Fun w/ Horses

**WARNING** All about HORSES!

Well since I've gotten back, I've gotten to ride once and just be around horses twice. I went on a Thursday and got to brush both stallions(their manes and tails needed it bad!) and ride a mare named Little Lady that I'm kinda helping train. I foxtrotted for the first time on her! Oh, the foxtrot is a gait specific to Missouri Foxtrotters where the front legs walk while the back legs trot. It's super smoooooooooooth and really fun to ride. I love horses!!! Then Tracy, the lady I work w/, mentioned that the vet would be coming over the next day, Friday, to give a bunch of horses their shots and also to geld one of her colts. Well this sounded like a great opportunity to see if I might be able to handle being a vet in the future. So I went over Friday and got to watch him(the vet) give the horses their shots, do some random checking on some stuff, and I got to watch the whole process of cutting the colt. It was very interesting, but I will spare you the details because, according to my family, not everyone wants to hear about that kind of stuff.......If you do happen to be interested in that stuff let me know and I'll give you the gory details.=) It actually wasn't that gross. Unfortunately, I didn't think to bring the camera....=( O well, perhaps another time.=)

Ecuador!!<3 Part 1

For anyone who didn't know before, my all the family on my mom's side(except for Uncle Chee) got to spend 2 weeks in Ecuador for a family reunion!=) It was a ton of fun, though traveling almost constantly wears you out. Jane Bloom graciously drove us to the St. Louis airport so we wouldn't have to leave the Hickle's van there.=) After being delayed a couple hours in St. Louis, we flew to Miami, met my grandparents and my mom's older sisters and her 2 boys, and flew to Ecuador the next morning. The Rogers met at at the airport in Quito and we split up and stayed at the Senior & Junior Rogers' houses. O, btw, the Rogers are a missionary family in Ecuador. They fly into the jungle in little planes and preach the Gospel as well as setting up schools for the Waorani natives there. We got to go into the jungle and see one of the villages, but because of our super busy schedule and other stuff, we could only stay for the afternoon.=( I really wanted to stay longer and actually help out w/ something instead of just going to gawk, but I guess I'll have to do that another time. Actually, we might have been able to help out w/ something as it was community workday, but it rained while we were there so everyone had to stop working for awhile. We thought we might get stuck overnight and I wouldn't really have minded..........but, after raining about 45 min., it stopped. and the air cleared enough for the pilots to get through. My Dad just commented that it was a LOT of rain for the short time period. Aparently this happens often, but Dan Rogers(the son who went in w/ us) said he's never gotten stuck for longer a day.

We stayed at the Roger's a day or 2(I don't remember) and saw the equator and went on the cable cars up the mountain, then we went to Cuenca(which I thought was spelled Quenca for the longest time....) and did some stuff......then we got a bus and drove to a resort in the middle of nowhere in this big bus on some really small roads around some very sharp turns and through some super tight places, like only and inch to spare on each side. Seriously! We made it to the resort alive and we were all very thankful that we had such a good bus driver!=)

At the resort we played lots of pool, ping pong and of course euchre. For those of you who haven't heard of that game it's super fun and it's pretty much a Douglass family game.=) According to my cousin Nick, I'm really good, but I think I just get lucky, like in pool.=D There was also a zip-line over a pond at the resort, which was a big hit. Of course it turned into a competition of who could do the coolest most creative thing and I'm not sure who won. O, it was kinda like a swing seat, so there were more options. I was the first to try 'superman'(or woman) and that got me lots of points even though I didn't put it far enough down on my body so I had to bail before I hit the dock.......O yeah, we were doing all of this in our clothes w/ life jackets over. Even though it's Ecuador, I suppose they do have some rules.=) I can't remember all the other cool things everyone did except for one. Zach(my cousin, about 12) would lean back and dip his head in the water while holding on w/ his hands. Being that it was a competition, I had to do him one better by dipping my head back, hold on w/ my feet and sticking my hands and arms in the water too. Unfortunately, I couldn't get back up, so I had to bail before I hit the dock w/ the back of my head. Everyone thought that was really funny of course, but it wasn't too bad. The water was pretty nice temp-wise, but the wind was cold when you got out...brr.....also at the resort, they had a concrete slide that went down the mountain a little and was super fast! The ending was a bit dangerous the first time, but then you learned real fast how to stop. You definitely have to wear shoes though, the ground is a bit rocky and hurts when you fly off the slide and land w/ bare feet. O, there was a swing too. It went off the mountain. Apparently, when my cousins went last time, there was a bigger swing that went off a cliff and was a lot higher up. I gathered that either they took the tree out, the tree broke, or the swing broke or something......... Wow, this is getting really long! Congrats if you made it all the way to the bottom!! I think I'll save the rest for another time. Of course I'll probably forget...... O well. Good night.=)

