RANDOM PICTURES OF WHO IM IN LOVE WITH

HMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM,

WHERE TO NEXT? Any ideas? My lease is up on May 15th and I cant stay here; don't get me wrong, I love the new neighbors - The one on the other side of my wall likes her cigs and it comes through the kitchen hook ups (not to bad). Neighbor #2 in the studio attached to Shelbys wall and has a single door that separates her room from theirs. Now she LOVES her cigs and has finally agreed to smoking outside until I leave in 2 weeks which was a smart decision on her part for I was about to go postal on her. She likes to yell the F word at her boyfriend at night causing Shelby to get out of bed and come tell me she can hear the neighbors and asks if they can hurt her. I grew fond of paying $253 a month during the summer for an extremely inefficient AC unit that runs constantly trying its hardest to keep up with the heat coming in waves through the huge single pane 100 year old window in the front room a.k.a. my bedroom. Oh, and I will miss hearing the gun shots in Pioneer park and the regular visits by the cops to the halfway house across the street.

WE DID DO our best to make the best of it. We had fun around the neighborhood and the dairy queen was 100 yards away. We did have great neighbors for most of our time here and became close friends with them, they have been sorely missed since they left. But for that...I don't blame them.

DONE COMPLAINING, NEW adventure lies ahead and we are happy and excited none the less. Woo Woo! kthanksforlistening!

CHILDREN WRITING CHILDRENS BOOKS

THOSE OF YOU who have kids probably know that one book that they make you read EVERY SINGLE NIGHT for months without the intention of ever changing up the selection. Please tell me this drives you crazy too!, not enough to enable you from enjoying the reading session but enough none the less. WELL...Shelby is hooked on this Dora book and while I love that she calls her red M&M's rojo now, etc. etc. This particular book has mistakes in it that makes me want to politely yell at the author. He needs a talkin to or I need therapy for being neurotic.

POULTRY 101: Female chickens are hens, males are roosters.

ACCORDING TO THIS book, this HEN (because that ain't no rooster) is knitting HIMSELF a scarf...




ANYWHO, I get to read this book every night.

BIRTHDAY #3

WE HAD A quiet backyard birthday for Shelby yesterday. Josh put her in a dress, Grandma did her hair, and I made her a cake. It was nice.

A FEW PICTURES:

SHE WANTED A dinosaur cake

COUSIN BEN

I LOVE THIS picture. It reminds me of something Normal Rockwell would paint (minus the cheap plastic toy), I love the look on Shelbys cousin Grace's face in the background. I don't know if it really was a look of jealousy but its just classic.

JOSH GOT SHELBY these glasses. She was cracking us up. She was so nonchalant wearing them; just to cool for school. PEACE OUT!

SO PROUD OF our girl

THIS ONE'S ALL her

EASTER WEEKEND

SATURDAY NIGHT, AMY Jo, Austin and their kiddos all came out to my moms for a visit. It was so fun! The kids dyed eggs, we had a little birthday cake for Shelby and Amys twins Gracie and Gage, they were all born the 18th of April only the twins are two years older, then the power went out so we lit a bunch of candles and played cards (Go Fish) until nearly 10pm. What a great night!







EASTER MORNING




MY VERY MISSED friend Cheyenne

MORIAH, HER CANYON, my Shelby, Cheyenne, me

MESA MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY

LAST THURSDAY I took Shelby to the local museum housing dinosaur bones (something she has talked about daily for the last six months or so; "dinosaur bones are in the mountains mamma?"...yep!, "did you see that dinosaur bunny mamma?"...I think so darlin, boy they are fast!, and of course the story she made up about a dinosaur named Bird who lives in the mountains and drives a black truck when he comes to the city and picks up Milhouse).
I wanted her to see them in person of course so we went, she certainly didn't expect the size of them. It was pretty neat though to see her try to grasp the concept and try not to be scared. The museum was 100% kid friendly. It was a GREAT afternoon.



AN ENTIRE SECTION of the museum dedicated to the biology of POOP! Shelby loved it, as most kids would.



PANNING FOR GOLD. I was pretty excited but Shelby told me it was not real gold...What the HECK! She turns three this week, I could not believe she told me that. I think I have my work cut out for me regarding Santa Clause and the Easter Bunny.

TAKING THE REINS

THIS WEEKEND I explored my new found freedom at Turf Paradise after receiving my track license. In order to get it I had to get the signature and the blessing of the track veterinarian, fill out forms, get fingerprinted, photographed, and of course pay a fee.



ONCE IN HAND I went back and met the thoroughbreds. While head over heels in love with the horses, I was unimpressed with the stables. I would have thought with all of the money coming in from the gambling that each horse would have a little bit more room than the teeny tiny stalls they were in and a bit more structurally sound. It is no wonder most of the horses have disposition issues and bad habits such as cribbing and head tossing among so many others. Being naturally high strung, these warmbloods are going out of their minds. They are large, they are athletes, they worry more than any other breed and they don't get turned out, they don't graze...ever, they stay in their box's. They do get plenty of exercise only it is under strict training. These horses rarely get touched outside of discipline, maintenance and tacking.
I believe outside training facilities that are privately owned such as the Arizona Thoroughbred Training Center out in Cave Creek allows for a little more TLC. The facility has larger stalls and is a lot cleaner because it is smaller in boarding and the focus seems to be the horse not the money or the Jockey. The difference in disposition was night and day after visiting both.
While I loved to be at the racetrack and have plenty more to learn; I felt that panic in my gut and in my heart that I could not help at that time all of the aching souls that just needed some individual love, some tight muscles relaxed, and a good plain walk without anyone on top of them.
The only horse world I knew before this one was rodeo. I have like a lot of Arizona horse lovers, owners and small towners been to plenty of them. There are a lot of people though (who have ideas but have probably not been to many) who think its cruelty to animals. That makes me laugh, almost hysterically. The horses are companions and partners, it is no wonder that most horse owners are dog owners. The horses are in comparison extremely well behaved and absolutely love the competition. Its weekend fun with the one they love the most. The steers run to play the game from what iv observed. The last rodeo I went to let the horses used in the bronc riding loose in the arena after the national anthem and before the start of the rodeo in order to honor them as an American symbol of power and freedom. There is an abundance of appreciation and teamwork there.

FIESTA DAYS RODEO at Memorial Arena, Cave Creek










DONATED 4 SESSIONS to the Miss Rodeo Arizona Pageant!

THE PHOENIX ZOO.....AGAIN!

AND THAT'S NOT a bad thing. Beth and I took the kiddos to the zoo for a great spring day out. We went to Stingray Bay this time and Shelby screamed louder than I have ever heard her scream before when I initially lifted her up to see the stingrays. She eventually became okay with it but it was just hilarious and shocking to hear my soft spoken baby girl screech like that.



BABY JENNA, TYLER'S little sister who kept pulling her hair tie out creating a femhawk.



I JUST COULDN'T choose between the two pictures.