Soccer State Finals

D's All Star Soccer Team won Districts, so we traveled to Dothan, AL to play in the State Finals. They had to win both games on Saturday to play in the final tournament on Sunday.

D's team played their hearts out and tied the first game 1 to 1.

Unfortunately, luck was not on their side and they lost the tie in a very

nerve-wracking shoot-out.

They played their second game at 5pm that same afternoon and won it 2 to 0.

These kids played awesome and we are so very proud of them!!!

Now D is going to try out for the high school soccer team on Dec. 7...wish us LUCK! :)

Another Beautiful Weekend

After Ida blew through leaving our neighbor's steel cover in our yard, the weather cleared up and was absolutely beautiful. Thank goodness the cover wedged between the fence and the brick shed and didn't blow through our barn. Thankfully, the worst damage done was to the cover itself and the chain link fence. The neighbor's beautiful and very expensive boat sat under this cover. And amazingly after all the ruckus, didn't have a scratch on it!

We got a good bit of painting done this weekend. Got one coat of paint on the upper lever and started the second coat on the lower level. Sorry about the glare of the sun on the barn - it doesn't due the true color justice...

Hubby got creative and put up a sampling of the stall bars. Turned out pretty good, huh?

Another photo of the bars:

From inside the stall looking out:

From outside the barn looking in:

Now for the backside of the barn!! Instead of having a ladder sticking down into the aisle for access to the loft, hubby and his friend got creative:

The stairs and deck will provide a safe way to get kids up and down from the loft. We are talking about making this a really cool play area for the kids...eventually...

Another sunny, glaring view of the barn:

Check out the grass!

We have been so, so fortunate with the warmer weather and right amount of rain. The rye grass
is filling in beautifully. Hopefully this will help us get other grasses established this spring and keep the dirt on the hill. The terraces have made a world of difference.

So, it is progressing right along. Still no idea of when it will all be complete, but hopefully sooner than later. We still have to finish the stalls and the fence. It is so amazing seeing it all come together though. The dream is getting a little closer to fruition! :)

Thank you for checking in....happy riding!

Awesome Weekend!

This was a busy weekend, but a great one! Saturday we traveled to Sylacauga for the U14 All Stars Soccer District Championships. The kids played their hearts out!

Ouch!

Half Time:

Ring around the pole:

This is where our team scored against Talladega to tie the game 1 to 1.

The tie had to be broken by a shoot-out. Each team took turns kicking the ball into the goal. First team to make the most goals wins, but each team has the same number of shots. This is tough, because it can go either way so easily.

We won the shoot out!

Some well deserved celebrating!

This meant our kids got a 15 minute break and had to play a second game against Opelika (who had been sitting on our sidelines watching our kids play for the last 80 minutes)!!

Here's a photo of B in the sun - it was a gorgeous day!

A in the shade:

A's friend sprouted a coyote tail:

A enjoyed filling our empty drink bottles with sand:

She said they were very "heaby."

Second game against Opelika...there were some great moves in this game!!

These great moves lead to a 2 to 2 tie with Opelika; which meant another shoot-out!!!

We WON!!!

We're #1!!!!!

Winning these 2 games put them in first place in their league. They are District Champions!!!

They will travel to Dothan to compete in the State Finals towards the end of November.

We are so proud of our team!!!!



Since we weren't the least bit worn out from Saturday, we hosted a barn painting party on Sunday!

Even as tired as D was after all that soccer, he still worked hard painting!

First coat....whew, and a long way to go!

We still have a lot left to paint, but hopefully we'll have another painting party again this weekend.

My parents brought me an early Christmas present from the Pike Road Arts and Crafts Fair:

I look forward to finding the perfect place to display the running horses on the barn!

Tomorrow Tropical Storm Ida is supposed to dump a couple of inches of rain....maybe I'll have some flood shots to share!

Until next time, Happy Riding!

Check it out!!!

Dreams really do come true (if you beg and gripe enough!) Hubby and his friend will put the new siding on the loft this weekend.


Come on in for a little tour:
Tack/feedroom is on the right:


Future stalls on the left:


Another view of the tack/feedroom:
The guys will finish the walls when they can.


Inside the tack/feedroom:
Some type of paneling will be put on the walls; forgive the mess! I can't wait to hang my new saddle and bridle racks my best friend S sent me for my birthday! You are TOO wonderful!!


This will be the grooming area:
It won't house the lawn mower and 4-wheeler much longer! I will get to hang my beautiful new hunter green crossties in this area....thanks to S! And I will use the step stool/groom box S so generously bought me as well. She knows how us short people struggle to trim ears and bridlepaths!

Outside of the barn. Dutch doors will be built sometime in the future.

Another view of the aisle: (can't wait until it is cleaned out!)

The horseshoes in the concrete belonged to horses of my past and present (Buck, Hamlet, Ollie, Brandy, and even some of Maggie's.) They are at the other end of the aisle as well.

Another view of the future stalls:

The grass continues to grow beautifully on the cross country banks (just kidding...) it is tempting to think about though!

I just keep telling myself I think I am dreaming. I just can't believe the barn is actually being finished! It is soooooo hard to be patient...but it's been 10 years since I had ponies in my own back yard and only in my dreams have I had a barn this nice! (Thank you honey!!!!) I guess he'll have to finally get that 400 inch big screen TV, or boat or motorcycle he has been dreaming about....

Looking like a Barn!

The barn is coming along!! My hubby, his Dad and our friend T worked all weekend to get as much done as they could. It was my birthday on Sunday, so my b-day gift was to work on the barn...and that was aaaaaallllll I wanted. :)

Standing back to admire their work: (T is sitting in the truck, hubby's Dad is standing on the right and that is Uncle R on the left.) Not sure where hubby was....maybe running an errand?


The trim pieces around the windows and aisle door are hard to see in the photos, but I am loving them!!!! The loft will serve as a big play area for the kids...or place for Pony Club meetings...or camp outs...or something fun we can think of!


Stall door openings awaiting their dutch doors:


Framing for the 2 stalls: (we haven't put the divider in yet...not sure when that is happening...)

Stall and big window:

We've got to get a load or two of clay for the floors. I would like to install rubber mats, but I'm beginning to overspend my budget, so they may have to wait for now...)


For now, I am having them leave this area open instead of making it into a feed room. I don't have a lot of tack, so I'll put feed and tack in one room and leave this as a grooming area. If we decide to close it in, it can be done later...(right now it is the storage area for the old mower and 4-wheeler...)


I had to share these next two photos from the Fall Festival we attended Saturday night:
My 3 wonderful kids....(left to right: A as "Super Girl," D as a mixed up New York Yankee sporting an Auburn hat...and B as "Darth Vader" (he refused to wear the mask, so he was kind of just the "Dude in Black"...) (I guess B could have gone as the "Headless Horseman" and let his red hair serve as the pumpkin...)


Then we have "Halloween Costumes Gone Wrong..." These two peas in a pod are well endowed for this age! And yes, one was a girl and one was a boy...you might be able to tell from the photo... :)

Thanks for checking in - I can't tell you how excited I am with the barn progress, but I guess you can kind of tell from my blog. :)
Happy Riding!!