Ecuador!

So I've kinda mentioned that we're going to Ecuador already, but I'm so excited I just have to say it again!=) We're going to Ecuador!!!!!!!!!! We leave Wednesday and get back Aug. 3. It'll be my first time out of the country and I'm super excited! My mom used to live there while her parents were missionaries.......My g-parents wanted all the g-kids to go to Ecuador and they took Andy & Becky a few years ago, and my cousins Ben & Nick, but they are getting older so they decided to do it all at once.=-) Anyways..........bye!

Back in Missouri!

Well, I'm finally back home. Btw, so sorry I haven't posted in forever! I will try to keep my blog a bit more up-to-date. Of course, I won't be able to up-date from Ecuador.... Anyways, when we came back as a family from IL, I stayed a whole 1/2 day w/ my family, most of that being spent packing for my next trip. I met most of my volleyball team @ Kroger, then we left for Springfield and VB camp!!=) The actual camp was great! Though, we did get in an accident on the first day while on our way to the mall. No one was hurt except for the lady driving the other car. But she was on drugs so she didn't get as hurt as any normal person would after hitting their head on their windshield so hard it cracked...... Anyways..........they caught her after she drove away from the scene and took her to a hospital, after which she probably went to jail........I suppose I should give you the whole story.........

We were minding our own business on our way to the mall after camp on the first day, sitting at a red light and talking and laughing as a van full of girls is bound to do. Sarah, our coach was driving and 11 girls from the team were riding in our big white van. The lady had pulled out of Walgreen's and started driving towards the intersection we were stopped at. I think we were headed south and she north. Anyways, she ran the red light, hit a car waiting to turn on the west side of the intersection then came swerving towards us. I think Sarah heard the squeal when the lady hit the other car, but barely had time to look up before she hit us. She was driving just a small car and since we were in the big van, it hit right below Sarah's seat. If the lady had been driving a truck or we'd been in a smaller vehicle, Sarah would've been badly injured or even killed. We thank the Lord that it was us in the big van and not someone else....... When the lady hit the other car( I think she just got one of the lights, they weren't hurt), she hit the windshield, then when she hit us, she obviously was not wearing a seat belt, because she was flung from the divers seat to the passenger's side, hit the windshield over there and landed on the floorboard. No one else was in the car. After hitting us, she climbed up pushed back the driver's seat got in looked around kinda dazed and drove off. Sarah realized she was gonna leave and started yelling at us to get the licence plate number. We did and one of the girls called the police while I called Dad. We were pretty close to the baseball field and there were people going to the game, so we had about 10 witnesses who all saw the same thing, which was really nice. The policeman came and got all our ID and phone numbers. We pulled over into a small parking lot that was very convenient.=) We all got out of the car and everyone started calling parents and such. One of the first things one of the girls said however was, "Are we still going to the mall?" We did go to the mall, though the accident took about 45 min out of the time we could spend there. I only bought one thing. A skirt.

