Last Day of Horse Camp

One more time...


Today  in crafts we made human /horse treats: take 1 rice cake, put some applesauce on top of it, and sprinkle oats on top of it. And the break off pieces and feed it to your horse/yourself.  We fed the horses in the pasture. When we got back to the craft barn, we made a scrap book. We had to lace the binding of the book ourselves. I put an "L" sticker on it.

In activities, we did a beauty contest between two horses. Half of the group went to Penny and the other went to Spanky. I got Spanky. There were 3 categories: creativity, beauty, and improvement. Our horse won on beauty and improvement. We braided yarn into her mane and tail. And we practiced roping calves (cones). I managed to catch the cone twice.

When we were riding, mom managed to get here early to take some videos and pictures of us in the outdoor arena. Here are some videos and pictures

I was riding the biggest horse you could ride.

Maya is very nice.

This is Riggs. (Mom likes Riggs)

She is just listening, she's not mad. Those aren't "mad ears".

I was trying to slow her down! 

We were trotting!

A credit to Mom, who typed some of these posts. I typed the beginnings and Mom typed the ends.

The End of Horse Camp

Don't worry, I'll post other stuff in the future!
by Laura

Entertainment

We arrived early to pick up Laura on her last day of camp so we could watch her ride and take some pictures. Adam got a little bored.

 

Fourth Day of Horse Camp

The penultimate day of horse camp...


Today at crafts, we made door hangers that we had to sand and we got to paint them. Also in crafts, we tie-died shirts that say Sunnyside Stables Horse Camp. Here is a picture of me in the shirt:

Here is a picture of the wind chimes I made: 

It was so fun. In activities, we shoveled manure! It was very stinky. We shoveled manure from a stall that belonged to a horse named Gunner. He doesn't poop a lot, lucky for me. Me and a girl (I don't remember her name) cleaned that stall together and after that, we got new bedding for the horse. It was kind of weird because we put all of it in the middle for the horse to spread out at night. It was very stinky and fun.

We went on a trail ride and we worked on our spacing between horses. We went around in a big circle on a trail in the middle of the crops (corn on one side and soybeans on the other side). At one point, the soybeans stopped and there was a plant that looked like pumpkin vine.
by Laura

Third Day of Horse Camp

Laura again...



Today when we went to Crafts, we took home our stepping stones. We made wind chimes with very very very very very tiny flower pots and bolts to make the clangy sound. Next, in Activities, we painted horses! It was very fun. We painted with our fingers using finger paints. There was red, white, blue, purple, and pink. We painted our horse red, white and blue. Go America! The horse's name is Twenty. We painted a big blue 20 on his hip and then splatter painted the rest of him red, white, and blue. Then we got to wash them and we got really painty, dirty and wet. That was fun too! Then we did riding. Yesterday, we had learned how to trot and today we trotted the whole time. It was very fun and bouncy. I fed Maya (not the person) her carrots that we brought from home. Wilbur was sitting down and eating again today. He was so cute! Here's a picture of him:

 Here are some miniature horses and a donkey named Hannah Montana:

This is a horse Sugar, not Maya:

 This is a dog named Riggs and his leg fell off by getting squished by a tractor. He's really nice.

by Laura

Second Day of Horse Camp

Laura took over my blog again...

today I went to crafts and we painted the concrete stepping stone we shaped yesterday.  It was so fun!         also we painted rocks.  at lunch I sat with my new friend Maia (not the horse!)  In activities  we lerned the parts of a horse: neck, mane, withers (right above the shoulder), shoulder, knee, hoof, back, belly, hip, tail, hock (just like a knee), and flank. I also learned the parts of a saddle: saddle pad, cantle, latigo, cinch, saddle horn, seat, and one I don't remember. I learned the parts of a bridle: bit, reins, ear piece, and stuff that goes on the horse's face. I went riding on Maya again and I fed her a carrot that I brought her. She really liked it. And we learned how to trot. It was very fun and bouncy. Then we went home. There is a big pig there and he is ugly-cute and funny. When we saw him, he was sitting and eating. It was very funny. His name is Wilbur.
by Laura

First day of horse camp

Laura's first post...


