Tees 4-H Wranglers

For many moons (like 11 years), I was a Light Horse 4-H Club Member in Hill Spring. Josh was a member of Light Horse & Multi 4-H for 10 years. In the past 10 years we have assisted with Public Speaking Judging, Record Book Judging and Assistant Leading for a number of clubs. It's safe to say, we love 4-H and now that our kids are old enough for 4-H, we decided to start up a club close to home so that we didn't have to do so much traveling and the community could hopefully benefit from some of our knowledge.

So, we started up the Tees 4-H Wranglers Light Horse & Rodeo Club and thusfar it has been a raging success! We have 19 kids - 16 regular members and 3 Cleaver kids (kids under 9) We have a terrific group of kids and a great group of parents. We have already been to one horse show where our club did amazing considering they had only ever been in the arena as a group once before. Then we had a great Halloween party with all kinds of costumes and games and fun! Now we have been riding and Christmas partying and hosting the 1st Annual Tees Family Dance! So great! Life is good!

Here's some pictures of our club!

Road Trip August 2010

Wow, it appears I have been remiss in keeping up with my blog. So, I will apologize to me 3 followers, lol. In honesty the main reason I even remembered to do it is because Jordynn checks it at school and has been harassing me. A lot has happened since July long, but much of it will be in my Christmas letter, so I will try not to duplicate.

I will save our terrific 4-H club for another blog because there is so much to say and update about how great that is going!

Josh and I and the kids did a 10 day road trip through 2 provinces and 4 states. What a great time we had! Mom and Dad joined us for 2 states and a province ;) We had so much fun. We visited historic Deadwood, South Dakota and had a terrific time at the campground there as well as touring town and panning for gold in a gold mine. Our kids love museums so we spent a lot of time at museums as well as seeing Mt. Rushmore which was amazing, Crazy Horse, which was cool. Old Faithful was also terrific. We did some back to school shopping in Cody, Helena and Great Falls. Here are some pics from our trip.

Family Fun Weekend at Rydyn High - July Long Weekend

July long weekend this year brought people and campers and tents and fun by the boatload to our little corner of Alberta. From the VanderMeer's to the Graham's, some Carlson's, Storey's and Henson's thrown in as well as a few others.

Our weekend consisted of some fireworks, a parade, some water fights, some horseback rides and a whole lot of food and fun. Thanks so much to all who came and made it a blast!

One of my best birthday's ever!

Hoping to spend a little "we" time with my hubby, I planned a weekend getaway for the two of us. What a great time we had!

Josh and I hit mom and dad's for a lovely birthday dinner, then dropped the kids off and headed to the mountains. We stayed at the Sierra West Guest Ranch, home of Randy & Ginny Donahue (Ginny did our wedding photos). We stayed in the most lovely, fixed up old cabin called "The Homesteader". It had all the amenities of home and privacy to go with it.

Day 1, we went for an 8 hour ride up around the Daisy Creek area. Jagger and Bella were great. It was entertaining watching Bella try to go around every puddle, but eventually after the downpour we got, she gave up and went through. The scenery was beautiful and the company was great!

We ate our dinners at Pure Country in Frank. Terrific food and atmosphere. So much fun, so much I could say, but I'll leave it at, one of the best birthdays ever.

Wowee Maui!

I am so glad that we make traveling a priority. So many memories made. We just got back from Maui, Hawaii. What an absolutely amazing place! We traveled with another couple, Richard and Vangi and they were so fun to hang with. Josh and Richard were very much like two peas in a pod. They spent a lot of time face down, ass up in the surf snorkeling while we caught the rays on the beach.

Josh and I at Moose McGillyCuddy's in Kihei. As you can see, Josh was performing a bit :)

This is a picture of the sunset from our deck of our condo. Absolutely beautiful.

Vangi and I at the monster banyan tree in Lahaina after our Sunset Dinner Cruise. Not very often you get the chance to get all dressed up, so we must have pictures to prove it!

The four of us at Aroma D'Italiano.

We did so many things and saw almost all of the island. There are so many great spots to see and so much to do. Tons of snorkeling! We swam with Green Sea Turtles, saw a shark, saw whales in the distance playing, saw an incredible amount of different fish and coral.

Some of our trips included the Road to Hana - which was awesome, Haleakala Crater at sunrise which was okay, but not as spectacular as we were expecting, the Maui Ocean Centre, which was very cool.

The whole trip was fabulous. Can't say enough good things about it, but won't bore you with the details! Can't wait for our next trip.

