Wordless Wednesday (on a Thursday) - Love Her

Adore Her

The way she grabs my hand; The way her eyes shine

Her little high pitched voice

Her imagination

Her sweet side; Her fiery side

Love Her.

I also love my sudden ability to get the eyes in focus.

Chloe Sings the ABC's

I'm so much quicker with the video camera this 2nd time around. I realize that one day she'll wake up and the baby voice will be gone. One day, she'll belt out her ABC's perfectly as if she'd been doing it all her little life. So, I pick up my  Sony Bloggie (like the flip, only better - love that device) and I press Record...because a few years from now, this cuteness will be a long lost memory.

This is where she gets all Country-fied at the Pumpkin Patch

We went to the pumpkin patch on Saturday....you know the same one that I lost Cam at last year.  I couldn't help but think of that situation as we pulled in to the parking lot. I said to my girls, "Now, listen. This is the same place where I lost a kid last year. We are all going to stay together and hold hands. No running ahead." Cam piped in and said, "Yeah! You lost ME!!"

This year, I didn't lose any children and we had a great time. The weather was chilly and actually resembled true fall. I'll get a few photos up this week (I really didn't take many) but for now...I'll share this spectacle with you. After she was done, an elderly woman came up to her and said "God sure did grant you with rhythm my child."



Rhythm and buckets of personality.

Happy Monday!

Wordless Wednesday - The Love of Horses

"The daughter who won't lift a finger in the house is the same child who cycles madly off in the pouring rain to spend all morning mucking out a stable."

~Samantha Armstrong

A Horse Named Molly - Riding Lessons at Laurel Valley Ranch

Back in August Camdyn attended horse camp at the ranch.  She loved every second of it and has been pining to go back ever since.  After having a solid week of "STAR" and "Double STAR"
behavior, we rewarded her with a semi-private horse back riding lesson. 

For her first lesson she chose to ride her best friend, Molly.  Camdyn loves this horse, and she talks about buying her one day.  It took the instructor, Camdyn, and the two other little girls in her lesson, the better part of 45 minutes to tack their horses.

Here Camdyn leads Molly into the lesson arena.  She leads the horse around as effortlessly as one would lead a puppy on a leash.  She seems so small to be guiding such a large animal.

Camdyn is learning to ride English.  This was not my choice for her.  I thought she would have a much easier time riding Western, although it was not my call to make.  Camdyn is interested in dressage and therefore riding English is necessary.  Amazing to me, that at 5 3/4 years old she is planning for the future.

Now, my knowledge of horse back riding is limited to several years of trail riding while camping, so feel free to correct my mistakes (LeeAnn).  Cowboys ride Western, their saddles have a horn, and they steer the horse by holding the reigns (which are knotted together) in one hand.  English saddles don't have a horn, and require the rider to hold the reigns in two hands and steer the horse more like a car, as Cam is doing below.

Cam thoroughly enjoyed her first lesson.  She sometimes gets frustrated with the terminology (which is also new to me) and figuring out her left from her right which for some reason is more difficult from the perspective of the saddle.  For example her instructor will say "Camdyn drop your right lead and move that horse to the rail."  What?  Yeah, I can barely figure out what that means, so for a five year old, it's a lot to process.  But, she'll get there and she's loving every moment of it.  Much to my surprise, she even enjoys the barn work (sweeping and mucking stalls) which she is required to do after her lesson. 

When I watch her lesson there is that piece of me that just can't get comfortable.  There's that nervous energy that I feel about the unpredictability of animals and the reasoning/judgment skills of a 5 year old.  But, there is also that swell in my heart, as I watch my little girl do something that she genuinely loves.  Her toothless smile is bigger when she's in that saddle, her energy level peeks as we head to the barn, I can see that this is her passion. 

What I once viewed as a fleeting fascination, that would dwindle just as her adoration for elephants and Shrek has, is now becoming a piece of who she is.  This is no longer a phase that she will out grow. 

Camdyn can not fathom a world without horses, especially a horse, named Molly

Wordless Wednesday: This Cake is Iced with Awesome

A few weeks back the Hubs celebrated a birthday.  I happened to order his cake on a day that Camdyn earned double stars for her behavior at school.  Her reward was that she got to pick out Daddy's cake.  We sifted through the book of options at the bakery and then she chose this:

Two days later the Baker snickered as she handed me the cake, and then said "That is the best cake I've ever frosted." 

What daddy wouldn't be over the moon happy about a unicorn cake?

He surely was.  He loved that unicorn cake because our little girl loved that unicorn cake.

This is one of the simple joys of raising children. 

Keep Calm

Surely you have seen these signs before...

For the Stressed:

For the betrothed:

For the Bloggers:

For the Faithful:

And for the Mommas:

This tank was sent to my by my girl Jennifer from Circle of love and the craziness around it.  Our kids are about the same ages, although she's raising boys and I'm raising girls.  I absolutely adore her and whole heartedly envy her craftiness.  Thanks for the tank, Jenn!  I have a feeling I'll wear it until the fabric gives out!