A day with Landon

This past Saturday, my church (Lindale United Methodist) had a family fun day at Willard Nixon Park in Silver Creek. I took this opportunity to spend the day with my grandson, Landon.

The cutest three...almost four year old I know.

Time for a quick dip in the creek to cool off.

This is where Landon spent most of his day, climbing up and down the slide on a HUGE inflatable castle.

Frisbee, Dock Diving, Fly Ball, and Lumber Jacks......what more could you ask for?

On June 20, I traveled with my friend Cyndy Douan to the Aflac Outdoor Games in Columbus, GA. Cyndy was judging the Disc Dog (Frisbee) competition and asked if I would like to tag along......she knows I'm a sucker for dog sports. Despite the fact that it was 106 degrees that day, and Cyndy said she "was roasting in her own juices"........we had a blast.....well, except for the time when I momentarily took leave of my senses and sat down on the metal bleachers.....OUCH!!! I think I still have stripes on my......well, you know.





Dock Diving.
The dog starts off on the dock above the pool, the handler throws a toy for the dog to retrieve into the water. The dog that has the longest jump into the water wins.




Flyball, think of it as a four dog relay team. Instead of using a baton, the dogs race down for a ball and then back across the start line where another dog waits his turn to run down and catch his relay ball, all the while jumping these hurdles. This is a very intense, fast paced team sport.

Lumber Jacks!! These guys were a lot different than the way I remember the story of Paul Bunyan and Babe. I had seen this type of competition on ESPN before, but until you see it up close, and hear the noise from each swing of the ax.....you have no idea the power these men possess. The fellow on the right won this phase of the competition, and when interviewed by ESPN and asked of his secret to success, he said "I always try me best"....now you have to imagine him saying this in a very cool accent, as he was from New South Wales. Watch ESPN on Dec. 12, 2009 to see this competition.....Look for me in the crowd....I'll be the one jumping up off the hot bleachers in record speed!

Disc Dogs.....or as I call it Frisbee. This is one of the most graceful and athletic dog sports I have ever seen. To watch the handlers and dogs work together, it seems as if they are speaking some secret silent language. Beautiful.

Toot's T-Cup Runneth Over!

On May 24 and 25 Cyndy Douan and her Pug, Tout de Suite competed in the Tea Cup Agility Competition at the Bartow County Saddle Club in Cartersville, GA. As you can see from the previous photo Toot had a very successful weekend. Toot (as she is know to her fans) finished the weekend with 8 Qualifying Scores, 8 First Place Ribbons, 2 Second Place Ribbons, High In Trial-Intermediate Games, High In Trial- Intermediate Standard, Novice Standard Title, and an Intermediate Games Title!

Toot is a jumping maniac!

Toot on the teeter!

Thanks to Toot and Cyndy for such a fun weekend. You can't help but smile when you watch this little dog in action.

CKC Agility May 2-3, 2009

This past weekend, the Georgia Dog Gym hosted a Continental Kennel Club sanctioned Agility Trial. We were all worried about the weather, but Mother Nature was good to us and only sprikled us a few times. I really enjoyed watching the handlers walk their courses and plan their strategy for the course. It amazes me to watch the teams in action, the dog's attention is on their handler listening for their next command and movement. So much of agility handling is done by body language that the dog reads, as if the dog and the handler understand some unspoken language.

Below are some pictures from the weekend. The Georgia Dog Gym will be hosting another trial in November, 2009 and I hope to be posting photos of me and my dog Benz from that competition. Keep your fingers crossed!

Mike Roy and his dog Flash from Louisiana.

Freda Nichols and Jet from Rome, GA.

Karen Gentsch and ASCII from Cartersville, GA.

Freda Nichols and Cyndy Douan's Tyler.

Atlanta Steeplechase 2009

This was the 43rd year for the Atlanta Steeplechase. It was my first visit, but certainly not my last. It was a very warm spring day with plenty of sunshine, good friends, and great entertainment. The Atlanta Steeplechase is known as Georgia's biggest and best lawn party and that is exactly how it appeared to me! Can't wait till next year, maybe I'll be brave enough to wear a hat......maybe.

