Snow, snow, blowing snow

Winters in the Midwest make entering dog shows a risky endeavor.  This past weekend was one of those weekends.  I had entered shows in St. Joseph, MO, most of the week the weathermen were forecasting a major winter storm moving in.  It hit late Friday and Saturday for most of the day.  The southwestern part of the state was hit hardest, but it fan all the way to mid-state, including Des Moines, which was the mid-point on our drive to St. Joe.

Out comes Mapquest and alternate routes....Saturday morning, Terry packed the van, while I bath the dogs for the show and off we went, south almost to Hannibal, MO and then west to St. Joe.  We had ran, but temps were all above freezing, so we made the trip without incident or any white knuckle driving!  Thankfully Papillons were late in the afternoon.

Saturday the show site was crowded with spectators.  We met friends, Dan & Marlene Edgerton, as well as Eleanor's breeder, Ann Street.  It was not a stellar day at the show, but Hillary, CH Loteki Down The Garden Path, made her debut after about 8 months of maturing at home to win the Select bitch points - a major, her 2nd towards her Grand Championship.  YEAH!

We made the trip down to Dan & Marlene's a quick potty of the dogs, I changed my clothes and off to dinner.  We had a great time at a nice Mexican restaurant in Leavenworth.  We had so much fun visiting!  The food was great and the company fantastic!!!  Ann headed home, while we returned to the Edgertons for a quiet evening of TV and puppy antics.  It started to snow about 10, with the last potty trip. 

Loteki Una Piccalo Brezza

Sunday morning, Paps were early.  Terry got up grabbed a quick bite, after loading the van and heading north.  The landscape was stunning as everything was laced in a sparkling, fluffy covering of new snow.  The sun was shining and the roads were clear.  Sunday morning the aisles were less congested and the Paps were able to stretch their legs a bit.  Pia brought home a major by going Winners Bitch!  YEA!  Hillary was a real show girl and was award BOS for her 3rd major!!   YIPPEE!  We took photos, pottied dogs, I made a quick change of clothes and off we went towards home.  This time we took the more direct route through Des Moines.  The sun was shining until just north of the Iowa Missouri border.  We started counting cars in the ditch.  Des Moines did have quite a bit of snow on the ground, but by the time we had traveled to 45 minutes east there was no more snow. 

We picked up Adam and Trinity on the way home.  Everyone helped unload the van.  The dogs had a lovely romp and then the four of us went out for Chinese!  A lovely end of a nice weekend!

Cheryl Brown (TN) had good news with more double Qs!!  Jackson now have the required 20 QQs towards his MACH, but needs a few more points.  Felix earned one double Q over the weekend, his 16th towards his PAX!  Congrats!  A great weekend on all fronts, wins, good friends and family - can't get any better than that!