I went to horse camp! and I had fun! first  our group went to crafts we mixed our own concrete to make stepping stones.  I picked a horse shoo print. next I went to activities. we lerned to tie a horse- not (it just like finger knitting. The horse can't get it out, but you can untie it.) and how to lead a horse .  but the best part was the riding! We got to pick our horses. One line of people has been there before and the other hasn't. I was in the one that hadn't been there before. I picked a very pretty horse with a shiny light brown coat and an almost-blond mane and tail. Her name was Maya. I was scared of her at first, but I got braver. And we got to ride with nobody leading us. It was very fun.

by Laura

Summer is half over...

Been a busy summer, as usual. But fun!

Laura's just finished soccer. She had been playing twice a week and having an OK time. They had a tournament today and she got super fired-up when they were losing terribly to a fantastic team. (like 12-0) It was the best I've ever seen her play and I think she surprised herself and the other parents as well. They never ended up scoring in that game, and lost both of the other games they played, but they kept up their spirits. I'm glad she ended feeling proud of her effort.

Adam has been playing baseball twice a week also (alternate nights from Laura's soccer). It has been great for him. He's had a few whiny moments getting ready to play, but is always smiling at the end. He's never needed the tee to get a hit and even caught a ball or two today. Catching is harder than it looks, for all the boys. It was a good intro to sports for him.

We tried Summer in the Park this year. Its basically just a chance for the kids to get together with a bunch of other kids and college-age babysitters and play tag, dodgeball, etc. They are both glad they got to go, but did take a few days off to stay home with Mom :)

We've been to Como Town (see previous post).

We've been to the beach once. It has been too cold to go any more. We haven't even gotten out our "swimming pool" because it hasn't been warm enough.

Lots of bike riding and scootering around the neighborhood. Laura has been venturing out to neighbor kids' houses lately and that feels like a neighborhood is supposed to feel. I like that I can trust her and that she has friends around.

We just returned from our annual trip south to see our parents. Jeff & family and Kim met us at my parents house, so we got to see the whole clan. I barely see our kids when we get together with them because there are so many cousins and adults around. It is wonderful for all of us. Dad shot off some crazy-awesome fireworks that we've never done before. It was fun for the whole neighborhood. We also were lucky enough to make it to Christopher's baptism in Bartlesville and see Danielle's family again.

At Jim's parents' house, Ava was in heaven chasing the rabbits and mice and did such a good job not running off. I was really surprised she could be trusted so much. She is still healing from all the rashes and scrapes, but I think she thinks they were worth it :) I think she's a bit depressed to be back in the suburbs again. The people had fun too.  Fredonia has a new, fantastic public pool that kept us all busy on the one warm day, we shot off tons of small fireworks and the kids even got to light their own smoke bombs. Jim and I spent one day at the casino with Aunt Rosemary while Gma and Papa took the kids to a science center in Wichita; everyone had a great time!

Somewhere in the summer, we went to Cousin Barb's house for the Kaposia Days parade. It is such a great parade and we are still swimming in candy.

Laura's been to two birthday parties at a movie theater.

We babysat a friend's hamster. That was fun and we would do it again anytime, but everyone was OK giving her back.

We went to Big Laura's graduation party (Cousin Sue's daughter). Which is crazy, because she was 10 when we moved to Minnesota. Ack!

Laura's still taking piano lessons and wants to try cello in the fall.

Adam just had his first drum lesson and the whole neighborhood knows it.

We got to see Cousin Mary for lunch at Old World Pizza with my mom's side of the family. It was very nice to catch up.

Oh! And our kitchen remodel continues. The countertops are in and the only thing left that we HAVE to do is re-tile the backsplash. It is currently unpainted drywall with caulking between the joints (i.e. just painting it isn't really an option because its not mud-and-taped). But that will have to wait until we have a stretch of time to devote to it. First we have to even think about what we might want it to look like, then we can start making our way to a decision and implementing it. Dare I say it might be the fall before that happens? I hope Jim doesn't read this because he won't be excited that I might even think that.  But it is just so much easier to get things done when the kids are busy elsewhere :)

The kids voted for a PJ day yesterday, so we stayed home all day. I'd like to say we took it easy, but we did get quite a bit done. We baked bread, made cookies, made jam and canned it, oiled the wooden spoons and cutting boards, rode bikes, gardened, and had a tea party. And they may have watched a few Mario Brothers. Do you remember that show from the 80s? Cyndi Lauper and Nicole Eggert guest starred on two of them :) Funny! Netflix is wonderful.

So that's the first half of the summer! More fun to come!