07.30.2011 THIS, THAT, and the HUNT

The homestead and horsies are all well. Blackie is fattening up quite nicely. Luna (the piglet) is constantly trying to eat momma's food thus is porking up quite nicely as well. The kids both got some new (new to them at least but actually used) boots and 2 new straw hats. They are the cutest lil' cowboy/cowgirl on the block!

I started walking our "square" which is just over 3 1/2 miles. Day one no problem. Day two slight soreness in quads. Day 3 soreness but liveable. 4 hours later on day three i can barely walk the stairs. This momma definately needs some excercise. It felt great! And the soreness besides my overall non-fit level was really because i was interval training it...walking, then jogging, then walking, then RUNNING. The kids drug their sleepy butts out of bed this morning to come again. It's becoming a fun family thing - even the dogs are loving it - though they are 11 and 12 and waaay tired after we are done!

I am also busy online this weekend "hunting" for a swimming pool. Not an expensive, nor a plastic kiddie pool. More of an intermediate 4' hight 15-18' wide pool that we can enjoy for a couple more months then take down and store. Like this one...



The kids (including the 2 extra) need something to do!! They have gotten into more mischief than i thought was possible. Oh the stories i could tell.....

-painting with BBQ sauce on paper in Daddy's office (and ooops some of the floor!)
-using drywall mud to fully coat their bicycles
-Turning off the main gas line to the house (thankfully that was Kaden @ his own house)
-Peeing off the side of the horse trailer in full view of bystanders (the boys....simply because they CAN)
-Mud slide parties on the playset in back
-Water pitcher fights on the trampoline

There are so many stories it is almost too incredible to believe. I really shoud chronicle all their adventures. It would make for some fun stories to retell later.

Mischief makers them kids!

But it is all in fun so i guess that is what summer is all about, right?

Well we are in the home stretch now. Our home loan is approved and we just have some old things to take care of and an appraisal in a week or so. I HOPE we can be finished by then!!

One last bit...Erick will be home either Monday night or Tuesday depending on his drive. YAY!! So excited to have my boy back. Just the perfect timing too **wink**

07.26.2011 ALWAYS ...

We are getting sooooooo close to having the downstairs bathroom tile finished so we will have one more shower in this house. (We are supposed to have EVERYTHING done by this weekend but that is a HUGE stretch)

We had finished the flooring, threw in those lovely vanities (against my better judgment as i mentioned in this post, and put in a toilet.

It was a 12 foot long "powder room" LOL.

We've been moving ahead at lightning speed (...that is OH SO FUNNY - sarcasm at it's finest) adn after many torturous days.....what was once THIS -



And the back wall with the built in shampoo shelf =)



Has become THIS.....



Which as you can tell is slightly unfinished. He was supposed to be grouting today, thus by Wednesday it would be useable. But ran into a problem...
In his quest to speed up the process - he actually put an entire row of regular tile where the now empty area is. Said area being empty because he had to scrape out each tile that was laid to do it correctly.

More delay.



Big deal you say?

Well, kinda. Cuz that was supposed to have the paver border go all the way around. Also, the grout lines are a bit big for a shower....but i can deal with that.

Bigger problem is i ran all the way to Missoula last night (very cranky from the previously mentioned "diet", starting of my period -sorry if TMI- and it being like 1000 degrees) because we didn't have enough of those pieces (thank you Home Depot math genius).

I got there and there were NO MORE!

Seriously?

Seriously.

So we did a transfer from another store and they should be in on Weds. Installed on Thursday, then ready for grout on Friday.

It's times like these where i take a deep breath and remember my new custom sign i just hung up .....



Because i should be giving thanks for so many things.
-For the fact that the bathroom is that close to be finished
-that my car which was broken beyond repair is somehow still managing (just barely) to getting me where i need to go
-that i had enough of the 6x6 tile to return to pay for the missing pieces with $10 back!
-that i could load up all kinds of stuff from our year and a half long remodel project to return at Lowe's to buy other items we need to finish our house
-and that i happened by Walmart at 10:30 at night to pick up dog food and found a color photo printer on sale for $28.00. SERIOUSLY! A nice one.
-And finally, that i have a roof over my head that is only possible by the grace of God and we are OH SO CLOSE to having it and all our financial woes finished!

So remember, "There is ALWAYS, always, always something to be thankful for!

