WELL WHERE TO BEGIN

The famous Welcome to Vegas sign where everyone has to have their picture taken.

Our hotel Mandaly Bay, just a beautiful hotel, great rooms, Angela wanted to take her bed home with her. Very expensive. We got a great package deal. Only way we could afford this.


this was the view from our room. What a way to wake up in the morning. Hubby is an early riser so he would venture over to the McDonalds across the street and bring us coffee and breakfast sandwich.

This is Fremont Street at night. You must see this. It is amazing. A 4 block long tv screen when at night they entertain you. It was a tribute to Queen the week we were there. and there was a great Johnny Cash impersonator. Had the place just rocking. We were there three times. Cheap but very good food.


Thought I would blog right after we got back from our trip to Vegas. But didn't. Vegas was nice, don't get me wrong but for a girl from the prairies and a bit of a Defender of the Environment, I found Vegas to be somewhat decantent and waste full. Talk about not being real. all the Casinos/hotels are all copies of the real thing only in much smaller versions. I guess if you haven't seen the real thing, they can be exciting. It was definitely worth seeing once.The whole experience was exciting and very glad we went. Another highlight was going to Toby Keith's Bar and Grill. Great food but some really weird stuff. Our hotel was the Mandalay Bay which is located on the south end of the strip. The view from our room was stunning. The pool area was great and we really enjoyed the Shark Reef acquarium. Hey if I can handle Manhattan, I can handle Vegas. We detoured out of Vegas for two days and toured the Grand Canyon and Zion park. Absoulutely stunning. Well worth it. Was good to see the country and the majestic peaks. It was definitely a surprise to find so much snow in the area.

Had a great weekend this past weekend. The weather was gorgeous. Saturday's high was 10 celsius or 50 farenheit. Went riding on Angela's gelding Digger. Definitely know you've been riding on that boy. Really moves out. Then on Sunday, I saddled up my young mare and took her out of the round pen, off the farm for the first time since our accident in October of 08. The road was in great shape and I think she really enjoyed the experience as much as I did. Felt so recharged. I feel like I can do anything again. Finally got rid of all the demons. Can't wait for this weekend. Hope the weather cooperates.

Peps was not to pleased. She thought we were done. Hasn't gotten used to the off and on routine. Not the best picture but all I have from the weekend.

NEW BEGINNINGS AND SOME OF THE SAME

Angela (DVM2012) with Blue when he was just a month old

Just thought I would update everyone on my boys. First my son Robert is getting quite settled in his new life living in Hanna. Work has kept him quite busy, reading, renewing first aid, safety training etc. getting ready for when they can get into the field and start doing some real work. He started curling there right away although the season ends soon. He says it a very sleepy town but once summer comes, he's hoping to be very busy working and travelling the province to really worry about finding enough to do in town. He is coming home this weekend for the family day holiday. Hopefully I can get him out riding with me. Load him up with more stuff to help get my basement cleaned out. It's amazing after 27 years in one place how much junk one can hoard.
Up date on my other boy Blue. (4 legged one). I posted earlier that Blue had a visit from Kevin and Sigrid from Blue Equine and how he had become the horse of old. Well he had a bit of a relapse it seems. When Angela (DVM2012)was last out we tried to head out for a ride. Blue seemed somewhat stiff bringing him up from his pen. Thought that maybe he was just stiff as hadn't been out much. Well the longer we went the more lame he became. He was such a brave boy. Tried so hard to go and didn't hesitate when I asked him. I felt horrible about making him go out. I got off him and we walked all the way home. Luckily it was only about 1/4 of a mile. Well called Kevin and they came out on Monday and low and behold, Blue had definitely done something. Kevin figured some of it could have been residual from the first time but he had pulled his stifle and was needing some adjustment to his back and neck. Less than an hour later, he seemed much better, moving out well and carrying himself better. Didn't get a chance then to ride him but hope to this weekend if the conditions permit. The weather is suppose to be good but that can also lead to bad footing, when its not quite warm enough to really melt the snow but just provides a slippery surface. Will wait and see. This is for FV, that if you had your indoor arena, I would be using it all the time. I would have used it on Monday and again this weekend. I would be putting the hours and miles on Peps. I know it takes more than one person using the arena to pay for it but just to let you know, I would be so in. I want to thank Sigrid and Kevin for making my Blue Boy better and if he disappears in the night, I know where to find them.



Robert riding Blue



Angela riding Blue and just look at that nice green grass and blue sky and bare armas. Oh will be so nice soon, we just need to BELEIVE. Do You Beleive?

