Summer begins

Its June! Summer has begun. The pool opened on Memorial Day. The pool opening always marks the opening up summer. The pool is normally cold at the beginning of June and this year was no different. However, it seemed to warm up quicker than usual. Evening swim team practices started, teachers stopped giving homework. It was a taste of things to come.

Sophia was in the last schooling show of the series. This show was a rough one. It was hot and the judge was hard. Sophia got dinged for twisted stirrups and cutting the corners of the ring but overall did fine. She placed 6th in walk/trot/canter and 3rd in jumps for beginning equation. She placed 4th in walk/trot in short stirrup. She took home reserve champion for the series in beginning equitation based on how she performed in previous shows.

The last day of school was on June 17th. She finished the year with perfect attendance. This was no easy feat but she did it. She was very motivated all year long to reach this goal. She was hoping to be recognized on school announcements but that did not happen. That was a real downer.

Swim team started up with practices and a time trial. She had a blast and improved her time from last season in the three strokes she did. We will miss some of the swim meets because it conflicts with her riding time. We are trying to balance things and do a little of both.

Sophia designed some really neat T-shirts using iron on vinyl and my Cricut machine. She is very creative. She made some for her and a friend and both her riding coaches.

When Sophia was younger I worked four days a week.  We spent the day I had off as a "Mommy and Me" day. We haven't been able to do that since she started school. We vowed to make that happen this summer. It is a bit trickier with her work schedule but we are trying.

Our first Mommy and Me day was spent going to the library and then to the mall to get her ears pierced. She had been asking for earrings for about a month now. She was great. They did not hurt at all. They told her they were measuring her ears and in went the piercing. The back got stuck in the gun on one side but they managed to get it out without even a wince from Sophia. Sophia knew one of the ladies who did the piercing. She worked for years at Build a Bear and even hosted the party she had there in November. This made the ear piercing that much more comfortable. She picked out lady bugs as the earrings for piercing and then picked out a pair of horse earrings she can change into in eight weeks. Sophia and I went on Ebay to look for earrings. We bought her two pairs, one horse show with a horse and a unicorn. These are gifts from Grandma Barb. If my mother were alive Sophia would have gotten special earrings purchased from Ebay. I have no doubt of this.

Sophia started working at the barn as a junior counselor for the pony pal camp. She LOVES it. She helps lead the horse, hold onto the campers legs as they ride, helps with lectures and arts and crafts. She loves leading activities for water day, which she comes home very wet from. This is a great experience for her. It is building work ethic in her. She is earning lesson time every time she works. It is a win/win.

The members of our furry family are all doing well. Mr. Twinkletoes and Otto like escaping out the back door. We always catch them, well all except once this month. Mr Twinkletoes must have escaped out a door when Sophia had a friend over. The dogs are constantly wanting to go in and out so a door is open pretty often. We left for the pool and didn't return to the house for at least four hours. Sophia went home with her friend so it was just me. Mr. Twinkletoes was not there in the window to greet me. I frantically called him, opened the back door calling him then ran upstairs to see if he got locked in a bedroom. He didn't. When I got downstairs he was sitting at the back door with a let me in now PLEASE face. Boba and Kaegogi did not like the way he smelled. They cornered him, barking. He was so scared. It all resolved itself the next day but it was some adventure.

Mr. Twinkletoes recovering from his adventure!

The boys longing to go outside

May update

May was filled with end of the year school events and more shows at the barn. Lets start with the school stuff first. Sophia was in the spring concert at school. She performed in both the orchestra, playing violin and the chorus. This may be the last orchestra concert for her. She doesn't seem to be enjoying the violin and getting her to practice at home is a headache. She enjoys music and loves to sing so she may just do chorus in 5th grade. It is our understanding that it is either orchestra or chorus in middle school and if she had to choose one it would be chorus. No need to endure another year of the headaches of getting her to practice if she can't continue beyond elementary school.

She was involved with Enrichment night at the school. She helped people make bags out of old t-shirts as part of her Green Team work and explained comic dilations as part of her G/T math group. She is a born teacher. She speaks clearly and with authority. It is neat to stand back and see her interact with confidence. She is a remarkable girl who is not afraid to step in and help out.

She completed a science fair project with one of her friends, Ava. They did experiments to find out which candy had "skin." Their findings were quite interesting. Sophia found the coating of a jelly bean, the shellac, most interesting and shared this new knowledge with everyone who came to look at their project. They found that the source of shellac is from the secretions from a beetle like bug.  Yummy. This does not stop Sophia from enjoying jelly beans.

The 4th grade takes care of trout they raise at school. The school is given eggs and the students take care of the tank before and after the eggs hatch. When the trout are big enough the students release them in a local stream. The program was really informative and the kids had a blast getting into the stream. Driving home in wet clothes was a little less fun.

Sophia made cupcakes for the Preakness Party and the in-house bake sale at the barn.

