Holy Controversy!!!

*WARNING: Very graphic pictures included in the article links! Do not view links if you are at all squeamish! New York Times article is safe*

A few days ago I wrote about Lainey Ashker's accident at Rolex Kentucky. As she was one who was on my radar for the Olympics short list with the horse she rode when this accident occurred, I felt it was a worthy topic. Well, that, coupled with the fact that injurious falls do occupy my mind quite a bit when they happen....for obvious reason.

I'm not alone in that thinking. The list of articles written, including the one that made the front page of the New York Times ( http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/29/sports/othersports/29eventing.html ), displays this. One article ( http://www.kentucky.com/779/story/389828.html ) put the picture depicting the moment of Frodo's nose hitting the ground in their story. Subsequently, the writer blogged what the reaction to the photo was, along with reprinting a couple of others from the accident ( http://herald-leader.typepad.com/behind_the_headlines/2008/04/reaction-mixed.html ). Personally, I think it's necessary. Honestly, they're not as graphic and horrid as the video, which I have viewed, but knowing the outcome makes them difficult to see.

I think what made everyone's blood boil with this most recent of accidents is the fact Laine and Frodo fell at a very straightforward, simple, and inviting fence. A fence that Laine and 41 other riders had already gone over in the day (Laine was riding two separate horses...ironically, the first mount was that of her close friend who was killed in rotational fall last year).

David O'Connor, the same man I was previously gushing about and president of the United States Equestrian Federation, has stated to the media that Laine and Frodo simply "misread" the fence. I disagree, but I'm not dealing with the reporters. I'm sure he knows it's just an easy way to explain to non-horsey people how an accident of this magnitude happened. You see, Frodo took a funky step about 1 1/2 strides out from the fence. One that caused him to chip (a chip is taking off from very close to the base of the fence so you sort of frog-hop over it...or crash through it) He never got his front end off the ground, but it was too late to even attempt to stop. Honestly, it was a pure fluke accident.

Eventing has seen an incline in injuries and deaths, for both horse and rider, in the past year or two. The course design, the way the horses are ridden, the training of the riders, the use of frangible pins...everything down to the weather on a given day has been discussed in an effort to make things safer. Then came the Red Hills Horse Trials...

Saturday, March 15th was the date of the cross country portion. Jonathan Holling's horse, Direct Merger, fell....and died. Missy Miller's horse, Leprechaun's Rowdy Boy, fell.....and died. Olympic Veteran Darren Chiacchia had a rotational fall, the same type Lainey suffered, with Baron Verdi. Baron was fine...Darren was nearly killed. Enter the national media.

Then we have Rolex this past weekend. I only touched on Laine's tragedy, but there was another horse who died, and another rider put in the hospital.

Sarah Hansel and The Quiet Man hit a fence and fell, injuring his shoulder. Initial tests were positive, but further radiographs showed a poor prognosis. Not even a comfortable future as a pasture ornament. He was euthanized on Sunday morning.

Corinne Ashton had a malfunction with her breastcollar while riding Dobbin, causing her to hold the reins and one side of the breastcollar in an uncomfortable fashion. He made a huge jump over the second duck in the water (an obstacle, not a real bird) and unseated Corinne. This lady is one tough Scot, and she finished the weekend in great form, though it was obvious she was feeling discomfort. Turns out she broke a couple of ribs and had some blood in her lungs. She's got a chest tube to drain the lungs, but is doing well.

The media is all over this. With the Olympic Games approaching in August, the questions are being posed: Should eventing be an Olympic sport? Should it remain in, but have the cross-country portion taken out? Should it go back to the long phase? Should the sport be stood down or boycotted completely? At least until safety improves? Well, on that last one, you can't improve if you don't keep doing....so that's sort of a silly question.

It could be a good thing, though, all this attention. Maybe more people will watch this summer and see the joy these animals have in their job. Trust me, if a horse doesn't enjoy what it's doing, it DOESN'T do it. Maybe more people will see the athleticism of the riders. Maybe people will enjoy the thrill of all equestrian sports. Maybe, just maybe the Olympic coverage will be more mainstream.

I doubt it, but I hope. I also hope that the current controversial coverage doesn't leave a bad taste in the mouths of those who've never watched before.

Only time will tell......

Sound Memory....

They say "tazo" is the memory trigger from smell...scent memory. Really it means "river of life," so I have no idea where all these folks get the scent memory connection, but it still sounds pretty cool. Anyway, it makes me wonder what the correct word or term for sound memory is. You know, the memories brought on by a song, or train whistle, or whatever.

Hawaii has been on my mind a lot lately. It's been 10 years since I moved back to the mainland, but the memories hold me just like it was last month. You'd think I'd be going back there when I wear my plumeria perfume, or from the ginger I still like to munch on, or because of the sunscreen I put on my face daily. Afterall, those are the things I smelled and tasted every single day there. Nope. Not the trigger.

