I'm FINALLY back .... and where I've been !!!

WOW !!  I said once before that it had been SOOO long BUT ... not this long since I've been away from my blog.  Let me explain ......

Emma (our daughter) competes with her horses and this August was something she'd been working towards all year.  We packed up the camper and the horses and took off for 4 weeks !!

Scott was still at work for a few more days so the kids and I drove to Victoria for the first of (4) horse shows .......

Days on the show grounds are LOOONG ... we are up early enough to see the sun rise and late enough to watch it set again ....

    

This was an AMAZING start to the trip for Emma as she had a HUGE win in the CWD 3 Phase Medal Final ..... She won the class and was so excited about the incredible bridal she won, donated by CWD - thanks Judy !!! 

(...and I love this pic I caught of Em picking blackberries from the back of her horse waiting for her next class ;))

The 2nd week of showing was in Washington ...... and boy was the border line up a LONG one - 3 hours !!!  The poor horses were NOT happy (can you see Ginger's head out the window in the trailer ?!)

Alex and Scott are really big into hiking so to give Alex a break from the horses, they hiked Mt. Rainier while we were in Washington  - they LOVED it .......

                                                

.... and CLEARLY my creative skills are rubbing off on Scott - look at this super cute 'boot shot' he got of their feet on the mountain  - LOVE this guy ;))

Emma had another very successful week in the show ring - winning the 1.10m Children's Jumper division with Ginger ... Emma was exhausted at the end of the week and fell asleep while we were packing up - convenient ;)) ........ and yes, Ginger LOVES having her picture taken - look at her pose !!!

Next we headed back up to Langley, BC to stay at Thunderbird Show Park for the next 2 weeks.  Emma rode in the International Hunter Derby.  This was her first time in the Grand Prix Ring and it was exceptionally exciting for her to be competing with so many professionals - such a thrill for this 12 year old and she and Ginger were AMAZING ..... she had us all in tears it was such a beautiful round !!!   

I am one of those crazy scrapbookers that even takes a tote camping ..... I did NOT get a lot of time to create BUT ..... one of my longtime girlfriends is getting married later this year in Haiti and she asked me to create these invitations for her - love them .... LOTS of Core'dinations and David Tutera bits and she was thrilled !!!

Our campsite on the show grounds was right next to a pond, which was super for Alex as there was ALOT of frog catching going on ;)) ......and he even had his face painted on day - it looked so cool !!

This is always a fave moment for me to catch .... it happens all the time.  Em snuggling with Ginger in her stall.  I could watch them in the ring all day long BUT ... i am so so happy that Em has such a great relationship with her mare outside of the ring too - this is one special special horse and I am so happy that Em has her in her life .....

We even managed to fit in a week long hockey camp for Alex while we were in Vancouver - he LOVED it and they worked him HARD !!!

The RCMP Musical Ride was at Tbird the last weekend that we were there. We'd seen it before but being stabled near them was so fun and of course we got a 'back stage' view of it all .... the warm up, performance and the cool down too - it is always something so great to see .....

All in all it was a VERY succesful month of showing for Emma.  She rode in all the big medal classes for the first time, had some fabulous wins, gained AMAZING experience that will help her in the ring next show season and beyond .....  and most of all she had an absolute BLAST competing for 4 weeks straight.

I can not tell you how much I enjoyed this time with my family.  Scott is almost never home for these types of trips. We worked so hard all year to make it possible for him to be with us and it was amazing.  The time that we all spent together as a family and the time that Alex got with his Daddy was something I will never forget ......

....... So, it's not at all that I didn't think about sharing this on my blog while it was happening, but I really felt the need to NOT be on my computer at night.  We needed this time to just be together and it was truly amazing.  

NOW .... as if that was not exciting enough .... We came home on a Monday afternoon and took possession of our new house the very NEXT DAY @ noon !!!!  (love when a pic is taken of you from BELOW - seriously, how many chins do I have)

To say that it has been a busy time for our family would be an understatement to say the least ...... BUT we could not be happier !!!  We bought an incredible OLD house that we want to renovate and we are in LOVE LOVE LOVE with it .....

I am going to start sharing some before and after pics because you will not believe the colors in this 1960's house ..... that is, the colors that USED to be in this house ;)))

Thanks for hanging in there with me and I promise - I have some fantastic projects to share too ..... so start coming back each day and checking me out !!

.....and rumour has it i have a CONTEST or 2 coming up with FAB PRIZES so stay tuned.....