Updates ~ I Am Alive!

Yes, I am alive! Even though I've only managed to get some of the Sunday Stills posts up for the last umm...4 weeks. Yikes! Man, time funs when you're having flies! Or something like that.

So lets go back and start at my state meet for drill. Midori looooves going to shows because she gets a nice clean stall and shavings to roll around in. Seriously, not 5 minutes after I stick her in the stall this is what she looks like. Isn't she the cutest pony ever?!

The state meet went well. Of course it wasn't without drama, but it was all resolved fairly early on and the rest of the weekend went well. I remembered all the drills, loped a couple of them for the first time that weekend. It was really fun! We came in 6th over all out of 13 teams. Not fabulous, but considering all the shaking up and filling spots and switching around we did, not too shabby!

This is me in Freestyle. I was the only flag. I liked my spot though, other the Midori running off with me a bit. She liked being on the outside of the sweep for a lap and a quarter and didn't want to check back to make he 90 degree turn into the center to be on the outside of the crack.

Also, notice we are on the wrong lead in this pic? We're not going to talk about that.

We are also not going to talk about this...

I will say that our quad placed 6th (I think) out of like 20 something teams, so that was fun! It was a fun ride, but the first time I had loped that drill this year and to say we hauled ass in an understatement.

About 2 hours before I rode the flag in Freestyle I was at a cutting show. The timing ended up working out perfectly, I was so happy! We had a fabulous ride, Midori really cowed up and I think enjoyed the break from the drill team boot camp she had suddenly found herself in. We didn't score well, but I was thrilled with our ride considering we hadn't worked buffalo in a couple weeks. The boyfriend called me as I was pulling in back at the drill meet and informed me that my score had held for 2nd place! Yahoo!!!

That was a very fun weekend. It was nice to hang out with my drill team again and I've always loved state.

Next update: Chey has kitties for lunch!

Just kidding! She got to meet them for the first time without bars between them! She was SOOO excited, she could hardly contain herself. Just imagine her little nubbin tail going a mile a minute here.

The kitties were just as curious about her. Chunk was a little more timid about walking right up to her and tended to keep her distance, but Legs would walk right up to her, rub up against her, roll over in front of her and swat at her.

Chey did really well with them, though did get a little excited a few times. She is definately intense and we keep an eye on her to make sure she's not mauling them to death on accident. Do you see the kitty tail sticking out from under her paw in this picture?

She loves to nibble them, like sort of cleaning, like I imagine a momma would do to her puppies. She also stands over them protectively. She really is gentle and good with them, just really intense. Go figure, since she's an Aussie. Since she didn't eat them for lunch that time we let them out in the house to play now. For the most part it is just fine, though there have been some epic chases. The kittens run from Chey playfully, she tears after them, the cats go oh sh**! and run, Chey continues to chase them...etc. And then there is the comedic relief that is Chey trying to herd kittens. Oh my goodness, funniest thing ever! She just does not understand why it doesn't work! She tries to push them up and they lay down in front of her. If she does happen to herd them together for a second, they'll take off in opposite directions. You can just see the smoke coming out of her ears as she tries to decide which one to chase!

The kittens haven't gone outside yet, but I guess it's getting to be that time. I just have to let go of my overprotective tendencies and kick their butts outside. They are also officially June Bug and May Belle now. Legs is June Bug and Chunk is May Belle. I still call them Legs and Chunk most of the time though. They are getting huge! And rambunctious! Holy cow, they are tearing my house apart! Part of why they need to go outside!

We had another cutting show a couple weeks ago. That one didn't go so well. It had been really hot, record highs around here, and we hadn't been riding at all. The cows I got were just awful and my turn back riders were no help at all. Sugar was full of piss and vinegar and Justin was having no luck with her either. Fortunately, everyone seemed to be having an off day, so my 65 held for a tie for 4th and 5th out of 8 riders. I'm still hanging on to 1st place in the series by a half point. No pressure for the next show, huh? Ugh!

The week leading up to that show we learned that the boyfriends mom had been admitted to the hospital and was scheduled to have open heart surgery. That made for a very hectic week, going up to the hospital every evening. We were also trying to get our house and yard presentable because we were hosting my small family reunion a couple weeks later. I had just started a painting project when we found out she was in the hospital, and what should have taken me 2 evenings to finish up ended up taking me a full week. We were busy and it just wasn't a fun time. But the surgery went well and she is doing good. It's amazing how staining the deck and planting flowers in the front flower bed are suddenly not a priority when stuff like that happens. :-) We did manage to get the house and yard somewhat presentable and the reunion was fun. We had tons of leftovers so I haven't had to cook all week and I was really happy to have a clean, clean house for the first time in a while!

This week and weekend has been really nice to catch up, relax and just not have any big obligations. I really love summer and the sun and warm temps, but fall is by far my favorite season just because it's not as crazy busy as summer. Next weekend I will be attending the SAFE horse show. That should be interesting! It's been a while since I've done pleasure, equitation and showmanship classes! And I'm doing a halter class, which I've never done. No clue what I'm doing there! :-) I'm looking forward to it though! I do miss rail classes every once in a while.

So that's my story. Nothing terribly interesting, but it's been a busy, busy summer!

Hope everyone is enjoying their summers!