~Hey I'm back!

Hey Y'all!

  I know it's been a long time! (Yes I'm still alive!) Life has been rolling along and God is good! (Just have to add that, because He is!) 

  My family and I just recently got back from a trip to visit my dad's uncle in Arkansas and then we stopped in Illinois to pick up {another} horse. 

  All in all we had a very good trip and God blessed us with safety the whole time.

While visiting at my uncle's {I call him my uncle even though he's my great uncle...in more ways than one ;)} I got to practice working with a neighbor's horses. (Her name was Katy) It was very good experience for me and he appreciated the time I spent with them. I really enjoyed riding her and would love to go back and do it again. Maybe next year? Oh that sounds so far away!

We got to meet lots of new families and put faces to the names we had heard. One of the highlights was getting to meet two sets of twins (from different families) and spend two days with them. We went ice skating, in which I caught my pick once and fell ker-splat on the ice. Neither graceful nor ladylike! I got a pretty good bruise on my knee and the wind knocked out of me but nothing that a little rest couldn't fix. I was up and skating again pretty soon but more careful of my pick this time! 

While out there we played a lot of volleyball. And it was hot! But for some reason we played anyway! ;) My cousin played his guitar with me playing my violin several times, and we all enjoyed just singing together too. 

Also Tash and I got to meet a blogger friend of ours while we were out! That was so neat! 

It was hard leaving, knowing that you wouldn't see everybody again for a long time. I can't wait to go back out again!

Stopping at our friend's place in Illinois is always such a treat for me! Randy trains amazing horses. I mean AMAZING! I never rode one of his horses that did't have an awesome stop. Pretty much all of them can spin. And I mean SPIN! They do rollbacks that are fast enough to throw you if you're not watching, jogs and lopes that make you feel like you're not even getting anywhere. He always has a bunch he wants me to try out. One 3 year old I just rode had the disposition of a 20 year old. I love that horse! Another 15 year old gelding I rode probably had been around the block twice and was downright amazing. He is probably the best horse I have ever ridden. I think I rode him the longest out of them all. Every time I go there I learn so many new aspects of training and riding that I wonder how I will remember them all. {Video cameras are awesome for that!} 

So we got a new mare there too. My family has started calling her Sheika, but I call her little girl or Sissy most times. To see more about her click here.

  So yeah, that's what I'm up to. Cooler weather would be greatly appreciated right now! I have a lot of work to do with the horses and I'm not feeling very motivated in this heat!

Me riding Katy

Our new girl Sheika!