Happy Howl-o-Ween!

Odin, Loki and Freya wish everyone a very Happy Howl-o-Ween!

 

First Win

Guess who turned 6 months old and gets to play show girl with our fabulous handler.....Freya! Freya headed to the 4 day Boise, Idaho show circuit two weekend ago for her second weekend of shows which were indoor so that would be something new for her to experience in addition to learning the ropes of showing overall.  Going into this weekend we had no real expectations for her other than to make sure she was having fun and showed well...she is a puppy after all.

To our surprise Freya ended up going Reserve Winners (runner up) Thursday, Friday and Saturday, Best Puppy in Sweepstakes on Friday, Winners of Sunday for her first show point, Best Brittany Puppy and Sporting Puppy Group 4. 

We are thrilled with how she did and she's off to a great show career!

Now a Grand Champion

We officially have a AKC Grand Champion in our presence! Ch. Odin handled under the expert skills of his pro handler Terri Erickson finished his title at the Eugene Kennel Club show on Sunday, September 7th by going Best of Breed for a 5 point major. 

Odin's show career began as a joke and he has ended up going further than we ever imagined including a trip to Westminister and completing not only his show Championship title but now his show Grand Championship title thanks to help from great people along the way. 

Congrats to our boy now known as GCH Odin!

 

Twelve Years

Yesterday, Ben and I celebrated our anniversary...twelve years! In some ways, it seems like yesterday that we were saying "I do", but in other ways, with all of the things we've done together
over the years (adding in not only Odin, but Loki and two months ago Freya, trips all over the world, buying our first home, selling it and then buying our second home complete with acreage, and so on), it seems like more than twelve. Happy Anniversary to my wonderful hubby and here's to many more.

4th of July

We had a great time celebrating the 4th of July.  We spent the morning relaxing, and then headed down with Freya to Ben's cousins who were having a party at their house on Lake Hicks in Lacey. While the weather was warm it wasn't too sunny which meant we could enjoy going out on the dock, tubing and introducing Freya to the water. 

We lucked out with no rain and got to enjoy fireworks across the water before heading home with a very tired pup (she was truly spoiled by everyone all day) and got to see fireworks all up the I-5 corridor. When we got home it was surprisingly quite for being the 4th with only a handful of distance fireworks being set off. 

All in all, it was another great holiday spent with friends, family and good times. Here's a few pictures of Freya learning that water can be fun.

All in A Fun Match

Yesterday I headed down to Spanaway with Freya and Loki for the Puyullap Valley Dog Fanciers  fun match. The fun match is a dog show that isn't for points and is much more relaxed than a normal show...you can wear whatever you want instead of a stuff suit which was great for the hot weather. The show is intended for people to get some experience on their puppies since they have various puppy classes including 3-6 month puppy and open class.

For Loki the show was merely practice for an upcoming show that I'll be showing him myself in since he hadn't been in the ring with me in over 8 months and ended up picking up a sporting group 3. The highlight of the day and reason we went to it was for little Miss Freya. This was in fact her very first time being in a show ring and learning how to be a show girl. I'm not really sure she figured anything out other than she got lots of attention and ran around for treats but that's ok, you gotta start somewhere. Freya had a good show and ended up earning a sporting puppy group 3 for her very first show ribbon. I'm looking forward to seeing her compete for real in a few more months for real points.

The Fur Kids

Since Freya's arrival our evening routine has definitely changed since you can't take your eyes off her for a minute without her getting into something when she is loose in the family room. The other big change is that we are spending a lot more time laying on the floor while she learns the house rules which include no doggies on the couch unless invited up.

The good thing about this new routine is that were finding ourselves relaxing a little more than we used to and the fur kids seems to enjoy it since one of their favorite positions is cuddled up and on us.

Meet Freya

Memorial Day weekend we welcomed a new addition to our family with the addition of 8 week old Windfalls I Put U Under My Luv Spell "Freya". She is spunky, sweet and will definitely keep Odin and Loki in line. Were looking forward to seeing her in the field and show ring like her parents, Fire and Niki very soon.

Celebrating 4

Yesterday we celebrated our sweet little trickster's birthday. 

Happy 4th Birthday Loki (C. Lacey Mtn's B Campbell Little Jester, JH)

Happy Birthday Ben

When Cinco de Mayo rolls around we also get the double fun in our house as it is Ben's birthday as well. This past Monday Ben celebrated his 37th birthday with some of his friends and co-workers for with dinner and drinks at JJ Mahoney's in Redmond.  Since he recently bought himself a new hunting rifle back in April he got some specialty beer, ZigZag from the Portland Brewing Company as his gift.

Spring Time

I always love this time of year, the days are longer, we can take walks with Odin and Loki without needing to bundle up and wear a headlamp and the Cherry Blossoms are in bloom.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Wishing everyone a very Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Westminster

Odin had the privilege of getting to compete in the 138th annual Westminster Kennel Club dog show this past week in New York for the very first time. He was shown by his handler Terri Erickson who has been campaigning him all year long in the show ring.