07.23.2011 It's that time again....

Ya - just an update on me. I have started my favorite diet again. (South Beach).

It is lovely.

Except that part where it forces me no sugar, therefore breaking my addiction.

I miss fruit.

It is summer and i have some lovely white Ranier cherries in the fridge.

Bye bye fat. Hello healthy.

I am at my HEAVIEST WEIGHT EVER. E.V.E.R! I think even with my pregnancies i barely weighed this much. Something had to give.

So if i am a little cranky....blame it on the diet!

And the lack of sugar. Waaaaah! LOL

07.24.2011 Weekend fun at the Arena

We have an arena just a few miles from our house. This Sunday my friend and neighbor (and keeper of the horses) Alisia and I loaded up 2 of hers and 1 of mine and headed over for some time in the saddle.

Alisia shows her horse "Bambie" in Reigning - so the horse needs extra practice.

Her other horse "Lucy" just needs alot of time put on her...as she is stubborn and tends not to "mind" her rider!



This is Lucy. This is Alisia's daughter Alexa who has to ride Lucy bareback bcuz Lexi is so small (light) that the horse can't even feel her in the saddle. But that girl has on some spurs, and strangely the horse definately minds her with those spurs on. Doesn't she look itty bitty compared to that horse?!

Then we took "Blackie" the new momma horse we have so Danielle could get used to her.



A little later DeRell dropped Bubba off. He's never really riden before. Just sat on a horse. So we led him around on her so he could get used to it before we start with his lessons.



It was a long, HOT, fun day. Thankfully the day ended with baths for all the horses and a little cool down for the kids and mommies via a hose. All and all a fun end to the weekend!

07.20.2011 A Eventuality come true!!!

Sorry gang it has taken me so long to post. Busy as usual on the home front. Getting the house all finished for the appraisal - should have all our stuff finalized by the 1st week in August. YAY! Hooray! I'll keep you posted.

But this post is really about a DREAM. A dream that recently came to pass. I won't likely EVER forget the date because it also happened to occur on my dear son Erick's 20th birthday.

But it's not about him.

It's about a little girl who dreamed a dream.

A girl whos mommy and Daddy promised her that when all our "house stuff" was finished her dream would come true.

A girl who patiently waited a year, then another half a year.

When mom couldn't take her waiting in quiet silence anymore began to find a way to make that dream come true.

And i did.

Two months ahead of when we "should" have or "could" have. Why? Because in another couple of months school will be here. In another couple of months she will be that much closer to winter and not being able to "ride" her dream.

So i searched.

My search took me many places. Many times my internet found me hovering around Georgia and wondering how we could make THAT happen. Transport alone would cost more than we were able to pay.

Then it happened.

We found one.

He was two and a half hours away. My neighbor was ready to help in the task of collecting...then the dreams were dashed. They changed their mind. My girl was heartbroken once more for what "could have been" and in her eyes what may never be.

It's a hard place to be as a mom, i won't lie.

When your child eats, sleeps and breathes this dream. And you can't make it happen. When all kinds of other things happen...but this very important thing to one precious little girl just reamins out of reach.

I am sure you all know, this is about a girl and a HORSE.

You see...she had been practicing and practicing to be able to care for her very own. Waking up early (in the summer at least) without complaint and feeding, bathing, caring and loving on some "practice horses" a friend has on our property. She was ready.

Yet the sadness in her heart i could see through her eyes was unsettling.

When mommy? When?

So she and mommy searched and searched. Dreamed and dreamed.

It was harder than you might think.

Choices were limited as we were looking for a POA (Ponies of America) or just smaller sized horse - considered a "pony" but not like a shaggy shetland or anything. Just a smaller version of a big horse. This helps with confidence for a young rider and because she and I are both very petite it is just the right decision for now.

Then we found her. She was the right size and GORGEOUS in our eyes. So we went to see her. She was beautiful. But NOT READY. Not even close. She only had 30 days of training and was not at all ready to be sis' dream come true. But as providence would have it, she had a mommy who was. 10 years older, slightly smaller and VERY broke to ride. The owners GAVE her to us...for FREE. We weren't looking for a horse that old, but she would be perfect while the other one finished her training. Mom is a bit on the skinny size and needs to be fattened up, but we got TWO for the price of ONE so figured it was a good deal. It also gives sis a chance to nurture the older horse.

