Perspective

I didn't really understand what busy was until I was actually busy. I am sure there are people who are busier than me. I know it. I am not sure how they keep it together. Most days I wish I was on some sort of medication to just coast me through.

This is a rant for another day. There are glimpses of my life that I occasionally catch. And one today was this dude....

He LOVES play dough. I HATE play dough. I am not a good compromiser. He was driving me and his sisters bananas this afternoon and I had to make buns for a community dinner so I left him to his own devices with a chunk of dough that would be his dinner (pizza).

He did great. Who knew he was an OCD pizza maker?!? 

He rolled it out all by himself.

(That's my grammas rolling pin. I have her measuring cup too. I love the little things I get to use of hers almost daily)

And then he put his own sauce on it and pineapples and cheese. He watched it bake. And then he ate it.

All 8 pieces.

He was pretty impressed with himself. 

I was pretty impressed.

Jambalaya

I haven't posted a recipe in a long time....

Truth be told....

I haven't really cooked in a long time. We mostly live off of the same rotation of slow cooker meals that just get dumped into the crockpot.

And tonight's recipe is also made in a slowcooker...

But it was good.

Really good.

That's how good....

So I wasn't really home long enough today to get it all dumped in at once.

So I got my slowcooker out and turned it in high. I chopped up 10 mild Italian sausages and a big sweet onion (in rustic chunks).

And then I was late.

When I came home I added celery (probably around 2 to 3 cups) and a big can of diced tomatoes and 2 cups of chicken broth and I sprinkled oregano and cayanne pepper and paprika on the top. I sprinkled seasoning salt on top of that and I threw in a half a bag of coleslaw and stirred it all up. Oh and a green pepper (diced pretty fine since none of my kids like peppers-cooked).

Then I was late again. 4 hours later when I got home (like 330) I dumped 2 cups of basmati rice in and stirred it up. Then I was late again. When I got home at 5 it was totally cooked and starting to get stuck on my crock pot. Fluffed and ate. So good. The only complainer was Penny but she complains about anything other than potato soup or hot dogs.... So a win!

Sleep

He is finally asleep after waking up at 3am Thursday Morning. 

It's been a long few days (mostly for him) and it's shaping up to be a long next few days. We have had three trips to emerg today and some more ahead of us.

He had a root canal done on an infected tooth and it's abscessed. It's pretty nasty and I will spare everyone the direct face picture. (He sorta looks like Quasimoto) 

It's funny for me... Not so much for him...

Stix

As the leaves have turned and my children have run off to school I find that I have a couple minutes during my day to do what I love...

This summer I bought a spinning wheel and so the bags and bags of rovings have found purpose. I spun three bobbins of yarn and needed a project. This is a delightfully sticky yarn and my friend at http://www.lmicheldesigns.com is AMAZING at designing some really awesome patterns. So these first bobbins are yarn are destined to be felted slippers. 

July Ina Nutshell

The first month of summer has blown by at record speed!

We started our summer with some beach days at our favorite local spot. I took the kiddos a few times by myself but it's always a highlight when we can get their dad there!!

Ellie has a goal this summer to read 20 novels! In the first week she read these three and then I told her she had to pick a couple harder reads.

Lucy's goal is to read 1 novel/week so that will put her at 9-10 by the end of summer. First 2 down!

We spent the first week of summer cleaning the basement! I got all the storage rooms done and the girls rooms. Penny got to move out of Ellie's room into her own!

Lots of time spent moving animals around every day- between feed and predators it feels like we are constantly switching things up.

We have had crazy weather this summer!! This kids job is to move in and out the patio cushions! She has her work cut out for her! 

Our friends took us out in their boat and the girls got to try knee boarding! They loved it! 

Penny and Sawyer making it look easy!

We also got our boat out for a few days of family fun! The girls are tubing maniacs right now!

Trail rides. Penny is all over it this year! She has been doing great!

Summer games! The girls did so well! They brought home 18 medals all together! 

Right after summer games we ran away to the lake. Got some much needed down time. We didn't take any of the mechanical toys so we spent a lot of time together just splashing and coloring and hanging out.

Penny is determined to learn to swim.

We made our annual trek to Fort Steele! So awesome! We got caught in a thunderstorm there. It was so nice!

Came home and got hammered with hail. Our vehicles have a few more dents and it broke a window on the house! But it was worth it to see Penny's face out there collecting hail! She has two bags of it saved in our freezer!

More riding- Lucy has started riding Pheonix and they are doing really well together!

Parade day! The girls ride to town to be in our local parade! They were a little tired from the night before when they rode sheep and wild pony races! Such a fun weekend! Parades, rodeos, ghost stories and wagon rides!

Penny started actual swim lessons! She loves it!

And more hay... Everything broke down so Andy's been out trying to keep things moving!

Lucy's last two novels she's read! So far she has read 5 novels in 4 weeks!

Ellie is at 10 novels and is half way to her goal! 

And we bought a new {to us} car! Seats 7 so we can actually all travel together!! It is so great! It looks just like my escape (which I LOVE) and it has 4 wheel drive! So excited!

Show times

Ellie has been working really hard the last few weeks and it paid off big time this weekend. She rode 2 horses and they couldn't be more polar opposite and she did a beautiful job with both.

These were her placings with 38. 

2nd showmanship

1st English pleasure 

1st English Equitation

4th Western Pleasure

4th Western equitation 

She took the highpoint award in their division.

This was the loot with Midnight.

Same order as above.

And also highpoint in the division.

But this show was less about ribbons and more about successes in the small things. Consistent diagonals, correct leads, finesse in showing, etc.

