Sunday, November 30, 2008

That Time of Year Again!!!

It was once again that time of year where Kevin and I got to listen to the kids' teachers say such nice things about them, leaving us shaking our heads in amazement. What do you mean she gets along well with others, is a group leader, and quite independent? You couldn't possibly be talking about my Katie!
(The one who still gets in bed with us during the middle of the night, and who won't leave my side EVER...lol!!!)
I am told that most parents are shocked when they find out how their child acts in school, and let me be the first to tell you that I always am...lol!!! It is interesting to see how your child behaves when you are not around, and it is very reassuring, because my kidlets are little beasties at home, to know that they are little angels at school. It lets you know that you are doing something right!!!
Why am I not expounding on Eric, you may ask? Mostly because he is a third grader, so we have had three years to adjust to his school personality. Both of the kidlets have done great so far this year, but that was not a surprise to me, as I volunteer in each of their classrooms once a week. (Surprisingly, I think that I will miss that when I go back to work!)
Volunteering is kind of nice, because it allows you to observe your child in a learning environment, and you have plenty of opportunities to talk to their teachers about any problems that your kidlet may be experiencing.
Eric's conference was really neat, in that it was student led, and Eric had to guide us through his progress so far this year. Remember back in the olden days, when we just learned multiplication and division in third grade? Well now they are learning factoring, geometry and beginning algebra. It is really quite neat to see the level of learning that kids do at such an early age, and what is even neater, is that they understand it!!!
Katie's conference was also good, and in the two months she has been in first grade, she has gone from a K1 (kindergarten/month one) reading level to a K8 (kindergarten/month eight). Her teacher assures me that by March, Katie will be reading at or above grade level. Way to go Katie Kate!!!
Anywho...I just wanted to let family know that Eric and Katie are doing well in school, and let Eric and Katie know that we are really proud of them!!
Good job you guys, and Eric, I may need your help in my math class next semester...lol!!!

Saturday, November 29, 2008

All the Pretty Arabians...

There have been a lot of bloggers who have posted about their favorite breed, or breeds, of horses lately, so I thought that I would take a minute to show you mine! Those of you who know me, know that I have had a lifelong love affair with the Arabian horse, and even though I may now prefer Arab crosses to purebred Arab's, it is only because of the way some prominent Arabian breeders, similar to breeders of any type of registered horse (or any registered animal for that matter!) have focused only one area, typeyness, and sacrificed other areas that should count more than looks-brains!!!! By brains, I am not referring to the spookiness of a horse-I have ridden several breeds of horses who are spookier than many of the Arabians that I have ridden-rather what I am referring to is the intelligence and problem solving (or problem causing...lol!!) abilities that the Arabian horse was/is known for.

Take a look at Abu Farwa, a Crabbet-bred stallion, in the above picture. I bet that he is not what most of us think of when we think of the Arab "type," but 40+ years ago, he was. Today, there are several types of Arabian horses, and to me, the interesting thing about them is that they are all interconnected.
Unfortunately, I do not have the time to write a really in-depth post (I should be finishing one of my papers right now!) so I am just going to touch on the various types/strains of Arabian horses that there are today, post a link where you can go read about their history, and post a few pictures of some of the Arab stallions who are credited with being the forefathers of their particular type.My favorite type of Arab is known as the Crabbet Arab. They were selected from Bedouin herds in Egypt and imported to England's Crabbet Park, by Lady Anne Blunt and her successors. *Abu Farwa, the chestnut featured earlier, and *Skowronek (actually imported from Poland), the gray stallion above, are a few famous stallions that came from this breeding program, and who's influence is still seen today. (See this link for more info)Perhaps no Arabian stallion is as well known as *Bask++ (above stallion). He is one of the most prominent Polish Arabian stallions ever, and many horses can be traced back to him. Polish Arabians have a fascinating history that is riddled with many hardships, and the fact that the breed survived in Poland is amazing. You can read more about them here and here, and Val over at Fantastyk Voyage did an excellent post on their history as well!Another bloodline, which is closely related to the Polish Arabian, is the Russian Arabian. This bloodline was also lucky to have made it through political turmoil and strife, and it really took off when prized, Polish Arabian stallions were sent to the Tersk Stud in Russia during World War II. Until then, the Russian Arabian was mostly composed of some stallions who were imported from France and the Crabbet Stud in England. The stallion above is *Muscat, and you can read more about them here.Most likely the least known Arabian, the Spanish Arab composes less than 1% of the Arabian bloodlines today. They were originally bred from Polish and Crabbet horses, but were eventually refined to represent the Spanish Arabian as it is known today. They were introduced in Spain to enhance the breeding of Iberian horses, and their influence can be seen in breeds such as the Andalusian and Lipizzaner. The above stallion is *Barich de Washoe, and you can read more about the Spanish Arabian here. Lastly there is the line that most people think of when they reflect upon Arabian horses, and that is the Egyptian Arabian. They are often considered to be the purest of the Arabian bloodlines, and were developed by breeders such as Henry Babson. The important thing to remember about Arabian horses is that they all stem from the Egyptian Arab, and that the various "lines" that are seen today, are representative of the areas/regions where they come from-Poland, England, Russia, and Spain- and their breeding programs. Two prominent stallions that helped to carry on the Egyptian line, are *Morafic (above), and *Nazeer (below). You can read more about Egyptian Arabians here. Again, this is just a brief synopsis of the Arabian horses current lineage, and I will write more about their versatility in another post. If there are any major errors, I am apologizing ahead of time...my research time is limited and I am going off of what I can remember "off the top of my head"...lol!!!! Can you tell which line, Bo (Caballero SF), comes from by noting any resemblances to horses in the above photos??
Hope that everyone is recovering from Thanksgiving!!! Have a great weekend!
PS-My other favorite breed is mentioned in this post. Can you guess what it is?

