It started with the arrival of my friends Hiram who is here for the weekend. Showing his amazing pek Lukas, any time spent with him is a treat. To watch them win a Group 1 and then Best in Show? PRICELESS!!!

I also got to hang with Karen and the girls, watching Emma with Breezy rock it in juniors!! Seeing our sweet girl recognize me with major hugs and kisses was of course amazing.

For me, winning a Select with TIno in Breed was of course awesome but the icing on the cake was the amazing Group 4 in the Owner- Handler ring. The judge had us all FLIPPING OUT! He called in the opposite order so the whole room, including myself, thought I got a G1 but honesty it’s ok – any placement is a true honor and Tino showed his butt off big time. He earned it for sure!

We ended the night going to the WVKC fundraiser dinner. I was asked to bring my photo booth to the event so of course, I was honored to. We had a tad bit of fun posing and of course enjoying the pizza and salad dinner. Yum-Mee!

This was our fifth year designing and running the booth and I cannot tell you how fun it is to see So many people comeback year after year to visit us. Of course Paul and Jane traveled from Rhode Island to watch the Championships and Specialty, but they also took in the booth this afternoon. So many other family members and friends came to the booth. Dr. Mario Took in the fun of the weekend and stop by to show his love of the breed. You also got to catch up with Rita and little Cupie. Rita has done an amazing job keeping her happy and as healthy as possible- all things considered. We definitely missed having Alexis there on Saturday. Our little girl is growing up, and of course making us very proud!

Tino was the main man and he received a ton of attention as well as socialization! As our example of a long coat Chihuahua puppy, he was also and a lot of our Photo Booth snapshots. He truly seemed to soak it all in and love every ounce of attention. Boy, I cannot wait to show him in 2017! He’s going to be one very confident boy!

Georgie on the other hand got a tad bit overwhelmed with so many hands reaching down to pet him. I swear, until the day he crosses over the rainbow bridge, he has every right in the world to be head shy. Having been picked up by a hawk, can you blame them? Last year he was the king of this puppy pen. Clearly he had no problem handing that title over to Tino!

I cannot wait to come back next year and share the love of the Chihuahua with all those that stop by and visit. I have to say, I loved manning the photo booth and I think it was a big hit! See you next year!

First, Alexis and the other Juniors kick off the day with an 8am ring time. Mikki and Alexis did AWESOME! For only their second time on the ring together, he wasn’t as attentive to her baiting but Alexis remained calm and cool, and Mikki looked fabulous when moving with her. Not exactly sure what the judge saw – or didn’t see – But we were all very proud of Alexis and how she handled Mikki!

The rest of the afternoon was a whirlwind of excitement. First, after lunch, Alexis was asked to handle a long coat for the best of variety completion. I have been saying there is an insane number of entries here so here is some proof. Look at the photo of today’s Specials below… It’s like a “Where’s Waldo” picture. Can you find Alexis?

While the show ring kept the majority of my attention I shared it with the Photo Booth, which got a LOT of activity. Once everyone figured out how to work it during the Regional, people were able to manage it on their own and the proof of the fun had was left in the iPad Photos gallery!

After the show was over, we finished up with the 50/50 raffle and all of the auction items. The truth be told, on Thursday morning, I purchased a grand total of $30.00 worth of tickets – $10.00 (3 tickets) for the largest items and then 20 of the tickets for the tables of smaller items.  I NEVER win anything – so in my mind it was a donation to the club and with no intention of actually winning my wishful-thinking ticket selections were as follows….

Of the bigger items, I really wanted the stack of CCA handbooks – that got two of my special tickets. I was totally taken by the Double Decker Mini Best in Show Trolley because Alexis could use our current one and the Mini Double Decker could be mine for the Chihuahuas. The odds of me winning with one single ticket was slim to none but I tried!

Of the smaller items my favorite was the Blingy Chihuahua bank and the Chris Christensen Ring Side Tote. We won the purple version at the TBCC Specialty with Georgie’s win, but this one was yellow and Alexis would love it. This two items got the majority of my tickets while I also tossed a few in for some gift baskets and statues. I totally forgot about the auction and was out  running the photos boot when a friend came running out to me to let me know I won not only the ring side tote but also the Best In Show Trolley!!! Kim with Dogs Day Out was so fabulous! I am almost 1000 miles away from home and getting the trolly home on the flight tomorrow would be difficult. Kim offered me a chance to pick the color I want and have it shipped directly to my house! SO WORTH IT!! A teal sparkle Double Decker Mini Best in Show Trolley with the matching skirt should be at my front door just in time for the Ocala shows. BEYOND PUMPED!!! Thank you so much Kim – You’re the best!

Today ends the Regional Specialty – With the Sweepstakes and Long Coats exhibiting yesterday and today the Smooth Coats. This morning bright and early, the Juniors kicked off day two of the Specialty. Alexis showed Mikki for the first time and for being their debut they did AWESOME! Some world renowned completion was there!! Very proud to share that they earned a 2nd! They worked for it!

We ended the great day with a fantasy dinner with some fantastic friends! A delicious dinner at Texas Roadhouse was the perfect way to celebrate the year’s accomplishments. Lots of fun and laughter shared with some of the most amazing people ever!

Being a very last minute plan, there was no advertising of the event but word of mouth spread quickly. We had a steady stream of people coming in to the room to capture the event and the fun. Dog and humans alike – Everyone had a blast

The plan was to create a selfie station for exhibitors can hold their dogs and capture the moment of being at the event in a fun way. One setup for the National and one for the Regional The idea was in my head but would it actually work? We tested it at the Paws or Pulse event and it was a major success! But how would people at a dog show find it?

The TBCC’s 60th Specialty  seemed to be the perfect way to test the idea and also celebrate the club’s major accomplishment. The Toy Dog Club asked it we could do the photo booth one day of their show as well.  To shows to test the idea? PERFECT!!!!

It turns out that once people figured it out it became a huge hit! The main lesson learned is that it needs to be advertised in the Premium as well as at the actual event so people know it’s there. Word of mouth brought a lot of people to our booth this weekend – I was even asked to bring the booth to the show next weekend! I so cannot wait for our Nationals – the photo booth is going to rock!