Super-Sized Schedule

I don't know if I could have squeezed any more on my plate yesterday, but what I had was really good.

Got up at 4:30 a.m. to hit the road to Madison for a horse show of sorts. The only good thing about getting up that early is the sunrise. Fog did not affect driving but it sure helped the photo during a pit stop.

I arrived at the Alliant Energy Center for the North Central Western Working Horses Celebration (or WWC) at 6:57 a.m. and hoped I didn't miss my nephew Zach perform, since that was supposed to start at 7 a.m. Well he was still sleeping when I got there!!

To make a long story short, they squeezed in another event before Zach's reining event so I could have slept 2 more hours. He didn't get riding 'til after 10 a.m.

The good news is that that meant I could go to the building next door and see my friend Colleen's daughter Elsa perform. She was there the Ponies of America segment of the WWC. I know it sounds like I know what I'm talking about, doesn't it? I'll be wearing a cowboy hat the next time you see me!

It was fun watching Elsa perform with her horse Lena. She was all dressed up and had make-up on like a "big girl." And of course, a very sparkly outfit. Took quite a few pictures of her since I had the time!

Scoping out the competition.

All smiles after getting a 5th-place medal. Not bad considering she was the youngest for that event and age category. What a cutie.

Made it back next door in plenty of time to see both Zach and his best man and best friend Ben perform. I don't really get what "reining" is. It's sort of going fast around circles and then going fast straight and making a sudden stop. Zach and Ben just laughed and said, yeah, something like that.

While the lighting was awful, I still got some decent shots. Here's a just a few of Zach in action... proving my "cowboy nephew" really is a cowboy!

Pretty cool, huh? After that I raced home so I could get home by 3 p.m., about the time my sister Rayna and her husband Paul were set to arrive. They had been in the Milwaukee area for a few days, checking out the sights and such, and swung through Rapids on their way back up north to Hudson.

Went downtown by the river to eat dinner at Jennings & Co. Had to pick a restaurant we haven't been to with them before!

Yummy food and nice visit. From there, they hit the road and we came home.

We were thinking of going out since we can do that now. Ha. But I begged off. Wanted to at least look through a few photos. Plus, despite a few trips to the chiro last week, my back is not exactly in great shape yet.

Maybe if I could squeeze in a day of rest, eh? Sunday (today) was... not it.

Had 8 a.m. church and then we went off with teams to do work projects for God's Work, Our Hands day. More on that tomorrow. My fingers are taking the evening off.