Wordless Wednesday: My cowboy

Back again!

I am finally home again after burning up the Arkansas highways some more for the holidays! I am tired of being in the car for sure!! I took Kevin back to camp today after getting to be with him for 2 days, and I'm not going to lie to you. It was a little bit hard to leave him. I cried...a few times! :-) But, it's all for the best...luckily, we were never sad at the same time, so the other one could hold the sad one up! Funny how that works...anyway, we know how blessed we were to be together and with our families for Christmas.

On a cheerful note (cause you know I don't like to be sad for long...I'm about to take it out on this house and give it a good scrubbin', then I'll be fine! ha!), here are some of our Christmas favorites this year.

Kevin's favorite moments were our car rides together because it was just the two of us (isn't he a sweet one! hee-hee!).

My favorite moments were playing guitar hero with his nephews. That was FUN! I want one of those games!! I went from 21% on my first try to 70% by the end of the day!! Pretty good progress. Although, I am horrible!!! ha!

My other favorite moments were out riding the horses on Christmas day with my nieces. You knew we'd have to get horses in sometime!! :-) It was so COLD, but I still loved it! My feet stayed on the ground, and I took pictures. But, Autumn just had to dare Kevin to ride and call him a chicken. So...he can't resist a dare and rode Shena! She's not always nice, but he didn't get thrown! ha!
Favorite presents...

My favorite presents were my Dr. Pepper PJ pants (How AWESOME!! You know how much I love DP!!!), my Christmas money, and a book from Mom called Old Dogs are the Best Dogs. Of course, after 2 sentences, I cried! Kevin's favorite presents were his BB gun (he was like a little kid and wanted to immediately go outside and start shooting things!!) and his Christmas money. Can't wait to hear about everyone else's holidays!!

Free to Good Home

Now, if a friend tells you about 2 horses that are "dead broke" and free to a good home...who comes to mind to take them off someone's hands? Yep, my Momma!

So....because my friend Debbie thought of her when her neighbor said they would give their horses to someone if they were a good home, Debbie emailed my Mom and the rest is history.

Look at our two newest members of the horse family:

Meet Doc, the gelding in the front and Sugar, the mare with the star on her face. I think Sugar is so pretty! They ended up with us because these people got them for their grand-daughter when she was going through a horse faze that faded. They weren't horse people and the horses were just going to waste in the pasture with no one to pay attention to them.

They sure won't have THAT problem anymore! What is the horse count at Mom's now you ask? 8! YEE-HAW!!

Wordless Wednesday : Kisses

Let the pictures do most of the talkin'

As requested by Ms. Tan over at Double Duty ~ some scrap pages:

I have decided after looking back over my pages that I am in a scrappin' rut!! My pages all look the same! boo!! But I picked these two to show off above (obviously my fur kids! hee-hee), and the cool sticker letters that I found! You can't tell but dividing the page is some self-adhesive ribbon. If you don't have any, wait until it goes on sale at Hobby Lobby and GET SOME! You will love it!

Then below is really nothing spectacular but I thought Lindsey would like to see my new stamps in action. We both went a little crazy this summer buying stamps when they went on sale!

You know I'm gonna throw some more horse pics in the mix...Autumn practicing barrels with Shena...I love to watch her ride!

Tayhlor practicing barrels with Sergio...

Does Autumn love anything besides horses you ask? Well, yes, she does! ELVIS! Seriously!

And because he's so cute! Max the pilot...

And lastly, Kevin is gonna be mad he missed it, and I had to take a picture to prove it. But we FINALLY have tomatoes! LOL! Remember we've been battling the squirrels all summer?!? I guess they are full! :-)

The Weekend

This weekend was MUCH better for me than last weekend...the difference is that I stayed busy! Today marks two weeks since Kevin went to John 3:16, and in some ways it seems like he's been gone for much longer (especially around meal time ~ ha!) I admit that I am ready to be able to at least talk to him. Although, I have been reassured by many that he is doing fine. I still want to see him for myself! But anyway...let me tell you about my weekend b/c it was a good one!

Friday night was scrappin'. It started out a big group of us and then folks started dropping out like flies...(there is an ugly virus going around). So, it dwindled down to 4 of us, and then Sandy got stuck at Wal-Mart most of the night arguing with them over her pictures. She just got back from Mexico and the developing of her pictures just didn't do Mexico justice! It was still a good night (except maybe for Sandy). I got 6 pages done. None are WOW pages, but I'll still post a pic or two sometime this week anyway. You know scrap night is a success no matter how many of us there are or how many pages get done. The main thing is GIRLS NIGHT!!

