Homeschooling, Horses & Motocross

Smiling Family

2012-01-31T08:03:00.001-05:00

We went to Stillwater Grill for the second time in a month to celebrate Scott's birthday this time. Stillwater is yummy so it makes everyone smile!

Hair Cut!!

2012-01-30T08:00:00.000-05:00

Motocross Boy/Man had been growing his hair out since early summer. It was amazing how long and thick it was in just those few months but last week, he decided he'd had enough of the Justin Beiber look and came with me to have our old friend Beth buzz it off. I like my handsome boy with short hair!

Homeschooling While Working Full Time

2012-01-29T19:42:00.000-05:00

I have had a lot of people lately asking me how I manage to homeschool the kids and work full time. I thought I'd spend a few minutes explaining it since this blog IS supposed to also be about homeschooling which is a HUGE part of our lives.

I'll be the first to admit it takes some time and dedication and I surely couldn't have done it well when the kids were little. We were fortunate to begin our homeschooling journey when we were able to piece together a network of babysitters and ourselves being home during the day when they were pretty independent but not quite able to stay home alone for a couple of years. Now they are both quite responsible and we just seem to make it work.

One of our big keys to making it all work is this chart:

This is actually Equestrian Girl's chart from last week. Although I have the columns labeled Monday through Friday, neither of the kids ever follow it like that. My only rule is that all the work has to be done by the end of the day and I really prefer that at least 1/5 gets done EACH day so it's not all piled up at the end of the week. Giving due dates for assignments was an epic fail. It was much easier to dictate how much needs to be done each week and then let them plan how to get it done. That's probably a pretty good skill to learn anyway in managing time.

The other key to being able to homeschool while working is the software we use for most subjects. I've written about Switched on Schoolhouse before. This software allows a lot of independent learning and does almost all the grading for me! It also tracks all the grades and provides a multitude of reports include a report card. That used to take me a LOT of time. Now grading takes just a few minutes every day (unless a long essay needs to be graded).

Basically the kids work on their school subjects during the day and when I get home from work, we review anything that was a problem. That's not much different than what most parents do when they get home from work - they help with homework instead. Sometimes I am able to work from home and we can tackle a problem as it comes up. A few times, Motocross Boy has packed up his laptop and headed over to the next door neighbor's house where Jeff ends up giving him a lesson in something totally unrelated to what he's studying but a lesson in SOMEthing valuable!

So what does a typical day look like? It's fairly different for each kid. Motocross Boy is a late riser and it takes him a while to get motivated. We're talking close to noon or later. But once he gets going, he is all work and can crank out 1/5 of the week's work in just a couple of hours. More often than not, he'll do 2/5's worth so he can take a day off later but this also means he might work well into the evening. Since he didn't get up all that early, this isn't a problem since he's still wide awake and motivated.

Equestrian Girl tends to get a much earlier start. She'll be up by 8:30 and eat a little breakfast before getting started. But she tends to do one subject then take a little break. Then another one and another little break. She can spread those 6-7 subjects into 8 or 9 hours or more. But that's her choice. She can also buckle down and pump out the work if she finds she's fallen a little behind the 1/5 per day plan and needs to get it done on Friday.

We don't get to do as many field trips as some homeschoolers but no less than what they had in public school. It's difficult to participate in homeschool co-ops unless they have a drop-off fee (meaning I don't have to teach or work in some way) and I absolutely need someone who can drive and pick up when I can't do it. But the thing is, where there's a will there's a way and we find it. I will match up my kid's education to anyone in our local public school any day and am confident when the time comes, they'll be ready to go to college or enter the work force as good, valuable citizens.

Horse Show Planning vs Motocross Race Planning

2012-01-28T08:27:00.000-05:00

The difference in planning for horse shows vs motocross races kind of cracks me up. For months Equestrian Girl and our friend Sheri have been scoping out last years attendance numbers in their respective divisions to see which shows give the best bang for the buck. Big numbers mean potentially big points. They scour the APHA website and map out how far for each show. Last weekend, we got together to plan a big out of state show. The only way we can all afford it is to go together to save on gas and camping and share the driving. We started off with a big show in New Jersey in late April. Hmmm, might be too early to have the horses in great shape. How about New Jersey in late June? Noooo, that's back to back with the IEA Nationals. Missouri in late July? Welllll, that would overlap with the last part of 4-H fair but...... So basically we have planned the whole show season out before the end of January.

Motocross? I'm not even sure they have all the races listed anywhere yet and when they do...they boys will pretty much decide week by week if and where they might want to go. ACK! No list? No plan? No cost analysis? ACK!!

Too cute!!!

2012-01-27T08:17:00.001-05:00

Our friend Sheri got a baby mini donkey for her birthday a couple months ago. This little guy is just too cute for words!

He thinks he's a dog and just goes and does what he pleases.

And he has the tiniest little feet!

And the ears. You have to love the ears!

North American International Auto Show

2012-01-26T16:46:00.000-05:00

Motocross Boy and I spent an afternoon at the Auto Show. Some of the displays were over the top this year including this first one for Ford where he's standing on this platform that transforms into a video screen where he's IN the action. I'm supposed to get a YouTube video of it later...

This is a Shelby Cobra - you can't quite see him in the drivers seat because of the lights.

A very cool concept car - no side view mirrors - it uses cameras instead!

Cadillac Escalade - take to make his sister jealous since that's her favorite car.

A very red, very shiny Dodge Truck decked out with Detroit Red Wings Logos.

And the best? A white Porche that "fits me just perfect!"

Looking Smart!

2012-01-25T07:53:00.001-05:00

Equestrian Girl is taking Algebra and Spanish at a homeschool co-op this year. At first she didn't like it at all but it started to grow on her. When she got a 4.0 for the first semester in Algebra, she was quite happy. When the teacher was asking questions of the students today and EG was the only one answering, she asked another and said, "Can someone answer this beside EG today?" That makes her smile too! Spanish doesn't make her smile as much as Algebra but it's all good.

More Rewards from Showing

2012-01-24T07:47:00.001-05:00

Equestrian Girl was very excited to get a FedEx package from APHA a few days ago. Inside was this embroidered halter announcing that she and Stanley had won their Versatility Award! I don't remember the exact qualifications but you have to have a certain number of points in several different types of classes to qualify.

Surprisingly, the halter came with a lead too!

Here's the certificate that came with it and the one below is her Superior for Showmanship.

IeA Team Meet at Findlay - Reining

2012-01-23T10:27:00.001-05:00

Next up was reining (after a long wait for all the other classes to finish). Same scene - mount a few minutes before your turn and wait with your coach for any last minute instructions.

It was a pretty simple reining pattern since the horses weren't wearing sliding plates. Two circles to the left, two to the right, back up the middle and around to the right then all the way straight down the long side, stop, roll back, back to the other end, roll back, just past the middle to a stop and back up 1 horse length.

Equestrian Girl had a nice little horse but he wasn't happy about being in the arena again and tossed his head and complained a little. She rode him great and ended up in 3rd!! Another great finish.

At the end of the day, my girl ended up having qualified for regionals under just 3 judges! You can show under as many as 5 to qualify but it only took her 3 to lock it in!!

IEA Team Meet at Findlay - Horsemanship

2012-01-22T10:17:00.001-05:00

Joining this IEA team has had so many good things come out of it besides just meeting new friends and having fun. Equestrian Girl has shown she can have good equitation riding any horse and not just her own and her confidence in riding these horses has blossomed like crazy. I know she's just as proud of herself as we are of her. This meet was no exception. It was tough competition with a lot of teams there to compete since it's one of the few northern meets in a heated arena! University of Findlay has a beautiful facility and practically dust free. It was amazing and they provided some really nice horses too.

EG drew this cute Paint gelding for horsemanship. You only get to mount a few minutes before the class starts to have time for the handler to tell you a little bit about the horse and for your coach to adjust your stirrups. It's just a quick consultation and then they are off to ride.

The stands on both sides of the arena were full. We had over 100 riders in this meet.

Equestrian Girl caught the judge's eye on her first pass and he kept a close eye on her the rest of the ride.

Always upright and looking confident even when the horse is going a little fast or acting up.

And especially when he's giving her a pretty little jog that would impress any western pleasure rider.

The girl on the horse behind her stuck to the rail pushing Madison off of it to stay out front. It wasn't what she'd normally do in a western class but it worked.

Made her stand out from the crowd even though she did have a good rail position with most of the other horses clumped together on the other side of the arena.

And the winner was....Equestrian Girl!!!

Equestrian Girl Turns 14

2012-01-21T10:12:00.002-05:00

Having my own birthday just before Christmas makes me know the importance of celebrating it appropriately as a BIRTHDAY and not as an extension of Christmas (NO Christmas wrapping paper for a near-Christmas birthday EVER!!). Equestrian Girl's bday is just after Christmas.

