April 2025

The month of April came and went without my fanfare or excitement. It was a pretty low key month. Sophia came home from college mid month because she wasn't feeling well. The stomach bug got the best of her. Being put on a clear liquid diet for 48 hours was easier done at home, that and sleeping in her own bed was just what the doctor ordered. 

We went to see a barn friend perform as Ariel in The Little Mermaid. A whole bunch of the barn family had dinner and then went to the play. The barn family is so much fun and very supportive of each other. 

I did a little gardening and took advantage of the full bloom of the azalea bushes to take the yearly "May 1st" picture marking Sophia's half birthday. The azaleas popped into full color the last week of April and they were spectacular. The picture of Sophia isn't the greatest. I am not sure what happened with the lighting. 

 

Sophia and I went to the tent sale at Dover and didn't find much in the way of bargains but it was nice to spend time with her. That evening we all went to see the Maryland Orchestra perform How to Train Your Dragon. It was an amazing performance.

  

Our pets even had a low key month. This first picture shows all of them on the couch with Steve. 

March 2025

 Sophia took a class at college which taught the history of China through food. She had a couple of projects that required simple cooking. This meant she came home a couple of weekends to do her homework. Loved having her home. 

March started off the competition season for Sophia. She did a recognized jumper show for the first time. Sophia has been more focused on dressage but Wren is so versatile and seems to enjoy jumping. He does better jumper higher jumps, probably because he is so tall and is a big mover. They did two rounds at .8 (approx 2'7"). They got a 7th place (our of 18 riders) in the speed round. They also had a clear round at .9 (2'11") and one rail down in the jump off earning 8th place out of 19 riders. It was an exciting day. So glad to see Sophia trying new things with Wren. 

Sophia also went to the Pony Club Dressage Rally. The horse management part was difficult especially with her and her friend G being judged at C2 standards. They are picky!  The riding was fun. Wren was a little "extra" during the first test. He spooked at the letters in the ring, acting as if he never saw a dressage letter before. Sophia did Level 1 Test 3 and Level 2 Test 1. She also rode an amazing pas de deux with her friend G. They were incredible. Sophia got high score in her division. 

Tracey was in town for her birthday. I joined her, Gianna and Angie for dinner. It was nice to see them. 

Our pets are all doing well. 

Until next month.

February Blog

 February came and went in a blink of an eye. It was a cold one! 

We got a little snow this month. I will take it!  I love the snow and wish we got even more.

While we didn't do anything really special we got to see Sophia more than usual. One of her classes in college is a class using food to learn about the history in China. It is called something like Rice, Ramen and LoMien. She has had to make a couple of dishes for homework. She doesn't have access to a kitchen at school so she had to come home twice this month. No complaints here!

We went to a Chinese New Year party at one of her barn family's home. I didn't get any pictures that day.

The barn had their annual Pony Club Banquet. They had 7 seniors recognized this year. Sophia gave a speech for one of the seniors, she also got a beautiful jacket, a blanket and plaque. It is so nice to see all the riders clean up for this event. Sophia had a blast hanging with her friends. 

Sophia was invited by TWO teachers to do a faculty/student research project. Both her computer science and math professors invited her. She selected the computer science one because he reached out about two weeks before the math teacher. She will spend 4 weeks this summer at school, room and board included, doing research. This is an incredible opportunity, especially for a freshman!

I did more knitting. I finished a lace wrap that was a huge accomplishment. There were times I didn't think I would ever finish it. Between the rough start trying to understand the pattern to the big knot of yarn in the middle and then the never ending bind off. But it is done. 

Our pets are doing wonderfully. I love how they all love each other. Mr. Twinkletoes really loves sitting with me when I knit.

 

 

That is all to report this month. Hoping next month is a bit more exciting. 

January 2025

 We started off 2025 with a bang. It was an exciting fun-filled month. We started out the month with Sophia home for her winter break. She went back on Jan 5th for her mandatory January term. All of us love having Sophia at home. Otto loves it too. 

Sophia also went to a fun event at the barn on New Year's Day. They had a chute clinic and Wren had fun too! 

Wren got a warmer blanket and is now ready for the COLD weather we have been having.

We got some measurable snow on January 5th- 6th. We haven't gotten a good snow storm in a while so this one was fun. Loki had fun in the snow. I also loved being out in the snow. Super fun. 

One of the biggest events of the month was Nick and Mari's wedding. They got married on January 11th at their house in a parent's only ceremony. They created their own ceremony and vows and it was really beautiful. We were thrilled to share in this day with them. 

On January 12th I helped Sophia get settled in her new dorm room. Sophia met a friend, Gabby, during summer orientation but she already had a roommate. They hung out all fall semester with a few other friends and talked about moving in together next year. Gabby's roommate moved out at the end of the semester. Sophia and Gabby immediately reached out to the college to see if they could move in together. They said Sophia could join Gabby during the January term. Sophia and another friend moved all her stuff on Friday after class. She had the room set up with the exception of a few final touches, like getting her picture wall up again. The room looks great and I know Sophia and Gabby are going to have a much better semester sharing the room.

We celebrated Steve's birthday this month. Loki's and Ottos too but they didn't get cake!

Sophia and her friend Gretchen wanted to see Dancing with the Stars. Peggy and I decided we would join them. We got tickets at the National Harbor. We had dinner together before heading there. The show was AMAZING. The dancers were so talented. It was a fun evening, Peggy and I even played the slots for a few minutes (that is all $20 lasted!) The four of us have done a lot together but it is often around horse events. It was nice to spend the evening together outside of a horse event.

Sophia and her friend Emma went to a local ski resort and did some snow boarding. They had a great day, despite falling a bunch! Unfortunately at the end of the night Sophia realized she lost her keys. Emma and her looked every where, following her air tag and came up empty. She called us and Steve ended up driving up to give her the spare key, a 3 hour round trip. A week later the ski resort called to say they found her keys, thankfully. 

Our furry family is also doing well. 

Til next month.