Saturday I had class all day. Can you believe the next class is our mid-term already? This one is going by so fast, it is making my head spin! The only thing keeping me sane with my Master's stuff is that I can see the end in sight! I could possibly finish this summer!!!

Today was fun b/c I went to Mom and Dad's and spent it with the animals and the girls. They dressed up the dogs:

Autumn had a birthday cake (her Dad will be out of town for her birthday so we did it last minute today). Isn't she looking grown-up???

I got to love on my favorite boxer at Mom's...Rufus!
Autumn and Tayhlor then made me time and judge them in a horseshow. We apparently don't get enough horse shows, so we have to PLAY horseshow on the off weekends! ha!

Here is Autumn with her ultimate birthday present:

And Tayhlor gets to ride Sergio now, so everyone is happy!

There are more pictures coming later in the week...

Meet Shena...Autumn's new horse!

I guess Autumn might share with my Mom! Ha! Seriously, isn't she gorgeous? I couldn't stop looking at her!! She's so soft too!
Her registered name is Shena Lori Darlin. See...it was meant to be! ha! She is a paint quarter horse and placed in the World Paint Horse Show in the Halter class. So, I guess we can add one more event to Autumn's horse show day!
Her family line isn't too shabby either ~ her grandfather had a Superior Halter Award and was an APHA Champion. I was impressed! But, mainly I was in awe at her beauty.
So far, Sergio HATES her! Autumn's pony hates her new horse...hmmm? Think he knows he's being replaced? I tried to tell him today that Autumn will always love him the most. He was her first horse (or pony) afterall. Unless you count Dipstick!....I don't think that stubborn Dipstick counts though! :-) Tune in tomorrow for pics of all the horses at Mom's.
P.S. I had a great weekend. It was just what I needed. Peggy came over, and we scrapped & girl talked Friday night - PERFECT! Just what I needed! Thanks Peggy! Then, Saturday, I didn't get dressed until ... well, I didn't...I did shower at 9 pm before bed though! I got a lot done AND was lazy at the same time. School work, laundry, and blog reading ... all caught up! The teenage neighbor needed money and offered to mow. I got my yard mowed for $20! Can't beat that! Today, I headed to Mom and Dad's and just hung out with the horses, dogs and cats all day. Yep, just what I needed. Now, Kevin can come on back home from the golf weekend he had! :-)

Autumn's Weekend to SHINE!

If the slide show stops, hit the x in the corner and it will restart. It's acting up. There are about 16 pictures total.
We started Friday night with decorating the stall and gettiing set up. Then, Saturday, she was on top of the world. She had two events on Saturday and had all her aunts, uncles, parents, grandparents, and even great-grandparents from both sides of the family there to support her. She even had a few cousins stop by to watch. The day was all about her, and she deserved it!! I was so proud of her and tickled (and a bit misty eyed) to see her showered with so much attention. She rode in Pony Under Saddle and Junior Poles on Saturday. She didn't place, but one of the pictures shows just how much competition there was - about 60 horses per event. She didn't care and wasn't nervous at all. Mom and I had that covered for her! ha! She was busy having a blast, and we were a bundle of nerves in the stand! We were back at it today for Junior Flags, and that was really nail biting!! She did come in 18th place, but they only give out awards for 1st thru 10th place. Again, she wasn't even worried about it. She was just excited to ride...what it's all about anyway! Enjoy the pics! I am SUPER proud of her! :-)

And, guess what her prize from the ole grandparents was on the way home today???? Yep, a new HORSE!! Pictures coming soon! ha!

Almost finished products...

Ok...the pictures of Kevin's hair that I promised will have to wait another day. I have worked on some stuff for the front of Autumn's stall at the State Horse Show this weekend, and after many calls to Mom today, I wanted to share the almost finished products with her! I will have them laminated for durability and then use twine to hang them at the top. These three will go together saying "Ride, Autumn, Ride"....(if you are like me & Kevin, you are now singing "Ride, Sally, Ride" in your head! ha!) Here's a close-up:
And then, Mom, I changed my mind AGAIN and decided with this one to have it be different. It will set apart from the others and will be the one we have everyone sign. In case you can't see it, the top says "To ride on a horse is to fly without wings" and the side says "Bread may feed my body, but my horse feeds my soul"....This is a favorite!

