Another week done, and a holiday weekend coming up. The weather is back to normal (if you can call "stupid-hot" normal) and the flowers in the garden out back look fabulous from all the rain. The weatherman thinks Gustav will head away from Alabama...for now, anyway...so maybe we won't get blasted again. Even the frogs were drowning after this last storm.
What are the weekend plans? Well, we're headed to the neighbor's farm. We've become part of their family, and they take great care of us. They love Tyler like he's their own, and spoil him rotten. He loves it. Their daughter has Down's, and we're learning so much about it. She's such a sweet girl, and smart as a whip. She's ALWAYS on the honor roll at school. Tyler loves hanging out with her because she loves to watch movies as much as he does. Anyway...back to the plans...we'll be heading to their farm to hang out and relax. Marc and Tyler will go camping over by the pond...Tyler is SO excited to go camping in Daddy's big tent. He wants to make shadow puppets with his flashlight. :)
I'll be working with the horses...Scout and Nani. They both need a major spa day. Scout is my best friend Stephanie's horse, and she's a 3 year old knockout. Talk about gorgeous! She's living here with "Aunt Shannon" for a while, learning how to be a fabulous riding horse. The hope is to take her to horse shows next summer; her formal training officially starts this October. I can't wait! So, we spend time with her at the farm working on her ground manners, and respect for people and their "personal space". Scout has NO concept of personal space. She'd much rather be in your pocket, looking around at the amazing and interesting world around her. She's SUCH a child! She's not scared of anything...just incredibly curious. I've never seen anything like it. She's pretty brave for her age...which is why I think when she's older, she'll be a wonderful companion for Steph's kids...very trustworthy and careful.
We love going to the farm. It's so beautiful and quiet. And there's a pool...major bonus. A big honkin' above ground swimmin' hole. It's Tyler's favorite part of the whole weekend! We take the dog with us, too. He loves to bound through the grass, nose going ninety miles an hour, chasing Pitty. She's the neighbor's dog, and she was pretty much raised out there on the farm. She's a great little dog, and these two pups play together every chance they get. It's actually pretty pathetic; we went on vacation and left Piper next door to hang with Pitty for the week. We came home, picked him up, and both dogs went into this little depression-type phase. Piper wouldn't talk to us, and Pitty started leaving her "calling card" in all the rooms of their house. Good Lord, we had to get the dogs together for a "play date" so they'd get over being seperated. It was crazy. Oh well, at least they get along, right?!
Tyler had an excellent week at school. He brings home some form of art project every day. On Thursday, he came home with a paper plate that he had drawn a smiley face on. He said it was his "I like school" face.
The school has started a reading initiative for the kids...read 100 books during the school year, and you get awards and a party at the end of the year. So, we started reading a book every night. Tyler can read some words, but has gotten really, really good at sounding out the ones he doesn't know yet. Once he reads the word, he pretty much knows it after that. So, Marc sat with him on the sofa, and they read a Veggie Tales book, "Larry learns to listen". It's really cute. I LOVE Bob the Tomato...So there I am, on the computer (where else?!!!) and I'm listening to them read the book. I almost fell off the chair when Tyler read a whole sentence in the book by himself. I swear, this child amazes me every day. He gets SO excited when he reads...he feels like such a "big boy".
Speaking of "big boy", we're starting the process of changing his room over from Pooh to Cowboy. We have to get him a twin bed, do a little painting, and change the stuff on the shelves and the walls. It'll be a fun project, and Tyler is pretty excited about his new big boy room. I'll post before and after photos when we get it done.
Well, I suppose I should head to bed. I'm beat. I worked at the barn today for about 6 hours, picked Tyler up at school, and headed back to the barn to meet the vet. He came out to file down Ranger's teeth, in order to give the old guy a better grinding surface. We think in another 4-5 years, he won't have any molars left at all. Sigh. Getting old sucks. However, the vet asks me every time he sees Ranger..."how old is he again?". I suppose he doesn't think Ranger looks like he's 24, either. :) By the way, Ranger and I just celebrated 15 years together!!! The joke in our house is that I've owned Ranger longer than I've "owned" Marc...
I'll probably post after the long weekend is over. I hope all of you have a great time...do something fun!!!!
I'm Outta Here
2 years ago
