#BlogPaws in Pictures

"My dog went on vacation, and all I got is this lousy t-shirt..."  Haha!  :)

Well- I'm back from BlogPaws!  What a whirlwind trip!!!

We flew into Washington DC!  (Didn't have a chance to go to the White House and say hi to Bo though...)  ;)

Jasmine was such a good little traveler! We had a lay-over in Minneapolis, so it was a really long flight to get to the east coast.  But Jaz was great!  She just slept the whole way.  She travels in a carrier underneath my seat.

 When we arrived on the east coast, we met up with our best friends Lauren and her dogs Paige and Dexter.  (These are trick dogs too!  They have been our friends for a long time!)  They picked us up from the airport, and we headed to Tyson's Corner, Virginia!

Lauren (and her dogs) came with us for the opening night of BlogPaws on Thursday night.  It was so fun seeing all the different kinds of dogs there!

Look at these crazy dog people!  ;)  This is Sarah, Lauren, me (CJ), and Sara.  It was sure fun reuniting with old friends!  They had a photobooth at the meet & greet, so we took full advantage of that!  ;)

We stopped by the Natural Balance table to say hi to our friends there.  They were having a contest- You could win a gift card if you tweeted a pic of your dog w/ this fat dog.   I thought this pic was amusing.  Stripes make you look thinner.  ;)

 They have a new low calorie formula for fat dogs- that we got samples of to try! 

(Jaz has a few friends who could use a low calorie formula, and they love it when I come home from these conferences with stuff to try!)

We got to meet up with our friend Eldad Hagar- from Hope for the Paws Animal Rescue.  Jaz just adores him!  (We became friends at BlogPaws last year- when we taught a class about YouTube together.)

Jaz is such a model!  She actually won this dress in a drawing from Spoiled Pup Boutique!  I know I'm a little biased, but I think she looks so cute in this pic!!

We took pics with our friends Preston (a yearly tradition).  And our new friend Leroy!  (Who we knew from online.)  Leroy is a famous trick dog too!

This pic cracks me up.  I was eating breakfast, and Jaz put her paw up on me, and gave me the saddest look.  Like she never gets fed.  Ever!!   ;)

Going to these conferences is exhausting- as all the dogs will tell you.  This is what they do while we're in class learning!

Jasmine was catching a quick cat nap before our formal evening.  Jasmine was nominated for a "Best Video" award.  They have a big formal affair. You dress up, and walk down the red carpet.  They have a fancy banquet dinner, and then an awards ceremony.  Jaz didn't win, but it was just cool to be a part of the whole process!!

Jasmine and I got to go on a doggy riverboat cruise up the Potomoc river!  It was really fun!!  Jasmine thought it was better than sticking her head out a car window!

I love how Jasmine will just pose anywhere for me!!  Some of the other tourists were so impressed that Jasmine just stood there and let me take her picture.  (and they did too!)  What can I say?  She's used to modeling.  She knows she gets treats for this- so she'll stay there forever!!

Overall, we had a REALLY good time at the BlogPaws conference.  It goes way too fast!  They keep you hopping from sun-up to sun-down.  But it's a really good experience, with great classes, and great networking opportunities!  This was our 2nd year going, and hope to go back in 2014 as well!

(Last year, we taught a class on "The Power of YouTube"... which was fun, but a lot of work.  It's much more fun to attend as just a regular participant!!)   ;)

I saw this sign while flying home from Washington DC.  TSA K-9 Teams in Use.  Well, my personal K-9 team (Team Jasmine) was in use too!  Everyone in line was staring or smiling at me.  (Or more technically- at Jasmine!)  I'm used to it!   Jaz gets smiles wherever she goes.  That's just how she rolls.  ;)



#Blogpaws- ready or not, here we come!

I'm so excited!  In 2 days, we'll be leaving to go to Tyson's Corner, Virginia for our 2nd BlogPaws convention!!  We're going to reunited with all our BP friends, and take classes to learn a ton of new stuff!  

This year, we just get to go as a participant!    Last year, we co-taught a class on "The Power of YouTube" along with Lauren (and Paige) and Eldad Haagar (from Hope for the Paws).  It was such a great experience!!  We really wanted to go back!

 

Last year, Jasmine also won an award for the "Best Video" for her Santa Paws- Santa's Little Helper video!

 

She was nominated again this year for a different therapy dog video (Jasmine visits the Elementary School) , so it will be fun to see what happens!  They have a big formal banquet dinner/ award cerimony on Saturday night.  For me, it's just fun to be a part of the whole experience.  And since I'm no longer the newbie, I kind of know what to to do this year!  LOL.  (Last year when Jaz won, we had to go up on stage and give an acceptance speech.)   I was TOTALLY unprepared for that, because I didn't think there was any chance of us winning!  This year, even if we don't win, at least I know it's a possiblity, so I won't be so blindsided!  LOL

 

I'm excited to just go and enjoy ourselves! (No stress!) (Well, other than traveling with a dog!)