And, that brown box in the corner says "When a horse greets you with a nicker and regards you with a large and liquid eye, the question of where you want to be has been answered."

Tomorrow I will work on the wood sign with Sergio's name...

Another Yee-haw Day!

We spent Saturday in the triple digit heat at another horse show ~ shocked? LOL! In good news, after this weekend (the temp was 105 degrees and the heat index was 115 degrees), Mom is looking for a horse trailer with an air conditioned compartment in the front....can I get a YEE-HAW!?! It was H.O.T.! But, those cowgirls and cowboys didn't mind...they had on long sleeves and jeans. Crazy! (Girls ~ pause here to picture the cowboys in jeans...hmmm) OK...

Despite the heat, I got too many good pictures to share all of them, so I made a slideshow of just a few. The paint horse that you will see them riding is a 'horse on loan' from one of Mom's friends. Autumn needed one to finish out the season in the show events ~ her horse, Dolly, is just too old to handle the heat. She is something like 35 years old!!

Anyway ~ enjoy! These are the last ones until State Competitions over Labor Day Weekend! (I think I heard a sigh of relief from Kevin ~ ha!)

This one is for you Mom!

Mom and I may be the only ones who enjoy watching these videos over and over! LOL! So, here you go Mom. And, I will put these all on a DVD for us at the end of the season. These are all from Saturday in the triple digit heat!!

Dad riding Mindy in barrels...keeping in mind that Mindy is in training!! (and her trip at the beginning is in there ~ 48 second video)

Autumn in pony barrels (26 seconds)

Autumn in polebending (35 seconds)

Autumn in keyhole (18 seconds)

Autumn wasn't the only star this weekend!

That's right...I provided some entertainment in the stands myself by falling about 3 bleachers down from the top bleacher!! hee-hee! My Daddy didn't call me Grace when I was younger for nothing! Seriously, I don't know what happened because I didn't even have a chance to TRY and catch myself. It happened so fast. I hit with a loud thud and looked up at my family like "what just happened?"...saw the look of panic on my Mom's and Kayce's faces and busted out laughing - to which they knew it was ok to laugh and everyone had a good chuckle. The stands were full of folks right where I fell by the way, and I told them all I was fine that I shouldn't wear flip-flops to a horse show! Ha! Now, my ankle did swell up and I had a knot on it and my shin...but an ice pack took care of that. I have a nasty, ugly bruise on my rear where I landed, but nothing broken. Amazingly, I didn't even get embarassed for some reason. I guess that means I am finally use to falling down for no reason. In college, I would be walking to class and trip over my own feet in tennis shoes (not even clunky shoes) and take a tumble....not a great way to impress the cute boys on campus! ha! So, there folks, for all you who wonder why I don't wear cute clunky shoes and am always in comfy shoes...it's because I fall down easily!

Now...here is my gorgeous neice providing some real entertainment:

I love the action pictures where her hair is blowing and you can tell they are really moving!

Here is my Dad on Mindy (the momma horse who had her first time in the arena this weekend) and they are bringing her baby, Stormey, who is now a year old to the shows now. They are starting him out young getting him use to the noises and action.
Aren't Mindy and Stormey beautiful? After I left, Dad rode Mindy in the barrels...I have to stay late next time (these shows go on forever). Well, plus my ankle was throbbing and swelling...LOL!

Toot! Toot!

I'm tooting my horn because this is my 500th post!! Wow! I didn't realize I rambled that much! (shut-up Kevin! LOL!) Seriously, thanks to all who read and care about my day to day ramblings (and especially those who comment!! ha!). Maybe for my 500th post prize, I'll look into one of those counters...think I'm smart enough to load it on here? (again, Kevin, no comments needed from you!)

For my 500th post ~ I will also toot the horn of my cowgirl niece...who is braver than I ever was on a horse. This video was taken yesterday, and she is riding the new horse Mindy, that is gorgeous, but is just out of training and had to go twice because the first time didn't take!!! This is her first time in the arena at a horse show and is a good demo of how the keyhole competition isn't as easy as Autumn usually makes it out to be because the horses don't want to walk into that flour keyhole. I am super proud of how Autumn stuck with her and made it happen! Go Cowgirl! (and yes, her Grandmother was a nervous wreck! With good reason, Grandma has been thrown by the same horse before the training camp happened!)

(video is about 1 minute 30 seconds)

(If horses aren't your thing, check out the post below and show Kevin some love with his garden!)

More horses and other stuff...