I hear a song and am immediately transported to my morning runs in Aloha A'ina park on base, the Great Aloha Run, the Ford Island Bridge plank owner race, or the H3 race from hell (seriously, WHAT was I thinking? It was horrible running up one side of the mountain, through the tunnel, only to think "wow, this view is soooo worth it." Yeah, then the bigger pain of running down the other side reminded me that I was an idiot). I hear another song and I'm sitting on the Hickam beach watching my dear, sweet husband's submarine sail off for God only knows where while tears stream down my face. One more song and I'm goofing off with my coworker's in the middle of the night while we're half a mile underground doing Top Secret squirrel stuff.

Heck, even now as I'm sharing this stuff I've got two songs doing battle in my mind! Straight back to the Tunnel giggling over the way Dr Pepper smells and singing at the top of our lungs at Raday. Thank goodness everyone did it and the WOC thought it was hilarious...

But even sitting at home in a rare quiet moment can trigger the response. Spring and summer are the timeframe. The breeze through the trees and the call of a killdeer or seagull put me on the reef on base with the sharks swimming over my feet. That same breeze with the giggle of a child outside puts me at the Three Tables in Shark's Cove enjoying the turtles begging for some illegal attention (who knew wild Green Sea Turtles were so affectionate?) before they zoomed back into the water. The sound of my next door neighbor's having a grand time on the weekends makes me lay in bed thinking I'm back in my barracks room...except there's no flightline 150 yards out my window.

I can't believe it was so long ago!!

The other place that my mind drifts to so very often is Washington. Not the state, the District of Columbia. I may have lived 3 hours away, but I was in that city and metro area a few times a month. I love it there. Strange, considering I'm not much of one for cities.

I didn't get a 4th of July in 2002. Well, I did, but it was spent helping my fellow townsfolk evacuate because of an approaching flood and the day's celebrations had been cancelled....obviously. Since we were in PA by July 2003, I stated DC was where I wanted to spend Independence Day. That was just so, so, SOO much fun! And the best fireworks display ever! What a baptism to an incredible place....I'll always see the Lincoln Memorial when I hear fireworks now.

It's getting a little late for it, but I always get a little sad this time of year when I can't go enjoy the cherry blossoms. It's hard when I'm missing my grandparents and I can't take a day trip to just hang out at the WWII Memorial (of which we were blessed to attend the dedication ceremony for). I miss seeing AF1, AF2, Marine1, or Marine2 on a regular basis while pulling Reserve Duty at Andrews. It bites that I'm not still walking the vast halls of the Pentagon. And I miss the reverence of Arlington National Cemetery and the majesty of the National Cathedral.

Those memories are always triggered by music. Tons of different genres, each having a specific place, or weather event, or festival, or something that sends my mind reeling back to a city that I absolutely fell in love with.

Two places that are completely different, but that will always hold my heart. Two places that have brought moments of definition to my life. Two places that will always come straight to mind and flood my heart with incredible memories...all because of music.

All because of sound memory.

Godspeed, Frodo Baggins

Ahhh, Rolex. Not your grandfather's watch, but the only CCI **** (that's 4-star) 3-day event in the United States. Held at the BEAUTIFUL Kentucky Horse Park, home to many retired race and show horses...and the United States Equestrian Federation. Each year at the end of April the best of the best make their appearance to complete the grueling task of a dressage test, cross-country run, and a stadium jumping course in the short span of 3 days. I know it doesn't sound like much, but these horses and riders are THE athletes of the equine show world! It's always a total thrill to watch...especially Day 2 when cross country is tackled. That was today (Saturday).

As always, Karen O'Connor made her mark. It used to be her and David (the same one who won the Olympic Gold in Sydney and who's mom still teaches dressage in the Salt Lake Valley), but now David is the big wig in charge of the USEF...he's still a looker, though! Oh yeah, I should mention that I thought he was the most gorgeous being when I was a junior, and I THRILLED at the times he was at Lynnleigh or an awards dinners. But I digress....

Being that I'm currently consumed by ponies, it is a big thing to me that Karen is taking the world by storm with her pint-sized mount, Theodore O'Connor....no relation. Teddy was bred by Patricia Wynn Norman in Florida, and she is a wonderful woman. It's just pure coincidence that Teddy and Karen became a team and share the same name. The pair are making their second appearance at Rolex, won the Pan Am Games, and are preparing for the Olympics in Beijing (Hong Kong, actually, for the equestrian events), a big thing for a Sportpony standing at 14.1 3/4 hands high!

They aren't the only Olympic hopefuls in the ring this year. There are always plenty. This season I want to focus on Laine Ashker and her 16.2hh black New Zealand bred Thoroughbred, "Frodo Baggins." Lainey is all of 24-years-old and very accomplished. She's been riding since she was 2, just a lovely rider to watch.




Frodo was named for the character in the Lord of the Rings, AND he made an appearance in the movie! In the first movie the Hobbits are being chased by the Dark Riders. The scene where the Hobbits are crouched below the tree roots and the main Dark Rider stops his horse on top of them....that horse is this particular Frodo Baggins. Frodo also was present at the premier of the movie, paraded around New Zealand, and met the Prime Minister. A successful movie star and a successful eventer in his new home in the USA.




