Sandpoint Horses

The reunion weekend was made worthwhile in Nicole's eyes by going on a horseback ride. She got so excited. You would've thought she never gets a chance to ride.

My old friend, Amy, shared her horses with us. Amy and I rode regularly growing up. We lived a few miles apart and were equally horse crazy. We pretty much rode every chance we got. Riding with another person is so much more preferable to riding all by yourself.I rode her mustang, Divot. She rode her new Tennessee Walker, Tiffany. Nicole rode her pinto mustang, Amber. Amy and I haven't ridden together in 20 years. That's very sad. We had a great ride along with a great visit. Her horses were very well behaved. That was nice. I didn't feel like having a rodeo that day.

This is divot. He comes by his name honestly. The "divot" in his neck is something he had when they took him out of the wild. They think maybe another stallion attacked him and took a bite of his neck. Ouch. He stumbles a occasionally, but mostly it doesn't bother him. Makes for a great name, though. The brand is a wild mustang thing. It starts with U.S. and then tells where he came from and other stuff. It must be in hieroglyphics, 'cause I sure couldn't read it!

The Long Bridge

I love the arrival to Sandpoint.

The Long Bridge

There's something about it. I just feel like I'm "home." I don't get all sentimental about Sandpoint typically, which is surprising 'cause I tend to be a sentimental fool! Okay, who am I kidding? I do get a little sentimenal about Sandpoint, but there's something special about that bridge. It's my first glimpse back into my childhood years. My parents. My youth.

The kids were impressed. Ellea suggested they all needed to hold their breath as we drove over it. Turns out, they can't hold their breath that long!

Nicole wanted to know if it was saltwater! It must've looked like a big ol' ocean to her!

Old Friends

I made time to see an old friend from my Sandpoint-days while we were there. Jen and I are thinking we haven't seen each other since my wedding which was 16 years ago. Very sad! We had a fabulous visit and she's still the same fun, bubbly girl I remember! She was SO excited to see me! I wish more people showed such enthusiasm when I walked into a room!! We had a great visit and met her hubby, Pradeep, who she met and married in Nepal when she was in the Peace Corps and their two adorable little girls.Me and Jen with her 2 year old, Raina.

Out of the blue, one of my girls asked Glenn if he would "flip" them. This is something is sometimes (rarely, because I'm always skeptical!) does to me while we are western swing dancing. Jen's girls jumped right in and joined in the fun. This is 6-year-old Asia.

Raina had to be talked into it and once was enough for her! Usually when Glenn starts this, it goes on for several rounds until he can take no more! What a guy--a human jungle gym!

20 Years

Twenty years. How can it be possible that I graduated from High School twenty years ago? As dear Christina puts it (nephew Steve's lovely wife), I'm just old!! Not really. She's just a baby. But still--twenty years?

It was a fun weekend. We hadn't been to Sandpoint for about 5 years and I hadn't seen most of my classmates in 10 years. We had three reunion events and squeezed in some time with a few other non-classmate friends. The kids began complaining early on about how boring the festivities sounded to them, so I gave them this big long speech about how rarely we do things for anyone other than them and their enjoyment. I spent the rest of the weekend saying, "This weekend is about me, so this is what we're doing." So there. It was quite nice. I think we'll have another weekend about me soon!

Glenn was his usual fabulous, outgoing self, encouraging me every step of the way. My self-confidence went down to high school levels the moment we arrived at the first reunion event. Why is that?Some classmates that we had dinner with Saturday night. Patty on bottom left was my cohort in crime (not really) all through Jr/Sr High. Dee and her hubby are at the back of the booth. She was a special cohort at U of I where we both met our hubbies. Interesting factoid: all of the women at this table met their husbands at U of I. Guy on right I totally wouldn't have recognized. He looks very different from high school. Not anyone I knew very well, but very nice. Next to him is another dear friend, Paige. We'd lost contact over past several years, but she lives and works nearby, so hopefully we can pick up where we left off.

Paige struggled with food leaping off her plate as she ate her salad. We talked about my blog and I told her I was going to have to blog about her pile o'food, so here you are. Enjoy.

We've all aged particularly well, don't you think?

My classmates all appreciate my constant need for blog material, so they grabbed my camera when they saw Glenn whispering words of encouragement into my ear and kissing on me a little!

Ultimately, a great experience. We didn't have a wild, hoot-hollerin' time, but as one classmate pointed out, our little group didn't have wild, hoot-hollerin' times in high school either. I used to think Sandpoint was a "small" school. Don't know where I got that idea. I've decided a graduating class of 200 is a little unwieldy. I didn't know and am not particularly interested in knowing the majority of my graduating class. I sure am glad I got to see my small group of friends who were at the reunion. I might just do it again.

A Day at the Pool

The kids and I were in Lewiston a couple days last week. We picked up their school supplies (how can it be time for that already!??) and did a little clothes shopping. We stayed overnight at Morgan's godfather's, Philip's, house. Morgan even got to spend a couple hours with Phil driving grain truck for harvest. That was a big deal.

We all especially enjoy the fact that there is a pool at Phil's house. We made good use of that both days.A rare moment when Morgan and Ellea are getting along!

Ellea making use of all the floatation devices!

Nicole discovered the amazing properties of flippers! She decided she needed "longer" feet so she could swim better all the time!

Horseshoe Champion

The sawmill Glenn works for had a Company Picnic recently. They rented the city pool and hosted a potluck lunch at the park in Grangeville. The kids had fun playing in the pool and watching the pool races and diving contests. My kids don't seem to participate in things like that. They'd rather watch. I was (am) the same way, I guess, but I wish they didn't take after me so much! Glenn joined in the Horseshoe Tournament. Didn't know he was such a talented guy. He and his co-worker partner won. Granted, there were only four teams, but still. . . . He won a $50 gift certificate to the local sporting goods store. He also had his name drawn out of the hat for one of the door prizes--$100 cash. Not too shabby!

There was a group of older teenagers who were offering their face painting skills to anyone who would sit still for them. Morgan was very excited about the Idaho Vandals logo on his arm. I was pretty impressed with her ability. She looked at a picture on someones phone and away she went!

Ellea also asked for the Idaho logo, but got this simpler version. She was a little disappointed. She's probably our biggest Vandal fan!

And then there was this impressive piece of art mounted on Nicole's face. I wanted to carve out her cheek and keep it always. But, alas, I like her cheek right where it is, so the artwork is long gone! Guess I'll keep the picture instead!