It seems silly but she wanted these big royal looking curtain tie backs for her newly redecorated bedroom.

She picked out this sweater herself - very traditional and very warm.

And then the big gift that she wasn't expecting. A new camera.

I love her smile.

My Hancock Horseman - IEA Team Rider

2012-01-21T07:51:00.001-05:00

Equestrian Girl finally got her team sweats for IEA (Interscholastic Equestrian Team). She was pretty excited about it and had to model them first thing the next morning. The pants are even long enough!

She also got a heavy parka embroidered with her name and the logo on the front and a big version of the logo on the back. The coat is awesome - very long and very warm which is great since most of these IEA meets are in winter and not many are in heated arenas.

Baking? Me?

2012-01-20T07:43:00.001-05:00

I had to bring something to the IEA bake sale for a fund raiser. I don't really bake. My mom and sister bake. I buy. Well I compromised on these fancy chocolate dipped rice crispy treats. I stole the idea from a blog that plans parties and I apologize but I can't give credit because I can't find it again now. But the idea is to stick a rice crispy treat on a stick and dip it in chocolate and add sprinkles.

Knowing my talent for baking and that rice crispy treats often come out rather soft and "floppy" until they sit for a couple of days (time I didn't have), I hit Costco for a big box of the pre-wrapped kind. All perfectly cut rectangles and just the right firmness.

I DID melt my own chocolate (admitting I messed up one bag of the white chocolate and burned it in the microwave! which explains why there isn't very many white or pink ones) and I did add the sprinkles and crushed heath bar stuff that looks like peanuts.

Then I had to wrap the darn things. They were for individual sales at a horse show - so not the cleanest environment (though compared to other facilities we've been, this one is pristine). I didn't have much ribbon so I had to split the ribbon in half and still ran out. I had some white ribbon that was pretty wide so that got split into thirds. Sigh. But I got them done and they did turn out looking quite good! Sales weren't as brisk as I had hoped but in the end they were all gone and I came home with just a bunch of empty mason jars.

Last of the Deeetroit Sunrises for a while!

2012-01-19T07:40:00.001-05:00

I won't promise but I'll try. It's just so hard not to try to capture this kind of magic on my camera. I really should start bringing in the good camera instead of shooting these with my cell phone.

I think this one looks like someone did a quick rub with a black crayon in the sky.

This one they chose a red crayon.

A very different sunset

2012-01-17T07:36:00.001-05:00

I had to catch this one while driving and it wasn't my normal full of reds and oranges kind of sunset. It was almost devoid of all color except a faint rainbow effect around the sun itself. The first one I had the camera aimed a little too high but I loved the effect of the clouds. So thick and ominous.

The "good pic" still showed those clouds but also the actual sun breaking through those thick clouds to create a pretty cool show. Nature gives us so much to appreciate.

Sunset at home

2012-01-16T07:36:00.000-05:00

I think I've figured out my sunset/sunrise obsession. Our house is situated where most of the windows face north and south and there are lots of big trees to the east and west. This makes it tricky to see the sunrise and sunset. I only caught this one because the whole darn sky was pink even to the south. I had to run outside to shoot this one looking over the garage but it was worth it - totally beautiful and it truly did have almost the whole sky a beautiful pinky-orange color.

CONGRATS to my daughter!

2012-01-09T20:23:00.003-05:00

It seems like yesterday but in early 2005 Equestrian Girl rode in her first horse show. A few months later she was a seasoned "pro" riding a green broke lease horse name Leggo. This was also when she became consumed with the idea of showing on the Paint Horse circuit some day.

Fast forward to 2011 and she is completing her 3rd year riding on that very same Paint Horse circuit in Michigan competing with some of the best riders around in the 13 and Under and Novice Youth divisions in the all around events - showmanship, western pleasure, horsemanship, hunter under saddle, equitation, and trail.

She has a beautiful little Paint horse that loves her and does EVERYTHING she asks and does it with heart.

She has become a fierce competitor but also a good friend to so many other girls she competes with, offering them tips and offers to practice with them.

All those endless hours of practice and trailering to shows all over the state paid off. Equestrian Girl had set some high goals for herself with the highest being to make it into the Top 20 for 13 and under at the NATIONAL level. I'm more than proud to say...they did it!!!!! My beautiful little girl and her pony are #17!!!!

On top of that, they are top 3 for the Zone Award (Michigan, Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky), and are the year end high point winners for Michigan Paint Horse Club for BOTH 13 and Under and Novice Youth!!! Team Stanley ROCKS!!

Wacky Weather

2012-01-07T20:34:00.000-05:00

I was so excited the other night to look out the window and see this:

We've had so little snow this winter and it was coming down HARD! Would we get buried in snow? Nope. It stopped not long after this picture and two days later...it was 50 degrees. It's January and we live in Michigan and the lack isn't even frozen over. This is getting ridiculous. Our horse is even shedding - he thinks spring is on the way apparently.

Birthday Dinner

2012-01-03T08:29:00.001-05:00

While Equestrian Girl and I don't actually share a birthday, with mine being a few days before Christmas and hers a few days after, we do share a dinner out to save the budget.

She tried mussels. Liked them. A lot.

She liked her dinner a lot too but was getting tired. A full day of shopping, first with mom and then with dad, is pretty tiring.

Scott cleaned his plate. As always.

Motocross Boy/Man didn't do as well with only half of his meat (Cajun beef tenderloin tips) gone.

I had a seafood dish - mostly lobster - in a puff pastry that was delicious. We were at Stillwater Grill in Brighton. Yum!

Another Deetroit Sunrise - December 28th

2012-01-02T19:41:00.001-05:00

One of the things I enjoy the most about working in the RenCen is the sunrises over the Detroit River. Some are uneventful but so many are just stunningly beautiful. This was just before 8 am this morning. You can see Caesars Palace Casino at the far right...

Male Pampering

2011-12-31T07:33:00.001-05:00

Scott got a foot bath for Christmas. It said you could use soap. It might not have been such a good idea...

There were bubbles everywhere!

But in the end, he convinced Motocross Boy/Man to dry his feet!

This it was the Boy/Man's turn...

They decided it wasn't so relaxing because they were laughing too much!

Just Dance!

2011-12-30T07:31:00.001-05:00

When cousins dance....

An Elf?

2011-12-29T07:22:00.001-05:00

Equestrian Girl had the cutest little Santa Hat...can you see it sticking off her head like a horn? LOL!

Living Large

2011-12-28T19:46:00.000-05:00

Equestrian Girl got dropped off at my office Tuesday and we made a quick tour of the GM Showroom in the RenCen. This is HER car. She tells everyone she's getting an Escalade when she turns 16. Ahem. Sure.

Barn Building

2011-12-28T07:16:00.001-05:00

They are building a new barn where we board. It will be a hay and storage barn mostly. Work has been going along well and they hope to have the roof on in January! I think it's about 100 feet long and 60 feet wide...

Stanley looks so dejected walking out to the herd in the pasture through all the mud...it's been an unusually warm winter so far which means the snow is rain. And boy has it been raining. and raining. And raining.

Christmas Eve Monopoly Tournament

2011-12-27T13:06:00.001-05:00

Every year we play Monopoly on Christmas Eve. It's a no holds barred take no prisoners type of game. Dad always wins (the nap earlier must help). But this year the kids started practicing a few days before with Equestrian Girl giving Motocross Boy/Man some good tips and hints.

He started out strong buying properties and accumulating cash. He bought Boardwalk.

Dad started out strong too buying properties but overspent his cash. Landing on Boardwalk crippled him into mortgaging most of his property.

And for the first time ever, Dad was out FIRST! Totally broke and bankrupt.

The boy/man relished having so much cash and went on to wipe me out too.

Christmas Eve Nap Time

2011-12-26T13:02:00.001-05:00

This is what happens to Scott when he gets home from motocross practice on Christmas Eve. He climbs in bed under the covers to warm up. Calls the dog up to cuddle for extra heat. Opens his laptop thinking he's going to use it but it just provides extra heat as well. And then....zzzzzzzzzzzzzz!

Bubble Island Smoothies

2011-12-25T12:40:00.000-05:00

Bubble Island. This is where I went for my birthday with the kids and one of their friends. This is a bubble smoothie.

I seriously thought the "bubbles" were like mini Knox Blocks Jello pieces but in doing a bit of research (and hearing it from my curious sister who had to look it up), it's actually tapioca. Motocross Boy/Man is holding up his smoothie which was banana with rainbow "bubbles". They look square to me and I thought tapioca was round - they call it tapioca pearls after all, don't they? Or maybe what they use in the smoothies is different. But it all started from something called "bubble tea" or "boba tea" in Taiwan. The original was a "milk tea" with the boba or "bubbles". The Taiwan part might explain why we were the only 4 caucasians in a shop filled with Asian kids. (I kinda liked that. I'm quite sure it was the first time any of the three of them have ever been somewhere where they were the distinct minority! Of course as homeschoolers we had to use that as a learning opportunity to discuss how it might feel to be a minority almost all the time.) Either way - having a "Peppermint Bark" tea for my birthday was a good thing!!

