Loss of Innocence

Usually I'm not one for holding on to the past, but even I got a little weepy when my little man got his hair chopped off today. I was a big fan of his curls, even though most people thought he was a little girl. To reiterate my point, shots of Aidan

before:and after:

I will always miss the curls on my little boy.

Conrad Meadows

Chris and I celebrated our 12th anniversary by going to the mountains as a threesome! Go figure that one. We took Megan with us for our very first kid free weekend with nothing except the horses and the mountains. We went almost 4 hours to a place called Conrad Meadows. It was very beautiful, but also very dusty. One neat aspect about the trip was that there was a herd of cattle that also roamed the mountain side and was within walking distance of our camp.

Along with the cattle, was some pretty phenomenal looking scenery, including this tree that decided it didn't need to grow up, it would rather grow out.

The ground was a mixture of sand and very dusty dirt that made it hard to breathe in spots, especially if you were bringing up the rear.

Our first day we did a 15 mile round trip up the mountain. What made the ride really nice was the fact that there was a lake at the very top called Surprise Lake. The lake, which is fed by snow runoff, was so cold and the neatest shade of aqua.

At the top, we all took a small rest and Chris took this wonderful picture of Megan and I.

On the way back down the mountain, Chris got a chance to work some more cows with Ginger....

Megan had a chance to run down the hill with Arizona.....

And then Chris took a turn running through the meadows.

On Day 2, we decided to just do a light ride, and did only 10 miles! This time we went to a place called Cert Lake. See if you can find Chris in this photo!

Upon reaching the lake, we had to eat our lunch in a hurry. Unlike the lake at Surprise, this one was a weird shade of yellowish green, and had lots of bugs everywhere. The backdrop was pretty spectacular though.

On the way down the mountain we paused to give our horses a little breather. I think Megan needed one too!

Megan and I ended the ride by galloping across the meadows. I can't believe my hat didn't fly off!

4th of July Fun

So, we had a fun 4th. We went to see Transformers, which totally rocked. I don't think I've seen so many techno nerds in one place since high school. Then, we went to the horse stall to have a bbq. Was quite a bit of fun. I was the grille goddess and Chris turned out to be quite the little barrel racer. He finished in 25 seconds flat! Go Chris!

Ride at Crystal Mountain

Megan and I went horseback riding at Crystal Mountain Today. We were at the Sand Flats Camp to be exact. The land there was not exactly even, and we even had to do a 180 on 410 to try and turn back into the camp because we missed the turnoff the first time. Here's a pic of the truck and trailer on the slope we ended up having to park on.

At least in the beginning, the trails were pretty wide. We ended up going out with about a group of 8 at the start. 4 of them which were mules. They were pretty neat to ride with and they had really fast walking gaits. Here's Megan cheesing it on the trail with Arizona.

The view was really spectacular. You could see the crest and ridge of the mountain at every turn. Some of the slopes were pretty steep on the side.

Here's a pic of Bill and his mule Zelda taking in the sights.

Another mule named Gus. He's such a sweetie, although his owner said the name was short for 'disgusting'.

We finally reached our destination - Bouillion Basin. In the middle of the basin was a little spring (really little, probably only 6 feet wide) with fresh spring water. The trail guide said the spring is checked every year for Giardia and even offered us his cup to drink out of.

Megan and I took the smallest of sips, and I was a little repulsed as there were frogs and bugs pretty darn visible in the water. The neatest thing was that the sand would bubble from the underwater spring that was there.

Zena had quite the fun at the basin, although she looked for me constantly (I think she wanted a snack!) Here she is in one of her "Are you coming to get me" poses. Overall the ride was fun, the back country horsemen were a hoot to hang out with, but the ride was definitely not for the beginner. I hope to go on it again sometime in the future.

Jen you Lucky Dog

My friend Jen got to go to Namibia in Africa on a horseback riding adventure. I am so jealous. Attached are some of the neat photos that she took. They actually scaled up mountains, had a run in with a leopard, ostrich, a very scrawny warthog, and got to see some beautiful scenery. Jen got to ride a nice little mare named Strawberry (far right).

This is my favorite photo, I love the tree!


I feel so bad for this warthog! He is so skinny!!! I would probably have been the dork trying to give him some food and being gored by his tusk.


Look at that beautiful scenery!


Riding into the African Sunset (metaphorically speaking)!!

Britchins and Cruppers

I never would have thought that somebody would ask me if I used britchins or cruppers. Everytime I say it, I feel guilty a little because it's almost like I'm using curse words. When we go to Crystal Mountain on Saturday, the Trail Guides recommend the use of Britchins or Cruppers on the horses. For those of you who don't know what they are, Britchins are the leather straps that go around the back of the horse, like the following:

And, a Crupper is the leather strap that loops around the base of the tail like so:

Both are meant to prevent the saddle from slipping down when climbing down a steep incline. After the talk of both Britchins and Cruppers, I proceeded to the local western supply store to gather some more information. I found out that both are relatively expensive, and that if you say Britchins just right, even the store owner will think you are using curse words!

Ugly Betty is the Bomb!!

OMG! I am so addicted to this show. It makes me laugh. I don't know if it's the 'low' girl on the totem pole doing well or what but I actually enjoy the show. Of course, to go around being known as 'ugly betty' probably sucks!

Can't forget the dolls!!!

Can I say we were just weirded out yesterday by the guy who brought his dolls to watch the Sounder's game. If anyone knows him, I apologize, but I almost felt like giving him $10 to bring a buddy with so he could actually talk to somebody alive for the game. About 20 minutes of the game was spent trying to secretly take a picture. I will treasure it for all time!

We're Famous!!

So not really famous per se' but as they say everyone wants their 15 seconds of fame. Or is that minutes? Click on the Link (the title above) to see me and Chris kicking butt!!! Somebody posted a little 2 minute video of us (all the black belt participants) during our black belt test from a year and a half ago.

Our Riding Buddies!!

Alright, finally took some pictures of Zena and Ginger. Zena is my favorite buddy, a 4 year old APHA mare that stands about 14.3 hands and weighs about 760 pounds that I started riding last September. We've already done over 150 hours of riding together. (Where's my Ride America Awards???!!!) haha. Anyway.

This is Ginger, a 6 year old non registered Breeding stock paint that my husband started riding a few weeks ago. She's about 15.1 hands, and probably 900 pounds, although I haven't taped her. We've gone on several trails with her already, and she does really well.

I'm just shocked at how well her and Chris get along. He does things that I wouldn't even think of doing (no dirty minds!) We went to Capital Forest today, and Zena and Ginger did wonderful, especially through the river and over the bridges (sounds like a song doesn't it???). Enough of that, I'll post more pics of them later.