Pony Gypsi

It's no secret that we here at the Smith household LOVE animals. The female Smiths love animals more than the outnumbered male Smith. (Poor Jeff...the only other males in the house are Ace and Marty, and they don't help his side a bit!)

Until recently, the girls were riding Boquet, the horse I grew up riding. Boquet was a fireball when I rode her...she dumped me in the street or took off running for the hills with me on more than one occasion. But the years were good to her; she mellowed out, lost a few teeth, and moved down here with my parents five years ago ready to walk slowly around the arena with Emma and Grace on her back.

My mom had been giving the girls lessons on Boquet since we moved here when they were two years old. It started with them holding the horn and sitting on her, and ended about two months ago with Emma and Grace navigating Boquet like a pro. (Ok...Emma navigates like a pro. Grace WANTS to like horses as much as Emma does, but gets easily distracted during a lesson. "Is that a butterfly over there? Can we go to SoupPlantation for dinner?)

Things were going smoothly until about two months ago...Boquet died. My mom and Megan went up to the ranch, and there she was, in the middle of the pasture, in horrible pain. They waited with her until the vet came...Megan braided her mane, and they talked to her and thanked her for all of her years of lessons. The vet came and put her down, and my mom and Megan both said they had never been so relieved. Poor old girl! Boquet was 36 years old...unheard of for a horse.

When my mom and Megan came home, we all knew it was time to tell the girls. The girls haven't had to deal with death in a big way. We told Grace first, and Grace just put her little forheard onto the counter in front of her and closed her eyes. Seconds later, she opened them, and said that at least Boquet was in Heaven. (Remember, she's my little spiritual gal!)

Later, when Emma came inside from playing, we told her. I have never seen her more upset. Her face turned a multitude of splotchy colors. She went into her room and cried until there was nothing left. My little Emma, who never misses a cuddle or a snug, didn't want to talk to anyone.

Two months later, life had gone on, but Emma was still having major horse-missing episodes. She would get very quiet, very sad, and tear up. Any horse reminded her of Boquet. We decided we should get her back on a horse.

My mom is the best horse-lesson-giver in the universe, but without a kid-friendly horse around, we had a teacher but no horse. I decided to look into lessons. Around the same time, Megan got a horse, which just made Emma more determined to ride. When I went to the ranch where Megan was keeping her horse and checked on lessons (some of the most affordable in the area) I found out that they were going to be around $30.00 a lesson. Multiplied by 2 (for twins), 60.00 a week. Multiply by 4 weeks in a month....Yikes! For both girls to ride once a week, it would cost 240.00.

I decided to look into buying a pony or a horse. I thought, "I'll just research it for now, and talk to Jeff about it." Jeff was surprisingly open-minded, and although he wasn't completely sold on the idea, he went with us on a Saturday to go visit Gypsi.

Any smart person knows that if you VISIT a litter of puppies, or if you VISIT the pound "just to look," it always ends badly. You never leave without a puppy/dog/cat/and in this instance, a PONY.

Gypsi is seven years old. She's tall enough for a small adult to ride, and gentle enough for the girls to ride. Her trot and canter have some "get up and go"....she's not one of those slow, boring ponies.

We are in love with her!

Now, after school, Megan, the girls, and I all go to the ranch and brush, lunge, and ride. Megan's horse is named Tex...he is tall and polite. If he were a human, he'd be a Southern gentleman!

When we are done, we all get into my truck and head home. We talk and laugh and drive through the creek that seperates Murrieta (city) from Murrieta (country). I'm having an absolute BLAST, and who knew? Six months ago, if you had told me I'd put on a pair of my mom's old boots and get dirty and horse hairy, I would have told you that you were crazy. But watching my girls fall in love with little Gypsi, and being outside, and looking into her big pony eyes when she sees us coming with our pockets full of carrots...it's the most fun I've had in a long time!

The coolest type of surprise is when you surprise yourself!

Movie Stars and Tea

Doll holder in the bathroom!

