The snow has finally melted (well, most of it) and flyball is back in full swing! We have had flyball practice for three weekends in a row and this weekend, we are having our fourth! It’s quite exciting because all of us dogs, and maybe our humans too, were getting a little stir crazy without our favorite canine sport.

Even MORE exciting has been how I’ve been performing during flyball practice. During our first practice, I raced in a team of three with Simon, a Jack Russel Terrier, and Fable, a Rat Terrier, against a team of four which included my arch nemesis, Max. I didn’t even look at Max! Then during our second week of practice, we had an incident that could’ve turned really ugly when, as I was coming back from the box, Simon decided to go down the lane and we met halfway and stopped. I could’ve done something bad, but I was so confused that I just looked at Simon and ran right back to Amy. And during week three I raced against Max again and was very good.

This past week, Dave, who owns Po, Jackie and Quark, took photos. It’s been a while, so here are my flyball action shots.

First jump, I’m going to get that ball! That’s Dianne in the background cheering me on.

Dogs can fly!

I’m trucking along.

Catching some air!

I’m coming ball, I’m coming!

Look at that box turn! The box loader is Eileen, she’s also an AAD trainer like Amy.

Gotcha ball! Watch out, here I come Amy!

Last weekend, Amy and I were stuck at home because of the second blizzard of the winter but this weekend we went back to our normal weekend routine and were able to go over to Amy’s parents house. This was especially important because today is Chinese New Year! Anyway, getting to their house wasn’t so easy, this is what their roads looked like.

But once we got to the house, I couldn’t wait to get to their backyard and do you know why?

Snow frisbee!

I mentioned the Olympics a few days ago (we are watching the pairs skating short program as we speak) and if I could add a new sport, I would add canine snow frisbee!

While Amy did most of the frisbee throwing on Saturday, Ashlie was my designated frisbee thrower for Sunday. Of course, running around in snow gets very tiring and during my breaks, Ashile would help my hydrate by making snow balls for me to eat. I wasn’t sure what to think about them at first.

But when I realized I could catch them in my mouth AND eat them, I was all in!

Ah, after a weekend like this, I almost wish that the snow will never go away.

Ah, another February day in Northern Virginia and still there is still snow, snow, snow everywhere as far as the eye can see.

Actually, I guess there is more than snow, there are icicles of death! Like these outside our house.

But as it turns out these are pretty tame compared to one of our neighbors, check this out!

But very soon, like in less than 24 hours, there will be something else to look forward to other than all of this white stuff…it’s the 2010 Vancouver Olympics! Here I am all decked out in my 2010 vest. See that? It’s an inukshuk, his name is “Ilanaaq” and he’s the mascot logo of the 2010 Winter Olympics. Okay, I might not look too happy in this picture but that’s just because Amy told me that opening ceremonies don’t actually start till Friday night.

I can’t wait though, every night I’m going to cuddle up on my couch with the Olympic mascots: Quatchi, Miga and Sumi. I’m looking forward to figure skating and speed skating, to ice hockey and downhill skiing. It’s going to be great! Oh yeah and Amy’s pretty excited too, especially since her sister lived in Vancouver for two years and both years Amy went and visited her. That might be why we have all of these Olympic souvenirs. I think it’s pretty cool though, we got them right from the source.

Last month Amy’s niece Ashlie had to write a nice letter to someone and I am honored that she picked me! She loves playing with me and knows what all of my favorite activities are, as her letter clearly shows.

Before this weekend, I thought that I would never see as much snow as I did during the blizzard this past December. Well, as it turns out, I was wrong. I didn’t think it would be possible but this past weekend, we got even MORE snow! Amy didn’t even bother to measure, it was definitely at least 2 feet tall and it was crazy! It made for a very pretty picture though.

Since there was more snow and the snow wasn’t as fluffy and light as the last blizzard, we didn’t go romping around in the woods as much, but we did manage to get out there. Luckily, someone blazed this trail for us. Come on Amy, what are you waiting for?!

In our own neighborhood, the plowing crews did a great job keeping our roads cleared but when we ventured outside of our neighborhood, we found that some streets weren’t even touched. Like this street, we had to blaze our own trail. Like last time, I had to bunny hop my way through the snow, it’s tiring!