So, I've already mentioned that today was the cross-country portion of Rolex. All was going well, which is really good considering the accidents in recent months. Frodo got in too deep to fence number five...a flower basket....and he had what is called a "rotational" fall. That means he hit the jump just right and flipped head over heels. Bad enough by itself, but riders can't get out of the way, which means Frodo landed right on top of Lainey.

A delay ensued, 90 minutes worth of delay. Lainey was taken out via Life Flight to the University of Kentucky Medical Center. She has suffered a broken jaw and lost a few teeth...officially. Unofficially, I've heard she also fractured a vertebrae, but is otherwise doing fine. Really, she is a VERY lucky woman.

Frodo was stuck behind the tarps while being attended to by the veterinary staff. He was still conscious, but unable to get up. He was stabilized, treated for pain and shock, tranquilized, then loaded onto the equine ambulance via slider floor and taken to Hagyard Equine Hospital for further treatment...or THE decision. It was found he suffered a fracture at the base of his skull, as well as severe lung injury (rumored to be a pulmonary hemorrhage), given a poor prognosis. His human family made the decision to let him go.

So, Frodo Baggins has crossed the Rainbow Bridge. Lainey has lost two of her very best friends in just over a year's time (the previous being Eight St. James Place at Jersey Fresh). I don't know how she'll manage to get back in the saddle....but I know she will.





Let me mention now just how much I admire eventers. They are some crazy brave people! I like my fences to fall when I hit them, not the other way around...maybe I'm truly a wimp, but I'm okay with that. Heaven help me if my son decides eventing is his sport, though!

Get well soon, Lainey. Godspeed, Frodo Baggins.

10 Days is Too Long...

I can't believe I waited 10 days to make another post! In all honesty, we have been keeping busy, but that's not a great excuse.

Jeff has been working those stupidly long hours because of his plant's outage. It bothers me, to an extent, because it really wears him out. I worry about his time in the car. He's been doing great, but it does take a toll. But then, it doesn't bother me because it's part of his job and a necessary thing. We've been through these plenty of times...means a little more work at home for me, in the department of laundry, especially, but no big deal.

Here at this particular plant, however? It bugs me. It bugs me big time. Why? Because my dear, sweet, extremely patient husband and his merry band of operators have to work 18-20 hour days to make up for the lazy maintenance manager and his crew of golden children who just don't know any better. Seriously! I think I've met that man once, but I despise him. He's a lazy wanker! But enough of that.

Luke is a busy little man. He keeps me on my toes! Thank goodness he's so good around the ponies, but I am having a dickens of a time trying to locate a lock to put up high on the doors that actually matches our existing hardware. You see my boy has figured out the doors. He's been known to let himself outside and can't reach the handle to come back in. I'm terrified he'll pull this stunt when I'm not right here with him, so locks at the top of the doors will be installed soon.

I found some great locks that I thought would be perfect, but they won't work with our moulding. Not flat enough. Darn. Sometime this weekend they go back to Lowe's and I come home with the more expensive sliding chains. Did I mention they're more expensive? Why is it kids have to make you buy the more expensive stuff? Oh well, if it keeps him safe then it's worth it.

Luke's finally cutting one of his 2-yr-old molars. FINALLY! Once this one comes through, it should kick-start the other three. Or, at least that's how it's worked with the first set of molars. At least I'm aware of this and his grumpiness makes perfect sense. Last night he threw a royal fit over my locking the guest bedroom door. Not something I normally have to do, but he wouldn't leave the danged door alone! Once it was locked he just kept trying and trying, screaming all the while. I tried to bribe him away with cookies, laundry, the dog, the cat, and finally by carrying him into the living room with me. Nope, wasn't having any of it. He went screaming back down the hall, causing me to laugh and him to get madder. He went into our bedroom, grabbed a few things, threw them into the hall, then went back to the guest room door and continued his fit. He eventually stopped, walked down the hall to the living room and was acting like nothing ever happened. He even sat down and "helped" me fold laundry! What a goofy kid.....(sometimes ignoring him is the best thing I can do...)

Me? Oy...My life has been filled with ponies and doctor's appointments. My gallbladder hasn't been happy with me for, oh...6 months now, I guess. Through this, I have come to find that I will be looking for a new family doctor. Funny how the patient had to beg for a certain test that my doctor and his gastroentrologist buddy were sure I didn't need because it HAD to be my stomach. Oh, and GE buddy also decided that I must've just had a virus that had caused muscle pain....funny. I didn't know localized pain in a very particular spot that persisted and worsened over nearly 5 months (at that time) was just viral muscle pain....

Anyway, the test I begged for showed I was, indeed, correct. Now it's just a matter of when, not if, to take the gallbladder out. The surgeon was WONDERFUL! He even stated that my initial ultrasound was definitely not "fine," as was reported to me, and had unobjectable proof that something was wrong there. He was the first person in a line of others to state that! Wow, my confidence in the doctors around Pueblo is just skyrocketing, let me tell you (drip, drip, drip).

