Bloggin' Once A Week

At the beginning of this week we gave the greatest surprise ever to our kids--4 horses! We got a smokin' deal on them and they are beautiful!

This one's name is Nitro and he's a beautiful gilding paint. He's about 6-7 years old and needs some training before we can ride him--they all need some training.
This is a pic of the mama, Hopi, in the background and Sisco, the bay, in the foreground. Sisco is the first to be trained and is doing great!

The one with the fly mask on is Scarlet. She is the sweetest thing ever and will probably be the kids favorite to ride--after she's trained.

This is Susan, of course, and her new foreign exchange student, Tonya (that's not how you spell it). She is from Norway and Susan loves having her here. We can't wait to get to know her better. Susan and Tonya came with us to pick up the horses Monday night. We picked them up for FHE with the Durfees (really couldn't have done it without them).
Joann has been training Sisco over at Dad's all week. He's responding really well and may have a rider on him in the next few days. Tomorrow is saddle-day for him. Joann is amazing and I'm so lucky she wants to help us!
Mac and Mischa have loved coming over to Grpa and Grmas every day watching Sisco's training lessons. Actually, all the kids except Peter and Sterling have to see the horses every day. I'm sure they'll get on board soon, though. They are so beautiful and fun to be around. We can't wait to ride!
Wednesday night was mutual night. I'm over the MiaMaids now and we had a tea party and learned "5 Inexpensive Beauty Tips." The girls got to dress up if they wanted and we all had a great time.

Course we had to have a crazy pic, too. What is Sheri doing?

Today finished off the week with our first pre-trek hike. It was kind of last minute, so only three of our kids showed up. It was a beautiful morning, though, and a great hike. I love our ward! This week I also was overwhelmed with finishing the stain on our mudroom floor and stairs down to the basement. It's finally finished and we're moved back in. Now I just have to get the parlor and front entry-way/stairs done. I'll save that for next week. The kids and I are trying to get back into the swing of school. It's been hard, though, when we're on the tailend of a great summer. Anton's doing great at his online classes--I'll try and take more pics next week. Today was a crazy, busy day, but ended really nice and calm--at home for a few hours spending time with our kids. Nothing beats being a Mom! These 10 kids have no idea how much my life is wrapped up in theirs. I love you all--I'll try to get on again before next weekend.