After our foray into other neighborhoods during our morning walk, we decided to stick to our own neighborhood for our evening walk and found this guy, Super Snowman! Amy called him Snowtorious BIG.

Want to know why he’s Snowtorious BIG? It’s not just because he’s got a big “S” on his chest. It’s because he’s huge!

Amy says it’s supposed to snow again on Tuesday. I’ll admit that I love snow and winter but there is a part of me that wouldn’t mind a return to this.

So I have said many times how much I love the trainers at All About Dogs, which is where Amy and I have trained for the past 4 years. Well, that is even more true now because guess who’s the newest trainer at AAD?!

That’s right, it’s Amy! After 5.5 years of training me, she is now spreading her knowledge to other clients and their doggies. She actually began her dog trainer training back in October. I began to suspect something when she would come home smelling like 1) the AAD facility and 2) lots and lots of different dogs. She’s pretty excited about it and even though she loves meeting the dogs, she always comes home to me, her favorite dog in the world

I hope that everyone had a Merry Christmas. I had a really great one. This year, Amy’s niece Ashlie got her this book, What Dogs Want For Christmas. After reading it one afternoon, it got me thinking, “What does this dog want for Christmas?”

I tried to give Amy some not so subtle hints. I am a border collie after all.

But as it turns out, a townhouse in the suburbs of Northern Virginia isn’t the best place for a flock of sheep. So, I had to settle for some other things that wanted for Christmas like…a blizzard the weekend before Christmas so that by the time Christmas arrived, Amy’s parents’ backyard would have the perfect amount of snow to play snow frisbee!

Here I am with Ashlie and Kaitlyn, we all LOVE the snow.

Playing snow frisbee makes me very happy.

Not only does snow frisbee combine playing in the snow with playing frisbee but, whenever you get thirsty, you don’t have to stop and go get some water, you can just eat the snow!

Delicious! (As long as you stick with the white snow.)

Even people love playing in frisbee in the snow. Amy’s cousins decided to play ultimate snow frisbee. Here I am scoping out the competition.

Get out of my way Kathy, that frisbee is mine!

So what else was on this dog’s list for Christmas? Maybe it’s behind this wrapping paper.

It’s tooth paste! Okay, so you might think a dog getting tooth paste for Christmas is as exciting as a human getting socks (actually, Amy did request and receive socks for Christmas a few years ago) but I actually love toothpaste and getting my teeth brushed. Yay!

She also got me two doggie cookies from Wylie Wags, an angel, because of course, I’m an angel, and a cupcake.

Finally, what does this dog, really, really want for Christmas? This! That’s right, a laser pointer, more than anything, more than toothpaste, or doggie cookies, or snow, chasing a laser light is my favorite thing in the world.

And okay, maybe she didn’t get it in time for Christmas but the day after Christmas, Amy bought one, two, three…SEVEN laser lights! They were all half off and she stocked up. I tend to go through laser pointers pretty quickly, so this should hopefully last us for the next year at least. Best Christmas EVER!

The snow has finally stopped and the sun is out and the snow is…well, everywhere! After sticking to the plowed roads, we ventured back to the big field in our neighborhood where I do my best impression of the bunny hop.

So, as it turns out, frolicking in the snow can be pretty tiring. When we got back home from our morning walk through the woods, I was more than happy to catch some Zzzzzz’s. This is me all wrapped up in a nice warm leopard Snuggie. That’s right, I said Snuggie, and no, it’s not a dog Snuggie (they don’t make my size). It’s Amy’s. After hearing her rant and complain about it when it first came out last year (why does anyone need a blanket sleeves?!), she came home from her company’s holiday party with one. If I was capable of rolling of my eyes, I would’ve, but I have to admit, it’s pretty snuggly, I won’t complain.

Of course, I am a border collie after all and I am not capable of just sitting around all day when there’s snow outside! So, in the evening, we headed back out and boy, I thought there was a lot of snow this morning, it was nothing compared to tonight! The snow is as tall as me!

I mean, look at me, I’m not even laying down in this picture, I’m standing up and the snow comes right up to my head! I’m just a Mango head floating in a sea of snow.