More Spring Training....FINALLY!Ana helping give snacks after running our 12 males

Our SUPER 2.5 year old main team female, Fender (left), running lead with our retired leader, Windows. This was the first time Fender lead successfully, like a pro, out of the yard.

Stopped on the trail, while Larry removed a tree that had fallen

Ana helping give snacks to the 12 females we ran in the first team. (Memphis and Lilly in wheel)

The last 2 miles, we put Serra in lead with Fender. They did awesome together. Serra is only 1.5 years old and the most like her mom, our SUPER leader, Zoey.

me and Ana after running the male team

Serra (left) and Fender after the run

Ana with Boston (left) and our rookie of the year, George.

After a month of waiting for the ice to melt, we FINALLY got to hook up teams on Sunday. It was nice and cold out, perfect for the dogs. We ran two 12 dog teams. One all male team and one all female team. 5 of the dogs are our pups out of Mike Lee and Odessa. We are very excited about that litter. They now have 5 hookups on them and we hope to get a half a dozen more before it gets too warm out. Then, they will be ready for fall. It was so nice to get out with the dogs after such a long time off. They were so happy and we barely heard a peep out of them the rest of the night! It was great!!

We have been busy as usual here. We are cutting lots of wood for next season already and doing our spring cleaning outside, which includes a TON of raking. Especially, the dog yard. During the winter, they get lots of straw to keep them warm. Well, when the snow melts, the straw is EVERYWHERE!!!! So, we then have to rake it all up before we start the whole process over again next fall. It is an endless cycle.

Last weekend, we got the rarity to have a day to ourselves. My parents took Ana for the night, so we headed North to the Magnusson's kennel for a BBQ and some dog talk. Jerry & Ali Papke, the Holmberg's and JR Anderson were also there. It was a great time!! It is nice sitting around talking dogs after the race season. When we are racing, we don't have much social time because we are either feeding or dropping dogs or getting ready to race. We especially enjoyed Jerry's hilarious stories. For those who have not met Jerry, well, there is never a dull moment. Thanks Bruce and Monica for a great night!

We are also expecting puppies in only 15 more days out of the Magnusson's super Swingley male, Billy, and one of our very best females, also out of Doug Swingley's kennel, Odessa. She is showing a little so we are hoping for a nice sized litter. We are very exicited about this breeding since Billy has such great credentials. He ran on Doug's 2nd place Iditarod team and Melanie Shirrilla's 1st place Wyoming Team and the Magnusson's winning teams over the past couple of years. He should add some great dogs to our kennel.

I am also very happy that Ana is almost done with school for the year- yeah!! I won't have to get up at the crack of dawn to take her to school till next fall. Only about 4 more weeks left!!!! Well, that is all for now. My next post will probably be when Odessa has her pups around May 5th.