The family decided to make Sunday dinner for me for my birthday. Oldest Son had successfully tried a recipe for CP Sweet Pork, (ala. Cafe Rio), in Logan with FDIL and wanted to do that. But, DH is not a fan of Mexican food in any form, and he decided to make his own pork. Let the competition begin! DH combed the Food Network site and found a likely-looking recipe, along with one for roasted potatoes. My kitchen was full of menfolk and good smells during the day yesterday. Youngest Son took over the Roasted Potato recipe. Here's a look at what happened:
YS roasted those potatoes:
DH made a salad to go along side:
It was all yummy, but I must say that Oldest's Son's sweet pork was really, really good. I'll post the recipe tomorrow. DH's pork was, well, a little dry. We had a fun, if competetive dinner. Only Daughter and her husband brought my favorite dessert, crushed strawberries over vanilla ice cream. Thanks, family!
OD an Rocko were fantastic in their flat classes! You can see how happy he is:
Michelle's new puppy is just too cute:
Kari's dad is visiting from Arizona. He is the nicest man:
This wins the Most Dynamic Picture award. Kari is riding Rocko in a "Handy Hunter" round. They do the jumps in a crazy order and ask the horse to do unexpected things like trot a jump or make a sharp turn. If a horse is good at following all of those last minute directions, they call the horse "Handy". In this picture, they approached this jump turning left and now Kari is going to ask Rocko to make a sharp right turn. Hence all of the crazy body angles. Guess you had to be there...
This June has been so WET!! The pump for the pool cover gasped it's last breath, so Peter found himself bailing the latest downpour off Cap'n Jack Style. I still had my camera on 400 speed from the horse show, so the water is very detailed in this picture!
We have the best popcorn maker at our house! I gave it to DH 2 Christmases ago. My kids call it "monkey popcorn" because you have to turn the crank while it heats up and pops. It must make them feel like those circus monkeys that turn the handles on the music box. Nothin' like fresh-popped popcorn!
Mention the "P" word, and my brain immediately starts to boil. "P" stands for Pruning. What is it about men that compels them to chop and hack trees and bushes? Why do they want to thin and kill those tender young growing things I so lovingly planted? I could easily live in a tropical rain forest or on the Olympic Peninsula, but my men are determined to cut down at least half of my trees every year. They've started to do their pruning when I'm not around, and one of these days they are going to cut one tree too many. I agree that things need to be maintained, but I also want my privacy. That's why we planted the trees in the first place. Right? And WHY do they name trimmers "Excalibur"?! That just encourages the guys at my house!
Oldest Son and FDIL gave Dad a certificate for a Padres or Chargers game in San Diego, and DH made them sign it to make it a legal document:
King Julian from the Madagascar movies remind of someone we know and love, so we colored some pages:
We had a fun bridal shower for FDIL yesterday! We tied a quilt, ate yummy food, opened presents and played a crazy question/video game. Some shower highlights:
Nancy taught Margaret how to tie a quilt. Now M is ready for the RS General Board!
Only Daughter gave FDIL a much-loved duck garbage can that quacks when it's opened:
Little Sophie was really tired!
Such cute cousins:
Thanks to everyone who helped organize the shower, made food and came!
Oldest Daughter also rode Rocko at the show and they were great! He gave her everything she wanted, even speeding up and slowing down!
Some of my favorite pictures from the show-
Kaitlyn taking a quick potty break between classes:
Cute Ivie:
And Tara & Donovan in the perfect jumping picture!