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!!!

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

I know that I am one day early, but from our family to yours, have a Happy Thanksgiving!!!
Just don't eat too much food...lol!! I am personally looking forward to eating food that has been cooked by someone other than me for a change!!!
See you all soon!

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

More About Me!!!!

Well...I am two tests and three papers closer to being done with this semester! Yea!!!!!!
Honestly though, college professors like to torment their students at the end of each semester. I once asked one of them why they feel it is necessary to give us so much work at the end of a semester, and she replied that it was because there was no way we could write papers/do projects at the beginning, or near the middle of a semester, because not enough material has been presented. Huh???? I told her that professors punish themselves as well, because they end up with a huge load of papers and final exams that have to be graded. Maybe they don't always grade them? Who knows!!!
Anywho, Lisa over at the Laughing Orca Ranch, tagged me with a "Six Things About Me" meme like a week ago. Sorry that I am just know getting to it Lisa!!! Even if I am BWO...lol!!! I have done this once before, and I went into great, boring detail, so if you have never read it, here it is: About Me #1.
I promise that this one will be shorter! Well...maybe!!!
Six Things About Me!!!


1) I have gone to over 18 different schools (primary schools) in my lifetime. Obviously my family moved around a lot, but the plus side is that I am not shy and have no trouble walking up to someone and introducing myself.

2) I went to kindergarten in Germany. We lived in Germany for two years, and I attended kindergarten there as a four and five year old. Unfortunately, I no longer remember any of the German language, but it does sound familiar when I hear it...I can sometimes figure out what is being said.

3) I was home schooled for eighth and ninth grade. My neighbor was too, and we used to get our work done in the morning and then ride ALL day long...lol!!!! Ahhhh....those were the good old days!!!!

4) I graduated 12th (gpa-wise) in a class of 150 kids. At the beginning of my senior year I was 8th....guess the physics and calculus kicked my patooty!!!

5) Ok...school stuff is getting really boring so lets switch this up a bit! I am over 1/2 Irish, and I have that really pasty, white skin that looks like it would never tan, but thankfully it does!!! I am so fair that my fellow co-workers at the clinic I used to work at called me "Casper." How mean is that...lol??!! Hi Kris!!! I know you read this and I believe that it was YOU who coined that term!!!

6) This one is kind of a spin-off of Lisa's, but I had both of my kidlets with a midwife...no pain medicine. With Eric, I labored for over 36 hours at the birthing center, and then had to be transferred to the hospital for a possible c-section. He finally came out (thanks to pitocin!) and weighed 9 pounds/9oz, and was 22" long. My labor with Katie was only four hours long, so I was able to have her at the birth center. She weighed 10pounds/6oz, and was also 22" long. The vet that I worked for when I was younger, teased me and said that with all of my experience in breeding and genetics, I should have known better to breed a little heifer to a big bull...lol!!!
(For those of you who don't know, Kevin is 6'4" and I am 5'5"...what the HECK was I thinking!!! Kevin happily got snipped after Katie was born, because I told him that I was not having any more of his babies!!!)

I am looking forward to catching up on every one's blog tonight! Have a great evening!!

