We all saw it coming, but somehow it still feels like it just snuck right up on us!
But it’s true! 2014 is here!
So Happy New Year Friends! Here’s to another exciting year of adventures and fun, I hope you’ll join me on the ride!
And if you haven’t snagged one already there are still a few of my 2014 calendars left! 
In keeping up with my yearly tradition I’ve decided to take a look back over the goals I made for myself last year to see how I did! I’ve also come up with a new list of goals for 2014 that will hopefully keep me on my toes!
My 2013 Goals:
1. Create some more greeting card designs for my Flying Hero Etsy Shop
Not only did I come up with a fun new Holiday card this year, but I just finished designing a whole bunch of new cards that will be available in my shop this week! Don’t worry, I’ll be sure to share my new designs with everyone just as soon as they are ready!
2. Master the weave poles for my agility classes
I’m proud to say that I officially mastered the weave poles this past year! Yay! I even worked up to weaving 12 poles at a time.
3. Compete in an agility trial
Technically I didn’t compete in an agility trial this past year, but I did get to run a new course in a new location during the Fair Hill International Event in Maryland.
4. Learn a performance that I can perform on my own at events
I practiced and practiced and performed my very own trick skit during the Spring Doxie Fest last year in support of the Coast to Coast Dachshund Rescue! It was a lot of fun and I think everyone enjoyed it!
5. Make every day count!
Looking back over everything I’ve done this past year I think I have this goal down! From trips to the beach, road tripping, paddleboarding, and enjoyable days on the farm – I packed in as much as I could this past year and it was such a blast!
2014 Goals:
So what about you? What are your goals for 2014?
Don’t forget to start 2014 off right, check out my Calendar available for purchase HERE! Hurry, because I only have a few copies left!
P.S. I promise to have a full recap on my wonderful Christmas for you later this week!
Ok so it’s one more day until Halloween, but I just couldn’t wait any longer to reveal my 2013 Halloween Costume!
Fittingly I decided to dress as another Hero of sorts, Raphael the Ninja Turtle, who even happens to be named after a famous painter. So I thought it was pretty appropriate that I chose to dress as him, since I am a painter as well!
Now being a Ninja Turtle doesn’t come without it’s own set of responsibilities. I don’t just carry around my Sai’s for fun, I have to protect the city from bad guys, specifically Shredder!
While I’m fighting crime my mask helps to protect my identity, although I’m pretty sure there aren’t too many masked turtles running around the city, but nonetheless!
I’ll let you in on a little secret though, the real reason I chose to dress as a Ninja Turtle is I hear they get all the pizza they can eat!
Weapons, pizza, and heroes – now that’s my kind of costume!
I even have an awesome turtle shell that my mom made to protect me from attacks! (and special thanks to Rebel Wag for custom making me my turtle hoodie) I’m totally ready for battle!
So when the darkness creeps in tomorrow on Halloween, you better watch out…..
….because nobody, and I mean nobody, is gonna touch my pizza while I’m on duty!
Cowabunga, Dude!
P.S. I’d love to see what creative costumes all my fans have come up with! So post your pets Halloweenie costumes this year on my Facebook page so we can all oooh and ahhhh over your adorable puppies!
Over the weekend I took my very first trip to the Fair Hill International Event, one of the most prestigious international three day events in the world, this is the ultimate test of a horse and rider. Through tests in dressage, endurance, and stadium jumping the horse and rider teams work together to show that they can compete in the most demanding and highest levels of equestrian sports.
But before I could attend the event, I had to go on my very first school bus ride!
Trooper tagged along with me on this adventure, and we were both pretty excited about taking the bus to the event grounds from the parking lot.
I can only imagine how exciting it must be to take the bus everyday to school! Those lucky kids! I even sang the wheels on the bus during the ride just to make it even more fun.
Once in the park I quickly made my way to the arena, because the real reason I came to the Fair Hill International was to cheer on my friends from the Chincoteague Pony Drill Team!
Made up entirely of Chincoteague Ponies (and the only one in the world), the drill team performs at events to choreographed music. It was great to see my friends again, as I had not seen them since I went to Chincoteague a few years ago so that my pony friends could frolic on the beach.
