Bring a Friend to Dance Week.

 Kendall's studio recently held a 'bring your friend to dance' week.  Sidney went with her on Monday of that week, while Hannah joined her for classes on Wednesday.  All of the girls had a great time.  It was awesome for Kendall to share this piece of her with her friends.  

I begged her to let me go to hip hop with her, but she refused.  She was concerned they would invite me to be part of Company.  Lies, all lies.  I completely made that up, if you didn't figure it out!

Pigeon. A Family Affair.

We have had Pigeon for a little over a month now.  The more we get to know him, the more we love.  Sidney has gained so much confidence.  I am contemplating whether I want to take a few horse lessons myself.  We have a cute little pen, with a cute little shed and a cute little red bench for us to sit on and visit (more on that later).  Sidney spends time each and every day at the barn, riding pigeon, grooming him and meeting the other horse owners.  I often see her and wonder what goes through her mind.  I wonder what conversations her and Pigeon have.  They are forming a beautiful bond.

Pigeon has been taking to Eh Capa nicely.  In a few short weeks, Sidney has been able to take the bit and bridle off and ride him with just the tack rein and a bareback pad.  This is a picture of them at their first Eh Capa practice.  I think her friends were just as excited for Sidney as she was for herself.

Kendall has been out there a few times, but she hasn't ridden him yet.  Probably not a terrible thing.  I envision her jumping on him, giving him a kick and yelling 'yee-hah'.  Yikes!

Even Hannah has been out to meet him.  This picture is hilarious.  I am not entirely sure what Hannah is doing, and Kendall looks like she is about ready to vomit.  Sidney is just chilling.

My mom even got on Pigeon for a ride.

The smile on this face says absolutely everything!

The Season of Kids. For Real.

These pictures are for attention really.  Kendall is my free spirit.  

The real meat of this post is about being a single mom of two teenage girls that are incredibly busy.  Here is something you may not know...I am terrified of horses, I hate tent camping and large groups of people are my biggest nightmare.  So how did I end up owning a horse, with a daughter that is on a horse team that travels together as a very large group and sleeps in tents?  These are the sacrifices we make for our children.  But are they sacrifices really?  During this season of my life, the girls are my everything.  I know there will come a time, in a few short years, in which they will be moving on.   For now, I am busy from sun up to sun down doing things I never imagined.  I am a dance mom...going to conventions and learning about false eyelashes and butt glue (yep, that is a thing).  I am a horse mom, learning how to haul a trailer and go through sand in 4 wheel drive with said trailer.  I have very little time for my friends.  I have very little time for me.  I aspire to at least hit a bucket of balls this season!  I say this, because I know so many of my friends are going through the same thing.  I say this, because this is partly the life I have chosen and partly the life I have been handed.  I say this, because I do not regret a single minute of it.  My daughters are teaching me.  I am teaching them.  Someday in the near future, they will leave the house without me, and I will look around and wonder who to call.  I will enter into the next season.  For now, I buckle up and hold on for the ride.  I will look for the minutes in between to call a friend, go on a walk or just breathe.  I will meet new people and experience new things.  I will learn to truly live in the moment!

Copycat Recipes and Sister Love.

 When I find a food I love, I make it my mission to figure out how to replicate it at home.  I suspect I have shared this before.  When the girls were looking for something for breakfast recently, I remembered my Starbucks Pumpkin Scone recipe.  Voila!  We had delicious pumpkin scones.

My sister is much more in the fashion know than I am.  During our recent vacation to San Diego, she was wearing the cutest sweater.  Well to my surprise, she ordered me one in gray.  I love it!

The Next Chapter.

 

Grandma Terrell moved to Boise in July 2012.  Kendall was just entering kindergarten and Sidney was only three years old at the time.  She had just retired from the bank and moved down here to be a part of our lives and help raise the girls.  It has been a blessing to have her here.  I have been grateful that, after Kevin passed away, she remained in Boise to help.  The girls have learned so much about their dad, and his childhood, through Terrell.  She has hosted Sunday night dinners at her house for nearly ten years.  

After much thought, she has decided to make the trip back to Montana, at the end of May.  She will be moving to Billings.  It is both a sad and exciting time for all of us.  I think she is ready for this next chapter, but it does not come without a tremendous amount of emotion.  We will be sad to not have her in our everyday lives, but grateful for all she has done.  Change is good, but change is hard!

Covid Chaos.

We have been very fortunate the past couple of years, in that none of us have contracted COVID-19.  That all changed this past month.  If you have been wondering where I have been, it has been likely quarantining or sick with COVID.  

It all started with a work trip.  After several years of cancelled conferences, the industry decided to host an in person event in Portland, OR.  Everyone was so ready to see each other again!  The conference had 2,000ish people in attendance.  It was a week long affair, and it was a blast.  Here is a picture of me with one of my team members, at an awesome dinner we hosted.

Shortly after landing back in Boise, my throat started to hurt.  I did not think too much of it, allergy season and all.  In the middle of the night, I woke up feeling awful; sweating, dizzy, hurting all over.  I managed to make my way to the hall closet and did a COVID test,  Yep, it was positive.  So, after a week of not seeing the girls, I spent a second week isolating from them.  Easter was cancelled.  Thankfully, the Easter bunny had at least shopped for a few things, so the girls had a basket to wake up to - not much though.  Sidney is still a little girl at heart, as she asked me the night before whether the Easter bunny would be able to come:). 

On day 9, I tested negative.  Both of the girls had been testing negative all along.  I thought we had done a good job of being safe.  So on day 10, the girls and I went over to Terrell's and spent the day helping her pack and clean up around her house (another post).  My parents also came over to help.  That afternoon, Kendall started saying her stomach hurt and her chest felt tight.  She took an allergy tablet, but it did not help.  By the time we came home, she was miserable.  She took a test, and it was positive.  She was devastated!  Rightly so, because her final dance convention was in Seattle that week.  I had to cancel our travel plans.  The first three days, she felt terrible so staying home made sense.  On day four, she started to feel better, and the reality of missing the convention sank in.  I was amazed at her ability to navigate the roller coaster of emotion.  Though it may seem trivial, this was a big deal for her and her maturity was astonishing.  

Mid-week, my parents tested positive.  By the end of the week, Terrell had tested positive.  EGADS!  I had infected the elderly.  Thankfully, we are all vaccinated.  So, though things were pretty miserable for a number of days, we did not have any serious repercussions.  Somehow Sidney managed to escape the madness.  We are still holding our breath, but so far so good!

Meet Pigeon!

If you would have asked me a few years ago, or even a few months ago, I would have never dreamed I would be buying a horse.  Well so much has changed.  Sidney has demonstrated that she has a true passion and a whole lot of grit.  So, we decided to go horse shopping.  I was told horse shopping is not for the faint of heart, always, but especially right now.  It is like buying real estate at the top of the market.  I learned a lot these past couple of months, both about horses and the kinds of people I like to do business with.  We had some great experiences and, thankfully, a steady voice in my ear.  Thank you Alyssa for all of your wisdom and for telling me the truth, always, and not just what I want to hear.  After some time...we found the perfect guy.  We drove over to Rupert last Wednesday to pick him up after a clean bill of health from the vet.

He is truly the sweetest guy ever!  Sidney is in love.  Kendall and I are in love.  Everyone at the barn is in love.  As Sidney put it, Pigeon is like a golden retriever trapped in a horses body.  He is sweet, playful and willing.  I suspect we will have many more stories to tell, but for now this is hello!