She did a bang up job!

And Penny....

Her and Rocky are two peas in a pod!

9

Lucy is 9.

9!

She went to Montanas for dinner.

She got a hammock and books.

Beginning of a Summer

The girls are feeling the closeness of summer va-ca....

They REALLY wanted to go out to the mountains but we didn't have the time so we took their bikes to town and went to the park....

Happiness is sometimes the simplest things!

Now after looking through the pictures.... I just remebered all the snail shells Penny stuffed into her pockets.... I am going to go scrape those out before either they escape or she remembers....

Near Future

I know that my days are numbered. It already been far too long that I have had the time to cuddle him to sleep. 

The beautiful rain has given me the day off of my outside list and so I seized my oppertunity for some quiet time with Andy. About 10 minutes into Instagram surfing I heard the soft snoring noise. 

It's the moments like this that there is still a small pang of sadness that I don't have many days left with babies and cuddles.

Cooper

This morning Dusty went out to work the arena for me. I came home from the mane event totally motivated. We hauled Cooper into the arena yesterday and I had the PERFECT ride. I threw away my reins and totally guided everywhere with my legs. He was a dream. I was getting ready to come out when dusty came in the house and told me to get my boots on. As I came thorough the barn I saw Cooper. He was in the ditch on the side of the road. I felt a little nauseous. I was expecting big trauma. There was nothing but a couple tiny superficial scratches. The top wire was down and there was some hair on the inside of one post and the outside of another. I couldn't really piece it all together. 

We didn't get any clearer answers as the day went on.

Both Dusty and I are in shock still tonight. Our friends, neighbors, and family have been great. 

I have been struggling with anxiety when I ride and he was the first horse in a long time that I woke up excited to ride. No pit in my stomach- no self-preservation first in my mind. He was easy and fun and pushed me to be better. 

The money spent is a hard pill to swallow but what's worse is the disappointment I have that I won't get to keep riding him.

He was a once in a lifetime horse and I feel fortunate to have gotten the privilege to own him and ride him. 

Spring Break

Spring break.

I have been looking at people's fabulous trips abroad or the fun family mini vacations that people have been posting. While all those things look marvellous.... I have been thoroughly enjoying doing the bare minimum. We have raked pens, swept patios, moved sheep and goats, laid in the sun on the trampoline, ate hotdogs and chips, went in the hot tub at night, and just stayed home. We said no to our phones, no to the dishes, trips to town, and all else that seems to continually pull us away from here. 

No company just us. Just us, the beautiful weather, and our poor neglected house.

It has been perfect.

Happy Trails

This kid (both kids) love just going out for a ride. Everytime Ellie and Midnight would stop Andy would start to wail!

Doors

There's an old adage that is like when one door closes another opens...

Well, when we had to euthanize Holly, dusty and I knew it was going to be a big blow but over the last 6 weeks we really felt the effects. She was a family horse. She quiet and kind enough for Ellie to ride. Dusty loved riding her because he says she made him look good with out being too smart for him and I appreciated that she allowed me to ride when I wanted to.

We have looked at quite a few horses and while we didn't find a horse that filled her shoes, we did find two horses that will push both Dusty and I. 

This is Bailey. She's a registered QH. She is super sweet but she got a bit wrecked on the track ponying the racehorses. She's not bad but she thinks leg on means run like the dickens and she needs some soft quiet work. Dusty loves her. She looks like the horses his grandparents had while he was growing up. He's excited to bring her along and try to get her so she can be as good as she once was. 

We have ridden her at home and she was so quiet for me but the other day we took her to the indoor..... Hahaha she wasn't so quiet then. I thought it was just dusty so I kicked him off and rode her.... It wasn't him. Finally after our neighbour hopped on she started getting a little quieter. Then dusty took the girls out for a ride in the field.....

Picturesque as they were leaving. A really enjoyable ride.... Until they went to come home! I am glad it was him and not me! He was channeling as much patience as he could muster and trying to pull out his inner Clinton Anderson! Haha they made it home on his terms. She is going to make a really great horse and he is happy to have a horse of his own again. She is perfect for him and he got a steal of a deal on her which makes him love her even more!

And me..... I got darn near perfection....

This is Cooper. Ever since having kids I get a self-preservation pit in my stomach while I ride. The first ride I never got that. I also realized in that first ride that it's been a LONG time since I had to really ride. This horse was way more trained than I was used to!!! The owner coached me through where some of his buttons were. We decided to go back up for a second ride. The second ride I think I rode for almost an hour and a half. I never got the pit. It was the most fun I have had riding in years. 

The hour and half might of over done it for me! There were muscles I hadn't used in a decade! I am just starting to be able move without feeling my age (mostly my out of shapeness).

Cooper is coming from a lady who is an exceptional rider and she has raised him. She is a Reiner and so that's Coopers foundation. I was blown away at his softness and the bend he has in his body. 

I  super excited to be able to ride all together and to have a safe horse that will push me back into the level of riding that I want to be at.

The Little Big sister

It was Penny's first St.Paddy's day at school. This morning we found out she doesn't own any green.....

But good thing her little brother does....

Life as an Adventurer

Our day (life) seemed a little more than chaotic than originally planned...

It was a pretty full day yesterday and Andy decided to single-handedly derail the plans. He got into the medicine cabinet and so we spent a good part of the day in emerg. He's no worse for wear today but hopefully his little stint in the er will deter him from any more of his antics today.

And now for some cuddles and paw patrol. (And I REALLY good justification to avoid laundry)