She rode in the schooling show in May. I was not able to be there because I was in a workshop but I was getting play by play reports from Steve. Luckily he did not know that when he saw her fix her stirrup it was because she lost it in the first or second jump and then proceeded to jump five more fences before her coach told her to fix it before going over the last fence. She placed 2nd in walk/trot, 3rd in walk/trot/canter and did not place in that round of jumps.  In short stirrup she placed 6th walk/trot, 3rd walk/trot/canter an 2nd jumps.

Sophia and I went to Elioak Farm on a day off. She had to do a pony ride. This girl rides so much and does such advance things but wanted to get on a horse and walk in a circle. Her love of horses runs deep.

Sophia and I have been reading blog posts together. I am so glad I captured little things about her. I sometimes forget the things she did at two years old but reading them they all come back to me in full color, live action memories. It is because of that I want to share some things that Sophia does now at ten years old. Sophia is always singing. She has a beautiful voice and uses it all the time. I love hearing her sing in the shower. She even sings when we are out shopping. She helps out at home but letting the dogs in and out and giving them water. She has a special bond with the cats, especially Mr. Twinkletoes. Mr. Twinkletoes comes running whenever she calls him. He sits with her at dinner and sleeps with her. 

Sophia likes to be independent. She walks home or gets a ride home from the neighbor when I am working. Our neighbor, Sherry, takes her home and then Sophia comes in, lets the dogs out, has a snack and begins her homework on her own. She has proved to be very responsible. I am not comfortable having her walk home alone yet. Not because I don't trust her, I do. I don't trust all the crazies in this world.

Sophia loves to watch baking and cooking shows. She also loves to be in the kitchen. She prefers baking over cooking but does both. She loves playing on the computer or her iPad, a little too much. We have to limit her time on electronic devices. She is starting to read more and more. Sophia and I have been reading Harry Potter together.

She loves to help her friends get their horses ready for show team. She is very helpful and knows a lot about horses. She is a confident rider who responds well to feedback while riding. She would ride every day if she could. She told us she wants to go to college in English because they are more serious about riding than we are in the states. She loves to shop for horse supplies. We own more tack than one should for a family that does not own or lease a horse.

Sophia is growing up quickly but still likes to cuddle with us on the couch or while reading in bed at night. She promises she will be "my baby" forever and that she will live with me even when she is grown.  I love this girl!!!!

April update

April was magical. Sophia was in the high school production of the Wizard of Oz. She auditioned first at her school and then at the high school back in December. She has been rehearsing since January. The showed opened Thursday evening. She performed one show Thursday evening, a school performance on Friday, a Friday evening show, two shows on Saturday and then one on Sunday. Six performances in four days. She had a blast. Nick surprised her and came on Friday night so he could see the show on Saturday. Grandma Bev, Aunt Leslie, Katlyn and Heather came to the Saturday show too. Sherry and Katelyn were at the show on opening night and JeanMarie and Abbie came to the final show. We have a DVD of the performance and we can't wait to show it to those who could not attend. Sophia is looking forward to high school so she can be in more performances. I would prefer not to think about her in high school yet!

Sophia had the Girl Scout mascot, Daisy Bear, this month. It was a perfect month to have her. Daisy Bear had lots of adventures and got to see the Wizard of Oz too!

Sophia performed in the multicultural night at school. She did a Chinese Ribbon Dance. She enjoyed the practices and performance. All the girls did a great job.

She had her first schooling show at the barn. She rode Maverick for the first time in a show. She decided on the show name of Free Spirit. Her former coach, Tracey, and her daughter came out to help me braid Maverick and to see Sophia in the show. Tracey's daughter used to ride Maverick all the time. It was nice to have them at the show.  Sophia did an awesome job. In beginning equation she placed 6th in walk/trot, 2nd in walk/trot/canter and 1st in jumping. In short stirrups she placed 7th in walk/trot, 1st in walk/trot/canter and 4th in jumping. Hannah, one of the girls that used to ride with Sophia a couple of years ago brought her horse to the show and competed with her. It is nice to see her old riding buddies.

Sophia was one of eight kids selected by her PE teacher to participate in an afternoon of golf at a local golf course. She had a blast. Her school came in first place in the competition. So cool!

 We tried making macarons again. Each time we are getting better. Daisy Bear helped us this time.

Last night Sophia saw me composing this blog and asked me what I was doing. I shared the blog with her. She had no idea I have been doing this for years, well before we adopted her. She sat next to me and we read all those early entries. We made it to the end of 2007 and it was time to go to bed. Sophia enjoyed hearing about the adoption process and all the fun things she did when she was a baby. She was giggling with joy at some points.  I am saving all these entries in PDF format so she can always have them. It takes time to keep this blog up and lately it feels more like a summary of the month than an actual journal or diary like it was in the beginning but it all proved worth it last night when we shared it together, cuddling together with the laptop on the couch and then in bed.

Closing with a few pictures of our cats.

Until next month.