School Daze

Yep, that about sums it up, I pretty much feel like I am in a "daze"! School has started for the big kids, and they are both at the high school this year. The littlest sister will be starting her preschool next week, and the older sister is homeschooling this year. In addition to school starting, we have midget football cheerleading and competitive cheer for the older sister, and I am finalizing plans for our Disney trip in October! Yikes! I know that in a week or two, everything will calm down and everyone will have settled into a routine, but getting there is such a struggle. Mountains of forms coming home from school, I am making "dynamite" sticks for the midget cheerleaders, and that's in between work and life! But, I know that fall is right around the corner, and with it comes the promise of cooler days, beautiful colors, and visits to the pumpkin patch. I have so many exciting things planned for savannah as part of school, I just can't wait!

Trot on!

For anyone that knows Savannah (the older of the 2 sisters), you know that she is a timid rider. Loves her pony dearly, but not the most courageous. In fact, as of a few weeks ago, she would have stayed in leadline forever if the rules allowed. She loves riding, so long as I am at the end of the lead. Well we recently had one of those break through moments that I have been waiting for. Out of the blue she asked to trot the other day. So I fed the loungeline out, and helped her get Coy going. Her normal response is that after a few steps, she tells me she wants to stop, NOW!!!! I usually make her go at least a few more strides, then let her transition down. Well, bless her heart, she did everything I told her, and she had by far, one of the prettiest trots she has every gotten on Coy. It was just lovely and flowy, she sat deep and just rode it out! The smile said it all, she was so proud of herself!

Well that was unexpected!

So, the best laid plans often do not go as planned! Two weeks ago I was gearing up and starting to pack for our one "big" horse show of the year. We were headed to VA for the POA northeast regional. Well the Thursday before the show arrived, poor hubby had worked the night before so he went to bed to catch some sleep while I finished packing, got fuel, etc. I meet him in the hall that morning, and he said he wasn't feeling well, but figured he would sleep it off. So I continued about my day. A few hours later while getting fuel, he calls and says he is headed to ER, could be a side effect of one of his medications......ok, no biggie, man was I wrong. Just a few hours after that I got the call that he was going in for surgery to remove his appendix!!! To say that I was surprised was an understatment at best. So poor hubby spent the weekend in the hospital and then moved to his recliner at the house, and I spent the weekend trying to keep the girls busy so he could get some rest. The girls were dissappointed, but all things happen for a reason. There is always next year. On a good note, hubby is starting to feel much better, stiches are out, and he is good to go in another 2 weeks!

Disney!!!!

So, if you dont know by now, we are going to Disney this fall!!!! The reservations are made, plan tickects are purchased, and I have been frantically planning!!! I normally handle all the trip planning myself, but with an undertaking this large, I decided to use an authorized Disney agent, and I am sooooo glad that I did. Jennifer at Destinations in Florida, has been a tremendous help and has made the entire process so easy. She has made our resort reservations, dining reservations, she ordered the cake for Sophia's birthday, and even reserved our stroller for us! She has answered all of my endless questions and is simply top notch. Since the hard part of making all the reservations is done. I have been working on itineray for each park. After having gone to Disney myself preciously, I can not stress enough how important it is to have a plan. If you do not have a plan of attack, Disney will not be the happiest place on earth for your family. You just simply need some sort of game plan, or there is a ton of stuff you are going to miss out on. As the count down continues, I will share some of my trip planning ideas and some of the sites that I have found particularly helpful!

Home Alone (well sort of)

The big kids (my step kids) are off with thier Mimi for most of the summer. I know that she enjoys the company and can always use the extra help around the house. We don't see much of them during the summer, (which is hard on Daddy), but at almost 14 and 16, they need us less and less anyway and they need thier space as they grow and mature. My Savannah is off with her dad for a trip to the beach. Sadly I have to say that I miss her greatly! This is the longest we have ever been apart, and Thursday seems sooo very far away at the moment. I know that she is having a great time on her beach trip, but I can not wait to see her! My littlest munchkin is the only one left at home at the moment, and it makes for a very quiet house. I didn't know what to do with myself last night with only one kid to feed and get settle down for bed. Thursday will be here before I know it, and then we will be off for our only "big" horse show of the year!

summertime!

Well, it is unofficially summer......the kids are out of school, the weather is fantastic (well, sort of), and we are gearing up for lots of great summer fun. While we are cutting down on the number of horse shows we are going to this year, I have lots of other great activities planned. Savannah will be starting summer conditioning for cheerleading and Sophia will be taking one more summer of gymnastics before she makes the move to cheernastics (the precursor to cheerleading). I have the girls signed up for summer bowling, thanks to kids bowl free. Also planning a trip to Six Flags with the free tickets that Savannah earned in their reading program!!! Also on tap, is gearing up for next years homeschool adventure! We can start our calendar year on July 1, so I am planning some activities that will count towards her school credits for the years. Of course our big plans for the year will be a family trip to Disney in late October. I had know idea that I would have so much fun planning our trip, and that I would be working on the plans months out!