Skillathons!

Last night were the Pet Rabbit and Horse Skillathons. They test the 4-Her's knowledge of the different animals. They have one for every animal, except poultry I do believe. J had to compete at the Rabbit one and at the Horse one. He scored 100 on his Rabbit Skillathon and about 32/40 on his Horse one. The Pet Rabbit and small animal show was also last night. He showed his rabbit in his level and received first so he got to show in the Championship show where he received Grand Champion!!! So exciting. This is the first year he has made Grand Champion. He received 3rd the first year, reserve last year and champion this year! Very cool and very exciting. Rabbit Skillathon

Rabbit Show

Horse Skillathon

I had to work the skillathon for the horses (since I am the Hippology advisor) and was there from 6-10 so I didn't get any pictures of him with his trophy. They judged it after I had to leave. J also received a high point award for the fun show series that one of the 4-H clubs puts on. He received 8th overall and only went to one show. This was the show where we were upset that he nailed the pattern but his horse whinnied and he got sixth instead of 3rd.

Eight Place High Point

Off to do some quilting, after some blog reading!!!

Being Lazy!

Remaining Weekend Fun!

Saturday and Sunday were as busy as the rest of the weekend, but it was nice and relaxing for the most part.

Saturday J, TJ and I showed. We didn't place, but that's okay. It was pretty windy and raining for part of the time with a severe thunderstorm warning in the area. Rich had the tournament draw for baseball so we went to the show in the morning, he left and then came back with Shannon. Alyssa and Ashley went to get their nails done so they met us at the show after that. Alyssa walked around on Tee for a bit before I went to warm up. Tee and Spike were both great in practice, but when we got in the ring, we got a little nervous. Mom took some pictures and Ashley video taped it. Alyssa got to "show" in a stick horse class and got her own ribbon which was pretty cool. Sunday we were going to show, but after looking at the showbill there was really only one class, maybe two that would have been worth going for so we decided not to go.

I was being lazy

J and Spike

Alyssa and Ginger with her ribbon

Instead of showing, we hung out with kids in the morning and then went to an Akron Aeros game in the afternoon. We had awesome seats right behind home plate, about a third of the way up. It was also Orbit's (the mascot) birthday so there were other mascots from around town there. The Lake County Captain was there (A ball here), the AA mascot for softball (Wheeler), the areana football mascot, the hockey mascot, the Cavs mascot and a few others. It was really great for Alyssa and she managed to get her picture with everyone but the Cavs mascot. Once the game ended we came home and Rich made chicken nachos for dinner and we hung out the rest of the night.

Alyssa dancing with Wheeler (Softball mascot)

Alyssa and I with Orbit

The kids left this morning for home and while we would love for them to be home more we understand. Alyssa tried to take me with her. She really had a great time playing games with the boys, helping in the barn etc. She can't wait to come back and told Grandpa that he needs to take some vacation time!



And today I have been banished to the house, I am still feeling some of the effects from the amiodarone and I got pretty red over the weekend. But its raining so what do I care? Off to work on J's quilt after a little blog reading and catching up with all my blog friends!

Pink Toes!

They say it all!

This is the hole in the side of our yard. Pretty big. We have a broken field tile and are trying to figure out how much it is broke. Rich thinks at least two tiles, maybe three. Its also 8 inch pipe so we think its a main one. We fixed the one in the backyard yesterday. Now I know how to fix a field tile, pretty exciting. That one was only a small pipe. We are not sure how exactly we are going to fix the one in the big hole.

Its been sunny and 70's for the last several days. Tomorrow it is supposed to rain. I have been spending quite a bit of time outside reading. I love to sit in the sun and read. I also cleaned out the flower beds and prepared the side bed for the dirt guy to come bring me some dirt. Our neighbor takes our manure so he is giving me some dirt for my side bed. It connects to the one at the back of the house, but it slopes down about 3 inches in the process so we are going to level it up a bit and then I am going to put in a butterfly garden. It will take me a few years to get it full and growing good since I can only buy a few plants at a time since I don't have a job...




This is the quilt that I am currently working on. I haven't gotten much done since Sunday. Its been too nice. I was originally going to donate it to Project Linus, but Rich thinks I should keep this one and donate a different one. He likes this one and likes the colors in it. He says its too much work to give away. I have to make two more rows and then the hard part will be done. It actually goes pretty fast and I can make one row in about 20 minutes. I love the sock monkey fabric and may keep it even though no one here is still young enough to be into sock monkeys.

We have been riding almost every night, J is getting over his fears of being hurt, TJ is coming along good with his horse, and mine is just as stubborn as always. We had issues again tonight about not wanting to go forward, but we did. We didn't lope because he started kicking out and trying to buck which still scares me at this point. Last year it wouldn't have phased me, but after only 12 weeks, I still want to be careful and not be thrown. I don't think my dr. would be too happy!

