Friday, July 23, 2010

Jelly Belly Fun Day and Amici!

Don and I woke up early yesterday (...well, 7:30— early for summer) and headed off to Fairfield for the Solano County Puppy Raiser's Fun Day at Jelly Belly. I've been looking forward to this for quite a while- would could be better than Guide Dogs and candy? It was so much fun! If you haven't been to the Jelly Belly factory, you should go! It's a pretty cool building, with giant Jelly Bellys hanging from the ceiling and free factory tours.
Don was really tired in the car on the way there. He's used to waking up a 10, and wasn't too happy about his sleep being interrupted.
He rested his big head on the floor, then on the chair, but couldn't seem to get really comfy. After awhile he made this really cute grunting noise and curled up into a ball.
We got there- checked in- and I got a little booklet that you put stamps in after going to a station. The first station was a man playing a trumpet- Don was pretty interested in this. He wasn't scared though, just curious like hey, what's that? Above is a picture of Don next to the surface station, which I thought was really cool. Don had no problem with that. He seemed to like the POP of the bubble wrap. There was also a kiddie pool, which Don went in and did NOT want to get out. There was a toys station too. Don was really good with all the balls, though he was sort of interested in this one that had a toy ferret on it and moved by itself.
Next- inside for some pictures! Here Don is, sitting on the big Jelly Belly sign.
Don did not want to look at the camera today. See the giant Jelly Belly's on the ceiling? Aren't they cool? :)
Here is Don with the cherry flavored Jelly Belly mascot in the background and a Jelly Belly mural of Ronald Reagan. They said he was a really big fan of Jelly Bellys and had all this memorabilia from him.
These pictures where taken when I had just arrived, pretty early in the morning. There weren't many people then, but it got SO crowded!! It was great for Don, with all the young kids running around and eating. Lots of people pet Don and he stayed really calm. I made the mistake of not taking the tour first thing (the GD activities looked really cool, so I did them first...) An hour later the place was packed- the line went out the doors and even outside! I'd been on the tour before (it was awesome!) so I didn't go :( ...but I got to say hi to all the other GD pups instead.
Don with Mr. Jelly Belly! Of course, he is looking in the complete opposite direction of the camera.
Next, we climbed the candy-pattertermed stairs to the Berry Blue room- where the Guide Dogs event was.
Here's Don with all the Jelly Bellys behind him.
I helped make a fleece puppy tug toy, that are going to be donated to the GDB kennels. Above, Don watches all the other dogs go by as I make a rope toy. Next, Don had his eval with the CFR. Don did really well, looking up at my CFR when he walked Don past the other dogs.
Lunch time at Jelly Belly's cafe! They have these really cool jelly belly shaped pizzas. I was going to take a picture... but, I forget and ate it first. oops.
Don sounds asleep as I eat lunch.
Afterwards, I took Don to the designated dog walking area. How nice of them to have a spot just for relieving your dogs, and there was a water bowl, too!! ... You know you're a puppy raiser when you get excited about designated doggy relieving areas- and take pictures of them :)
Look at all those different flavors! That's the sample bar.
Here's Don in the shop- he was a really good boy!
Though he was a bit distracted by this other puppy in training. I believe her name is Tika.
Don in the shop- waiting patiently as I get some orange sherbet Jelly Bellys :)
Belly Flops are the "reject" jelly beans- they're too big or stuck together and they sell them in bulk half off.
Mr. Jelly Belly!
We were taking Amici back to the kennels for the Puppies with a Plan Club. When we met up with the club leader to pick him up, I met Erin and Rocco!!! Her blog is My Time As A GDB Puppy Raiser. Rocco is such a handsome, sweet boy. Don enjoyed saying hi to him.
It was really good for Don (with his dog distraction issues) to have to settle in the car while there was another dog. He did a really good job. Amici was such a sweet boy. It was nice to have a cuddly puppy :) Amici was so calm, too! And he had a blast playing with Don's nylabone wishbone.
Here they are sniffing each other in the car ride back to the GDB kennels.
I think Don got a little jealous- here he is resting his head on my seat.
Don and Amici.
Not only was Amici so sweet and cuddly- he smiles for the camera!! I like this dog a lot!
It was a fun car ride with the two pups. We got sort of lost, and Don accidentally knocked over the bag of Jelly Bellys- but we made it :) I dropped Amici off at the kennels- he seemed pretty excited- and then I looked at all the adorable 7 wk or younger puppies. There was a golden retriever litter there (it was Pebble's litter)- they are beautiful and so fluffy!!

Don and I had great time! It's less than a week till FUN DAY!! YES!

6 comments:

  1. Oh my gosh, that looks like fun! How far is the Jelly Belly Factory from campus? We might have to hit that up next time we are down.

    Can I ask what kind of different surfaces they had them walk on? That might be something new to do at a club meeting. :)

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  2. WOW - what a neat time! And so much fun! I hope you had some Jelly Bellys just for us!

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  3. I'm so glad you like Amici. He does like to smile for the camera. :) Too bad you didn't get a picture of the Pebbles Puppies. That's one that we're getting. :)

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  4. That's so cool! What a fun outing for all the PITs. Don looks like he's doing so well!

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  5. Looks like Don had a great day! Sounds like a lot of fun :)

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  6. Congratulations Lauren you are the winner of my green leash giveaway!! You can e-mail me at megstewart85(at)hotmail(dot)com to let me know what color you want and if you want your pups name stamped in the leash and your address so I can mail it to you (unless you going to CA Fun Day, then I can deliver it in person) Thanks for entering!!

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