Good Egg

Old Hop Along or Oldie as she is also know is one of the best chickens around... a real "good egg!" 

Ok, Ok, so it doesn't hurt that she moves pretty slowly... but, she is a very tolerant old bird!

Medieval Weekend

Last weekend Savanna and I went with our Girl Scout Troop to a Medieval reenactment.  The event was Saturday, but since we didn't get a chance to go camping as a Troop this year we added an overnight at a campground into the plan!  It was a fun weekend; the girls learned a lot about Medieval times and we got to hang with some of our Scout buddies.

The event was held at Fort Knox in Prospect Maine.  It was a bit of a drive, but we left early and made good time.  We arrived in plenty of time to experience all the events they had planned, and also explore the fort.

I hope that as Savanna gets older, she continues to be interested in Scouting and all it offers.  Most of her best friends have fallen by the wayside in the past few years, but she still seems to enjoy the group.  I love that we get exposure to things we might not necessarily do otherwise.  I don't think a cross bow, throwing axes or chain mail would be on her radar otherwise!

Speaking of Climbing

Somehow I never posted these pictures...

One evening as I was fussing around the house I realized I didn't know where Wes was.  Going back to the last place I knew he had been, I rounded the corner into the kitchen and found this!  To make matters worse, Bill was leaning against the island taking pictures...

 Now, how could you be mad at a face like that?!  Sigh. 

Big Helper

While I vacuumed today, I left Wes in the kitchen "helping" to wash the dishes.  As I made my way thru the dining room I looked up to find my big helper making sure he got them really well done:

 ps.  the baby lock that keeps him out of the under sink cabinet seems to have let me down in this respect... he used it to get a toe hold on his climb into the sink.  Monkey Man!

First Day 2011-2012

This week the Big Kids went back to school.  I must admit, I was a bit bummed.  For the first time in recent memory I was really sad to see them go!  Typically, I am secretly a little happy when that bus pulls up... this year- I wasn't ready for Summer to end!  Despite my reluctance t send them off the day dawned and it was pretty nasty; cool and rainy.  Wes was up sick the night before, and I really just wanted to sleep in... but the first day won't wait: 

 All 3 of them started at new schools- Olivia at Noble High for her Freshman year!  Savanna joined her on the early bu for her trip to the Knowlton School for 6th Grade.

And poor Billy missed the bus to the Mary Hurd School.... we waited an hour at the end of the driveway before I phoned in to see what the delay was... seems Ms. Knight was running earlier than the route predicted and we missed her!  Oh well- no harm done and he wasn't upset about being late to the first day!  Whoops~ Here's hoping for a great year; Wes and I certainly will miss you! 

More and More Barn Work

This holiday weekend we spent working on the barn.  I suppose it was a fitting way to end the summer~

I have been looking around, and found a good deal on some used stall mats on craigslist... we spent one day getting them, and getting them in place.  I am thrilled to have 3 stalls fully matted now- I'll keep my eye out for more steals!  For now, though- I'm tired of moving mats!!

 With Mom here to watch Wes I was able to really dig in and help- literally!  We spent one good day working the arena site.  I have to admit, that rock picking is one of my least favorite jobs- but many hands made light work, and we moved a zillion stones! 

 I think after this session you can see the difference, and that's what counts right- moving in the right direction!

Conway Get Away

While we had no power here in town, Mom was up in Conway with electricity and Cousins Kaleb and Jayson... so, after a quick check about getting off Oak Woods duty, I hightailed it out of town with the boys! Savy had cheer, and Liv a riding team meeting... so they stayed here in the dark and we went off for a few days of fun without them!

Mostly the boys played around the cabin- army is big this summer- helicopters and tanks are everywhere! We also did a day at StoryLand. I love the season passes... it makes it so easy to pop in for a few hours! Since we (well, Mom mostly) go a lot, it is interesting to see what everyone gravitates to each trip.
The front section with the nursery rhyme themed activities is fun for Wes, but the bigger kids play there too!

The animals often get a glance on the way by, but this time we stopped to look at each of them. Wes loves all sorts of critters- so he was happy to stand and watch them all for a while.

Billy and Jay did the bigger rides- they have fun together and Billy is tall enough to ride alone with Jayson... which is really helpful since I hate spinning~

Wes wanted "more" of the flying whales and the big train... but this spot in the sidewalk got the most attention from him this trip! It was so funny to watch him chase the water and wait for it to come back out of all the holes! I must admit, that on more than one occasion I had my fingers crossed that his hole would squirt as he looked down into it!

Wes was able to pull off the diaper look, but the big boys were all soaked to the skin! Billy was dumping the water out of his shoes like buckets. It was a fun day- and a fun trip up to the cabin, a special time without the girls and Bill. I was glad to get out when I did, since the power took three days to come back on! Now we are in the final stretch before school begins...

Good Night Irene

This past weekend brought with it, hurricane Irene. As the week progressed there was much talk of this "epic" storm... unheard of to have such a powerful hurricane make landfall so far North up the East Coast... we were in the path, set for a "direct hit." Well, by the end of the week I was pretty sure we were going to make out alright; but there were a few days of panic envisioning the hurricane strength wind and rain. In the end, it was pretty uneventful- but Vt and others got hit badly. The impending storm did motivate us to get a few things one around here though. The yard got cleared of all the junk that has been accumulating all summer. Talk of "flying debris" got the kids moving pretty quickly.

And, we worked to get the barn ready for it's first inhabitants! We borrowed 3 stall guards to make the unfinished stalls temporarily use able and Beau and Squeeke ended up spending the day in. We had a stiff breeze, and it did rain pretty hard so I was glad to have them in out of the wet mess. They both did well and seemed happy to be inside.

The other three weathered the storm in the run in- we honestly have had thunderstorms 10Xs worse than this hurricane. I was pretty underwhelmed! We did get rain, but these guys share so well (Beau was in with them too until we took him in to keep Squeeke company) we just left them out! As soon as the rain stopped they went right back to grazing...

I worried a bit, but Olivia and Billy spent quite a lot of time out in the barn "babysitting" Since the whole "inside" concept is new, and the roof is pretty loud I didn't want any issues with upset ponies. Wes and I took a turn on duty too, he was more than ready to get outside! The barn aisle is a great place to play- especially since we don't have the grading done and ended up with a few puddles for stomping in!

We did loose power- for 3 days! It was pretty frustrating, since it was such a dud of a storm... but we made the most of it (and I fled with the boys to Conway on day 2!) and we can chock "hurricane" up to another of the big adventured of the summer!

Plus, Wendy offered to let us keep the stall guards as long as we need- so that's a bonus too! Many thanks to her, and Cindi (and Kate too!)

More Hunting

Cheryl, the Master of the Hounds sent along some pictures her Husband Sandy took at the two hunts. I think this one is funny since Nic and Beau have the same weird neck for some reason- and neither of them is ewe necked in person!

The day of the first hunt, the stirrup cup was here at our house, and both boys had such a good time entertaining the "guests" and took right to the hounds when we arrived! Billy ran in for a few fistfuls of cookies, and had all the hounds very happy! Wes was eating a peach, and apparently a number of the hounds were interested in it, but he wasn't going to share!