March Extras.

It has been such a busy season, with both dance and horse most weekends and often both of them at the same time.  As I have said before, I would not change it for a moment and am so thankful to soak in every moment.  That being said, Subway has become my friend.  I thought of this as I was sitting down by myself to eat my 6" combo meal on my way from Birt Arena to the Nampa Civic Center.  Long days are better with a roasted turkey sandwich...always!

Oh Bailey.  I am so sorry.  You are such a tortured soul, yet these girls love you so very much.  You patiently put up with all their antics, from t-shirts to hair ties, Halloween costumes and now sunglasses.  We love you sweet Bailey!

Kendall is so funny.  The other day, while eating her chocolate chip pancakes, I could barely contain my laughter.  When I told her about the chocolate strewn about her lips and chin, she just smiled.  She was in absolutely no hurry to wipe it off.  In fact, I think she left it there even longer just to make me crazy.

This girl works so hard for her sport.  It is easy to forget when we just see the amazing performance pictures.  However, she attends classes every single night of the week, most nights multiple classes.  She comes home sweaty and exhausted, yet shows up the next day with a smile.  Here she is (top right) in her deep stretch class.  You go Kendall!

I have made a few more finishing touches to my office.  I bought myself a table top water fall and have purchased some nice candles.  This makes Mondays so much better!

Our friend is selling her horse, Lily.  Hannah and Sidney are so sad to see Lily move on, as they have been enjoying many rides on Lily and Pigeon.  

My mom has been going through a few older pictures.  She found this gem of her and my dad when they were younger.  They are so cute!

She also found a couple of my beautiful Grandma.  

At one point in time, my Grandma used to play guitar and yodel on the radio.  Yep, yodel.

We had tickets to a late Friday night performance to Beauty and the Beast.  I was so exhausted that I gave up my tickets so Kendall could invite a few friends.  My mom chaperoned them, as she was super excited to see this musical.  Truth is, I think she loves hanging out with these girls.

Spring Break 2023.

 While Sidney and I stayed home to work with Mustangs and take Driver's Ed, Kendall was off with Abby and her family on quite an adventure.  First stop, Snowbird, where Kendall skiied for her first time.  She was amazing, according to her own words.  In truth, Abby sent me a ton of videos, and Kendall was indeed quite good.  Here is the cutie.

We zoom out to show you that she does wear 'sockos with chacos'.  

These two are seriously adorable.

After a day of skiing, she crashes.

After a couple days in Snowbird, they headed for Moab to do some mountain biking.  Here is the view from their hotel room.  

What gorgeous country.  

The girls are so funny.  They said that you cannot really say you have went mountain biking, unless you have fallen.  So, here is their fake falling picture.

We missed her fiercely, but I am so grateful she got to have these experiences.

Another Driver in the House.

I cannot even believe this is happening.  We have another driver in the house.  Sidney has received her permit, and I managed to find her a solid little Prius to drive.  Kendall has loved hers so much and literally never has to put gas in it.  I had thought about not getting a car for Sid then I thought about what that would mean.  No, I do not want her driving my car.  No, I do not want her taking our beast of a truck to any parking lot.  So, I found this little gem.  It is solid.  Low miles, battery only one year old and brand new tires.  Cosmetically, it has a few dings and scratches, but she is happy as a clam.  The scratches give it character, she says.  It is my ranch car, she says.  This girl is pretty easy to please. 

One of the trainers at the ranch, Noel, has really taken Sidney under her wing.  Noel is young and cool and fearless.  She takes Sid everywhere with her.  She has also dubbed Sidney her personal chauffer.  I think it is a win-win for both of them.

Me Time.

Phew!  Life has been very full and very busy.  However, I did manage to sneak away to the Boise Flower and Garden Show with my mom.  In fact, we made a day of it and went to lunch and shopping as well.  It was such a nice time.  I loved every minute of it and managed to spruce up my wardrobe in the process.

