Ever had a day like this......

Actually today was a good day. The kids wanted to watch videos of themselves tonight instead of bedtime stories. This one always sends them into a fit of giggles and Thea always says "that fit is ugly" :-) This video was taken about a year and a half ago. My sister, RoCherra, told me one time that blogs don't always give the whole picture as people only post the good stuff....so this one is for you RoCherra.

Horse Camp

Last week Brya got to go to a summer horse camp. It was part for her birthday and part because she did not have her discipline folder signed for the whole year (school thing). She has been obsessed with horses for about a year and a half and I was hoping this would get it out of her system.....I was wrong. She absolutely loved it. She was up at 6am ready to go for most of the mornings. She was even excited to "get to" muck out the stalls. The only thing she complained about was the flies. I'm very glad we live in a subdivision that does not allow horses...whew!! The other day I caught her bouncing up and down on her bike and when I asked her what she was doing she said "I'm practicing my posting!" (something you do in an English saddle not a Western saddle, she informed me.)

Riding bareback.

Nolan and Thea liked to go into the barn and pet the horses too. Nolan even got to feed one a peppermint.



Brya wanted to help with the "untacking" (is that a word??) but she was too short for some of it and needed help.

Sorry about the picture quality. My camera and the barn were not getting along.

The Green Team

When Robin, Amanda and Alayna were here for Brya's birthday in April, the girls also wanted to celebrate Earth Day. So we did a trash pick-up around one of the ponds in our neighborhood. I can't believe how much we found in less than an hour. We decided you had to really look at what you are picking up because Amanda almost picked up a dead white fish that looked like Styrofoam......we also saw a dead otter or was is a raccoon or was it a possum (no one could agree)....anyway whatever it was it was biodegradable because it was 1/2 way decomposed....yuck! The kids enjoyed the pick-up party and afterward had some nice things to say about the earth and they called themselves THE GREEN TEAM!!!

More Mud

Should I be worried about "swine flu"? My kids are starting to act like pigs.......:-) These pics were taken before they got really muddy.....oh and this cute little pigsty is (someday) going to be a cute little flower and strawberry garden!!

Ever had smoke in your eyes?

Last evening Brya was at a birthday party for a school friend. When she got home I mentioned that she smelled like a campfire (they had made s'mores in the backyard). She said "That Dad said that smoke follows beauty and I even hid behind a tree and it still came after me". I snickered and sent her to bed. Then this morning on the way to meeting we were talking about camping and she pipes up from the back and said "Dad, you won't have to worry about getting smoke in your eyes because smoke only follows beauty".

Mud Buddies

Recently we spent a long weekend with my sister in Ohio. The kids asked very innocently if they may play in the backyard for a few minutes before bath time.......instead they bonded over mud balls.

"But Mom, my hair is already washed."

Just one more push-up Alayna.

Mud-Ball Construction

The Scene

Just what we need Brya - MORE WATER

FPA - Future Plumbers of America

Amanda contemplating the mysteries of Life - be the first to go in for a bath or stay outside and clean up?

Always the nature lover......Brya kissing a worm

Beautiful Sisters

Someday they may talk about boys but for now it's all about Mud.

The person on the swing would get their feet nice and gooey and then swing up and put them on the back of someones shirt.

Thanks to Robin's excellent laundry skills, most everything came clean.

THE DOG

I always knew we would get a dog (I can only take so much begging before I give in....). I pictured a German Shepherd or maybe a Lab....something big with a name like Buck that leaves hair all over. Instead we have adopted a sweet, little lap dog!! Her name is Truffles but right away her nickname became Truffie. We got her from some of our friends who loved her very much but because of their moving situation thought it might be best to have Truffie stay in one place. When I think lap dog I think....yap, yap, yap all day long, but Truffie rarely barks, which is sooooo nice....as is the fact that she doesn't shed!! Yeah!! She is very protective of Troy and has to jump in if Troy and the kids are wrestling around. Probably the funniest thing to watch is when she is done with her bath, she runs around the upstairs pushing her ears on the floor (to dry them I guess). It gives the whole family a fit of giggles. (I'll post a video of it sometime)

Brya loves Truffie very much and is always willing to take her out for her walk!

Our very intelligent dog!!....she loves this chair and will sit on whatever is already on the chair if she must.

One of her toys is a pacifier. It is hilarious to see her walk around with it.

Just the right size for Thea!