The After Christmas baby shower

Christmas was fun, so much so I never even snapped a single picture. Right? I can't even believe it myself, who am I anyway? 

Well I got my game back when my daughter in law had a baby shower.  They rolled into town Monday night and spent Christmas Eve and Christmas day with us then left on Thursday as our son had to work on Friday.

Friday night her family hosted a BBQ and baby shower for them. I grabbed my mother in law and the two of us drove down on Friday for the shower then spent the night with the expected parents before coming home on Saturday.

Whats a shower without games? They melted certain foods on baby diapers and we had to smell them to guess what was they were. 

I told my son a diaper will never smell this good so it was a lucky thing he received a 'Dads Tools of the Trade' tool pouch for diaper changing.

He thanked his mom.

They really got some cute girly clothes because you just can't go wrong when shopping for a baby girl.

Knowing they are expecting a girl I had to dig deep into our storage room to find the dress and sweater George's great grandma crocheted when I was pregnant with him.

We already had two boys so all the grandparents were just sure he was going to be a girl. He proved them wrong when he came out a 8lb 12oz baby boy.

I love that it has come full circle. The baby clothes meant for him can now be worn by his daughter crocheted by her great, great grandma.

I'd say 29 years was well worth the wait.

Braids, Bailey and the Breakout

There are so many advantages of raising boys, one of them was not having to worry about their hair. As long as it was cut, clean and tidy they were good to go. 

I had lots of practice in that department being that I was their barber. The boys always wore their hair cut, clean and tidy just the way I liked it. 

I told them if they ever came down with head lice I was shaving their head. Something you can get away with when your a boy.

Girls not so much.  

Speaking of girls and hair, I know some pretty crafty moms who can turn their daughters hair into a work of art. Not only am I impressed, I'm in awe.

I decided to give it a try with my new Dixie girl. At two years of age, she already has a great head of hair.....er mane

and I have come to realize it's a Friesian thing to have their mane braided.

 It sure makes them look fancy so I decided to give it a shot. 

Dixie was rather patient with me as I tried my best to make her look like a fancy girl.

But then she gave me the look. 

I assured her I'll get better, I just need lots of practice.

Later that night I decided to keep her separate from the other two horses.

They haven't been very welcoming and I've noticed she has nip marks on her body. I suppose it's part of the pecking order but lately our gelding Bailey has been trying to mount her.

I read horses can come into heat as young as one and Dixie is two so whatever signal or scent she's giving off, Bailey's picking it up.

I really don't want her getting hurt so we kept them separated last night. When the husband looked at the camera this morning he saw the gate open and the horses together.

Confused he backed up the video and watched Bailey fiddling with the latch. That crazy horse managed to open the gate and let Dixie out.

All our gates have a safety chain for that very reason. When Bailey was young he used to open the gates but with the safety chain securely latched he couldn't get out. 

We've made it a habit of always using the chain on the main gates, but the one that divides the two dry lots we have never worried about it.

If they get out they aren't really out so I guess we didn't even think about using the chain when we separated the horses.

Besides, Bailey hasn't shown any interest in opening the gates  for years so we kinda thought he outgrew it, until now.

 With a new girl on the block he is back to his old tricks

Meaning the husband and I need to have our game on if we're gonna to stay one step ahead of the ol' boy.

Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree how lovely are thy branches.

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving spent with family. We met up at the husbands parents house and had a nice little gathering. Our middle son joined us which is always a treat. When it comes to holiday gatherings he's more of a free agent due to the fact he's not married or has any ties that hold him back.

His younger brother on the other hand is on a rotation basis with his in laws. We share them every other year for Thanksgiving and Christmas. 

This year it's Christmas!

I'm actually so excited to spoil their unborn baby girl with all sorts of girly gifts.

With that being said the minute our middle son left, on the Saturday after Thanksgiving, I put it into gear and spent the weekend decorating for Christmas.

I've got it down to a science and know where all the Christmas decorations go. 

This room has this and that room has that. The Bathrooms have some of this and that. Once everything was in it's proper  order and looking festive, I focused on the tree.

I love watching Christmas movies while putting up the tree so while the movie was in play, I carefully sorted the branches of the tree by size then assembled the 'trunk' or pole in which the branches attach.

After the boys were older we stopped going to the tree farms. 

I like a fresh tree but I don't like how it dries out so soon and the pain of trying to keep it watered. I think the last straw was when our tree tipped over spilling the water and scattering the decorations.

 I've gotten over it I mean, that was like 20 years ago but after it happened I moved on with a wonderful replacement.

The artificial tree. 

I love how I easy it is to wrap the lights around the pole then work my way down weaving them in as I add each layer of branches.

  I was actually surprised when I had a left over strand of lights. Usually I have just enough but without giving it much thought I carefully added them in.

With the tree lit, next came the decorations. It took me two movies to finish the tree then I saw what time it was. Not only did I go through two movies, but it was 12 midnight.

