Baby buns

Babies!!!

Pepper had her babies. She has turned out to be a great mom. It's fun for Reagan who is resting and healing to hold them and get them used to people. Pepper doesn't mind at all but she better get her scratches and snuggles first!!

Eight babies in all, and this time she threw a Himalayan colored baby, like pepper's mom. 3 lilac, 3 pumpkin colored ones and then one gray--like pepper's dad. Really fun.

Baby buns

The Last Couple of Months

Leila is turning out to be a fantastic trail horse! She will be going to her trainer a few times a month to help me become a better rider and to make sure she carries herself correctly. She now goes through deep mud puddles, carries packs, has brush slapping up against her sides and nothing really bothers her. In a year the kids will be able to ride her no problem. Reagan and I rode out with our dear friend in Alpine. What a great break from all the rain, the colors around the lake were amazing.

We took Sydney, of course had a picnic and Reagan caught a frog!

                    A girl and her horse, and a girl and her dog!

                                                                               We just got back from our 3rd year of Zillah, WA                 wine tasting and riding our horses through the vineyards!

 I love it when I come home and all 3 of my horses have girth marks around their bellies!! Used and loved!! Hopefully they will live to be old and will be ridden for a long time. The more you ride the better off they are, physically, mentally. Maybe they'll pack my grandbabies some day.

              When we got back, it was Halloween for the kids!

                         Sassy! Not sure where that comes from...
                               My girls are so beautiful!!!

Lastly, Reagan came off her horse. When I saw her in a contorted heap on the ground and she wouldn't answer me, I thought she had a broken neck. She had a concussion and her eyes were rolled back into her head like she was seizing. I have never been so terrified in all my life. God spared her and I thank Him for letting me have more time with her. I can not bare to think how life would be without either of my girls. We took an ambulance ride to St. Anthony's and did cat scans and xrays. She had a concussion, broken collar bone, nasty road rash and a bruised lung. She said her horse was being a horse and that she wants to ride again when she is all healed up. She is snoring soundly next to me and it is the best sound in the world. We are equestrians. We ride, we fall, we break, we heal and we get back on. Thanking the Lord for His abundance in Grace and Mercy every day.

My New Filly

Meet Leila (lay-la)

Isn't she lovely?

Her name means wine....dark beauty in Arabic, it's perfect.

Todd named her. 

She is 4 and we have begun our training.  She has about 12 rides on her.

She will fill out and be all muscle-y and gorgeous just like Renata.  She will be my endurance horse one day.  But for the next couple of years, she will be a pleasure horse.  She needs to get used to bridges, crossing rivers, birds flying out from under her, bicycles coming at her, dogs barking, camping, tying, all the things we normally do with our horses.

At our farm, our horses get ridden and used.  They all have a job. They will not just sit.  I know way too many people who want horses,  but are scared of them, and so...they sit.  The people I ride with are actually equestrians.  Not wanna be equestrians...people that RIDE!!  It's awesome!  They camp, enjoy life, each other, encourage each other to ride, just plain encourage each other.  I love it.  It's awesome, who knew that could exist in the horse world?

At the end of October we will be headed to the annual wine ride in Zillah.  Super excited.  It's our 3rd year.  I am thinking of maybe taking Leila.  She needs the camping experience.  But, there are 800 horses that are there every year, so we are thinking maybe a smaller camping experience first.  Possibly the beach with just our little group of friends.

So far, this little filly has been awesome.  She wasn't thrilled about learning to trailer, but she goes in nicely now.  She also wasn't thrilled about being wormed and did the normal baby things...rearing...etc.  I am on day 4 of the 5 day wormer and now it's old hat. For the first time I am eternally grateful for working for the dressage trainer, I saw a lot of babies handled, trailered, wormed...it can be a bit dramatic.  Once you see how babies act and then it subsides, it's not a big deal.  She picks up her feet nicely, and really doesn't have much spook in her, but she was started by my trainer and she did an exceptional job.  This mare is forward with brains, tons of brains and I am excited about her future as an endurance horse!