Oh, but it gets better! So, people keep thinking that we'll have another baby within a few years. Uh, no. Luke's pregnancy and birth pretty much destroyed that. Sometimes genetic factors aren't fun. Anyway, I've had issues since his birth. Long story short, it was decided last week that I'll be having that baby-growing organ taken out. I'll be having a partial hysterectomy. I was a little bummed about it, but now am okay with it. Seriously, if it stops the problems that have been going on, then it's so worth it.

The nice thing is that it'll be done at the same time as the gallbladder removal. One time under anesthesia, one set of incisions, one time to recover and heal. The hard part? Do I do it in the Springs with my ob/gyn that I trust and like, or do I do it in Pueblo at the hospital that saved my life and with the surgeon I trust and like? Conundrum. Well, I guess that'll come in time.....

I know, I need to post more pictures. They'll be coming soon. In the meantime, the fires are out, rebuilding, reforesting, and re-checking the indian artifacts has begun, and everyone else in this house is in a peaceful slumber. I believe it's time for me to join them.

Fires, Fires, Everywhere Is Fires!!!

What a crazy day! I don't know that I've commented on just how windy it stays here. Always windy! Well, you know it's going to be bad when the National Weather Service issues Red Flag Warnings at least a day out. In this case, it was issued 2 nights ago. For us that basically means "batten down the hatches and wet everything down because you're going to be facing 60-70 mph winds versus your usual 20 mph winds." That's especially dangerous from December to May in Colorado. Why? Because that is prime wildfire season.

I sit here in my house tonight and it just smells like smoke. When I walk to look out the back and look toward Fort Carson/Colorado Springs, all I see is this big orange glow. There is a very big fire up there on Fort Carson. It actually started yesterday and was contained. It flared back up this morning with all the danged wind while crews were making sure all the hot spots were out. At 6pm tonight that fire was about 2500 acres. Now it is 10pm and the fire has ballooned to 9000 acres!! Fires usually calm down at night because of the cool temperatures and normally higher humidity (humidity? What the heck is that? Oh yeah, it's what those lucky, lucky folks back East get to enjoy!! I'm serious...I love humidity and desperately miss it). Such is not the case tonight.

My friend and Welsh Pony breeder called earlier this evening while I was finishing the foolish task of planting the garden (who in their right mind puts seeds in the ground when the wind is howling at 40 mph sustained???). At that point she had 6 horses that had been evacuated from the Fort Carson stables in the round pen. More were on the way. I think maybe tomorrow I'll push finishing Lotus' mane and shedding work, as well as any riding that may be in order, out to later in the day and give these horses some extra attention. Carrots are in order! Most horses do just fine relocating, but when it's a case like this, they tend to be upset. Extra attention helps a little bit. They aren't the only ones evacuated tonight, however. A housing subdivision on Fort Carson is also under mandatory evacuation tonight. Along with those folks are the ones who've been put on alert to be ready to leave on a moment's notice.

The sad side of the Fort Carson "TA-125" fire is the death of a firefighting pilot. His plane crashed around 5 or 6pm tonight. Here's someone who's working to save people's homes and lives, and he loses his. I mourn for his family and friends tonight.

On an even more serious note is the fire to the East of us. In the town of Ordway, to be exact. Approximately 45 miles away. The fire there is smaller in size, but much more deadly. It has been fanned by....drum roll please....the wind. It is about 6000 acres in size, but the ENTIRE town of Ordway had to be evacuated. All 1100 people. Numerous homes and businesses are gone, including the airport. Even more sad is the fact 2 people have died in that fire because they could not get out of the way quick enough. They were trying to leave, even before the town was called out, and the flames were faster than they were. Terribly heartbreaking...and another family to mourn with and for.

Governor Bill Ritter has declared Crowley County, specifically the town of Ordway, in a State of Emergency. It's cleared the way for $500,000 to help with the fire fighting and some rebuilding. That's big, but it seems such a small amount of money....

I wish I could post pictures to share. I tried to get some of the smoke plume when I made the run to Walmart for flats of marigolds (keep the bunnies out of the garden), but I couldn't get a decent shot. I do plan to venture in both directions sometime later this week...if I can...so I'll get pictures of the aftermath.

For now, I'm going to go take one last look at the glow to the Northwest and fall into bed....

Holy Cow, That Was Close!!!

Nothing real big or important...just an observation.

We just heard helicopters on the way over the house, nothing uncommon. We hear them all the time, compliments of Fort Carson. Personally, I love it. Being the dork that I am, I had to race outside to take a look. Before I did, I scooped Luke up because he's becoming interested in aircraft, as well. After taking just one nanosecond to figure out which door would be best, we bolted out the sliding door...just in time.

