Sister Support

Ellea is such a great supporter of her sister.  She encouraged her to take the plunge and try out for Border Days rodeo when we were discussing the option.

She was on pins and needles watching her sister perform with her horse.  She could hardly handle the stress.

I love how silly they are together.  They have so much fun and love each other so well.

And they're just plain crazy!

Rodeo Royalty

Newest big news around here is that Nicole tried out for rodeo royalty for the Grangeville rodeo last night.  This is kind of a big deal 'round these parts.  It was super exciting and SUPER nerve wracking - even for those of us sitting in the stands cheering her on.

This is something this girl has dreamt of doing for years.  We decided to give it a go this year and see what happened.  There were a total of three contestants trying out for two positions - queen and princess.

We just decided last week to go for it.  Fifteen is the minimum age, but there's no time like the present, right?  Especially when you have the poise and self-determination that this girl has.

The tryouts are a two-step process.  First a complicated riding pattern and then an interview.  Nicole and her horse are quite an impressive team together, so the pattern was a piece of cake.  Here, she gets a last-minute pep-talk from dad.

It had been raining steadily all day, making the conditions less than ideal.  At least it wasn't raining during her ride.

They did great together.  The mud didn't help, but they were still the best team out there.  I know I'm (a lot) biased, but you'll have to believe me when I tell you she rode the best pattern of the three girls.

Now we get to wait an entire week to find out the results.  In the meantime, she will be involved in all three parades and rodeos on the 2nd, 3rd and 4th.  Should be fun, but might kill me to wait that long!!! :)

Mustaches

I "mustache" you a question.....

Isn't it fun being silly?

And crazy?

And having fun with the ones you love?

I think so.

Cat on a Leash

We recently bought a harness for the dogs.  Ellea discovered it also fit her cat, Vandal.  He's not particularly fond of said harness.  He's especially not fond of the harness when there's a leash attached to it.  It may appear that he's being tortured, but don't be fooled.  It was all Vandal's idea.  And he got his way in the end, anyway.

If the above video won't work for you, and you'r dying to see our Cat Torture Experiment.  Try this link.


No cats were harmed in the filming of this video.  :)

Skating Lesson

Our elementary school always takes all the students to a roller rink in Lewiston as an end of the year treat. Can you imagine?  Even kindergartners get to go!!  It's craziness, but they manage somehow.

I went with Morgan last year and attempted to help him skate, but I'm woefully inadequate when there are wheels on my feet.  I don't understand.  I thought I was a rockstar on skates as a kid.  Not really, but I did think I could skate.  Now I'm all stiff-legged and awkward.  It's not pretty.

So, needless to say, I wasn't all that disappointed that it wasn't going to work out to tag along this year.  Morgan wasn't too happy because he thought he needed my help to skate.  (Like I'm any help at all!)  I convinced Ellea to give him a lesson in the basement on the rollerblades.  She did and he loved it.  He went to the skating party and had a blast.

She's a good sister that one.  And she isn't all stiff-legged and awkward when there are wheels on her feet.  That's an important quality in life, if you ask me.

New Driver

Nicole completed driver's ed yesterday and now has her learner's permit.  She will spend the next six months logging at least 60 hours of driving with an adult.

So, stay off the road in the Keuterville area for a few weeks!!  (Not really, she's a better driver than I am.  I should probably do 60 hours of supervised driving, myself!!)

Strawberries

Ellea talked me into letting her make some chocolate-coated strawberries recently.  As you can imagine, they were delightful.

Just look at that.  A thick layer of chocolate over a perfectly ripe strawberry.  Yum!

They were dee-lish-ous!

Yard Work on the Couch

We are at Grandma's again today.  Day three of helping her with some yard work.  Except it's raining outside and my kiddos made a beeline for the couch instead!  She does have another couch.  Glad they like each other so much!

Not sure we're going to get as much work done today at this rate!

Mouth Torture

Nicole is finally done with braces!!  After more than two years of mouth torture, she was ready to be done.

Here she is after removing the top braces.  Woohoo!  Nice shades, too!

It was a long haul, and she was a great sport about it.

That's an expensive beautiful smile!

Yard Work

The kids and I are helping grandma with some yard work this summer.  First on the agenda was replacing some landscape timbers out front.

It was their first time using a drill and they thought it was pretty fun!

Mom had to school me on how to use the skill saw.  She was a pro.  I was not.  

Morgan especially enjoyed  hammering in the spikes.

Nicole insisted we take a selfie.  It was a fun, productive day and we enjoyed helping grandma get her work done.  Of course, Grandma made it worth their while which hopefully motivates them to want to go back again soon!

Mini Rock Pit

All that rock Glenn put down for his barn/shed/shop thingie?  It had to come from somewhere.  Just so happens that our property across the road has a mini rock pit on it.

Only, it doesn't look so mini with our two kiddos hiking around on it!

And the excavator that was parked at the rock pit was definitely not so mini!  Big enough to hide two 3/4 size humans!

And now you know.

Love,
The Poxleitners

Where the rocks are big, the rock pit is bigger and the kiddos are almost grown.

Field of Dreams

Glenn leveled and rocked in a site near our house for a future barn/shed/shop thingie.  Ellea and Morgan promptly adopted it as a good place to play some baseball.....  Sorry, Glenn, no barn/shed/shop for you, I guess!!  Better luck next time!

They even got dad to be their catcher!  And I even played!!  I know - crazy!!  I didn't play well, but I played.  It'd probably been over 20 years since I hit a baseball.  I'm really athletic and drawn to sports.  Did you know that about me?

It was fun, but I was too lazy to go and get my camera.  Curse Glenn's phone camera, it makes it too easy.  I guess I was all worn out from running the bases like twice.  I'm very athletic.  Did I mention that?

Games

We were cleaning out our storage shed a found a few games that have been tucked away for a long time.

We finally have Yahtzee!  How could we have not had Yahtzee all this time?!!  This sweet girl is a lover of games, so it's been fun to try out these "new" games together.