I put myself into fast cleanup mode when I noticed I had a whole row of tree branches sitting in it's own little pile.  They were the last set of branches for the tree.

Oh my goodness I couldn't believe I never saw them but I figured, what's done is done. Back in the box and down into the storage room they went.

Actually, it was probably meant to be. With the extra room under the tree I shouldn't have any problem fitting all the baby gifts I've been accumulating.

I'm Whistling Dixie

It all started with a simple text that would change me forever.

"Hey Saimi we have a very pretty and super sweet Friesian mare that's coming three in 2020 and she'd be ready to start driving in the spring of 2020. I'd love to sell her!  If you are interested we'd make you a great deal and we can add driving training to the package! Anyway I'd love to have her go somewhere wonderful. Let me know if you'd be interested.
She's a love!"

Whaaat??? 

Ever since I was a little girl I was obsessed with horses, they are by far my favorite animal. I had horse figurines, my barbies had horses, I drew horses and I dreamt of horses. 

My sister and I had them growing up. I was a horse crazy girl and even though I had my own horse

And did horsey things like riding events and campouts.

I was secretly in love with the Friesian breed.

Don't get me wrong, I was very grateful my dad supported us girls and kept us involved in Pony Club, 4-H and lessons. Not to mention teaching us to tend, feed and water our horses. 

 I loved every minute of it, actually it was pretty much the only farm chore I didn't complain about haha.

But that Friesian horse with it's tall, majestic stature was always in my dreams. It was there where I could feel their muscles under my legs as I galloped through the ocean riding bareback.

Or how it would carry me through the forest protecting me from whatever danger lie ahead.

It was always the big black bold beautiful horse I could ride off into the sunset with.

Ah what a dream, an unattainable fantasy as I never even considered I could ever own one.

When we saw our friends drive into the same horse camp where the husband and I were camping I about squealed with delight. ....Ok I actually did. 

Here they came hauling their beautiful Friesian horses. You would have thought a celebrity rolled into town. 

I kept telling the husband, the Friesians are here, the Friesians are here! It was like my childhood dreams popped out of my head and was placed directly in front of me.

I was going to see these beautiful animals up close and personal.

As we became reacquainted with our friends I was getting acquainted with their horses as well. I felt like a giddy little girl and probably unknowingly embarrassed myself.

And with a simple twist of fate, I was given the opportunity to  have my dream horse become a reality.

After having Dixie for a week, tomorrow morning it will be official, this oversized 2 year old filly will be mine.

And in this time of thanksgiving, I couldn't be more grateful for a husband who continues to love and support me.

Basement, Boys and Birthdays

I could hear the boys in the basement talking and moving stuff around then some laughter, then silence.  When I opened the door to peek in on them the twins called from another room, Grandma, come on!

Ok, ok I'm coming I just want to see how your dad and Grandpa are doing in the basement.

After nine months of construction our son's new house was finally finished. The upper level was completely done but the basement still needed some work.

The kind of work in which the husband was excited about hauling his Minnie Winnie and his tools all the way to Idaho so he could help his boy wire the lower level of his home.

It's what he does. The man is an electrician and a good one at that and our son, who once dabbled in the field, knows enough about electricity to work along side his dad.

This was a man's trip not vacation or a social call, the guys were going to be busy beavers and the husband was on a mission.

 He loves a task, a purpose, a job.

I love to play so I tagged along purely for selfish reasons, I had grandsons to hang with and only 5 days to get all the playing in that we could considering they were in school for most of the day. 

The boys turn 7 this month but not before our 5 day stay was over so we decided since we wouldn't be there for their birthday we would celebrate early.

Their mom and I took them shopping for their presents and being Lego and Minecraft fans that they are they decided on Minecraft Legos.

Then we picked up a Dairy Queen ice cream cake

And had ourselves a fun little birthday party, although Sawyer made sure we we aware that they weren't turning 7 yet.

 That's what happens when you're a first grader, you just know these things.

They also added a new baby kitten to their family. He's so cute and frisky as all kitties are and obviously not intimidated by their dog who keeps a close eye on her new friend.

It was definitely a fast and furious trip, the basement was wired, my grandma cup was filled and we celebrated the boys up and coming birthday.


You could say, we came, we conquered, we left.

A Moon of Mischief

It's no mystery the rising of a full moon causes animals and children to go crazy. If you doubt my bold statement I can give you 23 years of experience working with preschoolers as well as being a lifetime animal owner.

In preschool I could always predict when the moon was on the rise just by observing the children's erratic behavior. 

It's as if their little bodies were possessed with an energy surge causing them to bounce off the walls creating an indoor tornado whirling and twirling about causing a wake of destruction in their path.

It's gonna be a full moon soon, I'd tell the other teachers and 99.9 times I'd be correct. 

Same goes for the horses. 