School

2011-12-24T08:04:00.000-05:00

I haven't written much about homeschooling lately. Maybe because we are having such a great year! Not without hiccups of course, but running pretty well just the same. Both kids are still doing the majority of their school work with Switched on School House curriculum. Both do well with it and since much of the grading is done for me, it makes it easier for me too. Our biggest problem is when a laptop dies or the power cord breaks unexpectedly...and that's not the curriculum's fault!

Motocross Boy/Man is doing ALL his school work with SOS. He often sits behind me in the office for easy access to my help. He looks like a geek in this picture with two laptops going!

Equestrian Girl started something new this year going to a homeschool co-op for Algebra and Spanish with her friend, Christmas Lover. It's held in a church so they call it "church school". Christmas Lover's mom usually picks them up since I'm working but every now and then I can make it.

The girls enjoy going to the co-op and have become better friends too. After classes, whoever picks up takes them out to lunch - usually to a place they call "Taco-way". It's a taco place that lets you build your own taco similar to Subway. The people that work there were surprised the say they ordered nacho's rather than their usual hard tacos for Equestrian Girl and soft for Christmas Lover!

Equestrian Girl is doing well in the co-op and is finding it a good dose of something closer to "real school" without actually going there. They've talked about taking a full day of classes next year and not just academics. They'd like to photography and some other fun stuff it they can work it out. I'm fine with that!

Open Shows

2011-12-23T08:35:00.001-05:00

It always makes me smile at open shows looking at all those solid horses compared to our Paint shows!

Open Show

Paint Show

I Spy...a Blogger Friend!!

2011-12-22T08:32:00.001-05:00

They turn up when you least expect them...LOL!

Too Stinkin' Cute!

2011-12-21T08:30:00.001-05:00

We stopped by a horse show to see some friends and found this little girl looking out the stall cracks at us.

Later when her little owner showed up and popped red antlers on her - I HAD to get a picture. I could just see all kind of trouble brewing between these two!!

Our first IEA meet - part 2

2011-12-20T07:23:00.000-05:00

The day had been a great one with a third place finish in her first reining class. But by the time the second half started the sun had sunk below the horizon and the building, and if it was possible, it got even colder. The girls got smart and left their coats on until the last second to toss to their coaches as they rode to the rail to start.

Equestrian Girl drew another lovely gelding who was a little small for her long legs but a nice enough fellow.

The judge for the second half liked to get up close and personal as the riders went past.

The sun had set but now we had weird shadows from the odd overhead lights that weren't exactly placed on center...

There are quite a few boys that compete in IEA - you can see one behind EG in this picture.

She's such a pretty rider - 2nd place in this class.

But the real excitement was after her second reining class when she drew a little horse name Pancake. He's a super little guy who really knows his stuff. He has a funny little hop to his canter but he was good! The video below is a little dark and blurry in spots but the best I could get in this lighting with my cell phone.

Our first IEA meet - Oberlin, OH

2011-12-19T06:58:00.001-05:00

We got to the hotel around 8 pm on Friday night and it didn't take long for Equestrian Girl and I to decide we were tired and really wanted to go to bed. Much of the team that had drove in from Findlay had gone to dinner at a nearby restaurant - at 9:30 they were JUST getting done so we were glad to be in our PJ's and ready for bed.

The next morning, we were up early and ready to go. Most of the mom's piled in my truck with me and the chairs we loaded in the back. We left the girls behind with Coach Mark to supervise them getting hair and makeup done at the hotel before heading to the cold barn.

It was dark when we pulled up - about 7 am - and the driveway was crowded so we unloaded all the gear and then I drove the truck to a day care facility nearby to park as we were instructed. The hayfield they usually used for over-flow parking was flooded from all the rains and although it was frozen at the moment, we weren't sure how much it might thaw out during the day and leave everyone stuck in the mud.

Walking back from the parking lot, the moon was just setting.

A few minutes later as I walked up to the barn (you can see the tiny lights on the buildings) the sun broke the horizon. It was crisp and still and a beautiful morning.

Inside it was just cold. The "audience" huddled in lawn chairs with blankets and hand warmers.

Equestrian Girl was in the second class - intermediate horsemanship. She mounted up on her assigned horse and was one of the first ready to go as the sun started streaming in through the windows behind her. She was freezing and Coach Mark ended up putting his coat on her for a few minutes until the other kids were ready to start.

The sun created crazy beams and shadows but it wasn't enough to hide our girl's great equitation.

Having mirrors on the walls gave her a quick chance to check herself when the judge wasn't looking.

She looked beautiful in her new horsemanship shirt. Kelly Gross made the shirt, Cathy Pike did the airbrushing of the red stripes, and Equestrian Girl did all the rhinestones and the actual design.

Finally they were done and lined up to dismount for the next class to take over the horses.

And as Equestrian Girl hiked up her chaps, they announced she was #1!!! Her first official IEA meet and she took first place in her class. It had to be a good feeling.

Help.....

2011-12-18T06:58:00.000-05:00

Anyone who has been to our house knows it's an old house. Most of the first floor has been remodeled and modernized including the addition that was added around 1981. We are just finishing up putting in new flooring and moldings in Equestrian Girl's bedroom which means the upstairs hallway will once again be free of furniture and clutter. Which means I will once again be able to see the horrible walls and ceiling that so desperately needs to be done. Most modern contractors that have seen it say to tear it all out and start over. This will be a huge messy job and very likely expose us to asbestos. A friend who has worked on plaster restoration on old houses has suggested a restoration method that includes stretching thin cotton sheets over the walls and then plastering over them - this would "flatten" the walls and supposedly use less plaster than just going over the existing stuff. I'm having a hard time just understanding why someone would so this to the walls in the first place.

This is the ceiling in the hall where a strip of drywall tape has come loose and pulled away from the seam.

This is a low part in the stairway - just beyond that wood trim the ceiling goes to the roof.

Looking down the hallway towards Motocross Boy/Man's room.

More ceilings and walls covered in this horrible bumpy lumpy stuff.

If anyone has any great ideas or wants to volunteer to help....Please let me know!

Detroit Mornin'

2011-12-08T04:06:00.001-05:00

Another Deeeetroit sunrise! You can sort of see the big Christmas tree in lights on the tall Blue Cross building to the left but the sun hitting the top sort of wipes it out. I really like the city early in the morning like this. It's really very pretty from up high - 17th floor. But it's still a sad city, even downtown where they try to keep it looking good. You still see homeless people huddled together on benches before the sun rises and often sleeping on the streets over the steaming man-hole covers. There's one man who begs from his wheel chair right out in the middle of the street. When I'm driving the truck I'm so afraid of hitting him because he's down below where I can see him on the other side. I creep by him so slow I often miss the light and go through on red. Better a ticket than to run over the guy!

Mardi Gras!

2011-12-07T04:04:00.001-05:00

Well not really but Equestrian Girl found this very cool mask at Pier One. We actually found lots of cool stuff there and could have gone broke buying it all!

These boots were made for walkin'.....

2011-12-05T04:02:00.001-05:00

Equestrian Girl and I went shopping for Christmas and the best things we found were boots for ourselves...funny how many of the dress boots in fashion right now are "equestrian" like boots. There was even one pair with a tiny snaffle bit across the front.

Morris

2011-12-04T04:00:00.001-05:00

Please tell me this cat doesn't look like Morris?

Trip to Detroit

2011-12-02T07:24:00.001-05:00

Motocross Boy/Man has been asking to see my office since I moved to Detroit. He's been in most of my other offices including Lansing but never Detroit. Actually, he hasn't ever spent much time in Detroit except for going to a few Red Wings games and Ford Field for an indoor motocross event. But the day after Thanksgiving, we made the trip. It was an unusually warm, sunny day and perfect walking around the city. As we drove under Cobo Hall coming in on the Lodge x-way, he was getting very excited. When he got out of the truck, he practically ran towards the building he was so excited! We had to do it right too. We had to walk around and come in through the FRONT doors, not through the back like I usually do.

After we visited my office we went into the center of the RenCen where GM has a show room of their cars. This is the one Motocross Boy/Man wants - a red Camero.

Later we had lunch in the atrium of the RenCen. This is looking up through the glass ceiling at the buildings.

After lunch we took the People Mover train around the city and got out at Campus Martius to see the Christmas tree and ice skaters. We also took a cruise through a tent that had set up with vendors and Motocross Boy/Man bought his sister a Christmas present. With my money.

Walking back to the RenCen, we saw this Santa making a drug deal. LOL! Actually, he had just been cutting a pretty good rug a few moments before this and I have no idea what he was doing with the other two guys.

I guess the 3.5 miles we walked around the buildings and through the city wore the kid out - he wasn't in the truck more than a few minutes to drive home and he was sound asleep.

