Now, you think Courtney got him back, right? Nope. He's mad because she took the hose away from him. Well, what did he expect?

Push

 I took hold of the horn of the saddle and hoisted myself up, for the first time in several weeks. The more time that passes between rides, the more apprehensive I am.He hasn't been good for me this spring. He has been acting like a young stallion. Many times I find myself downright scared.

 But tonight I took him from the pasture where he had already expended much of his extra energy. He was relatively calm. I gathered up my reins and said, (out loud and didn't care much who heard me)
 "I once galloped this horse across an open field. I once barrel raced with no fear. I once jumped fences with great joy. I can do this."

 We had a great first 10 minutes. We walked, we jogged. My lower back ached. I thought, OK, I don't want to push it. I don't want to hurt myself. What would my chiropractor say? That's enough for today.

 

But the kids were playing hide and seek in the wheat field, no chores awaited me at home, nothing was pulling me down from my horse but my own lack of self discipline.

 Mustering up all the courage I had left, I collected him and asked for a lope. He obeyed immediately and off we went.. An onlooker would not have noticed anything unusual. Plenty of young children can lope their horse. I was once one of them. But his, to me, was exhilarating.
 I had conquered my fear.

 ...backing up a couple hours:

 dinner was complete. bedtime was drawing near. I was faced with the decision of what will we do tonight.The answer is most always made unconsciously. Clean a little, watch a little TV, play on the computer a little, but nothing memorable.
Or give myself a push... "Whoever wants to go to the barn, get in the car!"
The do nothing evenings are also wonderful, and necessary.
 But sometimes a little (or big) push is needed to make a memorable moment.

 I have had a photo shoot with Courtney floating around my head for some time now. I love to use her for my model. But now that summer is here and we have plenty of time, we haven't been able to find the time. Funny how that works. Then I found these pictures that I took on Mother's Day. I guess I had to too many pictures of Grace and I forgot to share these.

We have pretty much wrapped up our school year, all but a few lingering paces. Paces that will most likely drag out for the rest of the summer. Sigh.

Four larges boxes arrived with textbooks, lesson plans, dvds, and Cd roms. All the things that make my heart flutter. Everything necessary for a successful 11/12 school year. I stayed up late for many nights, with my favorite red pen, marking out my lesson plans, reading (mostly skimming) Biology, and New World History and Geography. I put together binders for each child with tests for every subject. (As opposed to hunting through every drawer to gather and grade when quarterly reports are due.)

And now we have completed this year (short of 5 stinkin' Math and English paces), we are all ready for next year, and we can enjoy our lazy summer days.

Discovering

I have always been fascinated with nature. The wonderful thing about children is they are fascinated with nature, too. Until they grow up a little and figure out that bugs are gross. Some of us never do. I am enjoying sharing my obsession with my children.
I pulled a few weeds out of the strawberry garden and pulled up a young tree, just barely free from it's nut. A perfect diagram  of the growth of a tree, but without the textbook. We inspected it, discussed it, dissected it...

But what was most fascinating to me was the beautiful pair of pink hearts found inside. I thought of Amy (my SIL) immediately, who is ever aware of hearts in nature. It is her reminder from God of His love for her.

This one's for you, Amy...

Not a day goes by that someone around here calls the whole family (or whoever cares to come) over to see something interesting, gross, beautiful, or unique. Paige found this roundworm in a puddle. It brought us a good half hour of entertainment. They were convinced it was a parasite that would have embedded itself into our feet and traveled through our bodies. No one got anywhere near a puddle for the rest of the day.

 This one is still a mystery. It was hanging from a thread from a tree. We took it down for a better look. Courtney is holding the thread for me- and not happy about her job.

Little things

I found myself a macro adapter for my lens and I received it today. I have spent a lot of time on my belly.

A few of my kids have spent some time right beside me, helping me find interesting subjects. Babies are best at taking note of things we normally pass by.
"Look, Mommy, your Iris-ens growed up!"

Watching our teeny tiny strawberry flowers give way to the beginnings of a tasty treat.

I paused long enough to capture my nemesis- the cottonwood seed. Then I had a sneezing attack and the photography session reached it's end. Maybe more tomorrow...

Oh, My!

In a few years, I wont be able to post pictures like these, but for now, she can still laugh at herself. I remember when the bee stung her. She screamed and I thought for a minute that it looked like she got stung. But she continued playing, so I thought no more of it. Until later when my sister asked what was wrong with her hand. It was swollen and her eye was looking a bit puffy, too. Of course, I said, "her hand? What about it?" No, this great mother never even noticed that it had swollen to  twice it's size.

She tried to make a fist but couldn't get those chubby fingers to close. "I can't make an A"
(Those sign language lessons are paying off)

Family Picnic