Horse Camp

Last week, my mom watched the girls and did daycare for me while Alayna and I went to Horse Camp. It was through the 4H and such a great experience for Alayna! She was able to ride for several hours a day, with sessions including Trail Class (getting your horse familiar with various "scary" things they may encounter on a trail-ride) showmanship, games, etc. Mixed in with the riding sessions were horseless sessions about caring for your horse, judging horses, general veterinary care, etc. She had a blast. While she was doing all that, I was relaxing in our borrowed camper, helping prepare meals for 100+ people and watching what I could of her riding sessions. We both had a great time and are ready for next year!

Alayna and her horse, Chloe

Trying to get Chloe to walk over a tarp. They circled several times before she finally did it!
Coming off the bridge in the trail class

Alayna during Horse Bowl (quiz bowl with horsey questions)

Alayna got 2nd place and a silver medal for her age group (23 kids) in horse judging!

**I have posted more today in a bit of blog-keeping, so look below for more of what's been happening!

Look What Mikayla learned!

She doesn't have the legs down yet, but she gets the job done with her arms! She'll be our little body-builder if she keeps it up and soon pass Daddy up in the guns (bicep) department! Mikayla is so happy to be able to swing on her own, and we are so happy to not have to push her constantly.

Brace-Face

Alayna got two brackets put on her front teeth a few weeks ago. This picture is even old compared to how she looks now. It's amazing how quickly things can change. Her expander (the pink things you see on her molars) was turned nightly for a month, slowly expanding her upper jaw to make room for all her teeth. The expander is now just holding space for a little while longer, to make sure that her jaw doesn't move right back. She has the two front brackets to pull her front teeth together in order to allow room for her missing tooth to finally move in. Well, it has and is now peeking through her gum...9+ months after she lost it.

She's no longer our Snaggle Tooth! The snaggleness is gone and she's really looking great with her teeth in some semblance of order. Like I've mentioned before, I know what she's going through and how much better it feels in the long run to have nice, straight teeth. And I keep reminding her of that when she complains of not being able to eat caramels, or chew gum, or have chewy candy. I can't wait to show the completion pics!

Dog Lovers, Read Up

I don't know how many of you pay attention to the links list on my side-bar, but I just added a new book that I read while camping over Memorial Weekend. My mom had read it for her book club and immediately told me I had to read it. She knew I'd love it, and I did.

"The Art of Racing in the Rain" is a book that I think everyone should read and will enjoy, but especially animal and dog lovers. It's the typical book review of "I laughed, I cried, I rejoiced..." it's all true.

Seriously, you need to read this book. It's told from a dog's point of view, as he looks over his life while he's in the process of dying. Not only will you never look at your pets the same way, but you will also stop at least once and marvel at the intelligence and depth of some of the dog's statements. Honestly, you forget that it's really a person writing from the dog's point of view. Fab.U.Lous. It's in my top 10 of favorite books ever read, I think. And I've read a LOT of books. So if you're looking for an easy read that will touch your heart and make you think, this is it. For realz.

We have a graduate on our hands!

Lilly flashing us the "I Love You" sign

Lilly graduated from her 4K program last week. It was so cute to see her up there with her class, performing their little program and accepting their diplomas. She is so sad to not see her friends for the summer, but she Can. Not. Wait. to start kindergarten! Congrats Lilly!

Mountains of Pics

Or should that be pics of mountains? Either way, it's applicable. I have a mountain of pictures to share in this post, so sit back and enjoy. I also have a legitimate excuse for not blogging for almost 2 wks. First we went camping Memorial Weekend. I forgot my camera, but it was a great time. We came home late Monday afternoon, scrambled to do laundry and mow the lawn and put things away. Tuesday was a regular day. Wednesday Andy and I...

...went on vacation! We bought a truck down in Phoenix, AZ, so we flew out and drove it home. It was Andy's first time on a plane, his first time seeing the mountains, first time seeing a lot of things. It was only my second time with most everything on the trip, with a few firsts for me as well. We had a great time.