After that things went as planned except for the ride home, Mom & Dad had to bring a couple minivans down to pick us all up. Volleyball camp was great and we got to do a bunch of other thing too.=) We got to go bowling and to see a Springfield Cardinals game(minor league, yeah, it took me awhile to figure that one out.), and we also got to go swimming!=) Another thing that I thought was awesome is that coach Sarah led us in devotions every evening. We studied the story of Esther(which totally should be spelled "Ester") and also studied some of her character qualities, our personal qualities that we shared w/ Esther, and the qualities of one of the other girls. It was very good for me to take the time to really think about someone else's qualities and think if they coincided w/ Esther's qualities.....I also found out a bit about myself. On the last night we stayed there we did our devotions in the sanctuary(before we did it in one of the sunday school rooms.), then after we spent about an hour in prayer at the end of which we sang a few praise songs together. To be honest, I don't think I've ever taken that much time to pray before. It was great and I really need to do it again sometime..... Anyways, in whole the trip was great! Well, the accident was really scary, but no one got hurt and if it had been someone else in a different car........let's just say I'm glad it was us.

I'm back home now, though I think I already said that and I'll be going to volleyball open gym real soon.=) This is only the 2nd open gym I've been able to go to which is a real bummer, but o well.... I finally almost finished the dogs' haircut, which I started in what was it???May? Wow. Oops... So I'm pretty much done w/ them except that both their tails look funny and rocky won't stay still enough for me to get his back end and there's a couple spots on joy that could be better, but I think they now officially hate the scissors. I'll try to get pictures before we leave. Which reminds me......................

My family and I are leaving for Ecuador on Wednesday!!!!!!!!!=) Prayer for safe travel would be appreciated and that the weather would cooperate(weird word) w/ our plans to go into the jungle. Also, a lot of you probably know this, but some of our friends, the Quittschriebers(I know awesome name!) are going to adopt 2 kids from Russia who stayed w/ them for a couple weeks I think. Anyways, they're trying to adopt, it costs a LOT of money, but they put it in God's hands and they really believe God wants them to do this. Anyways, I know they would appreciate prayer greatly.

Wow, I definitely have not started packing yet. I think I'll be doing a bit of that today after volleyball and stuff....=) Sorry this post is so looooong, but I had a lot of catching up to do. I've been slacking on running too. I did great while in MI and then came volleyball camp, and I did bike/roller blade once or twice, but nothing regular....=( Well I gotta go to volleyball now, I'll try to write more later.... Bye!

mICHIGAN 5

wELL THE b&m AND THE GIRLS GOT UP HERE 2 NIGHTS AGO IN TIME TO ENJOY THE CAMPFIRE i MENTIONED IN THE LAST POST. tHE NEXT MORNING IT GOT REALLY COLD! iT WENT FROM BEING REALLY HOT BACK AT THE FARM(AND UP HERE) LIKE 90S, TO BEING REALLY COLD WHILE WE'RE UP HERE(50S&60S!). iT RAINED ALL DAY YESTERDAY, SO WE WENT TO THE LITTLE MOVIE SHOP IN A TOWN NEAR THE LAKE AND PICKED UP 3 MOVIES. wE WATCHED 2 OF THEM WHEN WE GOT HOME AND SAVED THE LAST ONE FOR TODAY. wE WATCHED bEVERLY hILLS cHIHUAHUA(NOT AS BAD AS i THOUGHT IT'D BE BUT........ WE ALSO WATCHED dUMA, A MOVIE ABOUT A CHEETAH. tHAT ONE WAS PRETTY GOOD. tHIS MORNING i DIDN'T GET UP TILL 11:00! wE ATE BREAKFAST THEN WENT SHOPPING. i DIDN'T GET ANYTHING BUT GUM, BUT i THINK A COUPLE OF THE GIRLS GOT JACKETS....... WHEN WE GOT BACK WE WATCHED aIR bUD sPIKES bACK. cUTE AND FUN TO WATCH THE VOLLEYBALL PART AT LEAST. iT WAS A BIT CORNY THOUGH.=) aFTER THAT WE HAD DINNER(HAMBURGERS) THEN WENT KAYAKING. tHAT WAS FUN. kARLEE AND i WENT ALL THE WAY AROUND THE LAKE SINGING SONGS FROM bEAUTY & THE bEAST AND TALKING ABOUT RANDOM THINGS.=) wHEN WE GOT BACK THEY HAD STARTED A CAMPFIRE SO i SAT AROUND THE FIRE A BIT THEN i CAME INSIDE TO BLOG.=)

oN THE WAY TO cADILLAC(WHERE WE WENT SHOPPING), WE SAW THIS CAR W/ A HILLBILLY TRAILER ON IT. tHOUGHT WE'D ADD IT TO THE LIST OF "yOU MIGHT BE A hILLBILLY iF..."

i ALSO HAVE SOME PICTURES OF THE CAMPFIRE AND SUCH, BUT i'LL LEAVE THOSE FOR MY NEXT POST, IT'S GETTING KINDA LATE.... i'M GOING HOME(OR TO il)TOMORROW! wELL, GOOD NIGHT!!

