Seasons greeting from the 3 Bears. Yes...3

Hullo. It's been a while. But I'm back. Perhaps this photo will let you know what we've been up to...there are 3 of us now. The mommas got some kind of addiction. This ones name is Smooch. And she's a she! (Yes. That is a little sister sitting next to me, apparently I'm such a great Newf,  my mom wanted more like me)

Help our friends at Kloofbear Kennels

Hi Friends, 

We have some sad news.  One of our friends and breeder, Evelyn DeReus, of Kloofbear Newfoundlands had a fire a few nights ago that destroyed their kennel. They lost 4 of their beloved newfs. Evelyn and husband Brian are in the hospital with burns from trying to save their Newfs. Please send your thoughts and prayers to the Kloofbear family.  And if you'd like to help, a PayPal account has been set up for donations here: 

PAYPAL ACCOUNT DETAILS

email address - amordorinewf@yahoo.com
name - Josette Chrystall 
address - 63 Brook St, Wellesley, MA, USA, 02482

This kennel holds a special place in our hearts as many of Bojie and Rigsby's bestest Newf friends were born there.  Hug your dogs extra tightly and be grateful for each moment we're blessed to have them. 

Blah blah blah, my brothers a star, blah blah blah. . .

Hullo.  I guess I have an announcement.  The Momma took my little brother away for the weekend and came back and told me all of this cool stuff about Riggs.  I know I act like he annoys me sometimes but I guess I'm kind of proud of him.  I just don't want to tell him because he doesn't need to get a big head.

At the Scottsbluff kennel club show on april 30^, 2013 “Rigsby”, Ch. beeCreek’s State of the Union CGC, TDI, RN, BN earned his championship under judge Dr. Robert Smith.  Owner-handled by the momma.

To ensure he outdid his stellar performance, the following day, April 31, 2013, Rigsby took best of breed under Judge Robert Stein and went on to the group ring and took a group IV placement! Owner-handled by the momma.

We caught up with Rigsby and attempted an interview about his feelings on winning best of breed just 5 minutes prior to going into the group ring, and found the new champion in a deep state of meditation on his grooming table:

Surely after taking a group IV, Rigsby would be eager to speak with us after his big win, however just 5 minutes after exiting the group ring, we found him unable for comment as he was reflecting on his monumental day:

Oh Dog, my mom just took the keyboard...this might be worse for you to read than it is to listen to elevator music. . .

Rigsby and I started on this journey just this past August as we entered our first show, both novices in the world of conformation.  My first show dog, I couldn’t ask for a more patient, loving, trusting companion as we learned and grew together in the conformation ring.  When I first spoke to my breeder about getting another Newf, I told her, “I might want to try showing, I’m not sure but above all else he must have a sweet disposition”.  I have formed an inexplicable bond with him by handling him and grooming him for shows.  We have an early morning date as he gets bathed on show days with the moon still out and temperatures close to freezing with the early morning chill.  My hands become numb from the cold water coming out of the hose, and I take breaks as we are greeted by onlookers asking about Newfoundlands, commenting on how good he is with his baths, and the never-ending question of how long it takes to dry him.  I am usually equally as wet as he is, but he and I are a team, this is part of our ritual and we are together.  When we return to the grooming area I throw his leash over his back and he leaps up to his table, knowing our routine well.  As I dry him, he licks my face and eases any nerves I have as ring time grows closer.  Once ringside he relaxes as my anxiety increases.  We enter the ring together like dance partners, each knowing what is expected of the other.  He knows my cues, and I know his.  Stacked, he raises his head and his eyes meet mine.  His expression melts my heart and makes me fall in love with him all over again just like the first day that we picked him up from the breeder.  And suddenly everything that I was nervous about prior to entering the ring disappears.  He speaks to me through his eyes, and tells me it’s just Rigsby and me in that ring, no matter how crowded it might be with professional handlers and other beautiful dogs.  And so, when the judge tells us, “down and back” I whisper in his ear and tell him “lets dance” and we move together, trusting each other knowing we are both going to do our best for one another no matter what the outcome.  

