Visitors since 10/1/2010
Sounds like a bit of a country song, doesn't it?
These two worked together for 3+ years, and they were so happy to connect with Caesar and Cody at the new barn.
I took this yesterday (Sunday). We were at the barn again this evening, and Jordan brought her new saddle. Their teacher, Meg helped the girls put the saddle on Cody and then on Caesar. Both girls got to ride their own horses. They were very happy.
A week into horse ownership and so far, so good.
The question, "Oh, My, what have we gotten ourselves INTO?" crosses my mind quite frequently today. That, and "Are we really going to DO THIS?".
THIS:
It looks like we are going to become horse owners. Yikes. Writing that out scares me to death. But look how happy she is:
The lesson barn Erica has been with for the last 5 years is closing and as a result, they are selling all the lesson horses and slowly ceasing operations. We learned of the news two Fridays ago, and since then, Erica has been researching what it would take to buy one of the horses. Her first choice, Casey, was sold in one day. Then she started looking for horses on the internet (something I wasn't comfortable with at all). Finally, she said she wanted Caesar, a gentle Appaloosa from the lesson barn. Better yet, a boarding stall became open at the boarding farm one mile from the lesson barn, where her friend will be boarding another one of the lesson horses. We checked it out yesterday and put a deposit down on the spot.
So I guess it is inevitable. We don't know what we've gotten ourselves into, but I'm sure it will be a great adventure.
The news of the week - the weather. Things started Monday afternoon with freezing rain and sleet. The fun continued Tuesday with more ice, changing over to snow.
School was canceled Tuesday, so Erica invited some friends over and they tried sledding / surfing on the ice. I had fun playing with the video recorder on Brian's iTouch and captured this:
They worked hard building a ramp out of cardboard.
But in the end, they just had fun.
I understand that having a teen in the house means a transition in interests. Instead of the constant hum of Disney Channel, we now endure TLC (What Not to Wear, The Cake Boss and Say Yes to the Dress). Nancy Drew mysteries have been replaced by The Clique Series and best sellers like The Lovely Bones.
So imagine my surprise when Erica wanted to buy these:
Apparently all the rage among teens - the cuddly and soft Pillow Pets. Yes - glorified, over-sized stuffed animals, quite similar to the 100 stuffed animals I sold at last year's garage sale.
"But it's a pillow" Erica tells me. "And they are SO soft".
I acquiesce and let her buy two. She's named the horse "Casey" because he looks like her favorite horse at the Stable. And that's Zoe the Zebra [again, named by Erica]. I'm glad there's still a little bit of "kid" in that teen head.
There's still lots of silliness between teen friends, too:
As the two of them get ready to play volleyball in the snow:
Technically, more than the weekend -
Thursday night - a full moon with snow means a cool exposure of the backyard:
Friday - it's retro day at Middle school.
Saturday -
It's cold outside and snowy, but I managed a 3 mile run after a Cage Fitness class. Running while the snow is falling is so peaceful.
The tulips are starting to fade -
I finished up the last of the photos from July's Italy trip. The pictures from Florence (Firenze) may be found here, on Flickr.
Sunday - The cats make a little bit of a fuss while watching the birds outside. They won't go outside, though - it's too cold!
Erica enjoyed dumplings for lunch (leftovers from last night's takeout)
Hope you had a great (and warm) weekend!
It’s already the third week of January, the snow is falling (yet again) and tomorrow the temperatures will drop below zero. Welcome to winter on the prairie. Even the birds have to deal with the snow and ice.
Taken outside the orthodontist office on Monday, January 10th – Brian had a retainer check up (he needs to wear it more, so we’ll have to monitor that a little more).
Later that evening, Sammy got up high above the refrigerator in the kitchen. He and Hannah were playing a bit of “tag”:
Fast forward a couple of days, and we’ve got 6” of fresh snow on the ground, and Scott bought these from the store:
Just what the kids need – caffeine and real sugar!
That night, I made some crepes for Erica:
On Friday, I hosted book club at the house. What a busy day! So busy that I didn’t take pictures, but my friend, Kellie (who is doing her own Project 365 this year) did:
I made rum cake (of course) and we discussed The Happiness Project (my selection).
On Saturday, January 15, I took Erica to the mall – she needed new jeans [the ones she bought in the fall are “too cold” – that’s because they have holes in them – that’s why buying jeans with holes in them is really not the best idea…..].
Apparently, Aeropostale has been surpassed by the America Eagle store:
And later, Sammy decided to snuggle on her lap.
There’s no shortage of cat games tonight:
On Sunday, I decided to take my own advice concerning finding photographic inspiration during the winter months and bought a bouquet of tulips to photograph.
And instead of wasting time playing Angry Birds (seriously, I need a 12 step addiction program), I wasted time photographing stemware:
I promised Erica I would hang her new window blinds today. Out come the power tools – the Makita drill set I bought Scott for Christmas in 2009.
It’s a great drill (not too big) so I quickly completed this project.
Monday morning, Martin Luther King Jr. day, and the kids have the day off. I guess I have the “morning off” too, as I don’t have to drag the kids out of bed and drive them to school. Instead, I leisurely prepared for the day and played around with my iPhone camera and the Hipstamatic app:
Tuesday – kids are back to school. I have violin lessons in the afternoon – starting the 2nd movement of the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto – very pretty. Later that night, Brian and I sweat things out at Cage Fitness Class.