Los Angeles...a mere hour and a half away from my sleepy little suburban town, but a world of difference! For the girls' sixth birthday, we were off to the American Girls Store. There are only three American Girls Stores: one in Chicago, one in New York, and one in LA. LA it was, and I told my mom that I was convinced that we were going to see a movie star.

Now...I've lived in Southern California since 1993. You'd think I would be over the idea that it would be cool to run into someone famous. You'd think...

However, you can take the girl out of Bishop, but never Bishop out of the girl.

So...I had our entire carload (Megan, Mom, and the girls) diligently scoping out movie stars.

(Jeff lucked out, and his masculinity wasn't questioned since he had to work. The American Girl Store is like Disneyland for little girls; every poor dad and brother that we saw there looked like they were in a world of hurt!)

On our way to The Grove, where the American Girl Store is located, we saw the Hollywood sign. (Emma and Grace think it's called HollyWorld.) We say the high rise buildings, Nickelodeon, CBS, CNN...but no movie stars. Not a single one.

I remained hopeful. The last time I went to the LA area was when I took Grandma Otti to Huntington Gardens, and we saw Jennifer Garner filming a scene from Alias at the museum! Don't think I didn't FULLY take advantage of the fact that I had an elderly woman in a wheel chair in order to sneak digital photos AND get up close.

Another time, Jeff and I saw Jarod Leto at Citywalk near Universal Studios. This was in his My So-Called Life Years, and I was giddy with excitement. I stealthily trailed Jarod Leto (Jeff would say I chased him) until I drew a large crowd of freakishly loud girls, and then I backed off. After all, what do people actually SAY to someone famous once they "catch up" to them? That seems like it would be awkward.

Other than a quick Disneyland sighting of Mark Hoppus (one of the Blink-182 members), and a Melrose sighting of the cheesy Kid-n-Play (a rapper with crazy hair), my search celebrities has been fruitless.

Continueing on our quest to see movie stars, we thought we hit the jackpot when Grace shouted out, "I see Hannah Montana!" For those of you who don't live with a girl between the ages of 5 and 13, Hannah Montana is a show on Disney Channel starring Mylie Cyrus. That's right, Cyrus. As in Billy Ray's daughter. Billy Ray Cyrus plays her dad on the show. ANYWAY, Hannah Montana is a very big deal! Like the Beatles for elementary and preteen girls! We looked around in excitement...did Grace REALLY see Hannah?

No. No Hannah. It was merely a limousine. However, Grace was pretty sure that Hannah MUST be in that limo, because who else rides in a limo?

Overall, it was a disappointing day when it came to movie star sightings until we were going into the Cafe for tea at the American Girl store. I heard a voice behind me say, "Where do I know you from?" and another voice say, "Desperate Housewives."

I cautiously looked behind me. Was it Terry Hatcher? Eva Longoria? The dude who plays Carlos?

No...my "movie star" was one of the employees of the American Girl Store. She was on the show, but she played one of the angry mothers during Gabriela's stint as a beauty pageant advisor.

My mom and I were dieing laughing as I had her take a photo of me with my "movie star."

Maybe next time I'll meet Reese Witherspoon and her daughter as they sit sipping beverages at Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf.

Awww, who am I kidding? My real movie stars are my shining almost-six year olds. Their autographs are more precious to me than meeting any movie star in the world!

Wrapping up 2006

Christmas 2006 may be my favorite one yet. This is probably because it seemed that this year we were able to get to the heart of what Christmas is all about.

The season started when, in late November, Grandma Otti turned 90! She amazes us with her witty comments and feisty ways. I can't imagine what the world will be like when I'm 90, but my prayer is that my children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren will gather around me (as Grandma Otti's did) to celebrate.

Before school got out in December, Emma and Grace's Kindergarten put on a production of The Nutcracker. Emma and Grace and the girls in their class were the sugar plum fairies, and I'm telling you, there is nothing cuter than a five-year-old in a tutu doing plie's to Nutcracker music. My mom, dad, Jeff, and I were laughing so hard. I adore the girls' Kindergarten, and their teacher, Mrs. Sehorn. She exemplifies what a Kindergarten teacher should be: not only is she patient, kind, loving, and sweet, but she knows a lot about how a five-year-old's brain develops (when they're ready to read, etc.). To top it off, she has this creative side, and she'll bring in her surfboard and tell stories about how it is made, or slide down the slide at recess. She also goes to our church, and when the girls see her there, you'd think they saw a celebrity.