If you asked me about 6 months ago, I would’ve told you I didn’t particularly care for showing, coming from primarily doing working and obedience with my other Newf, Bojie.  Spending weekends away and hours and hours in preparation for just a few minutes of ring time has made us bond in a way we wouldn’t have otherwise.  We both appreciate just being in each others presence. You see, the truth is, it's not about those few minutes in the ring with the judge.  It's about all of those hours leading up to it, and all of those hours after it.  And sharing my leftover dinners with him back in the hotel room later that evening.  And most nights, even sharing my bed.  It has also allowed me to spend a lot of that time with some wonderful mentors and friends who have guided me in the conformation world.  Riggs wants to thank all of our very supportive friends who trained his momma not to trip over her own 2 feet (well, ok, just that one time…)  

Our friends have been so awesome sending Riggs cards, flowers, cakes, texts and emails.  (Note from Bojie: Guess what guys?  I got to have Rigsbys CAKE! If it means special cake he can get his championship EVERY day! Also, the balloon was pretty cool. Oh, and yes, we also got blue TOW HITCH TESTICLES! Our very own! If you need to remember why they make us so happy read our story about them here: http://bojthenewf.blogspot.com/2013/01/are-stars-really-big-and-bright.html

Also, you should never wonder why tow hitch testicles would make someone happy.  Ok? They just do). 

For those of you who are thinking about showing. GO FOR IT! You might just find that you like it…and *GASP!*, you just might even be good at it, and guess what? You get to bring the best dog home.  Every time. 

Settled down for a long winters nap. . .

zzzzz. . .zzzzzz. . .zzzzz

Don't think all we're doing this winter is just taking a long winters nap. . .sure you haven't heard from us in a while, but that's just because when we aren't napping, we're playing in the snow.  

 Ha ha! Ha haha! Look at Riggs! He's LAUGHING! He's actually laughing! Um.  Oh wait, is he laughing at me? He better not be laughing at me...

Anyway, the truth is when we're not out playing in the snow,  Riggs and my mom are off gallivanting somewhere playing dancing with the stars in a ring somewhere...I mean really, how BORING! I think I'm going to get him a Tutu for his next show. Don't you think he'd look good in one? 

Sigh...is it water season yet?

Step one of learning how to jump of a boat. . .Own a human who is crazy.

Hullo friends.

With all that jibber jabber about my trip down to Texas and those amazing photos of me jumping off a boat, I thought it was important to show you my very first jump ever.  Caught on tape! Also, it was around 60 degrees here in Colorado today and I'm really starting to get the water training bug in my system again.  It's like I'm getting delirium tremors just thinking of it.  Sigh, just a few more months to go. . .

Remember how I told you how very hard the Momma and I were working on this feat?  We worked on it FOR MONTHS! The reason why it became so scary for me, was because the first time we tried it, I jumped without hesitation, but I went ALL the way underwater and I got so scared you guys.  I saw fish, and my mommas toes, and sunken treasures (there was a toilet bowl under there! A toilet bowl! I guess when some humans gotta go, they gotta go) when I was under water.  It was just a few seconds but it felt like hours and it really really scared me.  I'm a really good swimmer, but nothing prepares you for that, especially without a scuba certification.  So, we had to go back to square one.  The Momma realized that she did a few things wrong in getting me to jump that first time, first of all, she didn't have a life jacket on me which would've prevented me from sinking like that until I got really comfortable with jumping (which totally happened you guys!).  It's also super duper scary when you jump and you can't see the bottom of what you're jumping into.  My mom and I did a lot of thinking outside the box to get to my true fear, and what would really motivate me to jump again and not be so scared.  After baby step after baby step, I did it! There is nothing more motivating than jumping for my Momma in the water holding a tennis ball AND a FULL JAR of peanut butter! You laugh, but it totally worked! Incentive is everything people.  And so, I present to you, MY FIRST JUMP FOR A PEANUT BUTTER JAR! This occurred around July 2012,  just a few weeks later I was jumping really well on my own like a pro and went on to earn my water rescue dog title.  Never ever give up dogs! And always remember there's more than one way to skin a cat (I said that on purpose because we have a cat, and sometimes he thinks I'd like to skin him but really I just want to give him a kiss, and maybe play hide and seek or something).  Don't I have the very best water training group who is always there to cheer me on and encourage me, and put up with my momma's crazy ideas?