They'll act all wild and crazy running around bucking and snorting as if some invisible force is teasing and taunting them then typically a few days later, the moon will be lighting up the night sky is all it's beautiful glory and the craziness will be over.

I'm no longer in a preschool setting but that full moon rising has been playing tricks on us these last couple of days.

The husbands predicament is trying to get his computer to accept some kind of program to help with his billing causing him major frustration.

He's feeling overwhelmed and behind with the office work. Like one step forward and two steps backwards.

I've been giving him some space until the handle to the hot water facet came off.

'Um honey?'
Yeah, bug.
"Remember when I told you the handle in the bathroom was loose?
Yes.
Well It came off and I can't turn the water off.
'SON of a GUN! He gets up from his chair, throws his hat on the ground and storms into the bathroom.

I starting giggling and said, 'Did you just throw your hat on the ground?

He's like, 'Well nothings going right and I don't need anymore problems."

I know, but it was kinda cute seeing you have a little tantrum.

Once he turned off the water underneath the sink I told him we can fix it later.

Since I had some sewing to do I went into the sewing room and plugged in an extension cord to the power strip when POP! The extension cord blew and the lights in the room went off.

Honey? Not sure if I should bother him but I did anyway. 

Giggling, my extension cord popped and the lights went out downstairs.

He gave me that look then reset the breaker and went back into his office and I went back downstairs.

While I was setting out my most recent project that we've been working on in our quilt class I noticed I was short some blocks.

Seriously, this can't be happening. I looked all over the sewing room and couldn't find the rest of my project so I called the gal who teaches our class and asked her if I left some of my blocks at her house.

As it turned out, I did and if I wanted to get any sewing done  I needed to go and retrieve my missing blocks. It wasn't just a few blocks but the instructions and an important photo as well.

Coincidence you may say, superstitious perhaps or just maybe the full moon rising makes the world a little off kilter, but if you happen to notice that big beautiful moon on Tuesday night and think, Wow that's really something!

Know I'll be thinking, that moon is full because it was filled with pranks and trickery.

Wait November slow down I haven't even caught up to October yet

Here I was all excited for October and Bam! It's over. Not that it wasn't what I expected, actually the contrary. 

The weather was perfect for riding so no trail was left behind, even those on top of a steep mountain ridge.

I was grateful for a steady girl who stayed the course while I rode with one eye open. Heights is not my thing but with the beautiful view I was able to catch a few scenic shots.

As the days continued to be sunny, cool and crisp we continued to ride and climb. Funny how a desert ridge can be just a beautiful.

We also rode part of the Pacific Crest Trail. Typically in the summer we would see hikers, this time all we saw was snow.

After about 6 miles in we had to turn back as the snow was getting deep, the horses weren't complaining but the more they sank the more we were convinced it was time to find drier ground.

October was also the start of the CrossFit Games in which I decided to participate.

Only because they have age categories. I fell into the 55-59 group and a scaled version of what the hard core athletes do.

It's five weeks and we just completed our fourth. They post the workout every Thursday and you have from Friday to Monday to do the workout and post your score.

Not having any idea where I landed, our trainer helped me maneuver around the app and to my surprise the first week I came in second amongst 16 other women in my age group doing the scaled version, in the state of Washington.

 Then the following week I took first on the leaderboard.

Thats when I found out its not a game at all, its war. This incredible hard core athlete of a woman Fran didn't like falling into second place and redid her workout to better her score. 

It worked and she pulled ahead.

I'm like really? I'm a one trick pony, yeah no do overs for me. Four weeks in and I'm currently in second place.

As the month continued on I agreed to help watch my neighbors children. Their parents went on vacation leaving the four kids in care of their Nanna, Grandma and Grandpa and Me. We divided and conquered. Nanna had them for three days, the grandparents had them for 4 and I had them for 2.

Carving pumpkins is my thing therefore it became their thing and we spent an evening cleaning, carving and lighting their creations. 

A week later I also agreed to help watch another set of children whose parents attended a wedding in London. Their aunt came for the first half of the week and I stayed with them the second half.

It was the schools conference week so the kids had a half day. We went to a matinee and saw the movie, Abominable.

Roasted marshmallows

And of course, carved pumpkins.

The gym got into the spirit of Halloween and had a costume contest for the members. 

The sign says, "It's a gym Thing"

I wasn't the only one on Octobor's fast track, the husband stayed plenty busy building me a round pen for the horses.

 They're not exactly sure about all the construction as well as the point to the whole thing.

  Little do they know, a 2 year old Friesian filly will soon be joining the family.

Her name is Dixie and is as sweet as she looks. I'm so excited I can't stand it. Almost as excited as finding out we are having an actual GrandDAUGHTER.

This little pumpkin brewing is a GIRL!! We do boys around here and now the mold has been broken and we get to experience a GIRL!!

And with that, October is over and November is already up and running.