We started in Phoenix, landing early Wednesday morning. We got checked into our hotel, which was right by the University of Phoenix Stadium where the Arizona Cardinals play. We walked to a local outdoor mall, did some shopping and ate some fabulous scones. Then we hung out at the hotel, took a nap and went back to the shopping center for a late lunch/early dinner. That night we met with some friends of mine for drinks and some wonderful garlic french fries!

Thursday morning we hung out at the hotel's outdoor pool, and basically marvelled at the 87 degree temp at 9 am. The truck was delivered to us shortly before noon, so we headed to Sam's Club to buy some groceries and a cooler for the drive home. Then we were on the road. We went northeast out of Phoenix, towards Holbrook AZ, where we hooked up with I-40. We took I-40 to Gallup, NM, then headed north to Durango, CO. We saw so many beautiful sites, with some pretty funny ones sprinkled in (like the people who were pulling a U-Haul with a Ford Ranger and looked completely perplexed that they jack-knifed on the winding roads!) We decided to stay in Durango for Thursday night.

Friday morning we were up with the sun, so we headed out early. We drove through the mountains, which were amazing. At times we were on very steep grades or super sharp corners, there was still snow in the higher elevations, and the traffic was very limited. We loved it all! We met up with I-25 in Colorado Springs, then took that north through Denver and exited onto Hwy 85 just north of Cheyenne, WY. Hwy 85 was quite the road, with very limited gas stations and towns, almost costing us an empty fuel tank! Thankfully we made it to a station and eventually to Custer State Park in South Dakota, where we had a campsite for Friday night.

Saturday morning we were again up quite early, so we packed things up and headed off on the wildlife loop through the southern part of the park. We saw buffalo, pronghorns, "wild" burros (they were once domesticated, then released into the park) and lots of turkeys. Both Andy and I were hoping for an elk or mountain sheep sighting throughout the entire trip, but between Custer and the mountains, all we saw were signs warning to be cautious for each. After the wildlife loop, we did Needles Highway and continued on to Mount Rushmore. We got to Mount Rushmore shortly before 8 am, so we had the entire place to just Andy and I and another couple in their mid-50s. By the time we left 20 mins later, there were probably 100 people milling around! In Rapid City we got onto I-90 until Wall, SD. Of course, we had to stop at Wall Drug, then drove through the Badlands before again getting on I-90 to head east into Minnesota. We made it as far as Andy's cousin's house in the southern Metro, where we stayed the night. We debated heading home, but from that point on we would have been in different vehicles (Andy's car stayed there when we came down for the flight) and not able to keep one another awake.

Sunday morning we were up about 8 and left to meet my mom and the girls after church. It was so nice to be with the girls and see how excited they were to see us! They loved the truck and immediately began asking when they could ride in it. So we loaded them up and headed home. When we got home, the dogs didn't know what to do! They saw Andy's car, with me driving, following that unfamiliar truck into the driveway, so they kept looking back and forth, not knowing it they should bark or not. They decided not to bark, until Andy opened the truck door. Then both started barking wildly, until they realized it was Andy. They tucked their tails, dropped their heads and looked incredibly sheepish for barking at their dad! It was too cute. As soon as we said hello to them, they started jumping up and down, and Marley did 3 hot-laps around the house. I think they were excited to see us, too.

All in all, we had a great trip. It was our first vacation away from the girls, so it was different and nice, but we were very glad to be home, too. We're already planning when we can do it again...this time with 3 girls in the backseat.

View from the plane

Heading north out of Phoenix

Cactus-we've never seen them before!

Sunset in New Mexico

Mountains outside of Durango, CO

Somewhere near Silverton, CO

Awww, this was so amazing

The view and the road

The view, with a sign saying how steep it was

Storms over Eastern WY

Burros in Custer State Park

Momma & Baby Pronghorn

Oh give me a home, where the Buffalo roam!

Tatanka

Andy and the truck on Needles Highway

One of the tunnels on Needles, 8'4" wide

Suck it in!!