In other news, Reagan and I took a ride out in Alpine on Sunday.  It was a fun day.  This kid is a fearless rider and I LOVE riding with her.  She and her horse, Payton are a good team.  She likes to hop on him bareback in the paddock and ride him around with a halter and lead rope.  She is always riding that horse. I love it.

Also...on another topic...The girls' rabbits had babies.  Such fun.  Nothing sweeter than baby bunnies!!

We love our life on our little farm.

Mount Adams Endurance Ride 2016

Well, we did it!!! Not only did we finish, we placed 3rd in the 55 mile race of of 76 contestants that started, only 41 finished. It was a hard ride! My mare's first race ever!! So proud of this tiny Arabian with a big heart. She did awesome!!

My friend Lisa placed FIRST for her 30 mile race, first race for herself and her horse!! Hard work and dedication paid off! So proud!

My friend Maria decided to do the 55 also...for her and her horse's first race ever, also! She placed 11th! All the months of trotting trails snow, sleet, hail and bucket and buckets of rain has paid off. This girl has grit, I would have never attempted a 50 for my first.

Proud of our group, we trained together and rode our own races well.

                                              Getting ready to do it again in 2 weeks!

6 days

6 days!  Six days until race day!! 

My friend and I picked up a friend's swank camper trailer yesterday to borrow for next weekend up at Mt Adams.  That was so  incredibly nice of them to let us use it!  We will be nice and warm at night, and be able to cook our meals and take showers, so blessed!

Tomorrow is our last ride before the race.  Except, my friend just came down with a nasty cold. I doubt she will be coming with me. UGH!!  Such a bummer, she has a few days to get over it before Saturday.  Glad it isn't the day before the race, and I am loading up on vitamin C so I don't catch it.  I'll probably ride by myself or take Reagan out with Payton for a light ride tomorrow just to get it in. 

Here is our map for race day

The 55 milers have 4 loops and 4 different ribbon trails to follow.  Each loop begins and ends back at camp and follows with a vet check, but not all loops have a mandatory hold after vetting.  Some of the loops end in a vet check then right back out.  It will be a long day, but we have trained hard.  We are ready. Below is a picture showing what loops the 55 will be doing which is:  1st loop is Snow King (15 miles), 2nd loop is Gotchen 16 miles,  3rd loop is Ghost 13 miles, and 4th (last) loop is Morrison--10 miles.

I am thankful the last loop is the smallest.

I have butterflies.  I am packing and getting everything ready for leaving early Friday morning.

In other news.....

Our little cat, Swan just had her babies last night.  She is our outdoor barn cat, and doesn't come in.  But I have been checking her every day so I could bring her in before she had her babies so she and the babies would be safe.  She could hear the girls in the upstairs room from outside and got their attention last night because she was in labor.  We brought her into the master bathroom and made a cozy little spot for her. Pretty awesome that she purposely got our attention. Anyways,  I woke up to a tiny kitty mewing at 6:30am this morning.  She quietly delivered in the wee hours and the babies were dry when I found her.  The girls were so excited, they tore out of their rooms to see the babies.  Swan was so happy to share her babies and won't stop purring every time we come in to check on her.  She has 3 baby boys and one girl.  One black, named Max, One gray tabby named Ash, One orange tabby named Sam and the little girl is a tortoise shell just like her mom and the girls named her Cygnet.

    We live a great life.  I am so blessed!!!  Next post, hopefully we can finish our 55 soundly!

2 Weeks

In Exactly 2 weeks from today, we'll be pulling into Mount Adams with the horses and camper trailer. We'll be unloading, unpacking and setting up camp. We'll be going through the first vet check and getting our numbers written on our horse's flanks.

In 2 weeks, I'll need to take half a sleeping pill just to rest up for the day ahead. My first 55. It's taken 2 years to get here, and we are ready!! I can't wait. The first race of many in logging them to be able to enter Tevis.

2 weeks away!!!

Moonlit Riding

Last night my friend and went out to Banner forest for a moonlit ride! It was 80 degrees during the day and so the evening was so warm a t-shirt was all I needed! The moon was bright and it lit up the trails nicely. That was so fun!!! We rode through the windy side trails and we trusted our horses to be our eyes for us. So fun, we will definitely be doing more of that on hot summer evenings. We did 5.5 miles in the dark. Love moonlit rides!