The opening ceremonies of the winter olympics are on Friday. GO CANADA GO.

MIXED EMOTIONS

Robert and i did a road trip 2 summers ago and this is in Writing on Stone Provincial Park in Southeast Alberta.

That same road trip only this time in Waterton Lake National Park. He loves to hike and he dragged up and down so many trails. I would do it again in a heart beat. We actually hiked into British Columbia on one of our hikes.

He and his sister Angela (DVM2012) and the dog on the nature hike to McGilverary Falls in the Whiteshell in Southeastern Manitoba


This is in Hawaii, on the island of Oahu. No matter where he goes, he experiences the true natural side of the country

Snowmobiling in Whiteshell, Manitoba. One of his passions.


After all that hiking and stuff, one must relax and keep up the fluids. This is on one of the family trips to Cuba.




These last picturs are from different summers spent in the northwest portion of Alberta, working in bush camps etc.

As mentioned in an earlier blog, my son Robert, the oldest of my three children has moved away from home and started his future in Hanna Alberta. He starts his new job tomorrow with Tera Environmental Consulting. I am very happy and proud of him but also a bit sad. As parents, we enter into parenthood not knowing what our children will be like. What kind of person they will become. We spend our days, teaching, guiding, disciplining, and hoping that they will grow up to be good people,with good values, kind hearts and someone others will admire. Whether we are parents, grand parents, aunts, uncles or friends, we all have an input into how the children we are involved with turn out. My son has always loved animals, nature, the environment. Ever since he was a young boy he wanted to be a forest ranger. He could spend hours playing in the grass with his dinosaurs or animal figurines. He graduated this past April, with a Bachelor of Science in Environmental and Conservation sciences,majoring in Conservation Biology and Rangeland Management. He has spent the last few summers working with different organizations, living in bush camps, trailers or whatever but always out in the bush, studying trees, grasses, weeds, etc. doing what he loves best. These jobs were always just for the four summer months and he always came back in September for school. He is now entering a new phase of his life; starting his career. It's only 3 and a half hours from home, but it feels like another continent. I'm proud of him and know that his dad and I did a great job in preparing him to start on his own journey. Here are a few picutes of him over the years, doing what he loves best.
As a mom, I guess I am worried, will he eat right, can he look after himself, and then part of me is saying It's about time, I've done all I can. Time for him to, as his Aunt Sherry says, "Let go of the rope". Thanks Sherry for helping to raise such a fine young man. I think we've done good. Now it is up to him. Good luck Rob.

IT'S ONLY JUST BEGUN AND ALREADY

The new year has just begun and already the first month is almost in the history books. What a month it has been. Alot of stuff; good and bad happened this month. Where to start? I guess at the beginning. After a great Christmas, started the year at Fv's sisters for New Years Eve. A quiet affair but a nice visit. Started the vehicles at 11:55 and on the strike of 12, had our champagne, hugs and kisses and all headed off to bed. Great partiers that we are. Angela went back to Saskatoon and son Robert anxiously waited to hear back from a great employment opportunity. He got the call and is heading down to Hanna, Alberta to take a position with Tera Environmental as a Vegetation specialist in three days. This is exactly what he took in university for four years and is very excited. Was suppose to spend the first 3 or 4 days in Calgary for orientation etc. but received an email this week that it will be only 1 day and then into the field. He is very excited about getting back into the field. Not much snow there, very very dry area. So now we have two that have left the nest. Just leaves the youngest at home technically, although we don't see her much with University, extra curricular activities and the social life. She is thinking of heading east to Manitoba for school in the fall. Don't know if I'm ready to have all three gone. The house is already feeling empty. Thank god we have Rosie, our golden retreiver, gives us something to care for.

After loosing my mom over a year ago, I have been looking for something that I could get that would help keep her in my heart and thoughts. We grew up with a wind up mantle chime clock. The Big Ben chime. Now this clock was really loud but we grew used to it and it never kept us up. Well I found one very similar to it. It is not a wind up but a quartz. German made, the same colour, chime and almost the same shape. This one has a night time quiet switch and a volume control so it doesn't disturb anyone's sleep. It chimes every 1/4 hour and then the full hour count on the hour. I love it. Makes me feel good and reminds me of my mom. It is chiming now as I type this. It's funny how certain things from your past can mean so much in the present.

