If It's Not One Thing....

Still Here!!!!

2011-02-19T19:24:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone!!! Once again.....it has been way too long since I last blogged. And I thought that life was going to slow down once I was done with school......Boy was I wrong!!!!!

Now that I am done with school,Katie has been playing sports as well as Eric, and we have literally spent M-Th and every Saturday, over the past two months, attending basketball games for both kidlets. Phew....glad that is done! However, baseball is already going for Eric and Katie starts fast pitch next month. We have been so busy that I have not even been able to ride for the past three months. I haven't even seen the horses. Until today, because I am feeding them while Amber is gone this weekend, and boy did it feel good to run my hands under their warm blankets and breathe in their horsey scent. Ahhhhhh.....there is just something about a horse that makes it all feel better, right?

Oh, and of course Amber has been harassing me about getting a horse. I really want one, but I have been just too darn busy. Speaking of that, I am thinking about returning to grad school. Yep...call me crazy, but I am really considering it. For one thing, there is now a part-time, advanced standing MSW program that will only take me one year to complete. And for another thing, once I have my MSW, I can do shift work at a hospital, which means that I won't have to work M-F anymore.

I am afraid that having always worked in the health care field has ruined me. This is because I have always worked three 12 hour shifts, or four 10's. And I hate to say it, but it really spoiled me, and I am not cut out to working M-F. Okay. There. It is out. So....anywho, I am going to meet with an advisor at UW to see about returning. Call me crazy!!!!

In other news, my family and I went on a great winter vacation last month to Silver Mountain Resort in Kellogg ID. We went with some good friends of ours and we had a really good time. The resort has an indoor water park and it also has a gondola (20 minute ride!) that takes you up to Silver Mtn. The kidlets snowboarded and even I put on a pair of skis...something I had not done in over 18 years. Thankfully, I only fell once in two days of skiing, and I didn't break any bones...lol!!!

Well, I hope you enjoy my update. I am going to try to catch up on every one's blogs tonight. Not that I will be able to keep up or anything...lol!!!!!

If It's Not One Thing.......

2010-12-22T10:36:00.000-08:00

Hello....hello!!!!!! I am thinking that everyone has figured that I quit blogging. Not quite the case. It is true that I have not been on Blogger in like...I don't know...two-three months???? BUT, I am not done with all of you yet!!!! LOL!!!!

What has my problem been???? Honestly???? I have had a really difficult time adjusting to working everyday. There. I said it. Plain and simple....I wish I only worker three days per week. I have been spoiled the last three years in school, and going back to work has definitely taken some getting used too. Now before you get all put-your-big-girl-panties-on-and-quit-complaining on me, just know that until the last three years, I worked 30-40 (or more) hours per week, so it is not like I did not know what I was getting myself into. And for the record, I am working 30 hours per week, M-F, 9-3:30. Now when you factor in my 45 min. commute it gets a bit longer, but that is the price you have to pay to live out in the country....and I am okay with that.

I just wish I were home more......

My job??? I really love it. I enjoy working with elderly residents and their families, and boy do I have some good stories to tell! (Paying attention to privacy laws and using fake names etc... of course!!!) It is nice to be out in the real world and to be treated like a real person again, rather than a student. It is also kind of weird to return back to the workforce as a professional and not just a worker bee.

When I was a nurse, I was "just a nurse," but now I have some serious credentials and education behind my name and other professionals actually listen to what I have to say. It has taken some getting used too, and I am not bashing nurses or other worker bees, because they are really the eyes and ears of the health care field. And CNA's??? They should get paid way more than they do...just saying.

So....I am still here, and I am hoping that I am finally getting into the swing of this working thing. Enough said about that for now.....
On the horse front, I have only gotten to ride a small handful of times lately, even though Amber now has the weekends off too. Why???? Because I only have my weekends to get hundreds of things done, which has included attending my kidlet's volleyball and football games on Saturdays, and taking them up snowboarding.

I know, I know...that's how it is when you work, right??? Oops, I am not supposed to talk about that anymore...lol!!!! : )

It's all good though. I hope that I can stop off at some of your blogs and do some serious catching but, but I may have to start over from scratch alright???

Thanks for listening to me vent and I will be back soon....I promise!!!

Fall Is Here.....

2010-10-13T12:41:00.000-07:00

....And you would think that I would have some pictures of our gorgeous fall scenery, right? Wrong. Unfortunately, my camera just cannot capture the details or adjust to the dim lighting in the forest right now. Trust me, I have tried......
I want a new camera for Christmas. : )

There is definitely no denying that fall is here right now, as the days are sunny and warm (warm only in the sun though!) and the nights are clear and cold. The leaves on the trees are brilliant shades of orange, red and yellow, and all of the roads, trails, and paths are littered with the fallen ones. I love it!!! Spring and fall are my favorite seasons, because of all of the colors that burst forth out of nowhere, but summer has my heart when it comes to long, hot days.....sigh....

Sorry that it has been forever and a day since my last post, but I have been really busy (what's new, right??? LOL). I have been working at my new job the past three weeks, and I absolutely LOVE it!! However, I feel really bad, because a part-time, 30 hour per week, job opportunity opened up at a large facility much, much closer to my home and I just accepted their offer.

This means that I have to tell my other new job that I am leaving and give my two-week notice. I am sure that they will not be happy....
The new job will be a lot of fun, because I know the social work supervisor and one of the social workers really well. It is also only a 40-60 minute commute (depending on traffic) whereas the location I am at now is a 60-100 minute commute. Nasty!!!!

I also think it will be nice to work 9-3:30 everyday, and to have a consistent paycheck. Consistent paychecks mean more money, and more money means that I can get a horse sooner; although I am threatening to buy Waska from Amber...lol!!! I pretty much just ride him now and I really, really like him. Thankfully, he has recovered from his mild bout of laminitis, and appears to be doing well on his new insulin resistance diet. We shall see...

Well, I am off to the grocery store. hope you are all doing well, and I will try to catch up this weekend. : )

Back and Forth....

2010-09-22T12:04:00.000-07:00

Hola!!! Nice helmet shot, eh??? Not to totally start off "off topic" but when my hubby saw this picture he said "...Oh, you are still wearing that thing??? I figured that you were just saying that you did..."

Huh??? He was the one who said I had to wear a helmet and be responsible (his words, not

mine) now that I had children. So...even though I know it is a good idea to wear one, I didn't for over 25 years and it really makes my head sweaty and itchy on warm days. In the future, maybe I won't wear it all of the time.....

Okay, back on topic...here we go.....

I really like my new job so far. I have only gone to a two day orientation, but I will actually start out on the floor this Friday. My only problem is I do not have many nice clothes, so I am going to have to go shopping. Which will probably be kind of fun because all of the new fall styles are out and I have nothing...lol!!As previously mentioned, Amber and I have been putting the miles on the ponies lately and it has been wonderful. Seeing that bear cub was amazing, and we pretty much see wildlife every ride now, which is kind of strange 'cause we are used to just seeing their tracks.

In the picture below (which was taken in an area that is undergoing tree thinning vs. deforestation) we saw an elk herd that was being led by a big bull. We chased them for a bit, but by the time I had my camera out, they were gone.As you can see from the picture below, we have been taking Miss Sienna out with us, as it gives her something to look forward to and some exercise as well. She does a great job of keeping up with the big boys too!Well, that's it for now. I have to head out shopping and clean my house up a bit. Eric's birthday party is on Saturday (his birthday is Friday) and I have a lot of people coming over to help celebrate. Hope all of you are having a great week so far... : )

Geez.......

2010-09-19T20:46:00.000-07:00

Hey there all!!!

I just wanted to pop in and say "thank you" to everyone who left comments. I guess I will keep this blogging thing up for a while longer...lol!!! I have had a crazy busy weekend (with lots of riding!!) and start my new job tomorrow, so it may be a day or two before I have time to post again.

Again....thanks for understanding my blogging hesitation. You are all the best. : )

New Beginnings?

2010-09-16T12:58:00.000-07:00

(Before I start, I want to apologize for the "ALLPOSTERS" image over most of the pics in this post. I googled "black bears" and these are a few of the images that popped up)

I have not posted in a long time. I don't even know if anyone even comes here anymore, except my mom (Hi mom!!!). I have deliberately been missing-in-action because I have been uninspired or unsure about what to blog about. I must say that I have been having a great time these past few weeks (because the kidlets are in school) and I have doing a whole lot of whatever I feel like doing, such as horseback riding and hiking. I am down 16 pounds in the last two months, and that makes me happy (and healthy!) too.Speaking of riding, Amber and I had the pleasure of seeing a black bear cub on a recent ride; hence the bear photos. He was definitely this past springs cub, but thankfully, we did not have the pleasure of meeting his momma too.

And he was the cutest little thing ever!! I can see how people get themselves into trouble with bear cubs, because we wanted to run over and pick him up...not that we would ever do that in 100 years, but I am just saying..... Waska (who I was riding), Bo (who Amber was riding), and Sienna (who Amber was ponying) didn't even bat an eye, and he was only about 65-70 yards away. I am still not sure what to think about that....Maybe they are just really desensitized to the scent of bears, and maybe we ride by them more than we know....

Now, I am pretty sure that his momma was near by, so after he appeared to not be afraid of us at all, I yelled a couple of times to send him on his way. Funny thing though, he actually came closer after my first yell. Again, maybe not so surprising considering we were about 1/8 of a mile down the road from an elementary school.Now where was I??? Oh yes....blogging. I am thinking that I may change my name to reflect where I am in my life right now, and that I may post on things other than horses. There will still be horsey posts, but horses are not the center of my life right now.

Maybe I could just change the order of the words in my title? I am not sure....

It is either change or quit though, and I am not so sure about the quit part....

Bear...I mean bare... with me a bit longer...I will figure this thing out. : )

Now You See It...Now You Don't.....

2010-09-02T09:25:00.000-07:00

...Summer that is!!! Well, another summer has come and gone, and over here in Western WA, we didn't have the best weather either. The kidlets were only in the pool a handful of times. I am hoping that we have a nice, warm, fall but the jury is still out on that. To mark the end of summer, and to get a nice spot before Labor Day weekend arrived, we loaded up the trailer and headed over to an area known as Little Naches for five days. We were joined by our friends and we had a great time.

Our camping location was right on the river and the kidlets spent hours fishing and playing in the water. The only downside was that it was pretty cool over there (in the mountains near Yakima), which is unusual for this time of year.

We saw this little garter snake trying to warm himself on the rocks in the morning sun. He is about as dangerous as it gets until you move into the lower elevations in the east side. Then there are rattlers.....

In other news, school started yesterday (hooray!!!) and I am looking forward to getting some riding time in soon....I was also offered a position at the place that I mentioned in my last post, and I should be starting the end of September or first part of October. Thankfully, unless I am covering for someone, I will only be working about 25 hours per week, which will be really nice for now.

And yes, that is rain on the sidewalks in the kidlet's back to school pictures. It was raining. On the first day of school. What is up with that??? At least the sun is shining today. : )

Gray Horse Day.....

2010-08-18T14:53:00.000-07:00

Greetings fellow bloggers!!! I swear that these past few weeks have flown by. We have been really busy with back-to-school shopping (starts on 9/1), and with enjoying our recent heatwave around here.
(Below is a fine art print titled White Horse Rearing by Sonia Torres) It has literally been too hot to ride (around 95 degrees everyday), so we have been swimming in our finally warmed up pool, and even went tubing down a local river. I would have loved to have taken pictures of that, but cameras and rapids don't always go well together...lol!!!
(Below is a fine art print titled The Sheik by Melissa Gates)

So, I received a phone call from the place that I interviewed twice at, and was told that I did not get the job. This is because that while the manager was away on vacation, a night shift employee, who also happens to have a bachelors in psychology, applied and they have to hire within their company first.

The good news is that I left a huge impression on them, and they will call me if anything else opens up.

(Below is a fine art print titled Power and Grace by Judi Kent Pyrah) It's all good though. It just means that it wasn't the right place, right???

Today, I had a 45 minute telephone interview for an on call/per diem position at another long term care and hospice facility, ending with a second interview being set up. We shall see.....

(Below is one of my favorite fine art prints-I actually have this one hanging in my living room-titled Head of A White Horse by Jean Louise Theodore Gericault)I must admit that I would be pleased if I didn't find a job for another month or two though. This is because it would be nice to be home and have time to myself without the kidlets. For instance, I cannot do anything that I want to do, when I want to do it.

I know, I know...that's part of being a mom.....

Take horseback riding. I can go whenever I want to, because I will be free of responsibility.

(Below is a fine art print titled Bravado Bey V by Rebecca Moore)

Anywho...please bare with me folks. I know I haven't blogged much about horses lately, but that is because I haven't been able to do much with them. Why??? You guessed it: The kidlets...lol!!!

I Have What???!!!

2010-08-12T14:00:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I am going to write about something else that has recently developed in my life. (Well I say "recently," but I think it has been silently lurking for for about a year or so)

I was just diagnosed with high blood pressure or hypertension as it is officially called, but all I hear is stroke, heart attack, diseased arteries etc....... I suspected that I may be having trouble, because over the past year, whenever I went to donate blood, my diastolic pressure (bottom number and the force on the arteries when the heart is at rest) has been in the 90's. And I have always been a 100/60 girl...even during my terrible pregnancies.

Now, I assumed that it was on the higher side due to the chronic stress of being in school, the fact that I had put on around 25 pounds while I was in school, and the fact that I wasn't able to work out as hard as I normally did, prior to being a mommy in college (due to homework).
Uhhhhhh....think again. Since school has been out, my stress level has reduced as much as 90%, I have lost 12 pounds, I have been really working out hard, and I have had the time to actually cook dinner, rather than feed myself and my family fast food.

So, imagine my surprise when my blood pressure was 140/100 the other day at the doctors office. 100!!!!!! And I can't even blame it on white coat syndrome, because it was at the office that I worked at for years and with people that I know. After being a nurse for years, I don't get nervous at the doctors office.....

Okay, okay, maybe it is due to genetics???? Maybe. However, hypertension does not run on either side. Oh there are aunts here or uncles there, but they are also smokers, which as you know can significantly increase your risk for developing high blood pressure.

Who knows???? All I know, is that I left the doctors office with a prescription in hand, had it filled and have been taking it ever since. I will continue to exercise and loose weight, and hopefully I can go off of the med once I loose some more weight.

We shall see, but I am not taking this lightly. I am too young to have high blood pressure!!!!
In other news, Amber and I have been riding lately. Waska appears to be fully recovered form his bout with laminitis, and is responding well to his new diet. The verdict is still out on him though.............

Oh, and can you tell I have been playing with my photos???? LOL

I have Picasa and edited some of these pictures, which, incidentally, were taken on my hike this morning. My climb-1000 ft-in-one-mile-hike that is getting my hiney in shape and hopefully reducing my blood pressure hike. I have been doing it five days a week for the past month......

Well, I hope that everyone has a great weekend. Happy trails to you!

Life.....

2010-08-08T12:46:00.000-07:00

It has been awhile since my last post, but don't worry, I am still here.

So what have I been up to??

.....Although I am still feeling very restless and somewhat displaced, I have been putting a lot of energy into cleaning my house. You do not realize how much junk, dust, and garbage accumulates inside of closets and cupboards in the course of 2.5 years.

Or maybe you do.....My poor house! It is finally starting to resemble my home again...lol!!! I must admit that it still feels weird to be deep cleaning though. I still get that slightly panicky-oh-my-goodness-I-have-homework-to-do feeling, but it is lessening in its frequency and intensity.

I wonder if it could be classified as a post traumatic college response/disorder or PTCD??? (Now before anyone with PTSD takes offense, just know that I have had/dealt with PTSD so I can make light of it)Another thing that been occupying my time is job hunting. Now that August and the end of summer break are upon us, I have been looking at the local job market with more intensity. I recently applied for a social work position at a large skilled nursing/assisted living facility (or nursing home as they were once called), and I have had two interviews so far.

They told me during the second interview that I was one of the top three applicants out of the more than 80 that applied. Nice to know that the job market is picking up, eh????

Okay, okay, that wasn't a fair assessment of the job market...or maybe it was??? I am being really picky about hours and location, and that places a lot of limitations on where I can apply.

I am not too worried about it yet though. I figure that as long as I am looking, the right job will eventually find me, right???

Well, I am off to catch up on your blogs. Have a good Sunday. : )

If Wishes Were Horses.....

2010-07-29T09:53:00.000-07:00

If I were seriously able to horse shop right now, which I am not, I would fly down to CA and check this handsome boy out. His owner did a good job on his video too, as she shows him going both English and Western.

If he were to vet clean, he looks like he would be a fun horse; if not for me, then for my kidlets. Sigh.....

And while I was down there, I would stop in and ride Wesley, a Hanoverian/Oldenburg gelding. I don't know if I can picture myself out on the trail with him though...lol!!! He doesn't exactly scream "trail horse" now, does he???

And who doesn't love a horse that looks like a giant American Shetland Pony??? On my way home from CA, I can make a small detour through CO, and test drive this sturdy looking Morgan gelding. And with a name like Mandalay Bay, how could one go wrong????

Now, another breed that often catches my eye, as they are known for being intelligent, sure-footed, and hardy, is the Halflinger. I could visit this handsome fella once back in my home state of WA.
Now, not being a Halflinger person, I would most likely never spend $20,000 on one, but I bet he is worth every penny of it.
I was going to include some other horses that really caught my eye (at first), until I looked closer and saw that they had/have weak necks. That is one of my (and my sister, Amber's) pet peeves: A good looking horse with a wimpy neck.

I will save that for another post. Hope you enjoyed looking with me. : )

Summertime....

2010-07-24T17:06:00.000-07:00

Happy Saturday everyone! The sun is finally out (again!) and so we decided to take a ride up to Crystal Mountain Resort, which is where the kidlets do a lot of snowboarding in the winter.

( Isn't Mt. Rainier beautiful??? )

During the summer, you can ride the chair lifts up to the summit and either ride them back down, hike down, or mountain bike down. We ended up riding the lifts back down because we were not sure how long of a hike it was back to the base.

