Some garden work...

Finally we have started on the beds. I assigned each child a bed to work for the summer. Right now we are just turning over the soil. My tomatoes and peppers are already to go in the ground. I did not get a deer fence this year, so I have decided to fence each bed individually. That should work for now.

Hardening off the seedlings...

Last Friday, I began the process of hardening off the tomato, pepper, and celery seedlings. This year I have had the best looking seedlings out of the last three years, but they still don't quite look like the ones from the nursery. I am hoping to get them in the ground by midweek.

Celery...

Tomatoes...

Peppers...

The peppers outside...

Tomatoes outside...

Coming soon...daily house cleaning schedule...

We are finished with our school year. I have been working on getting my plants ready for the garden. The children have been very busy with their various activities. The one thing I have been working on is developing a daily cleaning schedule that will work for us this summer. We already have daily cleaning routines, but with more time on our hands I want to expand this more. So, check back. I should have something soon.

The horse show...

Natalie and her dear friend, Sara, were up bright and early yesterday morning. They had a light breakfast. Mom had coffee. I did Natalie's hair in a bun for the first time. I think I learned some things. The biggest was that I had to make it lower next time. After packing up the car, we headed to the barn where we met another friend and her mom. The two riders got their horses ready, cleaned their stalls, and packed their hay bags. Soon, our horse trainer extraordinaire arrived to help the girls load their horses, and then we were off.

In this picture the girls have Serene tied to the trailer and are attempting to figure out the new bridle.

Taking pictures in the indoor arena was a pain in the neck. When I used my flash the pictures were too dark. When I didn't use my flash the pictures turned out blurry. In the morning the riders had one hour clinics in the classes that they would be entering. Natalie had a clinic in equitation and pleasure which was really just like a lesson. Next Natalie went to the outdoor ring and had a clinic in fitting and showing. She had never done it before. In this next picture, Natalie and her friend, Catherine, are in the equitation/pleasure clinic.

After some down time and a little lunch the girls got ready for their classes. This is a picture of Natalie ready to enter the show ring for the fitting and showing class. This was just before the weather turned for the worse.

While she was in the class a nasty, nasty storm blew up. The wind was blowing the rain straight sideways. The rain was coming down in torrents. There were even a few claps of thunder. When her class was over I lead her to the quietest part of the barn where we could wait out the storm. We met some very nice people who allowed us to stand by them and their horse until Natalie's friend, Sara, could eventually make a run for her saddle. The storm did pass. The sun came out and a horrible wind kicked up. Thankfully though it didn't rain any more. She was able to get through all the other classes. I didn't get any picture of the pleasure and equitation classes because of my technical difficulty with my camera. I think I will be able to get better pictures at the next show in June.

For her first show she came home with a 3rd place ribbon in fitting and showing, a 2nd place ribbon in equitation, and a 2nd place ribbon in pleasure. She competed in the junior division which was the perfect division for her. I think novice would have been too easy for her. We learned a lot, and it was fun.

Getting ready for Saturday...

On Saturday, Natalie will participate in her first horse show. This is a training show. In the morning she will have clinics in fitting and showmanship as well as equitation and pleasure. Since I am still learning, I have very little idea what all this terminology means, but I expect to find out this weekend. In the afternoon they will actually have a show. I still have to find out if they will earn points from this show or not.

In order to finish our preparations for the show, we drove down to Stagecoach West on Sunday afternoon. It was a very pleasant drive. We picked up several items that we still need. She is working coordinating her horse, so there is a definite orange theme there. Today she has her lesson. We decided that she would ride in her show clothes in order to get a feel for what it is like to ride in everything.

Here is a look at our latest purchases.

She got a saddle pad, water bucket, bucket strap, polo wraps, lead line, hoof polish, saddle soap, fly spray, curry comb, braid bands for the mane, and stirrup pads which she desperately needed. We purchased the halter a few weeks ago from a different store. She has been saving it just for shows because it would be caked with dirt and mud if Serene wore it in the pasture.

Last Saturday...

Carolyn had her textile review for 4-H.

The sewing advisors examined all of her sewing projects. In this picture they are looking at her apron.

Now they are looking at her little bag that we whipped up the night before at our 4-H meeting. Waiting to the last minute is pretty typical for me, but I really do prefer to avoid it. I am getting better at it as I get older.

Finally she is ready for the fashion show.