Those two little words..

What two little words, usually long and drawn out, do mom's LOVE (enter sarcasm) to hear most from their dear little children? I'll give you a major hint, it starts being used more often in the summer after school is out. Yep, "Iiiiiiiii'mmmmm booooorrrred." My older son hasn't even been out of school a WEEK and I'm already getting this from him. Of course, he doesn't like MY suggestions (clean up your toys, clean your room, do the dishes, play with the dogs, etc.) and whines. He thinks we should have a day trip EVERY DAY. Rain or shine, he wakes up with a list of places he wants to go to and things he wants to see or do that day. That would be great, if I was a millionaire!!! lol But I'm not, so I'm on the hunt for things to do with the boys that is cheap, easy, and fun. I'd welcome ANY suggestions you may have. I think going to the playground will only last so many days. lol We have a library a block from our house, so that is being frequented already. Thankfully they started their summer reading program, so my older son is super excited to get reading and put his name in for the drawings. They also have afternoon programs once a week that we plan on going to. We do have our zoo, which is rated one of the top 10 in the country. We'll be going to that too. I don't quite think I want to go a week though. They like to try to get me to let them ride the train (it's only $2, but that's $2 that needs to be going elsewhere) and buy souvenirs and junk food. I normally pack snacks and drinks to take so that we don't have to spend $5 on a hamburger. I'd love to go out to the barn every day, but that 1/2 hour drive really sucks down gas and then the hubby would be mad that we moved to a new barn so that HE can ride and we'd be going without him. lol So, any suggestions, I'm open :)

Speaking of new barn.....things are going well. The stalls are actually 12x12 instead of the 10x10 we had. It's nice they have more room to walk around and lay and stuff, but that also means more space to spread out their waste. Yeah, more stall to clean. And believe me, they BOTH have no problem spreading the wealth in that area. lol We went out Monday and we both rode. The older mare's back is clearing up beautifully from that fungus or whatever the heck it was that was making her sensitive and lose hair. Her hair is growing back and she's not sensitive anymore, so my husband decided to ride. I used the barn owner's saddle pad that has the extra padding in the wither area like he suggested. Yeah. My mare freaked out. I'm sure it would help, but I think it just felt too different for her. When I was finally able to swing myself up (she was dancing around mad, like those irish lord of the dance dancers), she started to buck a little. I kept only my left foot in the stirrup in case I needed to fling myself off, but she stopped. She was still really antsy and my whole saddle and pad were crooked. So I ended up getting down and switching back to my old set up. Not a problem. I could tell a difference immediately, even just walking her back to the arena. She was so much more relaxed. I would say don't fix what's not broken, but I think she does need that more padded saddle pad. I might try it again here and maybe try to lunge her and walk around first a little. The rest of the ride went uneventful. Both horses are doing really well and we're glad everythings going good.

I um, sent a little something to the old barn owners. I couldn't help myself. lol With his parting wish for me to say hi to the new people and making sure to let me know he knows them, I couldn't resist. I sent a little semi-sarcastic thank you note. It said thanks for all the clothes they've given us for the boys because that I really was thankful for. And thanks for putting up with my mare, who I know could be a handful (being said tongue in cheek). Then I explained that we left because of a certain boarder who made it uncomfortable for us and that I hoped she didn't ruin fun for his future boarders. I addressed the letter to the barn owner AND his wife because I know the wife doesn't like that boarder who was nasty to us. So she might say something and put that lady in her place. That would please me to no end. I know we'll probably never run into any of those people because we never did outside of the barn in the two years we were there. So it's all good. I let our feelings be known. They could be taken as sarcastic or as really thankful, so I'll let them choose which way they want to take it.

It's rainy here, again. We normally are in the upper 80's for a bit in June. So far we have had maybe 2 days of mid 80's and h-u-m-i-d. I know not nearly as bad as the south is having, but it's so miserable. Not fun to ride in, that's for sure. Hope you all are having a good week and that your summer has kicked off to a fun start, unlike what I'm told is happening in our house. lol