2011 Spur Horse Show Awards Banquet

2011-11-30T07:16:00.000-05:00

Equestrian Girl and I really like our open show series - especially me since I get to ride at these shows! And we usually do pretty good and get some nice awards.

The anti-gravity chairs were a big hit - you can't really see the spur logo on the pillows.

This was the door prize table - lots of good stuff!

More awards.

The plaques in the back were hand painted and have dry erase boards at the bottom.

Stella was a great president this year and made things run so smooth!

The walk trot girls cleaned up!

So did I - the adult walk trot champion. Those are spur straps and a sleazy for Stanley.

Equestrian Girl got a hand painted wooden tray.

Webers Inn - the hotel where we have the banquet remodeled this room - it looked really nice.

Equestrian Girl and her friend Connor's Girl.

Some of our loot after we got home.

Thanksgiving

2011-11-29T07:16:00.000-05:00

While I really do feel we have a lot to be thankful for, Thanksgiving around our house is pretty low key. It still involves a lot of cooking which I spent most of the morning doing - including making up some stuff for the coming weeks but once it was all prepped and the turkey in the oven, Equestrian Girl and I gathered up some treats for Stanley and headed to the barn. I'm not sure he was as happy to see us as we were to see him but the carrots made up for it.

We had a nice ride and then headed for home as Scott called us to say the meat thermometer buzzer had gone off on the turkey. It had only been 2 hours - no way! Sure enough, it wasn't done so I popped it back in the oven and got busy with the mashed potatoes. An hour later and that meat thermometer, which I had moved to the breast was still showing the same temp! What the...oh. The oven was off. I had never checked it when I put the turkey back in. So we did a little speed roasting and used the microwave to finish it off. From the looks on the faces below, I don't think it mattered.

Home Cookin'

2011-11-24T06:32:00.000-05:00

This blog isn't really supposed to be about cooking and Lord knows that's sure not my "thing" but I do like having a family dinner every night or as often as possible. I found a website recently that I LOVE. It's called Big Oven. You can plan your dinner menu out for weeks and even include the recipes right in the plan. Better yet - it will create a shopping list!
This recipe was easy and GREAT! Kids and Scott all loved it and it was sooooo easy.

I hate the hassle of planning meals in advance but truly know it makes a huge difference in how we eat. When I don't plan, we don't eat nearly as healthy and a few too many nights become, "eat what you can find" nights. Or "free choice" as Motocross Boy calls them.

Another Detroit Sunrise

2011-11-23T07:18:00.001-05:00

This was November 16th...I've never paid all that much attention to how much the sun moves over in the winter compared to summer before starting this sunrise thing I have going. You can see the sun is coming up very much over Windsor.

Compare that to this picture taken in September where it's way over to the left over the river:

Now I need to find one that was from earlier in the summer that I thought I had and can't find!

Motocross at Bulldogs

2011-11-22T07:14:00.001-05:00

The beginning of the season started out with me at every single race since Scott was working Saturdays but it seems like I hardly got to go at all towards the end...I even missed the LAST race of the season because we squeezed in that Youth Show...though that was the one where Motocross Boy/Man broke his clavicle so maybe it's good I wasn't there.

The last one I did go to was at Bulldogs which is in Millington - not far from Birch Run. This was at the starting gate of the 85 C class. Motocross Boy is on the far end and gets a good start.

Goat Herding

2011-11-20T07:12:00.001-05:00

This was actually a while ago but I don't think I blogged about it...

We were out messing around with Stanley in the outdoor arena and the goats from next door drifted over to eat the grass close to the end of the arena. Equestrian Girl decided to "herd them" with Stanley. They've done this before and it's always such a hoot. But this time I ran down to the arena to try to get a bit on video...

IEA Scrimmage

2011-11-19T07:12:00.000-05:00

Equestrian Girl had a scrimmage for her IEA team last weekend. It was near Columbus, OH in a private barn run by one of the team coaches. It was set up just like a regular meet but a smaller facility.

I knew she would be drawing the name of a horse to ride and I knew it might not be a great horse or anything. I did NOT expect to be so nervous having her get on a totally unknown horse.

The pictures are horrible. Not only is my camera still not working quite right, but the lighting was way less than desirable. I tried lightening them up - you can see the difference between the 2nd and 3rd shot.

For horsemanship Eq Girl rode a horse named Elvis. He was a big gray quarter horse and was very good for the most part. He wasn't too crazy about another horse that kicked at him but I can't blame him for that.

Later she rode MO for reining. Mo was a very strong forward moving horse. We got to see him go with a girl earlier in the class and it was very clear that he LIKED to do flying lead changes but this class called for a simple change and you'd get points off for doing a flying lead change. So the coaches told her to bring him WAY down to a stop to get him to change properly and to get him collected back up again. She did good - 3rd out of 9!

Falling in love...

2011-11-15T10:33:00.000-05:00

It's not what it sounds like. I fell in love with a little filly this weekend while helping to take her sale pictures. She's just a weanling...just a baby! I could never be in the horse breeding/selling business.

Getting babies to square up and pose isn't easy.

Uh Daisy, you aren't an Arab.

You want me to come there, Dad?

How's this? This is pretty good!!

Wait! Whatcha doing over there?

Wink. Wink. I know you think I'm cute!

This is pretty good!!!

Michigan Fall Sunset

2011-11-13T06:38:00.001-05:00

Some of the best sunsets are in the fall in Michigan. This one came after what seemed like a month of rain…the contrails and swirling clouds just added to the beauty.

A friend shows Stanley!

2011-11-12T07:54:00.001-05:00

Equestrian Girl doesn't let many people ride Stanley but she does let her friend K ride him. K wasn't able to bring her own horse to the Youth Show so Equestrian Girl had her take Stanley in the Western Pleasure Open class.

She looked good and ready to go!

It was a big class - 40 split into 2 halves.

2011 All Breed Youth Show

2011-11-11T07:22:00.001-05:00

After the FCC our horse show season was supposed to be done. It wasn't. We packed back up on Thursday and went to the All Breed Youth Show back at the MSU Pavilion where we had just left on Sunday. The show had just been approved by APHA so the points would count towards year end...so off we went.

Since the show is on Halloween weekend they had a decorating contest for the stalls. We didn't have time to get together decorations but the people next to us spread their decorations onto our stalls too!

We started the show not long after we arrived on Thursday. It was a good thing we had just finished a show since we didn't have much time to get ready. Stanley was already clipped and just needed a touch up. Madison got a layer of lipstick and was ready for trail class.

And off she went to the arena.

The trail pattern was hard - can you see how it spells out YOUTH? Lots and lots of poles to get over which are not Stanley's favorite - especially when his toes need a trim and he hadn't been able to practice them at all.

One of the hardest obstacles was the gate. Normally this is easy peasy but can you see the raised pole between the corn stalks at the bottom? And those corn stalks look an awful lot like hay...

Luckily Stanley was one of the few horses that didn't take a bit of the corn. Some almost pulled over the poles that they were attached to!! It ended up being one of their worst trail patterns ever, however, it was for everyone else too and they ended up with a 2nd!

The next morning was showmanship. Unfortunately, I had to work so Equestrian Girl had to get ready without my help. Her buddy was there though and they did a good job.

Good enough to get 1st place!

Abby the Wonder Dog came with us this show. She kept a close eye on everything going on.

In both directions.

The classes were pretty big. The APHA classes were 12-13 with the open classes often being over 40. The girls spent some time passing out coupons for a $10 discount to the APHA horses that don't normally show at the breed shows.

The stock horse judge was Tim Abler. He's always liked Stanley and Equestrian Girl and placed them well. The biggest win of the show was in Western Riding where they took 1st place out of 21 riders at 12:30 in the morning!

Stanley was looking perky for horsemanship...

But he might have just been looking for a way to go home. He was tired.

We also managed to find the "perfect" horsemanship shirt for next year that just happens to perfectly match the red chaps we already have. It was a good deal so we bought it....

2011 FCC - Living in a Barn

2011-11-10T07:14:00.001-05:00

The FCC show is held at the MSU Pavilion which is a really nice facility for showing - the barn is connected to the indoor arena and the whole place is heated. You can actually drive your truck and trailer through the barn to unload if you get there early enough which makes that job a whole lot easier. The only bad part about it is that the camp sites are really far from the barn and because this is the end of October, it's cold out. And usually rainy too. This all means that it's easier to just stay in the barn as much as possible except for sleeping. For this show, the 3 girls showing get two tack stalls. One is shared by Sandhya and Sheri and then Madison gets one but shares it with the "kitchen".

This is all her "stuff" including saddles, bridles, clothes, boots, etc. It's organized chaos.

This side is the "kitchen". We have my 1981 college refrigerator tucked under the table, crock pot, hot pot, electric griddle, and plenty of coolers and tubs of good. The ShowSheen shares space with the bread.