My Talented Daughter

My daughter has been working at writing a book.  It's pretty good too!  When I first saw it, I thought she had copied and pasted it from somewhere and had a talk with her about plagiarism!  But, she is so smart and has such a talent for writing!  She will be published one day.  Would be cool if we could get her published in the not to far off future.  I am really proud of my kiddo! 

So, not only is she gifted with words, but she also is a talented artist.  We have always known that about her and have saved her drawings from back when she was 3 years old!  She used to take art lessons from this amazing lady, we LOVED her, and we miss her terribly.  But I think we will start up  art lessons again, as that was such a good thing for Heidi to be in.  Here is her latest drawing, she wants it to be her book cover for the story she is writing...enjoy!! My kid is so awesome!

Back To Work

We had a week off.  My horse will be fine, and she did gain some weight, but I am going to be hurting after our ride today.  Aleve will get me through it...

It is super windy today.  I don't hesitate to ride when it is raining buckets outside, but the wind makes me leery.  Riding through the woods with branches coming at me is a little unsettling.  

I am starting to dream regularly of our race day.  Mostly I dream that I don't know what our start time is and feeling unprepared.  I am writing down a list of all I need to take with us.  I am looking forward to getting the races done, I am tired of conditioning and ready for the big day.

We are back to work, and even though it's only been a week of not riding, it feels like forever.  My horse will be a basket case today.  Don't worry, we will get through it.  We are a solid team.

6 Weeks Before Race Day

We are ready to race, and I have earned my right to do so.  We have ridden in every weather imaginable.  We ride in the rain A LOT.  My horse is so fit, she pulls on me as she trots and canters through 18 miles without stopping.  I am dropping weight like crazy, as riding is a full body work out.  I am under 120lbs which I haven't seen for a while.  I'm not trying to lose weight, it's just happening.

I am taking a break this week.  My horse is the one who needs a break.  She too is dropping weight.  I called our Washington Endurance Rep to consult her on this.  They help with nutrition, conditioning and the rest of it.  This particular rep has completed Tevis and has done endurance riding for more than 20 years.  She is also a dressage instructor, best of both worlds.  She said all first year endurance horses get thin like mine.  We are doing everything right.  The next year she will put on a different layer of muscle and will look different than this year.  But, she won't lose her condition,  since she is a pasture horse if I break for a week and bulk up on feed.  So, we are doing that.  Crying shame too, it's supposed to be nearly up to 70 every day this week, I should be riding...but my horse needs a rest.  It would be good for my body to ride my other horse so I don't lose my own conditioning.

I think we are going to do awesome on our first race, I can't wait!  From now until race day...we are just maintaining.  She could do a 100 mile tomorrow she is that fit!

I have been through quite a lot to get to this point.  The competitive spirit in me is coursing through my veins.  My horse is the same way.  We are ready.  The counting down begins.

SUNSHINE And Riding!!!

Last week, we had amazing weather!!


It has been the wettest winter on record.  Not even kidding.  Of course...this is NO surprise to me, I have been out conditioning in it 3 days a week and I don't ever remember it being this bad.

http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/weather/seattle-has-wettest-rainy-season-since-1894/

It is down right depressing when your schedule is so tight, I only have set days, and no room for moving days around to ride.  So, if it is raining cats and dogs, we ride.  Oy.  The first 3 or 4 times of that and you pat yourself on the back saying...YES, I DID THAT!!!  WOOOHOO!  Now, not so much...I stare out my window watching it drizzle, sipping my coffee and try to muster up any ounce of courage that might exist to get out in that monsoon and get my ride in.

 

But, last week there was this beautiful glimmer of hope that spring might really be here.  It was gorgeous all week long, and up to 66-67 degrees.  Pretty much t-shirt weather.  Well, one of those amazing days...I spent it in Walt's Auto Shop getting my O2 sensory thing in my truck fixed, still cheaper than a new truck (...but I digress...)...still, having to be stuck inside on such a glorious day just kills me.

