Oregon Coast

Mom took off a couple of days of work to take us to the Beach. The boys haven't really ever spent time at the beach and they were so excited! It was freezing! We tried telling them that the Oregon beach isn't really a swimming beach, but they didn't care. Mom and I were wearing pants and jackets. But it didn't stop them from wanting to play in it. The first evening, they were having a ball until Crew remembered it was one of the NBA play off games and wanted to head to the Beach House we were staying in to go watch it.

Crew really wanted to see a star fish. But the low tide was at 7am. So, he convinced Grandma to take him to see some star fish and sea anemones. It was kind of rainy and a little chilly, but he still wanted to go. He had a great time and even kissed a star fish.

This is what Drake did while Crew and Grandma went to the tide pools!

Then we found this interesting little place to visit. It is really kind of random. A little hokie. But really cool. It has life size dinosaur models and great plant life. The boys had a great time just running around the trails. 

I tried to get a cute picture of the three boys on this bench. But Crew and Drake were being silly. Then I got a great one of little Whit alone. He's a good little poser!

And we got to spend some time at one more beach before we headed back to meet Rett and move camp.

Pre-National Training

So, I obviously wasn't there to take any pictures of Rett and Zink during pre-national training. But courtesy of the Retriever News, I found some. Here Rett is sending Zink. And the second picture is of the group he was with looking at a set-up. It was a great experience for him. Zink trained more than he ever has. Both of them were just exhausted every night. They would train some days from 7am to 7pm. Then go back to the trailer and konk out for the night. Rett said that there were nights Zink would actually fall asleep while eating his food, and not finish it because he was so tired. They had a very educational experience, and got to meet a great new group of friends and trainers. I think it was a very exceptional experience for the both of them. And I am so glad it worked out for them to do it.

Oregon: Grandma & Grandpa's House, Children's Museum, & Fishing

So, we decided, again with not too much planning, to head to Oregon for the National Amateur Retriever Field Championship. Rett and Zink qualified and it was being held not too far from my parents. So, we headed out. This is the first of a few posts about the trip. It was a blast.

Grandma's House

The first week Rett and Zink spent pre-national training with a great group in Junction City. The rest of us went down to my moms in Medford.

Drake loved the dress up box at my moms. He decided to dress Whit up as a girl. Then he dressed himself up as a girl. I especially love his hip sticking out in the pose! Cute, cute!

My parents had to work some of the week we were there, so we found a few things to entertain ourselves. One was a super fun children's museum full of all kinds of things for the kids to play with and do. We had a great time there. 

Grandpa Fishy bought the boys new fishing poles, since we don't own any, and they wanted to take the boys fishing. We went to a little lake by their house one night and didn't catch anything, but sure had fun. 

Puppies!

We sold Stormy last fall. One of the agreements in the sale was that we would get to do one breeding with her. So, when she came into heat, we rushed to find a stud and had her bred to Ford. Ford has only had one other breeding, but he's a great dog. So we were excited to see what would happen. As the time got close, we were able to bring Stormy home. And we knew she'd probably have her puppies when Rett was gone. He was assigned to judge a field trial the weekend they were due. So the boys and I were excited when they started to come on Friday, the 16th. I was a little nervous but figured that hopefully she would take care of most of it by herself. And she did. She didn't cut the cord on the first puppy, so I had to do that. But after that she did. She had the first puppy at 7:35 pm and the eighth was born at 10:49 pm. The fourth puppy was born ok, but was teeny tiny. The others were between 10 and 12 ounces, but he was only 6 ounces. The fifth puppy was born and never breathed, so she didn't make it. The boys were really bumbed. And I was too. But the rest were all really healthy. The little tiny guy wasn't big enough to nurse without being knocked off by the others. I would put him on to nurse every hour or so. He only made it a week though. It was another sad day. So she has six big, healthy puppies, four girls and two boys. And we are planning to keep one of the females, but the rest all have good homes to go to. They are just starting to walk on all fours instead of crawl, and their eyes are open now. They are getting plenty of attention and love. And they are just about to get a lot more busy! We'll keep you posted on the growth and changes.  

Open Win!

On the weekend of May 9-11, Rett ran Zink in the Open of the Northern Utah Retriever Club Field Trial. And he won! First place! Best day ever! We were so excited for Rett and Zink. Of course, the rest of the family was home, and Rett was all by himself with the exciting news. But we were so happy to hear from him that he won! The Open, for all of you non-field trial people, is all age, all competition. Which means, that professional trainers are also competing in this stake. So, it is quite the accomplishment. Kenny, one of our trainers, told Rett earlier this year, that he'd win one this year. It was just a matter of everything lining up just right. And sure enough, they did it! YAY! This qualified Zink for the National Amateur Field Trial. Congrats on your win babe, we are so happy for you and so proud of you for accomplishing a long time goal.