Blue

Hope you catch many tennis balls, take endless rides in the box truck, and enjoy friendly pats on your head from great grandpa... rest in peace good buddy.

Summa!

So lately I've spent some time on the back of a Harley. Both the four legged and the 2 wheeled type. I finally broke down and went out and got some stuff to actually ride safely - a helmet and some riding glasses...

We had a good time today at the dealership, looking and admiring what they had on the showroom floor. I took a particular liking to this one! Sedona Orange, a totally hot color...

None the less, I think I actually prefer being on the back as an accessory :)

Chicago

Awesome! That's all I'm gonna say about that!

Yeah Babe!

Hellooooo!!!!






The kids thinking they were gonna have a brush with stardom...


But this was as close as we got (his motorhome is the one with the door open behind the white van...)

So after I 1) got called out for work exactly 45 minutes before I was hoping to leave for the concert, and 2) finally made it home in a hurried haste and then got stuck in traffic moving only 1 mile in 1 hour... we made it to the Jason Aldean concert! *sigh

It probably was for the better though that we were fashionably late. We got there when the opening act had one song left to play before Aldean made his appearance. I think by the end of the "real" concert the kids were pretty much cashed and would have never made it had we been there an hour earlier.

I was able to get a few decent pics despite the folks' heads in front of me. The kids had a blast, singing and dancing and otherwise being cute. For "Big Green Tractor" Jade got to sit on my shoulders where she proceeded to sing every single word, much to the awe of those around us. Yes, we were a 3 man entertaining crew, as usual :)

After the concert in order to avoid sitting in traffic for another hour (oy!) we met up with a few guys from the Sheriff's Department who were working the concert area. We were gladly escorted to the bus area, where George and Steve did their best to convince Aldean's crew that he really needed to meet Vincent and Jade (well, me too... ) Unfortunately what is shown in these pictures is as close as we got to meeting anyone, but it was hilarious to watch Jade giddy in the thought that she was going to meet him. Vincent hung out at the gate with Matt while onlooking fans thought that Vincent was Aldean's son - too funny - and funnier is the fact that Vincent totally had them convinced he was.

When we finally decided to try and brave the outbound traffic, just before getting in the car, Jade bellows, "I love you Jason Aldean!" Good girl... me too!!!

Morning On The Farm

What a great morning! The sun is out and it looks like its going to be another hot one... time for a quick post...

I got up this morning and fed the horses. Vincent came out and started playing with the cats right away, and somehow everyone ended up in a tree out back. I got a chance to snap a couple of quick shots amidst all the action...

Holy Cow! That Was Fun!

Yesterday we had plans to grill out and go to the county fair... until I got a call from Rick at 2:15 that went something like this...

"Hey whatcha doin tonight?"
"Uh, I thought we were going out... grilling..."
"Well get over here now. We're going to see Brad Paisley and the bus is leaving in 45 minutes."

So I made record time (and that's no joke) getting ready and getting over to the house - we jumped on the party bus and were off to Chi town for the concert! We had a great time and hung out with some really cool friends. I think partially what added to the excitement was that I didn't even know where we were going until we were actually on our way there but I figured I was hanging out with a bunch of cops, what's the worst thing that can happen, right? (ha)

Darius Rucker opened the show and even that was awesome. Paisley played and played and we danced and danced to the point that I'm actually sore today from it. But anyway, if anyone was wondering why I disappeared off the planet for oh, 18 hours or so, thats what happened to me! Thanks everyone! I had a wonderful time! :)

Camping, Take One

Well we broke out the trailer for our maiden family camping trip - to a real campground - and had a great time. We just went local to save the miles, but enjoyed ourselves none the less. We brought Tori with us, which turned out to be a good thing because she was instrumental in getting the awning on the trailer out.

The campground was quiet, just a few other families there, but there were other kids so Vincent and Jade weren't totally bored. We were going to go to the fire tower this morning after breakfast, but it rained a good portion of the morning and the mosquitoes were awful once the rain cleared. We'll get back to do that next time perhaps. Last night was fabulous though, and the tv and DVD player in the camper turned out to be a nice relief. Gave me a little mom time alone by the fire - enjoying the cool air, twinkling stars, crickets singing, oh yeah, and an ice cold beer. Or two...

So here's to summer. Here's to good times with the kids. Here's to lovin livin. :)

What A Weekend

So I made a hasty decision to go ahead and go to the horse show on Sunday on, uh, Sunday morning. Got up Sunday morning feeling pretty good so I figured why not. Funny thing is the horse was no where near ready (no bath, no clipping... no... nothing, really) so I got him kind of presentable, loaded, and went.

I decided to get a little extra practice (since we weren't really there to be serious about it) and showed in the English and Western classes. He did great - we ended up with a 2nd in a class of 27 (!) and 1st in a class of 4 (not so stellar, but had a great ride none the less). The last class I think he'd just had it and was done. I disqualified myself with our not so subtle attitude adjustment, but at least he didn't get away with it. Better luck next time.

It was a hot day but I had good company. And it's always interesting to people watch at those things. The cold home brewed celebratory beer after the 1st place wasn't too bad either! I'm off for a few days with the kiddos because the sitter is on vacation, so I'm thinking after I get this place in order, I'm gonna pack them and the gear and hit the campground for a night.