What do we see? A little bit of a scary sight. I'm not sure how this happened! A Blackhawk (military) and a local news chopper so close together in passing that the news chopper actually had to dip down to miss hitting the Blackhawk! For a moment I was sure we'd have a new decoration in our yard (literally, we were staring straight up into the bellies, followed by a windowed nose on the news chopper...). Thank goodness that wasn't the case! Chopper crashes are more deadly to the crews than plane crashes.....not to mention the houses right here. And they were very low. The lowest I've seen for actual flight around here (in their defense, the cloud deck is so low and thick so this was probably where they were assigned for the visual aspect)....save for the neighbor coming in and doing a 3 foot buzz on the road and easement last summer to show off for his wife (that was cool)...low enough that I saw the "holy crap!" look on the news pilot's face, followed by him saying something, though I don't know what.

We stayed outside a few moments to watch them fly off. They weren't flying in opposite directions, as in they weren't coming in head on then tail-to-tail to each other, but I watched because it was such an unusual experience to have the news chopper right here. News guys went West-Northwest, Blackhawk went due North. A little backward, unless the Blackhawk was going to Peterson for some reason and the news chopper was heading to a mountain community. But it was enough to satisfy me that there was no need to turn the TV on. Just weird.

Oh, and here comes one of them on the way back...

Aren't I dork?

Goodbye, Shana and Ulrich....

Goodbye's are always difficult. Somehow, it's made a little easier when you're too busy chasing kids around to realize how the time passes. Still, it's not easy.

Shana and Ulrich are a model to me with Luke. Ullie is about 6 months older than the other kiddos, but Luke watched every move he made from the day the 2 met. Ulrich would crawl, Luke would try to crawl...resulting in flailing arms & legs but zero forward movement. Ulrich started walking, Luke spotted this and figured out how to pull himself up. Forward movement via cruising followed shortly after. Ulrich would laugh at the other kids, Luke would laugh. Ulrich would fall out of his stroller, Luke would do a face plant on the floor.

Shana always just handled any little thing that came her way with grace and dignity. Never got visibly angry, never snapped at people who made stupid comments, and knew just when to place a kindly blunt statement to quiet a know-it-all down. Being one who's kind of prone to just ripping another person's head off, I took note.

Shana and Ulrich are moving to Fairbanks, Alaska. Brr. Beautiful, but cold. They leave in a few days. So, a few other moms and kids got together with them on Tuesday to have one last day of fun.

Mr Biggs Little Bigg Town provided the setting. The music was.....heinous, but the setting was definitely fun. Loads of things to climb on, sand to dig in, balls to throw, and a slide to get staticy in. Of course, it also happened to be a day that Luke decided to be shy and decide he didn't want to play too much. Except for the slide. The slide was fine. Weird child.

In the group were Amanda with Jayden, Deanne with Colton & Tyler, Me with Luke, and Shana with Ulrich, naturally. We were missing Kelly with Hudson and Danika with Jade. Extenuating circumstances sometimes prevent play dates.

It was a fun day....it just went too quickly. Goodbye, Shana and Ulrich. You'll be sorely missed....

Birthday Curse This Year?

I am not one who really believes in being "cursed," simply because my faith tells me all that I need to know. I know curses exist....I have worked with enough witches....I just believe that faith in Christ gives us the strength to rebuke and beat the evil Satan puts forth.

That said, something strange is going on with us this year. Jeff's birthday is in the middle of March. I had set forth to bake him brownies and a cherry pie...from scratch, of course. He would also have whatever it was he wanted for dinner that night. Leave it to my husband to want something that is messy, messy to make...but at least it's tasty! Anyway, I was in the middle of mixing ingredients for the brownies when I got a phone call about a friend's grandson who is a month older than Luke. He was on his way to the hospital via ambulance....and it didn't sound good.

About 20 minutes later, not long after I slipped the brownie pan in the oven, I got the update phone call. Little Cullen had passed away. Needless to say I was no longer in the mood to bake. It was a good thing the brownies were essentially finished because I was done. Besides, who can properly do anything when you're crying your eyes out?

Poor Jeff. He still managed to have a good evening, but it had to be very difficult since I was still a blubbering fool. I just can't imagine....

Friday was my birthday. I didn't get my ice cream cake, but DID have a wonderful dinner out with my little family. It was perfect. My actual day had been filled with loads of laundry, but that was fine. I had a show the next day and Jeff was going out of town on Sunday, so Friday was my only day to get things done around the house. Besides, my boy loves to help me. Truly, it was a lovely day.

So, where's the curse on my day? Well, it was Saturday that I found out, after I was done showing and the ponies were on their way home. My friend, Amanda, sent out a text message earlier in the day to share her news. I got the message late as I don't have my phone on me when I'm in the saddle. Friday afternoon the house that she shares with her 21-month-old daughter and her parents burned down. It was a silly thing, really. Lucille, the mom, grandma, and my back-up Bradley coach, had taken the ashes from the wood stove out earlier in the morning. Everything was done properly: the ashes had cooled in the stove overnight, were placed in a sealed metal container to go outside, wet down in the container before they were placed in a wet hole in the ground, wet down again, then mixed into the dirt.