Michigan 4

Well, now I'm here at the cottage looking out on the lake, and it's a very pretty site.=) We were going to come up Friday, but our plans changed and we came up Saturday instead. Like I said before, it has been really hot up here, at least at the farm. When we finally got here after 3 stops at 3 different 'Menard's' to pick up tile stuff(they're re-doing the bunk-house bathroom) we arrived an d found that it was about 10 degrees cooler up here than at the farm. Not unusual, but disappointing none the less. It is warmer then last time we were up here though, and that's nice. Also we'll be staying for a few days this time and B & M and the girls are coming up this evening. Most of the rest will be boring so you can stop reading if you'd like.=) This is mostly to help me remember what I got to do while I was up here. Sat. before we came up, we went to the Middleville 4th of July parade. It was definitely a small town parade, but fun anyways.=) Then we packed up the horse trailer and the back of the truck w/ all the stuff UD and Burk would need to remodel the bathroom. That included 38 or so bags of cement, a cement mixer, 12 some boxes of large tile and 16 little tile packages. We got most of the tile and all of the cement at the first Menard's we stopped at, but they didn't have all the little tiles we needed, so we had to stop at 2 others along the way. At one of the stops we stopped for food(either lunch or din din, I think lunch) and I got a salad and an oreo shake thing. Mmmm.... When we got to the cottage, AF and I helped UD unload the truck then we went swimming. It wasn't really warm, but the air was warm enough and the water cool enough to feel really good after sitting in the car for two hours and standing in a store for the other 1 or 2 hours of the trip.=) This morning I got up and had a few pieces of toast forgetting that I can't run after eating. So I read for awhile and mowed the lawn, giving my stomach time to digest, then went on a 2mi run. Well actually I had to walk a lot of it because my silly lungs decided to give me a hard time. Hate it when that happens. Kinda hard to run when you're wheezing and gasping for breath.=) I made it back alive though and went on a Seadoo ride w/ AF. She took the little one and I took the big one. After a bit she went back in but I stayed out a while longer and had a lot of fun!! Since it's the weekend there were more boats out, but since it was, is cold there weren't too many out to make it no fun. One thing fun about other boats is the waves they make!=) I had so much fun jumping the wakes of other boats(not too close of course)! Since it was pretty cool and the wind was cold, I wore a wetsuit which I'd never done before. On land it was pretty annoying and restrictive, but in the water it was really nice! I think I would have frozen to death w/out it!=) After the Seadoo ride I lay down on the grass in the sun and read for awhile then we ate dinner-chicken(really good!), salad, potato salad, and green beans. Sometime during the day we had a lunch of PB&J, a typical lunch w/ AF & UD.=) I don't mind at all, because I love PB&J! I've sometimes been known to eat several sandwiches at once, but I've been limiting myself to 1 or 2(usually 2). Hey Becky, remember that time on our trip to NY that I ate 5 PB&Js at once?? You were so disgusted! That was fun.....=) Btw, I do miss all you guys back in Rolla(and everywhere else), even though I'm having such a great time here.=) I've had a lot of time to just relax and read while I'm here and that's been really nice.=) I finished all the Agatha Christie books I brought( I think I brought around 5), and the 2 books that were really 4 books each(that'd be 8, or rather, 13 (counting the AC books) for those of you who are mathematically challenged=D), so all I have left is the Odyssey and my Bible. But I also brought along some leftover school that I've got some of done. Things like copying each lesson verse and point to remember from Purpose Driven Life so I can stick them in a scrapbook. I think I brought some other stuff to but........the copying will take awhile cause I'm writing it in calligraphy. Anyways, while the girls are here I most likely won't have much time for reading, seems like they never run out of energy!=) Some of y'all might think that's shocking coming from me but compared to them I'm just an old lady(who happens to be able to pin them and buck them and push them into the water, and managing to escape the same fate). Wow! I just looked back on what I've written and realize that I've been babbling on for a really looong time! Oops, sorry to bore you so terribly, but I did warn you I suppose.=) Well I'm going to go outside and enjoy a nice pinecone campfire w/ AF. TTFN!(ta ta for now!)

