I'm a Little Rider

Jada has acquired some new riding gear recently. Our awesome neighbor gave us a little itty bitty western saddle that she used for her daughter when she was two. This of course prompted us to go out and buy more fun riding stuff. Jada picked out her first saddle pad and got her first pair of chaps. The smallest pair of half chaps (should only come up to her knees) are actually more like full chaps on her (go up her whole leg). This photo doesn't show it but she actually likes to put her feet in the stirrups which are still too long and I can't get any shorter. She loves to trot. Jeff runs next to her to make sure she doesn't bounce off (Tye as sweet as he is is still quite tall) and I lead Tye in as slow a trot as I can get the poor guy to go. Not much longer before a pony I think.

Jada's four-legged furry sibling

I have ranted many a time about how great our Flint is but I just can't help it. Jada adores him and uses him as her play buddy all the time. Here they are playing dress up. Thanks Flintie for being such a good sport and friend to Jada.

We've Got Poop

Every evening before Jada's bath we let her sit on her potty seat while I get her bath ready. She really likes it and has actually been peeing on it frequently. We get all excited and as a reward she is allowed to touch the toilet paper and then we flush it and say "Bye Bye Pee Pee". I am sure every parent has done this and was just as thrilled as we were at the bodily functions your child makes. Last night she actually started grunting and low and behold we had poop. Now we are not in full force potty training. It is only a night time thing and I figure when we really start it will make it tons easier. But we will have to fix one little dilemma. Because it is always before bath time we strip her down first. So now when you say "Do you want to go on the potty?", she runs in to get her seat and then starts to take her shirt off. I imagine her teachers one day will think it is very odd if she needs to get naked to pee.

Some Not So Good Smells

Yesterday had a bit of fun for the whole family. Jeff and I did our regular barn routine in the morning and when he went to leave he brought Flint and Parker in and left Tazer out with me (Tazer is enjoying the cooler AM temps). After riding I went in to get Jada who decided it was a good morning for poop painting again. I caught her early on in the process so it wasn't everywhere just not only in her diaper. I walked into her yelling "Poop" and knew before I saw it. After getting Jada cleaned up she went to let the dogs out of their room and was saying "Tee Tee" (what she calls Tazer). I then realized I forgot Tazer outside, which anyone who knows Tazer knows he has a lovely habit of skipping town if he can. We ran out to find him missing. We all (dogs included) jumped in the car to start our search. Jada joined in in yelling Tazer (or Tee Tee) out the windows. Tazer appeared not too long after our search began trotting down the road with black instead of white colored legs. He was covered in weeds and smelled rotten. Home we went to bathe Tazer which while I was doing Jada thought it would be great fun to jump in the mud puddles at the end of the wash rack. So after hosing off Tazer I hosed off Jada and then went in to clean and change her again. Well I now here Jada is awake and I better not stall in getting her unless I want to start my day like yesterday.

My Show Pony

These are some pictures from one of the Lee County Horse Shows of me and my superstar horse Tye (show name: Tall Dark and Handsome).  He has been jumping so well lately and really muscling up.  I am so excited seeing two years ago I didn't even know if I would ride him again.  

A Temporary Friend

My trainer asked if I could keep his baby for a couple of weeks so that he could separate her from her mother. Sela showed up Monday night and instantly became friends with Tye. Tuesday morning the two of them galloped around the pasture having a grand time. In the afternoon I noticed she was no longer in her pasture. She jumped the fence into Pony's pasture. Tye looked very sad by himself so I put him in with them. Pony then snapped and decided to try to kill the baby. Full speed ahead he chased the baby with ears pinned and teeth showing until she jumped into another pasture (good thing I have so many pastures). So now baby is turned out by herself and everyone is in one piece. She is pretty cute.

Safety first

It's about time but we finally got Jada her first helmet. My folks (or Santa) is getting her a tricycle for Christmas and we figured she could also use it for riding. Jada is not too keen on wearing hats lately so I was not sure how it would go. But to ride Tye she listens to about anything you ask of her. She had her first lesson in steering and holding the reins all by herself this weekend as well.

Cousin Zekie

Zeke is my parent's little Yorkie. For a tiny dog he is pretty darn cute. Jeff and I bought him for my mom a few years ago. Back then my dad was still sort of anti-wanting a dog. Now he takes Zeke everywhere with him. He gets mad if we take Zeke for a sleepover. He even carries around the "doggie purse" with Zeke inside.

