The Barn Has Life

Not only do we have 2 (and soon to be 3) horses living in our barn. We also have 2 kittens. The boys named them Taffy and Cookie and they are so cute!! What a difference a living barn makes - it smells so good and feels all right. Everyone is happy.

Life is good.

Can't Sleep

I don't know why some nights I just lay in bed and can't seem to drift off to never never land. I think I'm just too excited about our farm project and the horses we are now boarding at our place. We have so much to do and it is so fun. I've been patient in knowing that I will some day get another horse when the kids are old enough and I have a little more time to myself during the week and weekends. But, mom has wanted her horse dream fulfilled quicker than we would be ready to buy any horses.

So, dad put a sign out in front of the property and we've gotten 5 people interested in a little over a week. We are in an ideal location because many neighborhoods are very close and there are no other facilities very close. We also have a very nice set-up with a 3 stall barn and very nice hay pasture.

So, we got our first horses on Tuesday and it couldn't be a more ideal situation. The woman that owns the horses doesn't ride very often and she said we could ride them whenever we want. My mom and I now have horses to ride that are paid for by someone else that is paying board at the farm.

Miles is happy. The kids absolutely love them as well. Amber won't leave without a fuss and the boys always ask when we'll be able to see the horses.

I can't wait to have my own, but at least now our barn isn't being used for a furniture storage place.

The Stock Show

We had the day off work today, Monday, MLK day. Ever since I can remember when I was a kid, I went to the National Western Stock Show with my 4-H group and then with family or friends. I have such fond memories of walking around seeing all the trade show exhibits, animals, cowboys, horse shows, etc. One of my dreams, other than owning a horse property, is to show my horse at the stock show. I'm hoping one day I can do that.

I've also been wanting to take the boys to the Stock Show ever since they were born. They've just been too little until now, at 27 months, I thought that this would be the year to start. Amber is still a little too young. She would have missed her morning nap and had to sit in her car seat the whole time. I didn't think she'd have that much fun, so we took her to daycare and headed down to Denver on a 13 degree, snowy day. I'm so glad we did.

We saw goats, llamas, pigs, and ducks at the petting zoo. We saw a bunch of tractors and I wasn't sure who had more fun sitting on them, Dad, or the boys. We saw a big (no, huge) longhorn bull that had rings in its nose and kids were sitting on to get their picture. We had a yummy barbecue lunch. And then we saw the horses.

It was a quick trip, but I hope a trip that inspires 4-H and FFA in our kids. Next year Amber will get to go. I can't wait.