This is my horse, Renata and I...out in Alpine Evergreen by ourselves...oh and my trusty Aussie, Sydney who loves to come along and swim in all the puddles. :-)  We did about 16 miles this day.  My horse is solid, solid, solid.  Not a spook in her, ears forward, trotting along the trails, cantering up hills, LOVING her job.  I fall in love with her more every day.  We are getting to the point where we are anticipating each other's thoughts and becoming a firm team.  We have come a very long way, I am so proud of our progress.  She is actually MORE fun to ride when it is just her and I conditioning.  When I ride with my friend, she is a bit of a fire-breathing dragon unless she is allowed to lead the way, then she settles right into her happy trotting along self.  But, she has to learn to accept whatever position she is in.  So, yay for me...for our first 50, she will trot along in the middle of the pack the entire way...because I said so, and you can say a prayer for me...I think it will be a bit of a fight.  Her heart is in the race and she really believes she can beat every horse out there.  Each race is a training session for the next.  She is a fast learner though and I think she will quickly learn to rate herself.

Reagan rides with me on my light days.  Can life get any better?  Heidi would really prefer not to ride.  She is more into making a horse pretty, so I will recruit her talents on race day to bling up my horse, and Reagan just wants to ride and run her horse everywhere she goes.  I can't believe she is that good of a rider.  She is fearless and can hang with my friends who can really ride, and hold her own. 

Look at this girl on her horse!!  That is Payton.  He is our wonderful 15hh Arabian gelding.  I wouldn't say he is for a beginner, he can get a little antsy and he does like to go!  But, he also has a woah...and that is perfect for Reagan.  My horse doesn't ever want to stop...so the kids can't ride her.  Reagan was cantering in front of me, going down the trail...with one hand on the reins, the other straight up in the air and yelling...."woohoooo!!!"  Where did she come from?  How fun is it to have at least one of your kids share you passion?  It's pretty great.

Payton gets ridden once or twice a week, and he is actually in pretty great shape.  He could easily do a 25 mile (LD) race. Reagan canters him all over the place, and when we pull his saddle off he is completely dry.  But, Reagan is growing so much, her body aches all the time and riding with me for more than an hour and a half wipes her out.  So, I will wait until next year to see if she wants to do a race with me.  It would be fun to watch her catch the endurance bug.  I think she has it in her.


https://www.facebook.com/americanpaisley/videos/vb.100002834859766/859790687458752/?type=3&theater

Cantering/galloping up one of my favorite long stretches in the sunshine...my horse LOOOOOVEES it!!!!

I LOVE being out in the woods riding on sunny days, I am pretty sure my horse loves it too. <3

 

My horse is amazing!!

This week my endurance partner wasn't feeling well, so I was flying solo for conditioning.  This was the first time in 2 years that I would be doing a hard ride by myself. We have been to Green Mountain many times on our own, but they were just walking days.

So, Wednesday we headed over to our old stomping grounds in Alpine and did a hard 10 miles trot/ canter the whole way. My mare was amazing!! Not one bit of spook in her. Just go, go, go. I am so impressed with her and how far we have come. We trust each other, we are a solid team.

We did another ride by ourselves today, another hard 10 mile. Sydney came with us....he is now sleeping soundly on Heidi's bed and I doubt he will move until morning.😁

Very excited about this endurance season. First race is in May. It feels like most of the trail riders from our little town will be there!! How fun!!!! May can't come soon enough! We are nearly ready.

In Our House Lately.

What's new in our house?  Well, we have a TEENAGER!!!  Yep, it's officially happened.  She has wanted to be a teenager since she was 3.  Our little girl is turning into a young woman.
I am very much enjoying her at this age.  She is thoughtful, and kind.  She always tries to make others feel included and welcome.  Her work ethics in the academic world are spectacular.  In a Pre-Algebra classroom where she is the only girl, she consistently gets the highest grades, but never lets it get her head.  She has a sweet spirit and we are so thankful that this beautiful young lady is God's gift to us.

So, for her birthday, Meemaw sent her some birthday money to buy a nice dress, and Nana also sent her some money...so it was burning a hole in her pocket.  She asked if we could spend a day at the mall with one of her good friends.  So, that's just what we did.  Todd took Reagan out for lunch and a movie and Heidi and I went to have lunch and shopping with some dear friends.

The girls, mimicking the mannequins.