A Story Not for Those Easily Disturbed

Jada knows what poop is and is very happy to say it whenever she spots it. I taught her this kind of as a game when I would be cleaning up the horse runs. We run around looking for piles yelling poop!! Jada has taken her poop finding one step further. The other day (well I guess it has been like two weeks now, thankfully) she came to me and pointed her finger at me yelling poop. The little brown stained finger also smelled a lot like poop. Now before I explain further let me again warn you to stop reading if you are easily bothered by bodily fluid stories......Jeff the other day apparently had this same experience with Jada and had seen what had happened therefore I knew as well. Jada goes up to Flint (our very loving and patient dog) and lifts his tail and pokes him in the butt hole. Then she proceeds to yell poop!! I told Jeff she is either just gross or practicing to be a vet someday. I also decided if this continues either Flint has to start wearing pants or Jada mittens.

Is This Really My Life????

The other day Jeff accidentally knocked my lobster magnet off the fridge and one of his antennae fell off. I was sad for my little magnet friend and tried to super glue him back together but failed multiple times. My wonderful friend Keely sent me him (or brought him to me, I can't remember) and his springy little legs crack me up whenever I open the fridge. For these reasons I couldn't bear to send him to the trash heaven so I considered other options. My neighbor who is quite crafty, helped me perform lobster surgery with a hot glue gun and we were successful. As you can see from the above picture he is back and swinging in full force.

My Beautiful Horses

Costumes or Camo

Halloween was super fun this year.  Jada loved her costume and actually wanted to wear it.  Parker and Zeke maybe not so much.  Jeff was not too thrilled when I told him he should be the gardener but when he came out of the bathroom dressed as he was I knew he secretly enjoyed his attire.  We went trick or treating up at my folks place during the day and in a neighborhood near us in the evening with some friends. Jada much to Jeff's delight racked in some serious candy. A large number of the houses we stopped at took photos of Jada and Parker in their wagon.  I wonder if that means I am invited over for the holidays now seeing they have pictures of my child.  

A Time for Sweaters

We have finally had a few days cold enough for sweaters.  This is very exciting although it never lasts long.  The last few days have been cool in the mornings and evenings but quite toasty during the day.  My grandma in India made Jada a bunch of really nice sweaters.  I feel bad that they spend most of the time sitting in her closet but finally they are starting to make their debuts.  

Just a Little Bit of Paint

We decided the best option for decorating pumpkins with Jada was to paint them with washable paint. Carving is obviously too advanced (even for I sometimes), stickers she will continuously peel off and play with, markers smear, so paint it was. Jada was a bit tentative at the start. Then her artistic abilities came flying out as she dunked the same brush into every color (and I mean every, she does not color discriminate). In the end her pumpkin was covered in rainbows of globbed on paint that took a good 24 hours to dry. I think we will have to take out the paints more often for craft time.

A Stroll in the Woods

Jeff and I took Jada for a little stroll in the woods. We don't call it hiking anymore like the good old days in CO because Florida lacks any change in elevation. I must admit there is a lot more wildlife to see when wandering the outdoors in FL than in CO but I still long for mountains. I guess another positive to FL wandering is that Jada can do it on her own without being carried in a pack. For any of my FL friends you will be surprised to know that this small park was actually in Port Charlotte. Jada thought it was great fun and she already appears to have an appreciation for nature. She stops to watch butterflies and look at flowers all along the trail.

A Bunny Update

Yeah!!! The bunnies have flown the coop or at least hopped out of the horse runs. Just in time too because it looks like we may have a few rainy days ahead of us.

It's the Great Pumpkin

Jada had her first pumpkin picking experience this weekend. She thought it was very exciting running around picking up every small pumpkin and even some sexually explicit shaped gourds, which thankfully we convinced her to leave behind. As I have mentioned before Jada feels the need to ride everything not just horses and apparently pumpkins are no exception.

Giddee Up!!!

This is Jada's first stick pony and she thinks its great fun. She calls it Tye but then again she calls all horses Tye now. It's probably because its easier than saying horse or neigh. She refuses to call any animal by there name instead (our fault) she calls them by the sound they make. So ducks are "Quack Quack", goats are "Baa", cows are "moo", dogs are a panting sound not the typical woof, and even camels have a sound, they spit. Being the bird person that I am, she even distinguishes between owls "hoo hoo", turkeys "lobble lobble" (kind of a yodeling sound), and songbirds "tweet tweet". If you ask her where the House Wren (the species I studied in college) is she can pick out the picture on the fridge.

Hi! Hi! Bye! Bye!

A New Hangout

Bret Michaels has discovered the outside. He usually spent most of his time back in the stall (probably because the peacocks would pick on him) but lately he is in the outer part of the enclosure all the time. He is also the only one who actually perches in the big tree we have out there. Maybe it is because he is the only one small enough or not fat enough to still fly.

A Playground Again

Last weekend we fixed up Jada's playground for her. It has been so hot that she has not used it all summer and now with the weather finally cooperating a bit at least in the morning and evening she was ready to play again. We had rubber mats on the ground but the sun was starting to deteriorate them. We decided to put a really soft mulch on top of the mats so it is super squishy now. She is so excited to play outside again.