We manage to eat pretty good at these shows with sloppy joes, casseroles, fajitas, soups, etc. If you can heat it up or cook it in a crock pot or on a griddle, we eat it! This show Sheri even made us an apple pie!

2011 Fall Color Classic - Western

2011-11-09T07:11:00.001-05:00

Western Pleasure Classes....

FCC Close Ups

2011-11-08T09:10:00.000-05:00

I love getting pics of great smiling faces.

Slipper's Girl gave me a pretty smile.

No smile here but a pretty pose.

This time I was on the wrong side of the camera.

Lorena didn't want to smile.

Her niece wasn't sure about smiling.

But this horse gave us a big grin!

Sheri didn't smile but I love this shot anyway.

Same for Equestrian Girl.

FCC - Lead Line Class

2011-11-07T09:02:00.000-05:00

My friend Sheri took a little guy into lead line class on her horse, Chilly. Here she gave him last minute instructions.

This is my friend Vanessa with her son Collin.

In the arena showing for the judges.

A beautiful little girl and her mommy dressed up to win.

This one makes it look like the little guy is showing alone!

So cute and so proud of himself!

Vanessa and Collin won the lead line class at Pinto Worlds this year.

Or maybe these two did. We never did get that story straight.

In my opinion they are all winners.

2011 Fall Color Classic Show - English Classes

2011-11-06T08:51:00.002-05:00

The FCC show is the biggest APHA show in Michigan and one of the biggest in the country. Competitors from all over come to this 3 day, 8 judge show.

Equestrian Girl and Stanley have a hard time competing in the Hunter Under Saddle classes against all the big hunter type horses but they have heart!

They do better in equitation where it's judged on the rider.

I love watching Equestrian Girl ride equitation patterns!

And sometimes Mom gets creative

2011-11-05T08:47:00.001-04:00

This one isn't creative - it just shows Motocross Boy/Man crossing the finish line with a serious smoking problem. Killed his pipe in this race.

Love fading those edges!

I think the guys in the woods are kind of creepy. The remind me of hunters.

The yellow in his pants and on his bike perfectly match the yellow in the leaves.

Oh yah, some serious edge blending made this a very cool pic.

And another finish line - done for the day!

And sometimes Mom gets lucky!

2011-11-04T08:44:00.001-04:00

And catches the exact moment when Motocross Boy/Man kisses the dirt.

Uh oh. We have trouble!

It might be time to bail!

Or get tossed into the dirt. We will check the back of that thigh for a nice handle grip bruise.

And sometimes you get a bunch

2011-11-02T08:41:00.000-04:00

of shots that all turn out good. This was at Bulldogs MotoX track a few weeks ago. The fall colors were close to peak and the sky was that perfect mix of clouds and sun for great lighting.

Every now and then...

2011-11-01T08:38:00.001-04:00

You take a picture that just turns out great. No editing. No photoshopping. Just a good shot. This was it for me. Motocross Boy/Man running full out at Bulldogs. You can just feel the speed...

Happy Halloween!!

2011-10-31T20:38:00.000-04:00

Equestrian Girl on the right and her friend on the left. They were evil cowboys.

Motocross Boy/Man....we aren't sure what he is besides a guy with a broken clavicle.

Horses

2011-10-26T13:18:00.000-04:00

This horse stays in all day. He's very clean and very beautiful and spends all day wishing he could go outside.

These horses are his buddies and go outside all day but spend most of it wanting to come back in.

Rainbow Season at the barn?

2011-10-24T07:51:00.001-04:00

A couple of weeks ago we spotted this rainbow as we were leaving the barn.

Last night we caught this one just as it was fading away - you can see how there's not much color towards the top. Within less than a minute, it was gone.

I never thought of October as "Rainbow Season" but apparently it is at the barn!

Where the Wild Things Live

2011-10-23T13:15:00.001-04:00

I love having a decent camera on my cell phone. It lets you capture pics that you would normally just keep in your brain for a while. Driving home the other night just before sunset the sky was amazing! It reminded me of the book, "Where the Wild Things Live". It was mother nature's very good attempt at a very scary looking sky.

We own a giraffe!

2011-10-22T13:14:00.000-04:00

Detroit Sunrise

2011-10-21T13:05:00.001-04:00

While I'm not a huge fan of working downtown, I do really enjoy the view. Being breast cancer awareness month has the whole town in sync. The RenCen was wrapped in pink ribbons (the very top of the towers) and the BCBSM tower is sporting a giant pink ribbon in LED lights on one side of the building. Nature cooperated too as you'll see in a minute.

I don't come around to this side of the building much since it looks directly at the other buildings (in the above picture I'm in the second building to the right on the side that faces the first building on the right) but the sunrise reflecting off the towers looked pretty cool. In an odd stroke of photography fate, the reflection of the ceiling lights and even a lighted doorway also showed up making them look like hovering alien aircraft.

Here's where the sunrise really started to cooperate in painting the town pink. Gawd it was a gorgeous picture!

And now we have PINK! You can see the pink ribbon on the BCBSM tower on the far left edge of the picture if you squint. The sky pretty much steels your focus.

Seconds later some beams burst through the clouds and morning was on its way.

Cedar Point - Halloweekend

2011-10-20T08:04:00.000-04:00

Every year Cedar Point opens for weekends in October and has lots of haunted attractions on top of the usual rides. We picked October 8 and I drove down with Equestrian Girl and her buddy A. The weather was perfect! High 70's with NO humidity and that hint of a fall chill in the air. What we didn't plan on was everyone else thinking it was a PERFECT day to visit Cedar Point. Our first clue came when we were still about 15 miles away and traffic started CRAWLING. We were hoping it was construction and not park traffic. We were wrong. We had planned on being there around noon. It was closer to 2:00. We took this picture right after we got there to send to A's mom telling her we finally made it! They were so excited!

This was later at night - on one of the last rides. I didn't go on this one. I'm not big on having my feet dangling when I'm spinning around 100 feet in the air.

The best part of the night couldn't be photographed - it was in one of the haunted houses - a haunted toy factory actually. Poor Equestrian Girl got herself so worked up I'm surprised she didn't wet her pants. At one point a "scary guy" merged in behind them, right in front of me, and was trying to sneak up behind the girls to scare them - and they were hanging on to each other for dear life with their hoods up over their heads. Since the scary guy couldn't manage to squeeze between them (they thought it was me), he went around to the outside and popped up in A's face! I was laughing so hard since it still took them a minute to realize it wasn't ME! Then I was sure they were going to go right through the wall. Oh my. I never laughed so hard...

IEA Practice

2011-10-19T07:54:00.000-04:00

Earlier this year Eq Girl was invited to be on a Western IEA (Interscholastic Equestrian Association) team. She will be riding assigned horses in horsemanship and reining. Since she's the only girl on the team not living in the Findlay, OH area, we went down for a special practice with the coach's kids. We were a little early so she started on Slipper doing reining with Mark Smith coaching.

After the practice, they had a little talk with the coaches.

This was our first time at Findlay University. Their western barns and arenas are incredible. They keep 350 horses in that facility! Below you can see a stall to the right which is just off the arena (that is to my left in the pic) and ahead you can see some of the 450 tack lockers for students. The place is huge but also very well kept and clean. I just can't imagine having that many horses in one place!

Horsemanship at Sapphire

2011-10-18T07:49:00.000-04:00

One of Equestrian Girl's favorite classes is Horsemanship. This class has the team doing a pattern which is judged mostly on the rider's equitation but also on the accuracy of the pattern itself. Horse and rider both must look perfect in their execution of the pattern.

Equestrian Girl takes this very seriously. This isn't a smiling pleasure class.

I love that you can see her giving a little smooch sound to Stanley.

And the slightest hint of a smile as they come around the last turn to finish!

A New Old Vest

2011-10-17T07:31:00.000-04:00

The new trend in western show clothes is an old trend - vests. This time around though, they are sparkly, blingy affairs. Equestrian Girl really wanted a vest and had admired one covered in sequins worn by a young amateur we know. Mom to the rescue! And I did not put my limited sewing skills to use either. I just dug in my closet and voila! Old is new again! This was actually a very fancy formal affair top I had worn with flowing palazzo pants many years ago for a formal event. It was very fitted with cut in shoulders and zipped up the back with a tiny mock turtleneck that scratched like hell. I wore it once.

Equestrian Girl spotted it and thought it was beautiful. Pulled it on BACKWARDS over a black blouse and she had her sequin vest! She got many compliments and we were both just cracking up over it.

Even in the horrible lighting of this arena, it sparkled.

Look at that confidence! It must have been the good luck from my top...

Later, Equestrian Girl's friend A showed up with her mom to watch for a while. They'd never been to a horse show. They brought home made "fingers" to support the team!

