to be his niche.  haha..  Then after practicing for awhile, time to relax!

Looks like I lost my drink..  The boss decided he wanted it...  Wish us luck in Omaha July 16th and 17th.  We will need it!  Have a great weekend!  Father's day tomorrow so tell your Dad you love him!!  :-)

Karley, Come Back!!

Karley's school is out, ACT's are done and she actually had about 4 spare days.  Ah, the life of a social butterfly teen.  So Karley came home for a few days.  Dora and Apple absolutely adore Karley so they are always super happy when she's here.

Watching America's Next Top Model

So whenever Karley comes down, she pretty much has two furry creatures glued to her side everywhere she goes.  Oscar and Karley are buddies as well. 

Since Karley's time was brief, we spent it outside in the nice weather.  We messed with the animals, sat around in the house, watched "America's Next Top Model."  (not my choice I can assure you) and we got some shopping in...  But mostly we just bummed around the house.

Karley watering the flowers

But then Karley was gone and now we are all sad  :-(  Yep, she's off to band camp for two weeks and then hopefully back for a couple weeks at the end of July before soccer starts in August.  We miss you Karl!!  Love Oscar, Dora, and Apple (and Mom).

Even Watussi's have BFFs

Well, Thor has been here for a week and he's finally settled down enough to go outside.  He and T-Bone have become steadfast BFF's.  It's pretty cute watching them play around together...  Thor's temperament has much improved now that he's got a best friend.

T-bone and Thor best buds

Thor is even making friends with Rosie!!

Rosie and Thor

 Thor is looking a little better now.  He's been wormed and getting regular feed now so he's looking not so straggly anymore.

 Little T-Bone is even started to get his horn nubbin's...  If you look real real close, you can see them...

What are you lookin' at?

 It's been a pretty busy weekend but not so bad.  On Saturday, Oscar and I rode the Iowa Great Lakes Kennel Club float in the Spencer Flagfest parade.  It was fun and really exciting when the car ran into our float..  But no one was hurt and the float wasn't damaged so we continued on.  The temperature was nice and Oscar took in all the excitement like a trooper.  Here's a picture of us dressed up in our red/white/blue colors before we left for the parade.

Lookin' patriotic!

Sunday was a quiet day.  Laundry catch up and since it was gloomy outside, we did a little haircutting in the garage...  It was Dora's turn today.  She was looking pretty shaggy but now she's a pretty girl!!

Is this a dog or a mop?

All cleaned up and no where to go!

Oscar has been hanging in the house most of the weekend.  He's got all his toys to keep him entertained.  Poor guy has been losing all his baby teeth lately so he's been doing a lot of chewing.  I'm thinking he's just about done with the teething hopefully.

chew, chew, chew, chew...  Leave my toys alone...

And now we are just patiently waiting for Karley to get here.  Karley is going to spend a few days here with us until she's got to head off to band camp.  So all in all, a pretty quiet weekend.  A little rainy, a little cool, but not too bad.  :-)  See ya next weekend!