One happy little girl, TWO happy horses.

So without further ado...meet the GIRLS.

Blackie (i know...so original!) is the mom. I didn't get alot of pictures of her, as she is looking skinny and all. These were taken after her bath, she has a pretty curly mane and forelock. (The mane hair on the front of their face/forehead)







Lakota Luna (We are calling her LUNA - though sis likes Lakota) She is a grey welsh/quarter pony cross. She is a full foot taller than her momma. She is "dappled" which means it her coat almost looks spotted though she is not an appy. Her face is a much lighter grey and white which makes her stand out. Especially with a bridle or halter on. She has a small grey lightning spot in the middle of the white stripe.. Very unique. She is graceful and beautiful. Bad part... she is still a bit "spooky". This is mainly because she is young and hasn't been handled much yet. The more time we spend she will likely outgrow that. She is a lover, and will meet you at the fence and be in your face.





We bathed them this weekend and the mom, Blackie, did great. Luna had some trust issues. But she absolutely ADORES DeRell and he was very patient and calm with her. Like the "Horse Whisperer" almost, LOL. And he was able to bathe Luna himself after she got over herself.




Then we got a saddle pad and let the kids sit on Blackie and DeRell lead them around. As you can see when DeRell was leading the kids...she is not a baby sized PONY - she is as tall as DeRell.




Luna got VERY VOCAL at that point and agitated. Either she was jealous or just wanted her momma back in the corral with her! She bucked and whined and ran all over. It was a sight. One i captured on film...yay!









You can see why i am not in a hurry to put my girl on her anytime soon....But we have TIME and PATIENCE. I also think it will be a great oppty for Sis to learn some parts of breaking a horse.


And don't you think this is an appropriate "Wordless Wednesday" post photo?



Except, i couldnt be wordless! A man's TWO BEST FRIENDS - his Horse and his Dog!!!

07.03.2011 More Summer Fun!

I haven't done a lot of posting...i let Britney borrow my camera for a few weeks ever since she had her baby. I wanted her to get some great photos and trust she did! I've felt a little off kilter...but at least i had my cell phone to snap some pics at the water park. I've missed alot of cute things with all the kids though so i am happy to be back with my Rebel once more!

Grandpa came to visit...which = work got done on the house. Not much though. Basically we moved the slate tiles closer to our master bath (back deck) and got a 40ft. storage container to hold all our junk while we finish the rest of the house. Translation...garage is cleaned out and now power tools (i.e. saws, etc.) can be used. We finished Grandpa's closet and cleaned out the garage. No cars have parked there for about 6 months or more. Loaded the dump trailer about 1/2 full. Ran out of Shelving material so all work came to a halt and grandpa went home. We have to have the 2 bathrooms, trim downstairs & remaining trim upstairs completed as well as the remaining closet and 3 missing doors added before we can finalize our home loan. We are almost there. After our paycheck Tuesday we should be able to purchase the remaining items and complete it all. I would say we have 2-3 weeks left to go. YAY!

I did manage to get the camera back in time for what might be sissy's last Softball game. We were slated to leave out of town by now, then it was postponed to the 6th of July...now it might be August before we can leave. >>insert sad face here!<< =( Boo Hiss. Didn't get alot of action shots but at least i have more than one picture. She had a great season. She played well, had a great attitude and played some outfield but mostly infield (short stop) which is GREAT! We will spend the rest of the summer working on batting. I think next year she will play baseball and softball to get more time in. We always miss some of the season with vacation!!


Warming up....go #3!!


Sis is up to bat


Danielle - Reigan (her friend since she was 2) - Tristan (who will be in her class next year)

Oh ya, we also found out who the kids teachers will be next year. It is nice that they put that info right on the final report card they mail home! Sis is excited and over the moon that she will have "Mrs. Healy" ...she is super sweet and was her math teacher this past year. Bubba has Mrs. English which i am told is an awesome 2nd grade teacher so we are excited!

Hmmm, what else? Oh, my office is back to its disaster status. It seems whenever things are "moved around" it ends up in here for me to sort through. I can't even see my desk these days...so hoping to get that straightened out somewhat this weekend (Sunday and Monday) It's pitiful....just look.....




Thats what is new on the homefront. Oh and i gained another 5 pounds or so. I look like the stay puff marshmallow girl. Sad but true. No photos of me on here LOL!