Since Kayce enjoyed Tuesday so much, I took her back to the horse show on Saturday. This time Mom had some kittens that she is trying to find homes for....anyone interested? ha! Anyway - this kept Kayce busy with a mission all day! She made a sign and walked the arena with it (I paid her $2 to do it - I didn't think she would! ha!). She tried hard and managed to find a home for one. As she was walking around the arena, when she passed people, you could see the kids read the sign, turn to the parent, and then the parent shaking their heads NO! hee-hee!

You have to admit kittens are cute - even you none cat folks! This one was my favorite...but my cats wouldn't like it if I brought another one home. Plus, TWO is plenty!! I love 'em, but I hate that litter box!

Autumn got several ribbons this week - she got first place in the flag race against the teenagers too! Yay Cowgirl! She is really a natural with the horses...just like her grandma!
This is her on Dolly:

Other random stuff:

Sunday and today, Kevin and I worked on finishing up the storage building. Whew - that was W.O.R.K! I admit that I didn't think we could do it by ourselves b/c we aren't power tool/handymen kind of people, but we did it! We put the finishing touches on the underhang of the roof and all the trim up. I'll take an "after" picture once I paint it this week!! Tomorrow, I am being a girl for the day and getting my hair cut and highlighted, so no manual yucky labor for me!! :-)

Also, I went to work with Kevin today and helped him with his caterings. I made the decision that I am NOT working this summer, BUT I will help him when he is in a bind like today. And it was fun and neat to see him in what he does everyday. I had no idea his day was so hectic and fast paced! Wow! I do have a whole new respect for him after today...I came home and sleep for 3 hours! ha!

**I am playing around with my sidebar trying to make updates...for some reason, Tasha, I cannot get the link to work to your blog. It keeps sending me to some weird site. I am giving up for tonight and will try again tomorrow! :-)

How I spent my first day off...

I know ~ you are shocked ~ it was at a horse show! ha! But, I missed the last two because of our caterings. This one yesterday wasn't with the group she is regularly with. Yesterday was with the 4-H club. It was a little different ~ a lot more strict (riders were automatically disqualified if their shirt was untucked or sleeves rolled up) and by the book.
One of the "challenges" ~ not sure of the exact name ~ there were obstacles they had to get the horse to do stuff like walk backwards between two boards, walk over a plank, step over boards, and of course, check the mail!
I took our cousin, Kayce, for a girls day. She NEVER got bored. We left the house at 8am and got home after 8pm. NOT one complaint and wasn't ready to leave!! The child wants to pet the horses and ride so bad she can't stand it! ha! That is her getting the horses water above ~ those horses didn't want for water all day!! She would even dump it out if a bug got in it so it would be fresh for them! ha! We had a great day of eating junk at the concession stand, horses, snow cones (love 'em), and fast food on the way home with a stop at Bath and Body Works...A great girls day! She asked so many questions all day and was really soaking in her horse knowledge. She's ready for the next horse show! :-) How do you like Autumn's new show shirt? I love it!

Wordless Wednesday: Racing pony style

Weekend Stuff

Friday was Field Day at school. The kids had a blast!! Can't you see it on the faces?

This was my first field day at this school, so I didn't know what to expect. I shouldn't have been surprised at the organization and parent support, but I'm still in awe b/c it's so different than what I've had the past 9 years of teaching! The parents brought drinks and snacks, and we had organized fun competitions all day. My class came in last for 3rd grade, but we still had fun. The only competition we won was the tug-of-war...but you would've thought they won the whole thing! ha! This picture was taken immediately after tug-of-war:On Saturday, Kevin and I headed out for the horse show a bit early to hit flea markets along the way. We had a great day!! I love spending the day with my man! :-) We had a good lunch and finally found a great old flea market that we plan to go back and explore further. We both got a treasure though...I scored a hand-made birdhouse and Kevin got an air BB gun pistol to shoot the squirrels that get into his garden! ha! I had to give him some rules -no worries! :-)

Of course, after all that, we made it to the horse show where we were the rest of the night with Kevin oogling the cowgirls and I, the cowboys - ha! It was fun and my niece is just getting better and better!
Here she is with "Grandma" - these two are two peas in a pod!
We spent today working around the yard and getting ready for a busy week ahead...PTA meetings, graduation, getting lumber for the construction of the storage building next weekend (hopefully), add in all that end-of-year school stuff and I am going to try my best to NOT get stressed...it will all get done..repeat after me...it will all get done! LOL!