The kids just love Todd's Top Ramen with Egg dish. When Sierra once again begged for it, Todd decided to teach her how to make it herself. Zane thought it was so important that he took notes and wrote down the recipe:). Thanks for sharing your recipe Chef Dad.
Last night we were going to go out with another family...possibly bowling...when Todd remembered Jumpstreet. As luck had it, it was the Grand Opening night and so half off the admission price. We excitedly hurried down to Jumpstreet with the Bradshaw family. It was a BLAST. It was a WORKOUT. We had so much fun playing dodgeball and just jumping around.
But, that was only the beginning of the fun. If you remember, a few weeks ago our friends the Brewers and the Whatcotts brought their whole families (even the itty bitty little ones) to toilet paper our house. We caught them in the act. Apparently, they hadn't heard the rule of "you get caught...you clean it up." Well....they asked for it. The Bradshaws were nice enough to help us get revenge. And, boy was the revenge SWEET. We t.p.ed the Brewers first. We had a great time. Everyone loved it. The big kids...the little ones...shoot, even I had a blast. Weston had so much fun running around, ripping off small sections of toilet paper and dropping them everywhere. We finished at the Brewers and headed to the Whatcotts...where we had just as much fun. Unfortunately, we got caught. But, that's okay. The damage was done and they had set the precedent that we didn't have to clean it up. 
Of course, they were good sports about it. We left them cleaning up a bunch of tp. oh, revenge is sweet!
The funniest part is that after the Whatcotts cleaned it all up and went back inside....some other people came and t.p.ed them AGAIN. Wow. They either have a lot of enemies...or a lot of friends (I think it's the latter... and that the dad (Sam) dishes it out as much as he gets it back). I never really considered toilet papering a family activity, but I think we really bonded over that experience. We might just have to do it again.
The next morning, I leave for a few minutes to take Lance down to the high school. I come home to find Weston walking around with the chest protector back on, but still in his PJs. When I commented on it, he let me know that he was wearing to be safe. hmmm. Yes, that's what we tell him when he is riding his quad. "SMOKEY says to be safe, Mom." (Yes, that's right, you probably guessed it...Wes had a Smokey the Bear lesson recently in his preschool class). So, now, not only does Smokey want you to be safe and not play with matches, but he also wants you to PROTECT your chest:). So, I let him wear it for a while.
But, then came the time where he needed to get ready for the day. Wes didn't hesitate to go ahead and take it off. He got dressed. Brushed his teeth and hair. And then wanted the chest protector BACK ON...to be safe like Smokey the bear advises.
I had my horseback riding class and Wes usually rides down with me. When he heard we were getting on the horse, he insisted on wearing his cowboy boots. (that is when you are supposed to wear them). So, here goes Wes, riding Cherokee down the street in fleece pants, cowboy boots, and a chest protector. gotta love it.
Last Wednesday, the kids had off of school for Veteran's Day. Todd and I debated what to do...whether or not he had to work, etc etc. We ended up splitting up. I took Sierra off on a Mother-Daughter ride with two other Mother-Daughter(s) sets from the POA barn/school. Todd took the three boys out to the quad/motorcycle track. He was supposed to take my other camera for pics of the boys, but he very "conveniently" forgot. Well, at least I got my pics for the day:).
l to r: Haley, Marlie, Catherine, Hannah, Sierra, Deseree, and Nylene - headed out for fun at Upper Bulldog. We had a great ride - just all of us girls.
When we got down to the big wash, we had some fun loping around. It was cute to watch the girls having so much fun...well, and even the moms had some fun loping around.
I think the girls enjoyed their treats almost as much as their ride. It was a fun mother - daughter day. We can't wait to do it again!
Sierra started out in the Bareback Horsemanship class where she got a 3rd (out of 4-5ish). So, she is still working on that one. But, then in Open Western Pleasure she earned a 1st place out of ten!!! In her age group class, she earned 2nd out of eight. She is working on fine tuning her seat...elbows in, hands down, etc. Buster knows what he is doing so he is helping her along.
About a week before the show, Sierra told me she didn't want to do the jumping classes. I was shocked. She loves to jump. ??? She said something about it being easier on Pepper. From what they say (cause I have no clue?) Sierra has to squeeze Buster along to get him going, but then hold him back to get the correct form. So, it's not quite as natural or easy as with Pepper. (She just needs to learn HOW). Well, I kind of stretched the truth and told her that she was already signed up for and paid for even though I hadn't paid yet. So, it was too late to back out.