Proud Mama & Papa

Well, we had a very interesting and busy Easter weekend! No colouring eggs for us! We arrived in Olds on Good Friday at noon. We signed Rylee in and the first two things he learned was not to shake hands with his gloves on and where to keep his gloves when he isn't riding - behind his belt buckle. Pretty funny. Rylee didn't believe Bruce at first, but eventually he tucked them in there!

The first afternoon they taught them how to get off the barrels properly and then wham, bam, load up the heifer "steers". For those of you who know Rylee (all 56lbs of him), when I saw those heifers, I just about choked. Josh was helping in the arena, so I texted him that I thought I might throw up. He text me back and told me to "Cowgirl Up Mommy", so that's what I did. Rylee's first ride was a bit of a train wreck. The "steer" had been leaning on his leg in the chute and she was a bit of a wild-child, so she dumped him in 2 seconds, however, he did manage to do a front flip and land on his hands and knees to dismount! Steer 2 went a whole lot easier and he did a great job. That night we went out for A&W, then Rylee and Josh swam for a bit before bed. A little Reiki treatment on the boy and off to La-La land.

Jordynn got to spend most of the weekend with Nana and Aunty in Eckville which was really nice for her because just sitting in the arena probably wouldn't have been exciting enough for her. Mom took her to an easter egg hunt in Eckville on Saturday and she won a boogie board, so she was super excited.

Rylee got on 5 steers on Saturday. He did awesome. He made a great little friend, Waycee, who was pretty much a tie for same size. The Johansen's were very careful that Rylee & Waycee rode mild steers so that they didn't lose confidence. Saturday night was much the same as Friday only Mom, Terry and Jordynn came down and we went for dinner at BP's in Olds, then back to the hotel. Early bedtime.

Sunday morning we woke up to chocolate easter eggs hidden all over our hotel rooms and throughout the hotel. We had some breakfast and then off to the arena. Tony & Kim and a friend of ours, Nicole all came to watch Rylee on his final day. His teacher, Marla tried to make it before the finals, but didn't get there in time.

Sunday at the arena started badly. The first kid out ended up getting his spur caught in the rope and they couldn't get him off. They finally had to cut the rope off to get him off. He ended up getting air-lifted to Calgary. Turned out he only had a pulled groin, thank goodness. Amazingly all the kids cowboyed-up and got on. The kids rode one steer in the morning. After lunch we had the buckle round. Rylee was 3rd up in the Junior/Newbie round. He scored a 63 pt ride for technique and dismount! Turns out that was the best ride for that group and he won a giant buckle for it. He and we are SO proud! What a great moment.

Kudos to all the Johansen's - especially Don - what an amazing man! What a great weekend for Rylee and for us!

As for Josh, he didn't fare so well. He was in the arena helping out and got stomped and run over a couple times. Turns out he broke his ankle. Hope he can get some kind of temporary fix before our trip to Hawaii!

It's Baby Time

It's baby time at Rydyn High! Sassy had her foal this morning. After a bit of an issue with Rylee's mare trying to steal the baby, we sorted out and Sassy and her little man are doing fine. We have to decide what we are going to call him now. Can't wait for the rest to come. They are so cute!

8 years old already?

So, it's Sunday afternoon and we have had a very busy weekend. Mom and Dad came up on Friday night and we had a lovely barbecue dinner. Some dummies stayed up til 1am visiting though which wasn't so smart considering how busy Saturday was going to be.

Saturday started with 4H for Rylee. Great news - he passed his Level 1 Horsemanship! Way to go buddy! We are so proud. It was great that Nana and Papa were there to see his awesome riding.

After that it was home for lunch, then mom and I and the kids hit the hot tub for an hour while Josh and Dad loaded bales and did chores. Then it was off to town for Jordynn's 8th birthday party.

We had Jordynn's party at the swimming pool in Lacombe. She had three school friends and Shaelynn, Ashley, Kolby and Kael as well. After swimming we had pizza and cake. Yum.

After wrapping up the kid party we all moseyed out to the farm and finished Jordynn's gift opening. She got lots of nice clothes and a few other neat things as well. Greg & Cheryl came out and we had a good visit and some more hot tubbing. Another dummy late night of 2:30am. Not picturing going back to work very well rested on Monday morning.

Now it's Sunday afternoon and I have accomplished absolutely nothing today. Terry is going to take the kids to a hockey game, so I feel a nap coming on...ps

Busy weekend

Friday night we went out to Yuk Yuks in Lacombe with a bunch of friends - what a great time. So many laughs! My cheeks hurt by the time it was over! We are lucky to have such great friends.

Yesterday I spent the day in Lacombe taking my Level 1 Reiki course. What an absolutely amazing time. We were lucky enough to have 3 masters there to teach us, two of whom I have received treatments from in the past. So much to learn. So many amazing ladies with touching stories. I soaked it all up like a sponge. I can't wait to participate in the Reiki group and to move on to the Level 2. I also am looking forward to using it on my horses and seeing how they like it.

