Barn Day

Is it Spring yet? The high was 69 on Sunday.

Guess where we were.

Grandma and Grandpa were coming to see Mira and go to lunch. It was my job to keep Shane clean enough he didn't need a shower in between. Not the easiest task at a barn. Especially with an adventurous five-year old.

The haystacks were the cleanest fun we had.

Grandpa and Grandma arrived in Bucket 1 later.

Grandpa told me about their visit to Hobbiton in New Zealand while Grandma and Shane coached Carrie.

Then it was Shane's turn.

Horse's Thought Process

Who is this wild mini-biped? He does not smell of apples.

Are you seriously going to put him on me?

There better be apples later. Lots of them.

I took one quick pic before I had to walk along. Shane wanted Mira to jump (She didn't).

I don't know who enjoyed Shane's ride more: Shane, Grandma or Carrie.

Mira was okay with it. There were apples.

End of Season Party

"What's my surprise!?" Shane asked.

"It's not YOUR surprise. It's for my wrestlers. You just get to tag along," I said.

Shane was a-okay with that. He recognized the parking lot and got giddy.

After all, who doesn't like to JUMP around?

The banquet wasn't enough. I wanted to have some sort of end of year activity kids could look forward to. Especially since we had meet after meet cancelled. The school never came through with the shirts or the reschedules, either.

So, we Jumped! All six of my kids made it. One family brought their 5 year old. Shane knew him from Pee Wee and they played their hearts out.

This is the only non-blurry pic I got of the boys: The back of their heads. They didn't sit there for long, either.

When the hour was up, I gave a very small speech. "Great job; Come next year!" I called out some superlative awards, as well. Nothing fancy.

Afterwards, we all went to the Kohr Brothers for ice cream. I bought all the wrestlers and Shane a treat.

I got to hear some wrestling stories, too. Two of my wrestlers who are in the youth program had a big weekend. One hit a 2-second switch to tie and win in overtime. Another went 4-0 and nailed a John Smith single I showed the team.

I was pumped. They were pumped, too, but I was pumped. I wish I could have seen the matches!

I was on a coaching high when we all said goodbye. Shane played in the rocks.

I said, "I guess it's free," and shrugged. He played and I thought. There are a lot of things I'd like to do next season. The next tricks are to figure out how to get more kids in the room and make the off-season productive.

Random Fun

Carrie experimented with screen mirroring tonight. That meant she got to play cell-phone games while Shane cheered.

"That looks like Daddy," Shane said.

"No, his hair is too red," Carrie replied. Then it clicked. "It's Uncle Matt! Cheer for Uncle Matt!"

Shane cheered!

We decided Uncle Matt forgot to buy a present for Aunt Renee. Now, he was on the run. He needed to pick up as much coins as possible to buy a gift to make up (and survive).

It never ended well, but Matt earned enough for a present one time. Happy ending!

Learning Through Experience

It takes longer, but I don't get that happy about recharging batteries. Well worth the extra time!

Election Year

Is this going to be another year I have to vote against someone rather than for someone?

What is this "Time" I suddenly have some of?

I stayed late after work, but it's 4:15 PM and I'm home.

Weird.

Shane's still at school. Carrie's at work. The house is quiet.

It's an adjustment after wrestling season. I'll get used to it (obviously). For now, I feel like I have to do something to fill the time. Shane doesn't like me to pick him up too early, because it's play time at school.

Monday, I went to the allergist. Tuesday, I grocery shopped and tried to check in on a student at work. Today, I came home. Now, I'm blogging and half-surprised about it.

I'm not complaining, mind you. It's nice to have a cup of tea, a spare moment, and rain to listen to.

Oscar's Adventures

Oscar and Shane had many adventures this weekend. Shane built him a swing in the living room...,

...and he let Oscar push the button for the elevator.

Oscar looked much cleaner in earlier pictures. His adventures had taken a toll by the time he reached us.

But rest did not come Saturday. Shane, Oscar and I started our day at the library.

Then we introduced Oscar to the Discovery Museum.

After nap, Oscar got to see where Mommy worked. Daddy had to pick up some discontinued products for our guest bedroom.

Sunday morning, we took a family trip to the barn. Oscar sat on a horse and played on the gravel pile. If it's not the end of his journeys, he needs a bath. Badly.

Next stop was church. Shane introduced Oscar to his Sunday school class.

By this time, Oscar was looking very tired (and dirty).,Mommy had him stay downstairs when Shane napped.

Our last errand of the weekend was a trip to CVS to print lots and lots of pictures.

Oscar's Pictures: Behind the Scenes

Here's a look at the edited pictures that DIDN'T make it into Oscar's Travel log. John had us rolling (laughing).

Oscar promotes his latest film:

Oscar protests Croatia's army:

Oscar rides along:

Oscar contributes to the war effort:

Oscar's Travel Journal

We finished Shane's homework before bed time.

The instructions were on the first page.

Ms. Hollie said to look through the other families entries for ideas.

Oscar went bike riding..,

 ..., to a grandma's farm,...

...and spent a lot of quality time with everyone's family.

One family took him to NYC for Christmas. Oscar got to see the big tree!

Our printer was out of color ink, so we had to do a family run to CVS.

It was a final jaunt with Oscar before we recorded our adventures.

Adventures With the McRuari's

Oscar and Shane went to Central Library and the Discovery Museum.

Then Shane and Oscar learned how to ride a horse. They relaxed with a computer game.

At the library, we discovered that Oscar has quite the history. His dad, Orville, helped build skyscrapers in order to pay for Oscar's college and flight school.

Oscar was the first octopus on the moon!

He was asked to be the Best Cephalopod at the Royal Wedding.

Oscar ran a popular campaign for President until his bid was halted
due to a small oversight....only humans can be President (for now).

So he continued his Jedi training and saved a galaxy far, far away with his friends.

To thank him for his efforts, Starfleet offered to beam him
back down to Charlottesville, VA to rejoin the Octopus Class.

Keep on trekking, Oscar!

We may have overdid it. The journal won't shut now.

It helps to have a friend with Photoshop (Thanks, John!)

I think we were the last family. Otherwise, someone has a tough act to follow!

New Horse - Mira

I hoped Carrie would ride again after her accident. It was not a good note to end anything on.

What I didn't count on is she would not ride Pix again. Carrie's accident was the second time she'd fallen off Pix. I never heard about the first one. Carrie said she did not feel safe to ride Pixel again at this time. She wanted to find an older, more relaxed horse to get back into the saddle again.

January 1st, Mira entered the fray. She's an older, western trained horse who's been used for lessons with kids. She has a 'whoa,' and can spin. Jenny is Pixel's new horse mom. 

Carrie is in love. 

She worked on lunging with Mira and then hopped on for a short ride.

Shane got to try next (with a helmet borrowed from Jenny).

Carrie wouldn't let Shane ride Pixel. Sunday was his first time in a saddle since his pony ride, I think.

Carrie was thrilled to Share Mira with us.

And then it started to rain. Thankfully, we were already done! Shane and I went home to wash rock dust out of his hair while Carrie brushed Mira down.