A day at the fair and a day doing nothing..

My oldest child, Travis decided to take the day off.  He has been working like a dog.  This is only his 3rd day off in 40 days that the track has been open.  I think he deserves it.  They are going back onto the regular 8-4:30 weekends off schedule starting Tuesday.  School starts Wednesday and then the kids get Thursday off for Rosh Hashana.  Makes alot of sense doesn't it?  The fair was pleasant.  I had fun watching the different horses going about.  I walked Frostlin, one of the mares for a bit.  She was quite worked up and a bit of a handful, so she really put my skills to the test.  I also got to ride Earl a little bit.  From what I understand he is a Standardbred.  He is broke to ride but is not really a beginners horse.  I found out that the slightest touch of the heel or just a simple kiss will get him off at a rapid trot which had me grasping for the saddle horn and trying to slow him down.  I really need a lot of work on the trot.  My seat gets completely lost, my feet fly all over and my hands come way up in the air.  I don't fall off or come close to it, but I know I look like an idiot trying to stay in the saddle!  The last horse I rode was difficult to get up into a trot but once he did I had the same problem of trying to keep my seat and posture while directing him at the same time.  I'm a wreck!  I think what I need is a large area to practice in where I can trot on a straight way with out having to worry about making turns until I have my seat.  It is hard to learn to ride at the age of 44!  I have a lovely large bruise on my inner thigh that I have no idea how it got there.  Probably from riding.  

This sunflower is in my front yard.  It is beautiful.  We had a helicopter flying over in loops for over an hour near our house last night.  Turns out there was a break in at a house a country block over.  They did eventually catch the guy but I wonder if a helicopter was really necessary.  I suppose the pilots need flight hours under their belts.
Today was a pretty uneventful day.  I slept in until 10:30 AM which was a miracle.  I really needed it.  We went to the mall and ordered Karl some glasses.  I hope he doesn't "loose" them this year.  The insurance he has only allows new glasses every two years.  I'm sure it is a matter of time before Sarah gets glasses unless she gets her father's vision.  I have begun to realize that I really need a new eye exam and I've needed new glasses for a long time.  I think I am going to need reading glasses soon as small print is becoming more difficult and I need to remove my glasses to read under certain circumstances.  I have had glasses since I was 12 or 13.  We also went to Petsmart and Sarah got a algae eater for her fish tank.  We also stopped at Aeropostale and she got a $5 t-shirt.  Now that she likes the more expensive brands, I found that to be quite a bargain.  She wanted to see what the big stink was (literally) about Abercrombie and Fitch so we stopped in there.  The clothes were cute and all very small of course.  I looked at a little pink camisole and got sticker shock when I saw it was marked at $30!  You can buy one at Walmart for a fraction of the price!  The store reeked of perfume and it was quite overwhelming with the loud rock music blaring and the bright colored lights shining around.  I'm getting old.  I did not however see any shirtless young men which would of made the experience much nicer.  We left the mall and went home where I took another nap.  I am tired again and it is only 8 PM.  How sad..  :)
Here are some pictures from the Fonda fair.. mostly animals because that is all I had time to see.  I spent most of the time at the booth for the horse rescue.

 Rich and Karl check out Frostlin

 Earl and Frostlin

Momma mini with her surprise mini-mule foal!

We got some baked goods from this Amish family, we caught them on the way home as they were packing up to leave.  The mini mare had surprised her human family on Sept. 1st with a foal.  They did not even know she was pregnant.  The father was quite apparent as the foal is a mule!