Movie Date

Today, my husband called me at work and asked what I was doing tonight at 7 p.m.  He kind of took my off guard  and I said "laundry?"  He asked me if I wanted to go see Secretariat!  Well of course I did!  It is playing at the theater in Muncy.  So we went on a movie date!  Believe it or not, it's only the 2nd time we've ever been to the movies as a couple in our whole lives together.  When we were dating, we just did not have the money to go to the movies.  Right after we got married, I went to college and we really didn't have the time or money to go to the movies.  And then we had kids - again, no time or money for movie dates.  We've taken the kids to movies over the years, but never went as a couple until July of this year.  Jesse took me to see Eclipse.  It was a lot of fun, but I have to admit it feels a little selfish!  Of course, I had already taken Jordana and several friends to see Eclipse.  And I told Jordana that she could ask a friend to go to Secretariat this weekend if she wanted.

Secretariat is a wonderful, wonderful movie.  Very suspenseful, even though we already know he wins all three races.  Also a very inspiring movie.  Great for young girls to see.  I won't mind taking Jordana and a friend this weekend!

More of the Boys!

Just a few more pics of the boys ~

Addison, Jordana and Grayson - coloring and eating snacks.

Grayson and Addison with Yoshi - who was a great sport and actually played a lot with the boys.  You know how most cats would hide from young boys - he stayed out and left them carry him around all the time. Yoshipurra is a stray who showed up on Liberty and Tommy's patio back in November of 2006 in Virginia.  We went down for Thanksgiving and ended up bringing him home.  Jesse took one look at him and said, "I'm going to K-mart to buy a pet taxi."  There was no reasoning with him - he had to have this cat.  I'm awful glad - Yoshi is a wonderful pet!

Our menagerie includes 5 White New Zealand rabbits.  They are all named for characters from The Walton's TV show.  They are too big for the boys to carry around, but they like to pet their very soft fur.  And of course, one of the kitties (Stripes) had to be in the picture with Jacob, Addison, Jordana and Grayson.

Here is Classy with Jesse, Grayson, Addison and Jacob.  Addison had to write a journal about his vacation and did an entry about big and small animals.  I'm not sure our 15 lb. rabbits count as small, but I'm sure Classy counts as a "big" animal!

Look Who Spent a Few Days with Us!

Tommy had to fly to Atlanta this week for a conference.  And Liberty is only in her second week at Ralph Lauren, so she didn't want to ask for special accommodations.  They haven't been in Long Island long enough to have a close friend who could take Addison to school in the a.m. or pick the boys up in the afternoon if Liberty was running late.  So, the grandparents have them this week!  We have the first half of the week.  And Tommy's parents will have them the second half.  It's been a lot of fun watching them play with the animals!  They seem to love the "farm" and even help with the chores.

Addison holding Gertrude the chicken.

Grayson in the drivers seat and Addison as a passenger.

The horses are grazing in the back ground.

Daisy and Addison looking through the storm door at one another.

Addison said, "She is just like a statue."  But it was all Daisy could do to sit that still!

Grayson petting Mortimer.

Both boys like the steers, but neither like the smell of cow manure!

Addison shaking hands with Setter.

Grayson shaking hands with Setter.

Addison holding Coal, the kitty.

Kate and Classy are hoping he'll scratch their noses.

Grayson holding Stripes, the kitty.

All the kitties get lots of lovin' while the boys are here.

The boys helped gather the eggs.

The hens are so tame, they come up and want petted while you are collecting the eggs.

Addison had to do a journal as homework since he was on vacation from school all week.  We had a great time writing about the animals and printed pictures to glue in his journal.  It was so much fun having the boys here.  We are looking forward to spending lots of time with them now that they live closer!

Snap Shots of the Horses

Just a few pics of the horses enjoying the pasture.


I have to pay tribute to Mac, the horse who started this path we've ventured down. Mac is a wonderful, once-in-a-lifetime horse. He is the smartest and best behaved of all four. He is the smallest, yet is clearly the leader of the pack. He has one speed - slow, and don't try to rush him. He is ever so patient with us as we have been learning how to take care of horses properly. We are so lucky to have him!


This is Classy and Kate. Truly gentle giants. Kind and loving, always willing to stand still for a good nuzzle from one of their people. But all business when they are hitched. They just want to go, go, go. They really compliment one another and are a great team.


Classy and Kate are really two halves of a whole . . . In the pasture, they are often very near one another.

This is Orlando and Mac grazing in the pasture. Orlando doesn't like to be alone, so he always hangs out with one of the other horses. Orlando is the first to come up to the fence to get his nose scratched. He loves attention. Mac is a little more reserved, but still likes to be spoiled!

It's funny how they are often in sync with one another. I couldn't resist taking this picture. It reminds me of Jacob and Jordana when they were little - they were often side-by-side.

Barn Kitties

This is Coal. Super loving, would have been a great house cat. She just wants to curl up on your lap. She is best friends with Jordana's horse, Mac. She can reach Mac's water bucket from the steps and is often sharing a drink with Mac. She sits on the stall front by Mac all the time and Mac will touch her with his nose. And, once, I saw Coal get on Mac's back and curl up. I lifted her off because I was afraid Mac would startle. But Mac didn't. He acted like it was an every day occurrence . . . Who knows what goes on in the barn when we aren't looking!


This is Martinelli. So named because she came from our super neighbors, The Martinelli Family. She is the prettiest cat. Sort of tortoise and tiger all mixed up together. She purrs whenever you pet her. But, she's not the first one on your lap . . . a little more shy that the other two. But still very loving.


And this is Stripes. We brought her and a sister home from the stable on July 4th weekend. We called them Stars and Stripes. But Stars disappeared after a few days. We looked high-and-low but never found her. Stripes is the most outgoing of the kitties. Very social. Always climbing up the stall fronts to help feed the horses. Curls up on your lap whenever she sees an opportunity. She's just a real joy!

Horse Ride & Surprise Visitor!

On Sunday, 10/3, our good friend, Jim, came and went for a ride with Jesse. The girls hadn't been out for a ride in several weeks as we were trying to fatten Kate up a little. Kater Tot had really drained her and she was looking skinny. She's looking good now. Kate is on the far side in the picture and Classy is on the near side. And just as we were done putting the horses to bed, Liberty pulled up the driveway!! It was a wonderful, wonderful surprise!! They were on their last leg of the move to Long Island. Tommy went on to the new house with the boys. Liberty came home to drop off a relative who had flown down to help them pack. We had a short visit and a quick supper. Then she was off on her way to NY.

Jesse and Jim coming home from their ride.


Me, Jacob, Jordana and Liberty. Setter and Daisy are in the picture too.


Jesse, Jacob, Jordana and Liberty.

Hay Ride

We had a hay ride on Saturday night. We roasted hot dogs and made s'mores over the fire. We had nachos and cheese, cider and rice krispy treats. The kids invited a bunch of their friends and we had about 35 people attend. It was a beautiful night, not too cold, lots of stars. The kids wouldn't get near the camera so I didn't get any pictures of them, but I did get some pictures of us adults huddled around the fire.