Michigan 3

**WARNING** VERY BORING!

On Father's Day we went over to Melissa's parents', swam, had dinner, and went for a pontoon ride(they live on the same lake Burk & Melissa live on-Duncan lake I think). As a result of all the rain they've been having up here, the lake was super high, but it was pretty. Since then I've done all sorts of stuff and I will try to sum it up for you.=) Aunt Feather(AF) and I have gone riding a lot, though the horses aren't used to being ridden quite so often so we can't ride them every day. I've helped w/ the garden and meals a little, and also mowing. The pasture was getting kinda high in some places so I mowed the tops off, but I had to go over some of it 4 times because it was so so thick/tall! It's been really hot up here and humid too. AF & UD(Uncle Dick) aren't used to such hot weather and AF especially doesn't like it!=) There was one day when it was like 95 degrees and really humid w/ absolutely no breeze. That was the day AF decided to catch up on some paper-work(inside!) and I read pretty much all day. That was fun, but I felt very lazy. We actually rode on one of the really hot days and UD said that I was the only person who could get AF to ride when it was this hot!=) AF & UD are awesome and we all get along really well. We're making jokes all the time and UD is continually teasing me. I spent the night at B & M's and the girls were very excited about that.=) We played in the water a lot since they live on the lake. Their neighbors have this raft thing that's basically a square of white styrofoam. They let the girls use it and we had fun w/ that, all 4 of us can just barely fit on, though as soon as I get on the whole thing sinks about a foot. Which also means I'm the main one that has to keep it balanced- which is not the best job for me to have as you probably know.=) It was ok, though one time it tipped and one of the girls' head's happened to collide w/ my nose. It bled a little, but I kept playing and eventually it stopped. I was more careful though.=) Right now I'm sitting in AF & UD's kitchen trying desprately to remember everything I've done in the past few days.=) AF & I went on a short ride this evening and it was pretty nice. The weather has cooled down a little and Burk helped UD install an attic fan a couple days ago(no AC in the farmhouse) and that has helped a lot. On the ride we saw a little racoon(which was very cute) and 3 deer. We also took some pictures!=)

This is one of their fields of wheat which I thought was very pretty.

The horse AF is riding is Rocky(he's a Quarter Horse(QH). The horse I rode is Empress who is half Arabian, half QH. All the pics of me on Empress are on AF's camera so I'll post those when she gets them loaded on her computer.=)

This is me right before we rode trying on the hat I wore.

