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We got in at 2am, but all of us are finally home! Bella is already bug hunting - Good dog!

Memories

A realization hit me like a ton of bricks this morning.
My mother has been gone for 10 years today.

I just felt like writing about her today, though I am not exactly sure where to start or what to say...

Some people may wonder how Dayl Phillip and I got connected. Well, my mother, Yvette, and Dayl were best friends in high school. They bonded over horses and therefore, I have known Dayl basically my whole life. I have very fond memories of my mom, Dayl and I all sitting in Dayl's computer room looking up Haflinger horse pedigrees, or riding through Dayl's cherry orchards on the horses, or driving the three hours just to see the new foals.

My dad loathed our trips to Dayls. Because we would end up bringing an animal home with us! My mom and I (and my brother for that matter) seemed to get into a lot of 'trouble' with Dayl... The last animal my mom brought home was a Cardigan puppy. Just a week or so before the car accident that took her life. Dayl had her first litter of Cardigans and I had previously said that I wanted to get out of showing horses and into showing dogs. I was so excited when my mom brought Auri home.

Auri ended up being my life preserver. My heart dog. I could go on and on about how special that girl is to me.

Dayl and I wonder out loud sometimes how many dogs my mom would have had... wonder if she would have gotten into dog showing/breeding or if she would have stuck to the horses... wonder what her 'kennel' name would have been... if she would have liked this puppy or that puppy... what stud dog she would have used with whichever bitch...

But, we know that she would have had fun. The dogs are such a large part of my life. I would have loved to share my passion for this breed with her. She loved animals. And she had a way with animals. I will always say that she was one of the most patient, kind, and generous people I have ever known.

Hawaiian Adventure

Meet Bella

Aurigan Dunes Celestine Blue *pending

Am/Can Ch. Shadowalk Deacon x Peacan Valley Mustang Sally

Bella will be at Dune to do some growing up!

Bel-Vernon Shows

The Bel-Vernon show in Mt Vernon, WA yielded great results!

Saturday Judge R. Stein
WB Aurigan MP Primary Attraction - 1 point!
BOB Am/Can Ch. Aurigan Dunes National Treasure

Sunday Judge Ambrosio
RWB Aurigan MP Primary Attraction
WB Int Ch. Kennebec Dunes Limited Edition - 1 point!
BOB Am/Can Ch. Aurigan Dunes National Treasure

Hunter is still shedding and quite frankly his coat looks all sorts of yucky. I was pleasantly surprised that the judges looked past his lack of coat. LE now has 10 points and is searching for a major, or whatever we can find in the meantime.

Also, Dayl showed me a website that has Hunter and Beatrys listed as ranked in Canada for 09. Hunter is ranked 4th and Beatrys is ranked 3rd!!! We plan on going back to Canada this fall.
http://www.bestdogincanada.com/Grp7.php?breed=Cardigan%20Corgi

Busy Life

Busy is probably an understatement.

My grandmother (mom's mom) went into the hospital I work at for a quadruple bypass four days after my brother's wedding. She was released today and all is going well after a very rocky post-sugery experience. What a relief!

Dayl came by with the puppies for the eval since I was playing hostess to my mom's family during grandma's hospital stay. What a NICE distraction puppies are during times of crisis.

Hunter and Celestine Blue

Trichrome and Celestine in a hole that Celestine created

Hunter got de-barked. We got a nasty note in the mail from neighbors saying he was barking non-stop. However, the times/days they said it was him he wasnt outside (we have a neighbor dog who sounds a lot like him) but since he was getting targeted as the culprit I just had it done. He does do his fair share of barking, and he is loud. I dont like leaving bark collars on all day when I am not home. Scares me to death. I really dont need a fine from the city. So far it sounds like the de-bark worked.
Jesse has been practicing with a new band for the last month, staying out really late and often, but they had their first gig this past Friday - which was AWESOME. I was so proud of him. He plays rhythm guitar in a band called Sugarbush.

Jesse playing rhythm guitar

Sugarbush

I had an appointment for consultation for my heart issues. Uck. Talk about anxiety. I have an electrical pathway that gets screwed up sometimes and causes extreme tachycardia (fast heartbeats) that ends up putting me in the ER. I am working on getting it fixed.
And then we were in Dayton, WA for All Wheels Weekend which is a car show/demolition derby/cruise weekend. Jesse drove in the demo, my EP cardiologist told me no, I couldn't drive this year. My past demo experience is on a past blog entry.

Jesse in the 23 car

The puppy evaluation went well. Once I figure out what puppy I will be getting I will post pictures ;) - Deciding between Celestine (blue girl) and Trichrome (black boy) for different reasons...

My Brother's Wedding

My little (yet much taller at 6'5") brother was married Saturday. He and Nikki's wedding was absolutely delightful, beautiful, original, fun, and heart-warming. It was so much fun. Here are some pictures of the photo op pre-wedding and pre-rain.

Nikki and Brian Wedding and Pictures at Camp Wooten, Pomeroy, WA

My Brother Brian and Husband Jesse

Alicia, John B, Nikki, Brian, Cristie, Marshall and Grace the flower-girl

Brian and Groomsmen on-deck after Nikki and bridesmaids

Grace the-flower-girl (my cousin), Matron-of-Honor Cristie and Bridesmaid AliciaJustin, Alicia, John B, Nikki, Brian, Cristie, Marshall, Me, Our Dad John

John (my dad), Nikki and Brian

Brian and Nikki Smith