Westminster for those not familiar with dog shows is one of the last benched shows in the county which means that after the dogs show in the ring they spend the rest of the show day benched so that the public can see them. Odin (and Ben) enjoyed hamming it up for the public and everyone who wanted to pet and take pictures of him throughout the day. Odin also enjoyed all the treats he was feed to keep him a happy boy.

The link to the Brittany judging at Westminster our Odin is 5th in line
http://www.westminsterkennelclub.org/videos/Breed%20Judging/2014/Sporting/pid:YydNnSKZIaKx 

While we didn't come home with ribbons the adventure and being a part of this experience was worth every minute and hopefully we'll be lucky enough to make it back in the future before Odin retires from showing.

All in a NYC Long Weekend

We just returned from a whirlwind trip to NYC for 5 days of fun and of course the main reason for the trip, the Westminster Kennel Club dog show which Odin was competing in. The trip to NYC was a first for Ben so it was fund getting to show him as many sites as we could pack in while we had free time.

Our traveling companions included 3 other adults and 4 other digs which made for a very cozy and crazy stay at The New Yorker Hotel. We were able to see the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, the 9 11 Memorial, Times Square, FAO Schwartz, Empire State Building, Carnegie Deli for Ben's 1 pound corned beef sandwich, and we went to see the Phantom of the Opera.

We lucked out weather wise and only had snow one day of the trip but boy was it cold while we were there. We were very glad to have made our flight home before the blizzard that that hit the next day and look forward to hopefully a return trip in the future.

Goodbye 2013, Hello 2014!

2013 has been a year filled with highs and lows for our family. There have been frustrations and disappointments, of course.. but they have been far, far out-weighed by the good. In addition to a lot of really wonderful time with my family and friends, I can look at this list and see proof of forward motion, of goals met or —more importantly— actively in progress. Some of the major events of the year included:

• Created a new logo for Campbell's Brittanys (www.campbellsbrittanys.com) website featuring Odin and Loki and our new soup can logo 
• Celebrated Odin turning 5 and Loki turning 3
• Odin won his third Best of Breed show win with his awesome handler, Terri Erickson
• Celebrated Loki finishing 2012 as the number 3 derby dog (field class in Field Trials) for the Northwest Field Trial Council
• Loki earned his first broke dog field trial placement in a open gun dog stake with 14 other dogs entered
• After a year of showing at various shows throughout Washington, Oregon, California, and Utah, Loki earned his show championship and now is CH. Lacey Mtn's B Campbell Little Jester, JH
• Ben and I celebrated our eleventh wedding anniversary
• Ben and I checked off another travel destination on our list with a short getaway to Costa Rica

We hope you all had a wonderful 2013 and wish you a fabulous 2014!

Happy 3rd Birthday Loki!

Happy third Birthday to our sweet Little Dude, Loki! little boy you're one! No longer really a puppy, I take a moment to remember you as you were. You were fuzzy and sweet, and fit right on my lap where you would not leave. You cried for your First Mom, but have since learned she never really left you, only brought you to my care. You snuck under fences and stuck your face in my camera lens, making it nigh impossible for me to get a decent shot of anyone. From the first you insisted on keeping up with the big dogs, short legs never held you back. They still don't. You've done a great job showing people size does not dictate speed or ability, you defy both gravity and ride the wind. There was a day you were never called "Stinker", but you earned it and continue to earn it so I think the nickname is here to stay. But it doesn't take away one ounce of your joy, the love you express or the sweetness you show in quieter moments. Happy Birthday Melanie.

Christmas 2013

Christmas 2013 has been another good one for us! Surrounded by my family this morning for breakfast and presents and a visit with Ben's family and extended relatives this evening made for and long but good day filled with family.

Picture Perfect

Our little family!

Chirstmas Spirit

We're getting into the Christmas spirit around here as we settle into what will be a 1.5 week vacation for Ben and a week vacation for me and complete our final Christmas preparations. My parents will be coming over for our annual Christmas Day celebration and Ben's Aunt and Uncle are even in town this year from Pennsylvania this year.  The stocking are hung, the presents are wrapped, we're all anxiously awaiting Christmas to be here...

33rd Birthday Celebration

I celebrated my 33rd birthday this past Monday with a low key day since it was a work day. I was greeted by treats from my co-workers including a bottle of Prosecco and a flowering Christmas cactus for my office. My friend Breanna treated me to lunch at one of my favorite spots, El Pariso complete with singing and sombrero wearing. Ben surprised me with a lovely bouquet of roses which he had delivered to my office. After work, we headed out for a nice Italian dinner and then home for some relaxing with Odin and Loki who  I was also treated to a lovely bunch of lilies at home.