After I said goodbye to my friends I was ready to check out the other events at the Fair Hill International. (Above is me pictured with Misty’s Icicle, the only cremello colored pony in the Misty family line of ponies)
Of course my number one mission was to RIDE A PONY! But since most of them were busy competing I settled for this cardboard cutout of one instead.
And here’s what I would look like if I was a world class eventer like the riders that were competing at Fair Hill! Dashing right?
Next up I hit up the Dog Agility area, where they very nicely let me try a practice course – which was the first time I tried a course outside of my weekly classes at the Dog Training Center. I was a little distracted by all the smells on the course (and the fact that some of the obstacles seemed a bit different than what I was used to), but I did complete all the obstacles!
You may have heard my pal Trooper crying in the background of the video – he was utterly convinced that the course was going to eat me up if he wasn’t out there to protect me – or better yet, herd me around the scary obstacles. Oh Trooper, such a silly boy.
Next I headed over to watch some of the show jumping on the hill with the other dogs. You might not be able to tell from this photo, but almost every person came to the event with a dog. Great Danes, Rhodesian Ridgebacks, Greyhounds, Jack Russells, Labradors, and I even spotted a few Dachshunds among them.
Watching the show jumping was quite spectacular as the horses soared through the air, but I have to admit, the Fair Hill International really wore me out!
I’m already counting down the days until next years event though!
Make sure you check out some more photos and video of the Chincoteague Pony Drill Team at the Painting Pony Blog.
For those of you who follow me on Facebook I’m sure you have been on the edge of your seats waiting for me to share all my adventures from this past weekend at the Yuengling Oktoberfest event in Bethlehem, Pennyslvania.
Well after obtaining my special Puppy Pass (for VIP Dachshunds only) I was excited to attend my very first Oktoberfest!
I was super excited to see some fellow germans at the Oktoberfest – I felt right at home immediately!
I had fun touring around the event, everything smelled so wonderful, especially the sausages and beer!
I quickly began to make new friends – the german ladies loved me, what can I say I’m a handsome guy!
Even the children couldn’t keep their hands off me!
I had fun soaking up the culture, and after watching some german dances I was definitely ready for the main event – the Dachshund Races!
The Dachshunds came from all over to race, and there was even a few other super heroes in the mix besides myself!
I even got to meet one of my Facebook friends, Super Dash, who came sporting a bowtie his mom made him from my DIY Bowtie tutorial!
There were dachshunds big and small – some twice my size, some half my size, but everyone came for one reason – to race for the title of Champion!
With over 40 Dachshunds competing I knew it was going to be pretty tough to beat them all. But after winning a few of the preliminary heats I was pretty confident I could make it to the top. And after showing off a few of my favorite tricks I was clearly the crowd favorite to win when I made it to the final race!
Just watch what happened yourself….
If you had trouble telling what happened – it’s because mom’s camera skills were not so stellar. She said it was difficult to film me and call my name/shake cookies at the same time. Excuses, excuses.
Regardless, I won 3 preliminary heats, beating out some really fast weenies – and earning myself a spot in the final against 2 other super fast dachshunds. The final race was run and I came in at a photo finish with a dachshund named Tucker – who had me beat in size by a lot! So the judges decided to re-run the race, just me and Tucker.
I like to think I won that final race, but since it was so close to call the judges said Tucker won by just a nose!
Even though I didn’t win the coveted Champion title, reserve champ still came with some pretty nice perks. I got to take home this hand-blown glass dog bone from the ArtsQuest Glass Blowing Studio and these yummy handmade cookies from Whisker Biscuits.
Not only that but I also brought home not one, but two dachshund cakes from the Vallos Bakery! (too bad mom says they are only for human consumption).
Even though I can’t say I’m the Dachshund Races Champion it still feels pretty great to be Reserve Champion. After all, I am still faster than a speeding bullet!
It’s time to take a look back over the past month at all the exciting things I’ve done! So just incase you missed it, here are some of my highlights from August!
I tested out some Instinct Rawboost Treats from Chewy.com and held a giveaway, which the winners are now posted!
I took a trip to the Goshen Fair.
I went to Sunday Breakfast with my family.
I helped my pal Trooper test out Ruffwear’s Swamp Cooler (which is awesome by the way!).
I got nosey with the new stonework on the farm.
I introduced my new dog pack pals.
I took my pal Shilah the Husky out on the lake for the very first time.