Today is a day for playing catch up. Josh is working in the garage on some shelves for the tack room and I am supposed to be working on Farm books for income tax, and yet, here I am blogging away.

I have to say, I don't think there is anything more lovely than sitting in a hot tub in the evening with the lights off staring at the millions of stars. What a great way to end a day!

Hope everyone else had a great weekend as well! I really must accomplish something now!

It's Hot Tub Time!

Yay! After many years of wanting (yes Josh and I can actually wait for something), we bought a hot tub. When we were at the home show in Calgary, we looked at about 7 different companies tubs. We were really taken with the Jacuzzi tubs. While we were chatting up the sales guy, he offered us a trial run in a couple of their tubs at the store in Calgary. So, we took him up on it and were sold. Love the massaging jets and the foot massage jets. It was delivered yesterday and tonight it is finally hot enough to use! So, my plan is to make an easy chicken caesar salad for supper and then have family bonding in the hot tub tonight!

Horses for Sale

As spring approaches, we have some horses for sale. If you or anyone you know might be interested, let me know.

Frosty - 18 year old grey grade horse - This kids horse is bomb proof. He is so great with kids. Our 7 year old has no troubles handling him. Easy to catch, easy to load, will go anywhere and do anything, but does not do it in a hurry. He likes to amble along and is really terrific with kids. UTD on worming and vaccinations.$2200 firm

Muddy - 3 year old bay AQHA mare (RH Muddy Bar Twist) - this little gal would make a great cutting prospect. She is so sweet to work with. Has been saddled and worked on the ground. No flinch, no vices. She will be started under saddle this spring and price will change once that happens. $1500 obo

Sarge - CS Sargeant Muddy - Sarge is a great little 2 year old stud. He is well bred and handles well. We will be starting him under saddle this spring and price will change accordingly. He is a lovely bay. Gelding will take place in April. $1200 obo

Shazam - CS Wright on Knight - Shazam is a very flashy sorrel 2 year old stud. He has great bloodlines and is very well put together. $1200 obo

Email or call for more info: rydynhigh@xplornet.com or 403-784-2558

Foggy Days

Man, it has been foggy around here lately. If it is true that we will get precipitation 90 days after fog, we should have a very rainy May in Central Alberta. Actually, that would be a good thing! We need some moisture so that we can get some hay off this year.

We have had such a great weekend! Friday night we had some errands to run in town and ended up hooking up with Tanya and Ed and having a great visit, some wine and a hot tub. Gotta get me one of those! Saturday we went to Alix Lake to watch my cousin Jack play hockey. Had a terrific visit with Tanya, Kevin, their kids and Aunty Vicki and Uncle Wes. Had some snacks and Kevin and Wes took the boys to Red Deer for hockey pizza and pool party. Rylee got to tag along and had a great time. Aunty Vicki, Tan and Hannah hung around and we had a great chat. After they left, Josh and Jordynn and I played some games, then I slept on the couch while Josh watched a movie.

Today I am going to cook a turkey while Josh and Rylee hook up with the Tees Ag Society to do some cleanup at the ag grounds. It's zero degrees out and I feel we should be doing something fun outside, however, turkey calls.

4H filled weekend!

What a crazy busy weekend. Saturday we had a 4H ride and health workshop. The kids had a fabulous time and were glad to be back on their horses for the first time in 2010. Josh was in charge of the health presentation, so we did height, weight, pulse, respiration, body condition, temperature (yes that included a rectal thermometer demo (Poor Cotton)), etc.

As if that wasn't enough for Saturday, we took the kids swimming in Lacombe that evening. It was a nice family evening out. Unfortunately about 200 other people had the same idea, so the pool and hot tub were very crowded.

Sunday was 4H Public Speaking Day. I couldn't believe that we packed that little hall with family! Thanks so much to Terry, Marianne, Megan and Aaron for coming out to support Rylee - it meant a lot. Rylee did a great job on his speech. His impromptu started out strong, but dwindled off a bit, so he didn't win 1st or 2nd to move to the next level. However, he is the alternate, so if someone else can't go, then he will get to. Oh well, there is always another year! Thanks also to my friends Christine and Michelle who came and helped judge!

Team Canada fans!

Here's a picture of my patriotic kids for the day the World Junior Championships were on. Their artsy dad made them look like proud Canadians! Too bad we lost the game, but they still had fun. They were the only kids in the school with their faces painted.

