I ran my first 5K today!!!!

Yep... I ran my very first 5K today - here is a picture someone took of me:

Ok - seriously? No - not really. I do NOT remotely look like that!!! My friend Tammy decided that she was going to run a 5K with her sister Dawn. Since I am her official photographer for her "bucket list", I was there with bells on! So here is Tammy before the race... looks pretty happy, doesn't she?

And this is her sister Dawn (I'm not sure, but I think Dawn was conned into wearing the orange!!)

So then the horn sounded... if you click on the picture below and enlarge it, I want you to look at two things... 1. the number of people starting their little running watches and 2. the cute little girl over on the right (you'll see her later!)

So here are Tammy and Dawn right after the race starts... still looking pretty happy!

So... while we're waiting for Tammy and Dawn... here is the first runner at the finish. Three miles in 15 minutes 35 seconds!!! He doesn't even look tired!

And - here's the reason I can't run - little kids that would TOTALLY beat me!!! (remember her from the start?)And this cute little guy:
And, here's Tammy!! She STILL looks happy! Maybe there's something to this running thing?

Agility Class

It's that time of year again - spring is in the air - agility classes are starting!!! Thank goodness - we were getting quite a case of cabin fever around here. I figured this was the perfect opportunity to work on my action shots and my victims were... well... kinda captive. LOL. So here are a few of my favorite shots from last night.

This is Rufus - is he not the cutest thing ever?

Topper (I think - I hope!!!) Steeeeeellllllaaaaa!!!!! (how could I resist?)
and a very determined Phoenix!

My new camera got here yesterday!! (bigger, faster, stronger!! LOL) There are lots of buttons and FOUR HUNDRED pages in the owner's manual!! Hmmm... not sure I am dedicated enough to read the entire thing... BUT, I was more than willing to push a few buttons after reading the quick start guide!! (that little piece of genius was probably a woman's idea!!) I played around a bit after work today and here are a few of the results - these are straight out of the camera... just some cropping. I wish I could have cropped that pooper scooper out of the background for ya, but that's a bit of work. LOL.

Frank's Turn

Well, Betty had her time in the sun, so here I am... uh... it's me... Frank. Spring is FINALLY here!! Let me introduce you to one of the many joys of warm weather... the ROLL!! First you find a nice warm spot in the sun, then you get a nice little shoulder action going:

Then you do a little face rubbing. Try to pick up as much scent from the ground as you can - dad gets really excited about this!! LOL
This is where you will start to develop your own technique. I prefer a nice big full body roll:

Now there are some "others" than don't understand the finer points of a good roll. Robin is one of them. Here you can see him checking on me to make sure everything is ok. OK? It's HEAVEN!!!

A good roll will result in a state of pure BLISS:

After your roll is complete, I highly recommend a good full body shake to remove any evidence... just in case you live with humans (like my dad) that are not quite so understanding about the nuances of a good roll.

Hey... I never said you would look good!!!

Broke Back Yard Fencing!!

Yep... The fence in the backyard broke! We had a storm on Thursday that had a bit of wind with it and I came home at lunch to this. It didn't really register until I had already let Robin and Frank outside. Talk about a heart attack! It was still pretty cold and wet outside, so they were more than happy to come right back inside. Note all the water in the park - that's not normally there! Brian came home from work early and propped the fence back up... then we put it up again at 10 pm and he put it up again the next day.

This was getting a little old pretty quick, so I ran to the Theissens and picked up a roll of snow fence and voila!! A room with a view - see the water is all gone in the park:

Now why did I want the fence fixed so badly? My photo evidence is the little monsters coming hell bent for election off the deck every time you let them out:
See how green our grass is getting?
Hopefully the fence will get fixed for real pretty soon. The insurance adjuster should be coming out this week to take a look (and hopefully tell us they will pay for at least part of it!!).

Not pictures... but kinda. This is what I do with my pictures - digital scrapbooking. I just started digi SBing about six months ago. These are a few of my favorite layouts:

Thoughts From Betty...

Hi All... Betty here... mom is busy doing other things, so I hijacked her computer. This is not as easy as it sounds... I don't have thumbs!! Anyway... it was pretty nice out today and I thought I would share a few pictures from my day. Here I am doing a few stretches... you really do need to make sure you are all warmed up before doing any serious exercise...

Like outrunning these stinkin' boys. Can you believe he thought he would catch me? What a nerd. I am totally buff and corner like I am on rails!!Ok... in a moment of weakness, Frank got me cornered. So he says to me, "Guess what I just ate out in the yard!!". Boys are so gross!!
Well, then there's Robin. He thinks he's so cool. Oh all right - he is pretty cool (for a boy).
No one tell mom I was on the computer... it will be our little secret... ok?

I have an interesting drive to work. I get to drive along the river for a few miles and see quite a bit of wildlife: hawks, deer, turkeys and various other critters. I saw these guys in someone's yard yesterday on the way to work. I turned around and went back to get a few shots. It's amazing how many pictures I take while sitting in my van.

Brian took these pictures with his fancy-schmancy new camera. I need to get me one of those!! Actually, I am saving up for a new camera (you know - bigger, faster, stronger!!! LOL). Anyway, we took the kids out in the back yard on a nice day last weekend and made them run for their dinner. I held them and Brian called them and took their pics while they ran to him (ok... he WAS in possession of their food bowls when we did this!)

I think Frank looks like he's smiling in this one:

and Miss Betty... (who will do anything for food!)