My favorite shot

Photo taken by Jen at Mambomutts. Jen was AWESOME and she took some really, really lovely pictures of the baby and me and some of the baby and the dogs too.

Here is her website:

http://www.mambomutts.com/

E

Radomness

Hi all

First of all, photos coming soon! I had a photo shoot done of Lolo the dogs and I for Fathers Day - we got some amazing pictures and I will post them and a link to the photographer soon.

We are now living in N.Van with my folks and things are going well. I am weeding my dad's garden and my mom has been making amazing dinners for us - mom, can you keep doing that once we move?!

The dogs are doing well, I have a photo of my Dad and Arthur cuddling on the couch. Might save that gem for future use...

Baby is almost 11 months old. Where the heck does the time go?! He has been sleeping through the night for a few nights now - which is quite frankly fantastic.

Photos soon!

E

He did it!

Tyler, for the very first time, qualified for Nationals with a heck of a lot of points to spare!

Here is a break down of his runs, so that I can remember later.

Gamblers 1: 38 opening points, he did one mini twice, no gamble (it was tunnel, the weaves from about a mile away, we didn't get the weaves)

Standard 1: Tyler's moment of glory - 13 seconds under time and clean! An amazing 113 points.

Jumpers 2: end of a very, very hot day - one refusal and one bar down for 10 faults. Still got 65 out of 75 points, not bad.

Day two was cold and rainy.

Standard 2: One bar down 95 points. This was a nasty course and I am amazed that that is the only mistake he made!

Jumpers 2: a beautiful run, his best ever. But, he ran right past the last jump. Minus 20 points. We ended up with 55. But this was really his best run ever.

Gamblers 2: 30 points in the opening, which was good because it was hard to get points in this run. No gamble, it was jump and then out to the off side of the tunnel.

End of the day - 396 points!! Keep in mind you need 350 to qualify.

Good, good dog!!

We aren't off to nationals, I don't want to drive out there with Rob, the baby and the dogs because the agility days are sooooo long. We will see where it will be held next year.

E

Update

Sorry, no photos!

Here is what is going on at our house.

Mom, Loic and I just got home from Powell River where we spent two nights. Loic decided not to sleep for a few hours each night which was Not Fun. Before we left, Jody and I painted a wall in the house and packed for one whole day (thanks Jody!). Rob did a lot of packing while we were in PR.

Tonight (Thursday) I sold our table and chairs and the house is very empty. Rob and I are currently sitting on dog beds in the living room :) Toby is happy with that! I am at my BCIT course all day tomorrow and will be at BC/Yukon Regionals with Tyler all weekend...wish us luck! The baby will be with me for the mornings and Rob will pick him up at lunchtime. Ironically, I will be driving to and from Regionals from N.Van, about 40 minutes further than if we still lived in Maple Ridge!

This is our last night at our little house and I will miss it. I love the trails and people that we have met here and this is where we had Loic (well, at the hospital about three blocks away). I went into labour here and this is where we brought him home from the hospital.

It will be very nice to be living three minutes away from my office when I go back to work in August, and Rob is really, really looking forward to not commuting anymore. He has been leaving around 5:30 am (!) so that he could carpool but not anymore!

A big thank you to my folks who are putting us up starting tomorrow until the beginning of July; I think it will go well, as long as Tyler co-operates...

Will post photos of the squid soon, I promise! And haven't posted a recipe because, well, I haven't been cooking!

Wish Tyler and I luck at regionals,

E

My lack of bebe photos...

...is due to the packing frenzy going on at our house right now. That, combined with the BCIT course I am in plus the homework (the class is very interesting by the way) plus keeping the squid and the dogs entertained leads to some very busy days!

We went to the Aquarium this week to see Jody and to wish her a Happy Birthday, and we have been walking on the dikes with Tracy, Ben and Tyler and Toby's BFF Kootney the ridgeback cross. Toby only had to have two baths this week, I think the culprit was goose poo...

Next week will be chaos - I am heading up to PR on Tuesday, home Wednesday, at the course all day Friday and then, drumroll please, we are heading to Regionals on the weekend. My goal: to qualify with Tyler. We have come close in the past and last year beat our goal of 300 points, but this year we are aiming for 350 and one of those shinny Q ribbons. Wish us luck!

E

Let's make chicken soup!

Now that you have made some lovely stock, it is time to use that stock to make some healthy soup!

I take about half of my stock and freeze it and then use half to make a simple veggie and chicken soup.

Put your stock in a pot and add to it the following veggies, diced up into soup sized bites (pretty small pieces):

-one onion

-two carrots

-two stalks of celery

-one pepper (red, yellow or green)

-a head of broccoli

If I have it on hand, I do add in a diced zucchini and sometimes some diced potatoes. Any veggies will do!

Then throw in some bay leaves and some more dried thyme and salt and pepper. At this point I also add in the chicken meat that fell off of the bones while making the stock. You can also add in some more cooked chicken too.

Simmer until the veggies are done and serve over pasta or with a loaf of bread. Yummy.

E