On the way up and down, there are beautiful mountain meadows, with lots of elk and dear tracks all over the place. My husband and son were drooling...lol!!!! And it is pretty darn steep too!Do you see the river that snakes behind us in the photo below? That is the one that runs through the town that we live in . It is also why we are in big trouble if Mt. Rainier ever decides to blow again....

Oh, and FYI, Mt. Rainier is 12 miles away from where we are standing in this picture. Crazy, right???There are also a lot of places to do serious back country horseback riding, and we spotted these riders on our way down.
Just look at the angle of this run (pic below). Can you believe that this in an intermediate run, and that my kidlets have snowboarded down it multiple times??? No thanks!!!!!

I joked with them that I was not going to let them snowboard anymore.....Well, hope that you are all having a good weekend. I am still getting used to the fact that I do not have to go back to school in one month. I keep thinking that my free weekends are almost over. Sigh...I am sure that I will get used to it...lol!!!

Finally...A Ride!!!

2010-07-20T17:57:00.000-07:00

Guess what I was finally able to do...all by myself and without the kids??? Yes, that's right folks, I was able to ride.Waska is having one of his two-steps-forward weeks, so Amber and I hit the trails. Well, we went on a nice long ride, but due to Waska's issues, we walked the whole time. It was all good though, as Amber and I were able to do a lot of talking and catch up on life.Despite our taking it easy, Waska was quite gimpy when Amber took his boots off. He was fine with them on, but without that added protection, he is tender. The farrier said to ride him lightly everyday (or as much as possible) despite the gimpiness, because it will increase blood flow to the area and encourage healing.

You can see how he is standing in the above photo, with his front legs askew to take pressure off. Amber wants to leave his boots on all of the time, but the farrier said that he has got to start doing without them. In the winter, the mud/wetness will literally rot his feet off.....
Above and below are shots of his hoof wall, and you can see the growth rings. I was not able to get a good shot of them from the side, but his new hoof growth is coming in at a totally different angle....which is good. I will try to get some better ones and also some shots of his sole. He is literally walking on his sole, which has been allowed to grow and thicken. It is almost like walking with a large wad of gum stuck to the bottom of your foot.And last, but not least, I will leave you with a parting shot of goofy Bo. I had just undone his saddle and was looking for a treat. Isn't he the silliest looking Arab ever??? LOL!! He does have a nice, square chest though.....

Pow Wow Time.....

2010-07-17T17:07:00.000-07:00

(Click on the highlighted names for more information about my post)

Earlier today, my family and I made the long trek up to Seattle to attend the 25th Annual Seafair Indian Days Pow Wow. The pow wow is a large one for our area, with representatives from many tribes that attend. It is held at a place called Discovery Park, which is home to the Daybreak Star Cultural Center.
This center is also home to the United Indians of All Tribes Foundation, a foundation that aims to promote indigenous culture, ensure continuing tribal sovereignty, and improve the lives of American Indian and Alaskan Natives (AIAN).
My good friend and mentor (she was my supervisor/mentor while I completed my internship at Muckleshoot Indian Child Welfare) sits on the board, and is a passionate supporter of AIAN welfare and rights. Her love for her people is obvious, and she devotes a lot of her time promoting her culture and the rights of her Native brothers and sisters.

Have any of you ever been to a pow wow? If not, I highly recommend it. The air is filled with the smell of burning sage and cedar (usually a dried sage/cedar/lavender mixture in the PNW), the beating of drums, the singing of ancient songs, and the sound of jingle dresses.Combine that with the scent of smoking or baking salmon, and Indian frybread tacos, and
you have a treat for your senses!

And the regalia (their costumes) are amazing as well....

Can you make out the three horse heads on the loincloth (???) of the man on the left? They are on a sky blue background....
And these two (below) looked like they were great friends, often laughing and patting each other on the back. And just look at this man's hat (below)! It features a whale and it is all carved out of one piece of wood. I watched him doing a tribal dance and from what I can gather, they were either First Nations/Canadian or from Alaska. Talented work either way though, right?
Now for my favorite dancer....That face paint gets me every time!!!
Here is a closer look....

His regalia and paint was beautiful, was it not?

Okay, here is one last shot. I played with the coloring a bit, but I am not sure if I like it yet....

Hope that you are all having a good weekend! : )

The Enforcer.....

2010-07-13T19:55:00.000-07:00

Remember my little puppy, Tucker?? Well he is almost 10 months old now, and he has made quite the addition to our family. Tucker is agreeable, good-natured, cuddly, and tenacious...all at the same time...lol!!! Seriously, he has been the best puppy ever, and it is quite fair to say that I am gaga over him.

Okay, okay, what is the point of this post you may ask? Well it is to tell you about my little Enforcer. A title that Tucker takes quite seriously, I might add.You see, in our family, I am most definitely the alpha (sorry honey!!!) and Tucker picked up on that early on. And, because he is always with me, he has decided that he is Number Two in our pack; a job he takes quite seriously. Well, he isn't technically Number Two, but he thinks he is, which is quite funny.

So what does the Number Two in a pack do??? Enforce of course! Tucker thinks that it is his job to carry out my intentions (or what he perceives my intentions are) and he carries them out well...too well.

For example, when I raise my voice at one of my kidlets, Tucker sits up, eyes and ears alert, ready to Enforce.

If I am angry and move towards one or both of my kidlets (as I frequently find myself doing), Tucker is right at my heals, growling and ready to Enforce.

If I have to manually grab one of my kidlets (as I frequently have to do to break up an argument or friendly tussle turned angry), Tucker is there, open mouthed, growling, nipping, and you guessed it...Enforcing!!!

If I get angry at Jinx (poor Jinxy!) for once again gobbling down Tucker's food, Tucker is there, ready to Enforce. And let me tell you...he becomes a 14 pound ball of fury that takes down a 55 pound ball of fur...lol!!!

Now of course, being the dog savvy owner that I am (and a kind, compassionate mother!!)I reprimand Tucker and pull him off of my kidlets and Jinxy. And don't worry, he makes more noise than bite, but if I ever have to go to battle, I know who I am taking with me...Tucker the Enforcer...lol!!

Horse Update.....

2010-07-06T16:46:00.000-07:00

The sun finally decided to come out today, so the kidlets and I headed up for a quick visit with Amber and the panonies. Amber has a new job, with new days off, and we have had a hard time coordinating riding times.

That and the terrible weather we have had...and baseball...and, well, life...... The horses were a bit sleepy today because the weather has been cloudy and rainy, with temps in the 50's, and today it shot up to 79. The rest of the week is supposed to be hotter, but you will not hear me complain! It is about time that we have sunshine and warm temps...it's July for Pete's sake...lol!!!

Another reason that we have not been riding much is that Waska has been having a lot of issues since, I don't know, January?? He actually foundered (mildly-moderately), was diagnosed with metabolic syndrome/pre-diabetes, has been lame, and is believed to possibly have Cushing's disease as well.

Waska pretty much lives in his EasyBoots or he cannot walk around without gimping. He was in a lot of pain and on a lot of meds for months, but it appears that he is coming out of it; although he now has swelling in one of his hocks, and he is getting sarcoid-like (they are not sarcoids) bumps in various places.

He is required to be on a special diet for the rest of his life (no grass, no carrots, no apples...no sugar!), and Amber has spent a ton of money on him.

She has a big decision to make in the coming months as well. If his quality of life does not improve, she may have to put him down. He is much better than he was, but he tends to take two steps forward and 10 steps back.

A tough place to be, for sure, and a decision that I hope she doesn't have to make. She gets conflicting advice and different prognoses from various farriers and veterinarians, so she is going to wait it out a bit longer.

Have any of you dealt with this type of issue before????

Happy 4th of July.....

2010-07-04T11:56:00.000-07:00

Wishing everyone a safe and happy 4th of July!!!!!
And thank you for all of your kind comments on my last post. As I have previously said, I feel better already! : )

I've Seen Better Days....

2010-06-30T15:26:00.000-07:00

Hey there fellow bloggers-
I figured that I better get on and write something, so here goes....
Oh, and just so you know, this is not a pity party post, but I am warning you that I may sound a bit down. (Below is a picture by Caspar David Friedrich called The Lonely Tree)I think that I am slightly depressed, because my life has drastically changed lately. No, nothing has happened, but after spending the last three years meeting deadlines, writing papers, and reading text books, I feel like I am somewhat at a loss; like I have no direction.
(Below is another print by Caspar David Friedrich called Abbey In the Oakwood, 1810)

The good news is that I know this will pass, but the bad news is that I am finding difficulty enjoying many of the things that I used to...such as reading for pleasure or blogging. Thankfully, I still enjoy hiking, walking, and running, so I have been trying to spend my days outdoors.

I also think that being home with my kidlets 24/7 is annoying me as well, as I have never been one to stay home and not work at all.
(Below is a picture by Valentin Ruth called The Heath In A Storm, 1896)

My goal has been to take as much of the summer off as I can, but I may need to rethink that. We have been really busy with baseball, and it has been nice to be home, but I think that I need a job to do.

(Below is yet another Caspar David Friedrich print called Bushes In the Snow)Another benefit of going back to work is that I can get a horse...lol!!!! I have been looking...just for looking sake...and there really isn't much that is catching my eye in the great PNW. However, if I had the money to actually get serious, that would most likely change. : )

Aren't I terrible?????

(Below is a print by Albert Bierstadt called Storm In the Rocky Mountains)

Oh well, things will get better, right??? They always do....

So, have any of you seen Eclipse yet??? I haven't , but I plan to in the next couple of weeks. I always had to wait to see the other movies, because I was always in school.

Thanks for listening to me whine, I feel better already!

Let's Play Ball.....

2010-06-21T11:36:00.000-07:00

Phew...did anybody else have a long weekend??? We just got back from yet another baseball tournament, hence my lack of posts...again. ; )
The regular baseball season is over for Eric, but he is playing on the 10 year old Allstar team, and we have had three-day tournaments the last couple of weekends.

Isn't he cute????We have a few more tournaments, and then the actual state tournament/competition begins. Eric is doing stellar this season, and he is really becoming quite the baseball player. I hope he keeps playing well and goes to a university that is located in a HOT state...lol!!!! Miss Katie is also playing coach-pitch right now, but I left my camera (with her pictures on it) in my hubby's truck, so I will have to do a post just for her. : )Well, that's about it for now. I have tons of laundry to do (do you see those white pants?????) and both of my kidlets have been vomiting about every 45 minutes. Since 3:30 this morning. Which means that we are all very tired. Including mommy. Who doesn't want to do laundry....lol!!!

So until next time, take care.....

My Heart Is In Arizona.....

2010-06-15T09:35:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone!!!! I swear, now that I am done with school, I marvel at the fact that I was able to get anything accomplished. We have been so busy (what's new, right???) and I have not had much time to sit down and write.
That is one nice thing about FaceBook: it doesn't require that you put much effort into it, unlike blogging. ...
Now, about my trip....My good friend, Karen, and I decided that we should celebrate my graduation and her birthday by going on a "girls" trip. We booked our trip through Costco Travel, and the whole thing (airfare, hotel, resort fees etc...) came to $302 per person, and that included tax! Pretty cool, huh???
We stayed at the JW Marriot Desert Ridge Resort and we had a blast. The Phoenix/Scottsdale area was breathtaking, and we were there early enough that things were still green (I am thinking of your comment, Chelsi...although I love the desert when it is brown too).

We arrived during a heat wave/heat advisory, with the average temperature falling around 114 degrees during the day and 90-95 degrees at night.
We weren't bothered by the heat though, because there were four pools and a lazy river (all open 24 hours), so we spent a lot of time in the water.I fell in love with all of the cacti that surrounded us, and I probably took way to many pictures of them. It was so neat to drive down the highway and have blooming cacti all around you...and the birds???? Oh my goodness, were they ever cute!!! So were these little rabbits that seemed to be everywhere....

We also went shopping, and my favorite place was Old Town Scottsdale, with its Southwestern flavor and great shops. I bought a pretty turquoise and silver ring, and an unique piece of Navajo horsehair pottery.
One really neat thing was that all of the malls and shopping centers that we went to were open; that is, the main walkway between the shops was not enclosed. Instead, there were palm trees, fountains, and large pots of plants.

Oh, and everyone was tan, healthy, and fit, unlike the people who live in WA...lol!!!! I guess that is what happens when the sun shines over 330 days per year.....We had really wanted to drive up to Sedona one day, but we never felt like driving over five hours round trip. I think that we may have to make a family camping trip that way sometime though, because I hear that it is breathtaking. Anyway, we had a nice, relaxing time, with no husbands, and no kidlets. I would love to move to the Southwest, but I am still leaning towards NM; somewhere in the high desert perhaps....
I hope that you are all having a good week, and I will be back again soon...I promise. : )

I Am Back!!!!

2010-06-09T12:46:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone!!! School (for me) is officially over and I have been very busy since I graduated...hence the lack of posts. : )

I feel totally relieved now that school is FINALLY over, and I find that I am constantly asking myself how I was able to fit school and homework into my hectic schedule. Or perhaps I should say that I am amazed that I was able to do anything besides school and homework...lol!!!
(Below is a picture of my friend, Karen, and I down at the beach)

Because PLU's graduation was on May 30th at 3:00 in the afternoon, I chose to skip it and go camping with friends and family. We went to the ocean, which is one of my favorite places, and we all had a great time despite the weather....
After Memorial Day weekend, I had yet another busy week, and then my friend, Karen, and I left for Scottsdale. We just got back last night, and we had a lot of fun. I will do a separate post about it.....

Now I know that some of you (Chelsi???) are wondering about what what has been going on in the horse front, and unfortunately, it has not been much. I am planning on getting a lot of riding in this summer, taking some lessons, and....????

I would love to get a new horse for myself, but I will wait until I get a job, so maybe this fall??? My hubby and I have agreed that I will take at least 1-2 months to recover from school, and then I will start to look for a job. And....because I am nice, I said that I would wait to add any extra expenses until after there is a second income.

Of course, if one falls in my lap, I would not turn it down. ; )

I hope that all of you are doing well, and I plan on trying to catch up on your blogs this week. Take care, and I will be back soon.....

Almost.......

2010-05-12T21:08:00.000-07:00

Tick tock...tick tock...tick tock....
Two weeks left!!!! One more week of classes, one week of finals, and then I am done. I won't even know what to do with myself...Oh wait...I can ride!!!!!!

Four Weeks....

2010-04-23T21:44:00.000-07:00

I am now down to FOUR WEEKS of academia left!!! Can I see the light at the end of the tunnel???? Heck, it is right in front of my face, blinding me, really.

Thanks for all of your well wishes. You guys...well gals...all rock!!! : )

Seven Weeks Left!!!!!

2010-04-11T18:04:00.000-07:00

Hello my friends!!! I feel so guilty even writing on my blog, because I have been MIA for so long. I just wanted to say that I only have seven...count them...seven!!!!!...weeks of school left. Then I will be able to blog again and join the real world. : )

All I am doing this semester is writing horrendously long and in-depth papers and working at my internship. Oh yeah...and taking kids to sports...and walking....and cleaning the house...lol! You get the idea. Don't give up on me yet, okay?????

See you again in SEVEN weeks!!!!

Almost Done!!!!!

2010-02-10T12:27:00.000-08:00

Hey there!!!! I realize that I have once again been MIA, but unfortunately, school and life keep getting in my way. I figured that I better drop in to let everyone know that I am still alive, and that I am still planning on returning to blogging once I am done with school.
(Below is a fine art print by Sue Deutscher)
Yesterday marked the beginning of the end of my academic career, at least for now anyway, and I am really excited. Graduation is set for Memorial Day weekend, and believe me, I am counting down the days!!!

I am beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel and I cannot wait until I have my evenings and weekends to myself again. And of course, being the horsey person that I am, I cannot wait until this summer, when I plan on purchasing a horse of my own.
(Below is a fine art print by Rita Cortesi)Don't worry, Bo will still be used occasionally, but he has made it pretty clear that he is enjoying not being ridden every week right now. He is 22, and has had a hard life, so semi-retirement is headed his way. So, other than school, what have I been up to? Well Eric is almost done with basketball and he just tried out for baseball, which is just around the corner. Katie is taking gymnastics and working hard on catching up in school. At my relentless persistence, she was finally tested for learning disabilities, and it was discovered that she has ADD and a visual perceptual learning disability; hence her extreme difficulty in reading. She is doing much better now, but it will take some time....(Below is a fine art print by Cheryl Poland)

Anyway...I have to admit that I have not even had time to read your blogs, and I apologize for that. I hope that each and every one of you is doing well in your lives, and I promise to return to blogging as usual in May. Also, even though I am not a huge fan of FaceBook, I have been able to stay more current on there (as some of you know), so for those of you who are also on FB, feel free to look me up (Melanie Knutson) and stay in touch that way for right now.

Thanks for your understanding, and I will visit again as soon as I can!!!!!! :)

Tucker.....

2010-01-03T21:20:00.000-08:00

Okay, you guys-well girls!-asked for it! Here are some pictures of Mr. Tucker...my new baby....Isn't he cute???? I have always wanted a mini Schnauzer, and I finally got one...teeheehee!!! It is a really long story (about how we ended up up with him) but it was kind of weird to buy a puppy, because I usually rescue older dogs.I went to buy a salt and pepper or a silver puppy, but I fell in love with him. He has this way of looking at you that just melts your heart...well my heart anyway. He is a great puppy (he was nine weeks when we got him and he is a little over three months now) and he settled right into our family routine with no problems.

Crate training? No problem. Potty training? No problem. Walking double on a leash and heeling? No problem.

Another bonus??? He doesn't have a doggy smell and he sheds very little, which is a HUGE contrast to my Aussie, who stinks and sheds...lol!!!! Don't worry though, I still love Jinxie.....
And speaking of cute, here is a picture of Sienna The Cheetos Eating Pony from earlier today. She is a hairy mess and a far cry from her svelte, summer self...not unlike moi...lol!!!!!Until next time.....

What Year is It????

2010-01-02T17:05:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and Hello!!!!!!!!!
It feels good to be back...I have really missed you guys.....
I have been super busy with life, and like a lot of you, I recently joined Facebook. I thought that it would be easier, and I also thought that it made more sense to connect with people that I actually know, but I miss the comraderie that exists with blogging....
(Eric, Marcus, Michael, and Katie up at Crystal Mtn.)
I miss getting on and reading what all of you are up to, and even if I do not have the time that I once did, I think that I will once again make an effort to blog. We have all been on Christmas break the last two weeks, and I am glad that the semester from HELL is over!!!! Four classes, a 20 per week internship, and a family almost did me in...lol!!!
(My dad/Papa Bryan hitting the slopes with his grandkids) So...can you see that the kidlets have become snowboarders??? They love it. I used to ski, but I do not have the time, or the money, to start back up this year. May and graduation are just around the corner though, right????? Oh and guess what??? We got a new puppy after Thanksgiving. He is a miniature Schnauzer ( I have always wanted one!!!!) and his name is Tucker. I have lots of pics of him, but they are on my other computer (I got a laptop too!!!). (Miss Katie flying by me....)
Amber and I have not had a lot of time to ride this winter, but that is because it has managed to rain on our days off. We did get a nice ride in earlier this week though... (Michael, Eric, and Marcus)
Anyway...I hope that all of you are doing well, and I am going to try to catch up a bit. See you all soon...I promise!!!! :)

Christmas Is Just Around the Corner.....

2009-11-08T20:59:00.000-08:00

*****First, I want to thank all of you for visiting my blog and leaving such nice comments. Just know that even though I do not always have time to comment on your blogs, I still try to keep up. As much as I can, anyway!!******

Now, back to the task at hand...Christmas is just around the corner, and I thought that I would share a few of the horses that I really like...teeheehee!! And Stephanie, if you ever visit blogland anymore, I still like your Stretch too!

Surprisingly, there really aren't that many horses out there that really catch my eye right now, and if they do, they are over $20,000; which makes them a little out of my price range...lol!

Above is a local gelding that appears to be well trained and extremely versatile, and he could be mine for the small sum of $30,000. Who cares if he costs as much as my education????

Smart Millionaire is another handsome boy that I have had my eye on, and if you follow the link to the owners farm, you can see another horse that I really like named Hold the Chrome. Look under the 'sales horse' tab and then look under 'two year olds.' (I tried to copy her picture, but they all copied at once)

Now for the $10,000 and under horses.....

Above is an appendix QH gelding named Ben Has Friends and at $3000, I am really surprised that no one has snatched him up yet. He appears to be well put together, but I wonder if he has any lameness issues from years of jumping? He would definitely need to be vetted. (Well, they all would really...)The bay roan mare in the above picture is not the prettiest thing on the block, but she looks sturdy and honest, and also like she has a bit of get up and go. And for only $6000, she seems like steal after some of the above horses, right???
I really like this mare's quiet demeanor. The only thing I would be worried about is genetic stuff, because don't those Coosa horses have some weird chromosomal defect, or am I thinking of HYPP in Impressive bred horses???? Help me out Chelsi and BEC!!!!! Coosa mare

The appy gelding above reminds me of a darker version of Pony Girl's "My Boy," and I would really like to see more of him. What do you think???? He seems fairly priced at $3000, and the owner is willing to negotiate.
Then there is this bay appaloosa gelding in Nevada. He appears to be quite handsome as well, but I do not think he is as inexpensive as the last few horses, as his price is marked "private treaty."And what the heck is up with the Arab and half-Arab's right now???? There is literally NOTHING out there that really sounds (or looks!!!) good, except for this handsome boy. He is quite easy on the eyes, but a little too old for my taste. He would make an excellent horse for my kidlets though!

Oh, and he is listed at $8000, which seems a little steep for his age; although he is quite accomplished and versatile.

So...what do you guys think???? Are you able to find well-bred, well-trained, and eye appealing
horses out there right now, or am I just really picky??

Until next time......

KISS This!!!!

2009-11-01T11:36:00.000-08:00

I hope that everyone had a safe and fun Halloween out there, and of course, I have to share pictures of the kidlets in their costumes, but first, check out our friend's costumes....How cool were they???? Below is the real KISS, just in case you don't know what the real band looks like. Being a child of the 80's and 90's, I was only aware of the infamous Jean Simmons...lol!!!! We went out with a bunch of friends after we took the kidlets trick-or-treating, and our KISS friends ended up winning costume contests everywhere. Another great costume idea that we saw last night was a couple of guys dressed up as Dangle and Junior off of Reno 911... right down to the teeny, tiny shorts and bullet-proof vests!

So without further adieu, let me introduce you to the newest nerds of our little town.....

Here's a closer shot....And last-but-not-least is my girlie girl dressed as a cheerleader. And in a pink camo jacket no less! (It was really blustery and it rained off and on)How could you NOT love this face????? Alright, I must go now, as I have exceeded my allotted blog-time by about 15 minutes. Homework is waiting......

Wait A Second!!!!

2009-10-26T17:31:00.000-07:00

Goodness! I don't post for over a month and then I go and post twice in as many weeks. What's up with that??? LOL!!! I wanted to thank all of you for stopping by and leaving comments. It was good to hear from all of you out there in blogland. :)

Seeing as how fall...and hunting season...and football...and...where was I ???? Oh yeah...seeing as how all of the above have descended upon us like a swarm of bees, I figured I better put a couple of obligatory football and hunting shots up.

We were driving down an old logging road the other day, when I spotted what I thought was an owl. Eric quickly identified it as a grouse, loaded his shotgun, jumped out of the truck, yelled "cover your ears," and proceeded to shoot it. I must admit that I am starting to like wild grouse!I took the above picture of Kevin, Eric, and Katie while they were perched atop an old logging stand. And believe it or not (I didn't believe it until I saw it for myself) orange vests really do stand out in all of that clear cut and/or greenery. Next we have Eric in his quarterback stance (if you look close you can see the ball as it moves towards his eager hands), and laying on the ground after he dove for and removed some poor kids' flags. This will be his last year playing flag football, as we have decided to move him up to tackle football next yearAnywho...I also forgot to mention that, after three years of suffering, we have bought ourselves a new travel trailer. It is a 26 foot fifth wheel, with a slide-out, and man is it nice!

Well, I guess I better be going, as I should be working on a paper that I have to turn in tomorrow...blech!!!! I have been told that I am officially suffering from senioritis, and it is just terrible...teeheehee!!!!

Until next time....

Password??? What Is My Password???

2009-10-21T20:16:00.000-07:00

Sheesh!!!! You know it has been a while since you last blogged, when you don't remember how to log on...lol!!!! I hope everyone is doing well, and I really miss checking on you all, but I just have not had the time.

Here is a quick run-down of what we have been up to...

Washington has had a record breaking salmon-spawning season, and we have spent many hours at the various creeks and rivers watching them as they make their way upstream. In the picture below, Eric was helping to move one past a man-made, rock dam, and I had him pause a moment for a picture.

Did I mention that there have literally been thousands of salmon??? The water was literally crawling with them...
Uhmmmmmmmm...all three of my sisters (Beki, Amber and Jen) had birthdays, and so did Eric and my sister-in-law, Mary. Oh yeah, and Kevin and I celebrated our 13th wedding anniversary!The kidlets started at their new school (the first of September), and while Eric settled in just fine, Katie is just now starting to adjust. Poor thing! They went from a school of around 280 kidlets to a school of almost 500 kidlets, so it has been kind of a culture shock for her. Eric and Amber's husband, Brad, harvested a large bull elk with a bow back in September, and then Brad shot and killed a black bear, so I guess you could say that hunting season is/has been in full swing. I was hoping that Eric would be upset and distraught over calling in and watching a bull elk die, but he wasn't...thanks Brad!!!! LOL!!! I am, of course, still in school, but I only have to go two days per week. They are long days though, and on Tuesdays, I leave the house at 6:45 in the morning and don't get home until 10:00 at night.

This leaves M/W/F open for me to work at my internship, and I love every minute of it! I am working for the Indian child welfare office at a local reservation, and every day, I meet amazing people, see tremendous suffering (I am not so fond of that part!), and gain invaluable knowledge. So...in my spare time, I catch a horseback ride here and there, and spend as much time with my family as I can. Above and below are some pictures that I took while out "hunting" with the boys...and Katie! (If you click on the picture above of Katie and Kevin, you can see Katie's toothless mouth...lol!!!)

Oh, and I almost forgot to mention that Eric is playing football. I have been a bad mom so far though, and I have not taken any pictures...

Anywho, it feels good to stop in and say "hi," and I hope that all of you are doing well. Until next time...

Where Did It Go???

2009-09-11T14:17:00.000-07:00

Hey there!!!

I realize that I haven't posted anything in a long time, and I haven't visited any one's blogs either. We have been really busy-as usual-and school has started up for all of us again. I swear the summer flew by way to fast! Where did it go???

(Above is a shot from the woods the other day....)

Anywho...I have been thinking long and hard about what to do about blogging, because I really enjoy it, but I am finding that I am at the point in my schooling where I need to focus on that-and life in general-vs. blogging.

I have four classes two days a week, and I am doing my internship three days a week, plus the kidlets have their school work and sports as well. I will not stop blogging altogether, because I know that my family enjoys getting updates on the kidlets, but I am going to have to cut waaaaaay back.

(Below is another shot from the other day. The eagle was sitting above the river and watching the spawning salmon below)I am really going to miss reading your blogs, and I will miss the "bloggy" camaraderie that takes place out there in blogland, but I will try to visit and check up on you gals every once and awhile though. Also...for any of you that have my email address, please feel free to shoot me an email every now and then...okay????

Hopefully, in December, or in May (I will graduate in May, but my classes will cut back down to three in December), I can get back to blogging as usual.....

Now, here are some much belated pictures of the kidlets that I have been promising my family members for weeks...

Katie on the first day at her new school.....

Another shot of the two of them....
Eric's grouse that he shot last weekend (it was really yummy too!!)....

Katie shooting her Red Rider BB gun....

And, for Amber, Waska carefully eating the delicious blackberries on our ride the other day.

Again...I will keep posting periodically, but not as much as I used to, and it will most likely be about non-horsey stuff; although I am continuing to ride as often as I can. Take care, and I will "see" you all around!!!

I Did It To Myself....

2009-08-29T16:13:00.000-07:00

(Pictures are recent ones I took of Jinx)

I am a terrible procrastinator!!!! There...I said it!!!!
I have been told that it goes along with my ADD-like tendencies, but it drives me-and my family!!-nuts.You know that research paper that I have been working on...off and on...this summer??? Well I am almost done with it, which is good because it is due next week.
But even though I did the research for it, and have spent countless hours perusing through scholarly, peer-reviewed, evidence-based databases, actually sitting down and focusing on the task at hand is difficult.

Oh yeah, and have I told you that I really detest writing papers??? LOL!!!! The good thing about this is that I can use a lot of the info that I gathered for this paper, to write my senior thesis/capstone next spring...if I so choose, and with the professors blessing.So, even though I am really, really, really stressed out right now, and missing tons of family functions due to my own dysfunction, I may not be so crazed when spring semester-my final semester!!!-rolls around.

In theory, right??? (wink, wink!!)

And I have absolutely no idea what is going on out there in blog land right now, but just know that even though I am not able to visit and comment, I am still there in spirit. Hmmmm....does that sound kind of creepy??? LOL!!!

Buck Creek Adventure, Part Three....

2009-08-25T15:05:00.000-07:00

(I know I am posting twice in one day, but I have to finish this so I can focus on my paper!)

So what did we decide to do??? Well Amber wanted to turn around and go back the way we came, but I put my foot down and said that we were going to walk down the logging/forest service road, until we either ran into another human being or we came to highway 410.
I hadn't been up this particular road in over 10 years, but I knew where we were, and I figured if it got too late, we could always call 911 and tell them our location...and we would be a hellava lot easier to find on a road, than on a trail somewhere.

Because the road was steep, and because our horses were weary, we led them down the road, which thankfully ended up only being four miles long. Unfortunately for us though, cowboy boots are not made for walking, let alone down a steep, gravel, road. The bottoms of my feet and the tips of my toes are still sore...lol!!!!
As we were walking, we decided that we would ask one of the many people who should be camping near the river, if they could give Amber a ride back up to Buck Creek, so she could bring the horse trailer back down to our new location.

Thankfully, about mile post three, we began to hear cars travelling along the highway, and right at four miles, we ran into a group of local guys-and their girlfriends-who were on their way up to cut firewood. We told them our story, and they agreed to take Amber up to Buck Creek. I stayed at Huckleberry Creek and let the panonies graze on the damp grasses and underbrush along an old road. And sure enough, about 25 minutes later....
... Amber came banging and clanging up the road. The horses heard her before I did, and boy were they happy!!!! So we untacked our tired panonies, offered them water from the trailer, loaded them up, and headed for home.
The only problem was that we did not have cell phone service for another 50 minutes, and it was now around 5:00. We were both hoping that Brad wasn't completely panicking, and that he hadn't alerted Kevin-my hubby-yet. Once we got back into town, I immediately called Kevin, who asked "Where are you???" and I told him, "We just passed the golf course."

He then said he needed to hang up and call a couple of my family members, because they were on their way up to see if we had made it back to the trailer yet. Long story short...we made it home safe, and in one piece....I must admit that I had a healthy respect for the wilderness before, but I really respect it now.
I am not riding out on trails unknown-trails that take you into a national forest-without sitting down and mapping a course out first. I will also be taking a compass, a knife, flint, and a first aid kit.

Now that we have ridden this magnificent trail, we will definitely have to do it again, but next time it will be planned!!! LOL!!!!

PS-All in all we rode the horses and walked/hiked around 13 miles that day. So much for a "quick loop," eh???? We also started out around 2100 feet in elevation and was about 5600 feet by the time we were at the highest peak/ridge. No wonder we were tired!!!!

Buck Creek Ride, Part Two...

2009-08-25T07:57:00.000-07:00

As previously mentioned, we continued to climb, and I mean climb! At one point, we did start to descend about 300-400 feet, and Amber was quite pleased with herself. "See???" she said, "I told you we were heading back down."
Her smugness didn't last very long though, as we turned a corner, and began to climb uphill again; quickly regaining all lost elevation. You can see how steep some of these switchbacks were by looking at the picture below... I was beginning to become mildly alarmed at our elevation too, because every where we looked, there were wild mountain huckleberries...Noble firs...And long, grayish/black, stringy moss. All things that you only see growing at higher elevations over here.Now, before I continue, let me say that we were definitely not prepared to be riding up in the high country. We had two large bottles of water, two baggies of almonds, two granola bars, light weight jackets, a cell phone, and that was it.

We had no compass, no knife, no first aid kit, and no flint; although I did of course have my epi-pen.

Remember, we had planned on going for a trail ride, not an adventure, and by this time, we had hiked a good two -three miles ourselves, and we were hungry and thirsty. Moving on...we came around a corner, and found ourselves up on a ridge line, and all of the sudden, we had cell phone service. As it was about 2:00, and we figured that we would be expected home by no later than 5:00, Amber called her hubby, Brad.

She was able to tell him that we left Buck Creek around 11:00, that she had thought we were heading in a loop/circle back down towards it, but that now she wasn't so sure. Her last words to him were "Yeah...don't worry. We are up on some ridge, and we are lost." Then, at that exact moment, she lost service.

So...here's the thing...we were never technically lost, as we had remained on the same trail-whose trail number we knew-the whole time. All we had to do was turn around and ride back, right??? Wrong!!!! Amber-oh how I do love thee!!!!!-still insisted that we should forge ahead, and that if we did, we might find a spur to take us back.

I should have put my foot down, but I told Amber we could ride for about one more hour and then turn around.

I was also worried that Brad would call Kevin and tell him that we were "lost," per his cut-off conversation with us. Who knew what was going on back at home????

Do you see the rock face in the picture below??? At our highest point, we were riding up in the treeline above it. Then, we started to wind downhill a bit.Finally, at 3:20, we came to another logging road, and the trail that we were on had the same trail number that it did when we left Buck Creek, but it also had a name. And do you know what that name was???? Suntop Trail!!!!! "Oh shit," I said, "We just rode on that trail from Buck Creek to Huckleberry Creek, which means that we are not going to be anywhere near our trailer when we get down."

Ever the optimist, Amber then tried to tell me that I was confused and that I must be mistaken: Suntop wasn't at the top of Huckleberry Creek, it was at the top of Buck Creek.

She then suggested that we turn around at this point and head back the way we came. Now...it had taken us 3.5 hours to get here, and it was now almost 4:00, so that would put us back at camp around 7:30 or so, and back home around 8:30.

All of this, and who knew what was going on back at home???

To be continued.......

Buck Creek Adventure, Part One....

2009-08-24T13:02:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone!! We have been really busy lately with back to school shopping, and mom??? Let me be the first to say that I don't know how the heck you did it with four girls. And I am sorry that I was such a snot from ages 11- 17. And why am I cursed...I mean blessed...with two mini me's???? Enough said there....

I am also in the midst of actually writing that paper-you know, the one that I have been doing research for all summer long???-and only have this week to finish it, so bear with me folks. I will try to make it out to every one's blogs, but I am not very hopeful.....In the mean time, I wanted to share a little story with you; one about our little adventure in the back/high country of Buck Creek-and the surrounding area. Did I just say adventure????I thought we were just going on a little, old, trail ride???? It started out innocent enough. Amber said that she heard/read/thought that the trail systems in Buck Creek were loops, and that some were around one hour long, some were around two-three hours long, and that there was one that took the rider waaaaaaaay up, looped around the top of a foothill, and then came back down-oh yeah, and that particular trail was supposed to be around four hours long.

I also knew that there was a trail that connected Buck Creek to another area known as Huckleberry Creek, which is about 12-15 minutes NW of Buck Creek on the highway...traveling 60 mph. This trail ends at a place called Suntop, which is an old fire lookout station, and is really nowhere near Buck Creek.

Are you guys beginning to see where I am going with this story yet?????We really lucked out weather-wise too, as it was misting and raining off and on the whole way up to Buck Creek. Once there however, the sun came out, and....I'll get to the rest later. The first part of the trail took us through a lovely old growth forest, and then into a clear cut that had some wicked, steep, switchbacks.

