Ta Daaah!

Here's the completed pool design... just keep your drool off your computer.  I'm drooling, too, as it doesn't start going in till July 11 and will take about two months to complete.  But once it's complete, I'm diving in for a solid full month! And you are all welcome anytime.  There's a hot tub for those who can't get here till cooler months! :) There are two waterfalls in the far right planter, and a fountain on the baja shelf on the bottom left.  The shelf is just big enough for two chair sitting in the water, but not drowning (18" deep I think) and for little ones to play safely. Slide, diving board, it's all there.

Let the party begin!

Horse Camp

Ima, she's a show horse.

Sarah and Sandy

Saying a sad goodbye

Willie feeds Molly a carrot.  She LOVES carrots.

Willie with the three week old Corgi/Peekachoo (sp?) puppies

Sarah and her "Little Man".  She named him. She wants him.  She is crazy about him.

Well, sweet faces, sorry about the extra exposure...

"Teddy Bear" is KK's favorite

I mean, how cute are these guys?!

Puppy life is tough, eat, get snuggled, sleep.

I can't help being adorable. Little Man has a white blaze down his forehead.

Snuggly, even when upside down.  He is so calm!

Awww...

First Place Ribbon for one nervous Nellie.  Not nervous about the horse, of course.  Nervous about the thunder that was rolling nearby.  She darn near wouldn't get up on the horse! Walking Aiden about two weeks ago, a little squall blew up out of nowhere.  There was a crack of thunder and flash of lightning so loud, and simultaneously, that I turned off the stove immediately and ran (no shoes) to the car.  I raced down the street to see Izzy running as fast as she could, eyes wide as saucers, and she jumped in the car before I could fully stop it.  Katy had been left in the dust, running with the dog.  They were scared, but Izzy was scared to death.  Totally terrified.  Now she seems to be suffering from PTSD, and is paranoid about any thunder-like sound, or looming cloud of any sort.  She even checks the Weather Channel to see what the chances of rain might be for the day.  Not sure how to handle it, but hoping it will rain really soon, while we're at home, so we can discuss it!  Any suggestions are welcome...

Smiling now, though. Laughing because Cupcake wanted to "meet and greet" instead of "trot."

Trotting!  Actually Izzy was the first one to canter, and she was very proud.  Not sure she was meant to canter, think it was more like Cupcake saw a nice patch of grass in the distance, but... a first is a first.

Katy just LOVED camp.  She finally found a sport she wants to do for fun, not because Momma makes her be active.  And active she was.  And hot.  Very hot.

A nice trot with Molly...

Lookin' good in those mullet/riding boots! :)

Sarah was sad to see camp end, she was very upset that it was over.  She wants to take lessons from now on, and they were invited to come back in the fall for a weekend sleepover camp.  Don't know how I can say no to that!

Trotting....

And posting, too! A little hard to post on Cupcake, as she is quite a bit smaller than Molly, but they managed very nicely.

Horse camp was a much bigger success than I even imagined it might be.  All three girls just had such a good time, and really connected well with all the animals on the farm.  Their riding instructors, Ms. Laura and her daughter, Brooke, were really great, too.  Patient, kind, plenty of hands-on (including mucking out the stalls, yay!) instruction and mid-day activities in a cool place.  They went roller skating, out for Blue Highway Pizza, Subway, the springs, and TCBY.  The girls would love to do another week (heck, I believe they would go every week this summer if I could afford it) and we will try to do it again in August.  Now, if only those puppies were all gone to good homes by then...I'd be off the hook!

Some Things Just Don't Happen When They Are Supposed To

Okay,  I know it's June.  I know this was never sent out.  I had it done in time, had the envelopes, the printer paper, the ink cartridges.  It just, well, never happened.  But it does summarize our year in short form, and since I've been so terrible about blogging, I thought I better put it up so I wouldn't lose it.  Which I will. Anyway, don't bother reading it if you don't want to, as it is old news.  But it is still fun. And late.  Very, very late.  Here goes.  Ahem.

2010, Stephenson style.

It's 2000 and ten, and each day at our house
There's fishes, cats, dog,and luckily no mouse
Busy we've been, like always it seems
Some things accomplished and others just dreams
So sit back and grab a large cup of hot tea,
And I'll tell you a tale of my family and me.

New Years it found us at ole Crescent Beach
Enjoying a hot tub, some sand and some sleep
Not long thereafter, our William turned three,
And oh what a joy he has turned out to be.
His sweet mispronouncing of lots of big words
Has left others thinking we're really big nerds.
We say "pocapontas"(hippopotamus) even tho he has stopped
Or call popcorn "bupka" whenever it's popped
He has four mothers I think we could say,
But he takes it in stride in his own charming way.

February 5th, a warm sunny day
To Busch Gardens we went for coasters and play.
it was worth skipping school the lines were so short
Went on the rides three and four times, I'm sad to report

March brought us sport with softball, and more
Our weekends were booked with t-ball galore
Each girl with their bat, practiced all spring
Waiting for turns to take a big swing

The wind was relentless in April and may
Driving fresh water over our clams every day
They held for a while and finally succumbed
Leaving tons of hard work and Shawn somewhat numbed

June brought a birthday, Shawn turned forty-four
The girls think that's old, we aren't so sure
July found us fishing for whiting and trout
William caught his first shark, and let out a shout
" it's a shark in there daddy, please get the net"
But we were too slow and off he did get.

In august we spent two weeks on the sand
Indian rocks gave us good times and tans
It was most relaxing, the shells and the sea
With good friends and puzzles what else do we need
While there we did have some birthdays again
Sarah turned eleven and Katy turned ten

Month nine saw the big girls in new Chiefland schools
They were super surprised by the number of rules
With so many kids and new teachers galore
New friends to be made, they had quite a chore
It's all been well worth it, the drive and the time
They've adjusted so well and are doing just fine

Sarah has flourished in fun middle school
She officially cares about dressing cool
Target's no longer okay for her clothes
It's Hollister, PacSun or up goes her nose
Her hair is blown dry each morn till it's right
She sleeps half the day and stays up all night
The attitude's started to my big chagrin
But she still takes a hug every now and again

Katy's still social, outgoing and kind
She plays with her siblings well most of the time
She loves to help cook and draw fashion designs
Her dream is Paris, for schooling sometime.
Fashion design is her thing, it wasn't from me
But someday she'd like to school in Paris (said with a French accent please!)

October I turned thirty-seven oh my
It really is shocking how time seems to fly
Halloween saw Spidey, a witch and a bee
The hit of the night was Aiden you see
Sarah was ketchup, to his cute hot-dog suit
He made the town laugh and all said "how cute"

November turned Isabelle seven and sweet
She's reading and marches to her own little beat
Bossy she's still, that probably won't change
And the outfits she wears are usually strange
We love her cute laugh and her toothless big grin
Just watch out when you see,that set in her chin

So now it's December we've been through the year
We're actually ready for good Christmas cheer
The presents are here, the tree is done well
Now waiting for Santa to bring something swell
To this end I've brought you, if you're even still there
Come visit real soon, if you think you might dare
We 've had a good time in 2000 and ten
And next year we're planning to do it again
We all want to find that small piece of heaven
We wish you the best in 2000 ELEVEN.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!




There you have it, let the berating comments on its untimeliness begin.