Jeff and I made no traveling plans for our holiday. We just stayed home with the gals, and cooked a lot, caught up on movies, and worked a bit on our house. Jeff made me the most beautiful bookshelf I have ever seen (you can see it in the corner of one of the pictures). ALL my books fit on it, and also a lot of the children's books I've collected (some from when I was little and some from along the way.) Jeff is so good at building things. He has a lot of our friends asking him to build shelves or entertainment centers for them as well. I'm amazed at his talent.

Christmas Eve was at our house this year. It was the best! We had a hot chocolate bar for the kids, complete with different types of shaved chocolate, cinnamon sticks, candy canes, and marshmallows (plus some Bailey's for the adults). I also made Oprah's Pomegranate Martinis (they were a hit!) and my mom's Chicken Tortilla Casserole (a Christmas Eve tradition). The kids tracked Santa on the computer, and we just hung out and enjoyed each other.

On Christmas morning, we opened presents at our house (see pic of the girls coming around the corner to see the tree...bookshelf in background!) and then went up to my parent's house. This year Grace received the infamous "Santa". Santa is a hideously ugly toy Santa that my Grandma Irene (?) gave out one year (years and years ago). Every year, we wrap it up, and someone new gets it. The year I got it, I was terribly disappointed, it being my LAST gift! This year, however, when Grace got it, she got so excited! "I got the Santa! Yeah!" She held the ugly thing on her lap half the morning! Grace secretly plans to give it to Emma next year. :)

Our wonderful Christmas was coming to a close as we sat down for dinner without Miss Emma...our poor gal was tuckered out. She had passed out on my mom's Lazy Boy and slept through the dinner, waking up much later to eat her dinner while all of us had pie and played charades. Sometimes taking a cozy nap in a warm house full of people you love is the nicest way to wrap up a holiday.

Camping Queens

We had a quick November camping trip at Woods Valley Kampground in Valley Center, outside of Escondido. We camped with the Saylor family, and it was so relaxing! We napped regularly, played poker, walked to the campground fishin' pond and petting zoo, and let the ladies ride their bikes and scooters around.

The campground petting zoo was touted on the internet as something worth seeing, featuring a pig, a goose named "Silly Goose", some goats, chickens, and ponies. Unfortunately, only the ponies lived up to the website's description! The pig was a GIANT FILTHY BEAST, lying in a mud pit between some wire fencing. It got up once, and was the size of a small horse with squinty eyes and a mud-caked hide. When Sophie (our pug) saw the pig, she threw up! (Probably not in disgust, but rather from eating stuff the kids dropped...but still pretty dang funny!) Silly Goose, we found out, met her maker last year when she was eaten by some coyotes. (We told the girls that the goose flew south for the winter.) The goats had to live lodged between the stinky pig pen and the chicken house. Overall, yuck!

When we got home yesterday, Grace was still talking about washing the stinky pig, and Emma was cracking up that the pig was so stinky it made our dog barf!

A Fancy Evening

The girls, Jeff and I, along with some friends, went to see a performance of Riverdance at the Orange County Performing Arts Center. We got MIGHTY dressed up (using our Christmas outfits more than once this year!) and went out to dinner beforehand.

I thought Riverdance would be cheesy... some crazy dude in an oversized white shirt showing too much chest kicking his legs up in the air a million times.

It was not what I expected! Yes, there were Irish dancers, but there were also a lot of musical arrangements (probably one musical arrangement for each dance). Jeff and I love Irish music, so we were very suprised! There was also an entire number where two modern tap dancers were contrasted with the Irish dancers...sort of a "competition". It was awesome.

Emma watched very contently, and got a little bit bored midway, but Grace was literally on the edge of her seat (my lap) the entire show. Every time there was applause, Grace clapped loudly. She shimmied and boogied in her chair, and then came home wanting to call Grandma's house to give details. My little performer...I know a stage awaits her!

