Here, Piggie-Piggie!

We're back in business (I mean, pigness)!

After a hog-raising hiatus last year due to availability issues, we are happy to be hosting another set. Just hope the cost of the feed doesn't put us in the poor-house before they go to live in the freezer.

The new pen is ready to receive. We've hotwired it inside (to keep piggies in) and outside (to keep coyotes out).

Meet Elvis, the daddy.

Meet Big Bertha, one of the mommies.

And here are the Seven Dwarfs....ah, but not for long!

Local Wildlife

Mr. and Mrs. White Bird used to hang out in in the grass seed fields earlier this spring. Then they disappeared for a while. And now they are back, roosting in the trees by the pond.

We spied a couple of bunnies by the barn, munching on clover. Can you see them?

What's Aleaha been up to lately?

Aleaha has wanted to do "lots of different types of lessons" this summer. For now, we are doing our own riding lessons and she just started swimming lessons.....

 Someday we hope for a training ring, but for now, we can use the barn paddock.

First lesson was gentle and fun.

In this task, she was being asked to jump into the water. So first it's hands waaaaaay up.....

....then ready to jump....

...and then, uh, then she chose to just ease herself in slowly. 

She didn't want to make a splash.

(the other kid sure did, though!)

What's Miri been up to lately?

We left her in the house for nap the other day, and when Mommy went to check on her, we learned she had taken her blankies and stuffed animals and put herself to sleep on the floor of the home office.

She was very helpful cleaning the mats of the horse trailer. (Hey, anything involving a hose, right?) 

"Hi Mommy. I'm going on a business trip. What do you think of my outfit?"

Out for a Shorty ride...

... learning proper hand and rein placement.

National Anthem by M.M.

She loves to sing and is constantly belting out something (often stream of consciousness style). Aleaha says she should be a Rock Star. Here's her rendition of the Star Spangled Banner. We especially like her signature ending.

Spoiling and Fun with Aunt Jodi

While visiting EO, the girls were invited to spend a couple of nights with Aunt Jodi. They were treated like royalty! They had their nails done, ate out, went to the mall, went swimming, and had a wonderful time. Thank you, Aunt Jodi, Uncle Chris, and Cousins Tyler and Ella!

Aleaha's nails.

Miri's nails.

Aleaha's toes.

Miri's toes.

Enjoying some frozen yogurt.

Sitting atop "The Fake Shorty". :)

Jake the Versatile Horse

Mommy was invited to play piccolo with the Pendleton Round-Up Mounted Band (read more about its history here). It's been a few years, and she was pretty rusty, but the main thing was making sure she was actually staying mounted. ;) We all knew it wasn't a task for Arby, and we wondered how Jake would be.

So first we did a little barnyard tootling and boomboxing of Sousa music, to see what he thought. It didn't make a difference to him. He just wondered if someone brought treats.

He unloaded from the trailer that morning and seemed downright sleepy. (No medicinals involved.) Hey, we'd rather have lazy than crazy!

There were people and noises and all sorts of things that we had never encountered together before. In the background here was a gigantic 80' flag flapping in the breeze. He just marched right along, fortunately.

And bringing up the back of the band was the piccolo department (Jake and Mommy and the little bay in front of them). We stayed on, we walked nicely, we played, and we had a lot of fun. Looking forward to the Round-Up gigs in September.

Miri turns Four

Unbelievably fast, she has grown and now she gets to claim to she's Four Years Old, or "Fohwr Years Old" - I can't spell the word "four" the same way she pronounces it.

She's a spitfire. She's a challenge. She is very outgoing and has lots of friends. She's a darling little person with a very energetic approach to life.

She creates a lot of laundry, with many daily costume changes.

 

We had a nice celebration with family in the mountains.

In the Mountains

It was time for the annual trek, so we were on the road with our load. And what a load it was. We have a trick to get up the last bit of hill. If you subtract 2 horses from the load, you mysteriously have more horsepower to make it up.

Yes, they look a little silly with their fly masks on, but it enabled them to ride in the trailer with the windows down to get the maximium airflow on a ridiculously hot day.

There were a few bugs, but we had the right kind of high-zoot fly spray, so everyone was comfortable.

Jake is the leader of the pack, and apparently he knows how to pick just the right spot for a good roll after a long trip in the trailer.

"Red rover, red rover, come get this clover!"

Spiffy needed a couple of days of recovery to get back up to his energetic self. Then we had a little trouble keeping him in nice-but-not-naughty mode. He personified that ol' cowboy song, "Don't pet the dog. He gets it confused with romance."

Daddy got in a few nights of fishin', and we will have a few nights of fantastic fish for dinner!

Lovely view on the way back from the fishin' spot.

We got in a little riding but wanted more. Daddy put in some work time, so he gets some make-up rides. (Hmm, maybe the beach??)

 

Ol' Glory flyin' high.

Happy, happy horses. Lots of grass, lots of treats.

Gramma's cats have a similar life...not missin' many biscuits.

From Her Perspective

Aleaha really, really wanted a digital camera for her birthday. Her wish was granted, albeit with a very inexpensive version. So cheap, in fact, it didn't come with a card. And the card cost as much as the phone.

It seems she quickly filled up the card, and below is a small selection of her favorite muses. (Note to parents: Let's change the settings so that she isn't taking 32 MB videos of nada!)

On her birthday.

Making one of her favorite subjects pose.

And the other favorite subject...

With Gramma Patty after dinner on birthday.

Love this self portrait. 

Miri, Miri's friend Emily (and Aleaha in the mirror).

Riding Shorty in the mountains.