The Doggos.

Little Bella is growing up.  She is almost 5 months old.  I am also happy to report that she is 90% potty trained.  I would say 100%, if we would actually listen to her when she rings the bell.  She has been a very sweet dog.  Bailey and her have become fast wrestling partners.

One day I was working in the office and I heard a crash.  I looked over the stair railing and could only see Bailey.  Bailey was looking back and forth from me to Bella as if saying, "Uh Oh, you did it now.  You are in trouble."

These dogs are extra special as they put up with all the girl snuggles. 

When things get a little chaotic, I just go ahead and kennel all the wild animals:).  

Yep, Bella is growing fast!

The Mustangs versus The Griz.

Uncle Roy texted the girls and asked them if they wanted to make a friendly wager on the Cal Poly vs University of Montana football game.  They had a batch of cookies on the line.  The girls and I conspired that if the Griz won the game we would send them some Cal Poly cookies to enjoy.

Once we had that plan concocted, I think they were sort of rooting for the Griz to win.  Sadly, that is exactly what happened.  Grandma Karen was kind enough to make us some CP cookies to send over to Uncle Roy.  The girls could not wait to hear that the cookies had arrived.

Since they were Grandma Karen's delicious sugar cookies, there was no turning them down.

Dance Team.

Last spring Kendall started taking dance classes.  She very much enjoyed it.  At the end of the season, she had an opportunity to try out for team.  Since we had only heard about it the night before, and it was a very big commitment, she opted to not try out and just take a full load of classes this year.  We also had a number of conflicting summer trips, as we did not have this on our radar.  

So...she was very delighted when, two weeks into fall classes, the studio asked her to join the teen competition team.  After a very short time of deliberation, she was a resounding YES.  She is now dancing 5 nights a week and one Saturday a month.  She is loving every minute of it.  She is also continuing to work at her new job.  Her manager has been absolutely awesome in working with her schedule.

These girls are fun and goofy and seem to have a great time together.  

Now our time has transitioned from hauling horses to trekking back and forth to the dance studio.  I love that these girls have found their passion.  I see many recitals and rodeos in my future.

The Junk Drawer - September 2021.

Our beautiful garden has been producing some gorgeous flowers.  I am having a lot of fun cutting colorful bouquets for our kitchen.

Last week, I was on a work call when the florist (Sidney) delivered this cute little bouquet to my office.  Love!!!

I decided it was about time I added some cuteness to my golf wardrobe.  I am now the official owner of a golf skort.  The girls were dying as they somehow had never heard the term skort.  What???  How could they have missed that?  They thought I was making it up until they googled it.

These cute little birds stopped by for a little bath a few evenings ago.  

I spent one of my evenings during Labor Day weekend restocking my cards.  I just love crafting.  It makes me happy!

Her First Job.

Kendall has been itching to get a part time job.  She has been doing some babysitting, but that is not always consistent.  We got a tip on a job, so she went and picked up and application.  When she turned it back in, they scheduled her for an interview.

She was both very excited and very nervous.  We practiced interviewing.  When I asked her 'why do you want this job?', her response was, "I want to help people and I want the work experience."  I added that earning a bit of extra money to learn to manage is not a bad reason either.  My mom drove her to her interview (which lasted an hour).  She walked out of the interview with her first part time job.  She is scheduled to work a few 3 hour shifts each week.  Perfect.  

She was so excited!  She has already completed her orientation and works her first shift this weekend.

Grandma Karen took her out for ice cream to celebrate.  My little girl is getting so grown up.  I love it and I hate it all at the same time.  She is such a smart, funny and caring young lady!

Honeycrisp Applesauce. The best!

We decided that Labor Day weekend was a good time to make some applesauce.  I called around that week for honeycrisp apples and could not find too many.  We finally decided on a different kind, when my mom called out to our favorite fruit stand.  They had just brought in a ton of honeycrisp.  She drove out Saturday morning to get them. 

Sunday it was all hands on deck for peeling, coring and slicing.  It was a breeze with all of these amazing ladies working together.

Sidney spends much of her time eating the peels and 'checking on the dogs'.  Gotta laugh at that!

We are so lucky to have these two cute little grandma's living so close by.  

The fruits of our labor.  Applesauce to enjoy for months to come!

Our Resident Animal Trainer.

Sidney has been having so much fun training the dogs.  She has turned into quite the cowgirl and brings a lot of that home with her.  For her birthday, she had asked for a lasso.  So far, she has roped buckets, dogs and even her sister!

She has been setting up all kinds of crazy patterns for Bailey, in particular.  He is getting so good at jumping, weaving and going through tunnels.

Bella, on the other hand, just runs right below them.

I cannot say it enough.  We love having Bella as part of our family.  She is such a sweet and smart little pup.  She follows Bailey wherever he goes.  Bailey tolerates her most days:).