Friday, November 21, 2008

Kids, Horses, a Pony, and Papers!!!

It is conference time at the kidlet's school, and they had a 1/2 day today, so I took them riding instead of me getting to ride, but oh well...what is a mom to do????
I think that Bo was pretty happy to see Eric today. What do you think? It was supposed to rain today, and we had made plans to ride at the arena. The rain held off, but we went to the arena anyway, because Bo just had his shoes pulled. We are going to use EasyBoots on him, as he only ever needs front shoes. Amber has been using them on Waska, and likes them a lot, so I will let you guys know how they turn out for Bo.
Eric is the perfect size for Bo. I can only imagine what I must look like on him...lol!!!!
Do you see the big, gray horse that is watching us through the gate? He is a giant Warmblood gelding, who stands 17 hands high. I was drooling over him when the barn owner came out and said that his owner just put him up for sale...I didn't even ask the price...huh-uh...not going there...lol!!!
Miss Katie was riding Sienna today, and they worked on trotting. Remember Sienna is a cart pony, so squeezing/kicking her sides mean nothing to her. She goes by voice commands, and clicking/smooching sounds, so we are working on teaching her about moving off of pressure. Bo looks a little conceited in this picture...like he is dismissing Sienna with a flick of his tail. Snooty Arab!!!Waska looked breathtaking today (or at least I thought he did!) so I took some shots of him trotting and cantering. He has come so far, and I am so proud of Amber!
Handsome!!! While we were untacking the big horses, Katie took Sienna, or tried to take Sienna, through the trail course, but all Sienna could think about was gobbling down as much grass as she possibly could before Katie got her head up..lol!!!We let Eric load Bo today (Amber was waiting on the inside of the trailer), and I noticed in this picture that we need to paint the inside of our trailer! We have had it for 14 years now, so I guess it is time!!!Sorry that this post is kind of spacey and random, but I have been typing one of my papers all evening and I needed a break! My mind feels kind of fried right now. Where is Saddle Mtn. Rider when I need her...lol???!!!
I have a tag that I have to work on from Miss Lisa as well, so I will try to get that done tomorrow or Sunday. Have a good weekend everybody!!!

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Baby Cat (Not to Be Confused With a Kitten!)

So these are not the best pictures in the world, but they show you just how good, Twittums, our cat is. He has always put up with both of my kids (as if he ever had any say in the matter!) and he is even related to us. How you ask? His mother is the daughter of my husband's, uncle's, cat! So that makes him a cousin...lol!!! Anyhow, he has always let Katie and Eric torture...I mean play with him, and he has never bitten or scratched them...never even offered to. As you can see in the picture above, Katie is giving him his bottle. She makes him be her "baby" on a regular basis, and he is pretty good at playing along. Twit's bottles vary, but it looks like today's bottle is my old coffee cup with some milk in it. Sometimes Katie spoon feeds him his canned food too. My daughter cracks me up!!!
Once he has had his bottle, Katie must burp him (doesn't he look enthused?)...
...and then he gets placed in his crib...
...or in his stroller...lol!!
Right about now, Twit is wishing that the cougar paw on the wall behind him would become animated and take a big swipe at Katie!
Don't you just love my daughter's slippers? She does not get her fashion sense from me....I think that she gets it from Auntie Amber...teeheehee!!!
The next few days are going to be pretty awful, with a test tomorrow and Monday, a project due on Friday, and and two 10 page papers due on Tuesday. Can you guess what I will be doing ALL weekend??? The kids are telling me that I have to take them riding on Friday, because they only have a 1/2 day of school...grrr...Friday is supposed to be MY day!!!!

Monday, November 17, 2008

Ick...I Mean "Good Job Eric!!"

Warning: If you do not like pictures of dead animals, please do not read this post.
As I was walking out of class on Thursday, my phone started vibrating, and I looked down and saw that it was Kevin's cell phone. I figured that it was Kevin, or Eric, calling to tell me that one of them shot a deer, and I was right. I answered with a "Hello," and was quickly greeted with a "Hi mom! Guess what? I just shot a nice big doe, and it was an ethical shot just like you told me (good boy!!)." Because of his age, Eric is allowed to shoot a buck or a doe, and Kevin said that they were only seeing spikes (immature bucks),but literally hundreds of does, so they (Kevin and his cousin Keith) had Eric shoot a doe to give the spikes a chance to grow into something worth shooting. Nice of them, huh (insert sarcasm)???? Anywho...all I cared about was that he dropped it with one shot, and he did, so good boy Eric!!!!!
I am sorry that I have to post gory pictures of a dead, blood covered deer, but Eric wants everyone to see his doe. Below is Eric and his proud daddy. Also...just so you all know, the doe will be used to make kielbasa and summer sausage, so the meat does not go to waste.Kevin and Keith came home empty handed this year, but five (or was it six?) out of the eleven people in their hunting party, were successful. Keith (Kevin's cousin)used to own a dairy farm over in Deer Park, so he knows a lot of people over where they were hunting, who let them use their land to hunt on....however, Kevin said that all they really saw were huge groups (50-100 or more) of does and last years fawns. Kevin also said that there was an insane number of people hunting over where they were this year, and that the bucks were most likely in hiding. Do ya think???!!!

