September Update

Fall brought some changes to us. One of the biggest changes was Sophia starting middle school. She is loving it so far. She likes switching classes and the variety of teachers and subjects she is studying. She had wanted Family and Consumer Science (Home Ec) and she has it this first semester.

Middle School Orientation

Sophia participated in a color run at the school. She had a blast. She also joined the after school Girls on the Run program.





















Another big change was bringing Steve's mothers dog, Gracie, to live with us. She is almost fourteen years old and could not just give her away. Steve's sister found an awesome rescue that takes in older dogs but we decided to give it a try at our house. All the animals seem to be adjusting well.

The fall brings back the show series at the barn. That along with the Labor Day In-House show and the away MOHSS show we were quite busy. Sometimes I feel like we live at the barn. So glad Sophia has found her passion.

We had a party at the pool for the show team. The water was cold but the kids had a blast.

In house show

CHC Fall Show Series- September show

MOHSS September Show

 Sophia also gave a presentation as part of her 4-H Horse requirement. She created the slide show and did an awesome 15 minute presentation. She is so comfortable in her own skin. She shines when talking about horses.

August update

Another month gone. Summer has passed far too quickly.  We got a lot of rain this month and August was cooler than normal which meant we did not spend as much time at the pool as we would have liked to.

Sophia volunteered at the county fair with her 4-H group. She worked in the petting zoo portion mainly with the chicks and ducklings. She was great.  She held the animals while people petted them. She was polite to all the kids (and adults) that came by.

Sophia and Navajo competed in the MOHSS again. They worked well together. She took home two second places, three third and one fourth place. Her friends even convinced her to put in braids and ribbons in for the show. They did this for their coach, Catherine. Perhaps the ribbons brought them all good luck.  I tripped over a fence at the beginning of the show. I got three pretty deep puncture wounds. No fun.  I went to urgent care after the show where they cleaned them out (ouch) and bandaged it up.  Could have been worse.

We got together for the day with some of Sophia's China sisters.  The family from Maine did not make it down, another family got sick. So four of the six families were together for some bowling and dinner. The kids had a blast playing together.

Sophia competed in a jumper night at the barn. One class was a no-whining class. The parents had to ride with a glass filled with wine. The person who ended up with the most wine in their glass at the end of the night won a basket of wine. Steve competed and did a great job. He didn't win but had a blast. Navajo is such a good horse.

We attended a Girl Scout event for the solar eclipse. They had fun activities and we saw the eclipse through our glasses.  It was very cool.

Sophia worked very hard all summer at pony pal camp. She earned "pony bucks" which buy her lessons. She is such a hard worker. She was awarded the volunteer of the summer award for all her work. The instructor said she is always attentive, finds stuff to do during down time, engages the campers and has a positive attitude. We are so proud of her. She was one of three volunteers who one this award. Pretty impressive!

Her long time coach and instructor, Angel is moving away. We will miss her so much. She has been working with Sophia for years. Over the last year they had a semi-private weekly lesson with Angel. She is going to be missed. 

One of Sophia's favorite horses, Maverick, got sick in August. They weren't sure if he was going to make it. But Maverick is a fighter. He came through and will now be enjoying retirement.  Maverick was one of the two horses which caught an equine herpes virus in 2005 but lived. At least five horse died from the virus. We are told that he leaned against his stall and slowly moved about never laying down. If a horse with the virus laid down they could not get back to a standing position. He fought then and went on to be a beloved school horse. He taught so many children how to ride. Sophia showed with him for about a year. He is an amazing horse. So glad he pulled through again.

Until next month. 

July 2017

I have forced Sophia to take our annual July 1st photo. You can tell she was less than pleased about this. We take a photo against the same fence background every year on the day we got her referral. The picture she is holding is my favorite referral photo of her. I can't believe it has been 11 years since we first saw her face. I know that adoption has changed our lives in so many ways. We have been blessed. It also come with the realization of how much Sophia has lost, her birth parents, birth family, birth country, etc. I wish there was a way for her to get to know her birth family. I know they would be proud of the young lady she is becoming.

As I mentioned in the June post Steve's mother passed away on July 2 in Steve's arms with Leslie, me and Sophia by her side. It does not feel real. She passed too quickly. Thankfully both Aiden and Nick were able to spend time with her since her diagnosis on July 19.  Emma also visited often. She knew she was loved. We miss her so much.

Sophia had another away show with Navajo. She did not do well in the first division again. I think she let this fluster her and she went off course in her first jump class. BUT I am so proud of her because she realized it was a whole new game in her second division and got 3rd place for walk/trot/canter, 2nd place for command class and 5th for jumping. She also got 6th place for the trail class.  Navajo is really doing well in the command class. They are truly working as a team.

Sophia and I went up to Connecticut to visit Linda and the girls. We had a blast. We had dinner at a place called Sugar where they sell these huge sugary drinks (costing $25 each!)   It was fun to watch it come out and fizz but honestly it tasted gross.  We were lucky to visit the week of the OLOV carnival. This was our church carnival and we went faithfully every year. I have so many wonderful memories of the carnival and was glad to make it back. Sophia and I had been a couple times before when we visited my mother. We were supposed to go on our last visit but it got rained out. I wasn't sure if I would ever make it back. We did.  I had a fried dough pizza... the best. Sophia even enjoyed it. I got to see some old friends too. We also hung out a a pool where Chuck keeps his boat, went mini-golfing and bowling.

We had brunch with my sister's friend, Melissa and my mother's friends Pat and Bev.  It was so nice to see everyone. I wish I lived closer. We spent a couple of hours visiting my 94 year old Aunt Philly. She is going amazing. I love hearing her tell stories. She is an amazing woman.

Our furry family is all doing well. Otto is a big help when we do things on the table. He helps Steve paint and helped me with this puzzle.

Twinkletoes has decided he likes Kaegogi's bed better than his. Kaegogi is not too pleased but did share without too much whining.

Until next time