Warming up for the Olympics and a Portrait Gallery

I would like to make it Very Clear that Abby and I got a lot of frisbee action this week.  But for reasons that are still not clear to me (it apparently has something to do with Mom 'experimenting' with different settings on her camera, resulting in 'less than satisfactory' action photos) there are less actions photos this week than usual.  (Keep in mind that 'less' is relative!)  But we are actively preparing for the Frisbee Freestyle events in the upcoming Winter Olympics.

There was some use of the Doodle Trebuchet

And some standard frisbee catches - a compulsory exercise in the Olympics.

More simple drills for the upcoming Olympics.

A nice catch in the pike position - one of the 'compulsory' frisbee catch moves required in Olympic competition.

 

Me working on the 'dive into a snowbank' part of the compulsory exercises.

Abby also working on the 'dive into a snowbank' exercise.

A solid vertical catch.

Good extension, a clean catch!

Another catch with nice vertical!

Yep, I think we're in good shape for the Olympics!

In addition to the frisbee photos, Mom is obsessed with getting photos with us running with frisbees.  She has yet to be 'completely satisfied' with them (which is okay - she throws frisbees, we come running back - nothing wrong there!), but she's determined to get some shots of us running.  So there are a lot of photos of us running, in varying degrees of quality.

Mom calls this 'unfettered joy' - I couldn't agree more!

Zoom-zoom!

Watch out!  Coming through!

"Hi Mom! I have this frisbee for you!"

"And another one!"

"Mom, I think you still need to work on your color-adjustment skills..."

"Hi Mom!  I think I'm a little orange here - but I'm in motion!"

"Hi Mom!  Another frisbee!  Maybe that's because I'm half retriever!  Heehee."

The sports photo guides say "get two eyes and the ball" - how about two eyes and the frisbee?

"I mentioned that I'm half retriever, right?"

"Can't stop mom!"

Still got that retriever thing working!

I even retrieve in new snow.  Sometimes...

Hi Mom!

Okay, so maybe there are more frisbee photos than I originally thought.  I guess Mom has been spending a lot of time sorting through photos...

Now on to the portrait gallery.

Mom says we look 'focused' here.  Of course we are - she's got treats in her hand.

My shifty-eyed sister with a big schnozz.

You wanted a picture of me look right at you.  Well here I am.  Complete with snow on my snooter!

Speaking of snooters!  Holy Hipposnooterus, Batman!

Mom just likes this photo - probably because it makes Abby's schnozz look medium-sized.  Heehee!

Abby's got her head in the clouds (again)!

Hey Abby, your head is blocking out the sky!

Wow!  A rare photo where Abby is making eye-contact!  Mom should frame this!

I do NOT have a big schnozz - Mom just likes to play around with perspective.  I hate to think what will happen if she gets a fish-eye lens!

Yep, I'm pretty!

Finally, since we finally got some snow, Mom decided to try her hand at some 'artsy photos.'

Snowy pine.

Aspens in winter.

More snowy pines.

Clearly our Mom has gone photo-crazy.  This is what we have to say about that:

Pfffth.

And double-pfffth.

But we still love you Mom!

*kissey face*
-Fiona and Abby the Hippobottomus

Nose Bombs and Snow and the Doodle Launcher

Let's get the 'nose bomb' thing out of the way.  For those of you who don't know what a 'photo bomb' is, it's when a person/dog/thing unexpectedly shows up in a picture.  Mom wanted to get some pictures of me sitting, being the good dog that I am.  And here I was, being a good photographic model:

Yes, I am pretty, and I AM The Good Dog.

All as it should be.  Until Abby decided that since she hadn't been the center of attention for all of 3 nanoseconds, she should be more involved and she nosed her ginormous snooter in front of the camera.  And thus she nose-bombed my photoshoot.

"Hi Mom!  Don't forget about me!"

You see me still sitting patiently in the background...

But I had the last laugh.

"Abby, all I can say to you is 'Pfft'.  Oh, and notice that I have a petite snooter compared to your Hipposnooterus."

But it's all good.  I love my sister and her ginormous snooter.  And you notice that while Abby features in a lot of the action photos, there are NO pictures of Abby sitting patiently.  Just saying...  Heehee!

Speaking of action photos...  We've had snow on and off for most of the week, and with cloudy skies, by the time Mom gets home from work it's sometimes hard for her to get good action shots, but she keeps trying.

The low light gave the shots neat look...

This weekend we had a combination of sun and snow, and Mom tried to take advantage of the few sunny hours to get more action photos.

Sproing!

Dogzilla attacking Mothra.  Or possibly being attacked by Mothra... It's hard to tell.

Sproing again!

We were having a grand time in the snow going after frisbees when it appeared as though the 'Doodle Launcher' (the mythical device which is credited for Abby's 'amplitude' in her frisbee leaps) was on the fritz...

"Houston, we may have a problem..."

Abby as Mobius strip... I don't think that's right, either!

Abby didn't pick up on the fact that the Doodle Launcher was possible broken, until this 'fling' late in the afternoon...

"Houston, we definitely have a problem!  Expect re-entry somewhere over the Pacific Ocean." 

Luckily, Abby was retrieved in one piece while the sky started to cloud over again.

We then continued our frisbee antics throughout the weekend.

A little duct-tape and the Doodle Launcher seems to be working fine again.

 

Sunday has been very windy, resulting in much additional ear-flappage.

More wind-assisted ear-flappage!

Snow zoomies!

"Frisbee, you are MINE!"

More snow zoomies!

On our walk Sunday morning, it was snowing and very windy - to the point that the Donner Party (us) decided to turn back a little before the halfway point.

"Follow us, Mom!  We know how to get home!"

Of course, Mom has also spent time getting head shots - something about how pretty and/or goofy we are...

A rare photo of Abby almost looking at the camera!

Apparently Mom cannot get enough pictures like this.  Can you blame her?

Abby's a goofadoodle.  But she's a happy goofadoodle!

Me?  I'm looking extra floofy due to the wind!

And we'll leave you with Mom's favorite photo that doesn't include us  (or at least doesn't include us directly)...

*kissey face*
-Fiona and Abby the Hippobottomus