A GREAT weekend with almost no pictures :(

Last Friday was Grandparents Day at school. Maggie gave all 4 of her grandparents a tour of her classroom (and I think the rest of the building) and then they got to have a snack in the cafeteria. I got to be the official Grandparents Day photographer so I had a chance to peek at what they were up to.

 

After school we took Grandma and Grandpa out to meet Jude and then headed for Omaha.

Early Saturday morning Arnie and I headed for Vermillion to celebrate Ben Ries' induction in the University of South Dakota Hall of Fame. We had a great day with lots of dear friends and didn't take a single picture!!

The girls spent Saturday at the Apple Jack Festival in Nebraska City with Aunt Laura, Uncle Mark and Elsie. They told us they had a great time and both of them keep mentioning things they did. Laura sent these pictures from the ride home......

 .....apparently the day was hard work!

Arnie and I drove back to Omaha Sunday morning and while we ran some errands the girls did more playing.

 

Maggie thought they should all pose at the park :) That's my girl!

Yesterday afternoon Maggie had her first fall off of Jude. It scared her and she hit her back pretty hard, but she's ok. She was trotting and lost her stirrup and thought she could get it back without stopping. Jude seemed to feel really bad. It took a few minutes and a few laps walking around the arena, then she hopped back up. She's a tough cookie!

This was after the fall, we forgot to put her helmet back on right away, but we remembered
before too long.

 

Gracie's been spending a lot of time in the barn with us. She really likes to be there, she LOVES all the dirt and hay.....but doesn't want to give up her fancy sparkly shoes! She really likes to feed the horses apples, Maggie is still a little afraid of their teeth, but Gracie jumps right in there.

Maggie has a couple of days off school this week, so tomorrow we're headed for Branson. I hope the girls love Silver Dollar City as much as I remember loving it. I'll be sure to get some pictures :)

Huh??

"That was some good exercising. My eyeballs are sore." ??????? Only Gracie :)

Hey Jude!!

Meet Jude, Maggie's new 6 year old American Quarter Horse.....

...Jude came to us from a barn in Sterling, Nebraska. Her trainer brought her to Norfolk to meet us on Saturday morning. Maggie had no idea that we were "looking" at Jude, she just thought it was a horse with a soft lope the Kristine wanted her to ride. She was pretty surprised when we asked what she thought of her. We have ALOT to learn, but she's a sweet horse with a great disposition. She and Maggie are already great friends. I hope we made the right decision!

Jude will live at Arista Ranch, where Maggie has always ridden, for the foreseeable future. When Maggie is a little older we may consider bringing her home for the warmer parts of the year. We'll see. As you can imagine, we spent a lot of time in the barn this weekend (thank goodness its only a mile away). Maggie would have stayed all weekend if we let her. On the way to school this morning she was already asking if she could go back RIGHT after school.

Already telling secrets :)

Gracie got in on the action too. She doesn't seem to have the same love for horses Maggie
has, but she has NO fear of them either.



This was right after we told her she got to keep Jude, I think she was so stunned she
couldn't even move! (Miller Vrbicky hung out with us for a few hours Saturday, I didn't kidnap anyone).

Saturday night Arnie took her back to check on Jude and "tuck her in". She definitely didn't want to come home.

Sunday morning after church we made a stop at Tractor Supply for a few things we needed. Maggie is not very fond of spending her money, but she was happy to use her allowance on tack and even a toy for Jude.

Then the realty of horse ownership sunk in a bit....she scooped it all with a huge smile and even suggested she clean the rest of the stalls in the row.

 

 

After I figured out how to tie her halter (Maggie said it took FOREVER), they headed off on a walk.

She talked her dad into one more trip back last night, to read Jude a bedtime story. Maggie took the book "Maggie and Bramble". It's a story about a little girl named Maggie who finds the perfect horse. I think Jude enjoyed the story :)

I hope they have many many years of friendship ahead of them. I know they'll do a great job taking care of each other.

Update- Here is a video of Jude's bedtime story tonight.... they are a pretty sweet pair :)
http://youtu.be/pErTGGJEgLY



Best surprise camping neighbors ever!

Friday night we headed for Mahoney. When we got there I noticed a camper that looked just like our old one....as I rounded the corner I realized it was our old camper, which meant Teri and Joe and the girls were there!! We ended up being right across the road from each other. It was the best surprise and couldn't have worked out better if we planned it. It only took the girls a few minutes to remember how much they enjoyed each other and they were off and playing.

where in the world does her OCD come from :)

Maggie, Danica, Ashton, Jayde & Gracie

Saturday we got all dressed in red and went to Lincoln for the Husker game....

Gracie slept through more then half of the game.

Put me in coach!

Every year we take the girls for one football game, by half-time I generally remember why we only take them for one. They really like getting all "huskered" up and they enjoy a few minutes of tailgating and after that, they're pretty much over it. Maggie begged to go out in the hall and do cartwheels for most of the game and Gracie slept. Well we tried....maybe next year :) 

I should have known something was wrong when Gracie wanted to snuggle and sleep through the football game....but it took until late last night for the fever to show up. It's been pretty high all day. As soon as the Tylenol kicks in, she's just fine but as it wears off and the fever starts back up she looses all her energy. Even sick, she's still silly....

 

A couple other pictures from last week.....
Arnie was out of town all last week, so I took the opportunity to update the bathroom (I think it's genetic.) I'm really proud of what I accomplished. I had someone come hang the tile, but otherwise I was electrician, carpenter and painter. AND most importantly I got the new toilet paper holder installed straight (that was the most nerve racking part of the whole thing). I only had to call my dad about 50 times with questions, BUT I did it and it looks great (and works)! I'm grateful I paid attention all those years when my mom and dad were tearing things apart and putting them back together.

3 day weekend!

First, incase you've been worried about it, Maggie got 100% on her first spelling test. She's back at studying again this week :)

We had such a nice long weekend. Friday night we went to the Panther football game and spent a nice evening outside with good friends! Saturday morning Arnie dropped us girls off in Omaha on his way to Lincoln for the Husker game. We had a great weekend of swimming and playing at Grandma and Grandpas. On Sunday all the Westerfields came for a much over due summer Birthday Party. It looked for a little while like we might get rained out, but the rain passed and we had a great time.

Put me in Coach :)

Elsa x 2 :)

This week I've been working on redoing our powder room. Yesterday I had to take the toilet out.....

....last night while the girls were playing, I heard, "Maggie, now we can just go quick while we're riding our bikes." I quickly went out and taped the lid shut. That's not the kind of surprise I need tomorrow.

Today was my first day of helping in Maggie's new classroom. I loved getting to meet her new 2nd grade classmates and getting to spend time in her environment. I stayed for lunch, but unfortunately a few minutes after I snapped this picture Maggie got sick. So she came home with me and is now tucked in bed resting :( Her allergies have been giving her a rough time this week, so I'm hoping that's all it is. Tonight is our first night of Wednesday church, she's bummed that she'll have to stay home, but hopefully she'll be better by morning.

I can't believe how grown up she looks in this picture and I can't believe how
fast we got here :(