On the horse front...

Yesterday I had my first "hands-on" day with the camp's horses. Unfortunately, my first day on the job I had to call the vet for a horse with nasty puncture wound (on his fetlock joint, natch)and I got kicked (by the same horse.) Luckily I jumped backwards as the horse kicked out, so I only got a glancing blow and I wasn't hurt.

With the help of a former camper, I marked all the camp's horses with blue nail-polish on their hooves so I could tell which ones were "mine."

The camp has horses ranging from cute:

To Ugly:

And horses ranging from young (and unbroke):

To old (and un-usable):

(This above horse was at the camp when I first worked there ten years ago. She used to be very spirited and beautiful. I was shocked and saddened to see her now...)

Here is a picture of the corral at camp. You can see the box stalls and riding arena hidden under the snow. Once the snow melts, I'll be bringing the 34 horses back to camp!

Video from the drive over....

Another new favorite activity of Lilah's!

Moving Day

Nick and I finally buckled down and got everything we needed done for the move on Saturday. My parents really helped us out by taking Lilah for the day, otherwise we'd probably still be working on getting gone.... :)

Right before we left:



Unfortunately, on the day we picked to drive over, both major mountain passes were requiring chains for vehicles towing due to heavy snow. We had our household packed up, and the truck and trailer ready to go, but no good way to get there. We debated on staying in the Portland-area until the roads cleared, but with everything all packed up, we decided to go ahead and take the LOOOOONG way around the Cascades down to our new place of residence. It was a long drive, but worth it. We arrived safely and have been busy settling into our new place since then.

Lilah would love to travel in this position:


(we have learned that being in the drivers seat will also keep her entertained while we unpack the truck!)

As of today, I have our cabin cleaned up and we are working on getting all our belongings in. The camp is still heavily covered with snow, so we've been doing several trips with the truck and leaving the horse trailer at the Roundhouse.

People at camp have been helping us feel at home, and tonight Nick, Lilah and I had our first family dinner in the main lodge. I use the camp's large oven to cook, which has been kind of a kick. Yesterday we saw a big herd of elk along the highway, and we've been watching a herd of deer hanging out in the Tollgate neighborhood. Lilah has been a trooper "helping" me mop and Nick screw the furniture back together. We hope to be completely moved in by the end of this week!

We are looking forward to visitors when we are all settled in! :)

Secret Mommy Confession #3 and #4

Lilah now walks around the house saying "Money? Money". We're not sure what it means, but it is distinctly "money." I don't think Nick and I talk a lot about money in front of her, so I'm not sure where she picked it up. The obsession with "money", coupled with her ongoing shoe obsession make me slightly worried she's going to be a high-fashion diva. Hmm....

The fourth confession? It's the night before our move and here I am blogging again. We do have some things "put together" but nothing ... packed.

Good Dog Simon

Happy Birthday Sweet P

Happy 15th birthday Sweet P!

I love this little mare to pieces -- since pulling her out of the school horse string at my former job, her and I have gotten a lot closer again and it's been fun. She can be a handful at times, but she makes me feel like a little kid again whenever I'm with her....



Here she is charging at an unfortunate horse who was turned out in HER pasture. Sigh... Typical Sweet P. -- glad I wasn't the other horse. :)

Packing Woes

Once we settled on a date, people have been asking us, "Have you started packing yet?" And now that we're under a week and counting, we've been asked, "So... you done packing?"

And the truth is no. And no again. Too be brutally honest, we leaving in three days and we have not packed a thing. We're both super-excited to start the next phase, but maybe we're still in denial. Or maybe we know Lilah will unpack anything we might pack, so why bother?

In fact, I'm blogging right now instead of ... packing.

Sigh....

I'm 18 months!

It is hard to believe, but our precious little baby turned 18 months on Friday the 13th! We celebrated by having both sets of grandparents to dinner. Lilah loved having center stage with all of them, and we enjoyed games and conversation after she went to bed. It was a great time!

Places not to take a toddler....

Here is another another poll for you parents out there ....

Where are places you refuse to take your toddler? Besides the obvious ones of course, like bars and strip clubs. I'm thinking every day places, like the Verizon phone store (from which I just returned from) where you know you will wait forever (to get your cell phone fixed) while you try to keep an 18-month old entertained (unsuccessfully).

So instead of pouring myself a drink now that I'm home, I am starting a list of places not to take your darling toddler.

1. The post office -- long waits in a line with your arms full of packages instead of your kid!

2. The libraryif I'm browsing for books for me -- Lilah never gets the memo to keep quiet, and likes to pull the books off the shelf as I'm trying to read the titles..

3. The Verizon phone service store -- I can't stand the mix between pushy salespeople and poor salespeople, and it's not fun wait the 30-plus minutes on the service people. Couldn't they just let you leave and come back when it's fixed?!?! Can't they see Lilah is about to lose it?!?!

And actually, they could tell. I left the store without getting all my info updated but Lilah was MORE than ready to GO, GO GO (as she was yelling)

Sigh.

Okay, I think I'm done ranting but I do refuse to take Lilah these places ever again without back-up! Tell me what your places are and I will add them to the list!

-H

On a Snow Quest...

Last Wednesday I heard on the news that Parkdale was expected to get 3 - 4 inches of snow by the next morning. Nick and I hatched an idea that we would travel up that night, and Nick would work from his parents' house the next day so that I could play in the snow with L. Two hours later, we were on the road. And, just as promised, we woke up the next morning to a snow-covered landscape!

Here is Lilah helping Poppa manage the snow:


After proving not to be helpful, Lilah stands watch in the back of Poppa's truck: :)


The snow was perfect for sledding! Here is me going down the big hill in the Tyrrells' front yard:


Once back inside, Lilah plays with Nanny Tanny:

Mommy & Me!

Lilah's Other Favorite Activities

Lilah loves to play with her dolls. She loves to "mother" them, and here she is taking care of her troll-doll:

Lilah also likes to dance with Nanny Tanny!!