 

Goofy girls.

 

 

For her actual birthday day, it landed on a Tuesday which for these homeschool kiddos is their big class day,  and they really enjoy going and seeing their friends.  So, it was pretty fun for me to surprise her in the morning with make-up, and I showed her how to put it on for school...she looked so pretty!

Light and natural.  She doesn't need a whole lot, she is lovely all on her own.

 

But, when we went shopping the other day, of course we stopped at Sephora.  Way fun to try on make-up!! 

She has nice lips.  Although, I'm not ready for that serious of red lip on my baby.

Ok, she isn't a baby, but kind of...

 

And, she got her hair cut and layered.

 

Isn't she lovely?

 

We think she is.  We are so proud of her and who she is becoming. 

 

Also, in other Heidi news...I recently (with in the week)  read part of a book she started writing and I am amazed at how talented she is!  When I started reading it, I thought it was by an actual author.  I hope she doesn't mind me sharing a little bit on here for all of you to enjoy. (Just a few paragraphs...)

 

Written by Heidi:

 

Chapter 1

"Paisley didn't know who she was.

  Well, metaphorically speaking. She DID know the obvious things; like her name (in case you haven't guessed, Paisley)
and her age, which was fourteen. But she didn't know much about her family's history, or remember a lot of her childhood before she was six years old. She never met her dad, and had very few memories of her mom, who died when she was six. What's sad was she only remembered the dreary, tearful things, like living on her own at a young age, or her mother dying unexpectedly. One of the few good memories about her mother, which I mentioned earlier, hung on Paisley's neck.

  As Paisley sat on her worn bed, she fingered the little necklace that she kept with her ever since she was five. She thought about the time when her mom gave a pretty, polished, blue, crystal locket to her for her fifth birthday. Paisley always saw her mother wear it, and she guessed it was opal. She could hear her mom's voice right now.

   "Never lose this, ever!" She had said. She made Paisley vow to always keep it with her.
   Paisley still kept her promise, even after all these years.

   Paisley laid on her back, her head resting on her faded pink pillow. She took her locket off and examined it. Her mother's initials, L. R. , were written in elegant cursive letters.

   When Paisley opened the little charm, she stared into the eyes of the beautiful Lynaia Rivers, her very own mother. "

 

Pretty good, right?  Pretty proud of my girl.  She's pretty fantastic.  We are so excited to watch her grow into a young woman.  It's already happening before our eyes.  We are so blessed.

 

So, that's what's happening in our house lately.  A teenager.  We think she is pretty great.

 

 

 

Tevis Dreams And Only 24 Hours In A Day.

Training.  I am ultimately training for Tevis.  But that won't happen for about 3 years.  Let me share what my next 3 years (school years, summers are break times) will look like.  I have to do 50 mile races before I can do a 100 mile race.

I tell people I ride my horse.  But, what I am really doing is training.  Do I think it is fun?  I think there are parts of it that are fun. It is work.  Really hard work.  Let me share what one day looks like and how I fit training sessions in.

Wednesdays...let me share what last Wednesday looked like and this is pretty much how my days go (except Sundays...now those consist of showing our rental house and finding the right new tenant, not complaining, it's just a priority and the way it is until that task is complete.) every, single, day.  And, if I am not riding my horse, it's because I am making 3 trips (like today...I am using my time in between trips to taking kids to their classes to type this up) to the kid's school in a day, running errands after, and cleaning up for church group to show up at my house in the evening.

7am: Wake up.  Get up, get the kids going...eating breakfast and getting out their school work. Wednesdays are my one day to sit for a moment and drink my coffee and read.  I don't get to do this most days because I usually am out the door by 8:30am taking kids to class. Eat breakfast, do some laundry, house hold chores, help with home work and take a shower.  Usually...put all the animal feeding and run around in this time section, no sitting and reading, I drink my coffee in the car.

9am: Get dressed, start taking care of animals, getting animal fed (goats, horses, dogs, cats and bunny) yes...kids help with the process. Soak my horses beet pulp and grain. Come in and prepare a crock pot meal so we will have dinner that night.

10am: Go clean the horses pasture.

