Wake's Growing Up!

Ever since Wake saw Margaux lose one of her baby teeth, he has been deathly afraid of his teeth falling out too. When he turned six last September, we were really worried because we knew that loose teeth couldn't be far away. A few months ago we started seeing little wiggles in Wake's bottom front teeth. At first he screamed when we tried to check his teeth. After a while he just cried. And finally, after Alex and Margaux told him all about the Tooth Fairy, he was actually proud that he was losing his teeth! Whew! Here he is, minus those first two teeth.

Life on the Farm

Life on the farm is good! Everyone has now moved in and is getting settled. The kids love romping through the woods and playing in the creek. Dan and I are enjoying the peace and quiet. The horses are getting used to their new routine, and the kids love cantering around the pastures. The dogs, including Margaux's new dog, a Border Collie named Gypsy, are having a blast with all of the new sights and smells. Iris (the cat) is sticking close to home these days, though--I think she is scared something is going to eat her. Here are some pictures from the farm.

Where Is Spring?

I'm ready for spring. I don't do well in winter weather, which we have had plenty of lately. Just a few weeks ago we actually got 6 inches of snow! I must admit it was really pretty--everything was white. But I am SOOOO looking forward to the 70-degree weather, not this rainy, foggy stuff we have been having lately.

In other news, we have found a farm! It's a 35-acre property about 30 minutes north of Greensboro. The house is only about two years

old, and there is already a 4-stall barn, two pastures, and a run-in. We have been super busy moving and settling in. So far, we love it. I will be glad when I can actually stay at home for a while and enjoy the country. We still haven't sold our house yet, but we are going to move out and hope that warmer weather will bring a buyer.

Our lives continue to be dominated by four-footed creatures of the equine variety. We are now back down to four horses--LuLu is now in a new home where she will get the attention she deserves. Flash is still battling the worst sarcoid ever and will probably be going back to State next month for radiation treatment. Jazz recently had an abscess that kept her out of commission for about a week. Trigger is having another bout of mild lameness which has been attributed to metabolic syndrome. Empress is doing well (knock on wood) and she and I are still working hard at dressage.

That's about it for now. See below for some recent pictures.

Ho, Ho, Ho and All That Jazz

It's happened again. The holidays have come and gone much too quickly. We had a wonderful Thanksgiving at home this year. I defied tradition by cooking a ham instead of turkey. In years past I had faithfully stuffed, roasted, and carved a huge turkey because I thought that my children would be scarred for life if I didn't. However, after several pounds of uneaten turkey, I decided to make something that everyone would eat. Luckily, as I found, many of the traditional side dishes go amazingly well with ham. Yum!

Dan surprised me (I mean, REALLY surprised me) with a new horse right before Thanksgiving. I had been getting increasingly frustrated with Flash's lack of enthusiasm for dressage, which I enjoy immensely. My trainer had a horse that she had trained up to 2nd level dressage and she wanted to sell. I took some lessons on her and fell in love. The fifth addition to the Sroka equine family is Empress, a 7-year-old, 15.3-hand, chestnut thoroughbred. Pictures will be coming soon.

Christmas was wonderful this year. We did something new--Alex and Margaux were in the Christmas pageant at church. Alex did a reading and Margaux played an angel. I loved watching the pageant and attending Mass on Christmas Eve. I loved just lounging around the house on Christmas, watching the kids play with their new toys. Here are some pictures:

Of course our new year has already been full of horse events. I have lots of video footage that I am slowly putting into viewable form. Here is my first attempt. Happy New Year!

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Updates, News, and Other Things

Wow! Time sure does fly! I can't believe it's taken me this long to update this blog. So much has happened in the last few months. Wake, Dan, and Margaux have all had birthdays. Wake turned 6 on September 12, Dan celebrated his unnamed birthday on October 12, and Margaux just turned 8 on November 2.

We have had lots of horsey happenings lately. Flash went to State to have his sarcoid removed and treated with chemotherapy at the beginning of August. He was at the vet hospital for almost a week. But as soon as we returned home, he colicked and had to be rushed right back to State. For a few days we weren't sure he was going to make it or if he would have to have major surgery. Luckily, he pulled through with treatment and has fully recovered. He is still going back monthly for more chemo, but the vets are optimistic that his sarcoid is going away. During this time, Trigger also had a bout of lameness, but has recovered with medication and new shoes.

Margaux has a new pony named Jazz. She is a 14h dun pony and she is very cute and petite. She is an older pony with lots of experience. She and Margaux get along extremely well. We are hoping that Alex and Trigger and Margaux and Jazz will be competing in a few Pony Club rallies next year. Here is Margaux with Jazz:

Halloween has come and gone and the kids a great time trick or treating again this year. Our neighborhood really gets into the spirit of this holiday. Many people go all out decorating their houses, dressing up and giving out candy, and even having mini-bonfires in their yards. You can see what cute characters they made this year:

That's it for now. I will post more later!

Pony Club Rally

On June 14, Margaux and Alex participated in their first Pony Club rally. The rally consisted of competition in four areas: dressage, cross-country, show jumping (the riding phases), and horse managment (the off-the-horse phase). Margaux, having just acquired LuLu, participated as a horse manager, assisting her team with making sure their horses and tack were ready. Alex, as a new Pony Club member, competed in the first level of each phase. He completed a novice level dressage test, an obstacle course (in place of a cross-country course), and a ground-pole jump course. Trigger was a real trooper--he was calm and under control and tolerated the 90-degree heat. I assisted with the scoring and learned A LOT about Pony Club rallies. In the end, Margaux won two ribbons and Alex won two ribbons and a medal.

Here are some photos from the day: