That Time of Year Again!!!

It was once again that time of year where Kevin and I got to listen to the kids' teachers say such nice things about them, leaving us shaking our heads in amazement. What do you mean she gets along well with others, is a group leader, and quite independent? You couldn't possibly be talking about my Katie!

(The one who still gets in bed with us during the middle of the night, and who won't leave my side EVER...lol!!!)

I am told that most parents are shocked when they find out how their child acts in school, and let me be the first to tell you that I always am...lol!!! It is interesting to see how your child behaves when you are not around, and it is very reassuring, because my kidlets are little beasties at home, to know that they are little angels at school. It lets you know that you are doing something right!!!

Why am I not expounding on Eric, you may ask? Mostly because he is a third grader, so we have had three years to adjust to his school personality. Both of the kidlets have done great so far this year, but that was not a surprise to me, as I volunteer in each of their classrooms once a week. (Surprisingly, I think that I will miss that when I go back to work!)

Volunteering is kind of nice, because it allows you to observe your child in a learning environment, and you have plenty of opportunities to talk to their teachers about any problems that your kidlet may be experiencing.

Eric's conference was really neat, in that it was student led, and Eric had to guide us through his progress so far this year. Remember back in the olden days, when we just learned multiplication and division in third grade? Well now they are learning factoring, geometry and beginning algebra. It is really quite neat to see the level of learning that kids do at such an early age, and what is even neater, is that they understand it!!!

Katie's conference was also good, and in the two months she has been in first grade, she has gone from a K1 (kindergarten/month one) reading level to a K8 (kindergarten/month eight). Her teacher assures me that by March, Katie will be reading at or above grade level. Way to go Katie Kate!!!
Anywho...I just wanted to let family know that Eric and Katie are doing well in school, and let Eric and Katie know that we are really proud of them!!
Good job you guys, and Eric, I may need your help in my math class next semester...lol!!!

All the Pretty Arabians...

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

Take a look at Abu Farwa, a Crabbet-bred stallion, in the above picture. I bet that he is not what most of us think of when we think of the Arab "type," but 40+ years ago, he was. Today, there are several types of Arabian horses, and to me, the interesting thing about them is that they are all interconnected.

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

Hope that everyone is recovering from Thanksgiving!!! Have a great weekend!

PS-My other favorite breed is mentioned in this post. Can you guess what it is?

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!!!

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

I know that I am one day early, but from our family to yours, have a Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Just don't eat too much food...lol!! I am personally looking forward to eating food that has been cooked by someone other than me for a change!!!

See you all soon!

More About Me!!!!

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


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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

It is conference time at the kidlet's school, and they had a 1/2 day today, so I took them riding instead of me getting to ride, but oh well...what is a mom to do????

I think that Bo was pretty happy to see Eric today. What do you think? It was supposed to rain today, and we had made plans to ride at the arena. The rain held off, but we went to the arena anyway, because Bo just had his shoes pulled. We are going to use EasyBoots on him, as he only ever needs front shoes. Amber has been using them on Waska, and likes them a lot, so I will let you guys know how they turn out for Bo.

Eric is the perfect size for Bo. I can only imagine what I must look like on him...lol!!!!

Do you see the big, gray horse that is watching us through the gate? He is a giant Warmblood gelding, who stands 17 hands high. I was drooling over him when the barn owner came out and said that his owner just put him up for sale...I didn't even ask the price...huh-uh...not going there...lol!!!

Miss Katie was riding Sienna today, and they worked on trotting. Remember Sienna is a cart pony, so squeezing/kicking her sides mean nothing to her. She goes by voice commands, and clicking/smooching sounds, so we are working on teaching her about moving off of pressure. Bo looks a little conceited in this picture...like he is dismissing Sienna with a flick of his tail. Snooty Arab!!!Waska looked breathtaking today (or at least I thought he did!) so I took some shots of him trotting and cantering. He has come so far, and I am so proud of Amber!
Handsome!!! While we were untacking the big horses, Katie took Sienna, or tried to take Sienna, through the trail course, but all Sienna could think about was gobbling down as much grass as she possibly could before Katie got her head up..lol!!!We let Eric load Bo today (Amber was waiting on the inside of the trailer), and I noticed in this picture that we need to paint the inside of our trailer! We have had it for 14 years now, so I guess it is time!!!Sorry that this post is kind of spacey and random, but I have been typing one of my papers all evening and I needed a break! My mind feels kind of fried right now. Where is Saddle Mtn. Rider when I need her...lol???!!!

I have a tag that I have to work on from Miss Lisa as well, so I will try to get that done tomorrow or Sunday. Have a good weekend everybody!!!

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

So these are not the best pictures in the world, but they show you just how good, Twittums, our cat is. He has always put up with both of my kids (as if he ever had any say in the matter!) and he is even related to us. How you ask? His mother is the daughter of my husband's, uncle's, cat! So that makes him a cousin...lol!!! Anyhow, he has always let Katie and Eric torture...I mean play with him, and he has never bitten or scratched them...never even offered to. As you can see in the picture above, Katie is giving him his bottle. She makes him be her "baby" on a regular basis, and he is pretty good at playing along. Twit's bottles vary, but it looks like today's bottle is my old coffee cup with some milk in it. Sometimes Katie spoon feeds him his canned food too. My daughter cracks me up!!!

Once he has had his bottle, Katie must burp him (doesn't he look enthused?)...

...and then he gets placed in his crib...
...or in his stroller...lol!!

Right about now, Twit is wishing that the cougar paw on the wall behind him would become animated and take a big swipe at Katie!

Don't you just love my daughter's slippers? She does not get her fashion sense from me....I think that she gets it from Auntie Amber...teeheehee!!!

The next few days are going to be pretty awful, with a test tomorrow and Monday, a project due on Friday, and and two 10 page papers due on Tuesday. Can you guess what I will be doing ALL weekend??? The kids are telling me that I have to take them riding on Friday, because they only have a 1/2 day of school...grrr...Friday is supposed to be MY day!!!!

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

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

The handsome looking fella in the picture above is Kevin's cousin, Keith, scoping out the landscape. Of course, you can't really see his face, so you will have to take my word on it!! I had to put this picture up for all of his family member's that secretly stalk...I mean read... my blog...lol!!!

Above we have Mr. Eric...all serious and grown-up looking. He was really missing his mama in this picture, can't you tell...lol!!!???

The landscape by Loon Lake sure looks like good riding country to me!!!! I asked Eric and Kevin if they noticed the buck in the lower right corner of this picture...I had them going for just one moment...lol!!!

I am glad to have my boys AND my camera back, now I just wish that it was Friday...my riding day!

Talk at you all soon!!!