Surprise Date

Josh surprised me by offering to take me out last Friday, but wouldn't tell me where to. Someone let it slip that we were going on a bus ride which only added to the mystery. Where the heck does one go on a bus when it isn't football season? Anyhow. Turns out Ed & Tanya invited us along with some of their hockey parent pals to go to a Piano Bar in West Edmonton Mall. What a great time. Greg & Cheryl and Boyd & Kari were also along for the ride for people that we knew. Some others we got to know throughout the evening. There was some pretty "amazing" dancing :) A fabulous time was had by all and like a bunch of errant teens we got back to Lacombe and hit McDonald's at 4 in the morning. People in their 30's are not meant to stay up that late and still function the next day!

Hard to believe hubby will be 31 next week - I think he's in denial. Oh well, I am sure celebrating will entail some fun and frolicking.

Josh and I are off to judge public speaking for the Blindman 4H Light Horse Club tonight and the kids are off to the movie with one of their favourite sitters, Michelle.

This weekend will include 4H meetings, 4H rides, maybe a get together with a few friends and then Rylee's public speaking on Sunday followed by dinner out with some family for Josh's birthday. Just another "quiet" Storey weekend!

Time to Build a House

Well, we have the blueprints in hand. Now we need to get cracking on Lacombe County, Apache, other random permits and of course Mr. Banker. So much to do, so much to decide, so little that has been done so far. But, we have prints...

So for those of you who haven't spoken to me in the last 6 months, you may not know that Josh and I are taking a crack at building a house. Depending on how the permitting, pricing and selling the mobile goes, we hope to build this year. If things go sideways on some of the above, then we just keep on planning and tackle it next year. No big deal as we hope to be on this location for the rest of our lives.

If you know anyone who would be interested in buying a 2004 Mobile Home - 16x76, 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, large deck, nice sized kitchen, big laundry room, etc., have them get in touch with us. I think we are listing it for $88,900. Have to talk to the accountant about GST stuff.

If all goes well in the next couple weeks, we probably won't have much of a life this summer, so if you want to see us you'll have to drop by and swing a hammer ;) Okay, maybe we won't put you to work, but if you are able bodied and have a skill and don't want to help - steer clear!

Anyhow, we'll keep you posted on how things go. Keep your fingers crossed that we can get through the first raft of paperwork and get the mobile sold!

4H Public Speaking time

Thought I would do a quick post this morning. School buses aren't running because of pea soup fog, so I had an hour to kill. I have to tell you that having Rylee in 4H is so great for us and yet so strange. I don't feel old enough to be participating as a parent :) One thing that Josh and I are incredibly proud of is Rylee's public speaking abilities. Last year he did a presentation on Rodeo and won 1st in his club. This year he is doing his speech on bull fighters and he did the research and 95% of the writing other than some fine tuning and it is great. He is determined to go to the next level this year, so we are encouraging him to practice, practice, practice. I will have to post some pics of the actual speakoffs on February 7!

One thing Josh and I have learned from Rylee's 4H experience this year is that we have far too much knowledge and ideas to sit back and just be parents. So, since we are currently going back and forth to Red Deer for 4H, we have decided to start our own western light horse and rodeo 4H club based out of Tees next year. Looking forward to all the trials and tribulations that will be involved with that.

Anyhow, best go get the kids ready for school. Later...ps

Happy New Year!

A new year, a new beginning. I try to keep up with this darn thing and yet, here I am months after Mexico, a month after Christmas and just now getting to it.

Our trip to Mexico was excellent. The weather was between +28C and +35C the entire time we were there. The kids adored swimming and hanging out. We took a Pirate Ship Adventure that was amazingly fun. We also did a day trip tour in a UniMog down there into the back country and around that was very educational and a lot of fun. We stayed at a very family friendly resort in Puerto Vallarta that was right next to the Marina so we got to watch the huge cruise ships come and go. One day we caught a cab to the Malecon where we just walked and wandered and took pictures. If you ask the kids what they liked best about they would say swimming. However, I truly believe it was a trip they won't forget.

Christmas this year was spent at the ranch with my family. Everyone was home for Christmas and my mom and dad's house was fairly bursting at the seems with 16 people for dinner and presents and such. But a good time was had! We had an excellent Boxing Day with Mom and Dad and Terry as well sledding, toboganning and getting stuck in the neighbours field.

New Year's Eve brought about another great time with our group of friends in Lacombe. Lots of games and BS and fun. Some of us made it to the hot tub and some us didn't get to bed until nearly 4am (which by the way at 32 is WAY too late).

Since then it's been back to the grind. Work has been plugging away for both Josh and I. We are working at getting our plans finalized and permits in place to build a house this year, but there are a lot of stars that must align for it to happen, so if not this year, then next.

Til I get on here again, Happy New Year from the Storey's! ps