Michigan 2

The Barbershop Chorus/Quartets were awesome! Everyone harmonized so well and they had some funny songs too. Most of the guys were old but there were a few college students and 4 of them have been singing together for a year That quartet was pretty good for the guys being so "young".=) Right after the concert, it started raining pretty hard, though according to the radar, the worst of it missed us. Anyways, we lost power after being home about 1/2 hour. I went to bed after reading by candlelight.=) Sat. we were still out of power and Uncle Dick couldn't get the generator working, but the neighbors invited us over for breakfast(they got their generator working). So while Aunt Feather & Uncle Dick drove over after their morning walk, I(they'd let me sleep in) ran to their house and back after breakfast. As I was just running up the driveway to the farm, Aunt Feather & Uncle Dick's son pulled up. His family got here around 11:30 p.m. Friday night.... He has 3 daughters(which I might have mentioned before) the oldest being 12 I think. We get along pretty well and they came over a bit before dinner to play. Uncle Dick's birthday was a week or so ago, so they took us out for a birthday dinner to a mexican place. The food was good and they sang for the birthday boy and made him wear a sombrero.=) 'Twas fun.=) Then we all went back to the farm and us girls had a bunch of fun rolling down a pretty steep hill and wrestling/fighting. The youngest, Britta, wasn't as much into the fighting so she played w/ their mini Pincher, Chico(not sure how they spell it). He's so cute! Anyways, when Britta left, instead of 3 against 1 it was 2 against 1. Kyra & Karlee against me. Those girls are pretty small and super skinny, so it wasn't too hard.=) Then I almost scratched one of them w/my ring, so I took my ring and necklace off so I could be a better "Bull"(they were trying to ride me at the same time and because they're so light it was indeed possible!). Then Karlee stole my jewelry and I had to fight her for it. We ended up on the deck w/ her sitting on my lap not being able to get away.=) She finally gave it back though.=) Then I read for awhile and went to bed. Sunday is my "day of rest" so I don't run, but I still had to get up moderately early because AF & UD's church service starts at 8:30. Since I've come for 3 summers so far I'm kinda getting to know some of the people and it's kinda fun to see who remembers me and how many people I don't remember.=) Anyways, right now we're sitting in the house talking about what we're gonna have for lunch, or if we should just have a snack. We're going to go to the girl's other grandparents for a father's day get-together. I think AF and I will go riding again today, probably after lunch. Well, I think I've bored you enough w/ my "doings" here in MI, I'm pretty much terrible w/ summaries. I do think that is the worst part of English in school, summaries! oh, well.........I'll try to get some pictures for y'all......

Here Am I

Well, here I am in Michigan.=) I arrived safe and sound Wednesday evening, had pizza w/ Aunt Feather & Uncle Dick, then we watched a movie. Thursday, I went running in the morning then Aunt Feather and I went riding on their trails for about 2 1/2 hours. It was fun and I only fell off once!=) I'm fine btw.=) Then we ate lunch, packed an overnight bag and came up here to their cottage on Rose lake where we are presently. We got here about 4 and I rode around the lake on one of their jet skis, a couple times w/ Aunt Feather to get me used to the lake then a whole bunch of times by myself. It was really fun!! The water's a bit cool, but it's not really bad.=) I also swam to "the point"(it's not very far) and back, then, I took the paddle boat out and back. After that we had dinner(hamburgers), and a campfire w/ marshmallows. The mosquitoes aren't too bad yet, but I did get a couple bites..... Anyways, today I'm going to go running, then maybe take the Seadoo(jet ski) out for awhile....we're going back to the farm this afternoon and we're going to go see some barbershop which will be fun as I've never seen barbershop live.=) Well, I'm off to run! Hopefully I can find some time later to post some more.=)

Michigan!

Some of you probably already know this, but I'll be going to MI for 2 weeks to stay at my Great Aunt Feather's(yes that is her real name) farm. Aunt Feather & Uncle Dick are my dad's aunt & uncle and when he was 16(I think) he stayed at there farm for a few weeks in the summer. He helped a lot w/ their fields and general work around the farm. He also got to ride horses a bit while he was there, and as you probably guessed that was the main draw for me to go up for a couple weeks. Of course, I'll be helping w/ the work too, Aunt Feather has a pretty big garden and I'll help weed/pick/plant and I'll also help w/ meals and cleaning and stuff. Another thing I'll get to do up there is play on the water, jet skiing, tubing, possibly water skiing....etc. Aunt Feather & Uncle Dick have a cottage on a small lake and they have jet skis and a couple tubes and kayaks and a paddle boat too. They also have a son w/ a house on a bigger lake and he(and his family, wife + 3 girls(oldest about 12?)) has a boat and water skis and tubes and such. They also have wake-boards, but I don't think I'd be able to get up on one of those.....=) Anyways, it'll just be a nice relaxing time away from business, ya I'll be doing lots of different stuff, but when you compare it to living w/ 5 siblings, all w/ their owns activities....it is comparatively relaxing and slow. I'm looking forward to it!=) So, I think I'll be up there about 2 weeks, I'm going up Wednesday w/ the Qs(very kind of them to give me a ride) and I'm not quite sure how I'm getting back, but I think maybe the 3rd I'm somehow getting to my G-parent's in IL for a family get together then I'm coming home just in time for volleyball camp.=) Well, I'll miss most of you who'll read this(ok, I'll miss all of you........maybe, if I remember to=D) but I'll be home for a week in a half or so after VB camp before we go to Ecuador for a family reunion! Hope I'll get to see at least some of you sometime....................=)

