October in Pics

Before November gets too far ahead of me, I figure I better get myself in gear with a review of October! Trouble is, this is such a busy time right now. Currently I sit in the middle of two major press deadlines: one for Western Horse Review magazine and the other, Alberta Bits magazine. And while I remember looking at the calendar to consider all that October had in store, I think I blinked… and the entire month was over.

We started out the month of October at the Canadian Supreme in Red Deer. And I was super curious to see how the new format of the Western Horse Sale would play out. Pictured above is Lot #5, Wimpys Majestic King. With the kids seated in front of me (see pic below) in a pile of dirt (we brought a bunch of tractors), I was able to sit and take in a bunch of the sale and record a few notes. This pretty palomino stallion prospect brought $6,000 for his consignors.

Yep, all it takes to occupy some kids at a horse sale (besides the non-stop action of the auctioneer and ring men,) are a few toy tractors.

On the way home from Red Deer, the kids and I stopped in to visit my dear Grandmother in Drumheller. In addition to visiting family, this Alberta tourist destination is always an opportunity for adventure for us. I love the following picture – I didn\’t realize it when I was snapping, but looks as though a dinosaur is about to eat my Grandmother…

We checked out the world\’s tallest dinosaur. I think this meant walking up something like 88 steps?

And when you get to the top – you have a wonderful view through the teeth of a T-Rex.

The very next weekend my hubby conducted a fairly large clinic in our arena. The turnout was great and the enthusiasm of these hungry-for-knowledge group of cow horse riders was fabulous! And… they brought a pretty awesome potluck lunch with them. <grin>

Next we took the time to drive down to Nanton, AB, to check out a few things I\’ve been dying to see for a while now. On the way to horse shows, we typically drive through this little town numerous times a year. And yet, with horses in tow it\’s always difficult to stop and do the \”touristy-thing.\” So finally, we checked out the Lancaster Air Museum in Nanton – what a fabulous collection of history this is!

Kitty-corner, across the street from the museum in Nanton is Ultimate Trains. You can bet my kids LOVED this place. I think we spent almost two hours there? And that wasn\’t even time spent shopping.

Later in the month, my best friend came for a visit with her twins. Yes, we think it\’s pretty amazing that two best friends each have a set of boy-girl twins too <grin.> The only thing left to consider is – how many of them can you fit on a Gator?

When my bestie came out, we convinced Natalie Jackman into snapping  a few autumn shots of the kids for us. All I can say is, Natalie – you are amazing!

Selling pumpkins is such. A great. JOB!

And then of course, with a brand new batch of kittens in the barn, they needed to be part of the photo-op as well.

After that, it was time to prep for Halloween. I originally thought I had everything in order this year (a first.) I had the kids costumes figured out, on budget, early in the month. Little man was going to be a firefighter. Little girl was going as Rapunzel. I picked up both costumes rather inexpensively and the kids were happy because they choose their costumes themselves.

However, things did not go as planned.

As October 31 arrived, our daughter decided at the very last minute that she no longer wanted to be Rapunzel. Instead she wanted to go trick-or-treating as Queen Elsa, from Disney\’s Frozen.

Okay.

Where was I going to get an Elsa costume at THIS POINT??

Don\’t panic, I thought to myself.

Just do what your mother would have done. Find some old material, a needle and some thread.  Figure it out.

Armed with an old blue fleece blanket and some blue Christmas ribbon and decorations, I designed a no-sew cape and a \”royal\” scepter.

Both kids went trick-or-treating that night, happy as can be!

Immediately following Halloween, Clay and I dove into the preparations for an National Reined Cow Horse Association-approved show we were hosting on November 2-3. Obviously, this wasn\’t in October but so much of the work to get this show done occurred last month that it was an important part of the schedule.

One of our good friends, Roxanne Sapergia, baked these fabulous pies (complete with our brand) for the occasion:

A good time was had by all who could attend. (Mother Nature had big plans for a winter snowstorm that day, which made things interesting). But thanks to everyone who ventured out or played a role in it! Happy November everyone!