In fact, they were so steep that we got off the poor horses-remember they had been off for about two months-and led them up the hills. We would lead them about one mile and then ride them one mile....We had only been riding one hour, when we came around a corner, and could see the airstrip that we had parked the trailer. See that small horizontal gray patch near the middle of the picture below??? That is the airstrip.Here...I zoomed in on it for you. The silver blob in the middle of the the strip-it was actually behind the strip, not on it!-was one of the travel trailers that was down there. We were parked to the extreme left of the strip. You can just make out a whitish blob down there.....At the top of the clear cut, we came to a logging road, but the trail continued on the other side, so into the woods we went. Let me just say that I had a hunch the whole time that we were not going in a loop, but Amber kept insisting that we were, and that at any minute, we were going to go around a corner and start descending...uh huh...yeah right!!!!While most of our ride was out in the open, there where a few areas that we went through that were magnificent in their stillness. Some spots were so tree choked, that absolutely no light made it to the forest floor below. It was so very quiet in these woods-we called them "dead" woods-and there were big clouds of mist/fog that kept coming down from an unseen sky, and blowing through the trees.
They were beautiful in their desolation, and we rode in silence to take in their full effect.

We were now maybe two hours into our ride, and I began to get a bit antsy. I just kept thinking that if the loop-that we were supposedly on-was four hours in length, then we should be heading back down at any time, right??? Then why were we continuing to go up???

To be continued......

Winterizing.....

2009-08-20T09:48:00.000-07:00

Sheesh...I swear the past week-since we got home from the ocean-has gone by really fast. In a way, the end of summer is kind of sad, but in another way, it is wonderful. The kidlets will start school on the first, and I will start classes on the eighth. Then we will all be really busy again; though in a different way.

I think I may have been subconsciously avoiding my blog, in preparation for school and my internship. This last year of school will prove to be difficult-I watched last years poor seniors barely make it through-but I am ready to move on, and so, I am ready for it to begin.....

We spent some time up at Amber's house, getting the farm ready for the impending winter. You know...filling in low spots in the horses sheds, fixing leaks in the hay shed roof, and Amber is adding a covered area for us to groom the horses under this winter.

Our weather has been weird lately too, from 100+ temperatures to rain and 50-60 degree temperatures, then back to the 90's. The horses are definitely putting on their winter coats, and I am sure their bodies are just as confused by the weather as we are.
(Below you can see the start of Sienna's winter coat coming in. It is all patchy....)

It has been cold enough that Bo has to wear his blankie at night, and we started him back on his senior feed; although that is now scrapped due to the heat being back....

Have you ever heard the old saying that ponies can get fat on dirt???? Well here is your proof...lol!!!!And of course old Bo Bo took advantage of having all of us in his paddock at once....He snuck kisses.....And scratches....and apples...and lots of attention! Then he and Sienna had to take the kidlets for a ride in return for all of that attention. Nothing is for free, is it???? LOL!!!!And guess what??? Amber and I have gone on a few more rides, and Waska appears to be fine. We are planning on heading up to Buck Creek tomorrow, but will have to take it easy on the horses, as they are both a tad bit out of shape.
Hope you all have a wonderful Thursday!!!!

Could It Be?????

2009-08-15T17:42:00.000-07:00

In regards to the last post: Thanks so much for letting me burden you with my guilty conscience, and it is now time for me to move on.

Guess what Amber and I were able to do last night????!!!!!
Come on, don't be shy...guess!!!!

That's right, we were able to go on a nice ride. Waska appeared to have finally healed from his bruises, so we saddled up and hit the trail.Because it has been raining for the past few days, and because we spent a lot of our time in the watershed...I mean trespassing...ahem... I mean trail riding......the woods were dark, green, and luscious.

Or to use the words of my favorite poet...

The woods were lovely...Dark...And deep....And as you can see, Waska was quite full of himself. Well actually, he was his usual steadfast self, unless Bo came near him. Then he pinned his ears, rolled his eyes, and opened his jaws.
Anywho, we had a blast, and are planning on heading out again tonight.
See?? I am obsessed...lol!!! Now that I can ride again, it will be interesting to see if my online horse shopping obsession disappears. I am pretty sure it will slow down anyway...teeheehee!!!
Talk at you all later! :)

Beach Ponies....

2009-08-14T12:02:00.000-07:00

You know I couldn't go too long without posting about horses now, didn't you??? LOL!!!! It's a little problem that several of us seem to have.......

So, on our last day at the beach, we decided to head back down to Ocean Shores and go for a ride on the beach. Now, I would be lying if I said that I didn't have have-I did-but I would also be lying if I said that my one hour of pleasure at the expense of the horses didn't bother me-it did.What do I mean??? Let me explain. I am a firm believer in a philosophical theory-one that I think was started by Immanuel Kant/Kantian philosophy, but don't quote me!-and it has to do with morals and moral judgement.

One of the biggest tenets-or at least for me it is!-of this theory is that the means should justify the ends, or more simply put, don't use something at its expense to derive your own pleasure. Confused yet???LOL!!!

Now I am remembering why I had a love/hate relationship with my philosophy courses...teeheehee!!! Who wants to analyze and think about their every action??? Maybe that's what is wrong with society today....

It's also why I tell my son that he better not shoot a deer-when he is out hunting with his dad-until he is absolutely sure he has his sites set on the best kill shot. Nothing deserves to suffer, right???Where was I???

Oh yes, the beach horses. I think I made it clear that we all had a good time, but as we were all riding-there were about 25-30 horses in our group-I noticed that their saddles seemed to be "one-size-fits-all," that they all had generic, long shanked, curb bits in their mouths, that most of them had tie downs made out of baling twine on, that several of them had rain rot/rain scald on their croups, and-here's the worst part-a lot of them had dull, lethargic, lifeless expressions in their eyes.

And aren't eyes supposed to be the window to the soul??? Okay, okay...animals aren't supposed to technically have souls, but you know what I mean-and the whole animals-don't have-souls- thingy is debatable.....

They are still living, breathing, creatures, who should have dark, soulful, eyes, am I right????

Well, most of these didn't.

Above is a picture of Katie and her horse, Tater. He did still have quite a bit of life in him, and is not usually used for children, but our group was almost entirely children, and there were no more kid horses with kid saddles available.

The wranglers were happy that my kidlets knew how to ride, but when they said" Oh good. We'll put this girl on Tater, because she knows how to ride and won't scream when he tries to run back," I got a little worried.....They did fine, but he did trot most of the way...

Eric was on the cutest old QH gelding, who shone like a copper penny (above). We never did catch his name, but he looked so tired and miserable, that it was all I could do not to offer the owners money to buy him.

Hopefully these horses could remember that humans are fun and caring, after a few months off...Me??? I ended up riding this Belgian gelding named Trigger, who had dead sides, a dead mouth, and who seemed to be zoned out 1/2 the time.
Wasn't he a sight to behold???? Everyone teased me, because his mane and tail, and my hair were almost identical in color and curl.... Oh, and did I mention their hooves???? These poor horses had some of the nastiest hooves around, and I was fit to be tied. It cost us $20/hour to ride, and they had lines of people waiting to ride. Now...you can't tell me that these poor horses don't earn enough in 2-3 hours to cover trimming expenses!!! They are ridden on sand for Pete's sake!!!!

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.....

Okay, I am done yelling now, but I still feel guilty about leaving those poor horses down on the beach...

The Ocean...

2009-08-13T11:43:00.000-07:00

We all had a great time at the beach, and we actually lucked out pretty well weather-wise.
The first day we arrived was gorgeous, and we spent a lot of time body surfing and playing in the waves.
There is a nasty riptide that you have to watch out for, so we try to only play in the water when the tide is coming in. Below you can see several of my family members out in the water. I got in a little later, but for obvious reasons, could not take my camera out there with me...teeheehee!!!The temperature of the water is around45-50 degrees, and we often stay in it for up to an hour. When you get out, you literally cannot feel your feet or legs, and you are ravenously hungry. Good way to burn calories, I guess...

Maybe I should move to the ocean??? LOL!!!
Katie was only in for about 20 minutes, and you can see her displeasure at the water temperature.On our second day, we awoke to cloudy skies and rain. It was still beautiful out though, and we decided to head down to Ocean Shores.While there, many of us rode the go-carts and bumper cars...
Better hurry, Eric!!! Auntie Beki and Katie are catching up to you!!!!The wind was blowing and the rain was pelting, but it didn't deter this bunch at all....

My dad-in the red-looked like some kind of deranged hillbilly in his hat, and the seat belt looked like suspenders...lol!!!!After all the fun and games were over, my mom, Katie and I headed back to Moclips, while everyone else stayed and golfed...in the rain!!!! They looked like drowned rats when they finally got back.At high tide, my mom, Katie, and I took a long walk on the beach-the rain had let up somewhat-and then walked upriver. The place we stay at is really neat, because we are near where the Moclips River meets the sea, and there is so much plant and animal diversity there.

Just look at the root system of this tree. It has obviously withstood many years of battery from the fickle ocean tides. Sometimes the roots are submerged by the river, while other times they are exposed for all to see.

We lucked out and were able to watch a pair of river otters as they frolicked and played, but unfortunately, I was unable to get any good shots of them. Talk about cute though!!!!!

Below is Katie standing on the river bank. Doesn't she look like a drowned rat???? LOL!!! Downriver looking towards the ocean...

Another shot from downriver looking up towards the ocean....Anyway...our last day was just as nice as the first, and we spent it beach combing, sunbathing, and horseback riding. My next post will be all about our hour long ride, and the horses that we were on.

Toodles!!!!

We're Back.....

2009-08-12T11:39:00.000-07:00

We're back, but if I had my way, we would still be there. Where is "there," you ask??? The little town of Moclips, that's where....

It is a small town on the Northern coast of WA, it has a private beach-no cars allowed-and it butts up next to the Quinault Indian Reservation, which has wildlife, scenery, and a cultural heritage that is to die for.
We all had a really good time, and I promise that there will be more beach posts, but for now, enjoy some of the wildlife photos that I took....

Eric walking down the beach-towards the Reservation-with seagulls, sand pipers, and pelicans taking flight in the distance.....
A small shark that was left behind as the tide went out....

A majestic bald eagle who sat watch on the Reservation.... A dead stingray that was also left behind as the tide went out. We found him upriver from the ocean.... His skin was rough and covered in sharp spines. You can kind of see them here.....
A shell being washed ashore by the incoming tide...
A dead crab whose carcass had yet to be scavenged by the seagulls....
A sand dollar peaking out from the sand....
And another eagle-either a young bald eagle or a golden eagle-who followed us from the Reservation back to our hotel...

I wonder what he was thinking???

Anywho, there will be more pics to follow. I promise.....

Shhhhh.....Can You Hear It???

2009-08-08T08:55:00.000-07:00

Shhhhh....can you hear it???How about now???? No??? Are you sure????Now???? That's right folks. I am interrupting this crazy online horse shopping program to let you know that I will be missing for a few days....

Without my computer....

Whatever shall I do???? Lot's of beach combing, walking, running, and relaxing, that's what!!!!

And guess what??? I will only be two hours away from Forks-not four like I usually am!!!! Squeeeeeeeee!!!!!!

I still think that two hours is too far to drive though-because I will be on vacation and all- don't you???

Cabalero SF?

2009-08-07T13:06:00.000-07:00

Howdy! I have a had a few people ask me if I am actively looking for a new horse, and ask me if I am not happy with Bo. I can totally see where they may have gotten that idea-have you seen some of my recent posts???? lol!!!-so I figured I would clear up any doubts or uncertainty that anyone has out there. Uhmmmm...no...I am not really looking for a new horse, and I totally love Bo Bo.I mean if a great deal presented itself, I would have to think about it, but for now, Bo Bo it is. My main concern with Bo, and the reason I will be getting a new horse in the next couple of years, is that he is 21. Now I know that 21 isn't ancient-and that Bo still has a lot of life left in him- it's just that our trails are rather cruel around here, and they poop out young horses, so how do you think they make my Bo Bo feel??
I have also only been able to ride three times during the past six weeks, and that is starting to really drive me bonkers.

So, what do I do when I am not actively riding??? I obsess about horses, of course...lol!!!! And with thousands of them literally at my fingertips-gotta love the Internet!!-I just can't help myself.

Good thing it is only horses that I am addicted too, eh???? {insert wicked grin}

Sigh......

2009-08-04T15:01:00.000-07:00

Oh my goodness...
If $500 didn't buy most of my textbooks-I usually spend around $800 per semester-I would definitely consider splurging on these boots. Aren't they cute??? I am not a fan of dressy, girly, pointy-toed boots, but these caught my eye.

You can get them here.

Okay...I am now back to working on my paper. Have I ever said that I detest writing papers???? No??? Are you sure????

My ADD comes out when I am supposed to be working on a paper. I will write a page or two, go check something out somewhere, write another page or two, go check something out somewhere....

It's really hard to stay focused on Microsoft Word when I am on the computer!!!!

Daydreamin'.....

2009-08-03T13:19:00.000-07:00

As Chelsi has already mentioned-go see her latest post!-we are both having difficulty staying off of sites such as DreamHorse, and I totally agree with her that it is because we both find ourselves horseless. That and we are obviously both a bit obsessive!!!! LOL!!!

(Amber and I did take the ponies out for a quick ride, but Waska was still a tad off, so we made it short and went back home. Hopefully in the next few weeks.....)

In the meantime, here is a lovely mare-yes I said "mare!"-that is located down in OR. While I don't particularly care for mares, this one is rather refined and feminine looking, don't you think??? And yet another beautiful mare......

Too bad this one is far away, otherwise I may have had to beg, borrow, cheat, and steal...teeheehee!! Sometimes Arab/QH crosses come out all wrong, and sometimes they don't!!! Not much wrong with this gelding, eh???

And I would really like to see more pictures of this guy. He has color, he is 1/2 Arab, and he is talented! Hey Chelsi...Want to check him out for me????

This guy might be pretty nice too, and I have an idea that the picture doesn't do him any justice....

I've had my eye on this guy for awhile too. He is not very handsome, but watch his video. He has a nice way about him, and he looks like he could be a lot of fun. A little on the older side though...

This boy is close to me, and like some of the other horses, I would like to see some better shots of him. He might be really nice after a little tune-up.Oh well, such is life. Hopefully Waska will be back to normal in a few, and I can quit looking at horses on the Internet, as it takes up a lot of my time!!!

I may be MIA for a bit-I should be MIA for a bit!!-as I need to finish up my paper and wrap up that class design with my professor. Before I know it, school will be upon me, and I must admit that I am not looking forward to it. At least I only have class two days a week this year.

Hot, Hot, Hot!!!

2009-07-30T10:41:00.000-07:00

Phewwwww.....it has been scorching here the last few weeks!!! Before you all roll your eyes and call me a wimp, just know that I do like the heat, but I definitely do not like the humidity that comes along with it over here.

(The top number on our temperature thingy is the temp outside, and the second number is the temp in the house)

Eastern WA is known to have high summer temps, but Western WA usually doesn't. Well, we consider 80-85 degrees high, but when you live in the land of green-fir trees, ferns, and various "wet" plants-that is high.

If it weren't so damn humid, I might be able to enjoy it a little bit more...oh, and it would be nice if it cooled off at night too.
(Now that everything is so dry, our fire danger is considered to be as high as Eastern WA's)Because it usually never gets over 85 degrees, and because it usually cools down to 50-60 degrees at night, most homes in Western WA don't have air conditioning either. This past week, the average nightly temperature has been 78-82 degrees, and that makes it really difficult to get a good nights sleep-that damn humidity doesn't help either!

Thankfully, we have a small unit that cools our bedroom off, so we have pulled the kidlets

mattresses into our room, and we all sleep together.

Needless to say, we have spent many hours in our little pool, but when the sun is beating down at you -and it is 108 degrees-even the pool feels hot. The plus side of all this sunshine, and hours spent in the pool???? We are all turning a nice brown color, and I may not need to have my hair foiled, as it is lightening up in the sun.

Stay cool, and have fun!!!

PS-For those of you who read my last post, please read Chelsi's great comeback!!!!! I guess I am not crazy after all...lol!!!

Vampires, Werewolves, and Humans-Or Not????

2009-07-28T09:30:00.000-07:00

So I think that I may have a problem.....

You know how I read the whole Twilight series during the months of December and January (last year)??? Well I am seriously considering re-reading the first two books; especially New Moon because I rushed through it. All I could think about was getting Bella and Edward back together again, and I don't know if I really read it thoroughly....

Or is that just my addiction talking??? LOL!!!

I am good with the last two books-they are together, what did you expect?-but I am thinking that I need me some New Moon. Hmmmmmmmm.........

(And it's okay if you want to tell me to "step away from the Twilight books." LOL!!!)

So...am I crazy????

A Good Day....

2009-07-25T11:05:00.000-07:00

Amber is out of town on vacation, and the kidlets and I have been feeding and taking care of all of her critters lately. Yesterday was only about 80 degrees-which is actually cool right now!-and the kidlets wanted to ride, so we went up early. It was about 3:00, so we gave the panonies a small snack first. I usually let them graze out in the yard, but the grass is all dried up. Waska-above-still has his front boots on, and he is still tender, but he moved around pretty good. We didn't get him out, but I did give him a good grooming while he was snacking, and boy was he itchy. Katie decided that she wanted to pick manure, and who was I to complain???

She's a girl after my own heart, as I used to religiously pick manure out of our horses paddocks and pastures twice a day when I was growing up. It just looks and smells better, and besides...who wants to stand around in their own poo??? LOL!!!Meanwhile...Eric had finished brushing Bo, and wanted to ride, so I left Katie in the paddock with Waska and Sienna. (There he goes! Choking up on that lead rope again!!! LOL!!) Katie was a bit nervous to be in the paddock without me, but I told her that I would be right on the other side of the fence, and I also figured that it was a good time for her to get a little bit of confidence.

She gave Waska one last kiss, and grabbed her wheelbarrow and her manure fork. I told her to keep the wheelbarrow near her, just in case she needed it for security. She is a lot smaller than Waska, and I reminded her that even though Waska is was bigger than her-Sienna is obviously not a threatening presence...lol!!!-she is/was the boss of the paddock, not Waska.

