Working and Playing Together

Sometimes togetherness is not a fun thing and there is a lot of bickering and jealousy. But sometimes it really works. Here they decided to pool their coins from their piggy banks. They have a common goal in mind - they are planning to buy (or ask for Christmas) for a battery-operated car that they can ride in together. Apparenly they know how much it costs and are nearly there. 

Hmmmm.....we'll see....

They are quite the pair! Sometimes the silliness and highjinxs are a bit much, but it's always good to have the laughter.

Our New Arena

Grandpa helped out on a few projects while visiting, including laying out flags for our new riding arena. (He also helped Daddy move the Chicken Shack and finish a project in the pig pen - horray!!)

It needs to be temporary, because this location is where we someday hope to build the new Dream Barn. It's not completely level, it's not fancy, but it's cheap and functional - those are the goals!

It took a few hours of pounding posts, but it was pretty quick once things were laid out. And it was VERY satisfying to saddle up and give it a go! 

This is so wonderful....one helping the other learn, while continuing to learn herself.

The footing will need some improvement, but we are off to a great start!

Can-Can!

 Gramma and Grandpa came over for a long weekend to help with some end-of-season projects. The main goal was for Mommy and GrammaBon to do some canning together.

First up were the Dilly Beans.

We did 24 pints on the first day together. Mommy can hardly wait for the time when they are ready to sample.YUM

The next day we set out for 2 different batches of plum jam, using wild plums we found right on our own property. In the shot above, Gramma is adding sugar to the pot of purple plums, which didn't turn out purple, but did turn out delicious! (In the foreground are the yellow plums we picked a few weeks ago, defrosting.)

It was definitely a team effort, with everyone pitching in. Aleaha loaded the dishwasher with the next set of jars, Miri squeezed lemons for lemon juice, and Gramma monitored the jam and was Head of Processing.

It was nice to see them working together.

There is nothing like canning outdoors! Won't go back into the house with this project....it's just so much better out here. The propane gave us major BTUs, so the water came to a boil much faster, we didn't steam up the kitchen, and we had plenty of room for everything involved.

The end result was 75 total jars. Amazing! Can't wait to try the Dilly Beans, the Wild Plum Jam, and the Vanilla Plum Jam.

We are still looking forward to applesauce and working with the beautiful wild pears (sneak peak above!), but we'll save those for another time soon.

Happy Campers

The girls wanted to have a camping experience this summer, but we are running out of weekends. So they creatively thought of just camping out in the yard (great idea!). They made it all through the night and had a fun time, although when I asked if they got chilly, Miri admitted, "I was a block of ice, Mommy!"

Arby likes it like that

Scratching under Arby's belly elicits the funniest response.

Every time....

Fashionista

Miri has quite the skill at assembling outfits. She called this her "Wild Child" look. She said the horses running was a part of the wild look.

Swimming Lessons

In the last couple of weeks of the summer, Aleaha is enrolled in swim lessons again. She loves it!

After each lesson, we try to give her some time in the pool to just play. 

And if possible, a post-swim lunch is included!

Ride, Baby, Ride

This event documented here was a BIG DEAL.

Aleaha and Mommy took Shorty and Quigly to Bald Hill for our first trail ride together (Daddy and Miri had a little lunch and trip to a park during this time, so they had a small get-away too). But this was different than the riding we did with Daddy in EO, because this is a multi-use area, where we knew we would come close to all sorts of -- let's call them -- Human Hazards. It was all about defensive riding...meaning, watch out for the other guy!

But let me assure you that it all went amazing -- because our horses are totally cool and calm. 

After unloading, saddling, and mounting up, we warmed up a little with a loop around the giant parking lot of the fairgrounds. This was a great chance to see how the boys were responding, and get a feel for how they would be. All was fine!

So then we embarked on the multi-use trail. The target for the trailride is the top of the hill you see out in front of Quigly. Part of the way is wide and we would be unlikely to be close to a lot of bikes, strollers, dogs, etc. But the first part of the trail is like you see in this picture: A paved path with a narrow dirt trail off to the side for the horses. (We always try to respect the paved path for the walkers and bikes, for various and probably obvious reasons.)

Aleaha moved into the front position, so that she would be responsible for looking out to the front, and Mommy would watch for people approaching from the back. The bicyclists sometimes come upon us really fast here, so you have to be vigilant.

The boys were fantastic. We did see a lot of people, and there was no flinching or shying. We were cautious and stopped a few times to let people pass. The strangest was probably the lady on rollerblades with her boyfriend on a bike. They went past us multiple times, with no issues.

Once we got off the paved area, we were making our way up the hill. The path is much wider and shadier.

The view from the top was really nice.

Aleaha even got a shot of Mommy on Quigly.

It was so rejuvenating and fun. A great way to reward ourselves and enjoy the fruits of the work and investment we put into caring for the animals. They seemed to have a great time too!

Recent Happenings

Mommy took a little time off work to spend an afternoon with the girls going "school shopping". We started with lunch at their place of choice, which was Momiji.  

They love miso soup, chicken teriyaki, and eating with chopsticks.

We trekked up the hill to see if the wild purple plums are ready to pick. The plums weren't quite ready, but the blackberries are marvelous!

JuicyBear is a great help when Mommy has homework. He knows how to use HP products...they make lovely nap-beds.

Favorite

Found them together again in bed. Miri was holding on to Aleaha's foot.

Family Fun

I love this shot -- playing together, moon rising, and the field all baled in the background. Aaaahhhhh.

And to prove that we can be as rednecked as the other locals, we even let our kids splash around in the river one night. It was a hot-hot day, and there were tons of people. But we endured it for a while so they could cool off.

Picnic

We took a break from chores to attend the HP Picnic. The most important thing they wanted to do? "Pace Fainting!!"  We stood in line for what seemed like forever....

But the results were worth it.

Cuties.

Crafty

Don't let it be said that we never make anything in our house. We have a few projects going on to help make things organized for the school year. Here, Miri helps apply Mod Podge to the magnets we are making. More on this project at some point in the next few weeks.

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Ham on the right, turkey on the left.

The Fair

We took time to enjoy the county fair. The kiddos got in for free this year, so then we could put more bucks to the rides and treats.

Someone is a total ham.

Someone else is too cool for school.

They were able to choose whichever seat they wanted. When the attendant explained that the ones at the back of the dragon provide the most thrills and jerks, they quickly chose the frontmost.

Miri had a perma-grin.

No matter where they were on the track, Miri's eyes were on the camera and she was smiling.

Aleaha had her usual serious face.

The spinning bear contraption was popular again.

As was the obstacle thing.

Grinner.

The most favorite, however, was the bungee jump gizmo.

They really loved that thing!