I'm kind of nervous about that.  Jaz has flown with me a lot- for different TV shows and conventions.  But this will be the first time we have a lay-over.  :(   We couldn't take a direct flight because Jasmine only fits under the seats of Delta airlines.  And they don't fly directly to Washington DC.  So, I had the choice to go without Jaz.  (But come on... what's the point?)  ;)   Or travel with Jaz- trying our luck on a connecting flight.   (Let's just keep our fingers crossed there are no delays.)

Traveling with a dog is always an adventure!  But... once we get there, it's going to be GREAT!  :)

 

Look out BLOGPAWS... ready or not... here we come!!  ;)

 

Jaz is a finalist for a #BlogPaws Award!

I was just notified today that one of Jasmine's videos has been nominated for an award at BlogPaws this year!!    Her video of us visiting the elementary school is a finalist in the "Best Blog Video" category!

And because of this, we get free registration for the convention!!

Here's the video they selected:

How exciting!!

I know all about the "Nose-to-Nose" awards, because Jasmine actually won the "Best Video" category last year for her mini-movie Santa Paws- Santa's Little Helper!  (Which was a total shock to me!!)  They had a formal banquet dinner, and I had to go up on stage in front of everyone and give a speech.  (Which I wasn't prepared to do, bec because I didn't think there was any possible way we would win it!)  It was kind of intimidating!  But everyone was really nice and supportive.  And my whole BlogPaws experience ended up being totally wonderful from start to finish.

Jasmine- accepting her "Best Video" award at BlogPaws 2012.

This is the back of my head- as we went on stage to accept the award.

So I'll have to keep you posted!!     No matter who ends up winning in the the end, it's bound to be a fun time!!  :)

Blogpaws- w/ Tillman, the Skateboarding Bulldog

Photo Credit:  Becka Jeffs   

Lauren and I (as well as Paige and Jasmine) were really excited about our 1st time at BlogPaws!   We got there early on Thursday, checked into the hotel, and had to attend a meeting for all speakers.  (We were giving a presentation the next day about "The Power of YouTube".)

I was pretty impressed with the hotel!!  We stayed at the Sheraton SLC.  Having traveled a lot with Jasmine, I have stayed at a lot of hotels that claimed they were "pet-friendly".  (Which meant they technically allowed pets, but weren't real happy that you brought one.)

However, the Sheraton SLC was by far, THE MOST PET-FRIENDLY HOTEL I've ever stayed in!!

Photo Credit:  Becka Jeffs

It was crazy how warm and friendly they were to us!  (and our pets!)  (Now, granted we were there for a pet convention, so they knew we were coming!)  But I was still impressed with the set up!

We had a room on the first floor.  There was a sliding glass door that led out to a grassy courtyard in the middle of the hotel!  So when Jaz had to go to potty, it wasn't a big ordeal to get her from my room to the outdoors.  It was just like being at home.  It was SO NICE!!   So a big THUMBS UP from me to BlogPaws for the hotel selection!!

Opening night of the conference was pretty awesome!  I had seen the Natural Balance tour bus in the parking lot, so I knew these dogs were here somewhere!!  For the BlogPaws opening ceremonies, Tillman, the skateboarding bulldog, and Norman, the Scooter Dog showed off their stuff!

Photo Credit: Becka Jeffs

Photo Credit: Becka Jeffs

They're not kidding when they say Tillman loves to skate!!  Ron (his owner) had to take the board away from him at the end so Tillman wouldn't try to keep riding it!  

The rest of the night was just socializing and waiting for the rest of the BlogPaws guests arrive.  Here's one of our friends, Niqqi!!  (Who looks like a living teddy bear!)  Just adorable!

Photo Credit:  Becka Jeffs

Here's another one of our friends- Sheldon!  I know his dad Rick, but it was fun to meet Sheldon in person!  He's so soft!!!!  Very friendly and sweet!

 Here's a new friend we just met!  It's Zoey!  A beautiful white pitbull.  Such a friendly dog.  She was so great!!!  I just love that pittie smile!

 I have great news!!  I got to interview Tillman and Norman on camera!!  I'm going to be posting the videos in the future.  But rumor has it, there is going to be a Season 2 of "Who Let The Dogs Out"!!  (That's the TV show that Jasmine was on back in April.  Tillman was searching for America's Most Talented Dog.  Jaz came in 2nd place!) :)  We had a blast participating in the show- so we know how fun it will be for next season's contestants!  It's cool watching watching Tillman on all his adventures... traveling the country, searching for talented pets.  So I can't wait to see what the next season holds!  I'll keep you posted!!!

This is Norman and Jaz... posing for some photos!  Norman's such a goofy dog!  He likes to ham it up! He's fun to be around!

OK, speaking of people who like to ham it up... check it Eric.  (He's on the Natural Balance team.)  We were waiting to interview Tillman, and so he and Jaz decide to have a trick contest.  So- who do you think does this trick better??  ;)   He cracks me up!

By the way, all of the really good pics in this post were taken by Becka Jeffs- a very talented photographer who lives in Utah!  If you want to see her other BlogPaws pics, check out her Facebook Page!   https://www.facebook.com/photographybybecka  She was nice enough to let us share her great pics!

