Pretty birdhouse...

I finished Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows at 1:30 this morning! After many, many interruptions, I started reading last night and just decided to plow through 'til it was done. It was AWESOME!! A non-stop thrill ride that was a very fitting end to the series. Extremely well done. JK Rowling is unbelievably talented to create such wonderful characters that you can really get to know and situations that are out of this world, and yet believable. I think I speak for all her readers when I say that I will genuinely miss them all...

Today the boys and I have been tidying the house and yard. I got the clothes out on the line this morning and they dried beautifully in this gorgeous weather. This evening we are going to be getting a load of hay. We are getting 6 round bales.
Many months ago, my youngest made me this birdhouse. It has been waiting for a paint job so that it can be hung outdoors. Today I finally remembered this project and he happily finished it up! It sure is colorful!! Last night he finished the medium level on Guitar Hero II!! He is so excited and we are so proud of him!

Cutter....Torc

Here he is!!

This morning we went to visit Cutter at his new home. Unfortunately, she has changed his name to Torc. Oh well. Not a huge surprise. A name is one of those things that people often change just to prove their ownership. He is doing very well! He is completely relaxed and at ease in his surroundings. He listens to her when she is working with him and is forward moving and willing. I couldn't be more pleased. I feel like a proud momma!

She put the halter that I made for him right on, so I had to take pictures of him modeling it...

Isn't he a handsome boy????

She lunged him to show me how well he listens and responds to her cues...



Then she rode him around and over some small jumps. She only cantered him for a few moments 'cause he is still only 2...



This afternoon my parents stopped in for a brief visit. They had been canoeing and fishing on Moose Pond. I got to show them the photo books I made and they were as pleased as I am with them. Mom had some extra pictures from my sister's wedding that I purchased from her - I'm happy to have them!

Whoo! Hoo!!

Kitchy did GREAT today!! We tried 2-Man Ranch Sorting and got 6th place!! Out of 25 teams!! In our first run, which qualified us for the call-backs in 3rd place, we sorted 6 cows in 90 secs. But, during our 2nd run we only sorted out 2 cows because we were taking it really slow and easy and concentrating on not getting disqualified by making a mistake. The herd was wild and really determined to rush out of the pen, so it was very challenging. Taking our time was a great theory, but it put us 1 cow out of the money. Oh well. Considering this was our first try I was psyched!! I had no idea whether or not Kitch would be able to do sorting, but he is really starting to work off my leg, even sidepassing, and he is so NOT afraid of the cows that even when they really challenge him he will hold his ground! I'm so proud of him!!

Yesterday's reunion was a blast, as usual. Our 90 year old patriarch was able to join us, and so were the babies - every age was pretty well represented! There were a few showers throughout the afternoon, but we didn't let them dampen our spirits!

The kids all had a great time running around the fields and climbing trees. My sister-in-law and brother organized a scavenger hunt which took the kiddos (and me with my camera) all over the property and taught them some of its history. My brother also climbed a tree to rescue an airplane...

Family members from 4 to 75 participated in the 'Egg in the Spoon' race and 'Egg Toss'. The married competitors took the egg race VERY seriously indeed...

Of course, the end of the 'Egg Toss' game is always kinda messy...

There were 5, count them - 5!!, dogs there, but they were all very well behaved and had a ball! I was even able to get them all to sit still long enough for a group portrait. (And yes, the one that wouldn't cooperate was MY dog!)

One of the guys at the event today told me that he had seen me in a newspaper article! The reporter that called earlier this week had her story published already. It was well written, although she misquoted me a little bit, but not in any way that would matter. Neat!!

Wiggin Reunion

The Wiggin Reunion is today! We look forward to this event every year. We are congregate at my aunt's house in East Baldwin and have a great time together. There is always tons of yummy food, great conversation and fun watching the kids (and some adults) play! Last year's favorite memory: our youngest was chasing one of his 2nd cousins and apparently getting pretty frustrated. My aunt heard him yell "STOP!! So I can shoot you!!" Last year it rained and rained and the kids got SOAKED, but they didn't care at all. It looks like today the weather is going to be gorgeous - YEAH!!

The boys had a great time staying overnight with their grammie. She has a kitten, whom they fell desperately in love with. Unfortunately he is already promised to someone else. They went swimming at the lake and even learned to swim UNDERwater! That is a huge milestone! They got to buy ice cream from the ice cream truck, which is a major novelty since they NEVER come way out here in the country. They also did some leatherworking and made Dad & I keychains.

Last night I finished the 6th Harry Potter. I had to wait to read the 7th book - they didn't have enough copies at the library - so I took out #6 to refresh my memory. I'm glad that I did - I had forgotten ALOT and now I will really enjoy #7 that much more...

My 2nd Clivia is blossoming! This one is a slightly darker shade of orange...

HOT!!

And HUMID....
We had a great time last night. We played Guitar Hero 80s 'til almost 1 a.m.!! Of course, we're paying for it today. The kiddos slept outside with Grammie in a tent on the front lawn. That was great fun for them. They also got to do Sparklers after dark.

Today, after summer school, we went to Pizza Hut for lunch. We finally had to shut down our oldest - he ordered the all-you-can-eat kids' buffet, and he could have stayed all afternoon! After lunch they left with Grammie to go spend the night at her house and go swimming at the lake.