I finally got brave and rode my own horse in a horse show! Rocko and I did 2 flat classes- classes where we walk, trot and canter for the judge. I had 2 goals going in to this: 1.) Don't fall off, and 2.) Don't let Rocko run away with me. I accomplished both! Riding an ex-racehorse does have it's challenges! :) I made a few mistakes in each class, but I didn't panic, (like I did when I practiced at home!), and we got through just fine. Now I have the start of some experience under my belt and we can build on that. I even managed to stay nice and clear of all the other horses in the ring and didn't cause any horrific pile-ups! The weather didn't cooperate much with us at the show. Every afternoon we would all have to make a mad dash back to the barn to avoid being struck by lightning. Then the torrential downpour would start:
The barns have metal roofs, so the heavy rain was so loud that you couldn't talk above the sound. Some of the horses freaked out with the noise, but Rocko just stood and painfully endured. Only Daughter gave him hugs to help him get through:
More details about the show and some of my favorite pics to follow...
...especially when they scream and fight outside my bedroom window at 5 am. Youngest Son feels the same and has taken matters into his own hands. He was ID'd for the first time at a store to buy BB's. So far it's YS-2, Magpies-0. You'd think they'd get the hint, but I can hear them out there right now. YS says I shouldn't post pictures like these on my blog. Something about it being illegal to shoot a BB gun in certain places...
Yes, he had an awkward stage too. Not even close to how awkward his mother was, (right, C & M?!), but awkward nonetheless. I'm campaigning hard to keep this one in the wedding slide show.
To this:
All grown up! He acts like a grown up too- all responsible and on top of things. Not that he doesn't have his fun and crazy moments too, he's just a great all-round guy! Love you, bud!
Our good friends, Kristen and Wade:
The view from the CC roof:
This roof fountain is positioned directly over the CC pulpit:
Oldest Son and I put this together yesterday. We are calling it the wedding tent! I saw it on sale at Target for $99. We were going to rent the pretty much the same thing for the wedding for $160. It made sense to buy this one and have it for parties. I like it!
Did you know it was National Rose Month? I have several rose bushes, (including the climbing roses, which are harboring the bird nursery), but this pink one is the only one blooming at the moment. We've had evening thunderstorms and wind for the last few days, so the leaves on this bush are pretty dirty. I need to cut some flowers for my table...
This is Michelle. She's 17 and has been at the barn for forever. We think alike. We can be watching a barn or show situation unfolding, turn and look at each other, and know that we are thinking the same thing. Michelle is the best braider at the barn, and no one else is allowed to touch Rocko's mane but Michelle. I love Michelle.
This is Katie and her mom, Kristen. Katie cleans Rocko's stall. Katie hadn't been around horses much when she started cleaning stalls, and Rocko smelled the blood in the water. Her terrorizes her. I've told her many times to scare the stuffin' out of him, so that he will respect her, but she is a soft-hearted girl. When she scares him, she feels bad, he laughs his evil horse-laugh and it all starts over again.
There are lots of other friends at the barn, but they will have to wait for another blogging day...
There was a clinic out at the barn last Saturday, (Rocko and I trotted around our little course in complete control- thank you, big guy!), and I took a few pictures of some of my favorite barn people who were there.
This is Kaitlyn. She is the only other Mormon girl at the barn that doesn't ride on Sundays. She goes to Weber State and wants to be a Pharmacist, just like her dad, Kurt. In fact, she is the low pharmacist-helper on the totem pole at Bowman's in Kaysville. Kaitlyn has a new red truck, which she LOVES. Kaitlyn's mom is my best horse show friend. We could talk for hours. Kaitlyn plays the organ in her ward on some Sundays, so we swap organ horror stories. Kaitlyn can play the foot pedals. Kaitlyn sticks out her tongue when she jumps her horse, Gary.
This is Anne washing her horse, Riva. Anne writes extra-spicy romance novels. At least, that's what I've heard, since I've never read any of her books. (Gulp!) Anne says she wants Riva to be the next Rocko, which makes me feel good.
This is Jolene. Jolene is the most buff Grandma I know. Her horse Archie is a grump who likes to be a bully. Jolene spoils him rotten and feeds his ego. When she rides him, if he's bad, she scolds him right out loud. I wish Jolene cleaned Rocko's stall. She's a great stall cleaner. Jolene and Archie always match.
More barn friends tomorrow!