The Brittons

I could probably divide this post into several posts, with the amount of things we've had going on in the past month. It has been a whirlwind, to say the least, but all good things!  It seems like so much has happened since my last post.  Two days following our return from Nebraska, the kids started school at New Haven; 1st grade and third grade.  The first day and all of them following have been great.  Owen has had ZERO issues with getting on the bus and going to school.  It is still a chore to get him up in the morning, but he can be motivated by cartoons or the threat of not getting to watch them.  Gracie is always up with her alarm and needs very little direction in the morning besides little reminders to put her lunchbox in her bag or remembering that she has library so she needs to take her books with her.  She is usually asking for one of us to go play catch with her before school, too.  They both ride either their bikes or skateboards to...

The time has come for kids to return to school.  It doesn't seem possible that summer vacation is done.  They will return to New Haven Elementary School in Columbia this fall.  We had the school open house last Thursday where they found out who their teachers are and some of the students who will be in their classes.  Owen will have a bearded dragon as a class pet, which he is super excited about.  One of Gracie's friends is in her class so she's pretty happy.   I went out to tell Gracie and Owen that Olympic gymnastics was on and this is how I found them.  Gracie said "Maybe in 10 minutes, mom.  We're kind of busy." I asked the kids to make a list of things they would like for their birthday. I don't think Gracie is asking too much; just a few simple things.  (She means a gymnastics bar, by the way) We took a final roadtrip to the Sandhills of Nebraska before the start of school.  While the purpose of our excu...

I never imagined that losing a horse would be as difficult for me as it was to say goodbye to Bullseye.  It's amazing to think that he has been a part of this family for over thirteen years, (I can't remember exactly when Deb bought him) and part of the scenery in our pasture for two.  This post is overdue and I've been putting off, not able to find the right words.  Although he was not technically my horse, I loved helping take care of him (except maybe when the ice in the tank was 6 inches deep) and I thoroughly enjoyed watching Nick and the kids ride him. He provided kids (and adults) happiness that was very visible any time I looked up at the smiling faces on top of his back.  I don't know what it was like to ride him full speed or cantor around the ring, but it was the best thing in the world watching Nick ride like the wind or use him to teach our kids about horses and riding.  Nick said it best in his facebook message to his family, that we are only give...