Training of a different kind

Seems the serious sled dog racing is over for us this year. It always seems to end to early around here. The recent sunshine and relatively mild weather has inspired us to get in a bit of road time. ( above 30 degrees is toasty for us)

We are heading out in June for a 3 week adventure on the Harley Davidson exploring the West, seeing old friends and enjoying each other. Last year we were riding 6+ hours at a time to get our back ends conditioned for this event. Our trip was delayed due to Joe's cancer treatment so THIS YEAR with his remission we are ready to get back to it.

We headed towards Mount Rainier and ended up turning back a bit early. Snow covered roads and a motorcycle are not a good combination. Many great days ahead for us to get out and ride yet this spring.

Watch you may see us out there.

TTFN Becky

Old Man Winter has his say..

I LOVE to snow shoe especially with a K-9 companion.
A new rescue dog named FRED joined us and he had a great time. I think I have a new hiking pal.

We depend on good snow conditions for our winter racing circuit.
With global warming we have ALL been doing a snow dance, perhaps to much dancing this year.. Two of our 4 planed races have been Cancelled due to too much snow. AGHHHH.... Epic weather conditions have changed race trails on many races around the country this season.

We did get to go to a local race this year for the first time.
Joe ran the 12 dog class at Conconully, WA. The dogs ran 35 miles a day.
Joe placed 3rd.
The bonus for us was he won the Sporstmanship award and we won the BEST CARED for 12 dog team!! WOW what a weekend..

We are currently hanging out in Canada at the cabin thru the 4th of Feb. Running the dogs, snowshoeing, soaking in the hot tub. Paula and Richard make it hard for us to come back home after a week of this.
Back to reality in a few days for us.

Wishing you Mid-Winter Cheers
Becky & Joe

Winter is my time of year

Seems like this time of year the conversation is dominated by dogs.

Then my sister sent me this Video and made my day
With my 50th birthday this year I can relate..It made me laugh...Stan Boreson
Life is too short to look at your self in the mirror naked...IMHO anyway..


Joe and Jessica went to Central Oregon this past weekend to a sprint race.
I was unable to go because of too much work right now.
I am working day and night right now trying to keep up with orders.

They connected with old friends and had a great time. Jessica even ran 2 teams in the race and did pretty good. Sled dogs are FUN.
We are heading out for 11 days on Friday. Starting with a race in eastern WA, then to Canada for some training and finally to Idaho for another race.
Slower more laid back pace this year racing..Just trying to get it all done without going insane..

The sunshine makes me want to hop on the motorcycle and ride away but man is it COLD.. We will have to settle for Harley Davidson dreams for now.

TTFN
Becky

Sled dogs

We just got home from BC.( Canada). Plenty of snow and good trails. We ran the dogs 5 of the 7 days we were there. The last two runs were 40 milers up a nice hill. Dogs doing well in general, all tho we are down to 11 reliable dogs now. Early injuries, limited number of dogs and training opportunities make it hard for us to keep more dogs in training. Not like this is a new problem just a long standing frustrating annual issue not likely solved unless we quit our jobs and MOVE!.( not) Our first major race was just canceled due to too much snow and bad weather. We are still debating a big Montana race in FEB 2008. Not sure if the dogs or Joe are ready for the challenge but we may just go anyway:):)
NOTHING VENTURED, NOTHING GAINED.

Jessica is back home for 4 months, John is in IRAQ. Tight quarters and 2 stubborn women will make life a challenge but we will get thru it!!
Poor Joe...
Leanne starts a NEW job tomorrow, better pay and nicer group to work with. Jeff has started college part time while he works, 3-4 years to get his computer engineering degree. It is never to late to start, way to go Jeff. My business Alpine outfitters grew 40% last year and the way orders are rolling in already we should see that percentage rise. Nice to see the momentum but the work load has been rough on me. I have 2 full time employees and 1 part time bookkeeper. Being the boss has it moments..
Right now I would rather be in Wyoming running dogs.
Seems the old adage is still true for us:
It is either Time & NO Money or Money and NO Time.
Oh for a winning Lotto ticket:)
Back to the grind for now..