The handsome looking fella in the picture above is Kevin's cousin, Keith, scoping out the landscape. Of course, you can't really see his face, so you will have to take my word on it!! I had to put this picture up for all of his family member's that secretly stalk...I mean read... my blog...lol!!!
Above we have Mr. Eric...all serious and grown-up looking. He was really missing his mama in this picture, can't you tell...lol!!!???
The landscape by Loon Lake sure looks like good riding country to me!!!! I asked Eric and Kevin if they noticed the buck in the lower right corner of this picture...I had them going for just one moment...lol!!!
I am glad to have my boys AND my camera back, now I just wish that it was Friday...my riding day!
Talk at you all soon!!!

Sunday, November 16, 2008

Sorry...

Sorry that I have been absent for so long, but I feel like I am missing an appendage without my camera. Silly, I know! Also, those team penning/cattle sorting pictures are not up yet, and I don't want the lady to think that I am some psycho who is really impatient to see them (even though I am !!!), so I will get them up as soon as I see that she has finally put them on her website...lol!!!
Just in case anyone is wondering, the boys are on their way home, but I will not tell you about "who got what," until I have my camera back in my mitts, and can post pictures along with my write-up.
Miss Katie and I have had a fun week, filled with manicures, pedicures (provided by moi!), eating out, and sleeping in, and it is a good thing that the boys are coming home, or I would probably gain about five pounds!
It has been difficult to get much homework done with Katie harassing me, but my parent's took her yesterday, and then had me over for a delicious dinner at the end of the day. Thanks again mom and dad!!!!
Amber and I were able to get a nice ride in on Friday, and I really missed having my camera, because we had some significant flooding over here last week, and the aftermath is amazing and horrific all at once. Pictures would have shown you what I mean, but the damage will still be there next week, so I will take some pics when we head out again. See the river in the above picture? It looks nothing like that now. A neat little piece of trivia about the river in the above picture, is that about 35-40 miles upstream from where I took it is Mt. Rainier, and the Carbon glacier that feeds it ("it" being the river!). Pretty neat that we are so close to such a magnificent mountain huh??? As long as it doesn't erupt...lol!!!I have also received another award from a person that I consider a great "blog" friend. Lisa, over at The Laughing Orca Ranch has bestowed the "Million Dollar Friend Award" upon me. Thanks Lisa!!! I think that you are pretty swell too!! She doesn't know it yet, but Bo and I are just going to show up on her doorstep one day...lol!!!!
Anywho...hope that you have all had nice, relaxing, or productive, weekends, and I only have about five more hours until my camera gets back...oh yeah, and Kevin and Eric too...lol!!!

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Gone Hunting....

Well...after all of the excitement around here last weekend, the boys have officially left us!!! That's right, they got up at 3:00 this morning and headed off for Eastern Washington, in hopes of getting themselves either a whitetail buck, or a mule deer buck. This means that I have no camera until they get back, which really sucks...lol!!!
(Mule Deer pictured above)
This is Eric's second year as an official hunter, and he is really excited to get something again. I say again, because last year he shot a little spike, so of course this year, he wants to get something that he can mount on the walls of our "Man Room," or den.
Being the animal lover that I am, I harped on poor Eric to only shoot at something if he knows he can kill it with one shot. I have taught him that nothing deserves to suffer and that he should never take a shot at something to wound it first. Of course, who knows what happens when they are out there, without me nagging at them, but last year he dropped his deer with one shot, and I told him that he better do that again this year!!
(Whitetail Deer picture above)
About those team penning pictures...I keep checking their website, but she hasn't posted any yet. Doesn't she know that I have a blog, and that I need to get those pictures uploaded??? LOL!!
Have a happy Wednesday everyone!

Monday, November 10, 2008

Who Would of Thunk It???