I loved the above picture but all those extra people in the background were kind of distracting. Horse shows are crowded places. So a friend did some creative editing for me and came up with the attached!! Isn't it fantastic??

2011 Sapphire Show at Mason

2011-10-16T07:21:00.000-04:00

Every once in a while you take a picture you just really like but can't quite explain why. This is one of those. Equestrian Girl was set up with Stanley to start their showmanship pattern waiting for the judge to give the nod. Can't really see either of their faces very well - but I like this picture.

They had a great pattern - started strong and with confidence.

Sometimes Stanley does silly things like sneezing or shaking. He was good for this pattern.

Except here. Where he decided to stick out his tongue at the judges.

But ever the professional, Eq Girl finished just as strong as she started with a 1st under one judge.

Later, changed into English clothes, I caught Eq Girl having a chat with her "show sister" Sheri.

Then they spotted me taking their pictures and had to turn hammy.

So they demonstrated their "hand bump" good luck thing they do before classes.

Then Equestrian Girl went in and won her class and was all smiles. The end.

More fall racing

2011-10-14T07:14:00.001-04:00

Its interesting to me how sometimes it appears that Motocross Boy/Man is out there all alone racing and other times it's such a battle between the bikes. Here he looks like he's out having a nice cruise by himself.

Having fun just taking jumps and riding on a beautifully crisp fall day.

Then all of a sudden he's battling to pass or keep his place with another rider.

Or two or three.

He can take the same turn alone, with two, or now three guys all fighting to move ahead.

And then he's back to flying through the sky on his own again.

And fighting for position again.

Or just flying past his mommy so fast that he blurs my pictures...

New friends...

2011-10-13T07:12:00.000-04:00

I made a new friend. His name is Bugsby.

Fall Racing at Polka Dots

2011-10-12T07:03:00.001-04:00

When I left to drive up to Midland to watch Motocross Boy/Man race, I hadn't realized that the colors were changing. Actually, they were NOT change in Whitmore Lake. But in Midland...yep. It was September 9th.

The most exciting part of any motocross race is the start and sometimes the finish depending on how close it is. But the start is always good because there is always a whole bunch of riders all fighting to get around a rather narrow corner into the "hole shot" first. This person usually leads the race for a while at least.

At the starting gate with Dad giving instructions.

And they are off!

Motocross Boy/Man is taking it wide on the outside opening to simply speed around the rest.

Still on the outside but the pack is spreading out as the more cautious riders hang back.

Not going to make it this time - it was a good line up.

Notice all that fall color? I bet it's really beautiful now - a month later.

Brother & Sister Fun

2011-10-01T07:51:00.000-04:00

Gotta just love it when the kids get in front of my iMac and decide to do crazy pictures!

Girlfriend Fun

2011-09-30T07:59:00.000-04:00

Equestrian Girl and her homeschooling buddy hijacked the iMac for some picture fun. I don't even know how they did some of this!!!

Posed Pictures at Midland

2011-09-27T12:09:00.000-04:00

Oddly enough, there is this really pretty "patio" behind the bathrooms at the fairground that is beautifully landscaped with plants and flowers. Equestrian Girl took Stanley onto the patio through a trellis and we got some really nice pictures of them together.

Midland NMPHC Show - Driving and Hunt Seat

2011-09-26T11:43:00.000-04:00

Weather-wise this was one of our nicest horse show weekends all summer. We had cool nights and beautifully sunny days. We were lucky - not too far south of where we were in Midland it rained most of the weekend!

This was our first show in a long time using someone besides ME as Equestrian Girl's coach. we hired Mark Smith to work with her on Saturday. They had great rides and worked hard on what he told them to do. It really paid off on Sunday when they pretty much won every class under both judges.

Very few shows ever have the driving classes but this family usually brings out the carts and they look awesome! Their horses are so well rounded - they do EVERYTHING and I do mean everything because they go from driving to riding to showmanship to speed classes!

This is the mom driving her youngest daughter's horse.

This daughter is the same age as Equestrian Girl. She's tiny.

This is her Dad taking off with her horse and buggy.

Very serious young lady. All the time.

Oooh, I got the evil eye in this one!!

Equestrian Girl and her friend waiting for class.

Flowers

2011-09-24T12:06:00.000-04:00

Don't ask. I was trying to be Joe Photographer with the flowers...

Midland NMPHC Show - Western Classes

2011-09-22T08:59:00.000-04:00

On Saturday Equestrian Girl wore her red chaps with a white shirt and white hat. On Sunday she kept the red chaps but went with black shirt and hat. Both days she wore a very old scarf of mine (back from when that type of scarf was fashionable) that brought lots of compliments - its white, black and white so it went great with both outfits!

This is Brandy - love the glitter of her shirt and the flag in the background.

Love this pic and the way the sun was hitting the ground - it looks like fire!!

Glamour shot! But the sky was so pretty and I get this view a lot standing on the ground looking up at my pretty daughter. Better look at that ancient scarf too!

Equestrian Girl and one her best buddies at the horse shows. Such a sweet girl -they pump each other up to WIN!!

Is this all business, or what?

I need to send this pic to TSC to use for advertising!

Hartland Houses

2011-09-20T06:37:00.000-04:00

These houses overlook a small lake in Hartland - it's a little resort of sort mostly known for its golf course and camp grounds. This first place is the big dining room and ball room. It's beautiful - they were setting up for a wedding overlooking the lake.

This second really big house was newly landscaped and was gorgeous.

Here's the full front view of the house - it also looks out over the lake which is behind me.

This tiny little cottage was overwhelmed by the huge stone fireplace.

This cottage is only slightly bigger, mostly from the screened porch on the front and also has a huge stone chimney but the rock work is totally different.

Rodeo!!!

2011-09-18T07:31:00.000-04:00

Yeeehaw!!! The Cowboys came to Ann Arbor!

Fast girls too - racing barrels.

The little kids riding these crazy sheep were awesome~

Hey! Who took this picture???

August Allegan Show

2011-09-17T11:31:00.001-04:00

Getting to this show turned out to be a little trickier than planned. It started out when the transmission on the truck went out coming home from the trail ride. It turned out to be the torque converter but took a week to get fixed because they needed the super big torque converter and not just a standard one used in a typical car. Sigh. So we packed up the little green Alien car with as much as it would hold and the rest in Sheri's trailer. And off we went with Rachel riding shotgun with Sheri.

Warm up practice for English

Showmanship

MIA's girl

HUS Class lineup

Sheri

Western Pleasure - Novice Youth Class

It was so hot and humid and had rained the day before - you can almost see the woods look more like a jungle than typical Michigan woods.

Horsemanship

The end. A great show!

Trail Riding at Kensington

2011-08-21T08:45:00.000-04:00

Yesterday the girls signed up to go on a scavenger hunt trail ride at Kensington. Kensington has some of the nicest horse trails around and they even spray for bugs! The girls had a GREAT time and can't wait to go back. The two pics below were snapped on my cell phone as them came back into the staging area. Connor's girl kicked him into a gallop for the final approach first and then the other two quickly caught on and they raced to the finish whooping and hollering like only teen girls can do!

Happy 50th Wedding Anniversary Mom and Dad!

2011-08-19T08:07:00.003-04:00

Fifty years ago today my parents got married. Fifty years. Fifty. Years.

A really fun horse show!

2011-08-13T08:12:00.001-04:00

For starters, the weather wasn't as hot and humid as it had been so while it still WAS hot and humid, it didn't feel all that horrible.

Next, I got to sit down. Twice.

And my good friend Audine and her daughter showed up to watch in the afternoon!!! It was so fun to have them there even if they had no idea what we were doing.

This is one of the times I got to sit down. Equestrian Girl took a picture to memorialize the occasion since it doesn't happen much at shows.

My walk/trot class was HUGE! There were 9 riders this time - our biggest ever.

And I got to compete against fellow show-Mom Brenda (behind me to the left) and our friend Rachel on Sheri's horse Wally.

But best of all was that I won Equitation for the first time EVER!!!! I'm gettin' gooooood. LOL!

But not as good as Equestrian Girl who rocked her classes and took advantage of the "jackets optional because of the heat". She was the only one who didn't wear a jacket and still won.

I love this pic - they were just about to start the trail pattern and it seriously looks like Stanley is studying the layout of those poles and planning his approach.

Equestrian Girl also rocked horsemanship in her plain white shirt.

And that concludes our Spur of the Moment shows for the season. I'm pretty sure Equestrian Girl wrapped up the year end high point in several classes and I should have it in Pleasure and Trail for sure. Now for the banquet in November!

Sometimes I get really excited...

2011-08-12T20:07:00.000-04:00

When I do really good in trail class. I did this one without getting lost or missing any obstacles and it was a hard one!!

My Internet H*ll

2011-08-04T05:54:00.001-04:00

Sometimes I have to question my lack of planning and the pain it can cause me.

