A Short Sweet Month to remember

We really have been having the best February.

We have been very busy 

but

I have been trying especially hard to slow down and do some extras with the kids

(and having a friend to encourage that is a huge bonus)

We wrapped up basketball and Ellie did great 

and 

I had a great time hanging out with moms that I don't normally get a chance to visit with.

We went to a trampoline park and the kiddos had the best time.

 Dusty took the girls to 4-H foods and they learnt about cake decorating 

AND

seriously we may have discovered ANOTHER hidden talent that Penny has!!

You can expect a bakery to open any day now....

 OH FOR THE LOVE OF HOCKEY

AND BOYS

ESPECIALLY THESE BOYS

Oh man! Dusty gets a gold star because he took ALL the kids to the hockey game SOLO 

and it was with school

SO

ALL of their friends were there.

It was CHAOS

and these two were Captain Chaos and Lieutenant Loud

It's been a great month and we are ending it by playing play-off hockey against a great team and it's been a blast ending our month this way!!

Public Speaking

We had an awesome weekend!
The kids had a full schedule and I had a full schedule but theirs was full of things they love!

Dusty came home early so he could curl with our team and we did so great!!
We actually had three ends in a row where we scored points and I made some crazy shots!!

Ellie had a Young Women's activity with everyone in the area. She said it was like a carnival and then she look off to her friends house for the day to play basketball!

We had our first "with horses" 4-H horse project meeting and we measured and weighed everybody's horses. It was actually super fun and we have such a good group of kids.

Then the next day Dusty and I went to Penny's first game at 8am and she did so great.
It was a really close game and they beat Cochrane by 1 point.
I went home and did the older girls hair for 4-H public speaking...
I should of taken a picture of it!!!
We rushed back to the rink to watch Penny's second game against Med Hat.
She won so then they were on to Semi-finals against the grey Lethbridge team.
Dusty stayed with Penny (and Andy... oh Andy)
and I took off with the older girls to public speaking.

The girls did so great.
Ellie was the very first speech of the day and you could tell she was a little nervous but she battled through and ended up with a great speech.
Ellie nailed her impromptu and got first's across the board.
Then Lucy spoke after the break.
and it was her day.
She delivered a wonderful speech and her impromptu was amazing.
She was beaming.

Lucy placed first in the Juniors and Ellie placed second in the intermediates!

We loaded up (with a few additions!!) and headed back into Magrath.
We dropped off the extra girls and headed to the rink to catch Penny's game for third place in the tournament.
Penny's team lost a really close game in overtime to the grey team so we played Cochrane for third. They played a good game but Penny was outa gas and they lost a good game.
What a weekend!!!!

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.