Horse Show??

Of course...  It's me, so I have a funny story about the horse show.  We went!!  And we did sooo good.  Have everything load and on the road (kids and all!!).  And we got there and realized I had forgotten the coggins papers for Palmer and Bella.  Talk about being disappointed!  But, bless my husband, the ever patient man that he is.  He never got upset, and we ended up laughing about it.  We did discover a few things that we wanted to do before we attempt another show.  Like some bling for our tack.  GESH.  We could not get over all the fancy tack and this was just a local show.  So...  We need some bling.  And I need a cowgirl hat.  Any suggestions?!  Man this stuff is expensive.  :)  Good thing we both love it.
I snuck outside to check on the horses and give Airiah some hay.  So, I took the opportunity to take a couple pics with our new camera (new to us that is...  Ebay is a great thing!).  He is so handsome!!  And growing like a weed.  Enjoy the pics!!  Have a great night and promise more another day!
We have riding lessons on Saturday with the trainer to prep Palmer and Bella for the shows.  And Shadow will go on Monday to the trainers for ground work.  All very exciting.  :)

Handsome Nevar

Airiah and Nevar.

Lobster Red

I have to say, this has been an AMAZING day.  Will worked outside this morning while I did some laundry, dishes and general house work.  The kids were playing great.  We did snack time, worked on numbers.  Then Tristan, Jayden and I went outside, sorry house chores, you will have to wait!  It was beautiful out.  I have waited all winter for this!!  So, flower beds were cleaned out, we moved Airiah and Nevar into the orchard paddock (maybe we need to start naming the paddocks so it isn't so confusing?!?! NAH!), cleaned water troughs.  Sounds boring, but I was loving it.  T & J were so good.  We had a quick lunch, the kids went down for their naps without a fuss.  So, we took advantage and saddled Palmer and Bella up.  Didn't go anywhere but around the house.  BUT, here is the kicker....  Will and I have waited 4 LONG years to be able to ride our horses together.  We had a great time.  We even talked about how when the kids are older, how we will be able to do this together all the time.  Now, some people are probably thinking, these two are crazy/weird/strange/etc.  But this is what we love, being together, working together, taking a break to ride the most beautiful horses in the world and to top it off, we are doubly blessed with two wonderful kids who seem to love the horses just as much as we do.  I have to say, other than the day we got married and the days our kids were born, today was the best day ever.  I am a very blessed woman to have a husband that is as horse crazy (or at least close!!!) as I am.
We also got another side of the "orchard paddock" shelter done today.  Only one more side to go!!
For any of you that are in the area, we are hoping to go to the Galesburg Boots & Saddle Show tomorrow (weather permitting).  Starts at 9:30 a.m.  Have a great night!
Almost forgot...  yes, I am burnt, thus "Lobster Red".  But it is well worth it!

Lots of work

Nevar is two weeks old today!!  He is such a handsome little man.  He has been purchased by a young lady that I am sure is going to love him as much as we do.  It is bittersweet to sell him since he is the last Raven baby we will ever have born at our farm.  But we are confident that his new owner will take very good care of him.  He will go to his new home in August after he is weaned.  I promise to post a video of him once I can get the files to our IT genius.
Shadow turned one yesterday.  Gosh, all the "babies" are growing up.  I have literally spent hours brushing her to get her "Wooly mammoth" winter coat off.  I can see the beautiful black coat coming through.  And the feather...  Oh my goodness this girl has LOTS of it.  She is quite impressive.  I think after I get her a good scrub down and brush her again, she is going to look like the princess she is. ( haha.  Sorry, that is one of Jayden's favorite words to say right now.)  Will has been working hard on a shelter in the paddock by the orchard.  He is almost done!! So we will be able to move Airiah and Nevar up there during the day and bring them back to the barn in the evenings.
Tomorrow is going to be a wild one.  After a long day at work, Will is going to softball and Tristan and I will be going to riding lessons.  Jayden gets to hang out with her Nana and Papa for a while.  Should be interesting as Will seems to assume that I am going to be fine to hook up the trailer to the tahoe( never done it myself before...  I have helped, but that is not the same), pull it out of the shed without demolishing the trailer or the shed, get my tack loaded, get Palmer loaded, get Tristan and I changed and on the road by 6...  Considering I don't get off work until 5, have to pick up Tristan from school, and then a 20 min drive home.
I will let you know how it goes.

Lots of news!!!

So, I have to apologize.  I have been horrible about posting lately.  But you will see why soon.  We went to a wedding in Kentucky for one of our friends.  It was a beautiful day and great to see some wonderful friends again.  We also went to Arkansas to see one of those should have been my sister type of friends.  Misty I love you dearly and miss you terribly.  We then went to Will's Uncle's celebration of life.  That is the second celebration I have ever been to, and they are just awesome.  Maybe because Will's Uncle was such a great guy?!?  He is going to be missed for sure.  In between all that, we have been working on the barn, potty training with Jayden, Jayden turned 2, moving Jayden up to the toddler room at daycare, dogs took off more times than I care to count, Bella finished trainined, went riding at B&B's, Tristan turns 5 years old today ( We love you SOOO much buddy!) oh and we had our full time jobs too.  AND last night, we had a new colt born by Raven out of our mare Airiah.  YEAH!!  And thanks to God (first of course), our vet and to Ms. Judy (and Karin for calling and checking on us), he and Airiah are doing GREAT!!!  He is PURE black and legs....  Oh the legs on him.  His face is so perfectly shaped.  He is one of THE LAST of the Raven sons...
Ms. Judy was out today to help me get the new baby to latch on.  She is just amazing.

Airiah and her colt (born 4/30/13)

Isabella's Song & Jenni

My handsome Palmer

Amarah's Dark Shadow & Jenni

Amarah's Dark Shadow's feather

The beautiful Amarah's Dark Shadow

So, please, please forgive me for not posting.  It has been crazy busy.  And this weekend isn't going to be any better!  haha.  We are having the kids birthday party on Saturday.  So, family and friends...  My house is a DISASTER.  Please go out and admire the horses and enjoy some good food.  haha!!

PS- if you have any suggestions for this colt's name, let me know.  My mom had a GREAT idea!! (Go MOM!!) But waiting to hear back from Will if he likes it or not.  ;)