Dangit if it wasn't windy that day! Oh, wait...it's ALWAYS windy here! Anyway, when Lucille lifted the lid to get the hose into the ashes, one still warm ember apparently blew out....right into the woodpile at the porch. From there it continued to smolder, getting hotter in the wood. Eventually it all just went up, fueled on by a propane tank on the grill exploding, and the gas line in the house rupturing.

Amanda's daughter absolutely refused to nap in her normal spot, in the room next to the porch. If she hadn't been sleeping on her grandparent's bed, she probably wouldn't have made it out. Praise God for giving Jayden the intuition to stay safe!! Everyone is safe and they're staying with family, but the house and belongings are all gone.

We spent the day together Sunday and shared a few tears together. Tears of sorrow, and tears of joy over the family being safe.

Honestly, it makes me nervous for June. I hope and pray....oh boy do I pray! I hope and pray that Luke's birthday will be a wonderful, yet uneventful day. This is especially important to me since we'll be away on vacation with his grandparents. My parents have planned a trip to the Black Hills and Mount Rushmore. I've always wanted to go, so I invited us to go along (I have such great parents to agree!). Jeff will have to stay back for work since we'll doing quite a bit of other traveling this year. So the fact Daddy won't be with us AND we'll be so far from home makes me nervous.

I don't think the situation would normally make me skittish, but after our birthdays and being a little superstitious about bad things happening in three's....oh my! Please, Dear Lord, please let my boy's birthday bring only good news!!!

My Toddler Can Get Married?? Now??

I just couldn't resist getting this on here this morning. It's like God was saying the timing was right. Funny...especially given the one topic at hand.

This week there seems to be a focus on weight and fitness. Big time focus. I think it's great because way too many people just sit on their backsides and wish for something better. They don't actually get out and work at it. I LOVE being capable of working toward that better body! Besides, feeling the muscles burn just a tiny bit feels good to me! Anyway, this morning I heard mention that the average woman gains 30 lbs during pregnancy.

I was in the middle of taking a drink and nearly choked from laughing. I've heard all of this before, of course, but considering I am REALLY self-conscious, working at getting into a more fit shape, and wanting to lose just a few more pounds, it caught my attention. It made me think of the mention of a cousin's wife who just had a baby a few weeks ago and was upset at the 50 lbs she gained....it was still less than my weight gain. It made me think of another someone I know who was upset over the 15 lbs she gained with son #1, then the 30 lbs with son #2. Oh, poor baby!! (said with a laugh, of course...)

Then there was me. If 30 lbs is the AVERAGE, then I gained more than two average women. I gained 65 lbs!! That was more than half of what I weighed to begin with!!! I had made it my goal to be back in my old clothes before Luke was 2, and I did that....for the most part. I finally have those hips I always wanted, so some of my pants will never fit again. No big deal. I still want to lose a bit more, but I'm pretty pleased with getting back to within 5 lbs of my starting weight (I as 115, am now 120). I didn't want to be like the hoards of women I've watched just let themselves go.....and the selfish part was that I wanted to get back into my show clothes. Those are expensive, and I REALLY like my coats!!

Now I need to finish getting rid of the bust that I hate....

The other thing that caught my attention this morning has to do with toddlers. Mention of those little beings always piques my interest because I have one. Sometimes it's health stuff, sometimes it's toy stuff, sometimes it's just some obscure thing you'd never think of.

Did you know that until earlier this week it was actually legal in Arkansas for a parent to marry their toddler off?? Seriously! A toddler....a little person who is capable of toddling around without help....was legally capable of marrying someone, with parental consent, until earlier this week!

Okay, in their defense, it wasn't a thing put on the books on purpose. Nobody seemed to notice the single word in the bill that caused this particular anomaly. The word? "Not." The wording should basically have said anyone under 18 who was pregnant could marry with parental consent. Instead, "not" slipped in there and it said anyone under 18 who was NOT pregnant....which basically opened the door for any age. Very funny..

And I used to think it was crazy that Utah's law books made the legal marrying age 14-years-old (with parental consent). That age is now 16, still very young. But even that doesn't come close to being able to marry your 1-yr-old off....

Even backwoods West Virginia isn't that weird......

Toddlers can be scary...

I love that my boy is so brave, seemingly scared of nothing. Well, that's not entirely true...he still doesn't know what to think of the giraffes at the zoo and refuses to feed them. Otherwise, he's extremely brave.
But then there are days that that bravery scares the daylights out of me!!

Today we went to the barn...nothing unusual. Luke loves it out there. He gets to be outside, he gets to be very dirty, and he gets to be around the animals (barn cats, dogs, and, of course, the ponies). Since we have the first show of the season on Saturday and the ponies are still sporting sort of long manes and winter coats, we have our work cut out for us. But before we could start working on "beauty day" stuff, a few of the ponies needed to be moved. Terie is doing some work in her old rock barn and one of the stallions was hanging out in different pen. She asked me to get him and bring him back to the rock barn.

