Oh What a Weekend!

It was one of those rare, relatively unscheduled weekends around the Desperate Household.  We had a couple of fun things planned, but weren’t so scheduled that we couldn’t enjoy some down time too.  We have been so busy lately that a relaxing interlude sounded perfect.

This is how it all shook out.

FRIDAY NIGHT – THE WEEKEND BEGINS

Annabelle and I started out the weekend by going to the Friday night performance of the Snake River Stampede.  The first person we saw when were entered the Idaho Center was our favorite friend Kathy the Coffee Lady.  It was like our own Snake River Stampede welcome party.  She is so wonderful. 

Then we made our way our seats.  Our tickets were right by the bucking chutes, which gave us a great view of the cowboys putting their rigging on the bareback and saddle bronc horses, which Annabelle found just fascinating.  A big thanks to Grandpa Vernon for the awesome tickets.

Annabelle was naturally quite enthralled by the Mutton Busting, where kids between the ages of about 5 and 8 ride bucking sheep.  She said that since she can ride Reno with no saddle or bridle she was pretty sure she could ride a sheep too.  I agreed.

Another big highlight was the Snake River Stampeders riding drill team.  When the lights went out and the lighted riders entered the arena Annabelle just said “Wow!”

My pictures didn’t turn out very well, but you can get the general idea.

Annabelle was completely engrossed in the rodeo as she sat patiently waiting for the event she was most excited about – the barrel racing.  That girl does love speed.  After the barrel racing we watched a couple of bull riders and then headed out to beat the crowd from the parking lot.

We had to get home and get to bed so we could wake up early the next morning and go ride our own horses.

SATURDAY – DOWN THE DUSTY TRAIL

We tried to get an early start, since it was going to be a hot day, but somehow wrangling three horses, two kids and one wild puppy always seems to take longer than I think it will.  By the time we caught a recalcitrant black pony, got the dog kennel in the pickup, and persuaded the dog to get in the kennel instead of the kids’ booster seats, the temperature was already pushing 80 degrees.  We drove to the Eagle Foothills, and proceeded to get ready to ride.

Annabelle was in charge of the grooming chores.

Batman and Winston hung out together and watched sissie and I do the work.

Finally we got mounted up and headed out.  I was pretty tired and a little crabby by the time I even got a-horseback, what with the pony-chasing, dog-wrestling, kid-herding and heat exhaustion I had already faced that morning, but I was determined to make a go of it. 

Batman looked pretty cool in his Spider Man sunglasses and hat.  That cheered me up a bit.

Annabelle of course loped up ahead and waited for us to catch up.  Over and over again.

After a few minutes on the trail I started to relax, and the hectic morning fell away from me. This attitude improvement was greatly aided by the spontaneous bursting-into-song of my little Batman.  We were riding quietly along, and suddenly out of the blue my baby started belting out Barney tunes, followed by a rousing rendition of “Wheels on the Bus.”  It was the cutest thing I ever heard.  He just rode along, smiling and singing.  It almost made me cry, it was so precious. 

After about 45 minutes we made it to the top of the first hill.  This is the place where Batman normally demands to turn around and go back to the truck.  For some reason, though, this day he wanted to keep going. 

His sister even convinced him to try to ride with no hands.  He was game for that.

He even tried it going down the trail.  This was a major accomplishment!

Especially since he doesn’t use stirrups.

We stopped after another half hour to give Winston some water and take some pictures. 

This is my posse.  Am I lucky or what?

We eventually made our way back to the bottom of the hill, with one hot dog and two tired kids.  We had ridden for over two hours, which is a long, long time for Batman, especially in the 80 degree plus heat.  I was so proud of him!

We made our way home, and rinsed the horses off with the hose before we turned them loose.  Of course, the first thing they did was roll in the dirt, covering themselves with a fine layer of dust that clung to their wet coats.

After five hours wrangling, driving and riding their ponies, the kids now wanted to play horses, naturally, so they turned on the slip n’slide and hosed themselves off too.

Then they rolled in the dirt just like Spice and Grumpy. 

Nice.

We spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing and doing a few chores around the house.  Desperate Hubby had his first real band gig on Saturday night, so he left around 6:30 to go set up.  The kids and I were asleep early.  The ride had worn us out.

SUNDAY – DINNER WITH TAMI

We got around slowly on Sunday morning, cleaning up the house and listening to tales of Desperate Hubby’s return to Rock Stardom.  He was very happy after his first band performance in almost five years, and it made my heart smile to hear him so excited.

The kids and I headed out to do some shopping for a dinner date we had with our dear friend Tami.  Annabelle doesn’t totally understand the idea that I have known Tami since I was just a little older than she is now, but that is how long we have been friends.

She still looks exactly the same as she did in high school!

Batman wasted no time in convincing Tami that she should play basketball with him.  Despite the fact that it was blistering hot outside she happily agreed.

Batman immediately started showing off with his one-handed throw.  He actually made quite a few of these, which was amazing. 

He learned the shot from his father, Batman, Sr.

Batman pulls out all the stops when he’s trying to impress a pretty girl.  You gotta love his form.  And his basketball uniform.

Desperate Hubby cooked us an awesome dinner of Black Pepper Seared Ahi, Garlic and Bacon Potatoes, green beans and perfectly cooked steaks. 

Then Tami and the kids did the dishes.  By hand.

My kids didn’t even know you could do dishes without putting them in the dishwasher.  But they thought the whole thing was super fun.

Tami had brought homemade peach/berry cobbler and ice cream. It was fantastic! After eating about a pound of that, the kids were all sugared up and ready to play. 

DH and I sat comatose in our recliners and listened to our dear friend count to ten over and over again, then say “Ready or not, here I come!” and race around looking for the hidden children in closets and under beds, until the kids were finally tired enough for me to brush their teeth and herd them toward night-night.

She is a gem.  Thanks for coming over Tami. We love you and you can move in anytime.

Oh what a great weekend it was!