These pictures are of the reflection of the sunset the other night. I took them looking to the East from our front step - it was beautiful!



I just spoke to a reporter from the Sun Journal. She is doing an article on people who have to ride their horses on the road and wanted to hear my experiences. I hope that I gave her some useful information for her article. I also did a plug for team penning and invited her to come watch us ride sometime - I hope that she will - she seemed interested. An article in a big paper like that would be great press for us!!

GH 80s party!!

Yesterday's birthday party was great fun! The kids ran and played 'til they were drenched in sweat and they swam and swam and swam some more! They really love their cousins and enjoy their company very much! We're very lucky to have such great family. My sister-in-law made a really neat cake that looked like a map of the Earth. She's VERY creative! It was also VERY tasty - all the food was very good. We snacked all afternoon, which was very naughty since we're both supposed to be watching our weight....

While she was working on the cake, I finished up the lead ropes that Cutter's new mom asked me to make for her. I had made the halter the night before. She had requested a green halter with a 10 foot lead and a 20 foot lunge line. I'm very pleased with how they came out. I hope she's happy too!

Here are pictures of the hardest knot in the halter - the Fiador!! A lot of halter makers just tie an overhand knot at the chin of the halter 'cause it's so hard to learn how to make the Fiador. But, I was determined to learn it 'cause I love the way it looks and it makes the halter more adjustable size-wise. Actually, I'm not sure that I've really learned how to make it yet, or if I'm just really good at following the diagram that I got from u-braid-it! ;-)

I use an eyesplice to attach the lead to the halter - no hardward necessary! I also eyesplice the popper on the end of the lead.

This evening we are having some people over for a Guitar Hero 80s party!! I can't wait to play the songs on this edition - they're all GREAT!!

Birthday Party

Today we are in Standish at my brother & sister-in-law's home, celebrating their son's birthday. I brought our boys down here right after picking our youngest up at summer school, so that the kids could play together all afternoon. Later on Dad, my aunt & uncle, and our parents will be arriving for supper and cake! The kids have been having a ball swimming in the pool!

Troika Drafts

Today was Open Farm Day here in Maine. We went over to Hebron to visit Troika Drafts. They raise, train and show Shire horses. We got to watch a horse get harnessed up to pull a log, we fed grass to the animals in the pastures and played fetch with their dogs. I also picked up a nice set of Western spurs for $5. They have silver plating with engraving, so they are quite pretty. They're a bit rusty, but for the price, they are more than useable!!

Here is a link to their website: http://www.troikadrafts.com/ They are also involved in training Maine fire departments to effectively and safely rescue horses and other large animals. There is a great video of one such training session here: http://www.wcsh6.com/news/news_links/article.aspx?storyid=63024

This guy was more the kids' speed. The Shires are just too darn big as far as they are concerned!

We got a real kick out of this sign hanging in their barn...

Harry Potter!!

Dad and the boys just left to go to the library and get the last Harry Potter book on cd. We're all really looking forward to listening to it. Yesterday people were complaining (albeit excitedly) about waiting in line at midnight to get their copy. I felt like a celebrity with my copy being on hold for me! We haven't purchased any of the books over the years, just borrowed them from the library because they are so special. We have been waiting all these years for a boxed set! And, apparently the publishers are aware of people like us, because they are coming out with a fancy, collector's edition, boxed set that is supposedly going to be worth the wait. I have mixed emotions about reading this final chapter....I'm sure that everyone else does too....it's always hard when you know it's the last in the series. But, I'm sure that JK Rowling is ready to get on with the rest of her life!!

It's a beautiful, sunny day!! It feels like ages since we've had one of those! It's a bit windy, but I guess I'll take it.

A quiet day...

It's been a quiet day around here....I'm working on photo books at KodakGallery. They are on sale right now. Maybe I can actually get some pictures! At this point I have soooo many uploaded there that I would have to be a millionaire to afford to have them all put into albums!! The roses are blooming in my front garden.

Last week this hen hatched out these chicks. She needed shelter and we're short on coops, so here's what I came up with. Pretty inventive, huh? We've had tons of rain, but they are dry and comfy.

The boys have been playing well together today. Once I took the video games away, they decided that they should team up against me. Then they started coming up with other games to play and forgot about me and just had fun! It's really cute when that happens...

This morning I had a phone call from Cutter's new mom. He is doing very well in his training, although he is testing them constantly. He is already cantering under saddle! But, she's frustrated 'cause he won't keep his fly mask on!

We got our Ion back today. It has been at the dealership getting a new head gasket! We've only had it since May! The low coolant warning kept alerting us, so we kept taking it back to the dealer to fix. They finally decided to stop just refilling it for us and actually take the engine apart....lo and behold it really was broken!! My husband claims that it is running much better now. Before it idled rough, but now it purrs like it should.

Dad brought home a kid-sized drum set from a yard sale. I love to listen to drums and play drums, so I thought it would be fine....I'm going INSANE!! They are soooo loud - the sound goes right straight through my head - it actually hurts!! We're definitely going to have to clean up the basement to make a space for the kids to play down there. There can be NO drums in the living room anymore....

The ducklings are growing up so fast. They are adorable! Everytime we go outside they follow us around and peep. I can call them to me now 'cause I've been calling them whenever I feed them. The geese have adopted them and are being very attentive. They take good care of them and keep them safe.