Home, Sweet (but Chilly) Home

 

My whirlwind of life in the past 13 days has finally come to a slow stop. And I am home, sweet home in Wisconsin Rapids. Though temps are a bit chilly compared to Iowa and Missouri! The photo above is what greeted my when I walked through the door yesterday at 12:40 p.m. (Thanks, hubby!) But then I had to work a half day and shoot and edit softball pictures. So I had no time for bloggage.

Last time we checked in it was Easter Sunday night. That evening my sisters and I decided we'd check out of our VRBO early enough on Monday that we could join a Clydesdale Tour at nearby Grant's Farm. So packed and gathered up the tons of snacks we didn't have time to eat and made our way there a little after 10 a.m.

It was amazing. Such unique history and interesting details about how and what it takes to be on the official "Budweiser Hitch." 

First of all, if you want to be the biggest guys on the hitch, you have to be 19 hands high (at the shoulder) and the others have to be 18. You see I'm a bit short of qualifying for the hitch.

The fun part was spending some up-close and personal time with a few of the horses. Raptor seemed to take a liking to my hairspray. I should tell my hair artist that the expensive hairspray she sold me does not hold up to Missouri winds (see any previous photo from this trip) or horse saliva. 

We also each got a chance to carefully groom WolfMan. And by careful I mean don't touch near his lower leg because if his foot goes up, it must come down. 

And based on this horseshoe size, we did not want a hoof connecting with our human hooves.

Got a group picture though so that was cool!

We hit the road after that with a destination of Cedar Rapids again. Since we did our side trips to Swedesburg and Hannibal on the way down, we didn't have too many pit stops to make. So we got to the "other" Rapids at 5:30 p.m. and were able to join the kids for dinner at Chili's next door at 5:45 p.m.

Although full from dinner, Carter and Mamie have a favorite frozen yogurt place that we somehow ended up at hours later. Yum!!

I left around 8 a.m. Tuesday morning so I could get home during my typical lunch hour and work a half day. Pretty much no traffic so it was a smooth "commute" home. I can tell you my alarm this morning was a rude awakening. But it was worth suffering through after such a nice long weekend with loved ones!

Tonight, though, may require an 8 p.m. bedtime just to catch up! Just gotta get through choir practice, then I'm off to bed!

Cowboy Up

If there's one thing I've learned from my cowboy nephew Zach it's to "get after it!" – whatever "it" may be.

Because he does just that and creates his own opportunities in life, he and his wife are in New Zealand this week, where he's conducting a "Cowhorse Clinic," going a hunt of some sort, and enjoying the gorgeous Down Under scenery with his wife.

I'd be 100% jealous if I hadn't had my own opportunity to "Cowboy Up" today.

OK. I admit it's a complete stretch. But I did get to try out some cowboy gear at work today while we prepped for a video shoot related to a Wild West sales trip for some top employees. I say, if you can't have the fun, you gotta invent it. 

Side note: I just happened to be wearing clothes today that would match any Western gear, hat, or lasso. Yay me! (Or is it Yee-Haw!?")

My advice: If life gets boring, play "dress up" and create your own fun! You might find your own cowboy swagger as a result!

Beating the Odds

Sometimes life is like the Kentucky Derby. We all start out with the notion we all have an equal chance at surmounting our challenges.

Even when we're aways into our journey, we think we have a chance.

And sometimes we can overcome it. Not be a nose, but maybe by a nostril. Pretty insane.

Congrats to Mystik Dan for winning the Kentucky Derby. 

And congrats to my sister that today – 5 weeks after her head-on collision – she has her IV's and her feeding tube removed. If anyone has beat the odds and deserves a crown of roses around her neck, it's Rachel. 

Thank you, thank you, thank you, for all your prayer and positive thoughts. Thanks to you, she keeps beating the odds. 

STD (Super Technology Dependent)

Technology is great. Until it isn't. Ever have one of those days where you wish you were living the simple life and didn't have to rely on technology?

Yeah, me neither. I mean, it does save a lot time and effort for certain tasks. When it works.

Today, the geek squad gods were against me. Had so many issues with my laptop for work. I've been lucky so far, considering I'm 173 days into this and have had decent connectivity. That's one of those fancy words we tech-dependent folks use.

After what seemed like an extra long day of work – highlighted with impatience and hair pulling – I felt like I needed to hitch up the buggy and take a ride.

Thankfully, I didn't have to go to that extreme, but it would be nice if tomorrow could trot by without complications.  So if you geek gods are listening, I'm thanking you in advance for a productive day with minimal cursing and crashes.

Giddy up!

Side of Ranch

Lost dog was finally found this morning, thanks to a "live trap" set. My friends are so thrilled to have their baby back! I was glad for them, too. Plus, I got my day back on schedule.

After book club at 9 a.m., I headed east to Fond du Lac to meet up with my cowboy nephew Zach and his wife for a photo/video shoot with interviews, etc. As he often says, we were getting ranchy. Well Aunt Robyn was trying.

Got some pretty pictures, though! And didn't step in any fresh manure deposits anywhere. That I know of. Can't tell you much about the project because we don't want anyone stealing our idea. I will say it was pretty cool seeing an active horsewoman my mother's age – 87 – and her husband both so involved.

As a bonus we got to meet Paco, a mule with an affinity for Mountain Dew. Here he is "doing the Dew." Too funny. I guess we all need something to keep us moving!

Let there before 5 p.m. and was going to meet hubby and friends at a Wisconsin Rapids Rafters baseball game... but then rain happened. He was already there and I was running behind. Probably best. I didn't go at all so didn't suffer the rain or cold.

Are we all sure it's mid-June? Even Paco is stubborn about shedding his coat.

And not just because he's a mule!