Home and Away

Busy every day, but I promised myself I would not be a "bump on a blog" this summer, so must try to post more often!

Chena did her first exhibition run of pole bending, on Summer, and had a wonderful time. They knocked one pole down, but his turns and flying lead changes were pretty nice, and he is ready to learn. Its a 45 minute haul in the trailer, to get to the arena where they run, so we will just go once a week until fall.




We had a great time in Talkeetna when we flew there for a camping trip. Its such a fun, beautiful, and quirky little town. Of course, when you have a CAT for the town mayor, that's saying something.

Our tent was in the prettiest meadow of flowers, right next to where we tied down our Cessna 180. We like to camp near the plane.






The girls played under the railroad bridge, in the Susitna River.










We had fun walking around the town, eating icecream (it was HOT) and seeing all the historical spots. Plus people watching is a blast in Talkeetna...all the locals are pretty colorful characters! I thought this was a funny sign: Moose Gift Store. Come in and Browse. Hee hee!


and I love to look for humor around me, just bits of human nature..which provide a giggle and a grin, and capture it with my camera. This man and his little girl were so cute going by me!



I took some fun pictures of the girls out in our yard a few days ago. I got the idea from my friend Carole at Carole's Thoughtful Spot. She had her American Girl dolls all lined up in front of the tv. We had nicer weather...so we opted for out on the lawn swing! The girls dressed up as their favorite American Girl dolls. Penelope wore a "Samantha" outfit, and Chena wore a "Kirsten" outfit. They just put them together themselves, but looked quite authentic.


Here's the dolls: Molly, Elizabeth, Kiya, Nellie, Ruthie, Nicki, and Felicity..plus two minis.





and ya know I cannot resist a fun play with photo editing..




The girls and the dolls:








Chena and I went on an overnight horseback/camping trip to the Caribou Hills. Its a popular spot for winter snowmachine riding, and many people have cabins there..but no homes. We went with our horse club up there. Its about three hours from home, the furthest I have ever trailered our horses, but it all went pretty well. On the way there, 15 miles up the gravel road, I got the flattest tire you ever saw in your life. We had to unload the horses, unhitch the trailer, and fix the tire. It was a big pain, but it all turned out okay..thanks to some awful good samaritans who helped me loosen the lug nuts. I could not even budge them! Glad for the helpers...we re-hitched the trailer, loaded the horses back in, and continued up the dusty road.









The trip was a blast! Chena and I had a wonderful time together, riding and laughing, and racing each other. It was gorgeous weather, and we all loved it. There were 13 of us on the ride, and a lot of different horse breeds and personalities. My horse, Whisper, was raring to go, and she ran my legs off. Such FUN!



Caribou Hills is a high forest fire area. I love the contrast between fireweed, and fire-eaten in this picture.





Blurry with smoke, but the sky was so vivid it was stunning.This is at midnight.





Happy Trails and THE END