Becky 1-6-2008

The Christmas Letter - Our Year in a Nutshell...

“Whatever does not destroy me makes me stronger.” — Friedrich Nietzche

This past year has been a rollercoaster ride of events for our family. None of us could have foreseen what was in store for us this year.

Joe and Becky didn’t get the chance to race the dogs much at all last year. About a week before they had planned to leave for the Wyoming race, Jessica had to be taken in for emergency surgery. She was originally scheduled to have her gall bladder taken out in February. Her body didn’t seem to want to wait that long, so after many trips to the E.R., they decided to just get it out of her a.s.a.p. It took her a few months to get back to normal but she is doing much better now.

Then, in March of this year, Joe hit the big one. That’s right, 50. We had the black balloons, black beads, and black cake to celebrate. We took him out mid-night bowling and he had a great time. Although he had received his present about 9 months before his actual birthday, he was still in good spirits. In case you didn’t hear about his big present, Becky bought him a 2007 Firefighter Special Edition Roadking Harley Davidson. I think it’s the best present he has ever received. He loves it and they take it out every chance they get.

In April, Joe took a trip to the Doctor for a sore throat that would not go away. This led to many tests and the eventual prognosis of tonsillar cancer. He had the tonsil removed and was given 8 weeks of Radiation and Chemotherapy. It was hard on his body and he lost quite a bit of weight. It was a chore to try and eat. Unfortunately, the only thing he could eat with out too much pain was chicken noodle soup. The ordeal was hard on us all. This is the strongest man we know, the one who runs into burning buildings to save lives, so it was quite hard for us to see him in pain. A few months after the treatments he went back to the Dr. for another PET/CAT scan where he found the cancer had gone into remission. He is now on an amazing road to recovery – unfortunately for us, as he has begun to recover we have seen his appetite return in full effect – we can barely afford to feed him.

September was a stressful yet exciting month for us all as well. On September 22, 2007 Leanne and Jeff were married. It was the event of the year. The wedding was beautiful and so was bridezilla. We were all so happy to be part of that magical day. After the wedding they fled to Maui for 10 days. They loved it so much and had such an amazing time; they didn’t want to come home!

All in all the year has been a test for us. It tested our strength as humans and as a family; however, it seemed to be a bit of a blessing in disguise. We had so many people who offered to help us in anyway they could. Thank you everyone for your support through the tough and joyous moments of this past year.

Happy Holidays everyone, and a wonderful New Year to you all.

Everyday stuff

Things around here have been insane. we are suffering from a successful business.
The orders have been coming in steady and strong from months now. Even with the addition of 2 more to the sewing staff we are working 16 hours a day to get thru the holidays.

Joe had his 3 month check up and is still cancer free. He still a long road to go but each day gets easier. He is training the dogs for 3 races this year. Our main focus is going back to do the RACE to the Sky in Montana. It has been 12 years since we last raced there. We are looking forward to that racing format again.

Jessica's boyfriend John is headed to Iraq in JAN 08.( he is in the Air Force)
She is sad but supportive. We pray for his safe return home.

Leanne and Jeff are back from the Hawaii honeymoon, tans faded and both back to work.

We will be heading to Canada after Christmas for a week to run dogs in the snow.
January starts the racing season and our usual sled dog equipment order crunch..

back to the sewing sweat shop for me now.

Happy Holidays

Thanksgivng.

Thanksgiving
We are blessed with the best of both worlds.
For many years now we have been celebrating our holiday in Canada. Since Canadian turkey day is in October we get turkey dinner twice!.

this year was very special since ALL the kids and their significant others were able to join us. We packed up all the dogs, boarded the cat and headed North for the weekend.
cool temps, and a teaser of snow greeted us.

We ran dogs, played board games and a few games of pool. Yes their is a pool table in the cabin..go figure, eh?

We took our annual Christmas card photo at a friends log home down the road.

It was by far the best Turkey day we have had so far.

Enjoy the holidays