I also told her to whack, shove, or push Waska if he got in her space and tried to be bossy. Gotta raise her up right, right???? LOL!!!And sure enough, the minute I stepped out, Waska walked over to Katie. You can see that she was unsure about what to do, and I told her to relax and pet him.

I also reminded her that the manure fork could be used as an extension of her arm-if need be-and she finally relaxed and pet him. He looks really threatening, doesn't he??? LOL!!!!Eric rode Bo around for awhile, but he was kind of being a turkey, so I had to get on him. I felt like a kidlet myself, as I cantered and ran around in a bareback pad...teeheehee!! Eric took some pictures of me, but I will not show them to you!!!!
After we were done riding, Katie, who was in a horse kissing mood, came up and gave Bo a big kiss, and a barbecue potato chip.

We then shared some of the huckleberries that we found with the panonies....
...watered Amber's plants....
...and played with frogs. :)

It was a good afternoon!

Another Little Secret of Mine.....

2009-07-22T11:53:00.000-07:00

Some of you know-and some of you don't know-that I used to work for a paint horse farm back in the late 80's and early 90's. Gee whiz, that dates me...lol!!!! They primarily bred halter horses, and I was able to see a lot of nice looking stock back in the day-now I sound even older...teeheehee!!!

(Horses like Barlink Macho Man, Jetalito, Scribbles, Lucky Straw, Mr. Norfleet, and Cajun Joe Jet)

I would accompany them to several big shows in WA and OR, and besides helping prepare the stallions and mares for their classes, I would also ring steward for the judges. I always said I was going to get my judges card...maybe one day....

Now I could get into quite the conversation about APHA politics-from back in those days-and about how the paint horse market, like almost any breed market,became flooded with over breeding, unsightly horses, and genetic problems, but I won't.

What I wanted to do was show what I consider to be some nice looking paint horses, but be forewarned, not all of them would hold up under hard riding-again, I won't discuss that here, but just know that I know that the horses may contribute to some of the ongoing soundness issues that plague QH's and Paints alike.

(The handsome black and white stallion in the two pictures above can be found here)

So remember, I am not looking at breeding so much as I am looking at coloring. Hey...isn't that what got a lot of breeders in trouble???? LOL!!!!

(You can find this boy here, but again, don't look at his breeding...teeheehee)

At least this stallion can be ridden....

Here's a handsome gelding that moves well in the arena....Again...I am looking at coloring and markings. Just a reminder, as this mare's conformation needs help, but I like her color pattern.I also happen to really be partial to roan horses...blue, bay, or red, but I can't seem to find any that really jump out and grab me. Wait! Here's one.

And another....

Find this blue roan stallion here......And here is a miscellaneous bay roan that I found on the Internet.Okay, it's out. I like paints and roany QH's too...lol!!!!! Who doesn't like a little color every now and then, right????

Sunrise....

2009-07-22T10:32:00.000-07:00

Alright, now where did I leave off last time??? Oh yeah...Sunrise.

So after we got back from our hike, we decided to head up to an area known as Sunrise, which was about another 20 minutes up the road. The views of the mountain and its alpine meadows were fabulous up there, but unfortunately, it was so bright that a lot of my pictures didn't turn out-too much glare off of the mountain snow.

You can read about Sunrise by clicking on the link above, but just so you know, it has an elevation of 6400 feet-the mountain is 14,410 feet high.

Do you see the foothill near the bottom left of the above picture? Do you also see the milky colored ice/glacier that looks like it is running into it? That is Emmon's Glacier, and it is also where we were on our hike. Pretty cool, huh?

When you are up that high, you can also see Mt. Adams to the south (below) and I think that you are also able to see Mt. Saint Helens, but I am not sure, as we couldn't see it. This is one of the alpine lakes up there, and the color is just breathtaking. There is a three mile hike that takes you down to it, but Kevin gave me a look when I mentioned it...lol!!!!

And here is one of the alpine meadows. Do you see all of the blue? Those are flowers, and intermingled in all of them are bright orange, white, and red ones too.

What do we have here??? Some rare type of mountain momma and her son?? Teeheehee!!!!

Katie was pouting, because she cut her foot, and wouldn't get in the picture. Silly girl! To give you an idea of how bright it was, the mountain is directly behind me and Eric, but all you see is brightnessWell, that's it for now folks. Our next trip is most likely going to be here, because it is only about 35-40 minutes from our house. Stay tuned for more exciting adventures...lol!!!!

PS-No luck on any of the lease horses so far, but Amber says that Waska is improving daily. They had her cut a spot out of the pad in his boot-to keep constant pressure off of the supposed bruise-and he can actually walk normally now.

Amber and her hubby are leaving on vacation, and the kidlets and I will be taking care of the panonies, so I will check him out on Friday.

A Nice Leisurely Hike...Or Not!

2009-07-20T12:50:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday, I convinced Kevin to go on a hike with us up in Mt. Rainier National Park. You know-I played the poor helpless female who needed a big, strong man to protect her and her kidlets from the hidden dangers that lurk in the woods...lol!!!

Honestly though, I needed another adult to go with us, as you cannot take dogs on any of the trails up there. It was decided that we would hike the Glacier Basin Trail, and boy did we have a great time.

The hike was supposed to be about seven miles round trip, but flooding from two years ago (see above link) added quite a bit of extra terrain/mileage to cover. A large part of the main trail was washed out, and we spent a good amount of our hike traversing through river rocks, log jams, and small streams. It was fun though...See???If you look near Katie in the picture below, you can see the flags that the ranger's have placed along the detour to keep us crazy hikers on the right rocks...er...path. This was the last rock/mudslide that we had to cross, and from it, we entered bear country. We even saw quite a few piles of bear poo.

See Kevin??? I told you we needed you...lol!!!

During the hike, there are several spots where Mt. Rainier peaks out at you in all of its glory. It was truly breathtaking, and the pictures do not really show you just how close we were to it.In person, it looked like it was close enough to reach out and touch...Ever seen nature's air conditioner??? It was really warm that day-about 78 in the park and 95 back at home-but when you got within 10 feet of this little waterfall, the air temperature dropped by like 10-15 degrees. Nice!!!! Needless to say, we spent some time-both ways-cooling off here.After we had gone about 3.5 miles-or more-we asked people who were coming back down how much longer we had until we hit the glacier. Unfortunately, they all said at least another two miles, and we had to turn around (Kevin has not exercised in years and he was about ready to die at this point. I am really proud that he bit the bullet and made it as far as he did though).They are making a new trail that is about 40-50 feet above the old one, and once it is done-and the hike is once again seven miles long-we will do it again.

One more thing....This trail is one of the gateways to climb the mountain, and on our way up-and down-we passed several climbers who were returning from the summit. How cool is that??? They were kind of smelly though...lol!!!

We made it back to our truck, and headed up the road to an area known as Sunrise, but I will write about that in another post. Have a great day you guys!

The Beach and Horse Update

2009-07-19T13:46:00.000-07:00

Hello! I hope that everyone is enjoying their summer so far...I know that I am!!!! We've all been pretty busy, and have been taking advantage of the wonderful weather that we have been having lately.

It has been in the mid/upper 90's-which is unusual-so we have been heading out in search of cooler areas. The other day, we all went to one of our favorite beaches on the sound, but were surprised to find that the tides were really high-even low tide.

Usually there is a huge beach to play on and several rocks and/or tidal pools to search for sea creatures in, but not that day. Oh well...the upside was that the water was only up to our waists about 400+ feet off the shore, and their appeared to be no riptide to sweep unsuspecting kidlets off of their feet.

(Below is a picture of Amber's little Chihuahua as he swam towards me)
The water was filled with seaweed-I love to eat seaweed, but not when it comes from this water!-and lots of other debris towards the shore. It's really quite sad when you think about how polluted the sound has become. A place that was once sacred and pristine is now filthy and uncared for.There were also several jellyfish-there always are-and below is a small one that was floating by my leg...
I was really hoping to take some nice pictures of the area that we were in, but it is heavily populated, and there really wasn't much to look at. Last year though, we saw a wayward humpback whale out near where this tugboat was, and that was a really neat experience.And what would a trip to the beach be without burying the kidlets in the sand???LOL!!!
On the horse front.....Waska appears to have bruised his coffin bone, and may be out of commission for one to two months. He has foundered before, so it was not a difficult thing for him to do.....

This means that unless I can find another horse to ride-or unless he gets better quickly-I do not have a horse to ride, as Amber will ride Bo instead of me. The farrier feels really bad about the whole thing, and does have a couple of clients who want to lease their horses out for the summer.
One is a $100,000 Warmblood that has a tendency to rear up and flip over when he is stressed out-no thanks!!!!-and the other horse is an Arab gelding that is used for endurance and trail riding. His owner broke her wrist and cannot ride him, and she is hoping to find someone to come out and ride him for her.

She lives about 35-40 minutes away, but the farrier thinks that she may let him come to Amber's house. I am just waiting for him to get back to me with the number, so I can call and see if it is something that she would be up for; otherwise it may be a long summer filled with no riding for me. :(

Oh well..things always happen for a reason, and have a way of working themselves out, right? Still...

Crabby!

2009-07-15T12:58:00.000-07:00

Since I have not been able to ride at all during the last three weeks-and yes, it is making me extremely crabby!-I have been lusting after some fine horseflesh on the Internet. Plus there are some of you who are horse shopping, and hey, who doesn't like looking every now and then, right Chelsi and Breathe??? LOL!!!

I have found some really nice horses too-well that fit my needs anyway. Want to see???

This nice gelding (below) comes from Montana, but I am not sure how much training he has had; although Waska didn't really have any, and he caught on just fine....Then there is this handsome fella ,who comes from Northern CA. Hey, that's not that far away, right???? LOL!!! And how about this handsome Morab gelding? He's definitely a good mix of Arab and Morgan blood, and appears to have nice bone/size too.
And last but not least, we have this big boy-and he is in WA too! I don't know if I would pay $9000 for a Mustang though...Now for kid horses-notice how they are not Arabs...teeheehee!!!

This gelding looks like he would be a great all-around horse for the kidlets, and he is drop dead gorgeous to boot. (To see more pics and a video of him, check out his ad) Mom, doesn't he kind of remind you of a chunky Jewel? This gelding has that "I'm cute-pinch my cheeks" look. Sorry for the small picture of him-his ad is expiring.
Okay, so this one is 1/2 Arab, but just look at how cute he is! And the nice thing about him, is he is big enough that I could get on and remind him of his manners if he ever decided to take advantage of the kidlets.Well, there you have it. Hopefully Waska will be ready for riding by next week, and I can quit pining away on the Internet. I would go out and ride Bo by myself, but because the kidlets are out of school, it poses a huge babysitting issue for me. Ahhh well...it will only get easier as they get older, right?

Of course when they are older, I might not want to leave them alone...lol!!!

Phew.....

2009-07-13T12:58:00.000-07:00

We're back-again! The last few days were once again filled with fun and friends, and I must admit that I wish we were still over there. Who wants to come back to the real world? Not me...lol!!!!

The picture below is one that I took on our way back over to Naches from the scenic byway. I was so disappointed when Kevin wouldn't stop so I could take some amazing pictures of Mt. Rainier, about five miles before I took this one.

You literally go around a corner, and there it is,in all of its unobstructed glory, and I must admit that it took my breath away. Since it is only about 45 minutes from my house, I am going to take a drive up there with the kidlets, and get some good shots-I promise!

We did a lot more jeeping with our friends, and we we even took a midnight trip over the Naches Trail, which was an absolutely amazing experience. The moon was almost full, and we drove by several mountain meadows that were full of elk-I promise to write about it in another post.

If you look closely at the above picture, which happens to be one of the same hills that we climbed in my first post, you can see Mt. Rainier as it appears on the east side. Nice, huh?

Anywho...jeeping is definitely fun, but I would much rather prefer to hike or horseback ride through all of that pristine back country. It-jeeping-is something that I have never done, and it was kind of like submersing myself in another culture. :)

Above is the view looking upriver from our campsite, and believe me, the picture does not catch the true beauty of the area.
The bigger kidlets often hiked upriver with rafts, and then rode the current back to camp. In the above picture, Eric is holding an ax that he found way upriver, and he carried all the way back-until I saw him that is! After I took the above picture, I ran out there and took it from him-at least until they were out tof the water...lol!!!
Here is one last pic of the boylets coming back from another excursion. I am not sure why the picture turned out so dark, as the sun was shining, but I thought it looked kind of neat.
All in all we had a great time, and I now must finish washing clothes, go grocery shopping, and run some other errands. Catch you all later.

For Stephanie and Lisa...

2009-07-09T14:14:00.000-07:00

Recently, two of my blogging buddies have suffered great losses; one the loss of a beautiful friend, and one the loss of a kindred spirit.

There are never words to express the emptiness or void that is left behind after losing someone or something that is close to you, and often the best way to communicate your sorrow and sympathy is through a hug, a subtle gesture, a home-cooked meal, or an offer to watch your kidlets for you.
However, because this is blogland, and because I cannot sit down with Stephanie or Lisa and share in their heartache, I will do the next best thing and let them know that I care. Just know that I am terribly sorry for your losses, and that I have been thinking about both of you.

Where Are The Horses?

2009-07-09T13:30:00.000-07:00

Some of you may be wondering why I haven't posted much about riding lately. Well the main reason I haven't is because we have been short one horse-for about two weeks. Let me explain.....

As many of you know, Amber had Bo and Waska's shoes pulled about one year ago, and we now use Easyboots. Our farrier-whom we have had for over 12 years-also advocates for barefoot horses when possible, and he has shown Amber how to trim hooves throughout the years.

Amber decided to have the farrier out two weeks ago to make sure she was doing a good job on every one's hooves, and he trimmed all of the callouses off of Waska's soles...about six months worth.

We are not really sure why he trimmed the callouses off of Waska's soles, and Amber even said he commented about how thick they were as he trimmed them off. She wanted to speak up and ask him if he should be "cleaning" up Waska's soles-as he put it-but she didn't.

(Below is a picture with of Waska in his Easyboots from last fall)According to Amber, Waska was immediately sore, but she hoped that he would snap out of it in a few days-she gave him some bute and turned him out with Bo and Sienna. Now to give you a little history on Waksa's hooves, he had foundered at his previous home, and had only been able to wear shoes with pads. At least for riding, but he has never had trouble being barefoot out in his paddock.

To make a long story short, Waska got dramatically worse, even after Amber put his boots on 24/7, and after almost two weeks of soreness, it was discovered that he had an abscess.

Thankfully he is now on the mend, and our farrier is most humbled. He says that he will never trim or "clean up" Waska's soles again, and now sees that Waska has to have those callouses.

Bo??? He's fine, but he has super tough hooves, and doesn't even need hind boots...even with our rough terrain. Now if I rode him more than twice per week out there he would, but that will most likely not happen with my current schedule.

Well we are getting ready to take off camping again, and I promise to take lots of pictures. See you when we get back!

What We Have Been Up Too....

2009-07-08T11:10:00.000-07:00

We are back! I know I didn't warn you guys ahead of time that we were leaving-we were way too busy!-but we took off on the 5th to go camping with our friends. We got home yesterday, and plan to head back over on Friday to stay for the weekend.

Anywho, before I go on and on about round one of camping, I wanted to say that I hope everyone had a happy and safe 4th of July. We always have a big celebration on the 4th, because it is my father-in-law's birthday, and the day was filled with lots of family, food, and fireworks.

On Sunday, we woke up early and headed over to an area in Eastern WA known as Little Naches. It is an area that we used to camp at all the time when we had our travel trailer, but we have not gone over there at all over the last couple of years.

Our friends go over there with their large extended family-and friends-and they bring their jeeps, because this area has lots of jeeping/ATV trails that run though and surround it. Have any of you ever been jeeping??? Well prior to Monday, I had never been, but now that I have, I want one!!!! LOL!!!

Jeeping is kind of like horseback riding, in that you get to go up in the hills on beautiful trails, except you don't feel guilty about riding a poor horse for miles on tough terrain. (Yes, the trails around here can be that brutal!)
The other nice thing about jeeping is that it is relatively quiet-I am comparing it to motorbikes and quads-and you are surrounded by your friends and family. All of whom you can converse with while out there.

We headed up to an area that has over a 6000 foot elevation-an area called Moon Rocks, and an area called Funny Rocks-and spring was just beginning. Their were large meadows filled with wild flowers and the scenery was absolutely breathtaking.

To give you an idea of just how steep some of the hillsides we drove up were, look at the angle of the treeline in the above picture. Nice, huh??? Kind of like being on a ride at the county fair.....
Above is a picture of some of the jeeps climbing up Funny Rocks, and below is another shot from the top of Funny Rocks looking down at another jeep maneuvering the rocks.
Below are Eric and his pals taking a break from climbing the rocks. Little hoodlums......

After messing around on Funny Rocks, we loaded up and headed up even higher to Moon Rocks. The view was absolutely amazing from up there, and you could see Ellensburg, Yakima, and the surrounding areas with no problem.
While up there, we had lunch, and the kidlets all ran around and looked for dropped elk antlers, as their sign were all over the meadows and forests up there.

Katie couldn't help herself and she picked some the the lovely flowers before I could stop her-you are not supposed to pick them-oops!!!She also struck a pose for me in front of an old tree....
Did I mention it was cold up there? The sun was warm, but the wind almost took your breath away. (Only up jeeping, not down at camp...) We had a great time and did not want to come back home, but Kevin had to be back at work today. Eric is still over there with his pals, and I can't wait to head back over and play in the water, as the camp is right next to the Naches River.

I wanted to get more picks from the trip, but my batteries died, and I forgot to bring other ones. I promise to bring lots of them this weekend though, so stay tuned!

Honestly, Honest, I Swear....

2009-07-01T13:06:00.000-07:00

About one week ago, Oregonsunshine tagged me for the Honest Scrap Award, and even though I have played I along before, I decided to oblige and do it one more time; although I am not sure what I haven't disclosed about myself yet. Thank you Oregonsunshine!!!! It's always nice to be thought of.