Really!! There????

Mama bunny thought that my nice new horse runs I just had built (so I could use for my horses) would be a great place to have her little ones. I didn't notice these guys (or girls) until after the horses spent half a day in their runs. One was still in his nest (just the imprint of pony's foot in the dirt) and one was somehow moved about 8 feet from the nest. Both are fine and miraculously were not smashed into the ground by an 800 pound horse. I considered bringing them in so that I could use my nice new (did I say that already) horse runs but the thought of feeding baby bunnies was not appealing. My rehabber friends I am sure completely understand this. Also mama's milk is always best. So it looks like the horses are going to be stuck with only their stalls for the next two weeks.

We Actually Think Alike

Today Jada and I stopped for our usual Burger King veggie burger lunch. We always go through the drive thru and eat in the car. There was a fly in our burger probably stuck in the lettuce so we went in to get a new and fresh one minus the vegetation and extra protein. While walking through the parking lot, I noticed an EarthBalance truck and what looked a lot like the back of Jeff's head parked in the same parking lot. Apparently he thought B.K.'s veggie burger for lunch and eaten in the car was also a good idea. So Jada and I ended up eating lunch with Jeff in his truck. In the same parking lot there was a "homeless" (not sure if he really was but looked like it) man asking for spare change (more like dollars). Jeff said he was going to give him a coupon he had for a free subway sub but noticed he was eating a burger already. I said of course he was, Jada and I just bought him a whopper value meal.

Why We Love Tye

Tye is the most friendly, handsome, and kind horse there could be. Pony who is half his size picks on him but Tyler rarely defends himself. He's a lover not a fighter. The neighbor calls him "studly and her boyfriend" and loves to just come and brush and snuggle with him. Jada loves to give him kisses and feed him treats which is most definitely a hit with Tye as well. I think he is great to ride and we have our first show coming up in a little over a week. So Tyler we all love you.

Just Because

Bye Bye Tortoise

We have been caring for an injured gopher tortoise for a couple of weeks now. He had the misfortune of meeting up with a car as you can see from his shell. Today I decided it was time for him to venture out on his own. Jada has been quite fond of visiting him in his stall so to make sure she understood he would no longer be there, I had her come with me to release him. We said our goodbyes to the little fella ("Bye Bye Tee Tee") and let him on his merry way.

My Bathroom is Finally Done

We have finally completed remodeling my bathroom. This weekend we spray painted the closet doors to finish it up. It is beautiful, I love it. The shower is so big and roomy and Jada loves to shower with me, which also stops me from worrying what she is tearing apart while I am in it. She has plenty of space to splash around on the side without being pelted with a spray of water. Those of you who know me, know that in general I think showering is a time sucker that just wastes away your day. Not to say that I don't enjoy being fresh and clean and yes I do shower daily (very necessary after a morning in the barn). With my new and improved bathroom I actually don't mind spending time in it.

Kitties Are You Hungry?

What happens when Jada wants to feed the kitties? I am slightly impressed that she managed not to get any of it in their water bowl. Kali and Lily will never go hungry with Jada around.

Pony (Well Horsey) Rides

Tyler gave rides to the kiddies last night. Hailey came over and got to ride by herself even. Jada as usual laughed hysterical when we trotted and screamed when we stopped. If Tye was just a bit smaller I wouldn't ever think of getting Jada a pony. But I like 'em big.

Show Season has begun

Yesterday was the first horse show in Punta Gorda. Devin rides Tye in these shows. Because it was the first we had no idea to know what time to arrive so we showed up around 10AM. The morning was hot but at least cloudy but the sun began to shine full force around noon and it was HOT!!! Last minute we decided to switch what classes Devin did (she wanted to jump bigger and Tye easily can) which required us to wait even longer for her classes to start. So we sat and sat and waited. Punta Gorda has a nice facility for these local shows but they are lacking trees of any size and hence there is no shade unless you are lucky enough to find a small slice of it behind your trailer. So did I mention it was HOT!!! At around 3:30 it was finally time so Devin entered two of her six classes and then overheated and ran out of "gas". So we packed it up and went home. She ended up with a third and a second. Pretty good I think especially for how HOT everyone was. Hopefully it will cool down before the October show and before my first show in mid-October at Lee County.

Remodeling For the Whole Family

We are almost done remodeling the bathrooms. All that is left is to touch up a bit of paint in my bathroom that could not be done before. Jada has gotten quite accustomed to people making loud and strange noises in the house. She likes to stand outside the bathroom door and yell "Hi" at them a hundred times. The workers have all been really nice and responded to usually about the first fifty. The house is going to seem quiet when they are done today. I don't know if quiet is exactly the right word.