Two Down, One to Go ...

A few days ago, we were playing at the second of three weekends in a row of trials. Again.  First TRACS, then PASA, and coming up, VAST.  Acronym Schmacronym.  That would be:

Two Rivers Agilty Club (USDAA/Woodland)
Peninsula Australian Shepherd Association  (ASCA/Vallejo)
Valley Agility Sports Team  (USDAA/Turlock)

It's not easy trialing three weekends in a row, at least not for this introvert.  Especially not right before leaving for the ASCA Nationals in Tennessee!  What was I thinking?  We can do this!

I had fun hanging with friends.  We laughed.  A lot.  I had the best help from Liza with crew-chief duties and there were plenty of willing volunteers.  Nice!

My girls' breeder Linda and her husband showed up.  He ran three dogs, including Vixen's mama Carly.  Red girl ran wild and with an opinion - Vixen didn't fall far from the tree.  Loved watching her have fun.  Vixen's tiny cousin 'Crush' also came along.  Aussie pups are irresistable and he was quickly surrounded.  It was his first trial and he showed up shy and reserved.  He was a wild man chasing a tug toy around the set-up in no time.  Total party animal.  Linda caught him napping in his favorite position.

Dreaming of sharks

Both girls did way better than I expected.   I actually had no expectations, since I've had no time to practice.  Jemima was her usual steady self, with the exception of one class where I swear she got 'happy feet' and sprang off all the contacts, laughing.  And there I was, training an almost 10-year old aussie in the ring.

Vixen blew me away more than a few times.  Fast and furious, opinionated and CLEAN!  The Banshee Shark Q'd in 4 out of 10 runs!  Big progress!

We played hard.  Forgot about work and bills and road trips and just played in the sunshine with our friends.  We shared a room with Mona.  We had fun.

Catching some zzzz's while waiting for Auntie Mona

Meanwhile, this week ... I always think I have plenty of time before a vacation and end up doing things like watching a video with a bowl of popcorn. It was a luxurious break.  Finally finished Interstellar.  It got so intense toward the end ... I noticed I had stopped eating the Cherry Garcia I was holding.  Unable to move.  Even when I remembered I was in my quiet living room on the couch, and not on an ice planet scrambling for my life.  Good work, movie makers!

Did you say popcorn?

And now 4 days of crazy busy work before VAST.  And thinking about getting ready to commence to get started to prepare for our very long road trip next week.  Looked at my route again.  The car spent the day getting tweaked at the mechanic.  A few clothes are starting to line up, waiting to go into a suitcase.

It's okay, we're not on an ice planet

Looking forward to at least sleeping in this Friday - my off Friday - before heading to Turlock.  On Monday my boss asked if I was ready for my time off, and I replied no, I'll be skidding in sideways into this vacation with my ass on fire. Then realized the filter between my brain and mouth had slipped.  Surprised  both of us - she could not stop laughing.  She's a gem.  Showtime!