Bye Bye Tonsils

My granddaughter Aubrey is having her tonsils taken out tomorrow . Although she has never had a throat infection or any real problem with her tonsils she has what is called, "kissing tonsils". Which means her tonsils are so enlarged they touch each other in the back of her throat which can cause breathing problems ( she has always snored ).
We had a dinner for her tonight to say goodbye to her tonsils and she chose the menu of chocolate chip pancakes and bacon. Yes, this girl who is finicky about eating loves bacon and apparently loves breakfast food. We all enjoyed a wonderful dinner with an egg dish made by grandpa , bacon and chocolate or blueberry pancakes plus fresh sliced pears.

After dinner Aubrey requested to have a jacuzzi bath in grandma and grandpa's jacuzzi tub by candlelight so after a bath with Juliet we let her turn on the jets and enjoy a bubble bath by candlelight. It was quite the family affair with grandma, mom, dad, Uncle Kurt, Aunt Alisha, Zoe and little sister Juliet crowding into the bathroom to visit while she lounged in the bath. It seems it takes all of us to get the girls all bathed!! LOL!!!

Juliet loves taking her bath "Splish Splash" she loves to SPLASH!

AHHH... Aubrey relaxing in the bubbles by candlelight

Sleep well tonight my little Aubrey, we are all praying for you and a speedy recovery. LOVE YOU!!!

Valentine Playhouse for the Granddaughters

I had wanted to get a playhouse for the granddaughters for Christmas but the one I found wouldn't fit through our gate and would require a crane to get it into our backyard so Brad decided he would make a playhouse and we were hoping to do so in time for Easter. Well, as I walked through Costco last week I saw the most darling of all playhouses and it was in a box and reasonably priced. Brad said "buy it" because it would be a lot cheaper to have a kit and a lot quicker. So, after 10 hours of carefully putting it together we have the cutest playhouse sitting on our patio. We may put it out in the yard in the spring but for now it is just perfect. The girls were all excited and dolls and blankets were quickly put in as well as a stove and cooking utensils. The playhouse has a pretend sink, a bbq, and a doorbell. Imaginations can now run wild!


Proud Grandpa Brad

Elancer's Enchantress of the Night "TESS"

I traveled up to Washington on January 15 with my car fully loaded with my mom, Tess and little Ivy. It was a long drive but I enjoyed having my mom along to have someone to talk to and keep me awake. I arrived in Olympia on Sunday afternoon and my mom took the Amtrak on up to Everett to visit with my sister in Lake Stevens. I then had two days to visit with my good friend Julie Clemen and have her check out Ivy ( to evaluate her structure and size to breed) , get her OFA x-rays done and get ready for the show. On Tuesday afternoon Annette Sullivan,( my other dog show mentor ) and I took off to Portland, Oregon for the Belgian Specialty Show and the Rose City Classic, 5 days of showing of which I had entered 4 days.

January 19, 2011 and I was excited and nervous about going into the ring with Tess for the first time since my neck surgery and it had been over 8 months for both of us (Tess is 20 months). She was washed, brushed, groomed and in SEASON!!! Yikes, I had to keep my distance from all the other dogs so it was kind of lonely being isolated. In any case, we entered Open Bitch class and when the judge pointed to us and said Winners I staggered in surprise and then the tears began flowing. I was so happy and so excited to realize Tess had earned a 5 point major at a Specialty Show!! Well, if you are familiar with dog shows , Winners Bitch goes right back in for Best of Breed competition so I had to get back in control of myself and take some deep breaths and head right back into the ring .

Entering the Best of Breed ring is always a little intimidating as you see the Champions enter and then Winners Dog followed by Winners Bitch. Being a Specialty there were lots of entries so it is a beautiful site to see all the Black Belgians in the ring. After examining the entries and announcing Best of Breed I once again was so shocked to see the judge point at me and state "Best of Winners" and "Award of Merit". He told me she was a beautiful dog and loved her movement and structure. This is a day that I will always remember - another dream come to reality in the world of dog shows.

Who Is Out There?

