Snow!

We have about 3 inches of snow on the ground from yesterday's storm. It's pretty, but makes me very unmotivated to go ride horses at the barn. Ugggg...and there's even an indoor arena to ride in!

Ice is expected tomorrow... I know my mom is probably having flashbacks of last year's ice storm when the ranch was without electricity for two weeks! No fun!

I can't believe Christmas is a week away! I'm leaving work on Dec. 23 and not coming back until Jan. 5! Yay for vacation!

Mulkie Fraggle, come!

This post is about lessons learned.

Every morning, I wake up and let the dogs outside. I used to stand at the front door and watch them go about their business, and then call them back inside. Lately, I've been letting them outside for 20 or 30 minutes and then call for them and they come back in. They like to play, so I figured, hey, what's the harm, right? They're pretty good about staying in the yard.

Well, this morning, I let them out, like I always do, and came back inside for awhile. I then went to the door to let them back in and called, and Mazda came running. No Mulkie Fraggle. So I kept calling, and calling, and calling...still no Mulkie Fraggle.

I woke up Cody and we went searching. It had snowed yesterday, so we could follow the tracks. I talked to our neighbors, and Jean, next door, said that Mulkie had been on her porch this morning. So much for staying in the yard!

We came back inside and waited and called every few minutes, hoping she'd come home. I am a bad dog owner and didn't have her collar (with tags) on (I had just taken it off to give her a bath over the weekend). So finally, we got back in the Subie and went searching some more. We drove down Edwardsville Drive, stopped the guy from Atmos checking gas meters and asked him to keep an eye out. We saw an Edwardsville cop stopped on the side of the road checking for speeders and asked him to keep an eye out. We drove all the way to Camp Naish, just in case she went that far. We stopped at Ani Pals, the pet resort just up the road, thinking she may have wandered there because of the smell of other dogs. We stopped at another neighbor's house and talked to him, too.

Finally, we just decided to drive back home, and there she was, standing in Jack and Jean's driveway. ARRRGGGHHH!! I was so glad to see her! I really thought that she had run away for good, or been picked up by somebody who thought she was pretty and took her because she didn't have a collar. Thank goodness we found her! She's still in trouble for running away and will be spending some time in her kennel and will go outside on her leash.

Whew...that was enough stress for a Wednesday morning! Needless to say, I will NOT ever let the dogs out unsupervised again! Well, at least until we install our Underground Fence system...is it springtime yet?

Mourning the loss...

Blackberry Pearl White

On December 1, 2008, Blackberry Pearl White died of unnatural causes. She was brutally murdered when she was dropped into a vat of cool, creamy, 2% milk. Although she tried to come back to life on December 5, 2008 when she woke up when her alarm clock was scheduled to go off, showing signs of life by making strange ringing noises (scaring Abby half to death thinking that there was a burglar in the kitchen). She was finally removed from life (and battery) support and took her last breath.

She is proceeded in death by her grandmother, Sanyo VI-2300 Green.

She is survived by her mother, Sanyo Katana Pinkish, and her daughter, Nokia Cheapest-I-Could-Find-At-Target Black.


Nokia is with child and is expected to give birth to Blackberry's granddaughter, Blackberry Flip Charcoal sometime soon...maybe around Christmastime?

Where are we going?

After Thanksgiving with the Strawder Family, Cody and I loaded up our dogs, got in the truck, and headed south. We didn't really know where we were going, but wanted to take a road trip and end up someplace at least half-way warm! We finally picked our destination of choice when we reached Dallas...let's go to Galveston Island and dip our feet in the ocean!

We stayed just south of Dallas the first night, and made it to Galveston the next afternoon. We stopped by Moody Gardens Aquarium and saw all sorts of fun creatures - sea horses, sharks, sea turtles, seals, tons of fish, and an octopus! Then we found a beach (just typed in "beach" and Carmen, the Garmin found the closest one) and went for a walk. Mazda and Mulkie Fraggle LOVED the ocean! It was tons of fun.

We experienced some authentic Texas food...we ate at Whataburger and a Mexican restaurant (although I think La Casita in Salina is the best Mexican ever). We stopped just north of Dallas to sleep on the way home, and the next morning, Cody and I made a trip to Sergeants Western World (a horse-lover's dream store). I bought some nice reins, a new headstall, and we ooogled over the show saddles. We made it home on Tuesday evening...tired, but we had a blast.
















Carmen, our trusty Garmin.




















This is Cody's "Yes, I just spent 12 hours in the truck with you!" look. ;)
















Me outside of Moody Garden's Aquarium in Galveston.





















Look out! Shark attack! Inside Moody Gardens Aquarium.
















Me, Mazda and Mulkie Fraggle in the ocean!

















They played, and played, and played some more.
















A friend of mine asked if our dogs were the good photographers...lol, no, we found a nice lady to take our picture.
















Isn't is gorgeous?!!?

Awards!

It's a fact...I love going to horse shows. I love showing horses, period. This year, I decided to try out a new show circuit, the Golden Circle shows. I wasn't able to show at very many shows this year, but when I did, Shiloh and I did pretty well. Cody and I attended the 2008 awards banquet. They gave away some really neat bronze sculptures and I think they are soooo cool! I was very surprised to win a bronze sculpture and then, even more surprised to win Reserve High Point Adult for the year. Thanks, Golden Circle shows! We'll be back next year!




















Isn't this cool?!?!

















Check out this really cool garment bag!

Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving was a blast! Cody and I celebrated the first Thanksgiving/Christmas of the year at my Aunt Cindy's. It was great to catch up with my cousins and see their growing children! Here's a pic of us at Aunt Cindy's very festive house.















Then, we went to Cody's family's Thanksgiving down in Coffey County. I didn't take any pictures there, but I'm sure his sisters have a few.


Our next Thanksgiving was at the White Buffalo Ranch. Despite the fact that were were NO deviled eggs (ahem, Grandma!), we stuffed ourselves silly. ;)

You have to raise your hand if you want to get a word in.




















Madi (Andy's girlfriend), Jim Jr., Doni D., Beckem (Madi's son), Mom, and Andy.



















Madi again, Grandma, Unca, and Dad. And Cody somehow didn't get in my Thanksgiving eating pictures, but he was there, too! ;)
















My mom and I braved Black Friday to get a Wii at Sam's. It's a ton of fun! I'm a particular fan of cow racing. Here's a pic of Grandma and Cody playing Wii.
















We really had a great time this Thanksgiving. Now, on to Christmas!