HA HA! HA HA HA! Jokes on YOU! OR that lady who feeds and bathes me. . .

Bwah ha ha ha ha! I can't stop laughing! I have to tell you guys the best secret ever (and no, it's not the fact that I have two adorable freckles on my tongue)! Every time my mom gives me a bath I do something to get her back! I HAVE DIARRHEA! Like within 3 days of my bath.  Every time! I do it on purpose, and I think she's on to me...but I don't care.  It serves her right.  All over my hairy arse! She gets SO frustrated and I looooooove it! Don't tell her, OK?

Are the stars at night REALLY big and bright?

Oh, hi friends.  I'm really sorry it's been a while since we've spoken.  You see, I've been suffering a bit from PTSD, post traumatic stress disorder.  Well, that's what you people like to to call it.  In reality, it should be called PTTD, post traumatic Texas disorder. What? Never heard of it? Well, quite obviously you haven't traveled on the back roads of Oklahoma and Texas at any point in your lifetime.  Specifically, with someone  like my momma at the helm.  I don't normally use profanities, but it was absofracking horrifying.  NO, I'm serious. It was. For the majority of our journey, I was totally cool, calm and collected as usual, but once the Mamma started acting like a total nut ball, I started to loose my shitskis a little.

She never, ever gets freaked out.  Ev-Er.  OK, ONCE she did. Just once. When we were in Canada and this man showed up to a picnic wearing just overalls and nothing underneath.  Kind of like Popcorn Sutton from the show Moonshiners, except scarier because he wasn't wearing a shirt.  . .or. anything. at all. underneath. 

OK, so picture this dude. . .virtually naked:

I know, I know, totally frightening.  My mom had a total flight or flight response moment and she took me, ran to her truck, opened the back hatch and told me to get in with her, and we both lied there, in the fetal position for like a good half an hour before someone came and got her out of her funk.  Anyway, I digress...PS: I wish I had a chance to meet Popcorn Sutton because he seems totally kick ass, and I'd like to try his moonshine, but I feel like he'd probably have a lot of ticks all over him from hiding out in the woods from the police making moonshine all his life.  Don't you? 

Ok, so back to my P.T.T.S (Post traumatic Texas disorder- for those of you with short term memory loss).  My mom and I had never been to Texas, or Oklahoma for that matter.  But we had planned this trip because remember how I told you back when I earned my draft title that I was working so extra hard learning how to dive off boats to earn my Water Rescue Title this year?  Well, I was.  Really, really really hard.  The only person who I could ever imagine working harder was Greg Louganis, that Olympic diver who smashed his head on the diving board during the Olympics a long time ago.  My mom and I were out in the water almost every day because I was so super scared to dive.  She tried everything, and we went to millions of different places.  Then, all of the sudden, I did it.  It was like the coolest thing ever, and my mom was so happy when I did it that I kept doing it.  I became awesome at it, and then we both realized that I was ready to OWN the next water test.  So, she entered me in the water rescue test that was taking place in Texas.  It was a few weeks away and she thought we'd be ready to kick butt and take names down there, but guess what guys?  I was doing so incredibly awesome, that at the very last minute on the very last day she entered me in an earlier test in Colorado.  And guess freaking what guys? I PASSED! My first WRD (Water Rescue Dog) test ever and I acted like I was a commercial for WRD dogs. FLA FLA FLA FLAWLESS! We have really awesome photos from this test, thanks to our friend Katherine Payne but here's our very favorite.  It was the very last thing that I had to do to pass, and look how happy the Momma is, you would jump every time too, if you had someone like that so happy when you got there:

