Oh, What do you do in the Summertime Todd and Catherine?

I went out with the Pitts women last night to celebrate Debbie's birthday. So, Todd was home with the kids. And, what does Todd do (in the summertime:)? He takes Wes out on a scooter ride(vespa-kind) around the neighborhood. Of course, this time of year, there is a familiar buzz in the trees. Next thing you know, Todd and Wes were cicada/locust hunting. Yea, that 's what Todd does in the summertime (besides slaving away in a hot, unair-conditioned lawnmower shop:). **I found out later that he also helped Zane build a wooden tank from a kit that I had picked up at Michael's. What a good dad!

Me? I ride. Horses, that is. I got up at 3:40 am this morning to feed them so they wouldn't be grumpy on the ride. Then, I tried unsuccessfully to go back to sleep, but I was too worried about sleeping in. So, at 5:00 am we head out to Lower Bulldog - by the Salt River. We climbed some hills, loped through the riverbed, and ended up back at the Salt River. Last year, we had swam with the horses....but I was in a vinyl saddle. I wasn't too sure if I wanted to get my new leather saddle all wet. Jennifer, a 16 year old neighbor, tells me that we just do it bareback in order to "save" the saddles. What?! Never. I have never sat on a horse bareback. Okay, let's try. I wanna be a cowgirl. I take off my saddle and my socks and my boots, and very UNGRACEFULLY jump back onto my horse. (I don't think I should even call it "jumping" maybe throwing myself up onto him) And so, we went swimming on our horses bareback. LOVED IT! Cherokee is a natural in the water. Pepper, Sierra's pony, needed a little bit of coaxing, but then got in. You should have seen the smile on Sierra's face....probably just as big and cheesy as mine. I almost fell off in the water once, but luckily I pulled myself back up by the mane. It was soooo much fun. And, darn it, I didn't have a camera with me. I guess we'll just have to go back next week and do it all over again with my trusty camera in my cantle bag:). Woohoo!!!