Where one season ends and another begins

Today was Ruth's last cross country meet of the season and her first horse show. She had very little time between the two events and literally had to change clothes in the car. She pulled off the transition flawlessly! We are so proud of all her hard work during the cross country season and for the ways she has improved and the friends she's made. The riding season got off to a great start, and we look forward to all it holds.

A strong finish to the cross country season

Ruth and Charming in the Walk/Trot class

Ruth and Blue in the Walk/Trot/Canter class

2nd in W/T and 4th in W/T/C

Catching Up

The last several days have been a whirlwind of fun and excitement! On Friday, Jeff took Ruth to Tyler to attend the College Preparatory Invitational (CPI) college fair and horse show. They were able to visit with several college recruiters and learn a little more about riding options post high school. On Saturday, Ruth rode in the show and won first place in both of her classes, high point for her division, and high point for the entire show. In addition to two blue ribbons to add to her collection, she also received a gift card to her favorite riding gear store, a beautiful bridle, and a $500 college scholarship. We are so proud of her! On Sunday, Jeff dropped her off with her veterinarian aunt in Houston, so she can spend the week working in the clinic and getting some hands-on experience.

High Point Rider, 1st Place Winner, and all-around amazing young lady

Meanwhile, I stayed behind with the boys so they could attend their weekend practices. I got a wild hair on Friday afternoon and ripped out our grape arbor, took down all the window screens, and pulled up all the dead shrubs around the house, all of which made me happy in so many ways. But it wasn't a weekend of all work. We also managed to squeeze in quite a lot of fun, with pizza and a viewing of Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure on Friday evening, a trip to our favorite movie theater on Saturday to see The Batman Lego Movie, and a full day of fun on Sunday, which started with brunch at The Snooty Pig, followed by some quality time at Barnes and Noble, and ended with the library's monthly game day.  

No more arbor means more light inside my house!
(It also means I don't constantly have to worry about that rickety thing falling down on my kiddos!)

Movie date with my boys

Brunch at The Snooty Pig

A variety of reading positions at Barnes and Noble

Game Day at the library

On Monday, Clay realized how close he was to finishing the first book (of two) for first grade math, and he started working math problems like a crazy man. He ended up doing 14 lessons in that one day, knowing there would be a celebration held in his honor when he finished. He worked so hard, and we are so proud of him! He chose the revolving sushi restaurant for his reward, and we had a blast selecting items off the conveyor belt and trying them out. 

So proud of this hard worker for accomplishing his goal and finishing the first half of his first grade math curriculum!
(I don't know many 5-year-olds who would chose sushi for a celebration, but this kid loves it!)

As you math nerds were no doubt aware, yesterday was Pi Day, which happens to be one of our family's favorite "holidays." On the recommendation of several people, we decided to try out Mama's Daughters' Diner in Lewisville. The pies were not in the same league with my Granny's or Jeff's mom's, but the party was fun nonetheless!

Pi Day 

Finally, I'm having a big giveaway of all of my books this week, in an effort to beef up my reviews on Amazon. I still have some of the Geography books to give away, and I'd like to give them to you guys! All you have to do is leave a comment here or on Facebook stating the country--China, Hong Kong, Thailand, or Mongolia--you are interested in. Your comment is your promise to leave a review on Amazon. It's just that simple. Feel free to tell your geography loving friends. 

Region Finals

Ruth competed in the IEA Region Finals today in Tyler. She drew a wonderful horse which she had ridden at a previous show, and so she went in feeling confident and enthusiastic. She and Gizelle had a beautiful ride, and Ruth came away with the 3rd place ribbon. We are told it is unusual for someone in their first season to advance to regionals at all, much less to do so well. Ruth was very proud of her ride and her season, and she looks forward learning more and continuing to improve in the off-season. We are super proud of her!

(And, I also have to share that Weston voluntarily got up at 6:15 this morning, rode in the car for an hour and a half, spent the day just sitting around in the damp and cold, waiting for a ride that lasted five minutes, and then rode in the car for another hour and a half because it was very important to him to support his sister in the thing that is important to her. It was very touching!)

Ruth and Gizelle

3rd place at Region Finals

Weekend Recap

We were so blessed to have Aunt Bekki and her girls here this weekend.
And, as an added bonus, Nana came over on Sunday to hang out for a while!

Clay insisted that we needed to take his cousin, Victoria, out to LLELA to see the little houses,
and Saturday was absolutely perfect for spending outdoors, so that's just what we did!

We worked up a thirst during our hike, so we headed over to Cobra Brewing Co. afterwards.

Ruth had her last regular season horse show on Sunday.
She and Nemo took care of business in the WTC class and brought home third.
She and Samson also had a great ride in the WT class and ended up with the fourth place ribbon.
Ruth scored enough individual points this season to advance to regionals in WTC, and we are so proud of her!