Oh my goodness!!! We had an absolute blast yesterday!!! So the official theme of the clinic was "Cow Rating," as taught by Gail Wilinson, a professional cutting horse trainer. It was actually all about how to rate, pick, and sort your cattle, and then how to hold them, and move them down to the awaiting pen (basically it was team penning), and not about cutting cattle, so we actually all did pretty well. I will apologize ahead of time to those of you who are familiar with team penning/cattle sorting, and to those of you who are not, because I do not remember the correct terminology for any of the things that we did, except for what a sweeper, wing person, and hole person are. I also am sad to say that I was unable to get any pictures, because we all three had to compete as a team, so I couldn't very well say "Hold it right there! I need to get a shot of this!" LOL!!! I did just get an e-mail from the owner of the barn, that said that there was a photographer there taking pictures (I had no idea!) and that they will post them on their site as soon as they are available, so stay tuned.
(Picture of Bo last August) "Cow horse? I ain't no stinking cow horse!!! I am a purebred Arabian, Mel!!! Since when do I chase cows around!!"
Let me start off by talking about Bo Bo. This was his first time being around cattle, other than the time that he and Amber chased two cows back down a trail and into their pasture, about eight years ago. While he did really well, it was not because he paid attention to the cattle and what they were doing, it was only because he is so well trained, and was able to move off of my legs telling him where to go. In other words, Bo is definitely not "cowey," but I think that he will learn what it is that I expect him to do, without me having to ask so much, because he is smart. This being said, his strong point was not being the horse that went in and picked out the three steers...he did better at holding the line, or keeping the herd at bay, and holding the cattle that we had sorted out until it was time to move them to the pen. So, for future penning competitions/clinics, Bo and I will be the sweeper (the horse that helps push the cattle down the arena and towards the wing person/pen) and the holder.
(Kristina and China last September at the Trail Challenge) "Aren't we just too cute???!! Don't worry out there, we've got your back!"
Next we had Kristina and China, (we were really not worried about China's performance because she is a Paint), and she definitely lived up to her breeds heritage. Like I said, it was hard to watch each other out there, because we were all working as a team, but Kristina and China just got right in there and moved those steers! China was not timid at all, and she proved herself, under Kristina's guidance of course, to definitely fit in to the "cowey" category. Kristina and China seemed to be the best at sorting the cattle and then helping to move them down the arena, and also at taking up the wing position (the horse to the right of the pen, who keeps the cattle from slipping between the pen and an open space, and dashing back to their herd), or the hole position (the horse to the left of the pen, that effectively blocks that cattle from slipping between the wall and the pen, and running back to the herd. This horse and rider work alone, without the help of the other two horses/riders ,until it is time to run the cattle into the pen).
(Waska last July) "This is really dumb! Now lets go chase us some steers!!!"Lastly, and the most surprising of all, we had Amber and Waska, who had only been around cattle one other time. Honestly, we weren't expecting great things from Waska, because he is 1/2 Arab and 1/2 Saddlebred, and I don't know about you, but we have never heard of either of those breeds being "cowey." So...you can imagine our great surprise, when he and Amber approached the herd of 14 steers, and Waska dropped his head down, pinned his ears back, and started cutting them! Totally unbelievable!!! Gail even came up to Amber, not once, but twice, and said that she needed to get him around cattle, because "she had herself a really cowey little gelding there." Obviously then, Waska and Amber proved that they were capable of doing any of the positions that were asked of them, either sorter, holder, sweeper etc...
In retrospect, team penning/cattle sorting definitely works better if you have a horse that knows, or likes what it is doing, but the riders skill level, as well as the difficulty or ease of the cattle that you have to sort, is really what makes up a good team. We will definitely be doing this again!!! Oh...and just so you know, whoever came up with the one and a half minute time limit sucks...lol!!! I think that you should have at least three minutes...one minute per cow!!
Also, for those of you who are wondering how many times we were able to sort/pen, it was twice without cattle, and three times with the cattle.
Again...sorry that there are no pictures, but I will see if I can get some off of the farm's website once they are up.
Have a great Monday! I am off to write up yet another paper proposal, and to go check out a library book on team penning/cattle sorting...lol!!!

Friday, November 7, 2008

Say What????

