September 2021

 This will be a short and sweet post. September just kind of slid on by. We did have a surprise visit from Nick in late August or early September but I was so surprised I didn't get any pictures! He joined us for a Sunday night dinner. We had dinners over Zoom every Sunday throughout the pandemic as a way of keeping in touch. It was something we looked forward to all week. It was especially nice to spend time with Leslie. Nick rang the doorbell one Sunday night and we had dinner in person. Such a treat.

Aiden and Lindsey came down for a weekend too. It was great to see them. We had dinner together. Played some games and just hung out. The weekend went by too quickly. Wish they lived closer.

Sophia has been riding Nicki some, doing some jumping on Autumn and also working with Brisk. She will start competing with Brisk after Nicki retires next month. This will be bittersweet for sure.

One low point this month was our air handler leaked and caused a buckle in our kitchen (our new kitchen) floor. We are still waiting for the floor to be repaired.

We did a DNA test for Loki. We were curious what this lovebug of a dog was. Turns out he is mostly German Shepard with some Lab, Akita, Pit and a little bit of American Bull dog and Great Pyrenees  and Collie.  

I can't let a month go by without sharing pictures of our pets. Loki loves his people and his furry family members. He often brings a ball or toy to Boba or Mr. Twinkletoes. And he loves chasing Otto. They all love him too. He especially loves Steve and Sophia. 

August 2021

 August was a relatively uneventful month with a couple of highlights. The most impressive one was Sophia passing her test and getting her learner's permit. She will hold the learner's permit for at least nine months before she can take the road test. She is already a good driver. She has driven to the barn using back roads and to local shopping center. 

Sophia went to the Howard County Fair with a friend from high school. She also went to Hershey Park with friends from the barn. She is not a fan of rides but she did go on a roller coaster (and didn't like it) and a couple smaller rides. Unfortunately it rained just as they were getting ready to go into the water park section. They had a blast hanging out.

Sophia's friend Jemma is going off to college. There was a party for her. They girls from the barn always have fun together.

Sophia was pinned with her Silver Award Girl Scout pin in August. She and one other troop member worked and earned their Silver Award last year. Hopefully she will manage a Gold Award but there is a lot that goes into that. Sophia is so busy with school and work. Hopefully she can make it happen.

We did some back to school shopping. Sophia and I went to the mall on our own then took her cousin, Stephanie shopping with us.

Sophia received an award for best senior level record book in the state for 4-H. This is quite an achievement. You had perfect scores in each category. I need to push you to get the record book done but you do it well once you sit down to focus on it. 

Sophia started her sophomore year. This is her first in person instruction in high school. She drives in with Steve every day.

I have done so low maintenance gardening. I sewed some wild flower seeds. They are blooming and attracting bees, birds and butterflies. I wasn't getting any hummingbird activity until I realized our fence is higher and they may not have seen the feeder. I bought a taller shepherds hook and the very next day I had hummingbirds. I am getting three that visit regularly.

Our animals are all doing well. 

July 2021

 July was an incredibly exciting month. The highlight was going to Lexington Horse Park in Kentucky for Pony Club Nationals but let me start at the beginning of the month.

On July 1st, 2006 we received the long awaited news of Sophia with a referral report and three pictures. Every year I take a picture of her holding my favorite referral photo. This marks fifteen years. Hard to believe. I will never forget the day I first saw her picture and never forget how every day since my life is fuller, happier and for sure busier!

Sophia got her hair cut for the first time since Covid. She needed her hair to fit in her bun holder for champs so she got quite a few inches taken off. 

Pony Club Champs was a blast. Nine girls from the barn went. Seven riders and two stable managers. It was just Sophia and I who went down. Steve stayed back with the dogs and to get some much needed down time. Sophia and I drove half way and had a relaxing night at a hotel before the crazy week started. 

Most of the families stayed at the campground onsite. We had an RV and a golf cart which made it easy to get around. Even with the golf cart I walked over 10,000 steps a day.

Pony Club is not only about the riding. The riders but keep themselves, their horses and tack clean. They are watched from 6 AM to 6 PM and get points for any demerits. It is intense. It teaches responsibility but is also stressful. The first day involved getting the tack room set up. 

Second day was jogs to see if the horses were sound, formal inspections and opening ceremonies.

Sophia was team captain. The team had four girls and a stable manager. One girl was eighteen years old and ranked higher than Sophia in Pony Club. Sophia is a C2 and this girl was an HB. This girl was difficult. Perhaps felt that she should be captain but Pony Club picked and Sophia was chosen. This girl made the week more difficult. Sophia, as captain, had the final say. If they protested a demerit Sophia had to present it. The team did really well. They got only 8 demerits all week, the 1st place team got 6. This girl wanted Sophia to protest things that weren't arguable. Sophia held her ground. She was amazing. Sophia's team rode well and earned first place overall in their division (riding and Horse Management) and second in HM. Sophia also took 7th place in her musical freestyle to Grease.

Sophia rode a total of four times. They scored in the mid 60's each ride. Nicki is pregnant and was very tired but she really performed well for Sophia, even in all the heat.

After the awards ceremony they had to clean out the stalls and bring everything back to the trailer. It was a long day but Sophia kept her sense of humor and found creative ways to make the work a bit easier like riding on the golf cart and pulling the wheelbarrow rather than pushing it.

After champs Sophia decided she wants to work on jumping a bit. She started riding Autumn for some jump lessons. She will also start working with Brisk for dressage for next year. She will ride Nicki until October during the CBLM championships and then Nicki will be retired to become mom.

Here are our crazy pets.