Oh my dog, I digressed again, didn't I? Well, PTTD will do that to a dog.  So, I earned my WRD title, and we were so excited.  But, we had already entered in the test in Texas, and we were meeting so many friends there, and we thought it would be a great opportunity to relax, have some fun, and re-qualify.  Besides, they serve margaritas the night before at a party before the test, and the momma kind of has a thing for margaritas, so she really didn't want to miss it.  So, we went. . .

We left at 3am.  Let me just tell you people, if you ever have to drive anywhere where it's incredibly flat, and there are a lot of wind turbines, the very best time to drive through it is at night.  So we drove, and proceeded to drive until there were no bars for cell phone service on the phone, and the music on the radio became staticky, and all that we could listen to, was an old school Spanish radio station driving on a two lane highway, where there were hundreds of miles before seeing the next gas station, where a slight glimmer on the phone would show a bar or two of service.  The mamma began to freak the F out.   She began to have visions of a tire blowing and things like this happening to us:

Large Marge from Pee Wee's Big Adventure

"On this very night, ten years ago, along this very stretch of road in a dense fog just like this. I saw the worst accident I ever seen. There was this sound, like a garbage truck dropped off the Empire State Building... And when they pulled the driver's body from the twisted, burning wreck. It looked like this... "

And so, every time we'd get cell service, which meant we were near a gas station, she'd pull over, get gas, pay with a credit card so as to leave a paper trail of her whereabouts in case she went missing, phone a friend, and update her status on facebook.  OK, so. . .we kind of watch a lot of 20/20 episodes and we've SEEN way too many instances where people go missing and get killed because their cars break down out in the middle of nowhere.  So she started getting freaking paranoid.  The very best way I can describe her paranoia to you, is to simply go back and post all of her status updates that she wrote on facebook during our drive:

Exhibit A:

"Driving through the back roads of the state of Texas without cell service over the last 10hrs because the bastard in my GPS wants to make me more "cultured" has been mildly terrifying.  I've replayed the quickest technique on how to change a tire if the need arises over and over again in my head.  It's times like these, when I can't help but think how much safer I'd feel if I just had one of those hanging testicle sacks hanging off the trailer hitch of my car.  Like a testicular force field.  Those, and probably a shot gun.  But as the sign I just drove past says, "Jesus didn't tap out" so I'll continue to persevere.  Blaring mariachi music as it's the only station that comes in clearly.  Don't mess with me Texas! I've got a big black dog in my car who used to have testicles! Once."

Oh my dog, I'm sorry, but seriously.  Look at this guy.  In my quest to find the best example of truck hitch testicles, this came up.  I had to share this asshat with all of you:

Anywho, we continued our drive.  Wait.  Wait a minute.  Holy F. Do you see that guys freakishly LARGE abnormally shaped thumbs?! What the frack?! And what the hell is the two thumbs up for anyway? "HEY EVERYONE! LOOK AT ME! TWO THUMBS UP FOR PRETENDING THAT I HAVE ELEPHANTITIS ALBINO TESTICLES! AND AS A BONUS! IF YOU GIVE ME A NEWSPAPER TO HOLD IN MY HANDS, IT LOOKS LIKE I'M TAKING A POOPER!"  weird.  People are freaking weird.  

I'm sorry, but I couldn't continue to type my story to you and just pretend that guys thumbs were totally normal. . . As I was saying, we continued our journey as we dined on the best damned beef jerky in Texas.  *(editors note: when a sign that you drive past says, "Not just beef jerky, DANG GOOD beef jerky.  You stop, OK ,you ALWAYS stop)* The momma said we needed to load up on protein in case we had to survive a break down miles away from where anyone could find us.  I think the beef jerky actually had some magical powers in it, because she began to embrace our situation.  Much like a dying person accepts their impeding death. Her next status update went something like this:

"With the exception of the road dotted with gutted out, stiffed limbed deer carcasses and signs for a cemetery every 30 miles, Texas isn't as scary the further south you drive." 

