Here are some of the horses. Mark's nephew put up two paddocks and a round pen (for evil pony). He did a lot of work to prepare for us to come. There are awesome trails around his house and we took advantage of them. I went on two different rides. One on Uno (Wright's horse) and one of my own George Monkey. Uno ran me into a tree which left a bruise (in his defense, the flies were horrible and he was pretty irritated). George trailed like a champion!! He was smooth and listened very, very well. We hadn't ridden him since we got him back from the trainer, so it was a crapshoot as far as how he'd do. I was so proud!! I was also proud of Ally for cowgirling up. As we were saddling up all the horses, one got too close to her pony, Vanilla(aka Evil Pony). She called out-we call it her war cry- and kicked at the other horse, while Al was on her. It scared Ally...understandably. She didn't want to go on the ride after that. Abby convinced her that Vanilla would be better behaved on the trail, so she finally agreed after tears shed. Vanilla DID do much better on the ride and Al had a great time. I truly understand her fear. I was afraid on George, with him being a still green horse, who likes to spook easily. I'm very proud of my little cowgirl!

Our set-up. Kinda looks like David and Goliath if David was actually a rusted, redneck, duct taped horse trailer. I have to say that it's nice camping with the Wrights since without them, half of us wouldn't have a place to sleep!! Eric, Viv and I were in ours, while Al bunked with Abby and Megan and the boys also reaped the benefits of lush living.

* On the way to Linton, Dawn drove the suburban with the 3rd trailer behind us. I decided I would have to learn how to do it, too, so I drove on the way home. The first 100 miles or so made me nervous, but after awhile, it got easier. If you are in Ohio and come upon a blue turd, make way, because it might just be me trying to maneuver our own trailer!!

If you look closely, you can see the toad Ally put in the truck. Poor traumatized toad.

Also traumatized? THIS toad. Viv was out of control with them. She kept picking them up and chasing them. The only reason she was able to catch them was the fact that they were so worn out from spending all that time in the truck............

Memorial Day Weekend
Our friends, the Wright's, invited us to Linton, IN to camp on family property for the weekend. I was hesitant to take Viv on a 6 hr. trek to camp. I decided we couldn't always decide NOT to do things because it's challenging with a baby, so we went for it. We hauled 10 horses in three trailers for a total of 8 hours. Even though we got in at 2 am and didn't get to sleep until 3, the fun was yet to be had. Namely, sleeping.............
Did you notice Ally playing in the fire?? Fabulous chaperoning, guys!!

Viv was a maniac!!!! (as always) She didn't mind a bit, all the water in her face as each kid took her down the water slide.

Ticks, ticks and more ticks. All told, our family ended up with 13 ticks pulled off of us throughout the weekend. And that's just the ones we have found. This was one that we pulled off the dog.

What more could a little girl want?? I have candy (pilfered illegally, of course), sun, dirt, horse shit, dogs, water....heaven.

SUMMER FUN!


Since Viv is drawn to the serious hazards of the yard...horses, pond, electric fence, etc. we had to start investing in some age appropriate activities. The kiddie pool proved to be just as much a draw to the older kids as it was to the baby!




She LOVES the swing!!!! Please do not look too closely at the swing, itself. I got this at a garage sale when Ally was 6 months old. It has sat, forgotten, in the garage and moved to 4 different houses since then. It's ugly, the ropes are ratty and pokey and it's faded, but functional!!!

We made a trip to West Lafayette, IN last weekend where we had a blast with all the cousins and my siblings. I had my hands full with Viv, so picture taking took a back seat. However, since Max was unable to go with us, I got him some fried (sour cream and onion) crickets at the zoo. I told my sister he'd eat them, but she was skeptical. Here you go, Meleah.

Yummmmmmm.........

I'm gonna quit complaining about the less than stellar Mother's Day weekend I had. I truly am grateful for the fact that I have healthy kids to mother! But, let me just add the "Let me kick you in the crotch" beginning of the week around here. It kind of went with the theme of the weekend ....Eric and I both got the stomach flu which rendered me out of commission all day Monday. At first, I just thought I was getting old and the early mornings of the weekend had affected me more than I thought. Boy, was I relieved to know that I wasn't getting old, I just had a nasty virus! Tuesday morning, the boys were getting ready for school - and I use that phrase loosely- because they were more like horsing around. Max split his head open and bled all over while I laughed at him. Just hold on........I thought he was messing with me because he had a smile on his face as he was explaining what happened. We keep the craft paint downstairs, so obviously I thought they put paint on his head. Once I realized he was serious, I assessed the wound and luckily, no stitches were required. Crisis averted, but made for a quite hectic morning.

The kids have 3 days of school left and I'm ready for them to be home. May is always pretty busy with end of the year activities, awards ceremonies, luncheons, etc. This week, we were concentrating on the wax museum Max's class was performing. Max chose Albert Einstein and had been growing out his hair to look the part. The kids had recorded their information about their famous person in history. As the other classes in the school came through, Mr. Mosher played the corresponding bio as the museum "visitors" remarked at the uncanny resemblance to the likes of Neil Armstrong, Lewis and Clark, Rosa Parks and one of my personal favorites...Shirley Muldowney, among others. It was a lot of fun to watch, while Viv was confused as to the looks of her beloved big brother!

