More Riding Lessons

The big girls have been having a fit to take horseback riding lessons, so a few weeks ago we signed them up with this lady that does lessons in her backyard.  She is really cheap, gives hour long lessons, and the girls are having a great time with the horses.

Thank goodness Rachel is okay with the big girls getting to ride and her not.  This lady has LOTS of  animals at her house, so Rachel does enjoy checking them all out, and she loves playing on a slide and in a play house that are there. 

A Great Day For A Walk!

Today was our walk for Down syndrome awareness.  Unfortunately, it is no longer named the Buddy Walk, because NDSS copyrighted the name and required a large fee for its use.  Our organization wanted to keep all the money to help the local Down syndrome community, so they opted to change the name.   

We had amazing weather!!  It is usually VERY hot and sticky or it is raining.  Today was picture perfect.  The temps were comfortable and the wind was blowing.  It was perfection.  This year saw a record turn out and record donations totalling of $35,000!!!  It is so neat to see so many people come together for a great cause! 

When It Comes To Running.........

.....I have always been a sprinter.  Even as a kid, I was really only interested in running shorter distances.  I loved to run when it meant racing at top speed from one end of the yard to the other or around the house once or twice, but I never even entertained long runs.  My cousins and I would race every Sunday at my grandmother's.  I was one of the fastest, but one of the oldest too. 

Anyway, apparently in all aspects of my life, I am a sprinter.  I jump off to a great start and maintain the speed for a short while, and then I am done.   I present my blog as evidence.  I got off to a pretty good start on the 31 for 21 blogging project and even added a blog or two while entertaining company for a weekend.  But, I quickly faded and have totally lost my rhythm. 

Unfortunately, life is a marathon..  In life with Ds, there are lots of marathons....sometimes lots of marathons are going on at one time.  I am struggling to keep up the pace.  I actually never really even set a pace, LOL.  When I found out I was expecting Rachel, I prayed to God for patience.  When she was diagnosed with Ds, someone told me she would teach me patience.  As the saying goes, be careful what you ask for, you just might get it!  I guess I better start training for a marathon.  Over the last seven years I have fought tooth and nail to remain a sprinter, but it is time to change gears.

Horseback Riding

I am not doing too well with this 31 for 21 posting...........I knew it would be a struggle, but my does time fly by.  I think I have just missed a day or two and am surprised to see how many days I have actually missed.  I cannot seem to get caught up from having company last weekend.  Well, that is my excuse and I am sticking with it! 

We have had beautiful weather here this past two weeks.  It has been nice to be outside when we have the chance.  Thursday afternoons, Rachel does her horseback riding.  Below are some pictures from this past Thursday.  I cannot believe how big Rachel is looking these days.

We Are Still Recovering From All The Fun

We had a very busy, but fun, weekend with our friends.  It is amazing how much sand seven kids can bring home from the beach.  I am still sweeping sand out of my house!   The kids were constantly on the go from early Saturday morning until Monday night.  They kayaked, went swimming, went to the beach, went shark fishing, and played on the water slide a neighbor let us borrow.  They also argued, complained, whined and told on each other, but generally a good time was had by all.  Tuesday morning, reality reared it's ugly head, and I fought an heroic battle to get the kids off to school.  I am not sure how, but I managed to get them out of the house and to school on time.  Our company left about noon on Tuesday, and that evening we were all worn out.  Even today I am still recovering from the hectic weekend.      

Rachel really enjoyed the water slide this time around.  In the past she has not been able to climb up the slide by herself, but this weekend she proved that she is indeed growing up by showing us she has mastered climbing up the water slide.  It was so much fun to watch her do it on her own.  I have tried to upload a video of Rachel on the slide, but it is not working right now.