Wednesday morning and I’m still taking photos of the tulips.
The kids persuaded me to get them sandwiches from Panera on Wednesday night. Wow, the Christmas lights are still up in the Olde Farm Shops.
But I have to admit, they are kind of festive….
Our internet service went down Saturday morning and wasn't fixed until today. Talk about withdrawal!
I knew something was afoot when I saw the AT&T service truck in our cul-de-sac early Saturday morning. Then Scott couldn't get on the internet. I picked up the phone to call - and no dial tone - the phone was dead. Since the DSL signal comes across the phone lines, I knew we were sunk.
The feedback this morning from the AT&T repair guy - "There was another guy out here on Saturday, and while doing his work, he pinched off your terminal". Gee, Thanks. Oh well, at least I still had my iPhone and could receive email via that data link.
So it's catch up time!
Friday, December 10, Day 342/365 - Look what arrived in the mail tonight, from mpix.com – our 2010 Christmas Card.
And I know the picture on the front looks familiar to everyone.
As usual, the quality of the 5x7 card from Mpix is excellent – this is our 4th year using them. I create the entire card in PSE – the front, back and even the center portion. Now to get them out in the mail before Christmas!
Saturday, December 11, Day 343/365 - – Violin Recital
I admit – I hate performing as a soloist. Even accompanied, there’s so much pressure to play all the notes perfectly. But really, the pressure is self imposed and simply a pride thing. I don’t want to sound bad because it might reflect poorly on me.
So I try to let it go, and do the best I can. It won’t be perfect, but it will be fine.
I managed to get through my performance of Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto without too many issues. I am glad my teacher, Ms Kim, pushed me to learn this piece. It certainly challenged me.
Sunday, December 12, Day 344/365 - Inclement Weather
We ventured out for church this morning and that was it. Erica’s horse riding job canceled all classes, so we all stayed home after church. Because outside it’s snowing and the winds are blowing to near white out conditions and the temperatures are dropping to the teens and into single digits again.
That doesn’t deter the kids from going outside to play, and Erica took Sammy out with her.
Then went down the slide together.
While the kids played outside, I made my signature Christmas cookies.
I plan to post the recipe and entire cookie making process this week. By stating that now, it has a 50% chance of actually getting accomplished.
To cap off our snowed in day, we received word late Sunday night that school had been canceled for today. That news set the kids off, high-fiving and jumping for joy. I have to be at work by 7am so no snow day for me. How I wish....
This is a neat trick I finally pulled off with the new (to me) 50mm lens - heart shaped bokeh. I'll post something on my photography blog tomorrow (Wednesday) on my set up, but you can go to this post from DIY if you don't want to wait.
First, my sweetheart, Erica. The hearts in the background make her look even sweeter.
And a dichotomy of sorts - Is this "tough love"?
I had a fun time with these and hope to create some additional shapes over the next few weeks, while the Christmas lights are still up.
So much for the forecast of 1-2". We received over 6" (some reports measured 8", but that seems high), and it was the soft fluffy snow that sticks to everything. Add in temperatures just at freezing and you have nice, packable snow.
Really pretty, too...
Brian played out in the snow all day long.
And with the Thomas boys, the kids built two snowmen.
A perfect way to spend a Saturday in December!
From our house to yours.
We didn't include Rascal in the picture - too much work.
And some of pictures leading up to the whole family:
On this cold, rainy Thanksgiving, we are so thankful for our friends, family, our warm home and so much more.
This year’s school pictures – I am amazed how grown up they are getting. The funny fact about Brian’s picture – he is wearing the same shirt he wore last year. The difference this year – no braces! This year, Erica put a lot of thought into what she wore and how she did her hair (straightened that morning). A sign of the times…..
A perfect Halloween evening - clear and a little cool (but it is the end of October - it's supposed to be cool).
I drove Erica to her friend's house and then wove back home, passing by the endless stream of parked cars in the 'hood. I know people come to our neighborhood to trick or treat, but didn't realize the magnitude until today. No wonder our huge stash of candy goes quickly.
Erica and her friends are dressed up as a tennis pro, a bum and a sports fan:
[note - I do not endorse those Yankees. She is a product of her father when it comes to this baseball stuff.... and Go Red Sox!]
As usual, Brian and George went out together.
Brian's costume is a result of the past two years' costume meltdowns. So this year, I refused to put much time into it and he came up with his own costume idea. The boys only visited three houses - ours, George's and our next door neighbor's. I think they are at the age where they don't care about trick or treating. It's a phase that will pass in about two years.
At least George's brothers dressed up appropriately:
Part of the reason why Brian doesn't want to walk around the neighborhood, is he would rather spend time at George's house handing out candy and working the spooky "tricks" of the house:
After all, Jill has her house decorated to the max:
Brian's favorite activity - hiding in the coffin, making noises and jumping out to scare the visitors. If you look carefully at the above picture, you can see Brian peeking out of the coffin - he has the Elmo mask on his head.
It was another fun Halloween in our little town on the prairie! A great end to October.
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