Rich has had baseball practice almost every night or been working on the baseball fields. Our first game is in two weeks at New London. We have never been there before nor played a team from there. This should be interesting since we don't know what to expect. Our games will be on Mondays and Thurdays so they shouldn't interfer with too many horse shows, unless there is a Saturday game, but I think we only have one of those scheduled.

My local library started a book club, The Jane Austen Book Club, which I happily joined! There were 9 of us at the first meeting which I think is pretty good for our little library out here in the middle of nowhere. We are reading Sense and Sensibility this month and then next month we are going to read a members choice. We decided to mix it up so that it wouldn't get old or boring. Plus that way we could all share our favorite books. Right now I am reading "The Girls" by Lori Larsens. Its a fiction book about twins conjoined at the head. I have several other books here waiting to be read and actually read three books this past weekend.

And lastly, today I walked 3 miles. Very exciting to be able to do so. I saw a blimp when I was out walking but didn't have my camera with me and it was too far away for my cell phone. I didn't know DirectTV had a blimp but that is what it said. It was beautiful out and I was so glad to get outside and walk!!

I'm off to sew and have some yummy ice cream for dessert!

Busy Weekend!

This weekend was pretty busy for us. J, TJ & I went down to Equine Affair on Friday. We left here about 10:00 and got there about 12:00 or so. By the time we parked and got into the event it was about 12:30. We were hungry (of course with 2 growing boys, when aren't they hungry?) so we went and got something to eat. Then we went to see Stacy Goodall and Julie Goodnight. They were great. I really enjoyed their clinics on body position of you and the horse and cues. Then we walked around the merchant buildings, and then saw Bob Avila's clinic again, body position, cues and control. After this we decided to head up closer to my BIL's so we could eat and hang out somewhere till they got home. We had Red Lobster and went to the mall. Then we went over to Russ and Sue's and pretty much crashed. It had been a long day and Saturday was just as long!




We got up at about 7:00 so we could all shower and leave by 8:00. From Russ's we went to OSU Animal Science Building where my wonderful group of Hippology kids competed in the State Horse Bowl competition. Our juniors made it to the 5th round and according to my calculations made the top 15. The seniors made it to the 4th round and again according to my calculations made it to the top 25. We were eliminated around 2:30 and left by 3:15 to head home. We got home about 5:30 and just kinda hung out for the rest of the night. I admit, I feel asleep for about 2 hours around 6:00. I was pretty tired after all that!
The junior team




Yesterday was spent cleaning and doing laundry. The boys did some work outside. It actually snowed in the afternoon so we all came in to spend time together hanging out watching TV. The tribe was on and they won!! Yeah!!





T and Rich went to the Lynard Skynard and Hank Jr. concert on Friday night. They had a good time, but they said they enjoyed Skynard better than Hank. THe concert started at 7:00 and Rich called me at 11:30, they were just leaving Cleveland. T loves Skynard and had a really good time. That was his first real concert so it was exciting for him. They ran into two other couples that we know from our small town. Pretty funny! Usually you don't see anyone you know at concerts.





Thursday night J and TJ rode their horses. Their uncle was home so he was helping them out. J rode his pony without a lounge line, which was good and TJ got on his gelding for the first time. Normally TJ rides my horse, but we gave him a horse last year and he is breaking it with our help. That was pretty exciting. He stayed on and the horse only jumped straight up once. Pretty good if you ask me! Here's some pictures of J and TJ on their pony/horse.


And Kris at Quilted Simple tagged me for the 4x4 meme so here are my responses.

4 jobs I've had:
- Insurance
- Teacher
- Insurance
- Step-mom (most important!)

4 shows I regularly watch:
- College Football
- Baseball
I would have to say that is it. I don't usually watch TV, I usually read

4 places I've been:
- Rochester, MN
- Dallas, Houston and Spring Texas
- New York, New York
- Washington DC
- Orlando
Ok, thats five but that is ALL I have ever been too!

4 foods I like:
- Pizza
- Chicken
- Salad
- Steak

I tag anyone who hasn't been tagged that reads my blog!

Hope everyone had a great weekend and has a great week!!

6 days of SUN!!!

Its been sunny for the last 6 days! Maybe spring has arrived. I certainly hope so!! Its been so nice that we have spent a lot of time outside, just playing and sitting on the patio reading. I haven't really gotten anything done this week. But its been nice. The boys are home on Spring Break so Monday was cleaning stalls etc, Tuesday I took the boys to the mall to get cleats and the we came home to play outside. Yesterday, they pretty much played outside. Today they are at their moms till 3 and I am sure we will be outside if the rain doesn't come. It was supposed to rain Tuesday night, and it did - but just a little! It was also supposed to rain all day yesterday and today, but I am looking at beautiful sunshine!! I have flowers coming up in my flower beds and am enjoying the weather!