MY little genius!

Oy.
I suppose it's my fault. I shouldn't attach such high standards to Mother's Day. It's a day where I can ask for almost anything I want - not to say I will get what I ask for, but I sure can ask. Who doesn't want a little pampering? I also look forward to the kid's joy in making me breakfast in bed and handing over the home-made flower cups they made in school. The debacle of a Mother's Day was not for lack of trying. Eric made dinner Saturday night and had the recipe and all the ingredients to make an egg dish and cinnamon rolls Sunday morning. What actually happened, was me getting up at 5 am to go to a baseball tournament. Once there, I sat nearly frozen for 14 1/2 hours...not including the one hour drive time to and from. Most the day I spent huddled up in blankets with only me eyes peeking out. If that wasn't bad enough, Max's team got run ruled twice. All games were delayed 2 hours due to wet fields, so by 7:30 I'd had enough. Nope. The boys played one more and won. Got home at 10:30 pm and ate that yummy dinner Eric made and prepared for the next day. Again, up at 5 am, only to have the boys run ruled again. At least that meant we got to go home. But, enough with the bad and in with the good. I love the Mom coupons the kids make. I will absolutely use the "Clean my room when Mom asks" , "Free cuddle" and my favorite this year?

Now THIS is a treasure, Jay!!



Maybe I'm getting old, but the early mornings and energy exerted shivering for 14+ hours, wiped me OUT! I took a 2 hour nap on Sunday, which is a rarity. Also rare is Max napping. Apparently, he was wiped too (of COURSE the kid was wiped!) He took a 4 1/2 hour nap!!

Happy Mother's Day, perfect or not!

In Defense of Wanting What the Jones's Have

If you have never wanted what someone else has....you're a liar. It's part of our make-up, like flinching or contagious laugh. Sometimes you just can't help yourself. You read about how wrong it is to try to "keep up with the Jones's". I agree. Putting yourself into deep debt in an attempt to impress your neighbor with a new boat when you have no real desire to put it to much use, is wrong. However, is it wrong to want more for your children?

Recently, while attending my son's overnight field trip/camping outing, I felt that urge, the urge to play the lottery so that I had more money to buy a 5th wheel camper for my kids. My kids love to be outside fishing, hiking, exploring and on most days, our own backyard is just fine for that. However, Jay asked me if we could go camping this summer. Well, sure we could. (completely aside from the fact we have no empty weekends from baseball) We could pitch a tent and crap in the woods. That's all we have pertaining to camping, a tent and a couple rolls of toilet paper. Put that with some lawn chairs and campfire pokers, and we are off to the campgrounds.......I'm not a huge fan of roughing it on that level. Would it be a lot more fun to head to those campgrounds with a nice camper that sleeps 10? Absolutely. Do we have that kind of money? Absolutely not.

Of course these feelings of want are just magnified when a certain neighbor comments on their camper that sleeps 12. Or mentions, four times, the 20 acres of land to ride the quads, or the football field they are building on said 20 acres. It's not just a desire to invite friends to share in the fun of what they have, but more of a see-what-I-have-isn't-it-great superiority. Fine. Whatever. You have a lot of money and your kids are lucky to have you as parents, because of course, that means you love them more than we love our kids.

Why can't I give my kids an awesome summer of camping? Never mind that we are taking two awesome vacations this year to spend time with our families. Never mind that we have a roof over our heads and Eric still has a job in this economy. Never mind that even though money is tight, I am able to stay home with my kids to build memories I hope they will cherish. I want what my my neighbor has. It's a burden I bear with less and less guilt. It's ok to want what others have -it's human nature. But, when it overtakes your better judgement and pushes you to go after what others have, when you don't have the means, you may need a reality check. I've had to check that reality many times over. When it is all said and done, our family is having fun and building memories no matter how or when we go camping. We have a blast at the Cowboy Mounted Shooting weekends. We enjoy spending time watching baseball games (not for 14 1/2 hours in 40 degree weather, but that's another story for a later date). We cherish nights around the fire, roasting marshmallows, laughing at the dogs and still being able to sleep in our own beds that night. We love our kids and want the best for them. Is the "best" being able to buy a camper or put in a private football field? Perhaps. But for now, we'll be slumming it in our rolling turd (a rusty horse trailer) and backyard fire pit. I hope they will not be traumatized for life.

Do you want proof my son is growing out of control???



Here you go.

Max was fitted for baseball pants in February. The pants came in April. The kid grew at least an inch in that time. When he put his pants on before his first game, Eric and I both laughed. They are supposed to be the style of the pros with no elastic, just regular pants. His looked like capris!!! I took them to the place the team contracted with. Apparently, Max was not the only one to have this issue. I was told the 12u team had the same problem with a handful of boys. I don't think this particular style of baseball pants is a good idea for boys who like to GROW an inch in two months!! The next size up only adds a half an inch, if that, and the waist is 2 inches bigger. Not good for a boy who still wears slims.
My remedy? I cut up an old pair of pants (from last year) and sewed a piece to the bottom. It ain't pretty, but at least he doesn't look like he's waiting for the flood.......
*Thanks, Mom, for teaching me how to sew!!!