mother-daughter hoedown-throwdown!

Tonight the activity days girls had a mother-daughter hoedown...so super fun! To start the night, our neighbor brought her horse to the church and the girls all got pictures taken. We had chili for dinner, and then the leaders broke out their dancing skills and did the Hannah Montana Hoedown-Throwdown...I have to say, those are some brave ladies! Everyone joined in and learned the boot scootin' boogie...which is a line dance I haven't done since my early college days. I don't remember feeling winded back then, I guess that means I'm just a little out of shape. We finished the night with cobbler and ice cream. And of course, all 30 girls singing Taylor Swift's Love Story at the top of their lungs...so very cute!

Feeling pretty lucky to have such a sweet girl...and can't believe she will be turning 12 in just 4 weeks. She is way to young to be going off into Young Women's!

photo fun

Kenzie needed some pictures for a Young Women's project as well as a school photo journal....so we played around with her riding pics, and did some fun stuff! These are a few of our favorites!

punkin' walkin'

It's that time of year again...Legacy's Pumpkin Walk of Values. I've tried to deny it, but fall is definitely in the air. I can see red and yellow up on the mountain, and I even broke out the Halloween decor. Everyday the kids are asking what they can be for Halloween. I think I'm gonna get out the costume boxes and let them pick...if I don't, the questions will drive me crazy. The kids were all excited to show off their pumpkins this year. I actually helped out with some of the prep this year (spray painting a whole class of pumpkins black, making bee wings, and making the banner for Lady's class). Guess it is my turn to be the helper now that I don't have any toddlers to bring along.

Jace's busy bee

Maddy and Hestia...goddess of the hearth

Carter and his patchy pirate... "yo-ho!"

check out my banner making skills....

Lady and her friendly spider

Despite my complaints about the upcoming cold weather, I must admit, I do love this time of year. There are so many fun activities that the kids look forward to all year. And really, there is nothing quite like watching your kids enjoy every moment!

my cowgirl

Over the last 2 years, Kenzie has logged more than 500 volunteer hours at Courage Reins...CRAZY! I knew she spent a lot of time there, but I had no idea just how much until recently. I truly can't think of anything better for her to be doing with her time. Kenz has been there long enough that many of the kids know her by name, and there is even one little girl who refuses to ride if Kenzie isn't there to help her...so very sweet. Kenzie did a course of Western riding lessons about a year ago. She has enough free lessons saved up now to do a semester of English riding...."which is the best mom, because you get to run and jump!" I tagged along to her lesson this week and took some pictures. I have to say, I am impressed...not just with how much she has learned about horses/riding...but with how committed she is. Not many 13 year old girls would give up most of their free time/weekend-sleeping-in to help give riding therapy to disabled children. Yep...proud mama!

Meet Cody...one of her favorite horse friends.

getting him saddled and ready to ride

Kenzie thought a pic of their feet would be cool...
I have to agree.

heading to the arena

seriously...beautiful place to ride

If you can't tell...it got dark fast.
By the time they were cantering around the arena,
it was so dark I could barely get the camera to focus.

I have no doubt that if it was allowed,
Kenzie would have stayed on that horse for hours.
It is so fun watching her do something she truly loves
and there's nothing better than knowing
your kid has figured out where they belong!

shoulda knocked on wood

Thought you'd want to know that only 24 hours after my kindergarten sadness, Jace brought me back to reality by squirting elmer's glue all over the carpet in his room. And no, I'm not exaggerating when I say ALL OVER HIS ROOM! And of course, I didn't discover this surprise until a couple of hours later, so it was nice and sticky...even dried in the smaller spots. Not looking back on this incident with fondness...not for a very long time :)

phases

I sent my little man off to Kindergarten today. I am still unsure how this day came so fast. Wasn't it just yesterday I was making posts about him writing on the walls with sharpies and throwing an entire bag of licked marshmallows down the stairs? He has been my buddy for the last two years with everyone else in school. I actually started a conversation with him three times today, and then realized, he wasn't in the back of the van. It was kinda lonely looking in my mirror and not seeing him smiling, pouting, giggling, or whining back at me. You know how everyone is always telling you "Enjoy this phase of life, it will pass so quickly". You don't realize how right they are until you move into that next phase....all that being said....Jace could not have been more happy to tell me all about Kindergarten, tables, carpet spots, recess, coloring folders, and making a new friend. I guess this is a new phase for him too, and I'm so glad he's excited to jump into it!

my big, little boy

"Hooray for the first day of school!"

taking a peek into his classroom window...

Mrs. Hall's class line....lots of boys in that line!

Could he look any more pleased with his little self?

Today was bittersweet...but mostly sweet. I'm sure in a couple of weeks, I'll fall into a routine that just involves me for three hours a day. And I'll be loving the afternoon hours I still get to spend with Jace before everyone else gets home!

our other soccer player

Carter has been faithfully playing soccer since he was four. He loves everything about it....even sitting on the sidelines cheering for his team (sometimes I think that is his favorite part). It's so fun to watch him improve each year. He did mention he might want to try tackle football. When I explained how that would work, Carter decided he should wait "until I'm a little bit tougher". I think we'll stick with soccer for now!