I had a work trip this week.  As much as these can be a struggle to make sure that things are covered at home, once I hit the road, it is kind of a treat.  I enjoy seeing my co-workers and colleagues from the past.  AND....I got to wear a few of my cute new clothes from the aforementioned shopping trip.

Mustang Mania 2023 - Part 04

 Oh my!  So much has happened since our last update.  We now have two mustangs.  How did that happen you might wonder?  Levi was coming along very nicely.  Then one of the trainers noticed he had some potential structural issues, maybe a club foot.  This can be problematic, especially since the goal would be to rehome him or use him for serious riding.  We talked with the people that run the program and they recommended that Sidney trade him out.  It was super sad, but everyone thought this would be best.  The morning we went to take Levi back to the corrals and pick up the new horse, we got a call from Sabrina, the owner of the ranch.  She asked us if Sidney would be willing/able to continue working with Levi.  She would cover his board and would help us rehome him when the time comes.  We quickly conferred and decided that was possible.  

We did go and pick up the second mustang as well.  This guy is MUCH different.  He is fast and very afraid of people.  He has shown no buck, kick or bite, but he is just very much keeping his distance.  Thankfully, the BLM put a halter and lead rope on him before loading him, or else Sid would not have a fighting chance.  She did manage to get his tag off and a few small touches, but this guy is going to take a lot of patience.  Most of her time is spent just being present with him.  Once she was able to get his tag off, she announced his name 'Harley'.  Why Harley?  When Sid was soliciting name suggestions, my dad suggested Scooter.  I thought, "no way".  He is way to fast for a Scooter...a Harley, maybe.  Well, it stuck.

I will admit there have been a few times when I thought we have bitten off more than we could chew with Harley.  That being said, I woke up the other day and had a revelation that this would be a great opportunity to teach my kids that we can do hard things.  I may regret that decision in a few months, when we are all exhausted and grades have slipped, but I really do think with a bit of teamwork from each of us, Sidney and Harley will do amazing things.

How is Levi?  Amazing.  For a horse that will likely be a companion horse, he sure has the personality for it.  He is the most loveable guy ever.  I have included the picture below for a few giggles and a reality check.  As I said, Levi is amazing.  It is sometimes hard to forget that he is a wild mustang.  He does give Sidney a reminder every now and then....

Here is the gang.  Sidney jokes that Levi is her domestic horse now:).

She put a bit in his mouth this week.  He was not sure what to think about having something in his mouth that he could not eat.  He kept licking his lips and flapping his tongue. 

This is a picture of pure joy.  Harley will be joining this trio before you know it.

Team Dance 2023

There is nothing I can say, except I am so proud of this girl.  The Team Dance competition was kind enough to give everyone the professional pictures at no cost.  What a treat!  Here are a few of my favorites.

My friend, Kristin, sent me a cute note saying that "Kendall is made to have a hot pink bob with bangs".  Hilarious!!!

Just stunning.

The competition also gave us the videos.  Here they are for your entertainment.

Winter Jump Series Finale.

This weekend was the final show for the North Wind Winter Jump Series.  Heading into the show, Sidney was in the reserve champion position (2nd place).  We were super excited at the prospect that she had a shot at one of the titles.  She went into the series having never done this with Pigeon before and have only done it herself once last year and only ground poles.  I even remember the first show, she was a ball of nerves.  I think she may have attempted 2', but certainly not 2'3".  My dad even made a comment at the last show that she and Pigeon seemed so incredibly relaxed and at ease.  The way it works is that the horse/rider must have attended 3 of the 5 shows in the series.  Points are awarded based on placements for each event/show.  She did very well in the final show.

Here is a close up of one of the ribbons that she earned for one of the individual events.

She and Pigeon had a great day.  Jayde, her friend from the ranch, was also in the running for her division.  They both worked so hard and managed to earn awards in their division.

Jayde was awarded Champion for the senior low division and Sidney took home Reserve Champion for the junior low division.  Way to go ladies!

Pigeon even received his very own sash.  Way to go Piggy!