The Tale of The Sleeping Baby

See, I am awake! Those of you out there that travel in our circles have probably come to believe (for good reason) that Aiden is never awake. Well, for the most part you are correct. When we leave the house his internal switch puts him into sleep mode until we arrive back at home. So I thought I would post an awake picture for you all to see so we have proof that he does wake up...eventually.... Although yesterday I had my doubts when, after seeping all day, he also slept through the night. Hum...Another growth spurt? I hope not!

Swim Lessons

Sarah has been taking swim lessons for about two weeks now. She has done very well this year, although I think she may be to small for them to bump her up to the level three status she was looking for. (She is the smallest one in her group) She does swim like a fish though, more often underwater then above.

Her boy-craziness has really come in handy for lessons too. She has a young man, Jordan, as her instructor and would do just about anything he says! He even has her going off the diving board without a life jacket! (This was a little scary for Mom, not for Sarah) My friend Lynn compared the instructor to the Incredibles character today - I think she was right, they do bear some similarities... None the less - Sarah is enamored with him.
Sarah and Mr. Incredible
Hanging out in the deep end - Look Mom No Life Jacket!
Swim class - learning the front crawl
Kick board.

Where's Matthew?

The Farmer has been MIA around the homestead, and some have inquired as to his where being. Well, the picture below accounts for most of his time lately. The wheat harvest took about two weeks to bring in this year. This is a picture down at Uncle Pat's house behind the shop.Matthew did get some time on Monday to spend with Sarah while he unloaded straw in our machine shed. She was thrilled to have Daddy home for the afternoon. They were inseparable out in the yard. She even followed him down to the shop to help fix a trailer. When I came to pick her up, she had swept the shop floor and helped hand Daddy parts he needed while he worked - she loved it!

Let's Go RV'ing

As some of you may know, Matthew and I have been looking (albeit, lackadaisically) for an RV lately. Originally Matthew thought he wanted a cabin (thanks Jake and Abby) that we would use to get away in the summer and maybe enjoy in the wintertime too. But after giving it some thought, we decided a camper may suit our lifestyle a little better. (Ok, I decided...) Only for the fact that we would not be held down to one location, plus we would not have another mortgage and tax to pay on!

So, we have looked at only two campers so far. One was quite disappointing in that I do not think they ever cleaned that thing - and that is just gross! The other was a self-propelled unit which was way out of our league. So we continue the hunt. If anyone out there knows of anything worth looking at - please let me know.

Sarah's Baby

If you look very closely you will see a cicada in this picture. Sarah found this guy in the tree out in front of our house yesterday. He was still wet from emerging from his former skin and hanging on the tree to dry. Sarah claimed him as her baby and kept watch over him all day - even as far as chasing a hopeful bird away from picking him off.

New Horse on the Block

A couple of weeks ago, my friend Jim bought himself a fancy new horse. They call him Chief. Ok - it is really El Jue--something something in Spanish that means chief - but I can only pronounce Chief.

Today Sarah, Aiden and I went out to take a look at said fellow. He is sure a looker! Peruvian Paso by breed, he moves quite elequantly and seems to fly around the ring. His glossy black coat catching the sun and mane and tail streaming behind. Jim had just the tack to adorn such a stead too. With tapederos and all they were decked out to the max.

Jim was having some minor discipline troubles with the guy that he said he would like a little help with, and with a minor amount of coaching he was able to correct him and off they went around the area like old friends.

Now to put my riding lately in perspective, I have not ridden since July of last year. (Trying to get on a horse while you are pregnant is uncomfortable at best.) So when I volunteered to ride this one, I was nervous to say the least. Climbing in the saddle Chief reassured my fear by pinning his ears and reaching for my shoe. Boy was he surprised when he got that tapedaro instead! But once I was in the saddle I was in heaven! To feel that horse beneath me and the power he possesses was wondrous. He stepped out beautifully, full of willingness and strength. Oh how I have missed that feeling...

So now I have the bug. I will be searching for sitters to care for the kids as I ride off in the sunset on our beasts here at home. Someone should really warn our horses.