Today, Amber, Kristina (remember her from the trail challenge?), and I went and worked our horses in the arena, and in between rain showers, went for a quick trail ride.
I thought that we were just going to dink around, and we did do that a little bit, but the actual reason we were there, was to work on rollbacks and getting our horses to move off of our legs, for you see, we are all three going to an all level cutting clinic on Sunday (my birthday present from Amber and Kevin!). Needless to say, I was under the impression that it was just going to be a bunch of beginners, who were going to play around and "sort" cattle (the barn that is holding the clinic also hosts cattle sortings). We will be sorting cattle alright...the one that we want to cut (I believe that the trainers name is Gail Wilkinson, but I may be wrong).
This was just one of those things where I got a phone call from Amber, who said that we had the opportunity to ride in this clinic, and that she would pay for half of the cost as a birthday present.
Now, after practicing rollbacks and turning on the haunches, I am thinking "what the heck have I got myself into???? I am a trail rider who like to ride Dressage??!!" LOL!!!
Don't get me wrong, I used to take lessons from a cutting trainer, but it was never my cup of tea. Maybe it should be though...my son wants to try reining out. I am sure that I will look like a total goofball out there on my old, gray Arab, who at least happens to love chasing cattle, but I am looking forward to what should definitely be a great experience! We are all keeping our fingers crossed that Waska will survive, as he has only been around cattle one other time...at least he got into it and chased them, so we shall see. Kristina will do fabulous on her paint mare, and will make us all look bad...lol!!! She (Kristina) did make a really good cow out in the arena today though (we "cut" her from an imaginary herd and then kept her away from them...the imaginary cattle..lol!!).
Note: the above horse is AM Fiery Dream, an Al Marah bred Arabian cutting and reining champion.

Wednesday, November 5, 2008

Happy Birthday Mom!!!

Today is my mom's birthday, so I thought that I would post a picture of us on my wedding day 12 years ago. Now you readers can all see where all of my sister's red hair comes from...well that and my dad's hair is red too...lol!!!I should confess now that my birthday was on Monday, so I guess I should say "happy birthday" to myself too! Yep, that's right folks, I am now officially 25 years...I mean 34 years old. Blahhhhhh......
Happy birthday mom!! I will party with you on Friday!

Change...

I wasn't going to say anything about last night's election, because everyone has their own opinions about what went down, and I know that no matter what I say, people will still be up in arms, but I decided to do it anyway...
Whether you voted for Obama or you voted for McCain, you will have strong emotions about the outcome of the election, and I think that it is important to focus on the future of our great nation, and not necessarily on who won. This was definitely a close race when it came to popularity, and it saddens me that our country is still so divided about where we want it to go. I personally have always tended to vote more conservatively, but this year I went for the candidate that I felt would be the most likely to get us out of our slump and move us forward. Did I pick the right man? I have no idea...only time will tell, but I feel that we cannot continue on the path that we currently find ourselves on. My hope is that Obama will be able to bring some sort of unification amongst our politicians, as well as promote positive change, peace and equality.
Even though I supported Obama, I do not think for a minute that John McCain is a bad guy, and I feel that he truly is sort of a maverick/renegade Republican, but I also feel that if he would have been elected, some of the key issues that I want changed, would not have been changed. This being said, I was very impressed by his eloquent speech last night, and I hope that he continues to play a part in our government. (To me, what is so sad about last night's election, was that I agree with some of the issues that both of the candidates put forth for change, and I just wish that we could have a "somewhere in the middle" political party. Why does everything have to be extremes?) I also realize, and I hope that those of you who voted for McCain realize as well , that I will not agree with everything that Obama does, and that it will take a long time for our country to get out of the mess that we are in, but I think that if we try to work together to find common ground, we will be able to accomplish this much more quickly. Anyway...I am excited that my my husband, my children and myself were able to be part of this historic election, and only time will tell what the consequences of last night's election will be... either negative or positive.
PS-I would probably have written this even if Obama had lost, it would just have a different tone to it. :)

Sunday, November 2, 2008

Halloween!

Yet another Halloween has come and gone, and when it was all said and done, my kids had over nine pounds of candy, which is absolutely ludicrous when you think that there are starving people all over the world. It is really to bad that there is no way to exchange some of the candy for canned food, and then donate it your local food bank.
The kids had a really good time this year, with Katie being a witch...

...and Eric and his friend, Michael, going as the Men In Black. They watched that movie about one month ago, and decided that they wanted to trick-or-treat together, so Michael's mom bought them matching suits and his dad helped them make their alien blasting guns.This is the back of one of Michael's little cousins. She is just a tiny little thing (18 months old), and I just wanted to scoop her up and take her home! How come I didn't think that mine were that cute when they were that little? Probably because I was too tired and stressed out to enjoy them...lol!!!Hope that you all had great weekends!