It's Fall

In Murrieta, Fall is evident in small ways. Here and there, a tree has changed colors, almost half-heartedly, knowing that the winter ahead will be mild. Every few miles or so, a feed store or gardening company puts out its fall pumpkin patch, complete with a petting zoo and corn maze. Although we don't have splendid "take you breath away" fall spectacles, the feeling of fall is still in the air. It's in the pencils in their yellow boxes, stacked perfectly in the bins at Target. It's the neighbors, who change the decor in their yards to reflect the harvest season. It's the coolness at dusk, prodding us to grab a sweater, because we know we won't be lingering in the hot summer air. It's in the feeling of rain coming, the pumpkin latte's at Starbucks and pumpkin crumble cake at Costco. It's in my daughters' laughter as we get down the "fall bin" from the garage, with its squirrel napkin holders and yellow and orange placemats. It's the glorious idea that Halloween is near, and they'll be able to change their identities for just one evening, knocking on strangers' doors and eating bunches of candy. It's the glorious feeling of knowing that Thanksgiving and Christmas are on their way, and that family and celebrations will become the focus. As a kid, I listed fall as my least favorite season, but now I think it competes with winter as my favorite. I love the coziness of fall, evident in my house, full of yummy smells like apple cinnamon candles and food in the crock pot.

Senior Prom: 2018

I'm trying to imagine senior prom night at our high school in twelve years.

Emma will be poised in a floor-length, modest gown. Her date will arrive in his mother's Honda with a lily corsage which he'll politely tie on her wrist. His name will be Walter. He will wear a simple, black tuxedo and his cumberbund will match Emma's dress perfectly. He will pose politely for pictures and his straight, white teeth will later stand out in the prints. Emma's date will take her to the Black Angus and they will order the prime rib. They'll share a lava cake and drive straight to the prom, where they'll dance and chat and hold hands.

Grace will consider not attending the prom, but change her mind at the last minute when a boy named Leaf asks her to go. He'll pull up to the house on his Vespa scooter or in one of those little cars that looks like it's from England and belongs to Mr. Bean. He will wear checkered vans, Dickies, and a powder-pink bow tie, and Grace will opt for a non-traditional outfit...sort of like Molly Ringwald's homemade prom dress from Pretty in Pink. They will drive to a vegetarian restaurant near the beach and order soy chai lattes and organic spinach salads. She will arrive late to the prom, ditch Leaf, and dance with a few of her girlfriends. She'll hitch a ride home with Emma and Walter, and convince them to stop for blueberry crepes at IHOP on the way home.

Both girls will make it home before curfew. Our family will be awakened at 1:00 AM by Leaf, standing outside of Grace's window with music playing, just like John Cusack in Say Anything (only Leaf will hold up his IPOD and speakers instead of a boom box.) Grace and Emma (still sleeping in the same room even though they've had separate rooms for 13 years!) will giggle in bed as the music fades.

Ballerina Girl

When Emma "moved out", (see blog below) Grace decided to go for the "totally girlie" room of her heart's desire. The result...Ballerinas. Dancers. Ribbons. Boquets. Pink, pink, pink. Tutus and ballet slippers.

Gracie spins and leaps and pirouettes through her little life, happy to have her own room, with her own desk for Kindergarten homework, and a sister who will spend the night with you six 1/2 days a week!

A pretty good deal!

Horses, Green Paint, and Snorin' Sisters

Emma's new room is a horse room. We love it! It looks like a giant quilt. She has my old trundle bed, denim curtains, a patchwork, horse quilt, bright green paint, and a new wood floor.

I decided that the girls needed to be in separate rooms because they spent way too much time giggling and messing around when it was time for bed. Since this was the room's millionth transformation, we wanted it to be perfect! We spent lots of time tearing out the carpet (me), painting the walls, putting up the wainscotting, laying the wood floors (that was Jeff), and putting my old bed back together after moving it from the playroom.

The result? A beautiful room that Emma likes to play in but has only slept in once.

Once!