The rules of this award ask that I disclose 10 honest things about myself, that I nominate/tag seven other people to play, that I notify them of their award, and that I pass the rules on to them.

(I decided to use pictures from a recent hike that the kidlets and I went on, and to use pictures from a recent ride as well) 1) I am the most comfortable when I am out in nature. It doesn't matter where I am-the woods, the desert, the prairie-the earth is so alive, and it rejuvenates me mentally and spiritually. Whether I am on foot or on horseback, there is nothing like it...2) I love poetry, and one of my favorite poems is called Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening, by Robert Frost. One of my favorite lines from this poem is "...the woods are lovely, dark and deep..." So true!3) I detest living in town, and honestly think that I would be happy living out in the middle of nowhere. Oh sure, I would still want to go to town and do "town" stuff, but I am happy to just be by myself, doing what I love: reading, riding, hiking etc... Maybe one day, when my kidlets are all grown up, I will get my wish.
4) I have always wanted to be a midwife. I have helped welcome a lot of foals, calves, kids-as in the goat kind!-lambs, puppies and kittens into this world, and I also worked with an OB/GYN for some time. There is nothing like getting to know your patient over nine months, and then being there to help them welcome their little miracle into this world.
5) After Shadest-my horse of 16 years died-I bought a yearling 7/8's Arab gelding named MJD Camino de Oro. He was sort of a rebound horse for me, as I had always had one and suddenly found myself horseless. Below is a picture of Amber on him, and you can see how big he was as a three year old. When Amber finally sold him-I was too busy to do much with him so he became Amber's horse-he was 16.1 hands high. Oregonsunshine: doesn't he look like your VTA???6) I don't like country music.I do like bluegrass-that is more folky-but country music has never grown on me. Unfortunately, my hubby and kidlets like it, so I grit my teeth and bear it when I am in the car with them...lol!!! There are a few artists and songs that I do like, but it is just not my style. To each his own, eh? :)7) I am a bona-fide chocoholic. Yes, it is my one weakness...my one downfall-well I am sure that I have more than one downfall, but you know what I mean!!!8) Okay, this is getting really difficult...lol!!! Uhmmmmm....lets see...How about....I am allergic to bees? I have to carry an epi-pen everywhere with me, and it really sucks. I have done it for so long now though, that it has just become a third appendage.

One of my biggest fears is to get into a nest of them while out riding. That would not be good, although that has happened before and I made it out unscathed. Maybe that's because I kicked my horse into a gallop and left everyone else behind??? LOL!!!9) I am going to be 35 in November, and I have decided that I really like being in my mid-thirties. I never thought I would say that, but it is a good age to be. I have lots of life behind me, and I have lots of life ahead of me-hopefully, right????. :)

10)Yea!!!! I am done, right??? I know I am cheating, but this is my blog and I can make up my own rules...lol!!! (sticks tongue out)

Anyway, I hope that I haven't bored you all to tears. If anyone wants to play along, please feel free...

For the Ladies......

2009-06-29T18:08:00.000-07:00

Well we did it.
We all spent another year at the log show in support of Brad-Amber's husband-and we were not disappointed.
(Again, for those of you who need a refresher about our town's annual log show, please refer to the links on this post)

(Above is Timber the Clown making his grand entrance)

Saturday was really warm, with the temperatures rising into the 80's, which may not sound that bad, but they were running in the 50's the week before, so that was quite the increase. (Was that just a run-on sentence??? LOL!!!)
(Above are two competitors in the log rolling competition)

Sunday was somewhat kinder, in that the weather alternated between cloudy and sunny, with temps finally reaching the upper 70's. Needless to say, even though I slathered sunscreen on myself, I got a doozy of a sunburn on Saturday; however by Sunday morning, it had turned into a nice tan.

(Above is Brad and another competitor taking off in a choker setting race)

Unfortunately, the top of my head burnt on both days, and I now have blisters on the top of my head. It hurts really bad, and I am so mad at myself for letting that happen. Thankfully, just me and Kevin burnt, as I religiously applied sunscreen to the kidlets, who don't even look like they were in the sun. Go figure!
(Above is a competitor either ascending or descending the 75 foot pole)

Now...this is a family blog, so I will watch my self, but let me be the first to say that even though I think a lot of the guys around here-and I am not just talking about the loggers-are hicks, these guys looked damn fine all dressed up in their logging duds, and you would have to be 1/2 dead to not be affected by the smell of bar oil, sawdust, sweat, and men. (Wasn't it you, Chelsi, that wrote about that in one of your older posts?)(Above are some competitors-including my brother-in-law Brad-warming up for the hot saw competition)

Yes, I could sit there all day and daydream about one of those guys sweeping me off of my feet and.....ahem....I will leave the rest to your imagination...lol!!!! (Sorry Kevin!!) (Above is a close-up of one of the crowd favorite's arms)

Now just so you all know, the pictures just do not do these guys any justice. You would have to be there to see what I am talking about, and Chelsi, I was thinking about you and what a good time you would have had the whole time. :0(Above is a group of guys getting ready to compete with their unlimited hot saw. These saws are powered by various high powered engines, such as V-8 car engines, motorcycle engines, truck engines...you get the idea!)

You know what they say about the size of a man's chainsaw, don't you???? LOL!!!! (Did I really just say that??????)
And last but not least, I took a couple of videos for all of you to watch, and I apologize that they are sideways. They are not that way on my computer, but for some reason, when I loaded them onto Blogger, they flipped over. Does that always happen with video???

Below is a video of Brad competing in the horizontal block chop-which he won by the way....

Next we have two competitors competing in a tree topping competition, where they climb a 75 foot tree, set up, saw the top off, and then come back down. These guys did not go as fast as they did in the earlier race, because this was the second time they had been up, and it was about 2:00-thus very hot!-at this point.

Lastly we have the guys coming down. Don't they look cool??? I was able to put on Brad's climbing gear and climb about 25 feet up a tree, and it is NOT easy. Your thighs feel like they are on fire. Good job guys!!.

Again....sorry for the videos uploaded so lopsided!

You Knew This Was Coming, Right?

2009-06-25T12:15:00.000-07:00

Wow!

This is like my second or third post in as many days. Kind of weird, eh? I chose the title of this post because you all had to know that the obligatory kid-and-pony-summer-pics-and-posts were coming, didn't you?

Remember last summer, when all I did was let my kidlets ride, while I did all of the actual work? Well it has started again, but don't worry, I am really not complaining-it just sounds like I am. :)
The panonies were quite happy to see all of us pull into Amber's driveway yesterday, and we were all greeted with loud whinnies and nickers from all of them.

You don't suppose that is because they know that we will halter them and let them graze while we groom them, do you?? Nah!! We'll just pretend it was because they were genuinely happy to see us-which I really think that they were. Who knows?I opted not to ride, and so we left Waska at home, and he was not happy about it. Poor guy, he really wanted to come too. I figured it would be easier for me to be on the ground, as it was the kidlets first trail ride in a few months. That way, if anything happened, I would be right there.

Oh look. It's a moose...I mean Bo...lol!!! (above) Poor Bo Bo. He definitely was not blessed with a typey head, was he? Oh well, I still loves hims. He sure does have a nice chest though, and straight, correct legs.And then there is Miss Katie, who had to get off to go potty. Why do little girls always have to go potty out on the trail???
See the small creek in the next couple of pics? Well it is an off-shoot of the main creek that is left over from last winters floods. You can't really see it,but there is a small waterfall that is out there now too, and guess what?

This small offshoot runs right through where our trail used to be. The flooding completely obliterated our riding area down there, but oh well...we will just have to make new trails, right?

Well I hope that you are all having good weeks so far. We are going to pull our friends jeep trailer over Chinook Pass this evening-while they pull their camping trailer-and then come home on another pass called Pyramid Pass. There is usually lots of wildlife on Pyramid, and I am hoping that I can get some good shots before it gets too dark.

Then we have the "big boys" loggers rodeo this weekend, and I promise to try and get some nice shots for all of you. :)

Toodles!

What's In Your Food?

2009-06-24T19:19:00.000-07:00

Do any of you ever think about the food that you put in your mouths? I mean really think about it? I guess I always thought that I did, but as I was curiously watching a cooking show that my hubby was watching on the Food Network-while pretending to read a book-I noticed that the chef/cook was using butter to grease her casserole dish with instead of an olive oil cooking spray-as I have been instructed to do. That got me thinking about all of the new fangled, modified, and genetically/molecularly altered foods that are out there on the market; our populations massive consumption of them because they are "healthier;" and the rise in certain diseases such as cancer and MS. Now I know that I may sound like a wacko here, but bear with me.....

Because I had borderline gestational diabetes, because Type II diabetes runs in my family, and because I already tend to show resistance to insulin, I have always been instructed to avoid real sugar as much as possible, and to substitute real sugar for things such as Splenda or Nutra-Sweet.

Have you ever read about how either of those sugar substitutes are made, and the "potential" side-effects?? I have, but I always assumed that the benefits outweigh the risks.

What about butter? I am rather old fashioned in that area, and still use butter, but have you looked at the ingredients in margarine or other butter substitutes?

I guess what I am trying to say is did people 30-60 years ago die of different things than people tend to die of today? Where there more cases of clogged arteries, heart attacks, and high blood pressure from butter and sugar than there are today? Have sugar substitutes stopped diabetes from occurring???

No...now we ingest all sorts of non-natural chemicals and substances, and we really have no idea what they are really doing to our bodies.

Take this can of olive oil cooking spray that we are now told to use on everything. I happen to have one right here, and the ingredients seem pretty benign: %100 extra virgin olive oil, soy lechitin, water, and propellant.

Propellant??? What type of chemicals are used to propel this spray from the can to my waiting pan? Who knows?

So, here is what I have decided to do. I am going to use real sugar-in moderation. I am also going to keep using real butter-in moderation-and I will stop using cooking sprays to grease my pans. I can use a small amount of butter, because I actually know what is in it, right?Will making these small changes prevent me from getting one of the above mentioned diseases? Probably not, but I at least have some idea about what I am putting into my mouth.
I am also vowing to eat more fresh fruits and vegetables, and to try and steer away from more processed foods.

So who wants to join me for a yummy bag of Doritos??? I kid...I kid...lol!!!!!

Anywho...do any of you have any insight on this subject?

Ready???? Here We Go....

2009-06-23T14:44:00.000-07:00

Once again, I have been away from my computer for almost one week, and you know what? It has felt good. I guess that is because during the school year, the computer equals work for me, and my mind has not quite wrapped around the idea that I can get on the computer for fun yet.

So, what have we been up too? Come along and I will show you.... Last Wednesday was the kidlets last day of school, and on Tuesday, they had a little dress up party/ball thingy that they do every year. Once again, Eric was a cowboy, while Miss Katie was an English rider, complete with her 1/2 chaps and all.....
It was really sad this year, because as I have mentioned before, their school has been closed down due to budget cuts. On the last day of school, when I picked them up from school, I stood out in front with the other parents that I have stood out front with for the last three years, and I cried-we all did.

Which is pretty amazing in itself, because I don't cry. Oh sure, there are plenty of times that I want to cry, but I hold it all in. Well, on Wednesday I did not, and I sobbed like a baby for about 30 minutes. I tell you what.....

Then on Thursday, we got up early and helped a couple of the teachers move out of their classrooms and into their new schools. That was also pretty sad, but it was good for the kidlets I think. It gave them closure.
Along came Friday-my riding day-and it happened to be absolutely down pouring outside. Finally, during the afternoon, the rain stopped and me, Amber and the kidlets took off on a bike ride. As you can tell from the above pictures, we stopped at a couple of marshy areas and caught salamanders and tadpoles. Aren't they just the cutest things ever???The bike ride was gorgeous and very peaceful/healing, as it was in an area that I used to ride my pony and play when I was a tween.......Until it started to rain again. We hid under some tress for about 20 minutes, but when it became apparent that the deluge was not going to stop, we turned back around-we had ridden about six miles out-and pedaled for home. Just look at poor Katie's face!Okay...where were we ??? Ah yes, Saturday. Saturday was the Jr. Log Show, and this year, both of my kidlets participated in it. For those of you who are newer to my blog and are wondering what the heck a "log show" is, please refer to this post, this post, and this post, so I don't have to write about it all over again. :)

Katie was able to compete in the ax toss-notice that her "ax" is really a plastic toy ax-the rope climb, and in choker setting. She looks pretty excited to be tossing that ax in the above picture, doesn't she?? Do you suppose she was imagining her brother at the other end??? LOL!!!
Eric had to compete against a girl in the choker setting, and you can just see his smirk in the below picture. He looks like he is thinking that he can take her any day, doesn't he?? Well we'll see about that....They look pretty close here, don't they?And here....And maybe even here, but.....Eric pulled ahead and won by a landslide. Of course he did, he is my son, isn't he??? LOL!!!!

He also ended up taking first place in the ax toss for his age division-for the second year in a row!-and his ax was real. Sent shivers down my spine, that did! Katie got really mad that she didn't win any trophies, and she said that Eric better watch out next year, because she is going to win everything. Should I tell her that she will never be in his age division??? Nah...
Finally, we had fathers day, which we spent out on a small cruise ship on Puget Sound. Kevin's cousin had a small wedding ceremony that took place on the boat, and do you think I remembered my camera???? NO!!!! I was so mad. It was a glorious day, filled with lots of food, laughter, family, and fun.

Anywho...hope that this updates me for awhile, and I hope that you are all doing well out there! :)

For Auntie Mary....

2009-06-18T19:46:00.000-07:00

As most of you can probably tell, I am not a writer, nor am I artistic or musical either. Sure, I may wish that I could get my feelings and emotions out on paper-or computer screen!- but it rarely ever happens.

My sister-in-law, Mary, is however, and she can compose a great poem-you know...like ones that actually rhyme and have a beat to them???

So, without further adieu, I present you with a poem/meme thingy that Eric had to write for school....Mother Nature's magnificent mountains
Yonder in Yellowstone National Park

Where wolves wander and
Owls hoot
Rabbits rapidly jump into view of
Lovely lakes of
Drifting water

Pretty cool, huh???? And from a boy no less....lol!!!

I guess he gets that from you, eh Mary???

The Yellow Brick Road

2009-06-16T09:06:00.000-07:00

These are pictures from a recent ride.....

Follow the Yellow Brick Road. Follow the Yellow Brick Road. Follow, follow, follow, follow, Follow the Yellow Brick Road....
We're off to see the Wizard, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.You'll find he is a whiz of a Wiz! If ever a Wiz! there was. If ever oh ever a Wiz! there was The Wizard of Oz is one because....
Because, because, because, because, because.Because of the wonderful things he does.We're off to see the Wizard. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
And we wonder why none of us can breathe around here...lol!!!!

As fellow Western WA people know, we always have a lot of the yellow stuff in the spring, but this year, I swear it has taken over everything.
We have literally been surrounded by a sea a scotch broom on our rides. It is kind of pretty though, right? LOL!!!

Pictures

2009-06-15T12:19:00.000-07:00

We recently had our family pictures taken by my friend, Angie, and here is a sneak peak at a couple of them.....

http://angiepenrose.blogspot.com/2009/06/for-my-friends.html

When I look at these, I think "Where has the time gone??"
The next thing I know, it will be time for their senior pictures.....egads!!!! LOL!!!

Thanks so much Angie!!! I can't wait to see them all. :)

What We Have Been Up To......

2009-06-13T15:39:00.000-07:00

Well I have certainly been a bad blogger lately!!!

I have had several family members and friends ask me why I have not been blogging, and the truth is, I don't know. Maybe I am enjoying my free time between my classes being finished, and the kidlets school getting out (next week) but I have not even gotten on the computer to check my emails......

Honestly, I think that I have just been mentally recuperating from the past year of school. It was a tough one, and it's only going to get worse next year. I have also had a lot of pressure to join FaceBook, but if I do that, I will most likely stop blogging, as I do not have the time to do two things.

It has been nice to be able to do things with friends again-because I don't have homework to do-and we have been spending our weekends doing fun things again, like jeeping with friends (we don't have a jeep, but our Chevy does fine), chatting with friends over food and drink, and even meeting and making new friends. All stuff that doesn't happen when I am in school!

And of course I have been riding!!!!

We have also put our pool up early due to the warm weather....

...and Katie lost her first upper tooth!!! She pulled it out herself!
Speaking of teeth, Eric had his palate expander removed and was fitted for a retainer. Yay!!!!

Now we are moving towards the kidlets last week of school, which will be very bittersweet this year, as their school is being closed due to budget cuts. :(

Damn recession!!!!

Hope all is well out there and I am once again promising to stay on top of this little thing called blogging.

Twilight Zone...

2009-06-03T12:55:00.000-07:00

So you know how I mentioned that it has been unseasonably hot around here? Well the night after we took the bear print shots, there was a small forest/brush fire. It happened to be on the other side of the creek from where we were, and it happened to be near where we sometimes ride.It was kind of ironic, because when Amber and I were out riding two days before, we were saying how it felt like summer in the woods, but also how it didn't yet smell like summer in the woods.

Let me explain....because it is still technically spring around here, the Scotch broom are in full bloom, and the wooded areas smell cloyingly sweet right now; whereas during the summer months, the woods smell like hot pitch and burning/hot pine needles. (Well technically "fir" needles, but I always call them "pine" needles)

Therefore, I was really surprised when we got a phone call from the fire department (Kevin is a volunteer) asking Kev if he knew which road would give them the best access to the fire. I was like "Fire??? What fire???" But sure enough, if you looked towards the mountain, there were two distinct plumes of smoke rising up out of the foothills. It was soon determined that the fire was not where we had been the other night; rather it was on the Sunset Lake side of things, and the local departments were told to just stand-by. Around 8:30 that night (Sunday) we took a quick ride up where we had been the night before, and there was the fire.

We sat and watched a helicopter dropping water on it for about 40 minutes, and then we took off for home as it was getting dark. Now....the reason I called this post the "Twilight Zone" is because there was never any mention of this fire on any of the local news channels. In fact, had we not taken these pictures, it would almost be hard to prove that there ever was a fire. (I am obviously exaggerating here, as I am sure the other side of these hills looks scorched)

Those of us that live down here in the "South end" often joke about the news not caring about what happens to us, but to not even mention a small forest fire??? Come on people...lol!!!! I even googled it and checked different forest fire websites, but nothing mentions any incident in our area. Kind of weird, huh???