I shared the must have items I pack when going camping in the summer!
I went camping with my friend Shilah in Cape May.
I dined at some dog friendly restaurants during my trip to Cape May.
I had a blast on the dog friendly beach, Higbee Beach in Cape May NJ.
I shared pictures from when a car crashed through the shop where I work.
I helped mom make a DIY Dachshund Cork Board.
I shared some of Sleepypod’s Pendants and offered everyone a chance to win their own set. You can still enter to win!!
Gosh what an exciting August I’ve had! Now we’re getting to one of my favorite times of the year – fall. I can’t wait to see what else I’ll be up to in the coming months!
Don’t forget, if you would like to find out more about my advertising rates and how to become a sponsor, click HERE.
It’s time to take a look back over the past month at all the exciting things I’ve done! So just incase you missed it, here are some of my highlights from July!
I took a dip in my own Personal Puddle!
I shared what I do when Adventure Awaits.
I celebrated the 4th of July.
I recapped all the adventures I had on the Fourth of July.
I spent the day at the pool.
I reviewed and gave away an Easy-Scoop-A-Poop.
I went to the rodeo to watch my ponies compete.
I helped my pal Trooper test out some True Chews premium jerky.
I took some swim lessons.
I tested out my new raincoat from Voyagers K9 and gave away a gift certificate to a lucky reader.
I spent a rainy day at the lake with my pal Shilah.
I tested and gave away some great products at Prime Pet Supply.
I welcomed my ponies home from the Chincoteague Pony Penning.
I got to spend the day at work with dad.
I shared what an average weekend looks like for me.
Boy, I sure did a lot in July! I’m looking forward to many more adventures in August!
So, as most of you know my mom left me home last week while she went on a fantastical adventure with two of my favorite ponies, Minnow and Boomerang, to Chincoteague Island for the 88th Annual Pony Penning.
They got to do amazing things like check out the wild pony round-up, swim, and auction – and they even got to perform all week at the Chincoteague Pony Centre.
My mom took some amazing pictures, so even though I wasn’t there – her photos make me feel like I was! You can check them all out HERE.
But I was most excited to hear about how my ponies did in their big performances, especially Boomerang who did an amazing job on his very FIRST debut – I’m pretty sure everyone was super impressed with the bean bag sitting skills that I taught him.
Even my special pony Minnow did an amazing job painting some beautiful pictures that were auctioned off after each show – with part of the money going to help local animal rescue groups!
The ponies will have their own recap of all their adventures on their blog soon!
And while you may think I just spent my week at home like this:
I actually had quite a few adventures of my own at home with dad! But those will have to wait for another post!
But you can check out all the fun my ponies had on their facebook page, and soon on their blog.
Every year my mom packs up the ponies and heads to Chincoteague Island in Virginia for the Annual Chincoteague Pony Swim and Auction the last week in July. Sadly I’m always left behind for this annual homecoming of sorts, mostly because mom says it’s too hot for me!
So while I stay home with dad and watch movies, eat junk food, and stay up way too late, mom and my ponies are performing all week long at the Chincoteague Pony Centre in the hot summer weather. Perhaps I got the better end of this deal?
I’m wishing my ponies the best of luck in their performances, and I just know they’ll make lots of people smile!
See you when you return ponies! You better bring me back a souvenir!
Also, check out this article that was in my local paper all about my favorite ponies! Read it HERE.
Every year around June mom and I start training the ponies for a very special trip. A trip to Chincoteague Island in Virginia at the end of July to watch their wild relatives swim from Assateague to Chincoteague during the annual Chincoteague Pony Swim and Auction.
As official pony trainer it’s my duty to help the ponies prepare by learning new tricks so they are ready to perform for their week long stay down there at the Chincoteague Pony Centre.
This year my pal Boomerang will be making his first trip to Virginia to perform, so I had a little chat with him about how he’s supposed to behave properly and not embarrass me.
Boomerang sulked for the rest of the day, what a baby!
Another part of Boomer’s preparation is reading the famous book by Marguerite Henry, Misty of Chincoteague. Things were going well until Boomer confessed that he doesn’t know how to read!
Sigh, it’s going to be a very very long summer!
Learn more about where you can see my pony friends perform at the end of July on the Painting Pony Blog.