10:45am: Take Heidi to math class

11:15am: Last week, I went to have coffee with a friend I haven't seen in a while.  It was really nice, I enjoyed it.  I do have to give up time away from home (while I leave my other kiddo at home) getting things done that I normally don't have time for. It's usually the time I use for weekly Costco/Albertson/Walgreens runs. I have been using these hours here and there to try and help people or spend time with those I haven't seen.  I love it!  But, because I have no down time it's throwing me into depression.

12:30pm: Go pick up Heidi from Math class.

1:15pm: Home now, eating lunch as fast as I can, changing clothes to go and ride. 

1:30pm: Hooking the horse trailer up.  You hope you get it in the first try, but since you are in a hurry it takes way longer...throw horse in the trailer.  Take off to meet up with your riding partner.

1:50: Finally on the road.

2:15pm: Get to riding trails, get horse out of trailer, saddle.  Stretch.  Set GPS. Go ride.

Ok, here is where I am going to share what a conditioning ride looks like.  It isn't like we laugh and gallop down the trail here and there, it is actually very hard work.
1st mile and a half.  Walking/warm up.
Then we start trotting.  You spend the first 45 min arguing with your horse about speed, begging them to have some brains. You are already exhausted from constantly slowing down your post to try and get your horse to match YOUR speed, and your shoulders and neck muscles are hot from handling a feisty horse.  Finally an hour in, and probably 6 1/2 to 7 miles later you and your horse come to an agreement and then it is fun.  You float along the trail.  Posting in a comfortable rhythm as the miles clip by.  No talking just the sound of your horse and your partner's horse's hooves on the gravelly logging roads. You're sweaty, your heart rate is up, your calves are burning, your shoulders ache, it's a good solid 2 hour + work out.  Then, on the way home...you get to fight your horse again to calm down. You make it back to your horse trailer.
14 miles and 2 hrs and 10(ish) minutes later, you are proud of yourself for a good work out.

4:50pm: Put your horse in your trailer and head home.

5:15pm: Home now, park the trailer un hook the truck, put my horse in her pasture.  Go get her soaked grain and put her in the separated area so the chunky gelding doesn't get the calories that she just burned off. Go feed and check on animals.

5:30/45pm:  Come inside.  Check on girl's homework.  Tidy up the house and set the table to eat before Todd walks through the door.

6pm:  Todd's home!  Yay!  We sit and talk about work, the day, the kids day...

6:30pm: We eat dinner. Last week I rushed through dinner and ran up to Gig Harbor to a free Equine Vet conference and didn't get home until late.

7pm: Kids clean up from dinner and do dishes, Todd and I retreat to the office

8pm: Todd and I veg on the couch with a show and some hot cider, then I go and put my horse back into the pasture with the other horse.

9pm: We go to bed.

I do rides 3 days a week.  Mostly the same days I am running my kids back and forth from school stuff and youth activities, 4H etc.  Then 2 days a week, I work.  My work is split shift, so it chews up an entire day.  I can do things after work, but because my work is physically demanding I am pretty exhausted after. 

This is what training looks like.  I am driven, motivated and also exhausted while trying to achieve some dreams of mine.  My goal is Tevis.  The grand daddy 100 mile, hardest endurance race in the WORLD.  Not exaggerating.  It's the truth!  But, to get there I have to put in my time.  I have to complete six 50 mile races before I can even apply to do Tevis.  I'm probably going to lose friends.  I know I have offended many while ignoring and not pursuing old friendships.  It's not that I don't care.  It's because I have one life to live.  It's because I want my girls to see me reach for something big and achieve it. 

Summer usually is easier for me to be a friend.  I am not racing or conditioning.  I won't be getting fencing put up around property, or prepping for any far away trips. I am a bit of a hermit/homebody.  It is a warm sunny time to stay home and piddle around in a garden, lazy days with no commitments, time with friends at the beach or lake.  Those times exist in the not far off future. 

These school years will be what my world looks like for the next 3 years.  I am now guarding my free time as I had a massive break down trying to make all of my individual friends happy.  Won't you cheer me on?  It's ok if you don't.  I will root for your success at whatever it is you want to do.  I wish everyone joy and fulfillment in their endeavors.  Hope to see you around...at least in the summer!