Mount Rushmore, in case you didn't know

Badlands

The Badlands were near the top of the trip for Andy

Baby Bellies

One of Mikayla's good friends is expecting a baby brother in a few weeks. Mikayla has always been a big lover of babies--both real and plastic--but I think she's finally old enough to realize that the baby is actually in the big belly. When one of my best friends had a baby in November, I don't think it was all put together. But now, being 7 months older, she's made the connection.

At story time the other day, she was asking her friend's mom all about her tummy and the baby. She came home and pretended she had a baby in her belly. Lilly also had a baby in her belly, according to Mikayla. And the other day she mentioned to Gramma that she was in Daddy's belly when he was a Mommy...think about that one for awhile.

So yesterday after nap time, Mikayla was snuggling with me until she was fully awake. She sat up and looked at me for a long time, then asked, "Mommy, do you have 2 babies in your tummy?"

Now I'll be honest, I was a little offended. I know she didn't mean it like it sounded, but as a woman you automatically think she's calling you fat. And I'm not, but I was beginning to wonder if I'd let myself slip and not realized it. "No, Mommy is not having any babies. Why?"

She got a funny, confused look on her face. "But you have 2 big bellies!"

When I followed her gaze, I realized where she was looking. "No honey, those aren't part of my tummy. My tummy is under them...."

That's Our Girl!!

I had to make a grocery shopping excursion last night. It was one of those that we needed a few things, but there were several things that were on the cusp. "We could use some bread." "We only have a few eggs left." You know how it goes. And since I was going to make it a big trip, I decided to add in our camping list for next weekend, too. Why not? It'll save me time next week.

As we were getting ready to go, Alayna ran upstairs to grab her purse. She's quite the saver and has some money left over from her basketball cookie dough sales incentive back in December. She was determined to find a special something for the upcoming summer. Well, Lilly heard that and decided, for the first time, that she also wanted to bring some of her money she's saved up. She asked if it was okay, I told her it was, and she ran up to her room.

"I got the one with a 5, is that okay?" she asked.

When we got to the store, she was scouring the racks, looking for that perfect thing she could buy with her own money. Alayna quickly found herself a pair of black flip-flops with a 2" heel for $8. Lilly didn't want shoes, she didn't want a new shirt. She wasn't sure what she wanted.

I finished my shopping and we were headed to the check-out line when Lilly said, "Wait! I see it!"

She ran to the rack, grabbed her purchase, and we headed to the check-out. Lilly waited patiently in line ahead of me, nervous but excited to make her first exchange by herself. She put the prize on the conveyor belt, waited until the clerk said the total, then handed over her $5 bill. She waited anxiously for her change, accepted that and her bag, said thank you and then helped me finish unloading the cart.

I was so proud of her! She was very grown-up and professional, remembering her manners and to speak clearly and loudly. I was also proud of her choice for that very first purchase: King-sized Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. They are one of mine and Andy's favorites. Yum. And she even told me, "Mommy, I won't eat these all at once. Just one at a time so I don't get a belly-ache." Is she really that old and mature already?!

We're gonna get you!

Something has been visiting us for the past few weeks. And it's getting old.

It all started earlier this spring. Every so often, the grain bins in the barn would be knocked over when we'd go out to feed the animals. We didn't know what was doing it, so we assumed it was our dog, Sunny, for some reason. Shortly after the first time, the bins were bungee tied to the wall and their covers were securely snapped in place. Then it happened again, with the huge 33 gallon bin knocked over while 2/3 full. Hmmmm, maybe it's not the dog. As a matter of fact, I remember her barking in the middle of the night...

The bins were re-secured, with some extra reinforcements, and we set up a live trap. That first night we caught...a cat. Poor Coonie was so upset and didn't talk to us for a day. He's since recovered, but there's still something getting into our grain bins. It was in there 3 or 4 nights last week. We honestly have no idea what it is. We're assuming raccoon(s) but there's a very real possibility it's also a small bear recently kicked out of mom's den. And it could still be the dog, though we've never seen her have a desire to eat the grain any other time. It's driving us crazy and costing us money.


I got a brainiac idea and asked Andy's cousin if we could borrow their trail-camera. They came over for a family play date and the men set up the camera. We were certain we'd catch the bugger, if not in the trap, at least on camera so we knew what we were dealing with.

