Rock a Bye

Daniel and Julia enjoying the $2 hammock I bought at an auction. It must be the Uncle Kenny in me! It really is very comfortable and I can see myself spending some quality time on it this summer.

Race Day

Today was our 16th anniversary and to celebrate it, Jim took me to the horse races. We left in the morning (it was a dreary, rainy day), had breakfast on the way to Toronto, and then went to Woodbine (the race track). One of Jim's fuel customers is a track vet there and he gave us the inside tour of the track and horse barns. It was REALLY neat and we got to see some of the races very close up because we were with the vet. Here are some pictures of the day which turned out to be gorgeous weather. The whole place was what I envisioned Churchill Downs or other famous horse racing tracks to be like. All the races were being televised and we were sitting just beside the winner's circle (and thus the interviews with the winning jockeys) so we may have gotten our 15 minutes of fame and didn't even know it! The photos go in order: above is the horses being loaded into the starting gates; which is movable because each race was a different distance.

This is a picture of them just out of the starting gates. They are super fast out of those gates and I don't know how those jockeys stay on because their stirrups certainly don't help them being up so high. Actually, one of the jockeys fell off in the first race because her horse got clipped by another one and stumbled. Thankfully, she did not get hurt as the horse behind/beside her jumped over her.

This is a picture of one of the races just finishing. They actually have 3 types of tracks side by side. One is the dirt track which is for the Standardbred racing. The second track is the turf track which looks like dirt, but is mostly synthetic material including rubber, fiberglass, and sand. It is very cushiony (not sure if that is a word) and isn't affected by the rain. The third track is the grass track and is very nice; the photo above is on the grass and we were so close you could feel the ground rumble and hear the horses breathing as they flew by. If you look in the background of the photo, you can see the HUGE screen on the infield showing the race and stats/info on all the horses. They do replays, list betting odds, etc on that screen and it is good to have when the horses are on the opposite side of the track where it is hard to see them.

Here is a picture of one of the race winners in the winner's circle. It was really neat to be able to experience the racing live and up close instead of just on television. There is also an indoor area called "The Paddock" where you can see the horses getting saddled and the jockeys mounting up before they go on to the track. This is definitely where I would like to take any of you horse fans (and non-horse fans if you want!) to when you come visit next time. (They don't race in the winter, though!)

We ended our day with supper at Boston Pizza and had a great meal. (It was the tropical chicken pizza and was the best I have eaten there) A fantastic day!

Birthday Girl!

Today was Hannah's 14th birthday. Hard to believe our little girl is all grown up (or almost!) We celebrated with some cake and presents and a trip to the park this afternoon. We did get rained out and were not able to do the park thing, but instead, went to McDonalds for an ice cream. Her favorite gift? A $50 gift card to the mall! (now, if only that came with a taxi fare too!)

Our Weekend

Our weekend was a busy one. Julia had her first gymnastics meet/exhibition on Sat. It was fun to watch her and she was so excited to show me what she has been working on. I always miss her lessons because I work the night she has them. She did very well and got a medal. On our way home, we took the "scenic route" and went to some garage sales, but did not bring home any "treasures."

Jim and Daniel spent Sat. working on seeding the dirtbike jumps with grass. I did help some in the afternoon, but they did the bulk of the work. Andrew complained he had to work from the minute he got up to when he went to bed. That could be true; he helped seed, mowed the neighbor's lawn (it took him 4 hours) and then had to work until midnight at McDs. And he even lived to tell about it!

Leah's horse has a sore knee, so she had to cancel her plans (pony club) to take care of cold- hosing his leg twice daily. She is getting some help from Sue, the lady that owns the barn. I also helped her on Sat. by holding him while she hosed his leg. He is very energetic, so he has to stay in his stall so he will rest it.

Today was Mother's Day, but because of the rain, we weren't able to do much outside. We had hoped to go to the park in the afternoon for some frisbee and baseball, but didn't feel like doing that in the rain.

We Found It!

Jim found us a horse trailer this week. He was driving past a farm and saw this trailer. He noticed the owner was outside, so he stopped to inquire about the trailer. It was in our price range and even though it won't haul 3, we will use it this summer and see if it will do what we need. It is quiet narrow, so I hope the horses won't be too scared to get on, but it is small and cute. Our van tows it easily and I think I might even be able to master backing it up! It is old, but in good shape and looks like some of it has been redone. We might have to get some beige pinstriping or detailing to match our van! (My hubby is standing behind me saying "No, we don't need that! I just be glad if it works good and the horses get on OK.")

Gimpy

Bad news. I hurt my knee last week playing soccer with the youth at work. I am now limping around and my knee is about the size of a small cantalope. I hope this will heal quickly and not be an ongoing injury. Please pray for me in this area as I really like to be involved with the activities that the kids are doing and I hate being lame!

Back in Business!

The dirtbikers have had some great weather to tune up their bikes and get some saddle time in. They are excited to know that the local track (the one the Baurers rode at) is getting redone soon and will be a much better track. The only bad thing about that is now it will cost money! Oh well, they have a lot of fun there and it is close to home (which comes in handy if you get hurt!)

More interior decorating photos

This is our new couch set (or at least the love seat) Notice the new paint on the walls!

Here is a pair of chairs we bought with the couches. If you look in the background, you can see the hallway is green. Now the only room that needs redone on the main floor is our bedroom!

Here is my best auction bargin. This is the entertainment unit (It is so big and heavy, it comes in 7 pieces) I got for $5. It is in GREAT condition and in the very middle portion, there is a door that pulls down into a desk. No excuses for not getting homework done now!

Facelift for the house continued. . .

It all started with this. These are our auction bargins. This is only the first load!

One project begats another one and here is my friend, Terri, helping me paint, sand, and tape. She loves interior decorating and is very talented at it. She also likes to dry her hair in rollers!

This is the finished product in the kitchen/ dining room. We did a fresco look and I would like to decorate in a Tuscany decor. Ideas are welcome. I am wondering if my kitchen cabinets will now need to be redone since the white doesn't really match that well anymore. As I said, one project begats another. . .