Crowbait, The Amazing Peeing Appaloosa!

(Okay--I realize that the original title of this post was "Crowbait, Amazing Peeing Quarter Horse!" And that was a slip of my brain...because while all of our other horses are Quarters, Crowbait, quite obviously, is not...He is, and will forever be, the most famous Appaloosa in Osage County. Forgive me, I have a "brain worm.")

Summertime means playdays for us. Roundup clubs are groups of people who get together to practice/showoff their amateur skills at rodeo events like barrels, pole bending, flag race, calf roping, dummy roping, goat tying, etc. Monthly playdays are a great opportunity for the girls to see friends, practice their rodeo skills, get a sense of what is means to be in a competition, and generally just have a great time. The girls' first playday for the summer was the last Saturday in April.
Rhian loves playdays. Near the end of each month she asks me approximately a million times, "When is the next playday?"

Because Rhian is now in the "big arena" with the "big kids," I must split my time between watching her events and watching the little girls. My mother-in-law, DeeDee, graciously watched the little girls and led them through their first event while I watched Rhian run barrels. Rhian was terrified to be in the big arena, and was concerned about the number of people watching her. I tried to reassure her that she would be fine, but she nearly cried as she entered the arena. I told her, "Just go this one time, and I promise it will get easier."

She did just fine, just as I thought. However, she did turn each barrel completely backwards, but I did not have the heart to tell her...I really blame myself, because as I was reminding her of the barrel pattern (which she has done a million times), I told her to make one right turn and two left turns. Which is correct, but she interpreted it to mean go to the right side of the barrel and then to the left side twice...my bad...

But she finished, and trotted back, so I gave her a big smile, a "great job," and money to go to the concession stand. She had a great big smile on her face and was willing and excited to do the next event--sucess in my book.

While Rhian was enjoying her snack in between events, I made my way over to watch the little girls. I got there just in time to catch DeeDee taking Jacklyn through the poles. Doesn't she look tiny atop that big 'ol palamino?
She was really excited and was all smiles! She would not come down from that horse for anything!
Because her sister refused to share Peppy, Elizabeth charmed a little boy out of his pony (not just any boy--we knew him!) and she completed the rest of her events on the cute, fuzzy little pony. Elizabeth had never been on a pony and thought it was the funniest thing ever!
When David saw these pictures, his first reaction was, "why is Elizabeth on a pony?"--with great disdain...when Elizabeth mentioned that she thought the pony was fun, David quickly corrected her that Quarter Horses are much better than ponies, and Peppy is a very beautiful, very nice horse and that any cowboy would be glad to have him. Because her daddy is her hero, Elizabeth quickly agreed and later told me with much conviction that horses are better than ponies...
I snapped a few pictures of my friend Betsy being a very proud mommy, taking pictures of her adorable son, Cort. He is six months younger than Jacklyn, and she is the first girl that he ever kissed (they were 11 months, and 5 months respectively)--except for mommy and grandmas, of course...Betsy's husband Josh led his baby boy through the events, on a pony which, as Rhian reminded me, looks remarkably like the miniature horse, Midnight, that we had when Rhian was little. (Was that a run-on sentence?--Dalene?)
When the little girls were done with their events, they rode double back to the trailer, so that they could watch Rhian complete her events. They were so very proud of their "Gold Medal" participation buttons.
Rhian was excited about the poles. It is her favorite event, and she did the pattern perfectly--except for one little hiccup...I took this picture about two seconds before Crowbait stopped to pee--in the middle of her pattern--with the entire crowd and the announcer laughing. I was laughing so hard I forgot to take a photo. Rhian had the funniest reaction. She sighed, put her elbow on the saddle horn and propped her chin on her hand and waited until he was done--about 30 seconds...the crowd laughed harder. I was afraid that she would be terribly disappointed, but instead, she just laughed it off. She's a good sport.

Rhian completed the flag race just in time for them to announce that there would be a goat tying event, complete with the lead line age group (Liz and Jack's age group) goat "undecorating." Basically, they have to be lead down to the goat, jump off their horse, and pull a ribbon off the goat's tail. I had not entered the girls, but Liz begged Mimi into letting her participate.
So DeeDee literally ran to the horse trailer to get Peppy, ran to the announcers stand to enter Liz, mounted Liz on Peppy and ran to the arena gate just in time for them to call Liz's name.
Elizabeth completed the event with her trademark gusto, and then held up her ribbon for her adoring fans--the entire crowd...like I have mentioned before, that kid is growing to have quite a ego...
All in all, it was a fun Saturday afternoon--can't wait until this Saturday! Maybe Crowbait will hold it this time!

Good times at ACS

When I was in high school at ACS, when someone would reminisce about something particularly fun, someone in our group of friends (Ashley) would undoubtedly say, "Good times, good times." Along with "cool beans" (Jill). I don't know, we were teenagers, we thought we were funny...

A couple of weeks ago, ACS held an event that falls into the "good times" category. The spring musical was by far the best production that they have put on thus far. The script and music were appropriately poignant and teaching, but at the same time witty enough to keep your attention.

Here is a synopsis of the musical that I stole from this site: http://www.wordmusic.com/products/book.cfm?upc=080689710179.