Sunday's horse show was by far the fastest show we have attended,
so we found ourselves with the afternoon unexpectedly free.
We took advantage of it and checked some more things off our DFW bucket list.
Our first stop was Las Colinas and the mustang statues at Williams Square.

Sticking with our livestock theme, we next visited Pioneer Plaza to see the cool cattle drive sculpture and old cemetery.

Then, we hopped on the M Line Trolley, which was a fun way to experience part of Dallas.
But our favorite part was probably the roundhouse that got us pointed in a different direction.
When we were ready to go again, the conductor selected Weston to blow the whistle.

Unable to drop the livestock theme, and working off a tip from Jeff's brother, our last stop of the day was Rodeo Goat,
where we enjoyed a "steaming pile" and some delicious burgers.

Equestrian Weekend

Ruth had back-to-back horse shows in Tyler yesterday and today, so we headed down Friday night and spent a couple of nights in a cute little cabin in the woods. Many things were different about these events compared to other events we've attended. First of all, these were much bigger shows and therefore lasted much longer than other shows we've attended. These were also held in a fancy indoor arena, which offered protection from the drizzle of today but almost seemed to magnify the extreme cold of yesterday. And, while spectators could huddle together in the stands instead of building little camping chair villages, the noise of the crowd and the metal bleachers really seemed to spook some of the horses and kept many of them on edge. Over the course of the two days, Ruth got to ride four different horses, and she performed beautifully. As a bonus, all of her grandparents got to be there at various times to see her ride. She came away with four colorful ribbons (a blue, two reds, and a yellow) of her very own, and her team came in second in today's show. We are so incredibly proud of this girl and absolutely love to see her do what she loves!

Little cabin in the woods

Ruth and Gizelle were a beautiful match in the walk/trot/canter (WTC) class yesterday and secured first place.

Calica was spooked in the arena, but Ruth kept her under control and won 2nd in the walk/trot class yesterday.

This girl was on fire despite the cold!

The official roster described Roxy as "witchy on the flat," but Ruth managed her perfectly and got 2nd place in WTC.

Agnes and Ruth got 3rd place in the walk/trot class this afternoon.

So proud of this beautiful equestrian!

Winning Day

Ruth had her second IEA horse show today in Ft. Worth. Despite the coolness of the weather, Ruth was on fire. She won 3rd place in her walk/trot class and 4th in her walk/trot/canter class. And, her team won 1st place overall. It was a great day!

Ruth and Nick looked beautiful in the Walk/Trot class

Ruth and Jupiter were out of this world in the Walk/Trot/Canter class

Ruth's hard work and determination definitely paid off today!

The Summer Hill Farms high school team with some new decor for the barn

First IEA Show

One of the main reasons we chose Flower Mound as a landing place was so Ruth could ride on a competitive IEA team. She has been practicing with the team since late July, and they had their first show today. IEA particularly focuses on riders' abilities, rather than the appearance or breeding of the horses. Riders often have no previous experience with the horses they ride, since the horses are selected randomly by the riders just before they ride. Riders are judged individually, but points are also collected for the team. Ruth looked beautiful, and, though she didn't win any individual prizes, she had a great time, and her team got 2nd overall. This is all new to us, and we all learned a lot and enjoyed the whole experience.

A Farm Zamboni

Our team has a dedicated hair lady. She is awesome!

So proud of this beautiful young lady!

The girls have to line up by height for the draw, because certain horses can't be used for the taller girls. 

First time to enter the show arena

Rooting for rider 120

Ruth and Bowie in the Walk/Trot Class

Ruth and Towne in the Walk/Trot/Canter Class

A Day in Deal

We spent the day enjoying Deal. Ruth did a trail ride with a local stable this morning, even though it was a bit wet. Meanwhile the rest of us were unable to resist the siren song of the bookstore, all the more as we were looking for a dry place to wait on Ruth. As usual, we left with all kinds of goodies. By the time we picked Ruth up, the rain had mostly cleared out, so we decided to have lunch at Jasin's Restaurant, out on the pier. Afterwards, we had ice cream and coffee at the Deal Beach Parlour. We then walked down to the castle and then ended up playing on the beach for a while before heading back to our house. We wrapped up the day with a lovely visit with our landlords, who live upstairs. It was such a wonderful and relaxing day, and we enjoyed ourselves very much!

The pier, with Jasin's Restaurant at the end

Looking back at Deal from the pier

Walking along the pier

You know we had to stop and take a photo with the giant statue!

Ice cream on a cold day

Deal Castle

Run...

...Jump...

...Repeat

The rocky beach is fun for everyone!