Also I was able to ride my horse! VERY EXCITING! I am "not allowed to ride unless someone else rides first" (direct quote from Rich) but I am able to ride. So that is wonderful to me! Last night I rode J's horse instead because I wanted to show him something, and the T wanted to try to ride. This is a kid who will go behind a race horse, but will not get up on top of one. He did very well, and only had a few moments where it didn't go well. But if he wants to learn to ride we have to start at the beginning since he hasn't been on a horse in over 3 years!

Tomorrow J, TJ and I are going to Equine Affair. Hopefully we will get to see some great clinics and seminars. I am still debating if I want to spend the extra money to see the Pfizer Fantasia. I think it would be neat, but it will cost about $50.00 so I am not sure I want to do that. But then I think what am I going to do with them till 9:30 when my BIL gets home. We are going to spend the night at my BIL's so that we can go to Equine Affair and then the State Horsebowl competition on Saturday. I wasn't sure we would be able to go to Equine Affair after Horsebowl, not sure I would feel up to it. But this way works out much better!

I am off to enjoy the sunshine now! Its quiet here!

Sad News

Today the 33 year old Standardbred (Tardy) that has boarded with us since 1988 went to roll in the padock and then got stuck down. He was down for about 2 hours. Maybe a little more. Rich and the boys went out to try and help him up and he just couldn't do it. Then I went down with TJ & T to be with him. Rich was calling the owners and the vet. Luckily when I went down he got up within two tries. He knows my voice and I think he responded to my voice. He has what we think is a tumor on his face and is just old and has arthritis. He has been down before, but has always managed to get up. Once he got up, Rich talked to his owners and they decided that we would just keep an eye on him and then either Monday or Tuesday have the vet out. That is going to be a horrible. day. J is VERY attached to Tardy and so am I, J more so than I, but we were both crying. I was so happy when he got up, but his time is near and we really weren't sure he was going to make it through this winter. He is such a good horse and we hate to see him suffer. When he is actually put down this week it is going to be very traumatic.

65 degrees

Yesterday we had a beautiful day, it was 65 degrees and partly sunny. There also was a bit of a breeze but not enough to make it seem colder. It was wonderful. Of course today we have freezing rain and 32. I love those days when its warm but then reality sets in. We are in the beginning of March and it won't really get nice till the end. But I did get to go outside and walk up and down the driveway. It was wonderful. Then Rich had J go do the chores even though it was a little early so that I could see my horse. I miss my horse! I can't open our barn door yet, it probably weighs about 75 pounds. Its 12x20 and has insulation and plywood on it to help keep the barn warm in the winter.

I got to see my horse. He couldn't have cared less, he was like "Where's my food?" My horse is a 6 year old Quarter Horse whose name is Heza Tuff Mr Tee. He could win a standing still contest. He doesn't move fast, he doesn't like to move and he is very lazy. Very Lazy. We show the Central Ohio Circuit (COSCA) and Elyria Saddle Club Shows in Western Equitation and Western Pleasure. Tee is really a big baby and nothing fazes him. Rich used to be a full time trainer and had his own stable training horses. Tee and I have learned a lot together with Rich being on personal trainer. Its kinda nice having a professional trainer who only works with you. This is a horrible picture, you really can't see us, but that is Tee and I in Sept at a Wellington show.

J shows too and he shows a 7 year old Quarter Horse, named Imp Tee Impression (who happens to be fully trained unlike Tee) in Western also. This year he is going to try reining at the fair. His horse can do it - the question is can J get over his nerves? This picture is of J after one of his classes. He did really well at Wellington this year, receiving a high point in Western Pleasure and second overall in Western Equitation. He also surprised us when he said he didn't want to go in the first year canter class at the fair this year because he wanted to try to make it to the championship show. He didn't make the championship show, but he did really well, placing 4th & 5th and we were very proud of him for making that leap and being in the tougher class with kids that had been cantering longer than he had.

After seeing my horse and doing all that walking I was ready for a nap, but that was not happening. We had a hippology (study of horses) meeting last night which I am the advisor for and I wanted to see all my kids since I hadn't seen them in a month. T also had a basketball game so poor Rich was driving around dropping off and picking up. Only 2 more weeks and I will be able to drive again so that will make a huge difference. Rich won't have to cart me around anymore! Plus I will be able to go back to work which will help break up the monotony.

Now I am going to work on my red, white and blue quilt that mom, Kris and I started years ago. I only have two more blocks and it will be ready to be sashed, quilted and binded. I have to get some more red material to finish the last block so hopefully I will do that tomorrow if the weather is not too bad and mom can come get me. Otherwise I will have to find another project to work on - maybe the piecing the trail to Kansas since I have all those - they just need to be cut and sewed.