"Jailhouse Rock!, an upbeat musical from Celeste Clydesdale, teaches children about our freedom in Christ as believers. The musical opens as the children embark on a fun week of hiking and swimming at Camp Koinonia. But much to their disappointment, when they arrive a torrential downpour leaves them "jailed up" in the mess hall. While the children are inside, the Camp Director and the Junior Counselors teach them about Paul, Silas and Peter's experiences being "locked up," and how prayer and praise makes a difference.

As a bonus, on the performance video, Joni Eareckson Tada shares her testimony and teaches both children and congregation that God has a sovereign plan for each of us. Even though seen or unseen things may confine us, when we are reborn through Christ, we are always free in our hearts.

Filled the variety of music styles you expect from Celeste Clydesdale, Jailhouse Rock! is a musical kids will love as they learn that true freedom comes from being reborn in Christ."

This is one production that lived up to its review!

Can I just say, I consider myself a creative person, not overly creative or an artist, but creative with a healthy dose of practicality, but whoever thought up the PVC pipe camp bus should get parent bonus-points!
Rhian takes her musicals very, very seriously. She practices hard, and she is right on cue for every hand motion...I really should put her in dance...she does so well at Upward cheerleading--but I am just too selfish with our family time to devote that much time and effort to an extracurricular activity. I know, I know, she will probably hate me for it later. I can hear it now, "I could have been a prima ballerina, but my mom was too lazy to take me to lessons..." But that's why I let her do Upward--minimal input, maximum output and fun.

Okay, for as great as her older sister was, Elizabeth seriously stole the show. She was soooo cute! But really, how can she not be? Several people stopped us to compliment us and her with comments like, "There's that little actress--she was so cute!" or "That little one stole the show!" Poor little Rhian may just end up with a complex because everyone compliments Elizabeth all the time--I mean all the time. And trust me, it is starting to get to Liz too--she is by no means humble...
Rhian had a solo. She has the clearest, most beautiful voice, and she has such confidence and volume. Everytime my Grandma Isla hears her sing, she says, "Rhian has the most beautiful tone; you need to get her in singing lessons." If anyone knows, its Grandma Isla.


Elizabeth and her little Pre-K friend were a hoot! He over-exaggerated everything. So funny!



Check out Liz's classmate in this one. That's some over-expression! Hee, hee, haaaa

The older kids are always the backbone of the play. They have the speaking parts and always a treat to watch!

Ha. ha. ha...he. he...

Hee...hee, hee, ha, ha, ha...

I love, love, love these girls. I am so very proud of them! Good times, good times.

5Ks and Kids

I have been running 5Ks lately. Don’t ask me why, because I hate to run…But I really needed to get active again, and my friend (note that when I originally typed the word friend, I left out the “r” and it became “fiend”) Lindsay likes to run, so I am blaming her. And my friend Courtney for making me do that torturous Y-fit class.

Anyway—blame aside, I have started to run again. And it has paid off, a little anyway. But for the sake of a little muscle tone and a little less cellulite, I have put my body through the ringer. It is not easy to be enthusiastic about running when your lungs feel like they just might collapse, or your shins might split in two.

Two 5Ks down, and Lindsay is packing my spring weekend schedule with as many runs as possible. And where have the girls been during all of this running? Thank God for the YMCA and their child care center—and for Spencer, Lindsay’s husband, who is forced into watching my children so that Lindsay and I can train together (know that they do not have children, so this is like forcing a cat into a bathtub)and low and behold, he is a good babysitter.

On one Sunday that Lindsay and I went to OKC to run in the Red Bud Classic, I asked my workstudy students Michael and Jaclyn to watch the girls.

They are getting married this summer, and I figured it was my duty to give them a crash course in child crowd-control. I decided (and convinced them) that if they could survive my girls, they could survive parenthood together.

So I dropped the girls at the university at 8:30 in the morning, and turned on my heel and ran in the other direction, lest Michael and Jaclyn change their minds. And so, while I made a 7 hour round trip to be tortured by asthma and shin splints, my girls had a fabulous time.

Michael and Jacklyn took them to church (to the church that both my current boss, former boss, and half the university attend—I had visions of them jumping over pews and throwing spit wads). Apparently, they were so in awe of Michael and Jaclyn, they were perfect angels. “Statues” as my friend told me. My baby Jacklyn even fell asleep.

After church, they took the girls to Burger King, let them eat and play, and then took them back to Jaclyn’s dorm room to nap. This is the part where I became a little skeptical about their ability to control my children. Could they really get all three of the girls to nap (including my eight year old, who is “too old” to take naps)? Apparently I underestimated them. I called Jaclyn at 1:30 to make sure that they were not giving her a hard time. She assured me that they were behaving beautifully, and all three of them were sound asleep! If she had not taken these photos, I might not have believed her.

Upon waking from naps, they gave the girls snacks, and took them to play and to see the house Michael and Jaclyn have rented for their first home together after they get married in July. They played hide and seek and tag, and posed for a few (great) photos.

The couple then took them to McDonald's for dinner. (Normally I would balk at my children eating fast food twice in one day, but in this case, whatever makes them happy.) Then, they drove them all the way to my house!!!

Needless to say, the girls had a fantastic time. But I have decided that next time, I am going to send the girls to run with Lindsay, and I am going to go play with Michael and Jaclyn!