The weather turned from bitterly cold to melting which made the ability to ride my horses pretty impossible. When I did get a chance, all I got was APPYTUDE from my young mare. Going great until a bird flew out of the bush and that was all she needed to end the day. Just put on those appy brakes and there was no way she was going forward. Did manage to get her to some things that I wanted, thanks to FV so we ended the day on a good note. She is a sweetheart of a mare, very loving and gentle, never bucks or anything but boy when she brings forth her stubborn streak, the thighs and legs get quite a work out. I was pretty stiff the next day. Felt as if I had been riding for a week straight.

Angela was home this weekend for a couple of job interviews for the summer. We tried to go for a ride on Sunday, but Blue was pretty sore. We thought maybe just stiff from not going out for awhile, but the longer we went the worse he got. I think it is his shoulder again and am having Sherry contact Kevin to see if he can come check him out again. He was doing really good. The wind was really cold anyway so we would have turned around shortly after that anyway. Angela has the plaque so was quite under the weather for the most part.

Spent as much time at the farm on the weekend as I could. Helped muck out stalls, Ivomeck the cows, etc. I love working at the farm. It is different from what I do during the week and I always feel so alive, although tired, when I come home. Saturday night took the whole family, all five of us to Sherry and Martin's and my husband Brian, son Robert and daughter Cara along with Martin assembled S & M's dining chairs. My hubby loves this type of stuff. Hates to see anything unfinished. If there is something to be done, he is never shy in getting involved and getting the job done. Sometimes his enthusiasim gets the better of him, but at least he's always there, willing to help.

Sherry and I also went to the Horse owners and Breeders conference in Red Deer. It was a fun couple of days. Met lots of new people and some from the past. Horse people are always so friendly I find and love to talk. Some great educational sessions. We had some pretty hilarious times where we were laughing so hard, our stomachs hurt. Trying not to wake each other up with our snoring was a challenge and gave some great fits of laughter afterwards. Thanks Sherry for going with me and it was a great time.

There were alot of fun times, busy times and just good hard work times, but there was also a sad time. Why is it that those that deserve the best get the worst out of life. My brother in law was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer early this month. He is 57. It is unoperable and even chemo/radiation won't help him. The doctors have given him 9-12 months. I have known this man for most of my life. I think I was 11 or 12 when I first met him. He has been a brother to me more than my own brother has. He was always the shoulder to cry on, the one to give advice, or the one to just listen. If anyone needed a hand, Mike was there. He always put others first. Good Irish boy that loved a good drink, a fun time and good friends. It just isn't fair. Going to head out that way as soon as the weather is good enough for them to open the trailer for the season and then spend some good quality time with he and my sister. She is being so strong through this but I know deep down this is killing her too.

Well this month is almost done and February looks to be just as busy if not busier for me. We booked a trip to Vegas though for the 21 to 26. Taking Angela with us as she has not had a holiday since Christmas of 08. Our first time so if any of you have been and have any pointers as to what to see, where to eat etc. the tips would be great. We are renting a car and heading to the Grand Canyon, Zion national park for a couple of days. Want to try and see one show for sure but there are alot of other attractions in the city to see too. Will be a full five or so days. Looking so forward to it.

Don't have any pictures from the past month to share so have attached some historical footage. enjoy. talk to all again soon.


Angela riding Fernvalley's Jazz


Angela holding some of the kittens from the farm. They almost look like twins


Sherry Angela and I out for one of our too few rides.


Angela and Blue. Even at a young age, she had a way with horses.

OUT WITH THE OLD AND IN WITH THE NEW

This is Angela with her two year old Eurus.




This is me and Peps on our Christmas ride.



This is Blue and I on our Christmas ride with Angela and Digger


This is a picture out our back window of our cottage. The moon was so bright, it was almost like daylight outside at midnight.

Well it's been a year now since I first started this blog. I've found it to be a great way to vent, or too just talk and meet new people and follow others stories. This past year was fun and eventful. From travelling to New York and visiting family in Winnipeg,to cruising Alaska with FV and hubby; to overcoming my fear and getting on my horse again to working with my young filly, I'd say it was a good year. The year ended with a great family Christmas. Our three kids were home and we spent the holidays enjoying family time and catching up. The weather was cold for most of it but Angela and I did manage to get a couple nice rides in. The first day we took the boys and went for over an hour. The next day she helped me with my young mare Peps and we took her out for a bit of a trail ride and she worked her two year old Eurus for abit. She also managed to get in some snowmobiling with her dad and brother. The first week of the New Year was hectic. Fell behind in alot of things over the holidays so spent the week doing laundry, cleaning, working, just gertting caught up. Heading to Red Deer with Sherry (FV) for the Horse Owners and Breeders conference Jan 15-17th. Should be very informative and a great way to meet and interface with other horse people. I'm not one for making New Years resolutions but I do want to try and blog more, ride more and enjoy life more as we never know what tomorrow will bring, so enjoy what we have as much as we can.