Why, you ask? Emma says that if she sleeps in her new room she'll get scared and miss Gracie.

"What will Gracie do to help you if you're scared?" I asked the other night.

"I don't know...she's just there. I can listen to her breathing," Emma replied. "And she snores, but that's OK."

My girls...former "womb" mates who are comforted by each other's steady breathing in the night...even if there is snoring involved.

Everyone should have someone like that.

Gracie's Prayer

Dear Jesus,

Hi. It's Gracie. Jesus, thank you for all the stuff you make. Like chairs. I can't figure out how you do it, Jesus. And...oh, Jesus? I would like to hop on one foot with you. I know you're busy, but it would be fun. And Jesus, thank you for Kindergarten. Also, Emma and I really, really want to fly, Jesus. Can you make that happen? And maybe you can make Marty and Sophie fly too. That would be fun.

And Jesus? I lub you. I can't figure out how you made all the stuff. Thank you again for flowers, Jesus. I lub them, but I don't like weeds. They make my nose itch. And Jesus? Um....talk to me in your heart. I lub you...

In Jesus' name, AAAAAA-men.

(Note from me: I tried to remember all of the quirky things in Gracie's prayer last night. I know I'm forgetting a lot of it. Her little prayer just touched me! )

Pet Sagas at the Smith House :)

Our pets must be the strangest and most patient animals in the universe! First, there's Miss Sophie, who often enjoys rides in the "play" shopping cart or stroller. Sophie has worn many dress up clothes, often portraying "the baby" or "the grandma" or "the princess" in Emma and Grace's imaginary world. Sophie doesn't do much complaining...she kinda hangs with it! (I think she secretly loves all the attention.) Lately Sophie has been gaining a little too much weight. We think she's been dippin' into the other dogs' food, and we recently discovered that one of Emma's hobbies is sneaking Sophie bits of food under the table. Now, Miss Sophie is on a diet. :( We're worried she'll start to resemble a bowling ball. (Remember, this is the pug who ate up a tin of Christmas chocolate and ended up in the vet hospital overnight!) Already, everyone in the family has started calling her "Fat Piggy." Sophie doesn't care, as long as there's a warm lap to sit on.

Then, there's Marty, the new guy. Marty was at the pound in Riverside (a death sentence for many dogs) and was found by a rescue group who had him in a cage in front of Petco. Danielle and I were on one of our "we need another pet" rampages...the often tragic result of growing up in a house full of pets. We had been looking at the pound online, and we decided to check out Petco. Once we saw Marty's 1/2 pug tail, it was love at first sight! We brought him home and he fit in immediately, ripping around the house and snuggling on the bed. Grace named Marty after the Zebra in Madagascar. Whenever Grace says his name, she says it with a silly accent, kind of like "Mawwwty". A bit British, a bit southern, with a twist of New Jersey. That girl cracks me up!

Marty is half pug, half....something. We think it's chihuahua because of his overbite (see picture), but then again he can jump as high as any Jack Russel Terrier AND he looks like a fox. He also has the habit of sleeping on his back, wherever he is.

One problem is that Marty likes to chase Miss Priss. Miss Priss is SO over Marty. She hangs out in my sink most of the time, and when she cruises around the house, she uses all high surfaces to move from room to room. Any floor time means Miss Priss is scurrying, which only adds enthusiasm to the chase. The only dog who likes Miss Priss is Sophie, (Fat Piggy) who gazes adoringly at her and sits next to her, as long as the other dogs aren't looking. Sophie's got a reputation to protect with the other dogs.

Recently, Emma decided to hook Marty up to the shopping cart like a reindeer. (He actually reminded me of that dog in The Grinch cartoon...) She put Sophie in the cart and they toured the house. What an entourage!

Acer Dog, old and raspy, is spending a lot of time snoring and sleeping. The rest of time, he barks at people (or noises) at the door. He recently had to go on "Puggy Prozac". (That's what we call it, anyway.) He was getting so worked up and his breathing is so bad that he sounded like a dying beast. We're waiting to see if Puggy Prozac works.

Aren't we Smiths and our pets a fascinating bunch?