I enjoy blogging and do it for myself but I wish it had a thumbs up comment like Facebook so I'd know if it was even being read. Lol, all but one comment on my blog over the last couple of months have been written by advertisers or people from India
Anyways, I'm going to make an effort to leave a comment of some kind when I read a blog. Hmmm... However, I do visit some blogs that have no idea who I am so I won't leave a comment on those. Lol

Saucie at Paso Robles and Playing with new Camera

Saucie outside in the sun after winning BOS at the Paso Robles Dog Show - Points toward her Grand Championship

CH CR Simply Irresistable --Won Best of Breed and a Group 1 in Toys


Playing with camera took picture in Group

Playing with camera took picture of Bloodhound in Group


Saucie is home from Paso Robles and is exhausted!! Taking a nap with Ivy and Sterling on youth bed in playroom/office

Serafina's Mickey Doodle Bug CD,RE

He did it!!! Mick finally completed his Companion Dog Obedience Title on October 17, 2010. Mick is my first Pom and my first dog to compete in AKC obedience with but it has been a dream of mine since I was a little girl to title a dog with a CD. I read a book as a child called, Champion Dog Prince Tom and it is a story about a dog earning its' obedience titles. Well, that book still sits in my bedside table. Yep, I've always dreamed of competing in the "Dog World" but who would have ever thought I would start this hobby at the age of 52

Yes, this is the book that started my dreams. I actually think the dog in this book was in hunting competitions bbut it all seemed so fascinating to me to have a close working relationship with your dog.

I have always loved animals and did obedience with my dalmation named Sadie but she wasn't registered and therefore couldn't compete. We dabbled in showing dogs using a handler when we had Bouvier's but I personally had never entered any kind of ring with a dog.
I got Mickey in August of "05 as a "show prospect" and made an agreement with the breeder that I would try to show him as a conformation dog. Well, at ten months he was diagnosed with Legge Perthes and had to have the head and neck of his femur removed and he was neutered at the same time. There went my dreams of showing Mick but with the encouragement of new found "dog friends" in Washington I started training Mick in obedience.


Mickey on the day I brought him home at 8 weeks of age

It was in "06 that AKC Rally was really becoming popular and Mick loved it. Rally is doing obedience but you follow signs in kind of an obstacle course. There are three levels, Novice is on lead, Advanced is off lead with one jump in the course and Excellent is off lead with 2 jumps. Together Mick and I quickly completed his Rally Excellent title winning a ribbon in all but one trial.

Mick jumping in Rally Competition

Mick earning his Rally Excellent Title

I also began competing with Mick in Novice Obedience but he definitely preferred all the "happy talk" that goes on in Rally verses no praise during exercises in Obedience. However, Mick earned two legs toward the required three legs for a CD getting a First Place and a Second Place but in between , there were 4-5 trials where Mick would break a stay at the last 15 seconds, refuse to sit in the hot sun and walk over to the shade or just lag so bad he lost points so the last leg evaded us. Mind you, Mick is smart and knew what he was doing when he broke a stay or lagged, he just always seemed to have his own agenda.
In 2008 Mick injured his bad hip so I had to pull him from competing because a dog can't enter the ring limping.
So , finally, on October 17 Mick and I competed in the Bakersfield Obedience Club Trials. I only entered him one day because I really didn't have high hopes and it costs $28 for each entry. Mick and I practiced twice a day and he hadn't lost his ability to do the obedience and was really looking. When I entered the ring that day many of the members of my obedience club were watching to see if Mick would finally cooperate and finish his title.
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Mick during the on-lead portion of the competition. Check out that look he is giving me and his complete attention.

Mick did really good on the on leash portion of the course , completed every automatic sit and looked up at me each time with his cute little smile. He did the circle 8 without flaw , the stand for exam and now it was time for the off-leash portion of the competition. Mick was FANTASTIC! He did lag a little at times but he is a little guy and in order to keep his interest I have to keep a brisk pace to keep him focused. Mick did the Recall like a champ running to me as fast as he could and finishing on command like a well trained dog. Now it was time for the Sit and Down stays for 1 and 3 minutes. YIKES!! He had disqualified several times at this point so I was nervous because he had never broken a stay in training, only in competition.
Mick did it!!!! I love this boy, he helped me accomplish a dream I've had since I was a little girl reading about Champion Dog Prince Tom.
Now I have my own Serafina's Mickey Doodle Bug CD, RE. Thanks MICK, we are a great team and I love you little guy

Playing with Uncle Gibby (Jacob)

What fun to have an Uncle who is a big kid to play with. You can see how much Aubrey and Zoe adore their Uncle Gibby.
Gibby is actually what Aubrey called Jacob when she first met him. She was almost two and we all thought the nickname was so cute it has just stuck. :-)

Make a free picture slideshow

This series of pictures was taken at Calvin Crest just outside the dining hall.