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE

It's been some time since I last blogged but like FV I have been so busy getting ready for the holidays.I've made two Christmas cakes, christmas loaves, shopped, wrapped, mailed, presents for both families. Mine and hubby's. Decorated the house etc, and managed to fit a couple of days in at the office. But I think I am finally done and can now just rest and get ready for the day. Best news is that our girl Angela (DVM2012) is coming home tomorrow for two weeks. So excited to see her. I know it has only been a month since we last saw her, but we so miss her around here. She bought her Dad a webcam for his birthday and that has really helped. We can talk to her now and see her.
I am so tired these days, probably cause we've had such cold cold temperatures for the last two weeks or more. Haven't been able to get to the cottage, which also means not getting to the farm to see my ponies nor Sherry or to help her out. Going out on Sunday to help get hay and do what we can to get her on the road so that she and Martin can go Christmas shopping. The temperatures aren't suppose to be as warm as they first predicted, which was around -5 to zero. Highs of only -12-16. Oh well, warm enough to see the ponies and get some work done. We are very anxious to see the finished product on the renos. Waiting for the big house warming party. A real one not a virutal one although the virtual ones sounded awfully exciting.
Other than getting ready for Christmas, it has been too cold to do much else so that's about all the news. Oh I almost forgot, hubby bought me a new range for Christmas. Our old one was in the house when we bought it and we have lived here for 27 years so don't really know how old it was. Moved into the 21st century though and got a smooth top self cleaning. No more sticking my head in the oven and inhaling all those wonderful fumes. Doesn't seem like much but I am really excited about it. It is a challenge though, the heat is almost instant and it is very hot. I've only had one mishap so far and learned from that one.
Not much else, just looking forward to having my family all together and spending a nice Christmas at home. We are hoping to maybe getting to Banff or Jasper of a day or so. The kids want to go skiing for a day and I would just like to visit the mountains and take in their beauty. doesn't matter how many times I go, the mountains still remain very special to me and my family. Probably won't hear from me till after Christmas so just want to wish everyone a very MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A SAFE, HAPPY AND HEALTHY NEW YEAR and we'll talk to you all in 2010.

This is the road on the farm that we love to ride down both winter and summer.


This is one of the farms we pass on our way to Fern Valley and to our cottage.


This is Rosey and Winston playing before Skitter arrived. Now it is the three of them always rough housing around.

WHERE'S THE SNOW

(this picture was taken years ago when my three kids were quite small. We love snowmobiling and this is one of our favorite runs. this is me and the three kids)

Well it certainly was a strange but nice weekend. Here it is the end of November and it feels more like September. We usually have snow at this time of year. We got a small dumping last Friday night and it has managed to stay somewhat. All it has really done is make things miserable. After the snow, we got rain, not just a little bit but the most rain in November in over 50 years. All this managed to do was make the ground very slippery. After suffering with a headache for four days and sitting through two long meetings, I was really looking forward to heading out to the cottage and spending some time with my ponies at the farm. Well went to the farm on Saturday and hubby and I helped Sherry and Martin feeding the animals, moving bales etc. Since her house is in total chaos from the renos we had them over for supper, homegrown steaks, shrimp, scalloped potatoes. Thought we would play one game of scrabble before calling it a night. Sherry was kicking our butts until the last round. I added a 2 letter ending to an existing word and pulled ahead of her by 15 points. She'll get me next time for sure. Sunday started out quite dreary, overcast, warm and raining. Still wasn't feeling good though. I think I have a touch of the flu. Decided to stay away from the farm and try and get some decorating done for Christmas. After all it is just 25 days away. Felt really quilty though driving home as the sun was shining, +6 and I didn't get on my horses this weekend. Convinced myself that the footing was probably still really iffy. I guess I could've used the round pen. But my stomach feeling the way it did for most of the day, it was propably a good thing that I didn't try and ride. It was anyway a very nice relazing weekend. Where is my title in all this. I love the snow. It creates a different painting all the time. The cold temperatures I don't like, but I love the snow. Sure hope we get some soon as this in between brown on brown and ice is the pits. Thought I would add a couple of pictures from around our cottage during the winter.


(this is out our back window of our cottage)


(annual Christmas/New years hockey game on the lake)