Kindergarten Rocks!

My gals were ready to go to Kindergarten. They were pumped. They were giddy. They were anxious. They were (sort of) nervous. But they were ready.

They were so ready that although they have afternoon kindergarten, both of them were up and dressed the first day at 7:30 (when I go to school.) Jeff took them on a walk with the dogs and they wore their backpacks even though kindergarten didn't start for another couple of hours.

Although it was my first day of school too (teaching), I was able to leave school to go to the first day. Jeff and I sat with all of the other parents as Mrs. Sehorn read "The Kissing Hand", a book about a little racoon going off to school for the first time. His mother kisses his hand, and he's able to put his hand on his cheek all day to remember his mother's kiss. All of the parents kissed their kindergarteners' hands, and the kindergarteners kissed our hands, and we left. Emma and Grace were ready. "See you!" they said, and turned back toward their class. Jeff and I walked out, both of us in shock and amazement that we've come this far. Our little ladies will never NOT be in school again, until they're grown up with jobs and kids of their own. I think it tripped us both out a bit!

It was an especially important day for Jeff. I think he savors every moment just a bit more since he missed so many milestones with Matt. Being a part time dad was always tough on Jeff, and now that Matt has moved out of state--and doesn't try to keep in touch...:( :( :( ---Jeff knows how fleeting the time is. I'm so happy to watch him being a daddy EVERY step of the way. He's in his element, and happiest when he's with "his three girls." And hopefully Matt will mature and leave the late teenage "I don't care about you" years behind enough to realize how much his dad adores him. (We all do...) That's my prayer for the future.

Embrace your family today. It goes by quickly!

Dawn

Bishop: Home for Jenni's Wedding

There's something about growing up in a small town. It sticks with you, no matter where you go. Part of you is "small town" no matter how many freeways or Starbucks surround you. You never let it go.

We paid a visit to my little town at the beginning of August, taking the trailer on its most exciting (and long) adventure yet. It was my friend Jenni Smith's wedding. Jenni and I became friends in 7th grade, and have remained close ever since. She was married in the mountains near Bishop at Cardinal Lodge. Her wedding was in a little meadow with a stream running behind her, and the mountains towering over her. It was just beautiful, and I'm so happy for her!

Jeff and I and the girls camped in our most "mountainy" place yet...Creekside RV Park in Bishop. There was a little fishing pond at our campground, and Grandpa Tom and Grandma Patty came on our last night there so that Grandpa Tom could take the girls fishing. I think Grandpa Tom has been the first person to take every kid in the family fishing! The girls didn't catch anything, but they had a lot of fun and took it very seriously!

We ate a Schats twice! I never went there when I actually LIVED in Bishop...too touristy. But now, Jeff and I stood in line with all of the other crazy people, waiting for a taste of their delicious bread. We even brought some back for friends down here (although Emma and Grace gave some bread to the ducks at the park.)

Going "home' was so nostalgic! Around every bend lurks a memory. Jeff heard running commentary....there is where we found Buff dog, abandoned and sleeping in a tire. There is the little yellow house I always loved. There is where I ate lunch at the park in high school. There is my favorite bookstore (the little used one behind Vons...) There is where I learned to drive. There is my old bus stop...I remember a bush of wild roses that bloomed nearby. I remember the idiotic boys on the bus who loved to torture us. There is where I took dance lessons. There is the drug store my sister and I would walk to in order to buy stickers, gummy worms, and anything else our quarters would supply.

Jeff and I met in Bishop, long ago, and we laugh at all the silly things our teenage selves were once up to, working at Firehouse Grill, staying out past curfew (when I should have been studying for the SAT's!), walking back to school after lunch. We showed the girls the church where we got married, and they kept asking, "Do ALL people get married at that church? Why did Jenni get married outside?"

I remember my mom and dad driving me around all of their old hangouts in San Diego, and I felt the memories hanging in the air like perfume, imagining my dad pulling up in his loud hot rod to pick my mom up for a date. I was fascinated to see their old houses, their high school. The girls felt just the same about Jeff and me. Very cool!

Enjoy the pictures.

Dawn

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