A very good year, in reflection.

2008 was a very good year.

We ended the year with everyone we started with. Parents, kids, grandkids, brothers, sister, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, and dogs. All are healthy, happy and greeting 2009.

We also extended our family quite a bit. Yes, we added Taiko and his littermates and their new families. Taiko is a blast and the extended families are wonderful. They love their new curly kids and they send pictures. We also added Zoomy, a wonderful girl that is settling in nicely. Funny, I went from majority oldsters to majority youngsters in the household and things move much faster now.

Our summer was pretty much taken up with puppies but we did manage to squeeze in a few shows with old and new friends. Ziva was out of coat at every show we attended (and at one show after the pups she had NO curls) but we had fun and she garnered quite a few reserves, so we have hope for the new year if the coat will just coincide with show dates.

Destiny was able to attend every show with me and competed in Juniors at most. I never knew how much fun kids and dog shows could be. We'll be doing more of this in 2009.

We already have training plans for the new year. In January Taiko starts his second obedience class (he is just six months old and will be in formalized training for awhile-I am the one that needs the structure). He will also start obstacle familiarization in agility. Plus, he gets to do field work with the girls. Ziva will continue her obedience training and agility, as well as field work. (We have to take a hiatus from field work in the winter since our training partners are out hunting, duh). Zoomy will take novice obedience classes so that we can develop a mutual rapport. We haven't had time to figure out what she likes to do yet. I'm also hoping to enter someone in a tracking class that starts in the spring so that I can learn the mechanics of it. The old ones will continue to hold their places of honor and share the love.

In spite of all our big plans for the new year, we are most excited by the addition of a new human family member. Due in February, we're expecting a baby girl, call name Riley!

Happy New Year!