PS-Sorry for the poor quality of pictures. It was about 8:45 at night and I cannot believe my camera even picked up anything.

Do Bears Poop In The Forest???

2009-06-02T11:08:00.000-07:00

(Sorry for the title guys! I just couldn't help myself, but I must give Kevin credit for coming up with that saying as I was taking a picture of bear poo...lol!!!!!)

The other evening, Kevin, the kidlets, and myself loaded into the truck and decided to go check out the bear feeder that is located in the woods near our home. As I have mentioned before, we live in a small town, but it is completely surrounded by nothing but woods...privately-owned- by-gigantic-corporation-woods, but woods nonetheless.

And every year, Kevin and hundreds of other poor suckers...I mean hunters...purchase passes and are given keys that unlock the numerous gates to allow them to access these privately owned woods, and I must admit that we do get a lot of enjoyment out of them.

(Bear scat/poo near the feeder in the above picture)

So to answer the age old question of do bears poop in the forest, the answer is yes, they most definitely do. :) The picture of the can with the lid on it (above) is one of the bear feeders that is placed out there, and in case you are wondering what type of food it is, it is some kind of pelleted stuff.(A view of Mt. Rainier, which happens to be about 50 miles away -as the crow flies)

Speaking of flying, we watched this giant hawk stalking and pouncing on some poor little unsuspecting mousey creature. Oh well, it's good education for the kidlets, right?? Marty Stouffer's Wild America right in our very own backyard...lol!!!!
Okay...back to the fun stuff!!! While we were driving along, we noticed these old bear tracks in a dried out mud puddle. Pretty cool, huh??? Unless you are not in your truck driving down the road (I thought of you Chelsi, I swear I did!!)
Further up the road, we came across fresh bear tracks, and they appeared to be from two different bears. It is hard to tell from the pictures, but there were two sets right next to each other. I had Eric put his hand down next to the tracks to give you an idea of how big they were.And for those of you who may be thinking that Eric has small hands-which he doesn't- here is a shot of my size nine foot-and really white leg!-next to the tracks.I was also able to get a good shot of Mt. Baker. It kind of looks like a mini Mt. Rainier, and I wanted to give a shout-out to all of my Northern blogging pals. See, I am not that far away...lol!!!! Just travel over the river and through the woods, and to Melanie's house you will go!

Well I hope you are all having a great week so far. It has been in the 80's around here, which is basically unheard of for this time of year. We are all walking around as tan as we normally would be in July. It's great!!

Friday's Ride...Part Two

2009-05-27T11:22:00.000-07:00

Okay, where were we??? Ah yes...heading towards the basin....
Notice how Waska still has one ear cocked towards the river and one ear on me and Amber?? Smart boy, I tell you! Just so you all know, we are not as close to the edge as we may look, and we are in fact about 10-15 feet (and sometimes more) away from it.
So as I mentioned in the last post, this area is known as the basin, and it is used to hold back excess water from the dam when there is large amounts of rainfall. Needless to say, it often floods, and is left with a rich mixture of sand, clay, and mud that contains lots of yummy nutrients; thus making an ideal feeding area for large herds of elk. (No we didn't see any, but their tracks and poo were all over the place)...And apparently, you may also find horses out grazing in this rich grass too...lol!!!! The trail winds alongside the river for about one mile, and the horses just couldn't help themselves. Even Waska, who normally never eats while he is being ridden, couldn't resist.

We finally stopped and let them graze for a few minutes, because I told Amber that this was akin to walking through a large room filled with your favorite food and not being able to take just one bite...lol!!!

See the whitish/gray pile of dead trees (I know you can't tell what those are yet, but trust me, they are dead trees) that are to the left in the middle of the picture below? There were a couple of these areas down in the basin, and they are areas that trees/log jams were held back from the dam with large buoys. Here you can see them a little bit better, and the darker tree-looking things are the buoys ( picture below). So I wonder, what do they do with all of the dead trees??? I know it doesn't flood every year (like it did this past winter) but I have never thought about what they do with them. Hmmmm.....

Moving right along, we headed into the trees, and even in here you can see all of the debris. And in case you are wondering, there is actually a trail through all of this mess, we weren't just blindly picking our way through.

Also, while you have to be extremely careful of what a flood may have left behind in more urban or rural areas-think metal, glass and other sharp objects-it is pretty benign down here, because there are only a few cabins upstream on the river; otherwise there is nothing but forests and foothills.Still, we watched where we were going. Now we had both heard that this trail washed out the year before, so we weren't too optimistic about being able to get through, but we decided that we would go as far as we could, and as far as the others who had gone before us. (Like I said, there was a well-worn path)
Have you ever wondered how high water can get when it floods? I must admit that I have never particularly wondered this, and I assumed that the river had flooded up to the basin only, which is about 20-30 feet above the normal water level.

What I am trying to say is that we were riding 20-30 feet above the river, and we never suspected that it got any higher than that, until we looked up and saw this....
Yes, that is a small, uprooted tree, hanging from the limbs of a much larger tree. Amber and I looked at each other completely shocked, and then we started to look around at the other trees and noticed the same thing.
There were literally giant logs up there (up there being about 20-30 feet over our heads) and that means that the river was even higher than we imagined. It was really kind of creepy to think that this whole area was under water a few months ago. We kind of got the heebie-jeebies for a minute, but we kept on going.
Anyway, we made it about another 3/4 mile, and then we came to the area where the trail just vanished before our eyes in a sea of dead wood. So we turned around and headed back towards the trailer, which was a little over an hour away.

On our way back, we ran into a hiker, who also happens to be a horseback rider, and she said that she came down here to check the trail out, because she had been out here with a group of friends about three weeks ago, and the horses were sinking up to their bellies in mud. Good thing the sun has been shining, eh???

(Oh looky!!! A picture of me looking fab in my helmet...lol!!!!!)

All in all we had a great day, even though we only spent about three hours on horseback. I think that Amber and I will definitely wait a few weeks before we head back up to Buck Creek, and hopefully some of the trails will be cleared by then. We also feel kind of guilty, like we should help out with the trail clearing, so we may contact the local riding clubs and see when they are heading back up too.

Have a great day guys!!! I am going to do a bit of research now, as I have to meet with one of my professors tomorrow to discuss a class that I helping them design. :)

Also..Eric's baseball team is in the middle of their league playoffs, and he has been picked to try out for the All Stars team. Way to go Eric!!!!!!

Friday's Ride... Part One

2009-05-26T09:01:00.000-07:00

So here I am, out of school, and I am still not behaving like a good blogger yet...lol!!!! We have all been really busy and to top things off, the weather around here has been in the seventies for over a week-not normal for around here at all. That being said, the entire population of Western WA has been outside, soaking up as much sunshine as possible, and not in their houses blogging.

And speaking of soaking up sunshine, what better way to do it than on horseback??? I must share mine and Amber's latest riding adventure with you, and those of you who know us...no snickering!!!!! Last Friday, we decided to trailer up to a recreational area that borders Mount Rainier National Park, and check out the trails. This specific place (known as Buck Creek to locals) is about 40 minutes away, and on a unmarked forest service road, but Amber and I thought we had a pretty good idea about where it was.

To make a long story short, we misjudged how far up the highway Buck Creek was, and we mistakenly took the wrong forest service road (known as Huckleberry Creek). Luckily we didn't drive too far down it before I realized that it looked wrong, and we pulled over and asked some mountain bikers where Buck Creek was. As it turned out, we needed to get back on the highway and drive about another 10 minutes.
Well, we finally made it to our destination (an hour later!!!) but we still weren't sure where the riding trails were. Thankfully, a nice man pointed us in the right direction, but he warned us that there were a lot of blow downs on all of the trail systems, and that they had not been cleared yet.

Not to be deterred, Amber and I took off and rode for about one hour, most of which was spent trying to maneuver around giant areas where massive trees had blown down (see above pictures). There wasn't a lot of underbrush, so we were able to get around a lot of the damage, but we eventually came to an area that had over 10 ginormous trees, with no easy way around them.

On our way out, we stopped and chatted with some people who were camping with their horses, and they told us that they belonged to a local riding club, and that every Memorial Day weekend, about 60 of them camp out with their panonies and clear the trails. They also said that this year was one of the worst years they had seen in over 30 years (as far as blow downs go). Amber and I were like "Seriously??? We just drove all the way up here to find out that we came up one week too early???" LOL!!!!

So we cowgirled up, loaded the panonies back in the trailer, and headed back down towards civilization. We figured that we would stop at one of the many designated horseback riding areas on the way back down, and we pulled over at a place called Mud Mtn. Dam (knowing full well that the trail was washed out in certain areas due to flooding).

Surprisingly, the boys seemed happy to be heading back out, and away we went. The above picture is just as we were heading down into the basin, which is an area that is used to hold excess water back from the dam when it floods. You can just make out two excavators that had recently cleared a major wash-out/mudslide, and see the grassy area towards the left of the river? That is where we were headed.

(It was kind of bittersweet riding out there too, because we used to trailer out there and ride when I was younger, and the last time I had been down to the basin, I was on my bucking bronc, Shadest)

We carefully rode out towards the edge of the river, and you can see Waska looking back at me like "Are you sure you want to go over there???"

So onwards we went, and I am going to write about the rest of ride later, as this post is getting too long!

I hope you all had wonderful weekends, and I look forward to catching up (yet again!!) on your blogs. :)

Baseball...

2009-05-20T14:33:00.000-07:00

Wanna see what we do about five nights per week??? Baseball!!! Eric has really excelled this year, and has gone from being a closing pitcher to a starting pitcher. And when he is not pitching, he is playing third base. He can also crush the ball, and he either strikes out or hits RBI's.
Because he is not the fastest kidlet on the block, he often brings other kids home, but only makes it to third base himself. You should hear me yelling...I mean encouraging him to run...lol!!!
Now of course, every mom thinks their son is the best baseball player out there, but Eric is pretty darn good. And it's not like he doesn't have big shoes to fill either.
Thankfully, he isn't really old enough to get the scope of the amount of pressure that other people place on him (due to his dad). And it's kind of creepy to hear coaches talk about my baby like he is a cow...excuse me, I mean bull...at a livestock auction. ...Because even if he weren't that good of a player, I would still love and watch him, but they wouldn't.

PS-Can you tell he gets his athletic ability from me???? LOL!!!!!

The Anatomy Of A Bull

2009-05-19T09:08:00.000-07:00

Hey there! I am almost done with this semester, having just have three finals to study for and take this week. Yeah!!!! There is still another 25-35 page lit review that I have to do for a syllabus design, but that is due by August, so I don't have to totally freak out about it...yet!

I just had to blog about something that bugs me every morning, and that is about a kid's television show called "Back At the Barnyard." Have any of you ever watched it, or heard about it before?

One of the main characters is a Holstein bull named Otis, and while he may appear bull-like on the top (see above picture) he sure as heck does not appear bull-like on the bottom, and the shows anatomically incorrect misrepresentation of gender drives me nuts.
Maybe it's because I grew up on a farm, worked for a veterinarian, and have had lot's of biology/anatomy and physiology courses, or maybe it's because I am practical or that I breastfed my two children (sorry guys!) but I cannot stand the fact that this bull has an udder!!!!! Why not just leave it off?? The female cows in the show have them too, and it just looks ridiculous.
They even refer to Otis as a "cow" and a "milk machine," and I don't know about you, but the last time that I looked, male cattle were called bulls, not cows!!!! Just look at how ridiculous they all look in the above picture!
Anywho...sorry for the little rant, but this has been bugging me for a long time. Maybe I should get out more??? LOL!!!!! I promise to do some horsey posts soon, but for now I will leave you with one last picture of Otis, the lactating bull/cow...teeheehee!!

More Awards...Thanks Gals!

2009-05-16T16:05:00.000-07:00

While I was away doing crazy and insane amounts of homework (aren't I too old for that???) I was given a couple of different awards by some very nice bloggers. First, Paint Girl passed on the "Attitude of Gratitude" award.....Thank you so much, Paint Girl!!!! I am supposed to nominate other blogs for this award, but seeing as how I have had this one before, I think I will break the rules and "pass." Just know that if you read my blog, I am grateful to you-and you too Paint Girl!!! :)
Next, Kacy decided that I qualified as an Intrepid Rider (Hmmmm...I wonder why??? LOL!!!) and so she invited me to join her and a few other bloggers as an official Intrepid Rider. This is a cool award in that Kacy designed it herself. Isn't she clever??? Here is a link to her post about what an Intrepid Rider is: Intrepid Riders Faction.

And....here is some more info about what Intrepid Riders are/do(In Kacy's words, not mine).....

"This Award is dedicated to those Horse lovers and riders that inspire others to go deeper in ability, knowledge and understanding of the Equine(s) they have been entrusted to.The good of the horse is the ultimate goal apart from pressures to achieve ribbons and fit into lesson schedules.
~Some of These riders are fearless, when it comes to weather conditions and the forecasting of them...being with their horses, fills these folks' soul and takes the cares out of daily routines.
~They are unconditionally loving to the horse and may have rescued it from known ailment or living condition.
~Others have researched and purchased/ acquired their horse, to find a difficulty in temperament or a physical burden within the animal. Yet, Being dedicated , they have persevered to proudly be in partnership with their horse, lovingly striving for deeper awareness's between them.
~Some horse lovers may have been riding for years and suddenly, had an accident that takes them away from the great joy and freedom they have, being aboard such a magnificent animal. ~They have allowed the healing horse to rise in their hearts once again, and beckon them back!"

Now, this award asks that I pass it on to one other person, and because it is a homemade award (and it was made by someone who I think is special) I will.

I am going to give it to Lytha over at A Horse Crazy American In Germany. She is an amazing horsewoman who recently moved from Washington to Germany with her 23 year old Arab. She has had him since he was a yearling (I believe) and this is the first time in both of their lives that they get to live together, as she and her hubby recently bought a farm. Lytha and Baasha have been competitive trail/endurance riders, and continue to explore the German countryside together. Way to go guys!!!

Tori Amos...Or Not!!!

2009-05-13T15:31:00.000-07:00

Some of you may be familiar with Tori Amos (singer, song writer, producer) and some of you may not. Some of you may find her voice and music hauntingly beautiful, and some of you may not. Some of you may find her lyrics quirky and fitting, and some of you may find them to be absolute nonsense.

Do you get where I am going with this yet??? That basically people either love Tori Amos, or they do not.
I, for one, think she is wonderfully talented (she plays musical instruments too) and I cannot wait to buy her latest CD: Abnormally Attracted to Sin (release date 5/19). And thanks to YouTube, I have even been able to listen to some of the tracks off of it. Bad, I know!

Because I do not know how to upload videos from YouTube yet(I know that Stephanie gave Chelsi a great tutorial on it, and I may have to try and find it! ) I will just post a link to some of her songs. That way, if you have never heard of her, you can listen and decide for yourself.
"Virgina" live performance

"Caught a Light Sneeze" live performance

"I Can't See New York" live performance

"Big Wheel" video

"Siren" live performance

So....do you/did you like Tori???? If you have never heard her, I suggest listening at least half way through her songs.

Again, people either love her or they hate her. Let me know what you think.

To each his own, eh??? (wink, wink!!!)

School Schmool

2009-05-12T07:33:00.000-07:00

Hi guys!!!

I just wanted to pop in and say that I am still alive. The bulk of my let's-give-our-students-end-of-the-semester-hell is now behind me, and if I were not blonde, I would swear I have a few gray hairs...and maybe a new wrinkle or two...lol!!!

I only have the remainder of this week and then three finals next week. There is still another 25 page paper to write, but I have until about July to get that done (independent study).
We have all been really busy, but we have somehow manged to stay on top of boring and mundane things like housework (which is really nice and really helpful!).

And of course I have made plenty of time in my chaotic life to get a little bit of riding in, and as you can see, the boys still have had time for a little bit of "tied to the horse trailer, quick no one is looking, shenanigans!"

My plan is to try and catch up on blogs this weekend, so watch out....here I come...lol!!!! (Not today though, because I will be in class all day)

PS-I see that I picked up a few awards while I was missing. I promise to come over and grab them for you, Paint Girl and Kacy!!!

While I was Away in Hawaii....

2009-05-01T08:08:00.001-07:00

...Just kidding!!! Did you all miss me??? I have been in the last month of classes, and I only have two weeks to go. I just wanted to get on and say that things are fine...we are just REALLY busy, and I am going to need another week (at least) to get this semester done.

(Above is Katie fishing last weekend)

So...I promise to come back in about 1-2 weeks, but for now, I have papers to write, class presentations to prepare, statistical data to analyze, baseball games to go to, and horses that need riding...lol!!!

(Above is Eric-the kid bent down to catch the ball-at third base. He plays third base and he is one of his team's pitchers)

(Above is me riding Bo the other day. Amber took the camera and got shots of me for once. Doesn't he look happy?)

Well, I am off to class. I will see you all in another week or so! :)

I'm Just Sayin'.....

2009-04-18T10:15:00.000-07:00

Those of you who have followed me for awhile know the whole story behind Bo (and if you don't, just ask and I can direct you where to go). You also know that he has been getting a senior feed for about one year now, and that he gets blanketed in the winter.

And...when he was younger, he was the easiest keeper ever-he ate two small flakes of alfalfa daily along with his vitamins-so it really shouldn't come as a surprise that he now appears to be getting his old metabolism back...lol!!!! I mean, just look at him in the above picture!!! Eeegads he is huge!!!! Oh, and he is also really wet, because we had just gotten back from a long trail ride that ended in a hail storm during the last 10 minutes of our ride.Obviously the above pic was shot last June, and that was about six weeks after we had gotten him back. You can see how scrawny he was, especially when compared to his enormous size right now!!! See here for some other pics of Bo last summer (if you want!).

Amber said that she has cut his senior feed back to every other day, and that he is getting two small flakes of alfalfa again. Maybe his system has adjusted to getting food again? We shall see, and as it gets warmer we will stop his senior feed all together and see how he does.