Now, let me say I LOVE this pony! He is just the sweetest thing on the planet. If you didn't know he was a stallion, you'd never guess it. I don't let Luke just walk up to him, of course, but he's petted this pony through the fence before. Anyway, I knew today was NOT a day for Luke to be near before I even got to the gate of the pen....Loti actually walked to the gate with a sour look and ears back (not pinned, just letting me know he wasn't his usual charming self). I told Luke to step well off to the side and stay still as I unlatched the gate...Luke, being the good little boy that he is, complied.

Loti was so goofy! A couple of the mares are in season, so he's, ummm, enjoying the "smell" of spring. He started making "I'm in the mood for love" noises before the lead was attached, then about ran me over to get out the gate. He got in trouble for that, and stood still while I latched the gate back. Luke was still waiting well off to the side and out of danger. Good boy. As soon as I turn the pony to walk back to his stall Luke ran up to his belly and started petting.

Holy crap, I think my heart stopped! Scared me completely to death!! I had visions of a 21-month-old boy flying through the air from an amorous stallion!! Somehow I managed to not freak the pony OR the boy out, and I must have sprouted wings to get Loti to move his butt over while I kicked Luke out of the way (the pushy cow-kick thing, not the knock-you-on-your-butt kick). I shoved my elbow into the pony's shoulder to get him to stand still (he was even more up after all of this) and calmly told Luke to move away. What a great kid I have...he listened and moved away. As I started walking the pony again, Luke followed, but he remained WELL out of kick range and close to the hay barn.

Silly pony saw one of the mares in heat and started puffing up. "Look at me, look at me! Aren't I handsome? Let's have dinner tonight!" Prance, prance, prance...Never happen, Loti...that's your granddaughter. Once he was back in his stall, he puffed down and decided to pout. Luke came back to my side at this time and was thrilled to be able to pet the pony in a safe manner.

Now it was time to get on with "beauty day." One of the ponies going this weekend got 2 hours of us fawning over him. Bath, mane pulled, and clipped...trace clip to disguise the area the vet clipped a few weeks ago when pony was sick, muzzle, bridle path, ears, and feet. This is an experienced show pony, but he was NOT thrilled at the aspect of getting wet. Luke was a very good boy. He likes this pony, but seemed to sense that he was supposed to leave him alone today. He focused his attention on the rock pile, tractor, golf cart, and cat's water bowl. Not only was he filthy by the time we were done, he was exhausted.

Luke absolutely loves being outdoors. He never wants to come inside. I think that's a wonderful thing! It's hard in the winter when you basically have no choice but to be cooped up, but as soon as the weather warms up a bit....that's his favorite. It means he gets to be OUT! Works well because he has no choice but to be out while at the barn. He's also quite independent when outside....loves to show you what he's doing, but would rather you not help. Also works quite well when at the barn. What IS hard about it, though, is trying to get him to realize he does need to come inside at some point. It's hard because he gets mad. It doesn't matter if he's only been out for 5 minutes, or if he's falling down tired, if you say it's time to go in the house (or even sometimes the store), he starts with the "NO!! NO!!" Probably 95% of the time he ends up being carried like a football into the house because he just flops down and that's the only way to get him inside. Then he cries. Every single time he cries. And works as hard as he can to get the door open (we'll soon be adding special locks at the top of the doors so he can't escape), and cries. Every. Single. Time.

For the parents of a well behaved child, this is difficult. You really don't know what to do!! We finally figured out if we just ignore him and start doing whatever we need to get done, he quickly gives up. Then he comes and helps us. We tried other things, but this works best for the boy. He'll figure it out soon enough. In the meantime, he's going to have a WONDERFUL summer out of the house. And I'm looking so forward to it...I hate being stuck in the house. The past 2 summers (2006, especially) were very difficult since I wasn't able to do much. Now that I can AND he wants to....we won't be home very much :)

Birth of a Backyard...and a Garden...Day 2

Day two began a little differently. Being spring in Colorado the change in weather was no big surprise. Cloudy and very cool. Long-sleeved t-shirts under sweatshirts for us, fleece-lined jeans, long-sleeved t-shirt, and a fleece jacket for Luke. Gloves were also a must to keep the hands from being quite cold. Still, the wind had died down some...shocking in and of itself...so the coolish weather was kind of nice. Even nicer was being a little bit sore, but not nearly as much as either of us expected.

Jeff started with the tiller while I finished getting breakfast dishes cleaned up. He stopped about halfway through so I could take a turn. What a great little machine our friend lent us! The work on our part was keeping the thing from dragging us all over the yard. It was full of GO! So it took very little time to get the yard tilled up and ready for seeding.