Sarah and Perry Cook in the very car they left from their wedding in, 15 years ago this April.

Happy Anniversary!

The Fox Hounds.

The steeplechase horses. Jake saw more than a few that he wanted to bring home and turn into Event horses! Good luck with that Jake.

Steeplechase

Kingston Downs

April 25, 2009

Jack Russells are feisty little critters! They take their racing very serious.

Linda and Meme, my two favorite neighbors having a fun time at Steeplechase.

A very pretty girl dressed in the Steeplechase tradition....hat and all.

Sarah Cook and her mom Rosi Scheel looking beautiful as always in their festive hats.

Steeplechase after party at the Jockey Club

Perfect ending to a perfect day.

After a long day of watching beautiful horses, beautiful hats, Jack Russel races, and people enjoying the day it was time for a little dancing at the Jockey Club. I was privileged to be invited to this private party hosted by the Bouckaert Family.

Jake breaking it down!

The Bouckaert parents having a turn on the dance floor, showing the kids they still know all the moves!

Jake and his friends having fun, I think the green pants changed him into a dancing fool!

The sun was low on the horizion and made for the perfect party lighting.

Ahhhh Spring....

T-Ball with Landon

T-Ball with three year olds is nothing but non-stop entertainment! There are sand castles to be built on second base, four leaf clovers to be picked in the outfield, and plenty of dirt to kick. If you get tired or thirsty, you just leave the field right in the middle of the game and come to the bleachers to visit mom or dad. I haven't laughed this much in a long time. I applaud the men and women who coach these kids....they are Saints in my book. I hope you enjoy the pictures of the cutest t-ball player ever.....well at least in my mind.

More dogs of Amsterdam

This is dear sweet Dharma, the Border Collie that I am living with at my home away form home here in Holland.
I would hate to have to brush her every day!

Bovier's always look like a walking cartoon to me!

This was one sweet fellow.

Missing my dogs....

I can only go so many days without spending some quality time with some fun loving Canines.

While in Amsterdam I had ample opportunity to put my hands on some lovely creatures!

Dogs are everywhere, I saw a dog or two on just about every street.

The Greyhound up above was the official Fun Police, anytime he would see other dogs having fun he would run break it up! Then a game of chase was on.

I'm calling this guy Spike. I have no idea what his name was, but he was a sweetheart. His owner didn't speak a word of English, and I didn't speak his language...whatever it was, certainly not Dutch.
This is Lola, she just moved to Amsterdam from New York. I really enjoyed her, as she made me think of my Benz-O. She shared his same whacky sense of humor. I was very glad to meet her, and her parents were happy to run into someone who spoke English.
Fun all the way around!

Bicycles and Canals

These bicycles are everywhere, moms carry one or two kids at a time. I saw a lady carrying a small table on one arm while riding a regular bicycle!

Bicycles as far as the eye can see....

You can travel all through the city by boat.

More Amsterdam

The Dutch love their beer.

This guy was amazing. The game went on for hours.

Trough the streets of Amsterdam

Most all street corners have a building like this.

Monster art.

The smell of fresh bread fills the streets. Not much help for a girl trying to lose weight!

Amsterdam

Van Gogh Museum



Entrance to the Rijks Museum

Obviously I like this building more that I realized since I managed to upload it twice!

Amsterdam, Holland

Amsterdam-Modern City with Old World Charm

Today I had the pleasure of walking through the wonderful city of Amsterdam.

Amsterdam is the largest city in the Netherlands, and is a very pedestrian friendly city that is best experienced on foot. Amsterdam has many canals and bridges with tour boats and always a bike path along each road. Amsterdam is home to famous art collections of Vincent Van Gogh and the Rijks Museum features art by Rembrandt and Vermeer along with many other famous Dutch painters.

I hope when you look at my photos of Amsterdam you will understand why it was love at first sight for me.

There will be several posts with Amsterdam photos. Enjoy!

McWorld

Well, it seems that we Americans have ruined another perfectly good country. This is the McDonalds in Appledoorn, Holland. I just had to have some fries!