So anyway, as a person who tends to have a slower metabolism, I am really in no position to judge poor old Cabalero, but I am just sayin'!!!

The "Next" One!

2009-04-17T09:17:00.002-07:00

First, let me just say how much I enjoyed reading all of your comments on my post about QH's-and my propensity to be a Looky Lou...lol!!!! (I mean...who wouldn't want an Andalusian????)To answer your question....Am I currently looking for a horse?? Not really, but if the right one came up, I would gladly consider it. As a poor college student who spends all of her resources on her family and college tuition, I cannot afford to spend what I would like on a horse. (Another Andalusian stallion)
Also...don't think that I have given up on Arabians. I still like them-and always will-but as I have mentioned before, I don't like the idea of my kidlets gallivanting cross country on one. Not yet anyway...lol!!! I grew up trail riding and showing Arab's, and they do have the tendency to spook first and think afterwards, and I don't necessarily want my kidlets on a horse like that. (Paranoid mom, I know!!)

"Eyed Be A Tease" (See his ad here: QH gelding)
Even old Bo, at almost 21, is a lot of horse for my kidlets. They ride him in the arena, or on trails when I am ponying him or walking next to them, but there is no way I could responsibly turn them loose on him out there. I always tell Eric that he will be shocked at how good of a rider he is when he finally gets a QH, because he has really learned to "ride it out" on Bo Bo.

Check this gelding out! He would be perfect for the kidlets!!! (See his ad here: Magics Excalibur)So for them...I want Steady Eddy. I want a horse that they can saddle up and ride with minimal supervision, and I know I can find that in a QH.

Wanna see what I would like for myself???

Chelsi and I have both lusted after this guy, and I see he finally sold. He was originally around $12,000-I think-and he is exactly what I would like. Versatile, well-trained, and handsome. (See his old ad here: Streakin' Bolero)

Then there is also this nice boy........Another 1/2 Arab, well-trained, gelding. (See his current ad here: TC Winchester)

And guess what Oregonsunshine??? These guys are in Oregon!!!

Below is another example of what I would like, but Warmbloods, although gorgeous under saddle, often tend to be rather homely when not under saddle.

(See this boy's ad/video here: Cugat) Anyway, that about sums it up. I guess I don't really care what breed it is, as long as it is well-trained, reliable, and sound. I also want something that is registered, so I could show breed shows if I wanted too.

And to answer Lisa's question of whether or not I am still pining away for Stretch, the answer is "YES!!!!" He would be the perfect youth/family horse for showing and trails. ANd while I really hope that Stephanie can sell him, I kind of don't want her to as well...evil, I know....lol!!!

Talk at you all later!!!

Houston? We Have a Problem.....

2009-04-15T17:19:00.000-07:00

So...I am having great fun reading all of your comments about my post yesterday, and I promise that I will answer your questions....later.

First, I want to see if you can tell what caused me to panic this morning at 7:42 am, as I read the label on the coffee that I grabbed in a mad rush at the store the other day......

It's bad enough that I grabbed the wrong flavor (I usually get the Madison Avenue blend), but do you see what else is wrong here???

Let me see if this helps ya'!!!

Hello???!!!! I grabbed the DECAFFEINATED coffee!!!! What the heck??? Why do they even make that stuff??? LOL!!!

I guess I am making another mad dash to the store, but this time I will take a minute to be sure that the coffee I grab was not mistakenly placed in the wrong slot!!! I usually catch stuff like that, and I cannot believe that I got the wrong blend and decaffeinated. I guess my brain cells are dying or something...lol!!!

Anywho, I can't believe that I am posting two days in a row. It is like I don't have anything better to do or something...lol!!! Talk at you all later!! :)

Quarter Horses?????

2009-04-14T19:59:00.000-07:00

I noticed something strange the other day...

When I have extra time, I sometimes like to look at horses that are for sale (as do a number of you out there!), and I usually head right for the Arab or Arab crosses. However, I noticed that lately, I have been checking out the QH's first. What is up with that???!!!!!

I am blaming it on Chelsi, Stephanie and BEC!!!!
I mean, what is not to like about them, right??? (The horses not the bloggers.... LOL!!!!)
("Patient Partner" by Barb McGee)
They are stout, and steady, and most appear to have a good head on their shoulders.
("Western Treasure" by Sharon Prestegard)

Oh, and hot guys like to ride them, which is more than I can say for the breed of my choice...Arabs...teeheehee!!!! Not that I am looking or anything (wink, wink!)!! I just put this picture up because I really like the intensity of the colors. I swear!!!! That and the horse is mighty fine looking, right????

("Leadin' In A Maverick" by Bill Owen)

There are two things that worry me though. Can they hold up to hard trail riding (stamina-wise and lameness-wise).....

("Between Mountain Showers" by Jim Rey)

....And can I tap into my inner "cowgirl???"

("Cowgirl in Red" by Terri Moyers)

I guess we will have to wait and see, eh????
Hope you are all having a great week!!! I miss blogging...I really do! :)

Golly, Gosh, Gee Whiz.....

2009-04-11T14:15:00.001-07:00

Can you believe it has been a week since I last posted???? I have seriously not even had the time to get on the computer. I have not even been home! Seriously!!! (Have I said the word "seriously" enough yet??? LOL!!!)

So what have I been up to??? Primarily school. As I have mentioned before, the professors in our social work program have a secret agenda (I don't know what it is yet), and they like to wait until we are nearing the end of our semester before they start piling on the work (I have one month left!!!!!).

So, I have been reading, on average, 75-130 page chapters, and have I mentioned that I have five text books??? Do you know how much reading that is??? And it is not like you are sitting down and reading a book of your choice...trust me!!!! I also have been writing papers (8-12 pages on average so far, but the big ones...15-25 pages...are coming up. Know what that means??? More reading on top of the reading that I am already doing!!!!)

We are also in the process of interviewing for our field placement/internship sites for next year, so I have to run around, schedule, and go on interviews on top of grocery shopping, doctor appointments, housework, homework, and baseball, which Eric is playing 4-5 nights per week. (I know they say writing is therapeutic for the soul, but I am getting a little panicky right now...lol!!!)

And I am soooooo excited for next year!!! I will most likely be interning at a large, inner city hospital, but I am also looking at a mental health clinic, and at a local reservation. Anywho...I just wanted to take a minute to tell you all to have a Happy Easter, and to let you know that if it looks like I have been missing from your blogs, not to take it personally. I will be back...I promise! :)

Guess Who Has A Birthday???

2009-04-04T13:24:00.000-07:00

Kevin, that's who!!!!! Tomorrow will be my husband's 25th birthday, and I just wanted to wish him a happy one, even though I am a day early. It is impossible to forget Kev's birthday, because he was born on 4/5/67. Get it...4,5,6,7???? Oh wait, I thought he was only 25??? LOL!!!! Won't you join me for a little trip down memory lane.....

Below is an approximately 9-10 year old Kevin, hunting some poor little animal on his cousins' old dairy farm in Deer Park (shout out to Stephanie!!!) I think it was a groundhog or something cute and furry like that.
Next, and this is one of my favorites, we have an 11-12 year old Kevin, hosing off the udder (and grabbing a teat!!) on one of the cows at his cousins old dairy farm. I love the mischievous look on his face. You can just hear him saying "Haha!! I am touching it's NIPPLE!!!!" Boys...they never change, do they??? LOL!!!!Hubba, hubba!!! What do we have here???? How about a 17 year old Kevin (on the left in the WSU cap) looking all tough and hot...I mean handsome!!! This is from a newspaper article (we have hundreds of them!) that was about an upcoming football game showdown, between Kevin and this other guy from a rival school (they were both the QB's).
Just so you all know, I never knew Kevin back then. I was nine, and living in Illinois...lol!!!! Hey...what happened to all of his hair???? This is a picture of my hubby on our wedding day, and this is the man that I fell in love with. (See honey??? I can be sweet....sometimes...lol!!!) ...And last but not least, we have a picture of Kevin and Eric, both hunting in Deer park again. It appears that he has passed that rifle down to Eric now, doesn't it???? Oh well...what's a mother to do????Anyway, I hope that your day is grand, and that we spend many more together!!!!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!! (Tomorrow!!!!)

*********Now that Kevin has seen this post, he said that the first picture is not in Deer Park, rather it is in Okanogan, at his dairy farming cousins' friends' ranch. Trust me...I was just as confused by the Angus cattle on a dairy farm as you were...lol!!!!**********************

Greetings From Sienna....

2009-03-31T21:05:00.000-07:00

Sienna, the Cheetos Eating Pony, just wanted to pop in and say that she wishes Mel and her kidlets were done with school too. It gets kind of lonely over at Amber's house when they (Mel and the kidlets) are all gone.

Isn't Sienna just the cutest little thing ever??? (Although Mrs. Mom has a pretty fancy little pony as well! She looks like a My Little Pony...seriously) Sigh....the joys of being back in class.....

I CAN do this, and I WILL do it, right???? Only one more year left???? Well, not including my masters degree, but I will cross that bridge when I come to it.

Okay...I better jump back over to my assessment paper that I am writing. I've got four pages down and four more to go by Thursday. Oh, and I have another policy analysis to finish for Thursday too. At least my stats test was yesterday...lol!!!

Hope that you are all having good weeks so far! :)

Water Anyone???

2009-03-29T16:18:00.000-07:00

Amber and I went on a really cool ride the other day, and I thought I would share a bit of that with you. First though, I wanted to mention one thing.... For those of you who read Chelsi's blog, you know that she recently asked the question of why we like to ride horses.
That was relatively easy for me to answer right now...I like to ride because it gives me a release from the stressors in my day to day life. And while I may have once enjoyed spending a lot of time working with my horse, I now like to ride a well trained, dependable one that doesn't require a lot of energy from me. (Acting out every now and then is fine, but I spend a lot of time disciplining and training my kidlets, and I don't want to do the same with a horse; at this time in my life anyway!)Right now, my time and energy is pulled in so many directions, that I honestly don't have a lot to offer anyone...or any horse that needs a lot of help/work either. Bo and Wasksa are great for me then, because they don't require that I work with them a ton; I can just get on and go. (Makes me sound kind of boring, huh??)

Don't get me wrong though, Bo and I have really developed a lot of trust between us, and he does things today that he would not have done with me a year ago. (It will be one year in May since we got him back) He loves me and I love him, and he is always happy to see me when I pull up at Amber's house, it is just that most of the work and relationship building that we do is while I am on his back, not on the ground, and thankfully he doesn't require that I need to do groundwork with him (Ahhhh...the joys of riding a seasoned show and trail horse...lol!!!)(Above:Bo wolfing down fern fronds on the trail the other day, while Amber and I took a potty break) Anyway...sorry to digress, I just thought that I would mention Chelsi's thought provoking post, because it was well written, and well....though provoking....lol!!!!! (Hey there Chelsi!!!)

Where was I again???? Oh yes...our ride!!! See??? I am a total space cadet. It is a wonder that I can even remember how to ride a horse...lol!!!! On Friday, my mom and dad took my kidlets, so Amber and I could ride without any time constraints, and we had a lot of fun. It had rained all morning, so we waited until around noon to head out. We saw a ton of wildlife (out moving after the rain), and cruised along at a relaxing pace...kinda!!

One of the trails we went on takes us down and then up about a 1/2 mile, and Bo decided that he wanted to canter and/or prance the whole way up. It is kind of fun when he is in one of his crazy moods, and I am always amazed at the stamina of Arabian horses. Thankfully Bo calmed down once we were done with the steep trails. (You can see the base of that trail in the picture above, and Bo sure was eager to get to the top...lol!!)
So we rode up trails, and we rode down trails, and we crossed trails, and even made a few of our own trails....lol!!! When we finally came out to a main line, Amber asked if I wanted to ride down to a lake that I have not been to in over 20 years, and I said "sure." She mentioned that a good part of the trail was through a swamp (over 100 yards of it), and that it may be too deep to get through this time of year.
(Above is a picture from the Internet of a swamp in the Hoh rain forest. ..sound familiar Twilight fans???) Down, down, down we went, until we came to what looked like a lake/swamp that stretched out further than my eyes could see (it went around a bend), and Amber said that she could not believe how much water there was. (They ride their quads on this trail, so she knew where it was, but said that usually there is only about six inches to one foot of H2O)

(Above is just another picture from the Internet!)

Amber looked at me and asked if I wanted to attempt to follow the trail, and again, I said "sure." We were not sure that the horses would go for it though, because it looked like it may be about 2-3 feet deep. Would they trust us???

Yes they did, and we were quite amazed that they walked through a swamp trail that had water that was so deep that we had to lift our legs. The deepest spot was about three feet deep, and they had to walk through an area that was over 100 yards of total water. And...there was no dry ground to be seen...anywhere.

They never once even acted the slightest bit spooked, or weirded out, but it was kind of a creepy feeling to be surrounded by all of that water. I think that I watch too many horror movies, because I kept waiting for a hand to rise up and grab one of the horses legs...lol!!!

Amber and I really praised the boys while we were going through it, and when we were done, because I am not sure that a lot of horses would have trusted their riders to get them through that. It made me feel good to know that even though I don't have a lot to offer old Bo Bo right now (and of course he doesn't ask for much!) he still felt like I wouldn't ask him to do something that would put us both in danger...either that or he and Waska are just plain stupid...lol!!! Just kidding!

Well it is back to school tomorrow, so I will probably fall behind again. I am apologizing ahead of time...kay???

Driving In A Winter Wonderland...Or Not!!!!!

2009-03-28T20:20:00.000-07:00

Come along with us on another one of our family "rides!" I promise that you won't be disappointed. I wanted to show Lisa that I am sympathetic to her snowy plight (Hey Lisa!!!), but we ended up getting in a little over our heads.

As you can see, we started our adventure off in the snow. It had been snowing off and on all day, but finally seemed like it was getting a bit more serious. (Here we are...heading up to the hills)
We entered the locked gate, and were immediately welcomed by heavier snowfall. A sign of things to come, or an omen??? You guess...lol!!!!Hey...look at that tree!!! It has a face. Oh wait, it is just my camouflaged boy...teeheehee!!! (He looks thrilled that I was taking his picture, doesn't he???) So...up into the hills we went, stopping every now and then to play in the snow, scout for animals, and snap pictures of stump caves. (Can't you just imagine a bear all curled up in the base of this stump???)The further up we went, the more snow there was, until..........disaster struck!!! These pictures really do not our predicament justice. The snow was about a foot and a half deep, wet, and freshly fallen, and to one side was a steep incline that dropped down about 100 yards, and to the other, a ditch that was about two feet deep
Poor Kevin! Every time he hit the gas, the truck slid further and further over, and it's front tire was actually over the edge. I am such a chicken, and when I realized that the truck was sliding the wrong way, I grabbed the kidlets and got out.

"You brought your chains, right???" I asked. The answer was "No." There were no chains or shovel in the back of the truck. Luckily there was a piece of wood, and he used that to dig himself out. Meanwhile, Katie was crying that "Daddy was going to die," and Eric thought that it was the "Coolest thing ever!" Ahhhhh...to be nine again...lol!!!!

Thank goodness Kevin has a lot of experience with this sort of thing, but even he was getting a bit frazzled, so he two-wayed (Nextel cell phone) his buddy, who also has access to this area, and told him to come up and help us out. We were about four miles above the main line, and about seven from the entrance, so there was no way that we were going to walk out!!!

(I think this picture looks silly {below}, but Eric and Katie think it makes the truck look "cool," so I put it on here for them!)While we were waiting, Kevin decided to try one more time, and he actually succeeded in getting out. He then had to back (well he actually slid!!) down the hill about a 1/4 mile, until he reached a turn-around road, and the kidlets and I walked down after him. The buddy's help was called off, and we all got in and headed for home.

Again, these pictures do not show the steepness of the hills, nor the sharpness of the drop-off, so you'll just have to take my word on that, but just know that Kev and I have found ourselves in some nasty snow/car situations, and I have never seen him worried before.

On the way home, right by our house, we saw a herd of elk out in the field. They are kind of hard to spot, but the tan blobs in the center of the picture are the elk.

So daddy got us all home safe and sound, and Katie keeps telling him that he is her hero and that he saved our lives. Dramatic, isn't she??? LOL!!! THE END

(As I write, the snow is still falling, and we have about 4-5 inches out there. Great!!! This is so atypical for Western WA that it is not even funny!!!! Lisa??? I feel for ya'!!! Maybe we could have some virtual brownies and wine or something!)

Ahhhhhhhh.......

2009-03-27T09:04:00.000-07:00

So Tempur-Pedic is not paying me to do this, but I just wanted to let you all know how much I LOVE our new bed!!! After years of having hand-me-down mattresses, or spending $800-$1000 on one and having it break down within 3-4 years, we finally bit the bullet and invested (I am not using this word lightly...lol!!!) in a Tempur-Pedic.

We invested...I mean bought...a Tempur-Pedic Classic, as it was the most firm out of all of them. We also got the handy-dandy little neck pillows, which are also made out of the foamy stuff, and let me be the first to say that I have woke-up the last four mornings feeling like a million bucks...seriously!!!!

Now I know that these beds are not for everyone, and that a lot of people have tried them and found them to be really uncomfortable, but I feel like a whole new woman!!! I could not tell you the last time I got out of bed and was not in pain. Well yes I can, it was this morning...lol!!!!

For those of you who don't know, I suffer from chronic muscle pain that I manage with massage, yoga, muscle relaxers (Flexeril), and ibuprofen. I also have no curvature in my neck, and see the chiropractor, who uses this balloon-like pillow thingy to put it back in place.

My muscle pain comes from the fact that my muscles are super sensitive, and will tighten to the point that they cause so much pain that I vomit. Sounds like fun, doesn't it??? I now have a tens-unit (from the physical therapist), and I use that when they tighten up to help them relax. They get so tight that I shock them at a level "8," which is the highest intensity level that the machine goes to, and it doesn't even phase me.

Thankfully, after having used it for some time now, I can use it a level "6" or "7," and they have not been tightening as much lately either. (It has to do with retraining the pain pathways in my muscles or something)

Well...I am off to ride!!! Hope that you are all having happy Friday's!! :)