Guess what?! She earned a FIRST place in Hunter Over Fences, a FIRST place in Huntseat Equitation Over Fences, and a FIRST place in Hunter Hack (all three jumping classes). She won't be hesitating to jump him again. Way to go, Sierra and Buster! 
Wow. I am getting teary-eyed just starting this post. How does one adequately say thanks and send loves out to a dog somewhere up in heaven? Sweet ol' Kota. He was the perfect dog...well, after the age of three:).
Todd and I bought Kota from a breeder as a six week old puppy. He was cheaper cause he wasn't papered so we could afford him. $125. One of the best $125 we ever spent!
He was so dang cute. Lance was eighteen months old when we bought Takota. Lance loved him. We all loved him...well, most of the time. He was the typical labrador retriever puppy. High energy. Loved to chew. Could jump five feet high from a standing position when he saw you coming to the door. Patient. Tolerable of the 18 month old boy that played with him. Loyal. Loving. Practically perfect.
As he grew up, Kota just became better and better with age. Sierra joined our family and he once again, tolerated a young child climbing all over him. As Kota aged, he settled down. He didn't have a mean bone in his body. He went with us everywhere. To the cabin (above). Camping. To the Dunes. To Apache Lake (where he loved to retrieve the frisbee from out of the lake). Kota was wonderful!
And, then came another boy....to poke and prod. Zane's face would just light up when he could get over to Kota. And Kota would just lie there and take it all in. Perfectly.
Kota didn't mind when Sierra covered him in sand at the Dunes. Kota just wanted to be with the family. He was part of our family.
But, now at the age of thirteen and a half, Kota has gone to the other side...wherever those special spirits are. We miss him greatly. Cash has big PAWS to fill to become even half the dog that Kota was. Here's a ten gun salute to one of the best, most loving, loyal, and tolerable dogs ever. We love you Kota!
A mom has got to be careful taking pictures of her kids. For example, my older two are just plain burnt out on it. Sierra, luckily, can still be coaxed into it. Lance wants nothing to do with it. It's a shame too cause he's such a nice looking kid:). Zane and Wes are still pretty good with it. They also like to be the photographer too....maybe that is why they are willing to be subjects more often then. Wes walked by when I was done downloading pics. He was upset about something so I tried to distract him by getting him to pose for me. Didn't work. Such sad eyes.
But, then he lightened up....he wanted to take pics of me. Hmmm. I am a photographer myself cause I prefer to be behind the camera:). I said - how about we do it together? He loved it and he was suddenly in a much better mood.
Now that Zane is in 3rd grade, he has to do a monthly book report. The first month the teacher told the students that they had to make a mobile about their book. For October, the kids got to choose. Zane loves art and so he made a poster showing Harry going to the Moon Watch in his Spacesuit. He did it all by himself (even the felt cutout for clothing). Way to go Zane!
We had a fun filled Halloween, as usual. How can one not when candy is involved? Sierra was thinking about not going out...feeling that she was too old. But, I had bought this costume on clearance last year so I convinced her to go out and have some fun. It's some sort of a Diva costume. ?? But, whatever it is, she looks great:) if you ask me. Half way through trick or treating we came across some of her friends and so she spent the rest of the night hanging out with the girls.
He also loved to show everyone his "turtle trick" when he would sink into the costume just like a turtle going into it's shell. pretty funny. always the entertainer.
Wes wore the ol handmedown suit and was a ninja. He had a lot of fun trick or treating until we hit a couple of "scary homes" and then it was all over. He didn't want to go anymore. So, Todd took him back to our friends home and hung out there until Zane and I were done. Luckily, Wes still had a good bucket full of candy. 
Sierra begged to bring Cash along with us. She found an old Wonder Woman cape from when we went to Magic Mountain a couple of summers ago. And, so Cash tagged along. I was bery impressed at how he behaved too.
Although he sat on his cape and ripped it, so the majority of the night was spent with his tail hanging out. Hopefully, Sierra wasn't planning on using the cape for anything else. (Lance came with us, not dressed up, to our friends house where we started trick or treating. But, then he just stayed there and hung out with everyone until we got back.)
Weston's preschool put on a Halloween Party. His cousins, Jackson and Kennedy, joined him for the fun.
Keegan is the teacher's older kindergartner. But, since he attends half day kindergarten, he also comes to the preschool class in the afternoon. Wes really loves to play with him (and her other son, Cade). But, when asked what his favorite part about preschool is, Wes replied, "Keegan."
And, one of the best parts was decorating and eating your own sugar cookie. YUM.