When it doubt, here's how you tell you took it:

  If the pic has a zombie dog with glowing green eyes, I took it!  ;)

If the pic is great quality, with artistic style, Becka took it.

Now you can tell the difference!!!  ;)

Also- if you want to see more cool pics from BlogPaws- here's our post about the Red Carpet Awards Ceremony on Sat. night!

http://myfavoritepup.blogspot.com/2012/06/blogpaws-red-carpet-award-ceremony.html

BlogPaws' Red Carpet Award Ceremony

Photo credit:  Rebecka Jeffs

On the last night of BlogPaws, they had a formal banquet and awards ceremony.  This was so much fun!

We all had a chance to walk down the red carpet, and get our pictures taken. 

Jasmine and I spent most of the conference hanging out with my friend Lauren and her trick dog Paige!   

 This is my friend Rick- (who works for Natural Balance). The picture unfortunately turned out blurry, so you can't really see his dog Sheldon (a black standard poodle).  He's in the picture too!

 

Photo credit: Rebecka Jeffs

This is my friend Diane Silver and her Havanese named Cosmo!!  We were in the Havanese Club!  :)  (I just made that up!)  But as far as I know- Jasmine and Cosmo were the only 2 Havanese at BlogPaws!

 After a delicious dinner, they had an awards ceremony.  Jasmine was nominated for "Best Video" for her "Santa Paws- Santa's Little Helper" movie!  But I honestly didn't think she was going to win, considering who the other nominees were!

Photo credit: Rebecka Jeffs

So I was shocked when they said My Favorite Pup Jasmine was the winner!  I had to go up on stage and give an acceptance speech.  (Which I was completely unprepared for!)  I didn't know what to say!   And I actually can't even remember what I said.  I'm hoping it including the words "Thank You."  LOL  I was shaking when I first walked off the stage... (because that kind of stuff makes me nervous!)  But once I was breathing normally again, we had a good time.  And it was a lot of fun.  The rest of the evening was just a party.  :)

Photo Credit: Rebecka Jeffs

This is Jasmine and her buddy Preston (from PrestonSpeaks.com).  (with Lauren and Paige in the back!)










Now THIS was a cute puppy!!

Cue Music!  Everybody Dance Now!

It was great meeting up with everyone!  It felt like a reunion, even though we had never met before!  (We had only known each other online!)

Jaz was SOOOO tired at the end of the night.  Trick shows, award shows, classes, interviews, pictures...
 It's hard work being this cute!!  (Actually we were both pretty tired after this pet convention!)  But wow, what an experience!  It was awesome!!!  :)

And the #BlogPaws Winner Is.....

I can't believe it's almost time for BlogPaws!!  And I had an extra ticket to give away!  We get one because we're a speaker.  (We're giving a presentation next Friday about "The Power of YouTube".)   But then earned a 2nd free one because Jasmine's video "Santa's Little Helper" was nominated for a "Best Video" award.  (If you remember the video from last December!)


If you have just stumbled across our blog, and have no idea who "My Favorite Pup Jasmine" is or that we make YouTube videos...
Here's a little sneak peak at our history...

So... back to the exciting part!   Last week, we had a raffle to help pick the winner of the FREE ticket to BlogPaws.   

And the winner is....

SUMMER!! 

Summer has a blog about crafts, recipes, and life.  
Check it out!  http://summerscraps.blogspot.com/

She also has 3 kids and 2 dogs who keep her busy!

When I wrote to Summer to tell her she had won, she wrote back:

"CJ I am so excited!!!!  Some of my friends are going to blogpaws but I wasn't going to be able to go because it wasn't it my budget.  That is so awesome that I was able to win the conference pass!!! 

Jasmine is such a cute dog and my kids just love her tricks.  I am so excited to be going to BlogPaws!  Thanks so much!!!!"


If you don't know, kids and dogs are my two favorite things ever!  


So of course, I wanted to hear all about her 2 pups!

MEET MAX and JACK!

Max is our German Shepherd.  He will be 2 in October.  His full name for any who are curious is Maximus Vanhelsing (named after a famous gladiator and vampire hunter) :)  Max is very loving and even though he is huge always wants to sit in my lap.  He is very loved and a bit of a sissy, but becomes quite protective when strangers are around.  He is fun and cuddly and lets our three children cuddle with him constantly.

Jack is our Jack Rat (part Jack Russel and part Rat terrier).  He will be 4 in July.  He is named after our most favorite pirate Jack Sparrow - yup we love movies around here.  Jack is a bit tempermental and even though he is sweet I keep him away from small children just to be safe.  He kind of reminds me of a cat - he will sleep the afternoon away or can be found sunning himself in a sunny spot in the house.  Sometimes I can't find him and he will be curled up and sleeping under a blanket. 

I haven't really blogged about my dogs on my blog and am considering it since they are part of the family as well.  

 

I can't wait to meet you Summer!!   CONGRATULATIONS!!!  See ya at BlogPaws!!!   :)