Well, it didn't quite work that way...

I know the pics are hard to make out, but take a look at a couple details with me. In the first photo, it shows the time as 0:35, which means 12:35 am. The live trap is nicely situated right next the bags of grain (which the critter thankfully hasn't touched!) The camera flashes and still doesn't get a pic of whatever it is. 5 mins later, at 12:40, (the soonest the camera will take a pic) it takes another shot and you see that when the camera flashed the first time, it apparently scared the animal, causing the live trap to go rolling across the barn. Each time, no animal is in the picture that's obvious. If you look closely, it looks like there may be a leg on the left edge of the photo--a yellowish leg (which may account for the huge white spot in the center) But even if it is Sunny in that photo, since it's the second pic and taken 5 mins later, I don't immediately deduce it was her that knocked things over. After all, this is her property and she's very protective. If she heard a noise that she didn't make and wasn't normal, she most certainly would go investigate. Grrrr It's motion activated, so something caused the camera to take the photos. Grrrr Obviously, it was also too close to the area since it's all so bright and distorted from the flash (and they aren't meant for indoor photos, but I. Don't. Care.) Grrrr

So we still have some work to do. The visitor didn't strike last night, so maybe the flash scared it off for awhile. We can hope. But just in case, the trap is set and the camera is in (a new) place.

So, I'm beginning to suck at this

I'm beginning to suck at this blogging business. I do really well, then life gets in the way and before I know it, it's been over a week since I last blogged. Then I do really well for a few weeks, and I miss a week or two again. I suppose it could be looked at as a good thing--that life is keeping us busy enough that I don't have excess computer time. But sometimes, that's not the case. I still have that time, I just use it to read a book, or check FaceBook, or play games. Then I get yelled at for not updating the blog, which sometimes I admit just simply gets forgotten. I promise I'll make a better effort....

So, the last 2 weeks have been pretty busy. Alayna had 4H and is starting to figure out what she'll be bringing to the fair. She also got her expander put in, so we spend a lot of time picking food out of the crevices (yummy, huh?) Her homework is increasing a bit, as the class works on end of the year projects. She informed me just yesterday that there are 16 days left of school, then she'll be a fourth-grader.

Lilly has also been wrapping up her school year in 4K. She's really doing well with her reading and can read entire beginner books by herself. She doesn't spend a lot of time reading because her true love is art--she's constantly drawing pictures of the family, animals, etc, or coloring in her various coloring books. She does such a great job of staying within the lines and using lots of color, but in ways that make sense. She's definitely our little artist.

Mikayla is still learning tons each day. She's starting to recognize the letters and numbers, and her new favorite show on tv is Team Umizoomi, which is on Nick Jr. It's all about using math to solve problems. We don't watch a lot of tv during the day, but this is a fast favorite. Of course, she's still singing all. the. time. She sings songs from the radio, songs we've taught her, songs she makes up. She's always singing about something.

Our entire family was recently involved in our church fundraiser. For the second year, we've had a large musical production of Broadway tunes. This year, we not only performed at our church, but we were asked to perform at another church as well! The second show was this past weekend. I do the job of "key grip", or sound during the show, and Andy helps control things behind the scenes, like helping people keep track of time, controlling the kids, etc. All 3 girls sang "Do Re Mi" with the children's chorus during an ensemble from "Sound of Music." Lilly and Alayna were also little bride's for Grampa's solo of "Sunrise, Sunset" and Alayna played the role of Alphaba (the young wicked witch) for our friend's rendition of "Popular" from "Wicked." The whole event was so wonderful and lots of fun. I even got in on a little fun, by being a bit of a hussy while the men's chorus sang "Watching All the Girls Go By."

Andy and I are status quo, keeping everything running and going as it should. We have planned a trip for early this summer, so that will be a great time to unwind and get some time together. And when we get home, it'll be busier than ever with camps and visits and everything else ramping up. Such is life, right?

So, if you're still checking in--Thank You! I promise I'll try to at least get little blurbs on here to show that we are still alive and well. I know for some of you, this is the easiest and best way to keep up with our family!