And she was right.  All of the sudden, the radio stations came back and the cell phone service returned, and then we arrived at our destination! I was so relieved that we finally made it that I wanted to leap out of the back of the car and kiss the ground as soon as she put the car in park.  

But first, she had to do this to me.

Don't mess with Texas, bitches.  This is how I made my grand entrance into the test site.  This totally could've gone either way for me.  I mean, I was visiting Texans. It's not like I was going to New Jersey and pretending to be from Texas or something. 

Thankfully, my friends in Texas have an incredible sense of humor. 

There's a new sheriff in town.  Boss Freaking Hog, Y'all! 

The only thing that would've made this photo even better, is a pair of trailer hitch truck testicles behind me.  We'll work on that for next year.

The water test weekend was SO much fun! We had such a good time with our Texas friends, besides the fact that we had arrived in Antarctica, with temps in the 40s and a windchill and high winds.  It was FREEZING.  I of course loved it, but the Momma volunteered to help out during the test stewarding from the boat in the water, and she wore her winter hat the entire time.  Even when WE were testing! IT was hilarious! I was like, Ummm, Mamma, guess what? You look ridiculous in that hat and if you're going to look so ridiculous and not take this seriously than neither will I! So, we had a lot fun but did not come home with any re-qualifying scores.  But we did come home with a LOT of new friends, and that's even better. 

Our friends Mike from Texas, and  Leah took a lot of these photos of us. We love Leah of Lizzy Layne Photography! http://www.lizzylaynephotography.com/

And this photo, of the Momma and I watching the sunrise together, this my friends is what owning humans is all about. 

The story of Thanksgiving, reenacted.

With the day of Thanksgiving upon us, it's important to remember why we celebrate such a delicious holiday.

My People, the following is the story of Thanksgiving.  Brought to you by my little brother Rigsby, and me, Bojie (the great).  

*editors note, I am so proud of the boys, I totally gave them artistic freedom to tell their story with no script and their improv was amazing, also, I made these costumes so I deserve props too*

*AHEM*  One day Chief Bojie stumbled upon a very lethargic Pilgrim named Rigsby.  Bojie said, "HAU! I come in peace.  Why are you so weak my little Pilgrim?" 

Pilgrim Rigsby explained, "We have no seeds, and no crops to eat, we're starving!" Chief Bojie said, "No fear little Pilgrim, I will share my seeds and my knowledge with you, and help you cultivate your crops".  This was a very serious discussion.  Very. Serious. . .

 Along with the crops they planted, the Pilgrim and the Chiefs friendship bloomed...

And now little pilgrim, it is important to thank the earth for all of our blessings.  Let us pray.

Oh, Chief! I must invite you to eat with me after all you've taught me and how much you've helped my family...Please join me as we break kibble.

And the chief did.  Theirs is a friendship that has carried the meaning of Thanksgiving in our hearts forever. 

"Give thanks for unknown blessings already on their way."

Native American saying

Happy Thanksgiving to all of our friends throughout the world! We are thankful for your friendship and love!

 Uh, um, you see,  this improv stuff is exhausting...Got Turkey? No, I mean it. Can you spare a leg or something?

It's Five O'Clock Somewhere. . .

"Wonderful day to lay out after the horrid winter we've had, isn't it dear? Please tell Olga I'll be ready for my deep tissue massage at noon, after I finish my martini. And fetch me that special oil I like. You know, the one with the lavender. . .

. . .Oh! And Dear!  Please tell Andrew to stop putting those little umbrellas in my drink. For goodness sake, I am no longer a child. . ."

A day in the life of Bojie the Newfoundland