I got an ad from ATT on using their internet and Direct TV and after a bit of research I decided it was a good idea to switch - would save me about $60 per month. I told them I wanted the ATT internet to start on August 1 and the Direct TV would be installed on August 2. I told the cable company to cancel my services with them on August 3rd.

In the mean time, Apple rolled out their new operating system which I had been waiting for before ordering a new iMac so I ordered my new computer.

The computer came on Saturday morning. I got it up and running with no trouble.

On Monday morning the cable company decided to turn off the internet - 2 days before they were supposed to. Then I read the fine print that said ATT wouldn't be available until after 8 pm. So we can live 10 hours without internet. But then it did't work (and this was after I found out I had to go buy a special modem). After more than an hour on the phone with a very nice lady at ATT, we decided my phone lines might need help since they haven't been used in 15+ years by anything other than birds. But the phone line guy couldn't come until Wednesday. Sigh.

On Tuesday the Direct TV guy was supposed to come between noon and 3. At 3:30 they call to tell me he should be here by 4. He was. And he was still here when my parents came for spaghetti dinner. I invited him to eat with us but I think he was embarrassed. He did take a piece of chocolate cake home.

The phone guy shows up nice and early - he lives in the neighborhood. He hooks up some wires outside and says I'm good to go but that technically he is supposed to charge me $130 because the wires were on the "home" side of the box. But he didn't because it only took him about 5 minutes and he thinks that rule is stupid. And he lives in the neighborhood.

I wish I could say that was the end of the story but while the internet was flowing through the wires, it didn't want to talk to my wireless router. The one I spent $200 on this winter for improved signals that would go through our ancient floors and walls. ATT said they didn't offer tech support on outside routers but I could pay $29 per month for unlimited service. Considering I've never had a problem with a router before, I passed. The odds of me needing $29 worth of advice every month was pretty slim. Unless they could offer advice on raising almost 14 year old kids...then it might be worth it! So I googled the problem and found a phone number for Cisco. I talked to a guy named Mike. I'm still noodling his accent....

Mike looks up the serial number on my Cisco Valet and tells me my warranty is expired because the unit is more than 12 months old. WHAAAA???? I bought it in February at Staples - it was snowing. I'm sure of it. He decides to trust me. He probably also realizes that it could have sat on the shelf at Staples for a few months. Mike tortured me with plugging in, unplugging, reseting, and 25 other configurations before we finally hit on the problem. The ATT modem and wireless modem were using the same "channel". We changed one and I was FIXED!!! I checked my new Mac. I checked the Compaq laptop. Equestrian Girl checked her laptop - all good. Or almost.

Motocross Boy/Man brings his laptop down. It's not good. It can "see" the wireless signal but it can't connect. I'm going to work on that one tomorrow.

Christmas in July 2011

2011-07-28T06:57:00.001-04:00

Christmas in July is a pretty big deal for our family. Since my parents only come up from Florida for 6-8 weeks in the summer, we celebrate in July with them. It's a really nice time and we all enjoy it!

Sunrises across Michigan

2011-07-26T06:23:00.001-04:00

Over the past few months I've started this collection of sunrise pictures. It started in June with this picture looking out over Grand Traverse Bay before an early morning meeting there. A storm was moving in and the sky was dark but you could still see a tiny rim of the sunrise.

This one is still one of my favorites even though it was taken through my front windshield. This is just after you go under Cobo Hall coming into Downtown Detroit. The GM Renaissance Center is on the right.

Considering I get up early for work every day, getting up early for a horse show isn't such a big deal any more. We had just loaded Stanley into the trailer when I turned around and looking out over the arena, there was this awesome sunrise. This would technically be Superior Township near Ann Arbor.

Moving back into Downtown Detroit (hey, I'm there early lots of mornings!), looking out over the Detroit River with several barges moving through, it wasn't much of a sunrise as just a magical looking morning.

I seem to catch a lot of great sunrises while driving to work in the morning...considering I leave for work at 6 and the sun rises just after that most of the summer, it seems to make sense. This was driving down M-14 near Plymouth.

I love this one. I left for Bellaire, MI at 4 am one morning. I was about half way when I stopped at a rest stop and looked up to this magnificent scene.

Again on the way to work near Plymouth. I thought there might be a fire burning at first but as it got a little higher it was very clear it was a beautiful sunrise.

I think this one is my favorite and it's about as close to home as I could get. Just across the street looking out across Whitmore Lake. This was again from my car window with my cell phone looking through the iron gate of the apartments that own this section of beach front. Spectacular.

The Little Bug

2011-07-25T06:02:00.001-04:00

Friday night we were in Allegan, MI at the fairgrounds for a horse show the next day. We'd had a good rain earlier in the afternoon which probably is what knocked this little guy to the ground. When Equestrian Girl first saw him, she didn't think it was real. So she poked him with a bare toe. And screamed when he moved. We were camped next to our friends Sheri and Dan and he was on their camp rug near our chairs.

This pic is kind of blurry but you can get a better perspective of how little this guy was. That's Dan taking a picture and Equestrian Girl's foot nearby. Right away we went about finding out what it was. Sheri posted her pic on FaceBook and I sent my picture to some horsey friends.

It wasn't long until we found out it was a Spicebush Swallowtail caterpillar. This picture was sent by a friend who was helping to identify our mystery bug.

This is what he will turn in to some day.

Hard to imagine that a bug that looks like a comic character could turn in to something so beautiful and graceful.

The Long Lost Memorial Day APHA Show

2011-07-24T01:33:00.001-04:00

I'm not sure what the heck happened to this set of pictures. Normally I try to post in chronological order but this one...well it was an interesting show anyway. When we arrived Friday it was chilly and on the heels of lots and lots of rain. We got parked in a spot that was relatively close but in the mud - or it turned to mud after we walked in it enough. But our friends the Testers were there with us for the first time in a couple years so we were happy.

The first day was good but LLLLOOOOONNNNNGGGGGGG.

Equestrian girl did awesome - 4 judges the first day and lots of 1st and high placings.

That's our friend D on Danny in the blue shirt to the right of Equestrian Girl.

Here's a better picture.

Classes were pretty big - people come from all over for this show. It was even bigger than last year - and that was big.

This girl behind Equestrian Girl was for Georgia! She had the cutest little accent and white pony.

Here's friend D in her new Western outfit. It was so pretty!

Western classes didn't get started until late afternoon/early evening. You can tell everyone is starting to get tired.

I have no idea why I took this picture or what they were looking at.

I also don't know why EG is smiling - it was getting really late.

We FINALLY started trail class about 2 a.m. Yes, as in well after midnight. I seriously thought EG was going to call asleep in the saddle and Stanley was cat napping as much as he could with his nose tucked up against my back. We were walking zombies when we finished at 3 a.m. This was novice youth trail.

We changed shirts for Youth Trail. Don't ask. It was 2:30 a.m. and I wasn't going to argue.

We got to sleep in a bit on Sunday since it's just a "fun" day but we awoke to rising temps and humidity and some threatening storms. But before they hit, the girls had fun doing egg and spoon, ride a buck, etc.

D's sister H wanted to ride Stanley. I thought she knew where to sit!

Ah, I guess she does.

After all the fun and games, the rain started so they moved the picnic into the spectator area of the arena. We all ate and the storms got worse. There were tornado warnings and most of us evacuated to the concrete block bathrooms - the rain was coming in sideways and blowing in 75 feet from the door. It finally passed but touched down in several places close by and knocked out the power.

The next day...we had a horse show in the dark! With no Public Announcing system, the announcer had his job cut out and we all had to be diligent about telling people in our barns which class was in when we came back. Lots of cooperation kept it running like clockwork and we actually got done fairly early. It was a different kind of show with no power and high temps but it all worked out and EQ did fantastic winning both Novice Youth High Point and 13 and Under High Point!!!

Face of friends and family

2011-07-24T01:23:00.000-04:00

My beautiful daughter

My children

My tough looking son

My contemplative son

My proud son

My happy daughter

My buddy Mark

Connor and his girl, K

Stanley and his girl

Bess

My son riding with his eyes closed

Equestrian Girl's "love him like a brother"

My upset son

My daughter looking proper in English turn-out

Friend T

Rachel

July 10th Spur of the Moment Horse Show

2011-07-23T06:21:00.002-04:00

Equestrian Girl and I love doing the Spur shows. We have lots of friends there and the announcer loves us and makes a really big deal when we win. We like that. This show was going to turn out to be a hot one though so we planned on getting done early by Equestrian Girl skipping western classes.

First up was Showmanship Sweepstakes. These two girls rotated first place every show last year but then Mac moved up an age group this year so they haven't been competing...until today! But the judge really threw them for a loop when she started asking questions after their pattern. Mac won.

But Equestrian Girl still had a great pattern and made the judge laugh.

Our little purple princess friend also did VERY well this show and was letting Alvin know it.

These mom's and grandma are at every show to watch and help. The two on the left are mother/daughter. They are so sweet.