Oh, btw, I'm not sure if I'll be blogging in MI or not. Aunt Feather & Uncle Dick have a computer and Internet and stuff, but I don't know how much time I'll be able to spend on the computer. If it turns out not, I'll try to remember so I can tell you when I get back in the 5 seconds I'll have before VB camp.=)

Silver Dollar City!

The Pettijohn family went to Silver Dollar City(SDC) this weekend and were kind enough to invite me to go along w/ them. Renee and I had a lot of fun together and we got to ride all the good rides I think as well as walking around the park and looking in the different shops. It was good for me, as I usually go to amusement parks just for the rides and hanging out w/ friends of course. It was kinda fun just walking around and we still managed to ride the rides too.=) Another thing that was a lot of fun........'back-round:' we went to Six Flags a while ago w/ some other girls(for JW's B-day) and found a nice little spot to dance(English Country Line Dance to be exact). So we felt we had to up-hold the tradition(plus it's just super fun to dance!). We found a great place to do it- right behind one of the theatre things in the square. There was a group singing called "Pure Heart" so we had some good christain, country/bluegrass, and even some yodelling to dance along to.=) It was fun(except that we got super sweaty) and we got to talk to the band(two sisters and another lady) afterwards a bit. They were really nice.=) And yes, I do have some pictures from SDC for you.=) Renee took most of them except for the ones of just her.......

This one is right after 'Wildfire'(the best ride in the park). In the first attempt(not pictured) my eyes were almost closed. I made sure I opened them in the second attempt!=)

There was a pretty waterfall....

We had some fun trying on the funky glasses they had.(We tried on a lot more than pictured!)
We also tried on hats.
While waiting for the train.......
The train finally came.
Guess who?=)

Renee had her hair done in a pretty halo thing.Renee

June!

Wow, this year's going by really fast! Last time I checked it was February and we were just starting PoP practices. Now everyone's starting summer activities and the weather is super nice! Let's see, PoP is over, and we've finished band, basketball and soccer are done, I'm still getting to work w/ horses a bit which is always super exciting. Actually, one of Traci's(the lady who's teaching me) mares foaled(she had her baby) 2 days ago! He is super cute and I got to play with him a little bit today. They haven't named him yet but they's come up w/ something soon.=) I love baby animals! They're always(well almost always) super adorable and so soft...........we watched the colt and his mother running around for a bit after we let them out of the stall. He took off kicking his heels and having a ball. Duchess made sure he didn't get too far away.=) After that I got to ride a really tall black horse named Midnight. He's a sweety.=) But one thing I'm not used to is horses w/ soft mouthes and curb bits(which put more pressure on their mouth) so when I started I was keeping the reigns too tight and he started pulling his head up. If I'd of kept pulling back and up he might have gone right over backwards with me on him! That wouldn't have been good. But, I finally heard Traci yelling to release tthe reigns and he calmed down. But I felt really bad about that. Now I know not to do that again though!!=) After that ordeal, I was much gentler with him. For some reason I tend to ride with my hands up higher than I should and my elbows bent too much. I'll have to work on that.=) Anyways, I think I've bored you enough for now so I'll go do something useful, like maybe help my mom w/ the quilt we're finishing for Camp David, or maybe I'll go to bed.......well as Tiger in 'Winnie the Pooh' says, TTFN!(Ta Ta For Now!).

Oh Yeah, School! Oops, Almost Forgot!

Umm, about that. I'm hoping to go up to Michigan again this year to visit my Aunt and Uncle, but I have to finish my school before I can go. I have 3 or 4 weeks to finish 6 or 7 weeks of school. I'm done w/ science, but that's it so far. Of course, you're probably wondering why I'm blogging when I could be doing school. Actually I'm wondering that too. OK, fine. I'll go do school. I hope I don't fall asleep on my book again.......