Jeff was able to start with the fertilizer and seed spreading while I finished fishing pieces of shale that had floated to the surface overnight and during tilling. Once the seed was spread I started the task of light raking with a leaf rake to cover the seed. Unlike the heavy work of spreading the dirt even and thick yesterday, today's cover work was quite therapeutic. Luke opted to help Jeff put a little topsoil and bio-comp into the space around the tree and along the side of the driveway where I had pulled the rocks last weekend, along with spreading a bit of seed and fertilizer into those spaces. I can't tell you how happy I am to see those rocks gone! I never realized how much I didn't like them until they were gone. Now the lawn can overtake those spaces. The two of them also got the garden plot tilled.

While I continued to cover rake in the backyard, four robins came to supervise. I was only about a quarter of the way done when they arrived. They were chattering at me, flitting from our roof, to the fence, to the top of the little pile of topsoil still left (future flower garden material), to the neighbor's house and storage building roofs. It was almost like they were congratulating and thanking us for getting this project done! Very cute. I joked that they were supervising at first, but the moment the rake left the ground because I was finished with the covering.....they left. We didn't see them the remainder of the day. Definitely supervising.

I made a quick trip to the front yard to cover the seed placed in the driveway edge strip and around the tree, followed by putting some water on the garden plot to make the bio-comp heat up and get to work. Another week or two and I'll get some seeds planted there....stuff that won't freak out when we get a few more freezes. Oh, and I have to figure out a little something to keep the rabbits out. I've got an idea, and it doesn't involve my original thought of a low-voltage fence charger. I think the rabbits will be happy about that one...Rico, the neighbor's dog, probably will be, too!

Time for a quick lunch. Luke wasn't thrilled with the prospect of coming in the house, but his stomach started talking before his bum hit any chairs this time. He saw me with the lunchmeat and pulled the chair into place, then ate a hefty amount. I'll always be amazed at that boy's appetite! Jeff went back out to fill the roller with water, I made Luke's day with changing his diaper. Trust me, he needed it....despite his best efforts to convince me otherwise. Back outside for us. Luke was happy to follow his daddy behind the roller for a little bit, but decided it was more fun to take handfuls of this wonderful dirt into the garage to dump in Red's water dish. Now it's a bowl full of mud. I took over the roller duties at the halfway point. It was not as much work as I expected, but the results were fanstastic. It's not a perfectly level yard, but we did a really great job getting it quite even and free of valleys!

Jeff put the t-posts in the ground while I was finishing with the roller. It would be a shame to have our hard work messed up by a dog who doesn't know any better, so we had to prepare a temporary fence to keep him off the stuff until it grows in. Yard all set to go, posts set in the ground, and a toddler who was still having fun traversing the new play area, we set about putting the deer netting up. Jeff held it up and tight while I tied it to the t-posts. It was a good system! All went very smoothly....until the last 10 feet. That was all we had left to "fence," and we ran out of netting. 10 lousy feet!

Okay, no big deal. A friend stopped by to see the progress and chat with Jeff, so Luke and I ran to Walmart and Lowe's for a few things...including a 100 foot roll of deer netting. Yup, I had to buy the whole 100 feet for the 10 foot space still left open. But we also picked up an extra hose, a sprinkler, a plant for the big flower bed, a small bag of grass seed to help fill in any spots that we may have missed, and a hose extension to help ease getting the hose connected to the spigot that's hard to get to. Luke received a number of giggles and "awww, how cute," comments both places. He figured it was more comfortable to lay down and sprawl out in the cart at Walmart, then proceeded to drag the netting while carrying the hose extension at Lowe's. I guess he decided since he was the man there at the time that I didn't need to carry the stuff. Besides, I had the plant. Truly, it was cute....but I didn't have the camera.

We got home, put up the last 10 feet of netting, and let the dog out. Poor Red was rather confused....he could SEE the yard, but couldn't figure out how to get to it! Once he did figure out that he still had the space around the outside he started doing laps. Luke followed, hollering instructions and pointing the whole time. Those two are a hoot together. Jeff and I took the time to get some future flower beds marked out and mounded with fill dirt. Then it was time to clean up and take a final look at what we accomplished. It was such hard physical work the entire weekend, but now the most difficult work begins. It's not painful, it certainly won't win fitness awards, but it is, by far, the most difficult.

Now we wait.....

We wait for the grass to grow. In an era when we're often given instant gratification, waiting for grass to grow is almost torture! But it is all worth it in the end. A few more weeks and we'll actually be able to say we have a back lawn. Another month or so and our boy will be able to romp outside with his dog where we won't have to keep a constant lookout for cars. And our very first summer in this house that we can fully enjoy our big backyard. I can't wait to lay in the grass with Luke and Jeff while watching planes (most of the courtesy of the U.S. Air Force), birds, and clouds during the daytime, satellites, shooting stars, and the full moon at night.

Luke is conked out hard again tonight. He did manage to stay wide awake and laugh at the silly things in the shower, but he readily fell asleep once in his pajamas. Jeff did basically the same. Shower, pajamas, sound asleep in a matter of minutes. I can hear a chorus of big and small snores coming from down the hall. I think they have the right idea.....I can dream about the lovely yard that was born in a Pueblo West backyard this spring weekend.