This is their kid/granddaughter. She's sweet too.

This is her horse. He's sweet when he's not asleep.

I had a new friend in my classes this show. Rachel was riding Sheri's 3 year old, Walter. Rachel is really a hunter jumper rider so she wasn't about to do the western thing.

Another old friend showed up too! Suzie used to take lessons with me WAY back before either of us owned a horse. She bought Jackson just before we bought our first horse. She's still riding English like we both learned but I'm more comfortable doing Western now.

My equitation is improving! My legs are ALMOST back far enough!

But Rachel's equitation was better. I won pleasure but she won equitation. She's a lot younger.

Stanley is such a good boy. He puts up with all this show foolishness with no complaints.

It was hotter than h*ll but we looked crisp and cool in our pink shirt, didn't we? Same one Motocross Boy wore a few weeks before when he did his one class!

By midmorning jackets were optional because of the heat so our friend Sheri shed hers in favor of a long sleeve shirt. She looked crisp and cool too.

Equestrian Girl kept hers on for this class but dropped it for the next one.

Then back into the black for trail where she kicked butt as always. Look at Stanley just going along with what she's asking.

Sidepassing the log.

Lope over the poles.

Big finish along the scary woods but Stanley wasn't afraid. He had his girl with him.

Then is was my turn. Now he looks confused. What the heck is she asking me?

Better on the bridge. That's a no brainer: walk forward.

And we came trotting around that last cone only to find out we had skipped one whole section of the pattern! Oops!!!! My bad.

Lead Liners!

2011-07-22T06:10:00.001-04:00

Equestrian Girl actually took these pictures. I was at the far end of the arena getting ready for my class. I guess like me, she got distracted and starting taking pics of whatever was in front of her.

OMG I could eat this little guy for lunch he's so cute!! So serious!!

Smart Momma's making their babies wear a helmet. Even if they are too big.

The purple vests are adorable! They match perfectly!

Cool as a cucumber in her white shirt in the roasting hot sun!

And they match up perfectly too!

Friends doing Trail Class

2011-07-21T06:04:00.001-04:00

We have another friend that lurks around my blog that might be surprised to find herself featured today! Yes, this friends of Equestrian Girl has a new mare - a pretty palomino! She hasn't been trained much yet to do trail but we snapped away taking pictures just the same and got a few good shots.

Getting her lined up to BACK into the L which was facing away from the judge was pretty tricky for all of us.

But Miss K and Val took it slow and easy and did just fine.

Walking over the poles was pretty easy except Val wanted to go a little faster than Miss K.

She was quite happy when she got to trot off.

And even happier when it was cantering time.

All done! Doesn't it look like they did great?

Racing in the City

2011-07-20T06:46:00.001-04:00

Okay, Birch Run isn't much of a city compared to Detroit or Chicago or even Cleveland but when most of the tracks are in the middle of nowhere, this was city. The owners of Baja Mx built a track in an empty plot of grass next to the Birch Run Expo Center and across the street from one of the biggest outlet malls in the state. I-75 literally runs along side the track. Interestingly, the noise from the track was almost quiet compared to the express way traffic noise so maybe having tracks in the city is a good idea. Nobody minds the noise like they do in the bucolic fields of nowhere.

My wonderful little family on the starting gate. Equestrian Girl likes going to the races much more this year than she did last year. There are BOYS there.

And they're off! MB is about in the middle of the pic behind the kid in red.

Taking the outside but screaming fast - he might have taken the hole shot.

It's that darn Mr. Rainbow again still wearing those stinky clothes! LOL - hopefully his mom has washed them by now. The battle is on!!

That blue roof behind the trees is a Harley dealership. Definitely in town. There's a Culver's across the street. YUMMMY!

Taking a small lead in front of Mr. Rainbow.

First lap is done and Mr. Rainbow is nowhere to be seen.

I love when he passes close enough I can almost see the whites of his eyes. He is my baby after all.

He's baaaaaack.

And maybe taking the lead....

But Motocross Boy/Man takes it back!

But let's Mr. Rainbow take the inside!! Baaaad!!

Now where did he go? Look close. Can you see him? This is cool.

He's RIGHT next to him!! Love, love, love this zippy shutter thing on the fancy camera.

Side by side with Mr. Rainbow.

NO! He gave him the inside again!

But maybe, just maybe....

Or maybe not.

Crap. He's going to finish in front of Motocross Boy by a nose...

Or maybe a little more than a nose.

Another disappointing ending but as they say, any day of racing is a great day!

Mower Man Junior

2011-07-19T06:31:00.000-04:00

After owning a lawn service for over 20 years and working in the business even longer, it was probably a little hard for Scott to give up his mower but Motocross Boy/Man had been asking for a while now to be able to cut the grass. But cutting with a commercial mower isn't quite the same as the 20 inch walk behinds that we all learned on in the 70's.

But the boy figured it out quick and before long was putting stripes in the back yard.

Even though his feet didn't quite touch the floor-boards!

He was all smiles. Isn't it funny how learning to cut the grass is fun but actually doing it after a while becomes work.

I loved how serious he was!

Abby the Wonder Dog was having nothing to do with it though. That thing looked dangerous with brother on it! She would barely poke her head out her doggy door to watch!

Some final instructions from Dad and the new Mower Man Junior was ready to rock.

The Firecracker APHA Show

2011-07-18T07:39:00.000-04:00

I REALLY want to post more pictures of lead liners....and I have some too but they'll have to wait.

This show was in Midland, a fairgrounds we really like but the show didn't have a great turn-out so the points were low. Most classes only had 4-6 riders but it was still a VERY good show for Equestrian Girl.

Showmanship: First place under both judges. They were smiling.

They were also still fairly cool and comfortable at this point.

By the time we were into Hunter Under Saddle classes, it was steamy hot. You can see the dark around Stanley's eyes - that's sweat.

Only 4 in the HUS 13 and Under class. First under both judges again!

Blue Ribbons make Equestrian Girl smile.

Not much could make Stanley smile. Maybe treats. He got plenty of those for doing so good.

It was so steamy hot by the time Western classes rolled around, the white shirt was in order. It at least gave the illusion of cool.

The good thing about small classes is that the show moved really fast. By 5:00 we were on trail. That's a far cry from the 2 am start for trail class at the Memorial Day show.

This was the first time Equestrian Girl has ever had a "solid" gate and not just a rope gate of some sort. She watched one of the trainers go first and handle it pretty well. Then several other adults went and didn't do so good. She nailed it. Pushed it open and held on in the right spot.

Slide Stanley out and around while still holding on. If you let go right here you were in trouble. The gate was tilted so it would swing out the other way if you let go and would be impossible to catch.

And then sidepass him into the gate to close it. Good job!

The next day it wasn't QUITE as hot and humid and Daddy and Motocross Boy made it up to watch.

The Novice Youth HUS class was big enough but the 13 and under classes got even smaller.

I love this class. I love that everyone has to dress "the same".

It's such a classic look and Equestrian Girl pulls it off so well. She actually looks GOOD in breeches. Not many do.

I think I was getting the evil eye.

And then there were two. Not really.

Actually there were 7 in Novice Youth and 4 in 13 and Under.

Can you see Stanley licking his lips? He knows when he did good. His buddy has such pretty markings...

The over-all results for the weekend? High Point winner for Novice Youth and High Point winner for 13 and Under!!!

Blogger Friends or "Someone actually reads your blog, Mom!"

2011-07-17T06:27:00.001-04:00

I knew I had a few friends that read my blog and even a couple of family members but I had the happy pleasure of meeting a STRANGER who reads my blog!! Equestrian Girl and I were chilling by the stalls at the Firecracker APHA show in Midland 4th of July weekend when this lovely young lady and her precious daughter stop and ask if I'm Michelle. Uh...yeah. She proceeded to tell me she reads my blog! Equestrian Girl was so incredibly shocked that all weekend long she kept say, "Mom, someone actually reads your blog!"

So Rebecca is no longer a stranger but a friend that reads my blog and she probably thinks I only took these pictures of her and he daughter to be a stalker or something but I didn't. Just been a bit slow in posting anything for the past....6 weeks or so. I'm also going to email them to her as soon as I find the envelope that I wrote her email address on.

Rebecca was making a re-entry to the Paint world with this show after taking time off to have twins and stuff. I didn't get any pics of her classes but I get sucked into lead-line classes every time and since she was the only entry at this show, I happily snapped away.

Just try to tell me this isn't too cute with their matching shirts!

And that shy little smile! This judge loved her.

Actually, all four judges loved her (where's the other one?). This would be my favorite class if I were a judge. I'd spend all day on this one.

They were giving her MONEY and she was a bit confused by that.

Looks at all those big grins and happy faces! This class just makes everyone happy. You can't help but smile.

Even their cute horse looks pretty pleased with that class. Can't blame him. Easy peasy!

The proud winners!!!!