Welcome Mokey!

 Alyssa was in need of a new lesson horse after losing Star.  She took a risk and bid on a horse in an online auction that was advertised as a great horse for kids.  She took a trip to Oregon last weekend to pick the new horse up.  The horse was named Cricket.  However, Alyssa has a goat named Cricket, so a name change was in order.  Meet Mokey!  Alyssa got the name from a book she read as a child Summer Pony.  

Sidney is in love.  She was so anxious to meet (and ride) Mokey.  I cautioned her that Alyssa may not let the kids on her quite yet.  Lo and behold with a batting of her eyes and some sweet talk, Alyssa let Sid be the first kid on her.  

From Sid's review, I have determined that Mokey will be a fan favorite among the kids.  I can see many rounds of rock, paper, scissors to see who gets to ride her.

Fall Cleanup, Flowers and a Surprise.

This weekend I warned the girls that Saturday was going to be fall cleanup day.  My parents caught wind of it and offered to come help.  Yes!  Their trees are not quite large enough to really require clean up, so perhaps they were relishing in our fun (or just plain crazy).  Anyways, I was not going to argue.  I did provide extra incentive....

 

With all of the extra hands, we were done in no time!

Even Bailey got into the action.  He had fun chasing his ball, but moreover he enjoyed carrying off the trimmings.

During our trimming, Grandma found this easter egg hidden in one of the shrubs.  The funny thing is that the egg has to be at least three years old.  Last year, we had Easter indoors.  The year before that, we were at Rebecca's.  Inside the egg, was an intact Laffy Taffy.  Yuck!  

I love fresh flowers.  Sometimes I treat myself and buy the market fresh bunches from Albertsons (3 for $12).  Of course, I typically plop them in the vase without a whole lot of intervention.  This time was different.  The girls and I have been binge watching The Good Witch.  In the series, Abigail opens a flower shop.  She makes putting bouquets together as easy as an after thought.  So, naturally, I channeled my inner Abigail and whipped my three new market bouquets into one giant beautiful bouquet.  Here we are a week and a half later and these beauties are still thriving!

For the Love of Kendall!

Kendall is heading back to in-person school this week (only two days a week).  I am going to miss having her around the house.  This girl brings so much joy to my life (and a few gray hairs).  She has such an amazing free spirit, wisdom beyond her years and a sense of humor that can make even the grumpiest person smile.  

Each morning and night, she rattles off her to do list.  She honestly does not even care if I am listening.  She just needs to say it out loud.  She has a skin care routine that puts me to shame.  She is consistently able to muddle through the junk that life throws her and make the best of it!  She contorts her body into stretches and positions that do not even seem humanly possible.  She lights up our home with her music and moves.

Here she is trying out her new Indian clay mask.

Something in that mask must be working.  She has a gorgeous complexion.

The other day, I heard the funniest thing coming from her laptop.  I walked over to witness her World Civ. teacher dressed in full Viking costume.  At the end of his speech, he issued a warning to the kids 

'Do not bring your swords to school'.  HILARIOUS!  She was, of course, rolling her eyes.  I told her about the year her Dad dressed up and did the same thing for his middle school class.  

I thank God every day for blessing us with this beautiful little girl!

All of the Other Stuff.

Kaden and his girlfriend Milly visited a few weeks ago.  They took the girls to the zoo.  The four of them had a great time hanging out together.

Sidney has found us a great place to go shooting.  She took Papa out there the other day.  Thankfully, she did not fire the shotgun.  I am certain she would have landed on her behind if that had happened.

Normally I reserve puzzle season for winter.  However with the smoke we were having in the air, I pulled them out early this year and have not been able to put them away.

Bret's girlfriend, Erin, shares a love for puzzles and gave me a challenging one to try.  It certainly gave me a run for my money!

In an earlier post, I mentioned that Kendall is enjoying some of the flexibility of virtual school.  She has perfected the art of whipped coffee.  The only problem with this drink is that it is made with instant coffee.  The shear smell of it makes me want to vomit.  It takes me right back to my days in Antarctica, when instant coffee was my only option.  More on that another day.  They sure are beautiful though!

Sidney never disappoints when it comes to fashion.  She has been earning and saving quite a bit of money the past year.  She decided to spend some of it on a couple cute outfits.  How fashionable.  She used the belt from the pants to make a coordinating head band.

It was time to get new eyeglasses.  Sidney went with a Harry Potter pair.  I love it!

Look ma, no hands!  I must admit, I used to have a bumper sticker on my car that said the same thing.

Saying goodbye to Star and so much more...

This past week has been a crazy horse week.  First off, one of Alyssa's amazing awesome horses, Star, died.  Star was getting up there in age, but her passing was unexpected.  In fact, Alyssa had just been joking with me about trying to put Star on a healthy food diet.  She likened it to trying to put your grandma on a diet, really?  Star was a very gentle horse.  

Ironically, many years before Sidney started taking lessons, we went to a party at Alyssa's and both girls rode Star.

Sidney was so sad to hear about Star.  Many tears were shed that evening.  

Then a couple days later, she got bucked off for the first time.  I was there.  I knew it was coming.  She was doing her lesson at Jami's on Rocket.  Typically, Rocket is super gentle and super lazy.  Sidney was trying to get him to lope, and the bucking started.  The trainer said that Rocket had been having a really 'off' day.  One thing I know to be true, you ride horses long enough, you will get bucked off.  