Report to follow! This could be interesting!

I'm Taking A Day Off... Mostly

Last night I took the kiddos to the fireworks at Hebron. It was a pretty short, but it was a decent little show. Much longer and I think the kids would've probably melted down right there. In all my brilliance, I didn't take my good camera with the cool lens, but I was able to get at least one kinda ok shot with my phone... haha. Go figure.



This morning I got up bright and early and started to shovel the 4.5 tons of gravel that I had delivered yesterday. I got one stall mostly done, and the other leveled before it got just too darn hot to do anymore. I guess I have all day tomorrow to have fun with that, too, so no rush. With that, I think the kids and I are gonna just take the day off. Chill, go to a barbeque and enjoy and actual holiday. Things have been so busy around here we haven't had a day of nothing at all in quite a while.

On the topic of busy, Tory finally found a horse in Michigan that used to be a collegiate polo pony for Harvard's polo team. The price was right and we tripped up there on Thursday night/Friday morning to get the horse to bring it home. He's a nice little guy, and hopefully I can talk Tory into letting me do a little stick and balling (it's a polo term) on him! Pics (of me breaking my stupid neck I'm sure) to follow. I'm pretty excited actually. Harley's top speed is just past stop, so he's not much of a polo pony. To say the least.

So here's to relaxing! I'm getting on to my day of nothingness!

Well So Much For Extending The Project...

It was my goal and intention to extend this project into the fall/winter... but alas, that didn't happen. Carrying water across the property and working in the dark got old sooner than that... so it's done.

I'm so happy with the final results, and pretty darn proud of how the stalls that I built turned out. Not too bad for a rookie! Now just to get some of the other, less fun projects around here going! Oh yeah, and I threw a couple extra obligatory photos of the kids doing what they do best around here... Jade looking sassy, and Vincent mowing the grass, yoy...

Stolen, But Still Funny...

How's this for irony? This was from a Facebook post of a friend of mine, I just thought it was too ironic not to post it...

A sign seen at a BP Fueling Island...

Today's Status

Today is the day of the big move! Due to the rain in the past few weeks, the fence guys got behind on their work, so I don't have a fence yet. They'll be out first thing tomorrow morning though, and will be completely done Wednesday, so hopefully they'll at least start at the dry lot at the back of the barn so that Har doesn't have to spend the whole day inside tomorrow. Yesterday my BFF came up and helped put up the planking for the back stall walls and the side walls. It was a project, but we took our time and got it done. The original plan was to get all 3 sides done, but I would have settled for half - none the less, we kicked ass and finished.

Today we're moving the horse here, which is sure to be a stressful event for all involved, including the four legged type. It's so awesome to watch this all unfold - and to see all the hard work pay off that this is actually happening!

Now just for the darn fence people to get here!

A Barn!

It's hard to believe that just Wednesday, there was nothing here. By 2pm today, this is part of my property. Amazing. The barn is done, now I have another boat load of work in front of me getting ready for move in day on Monday. All the wood is here to build 2 sides of my stalls (the sides that don't have metal grates or doors) and I'll be getting going on that after the wedding this weekend. Shouldn't take real long, really, it's just nailing planks to the walls, right?

So if there's anyone out there dying to nail planks to walls, let me know. I'm working Sunday and Monday if needed (hint hint).

What The Heck Is This Thing?

I was cleaning up my pasture area this afternoon, slowly patrolling the yard with the John Deere in low gear, when I rolled past this thing. It was the only one that I saw in the whole yard, and I'd really like to know what the heck it is.

I thought of just trying a bite to determine if it was good to eat, poisonous, psychadellic, or otherwise, but figured that probably wasn't the best idea. For now, I'm going to leave it rooted. I'll dig it up soon if someone doesn't make claim to it as some rare delicacy - so if you want it or know what it might be, let me know.

More Progress

Aside from the progress in my life, things are progressing on the home front as well. The barn is finally delivered and I'm just waiting on Morton Buildings to get out here and get this thing put up! I am so excited, and the kids are bouncing off the walls to see how it all works. Funny how what exists now (basically a big pile of stuff) will turn into an entire building. I can't wait to have horses here, to let the kids experience what it's like to have the ability to ride whenever they want, run in the pasture, and all the other stuff I remember so fondly growing up... just no riding bareback, facing backwards, at full speed through the field with only a halter at best, please ;)

Guess symbolically, this means something too. Right now I have all the pieces to make something great. They don't look like much to the casual onlooker, mostly just a pile of stuff, can't even really tell what it's supposed to be just by looking. But to me these pieces are much more. They represent a dream, and when they are all put into some kind of logical order, some kind of sense, they'll be the foundation for good things to come. It's going to take work, a little help from some friends, and a lot of determination to make it great, but great it will be. I'm sure during the process, there will be a miscut board, a broken nail, perhaps a smashed finger or couple of bruises, but in all, the minor bumps in the road will be worth it.

It might even rain. The workers might call off. Progress might skip a day here and there, but this thing will be complete in the end. It might take longer than I hope, there might be more roadblocks than I anticipate, but if we just keep building, the work will eventually be done. Then I can sit on the porch, enjoy a cold one, kick my feet back, and smile as my life unfolds in front of me...