If there was a perfect scenario for getting bucked off, this was it.  Sidney landed on her side bum, which is much better than landing on a head or an arm.  Rocket stopped in his tracks, once he realized what he had done.  Also good, as they did not have to go chasing him, nor did Sid get stomped on.  I was proud of Sidney.  Once she got herself pulled together and dusted off,  she got right back on.  Everyone called her 'tough'.  On the car ride home, I asked her if she was scared.  She said she was not scared or mad at rocket.  Mostly it had taken her by surprise.  Her bum was sore for a few days, but I think she was proud of herself for getting up and getting back on.  

This past week reminded me of something Terrell had sent awhile back.  I asked her to find it for me, so I could post it:

Lessons you’re really paying for when your daughter rides Horses

by Mended Hearts | Aug 28, 2020 | Uncategorized |She’s learning to control her fears.

1. She’s learning patience.
2. She’s learning the art of silent communication.
3. She’s learning to trust herself and her intuition.
4. She’s learning she will always have a shoulder to cry on, she will know love.  She won’t need a boyfriend to make her feel wanted.
5. She’s learning discipline and responsibility.
6. She’s learning the art of how to be a gentle but consistent leader.
7. She’s learning to love nature and the outdoors, & how to ground herself in a chaotic world.
8. She’s learning how to polish up and be presentable, and also how to get dirt under her nails.
9. She’s learning to fall and fail, and to keep trying.

Sidney has been riding for just over a year now, and I have seen her grow tremendously from her time with the horses.  It has affected her immensely, in all areas of her life.  Her confidence has soared.  Her work ethic has grown.  Her independence has shown through.  Her compassion has deepened.  I do not know if this is a phase.  I do not know if she will grow out of this.  Regardless of whether it is just a phase, it is a period in her life that has changed her forever.  She started riding horses shortly after her dad passed away.  I think it filled a gap in her life that no human could replace.  Yes, I am spending a lot of money, but that money is an investment in this young ladie's life.  

Closing the Gap.

Sidney has adorned this cute little gap in between her two front teeth.  Despite my efforts to educate her on how Madonna and other celebrities have rocked their tooth gap, she was not having it.  She started wearing Invisalign this past week.  She was so amazing and attentive listening to the lady tell her about the process and the do's/don'ts.

The only downside is that her teeth have been super achy the first few days.  I have done Invisalign and told her that will be the case with the first couple days of each new tray.  It is amazing how well they work though.  So long tooth gap, we will miss you (well, maybe Sidney won't).

 

Making a House a Home.

 I love making our house cozy.  The girls have inherited that trait.  They have grown to join me in my obsession with lovely scented candles.  They take turns picking out the new candle to fill our house with warmth.

Speaking of candles, Terrell's friend Kay had a yard sale a few weeks ago.  I scored by picking up this outdoor candle holder.  It has been a nice addition to our back patio.

My mom helped me re-upholster our hammock.  She had helped me pick out this great outdoor fabric from one of her suppliers.  I have a few more pillows and a patio table runner in the 'works'.

It is a special treat having a mom that knows how to sew.  I was talking about getting a few more pillows for my couch.  She mentioned she had some scrap fabric I could have.  I ordered a couple pillow forms and before I knew it, she had a couple of awesome pillows made!

A Dog's Life.

 I would hope to claim that I am Bailey's best friend, but I think Sam has me beat!  These two dogs love spending time together.  Sam is my parents black lab.  He is old and sweet.  We call him the gentle giant.  He loves to wrestle with Bailey, but I think they both are starting to learn Sam's boundaries.  Sam spent a week with us recently and managed to not hurt himself wrestling this time.  Bailey seems to know that he has to take it gentle with Sam.  

When Sam is not around, Bailey spends most of his time at the circle window.  He waits for other dogs to walk by, and then he starts barking like a mad dog.  He is getting a bit better at not barking, but I am certain that he has no self control when I am not around to discipline him:).

Here is just one of the things that Bailey finds to watch outside of that circle window.  This bird decided to perch on our patio chair.  The bird stayed there so long, I though maybe it was nesting on an egg.  

Bailey still carries around Kevin's three shirts.  It is all I can do not to wash them.  I would hate for Kevin's scent to be washed away.  Bailey loves these shirts.

Virtual School and Other Adaptations.

The girls have been adapting well to virtual school.  Although for Sid, this is her second year doing online school through Gem Prep Academy.  I have noticed a HUGE difference between last year and this year for her.  She has become so much more independent.  Here she is doing her science lab.  I cannot even tell you what she was doing, as she did this 100% on her own start to finish.  I am very proud of her for putting in the hard work.

Kendall has been adapting very well.  There is even a small part of her that is really enjoying the flexibility.  Her school is doing as good of a job as they can at keeping the kids engaged.  She has even made a few new 'friends' this year.  Here she is during her guitar class.  She is also taking show choir as well.  It has been interesting to watch how the teachers have adapted and made the best of the situation.

I could not help but post this, as the girls took on the true role of 'fan girls' the other day.  One of their favorite photographers, Jordan Matter, did a 24 hour zoom watch party with special guests.  The girls acted crazy in hopes of being called upon to ask their favorite you-tubers a question.  Much to their chagrin, I did not let them watch the full 24 hours, but it was fun watching them get so excited while they were watching.

One of the social activities that they girls have kept up with is youth group.  Their leaders have done an awesome job of pulling the kids together and implementing safety.  This is Sidney's first year in youth group, and she seems to love it just as much as Kendall does.  

It is remarkable how the girls have adapted.  As I type, I am listening to Sidney on a zoom call upstairs with a girl in her class.  There is no way the Sidney from a year ago would have taken this kind of initiative, in person or through zoom.  These girls are really growing up! 

School Pictures.

We opted for outdoor school pictures this year.  The girls were excited to have Emily take their pictures, as they have known her through our neighbors, the Gammon's.  She did not disappoint.  The pictures turned out amazing.