Mini Vacation

 Vero Beach Bound!!!

 Isaac took me to this little authentic Cuban restaurant for lunch one day, 

I am now in LOVE with Cuban food!

 Beach 

 Sofie and I rocking our matching sunglasses at the beach!

 Ninja in training?! ha ha

Titus and I spent several days last week in Vero Beach with Isaac and his family, and I have to say it was one of the most enjoyable and  refreshing little vacations I have had in a long time! ( I didn't even plan it that way! score!) I was even able to take a siesta from the internet  which was a nice change of pace. Isaac finally returned  from his adventurous hiking trip in the Montana mountains ( the pictures he showed us were incredible! Such a beautiful state!) so it was great to spend a little bit of time with him before he had to leave to go on tour with his band. 

I spent my days visiting with the family, eating great food, going to the beach, playing games with Isaac's younger brothers Joe and Harry, and having my hair constantly styled by his sister Sofie ( she is the talent behind Cosmic Creation Design, check out the link at the top of my blog!). 

I even had the opportunity to attend my first Tang Soo Do class with Isaac's mom, Joe and Sofie!

 I have never tried something like that before...and  man, it's much harder than it looks but SO much fun! 

( great workout too! Maybe I am the next Karate Kid?!)

Titus spent his days playing with the boys, being constantly showered with attention from the family, and chillin' in his favorite spot- right in front of the window on a comfy chair... he feels rather refreshed as well! 

Huzzah for days well spent!

Growing Up?

Photo courtesy of : http://cherrynougat.files.wordpress.com

Today is my Granpda's ( we called him Paw as kids and still do!) 86th birthday.

I asked him on the phone today how old he is and he simply told me " 86 years and one day, because you know I was born at night..I've come this far and got some more to go!" 

Talking to Paw these days brings back a flood of memories, I remember visiting his house last year and how stepping through that door ( this was same house my Mom grew up in) nearly brought tears to my eyes. A lifetime of memories fill those four walls, wooden floors, and woods out back.... and the weight of all that hit me like a truck! I had never felt an impact like that before. 

 With growing up comes realization, the realization that life is just a vapor, 

you blink and it's already halfway over.

-granted, I am far from "old"...in my book at least..... in fact,  I have told folks before that I refuse to say I am "old" or "I'm getting old" .......I prefer using the phrase "growing up" because that means I am still partly a kid, ya get my drift? ha ha! ok, so I  can't avoid growing old, but I can at least look at it from a different point of view eh?-

As a kid I couldn't wait to grow up, then I could do things on my own, make tons of new friends and meet loads of new people. Hey, I might have a new friend every single week PLUS see the world!!

 I was on a mission.

Sure, I loved my family, we used to visit Paw's house every month, and my Aunt lived right down the road. As a kid I loved my  family, but I feel like as a kid I never quite understood the gravity of that love. You may feel it, but you never fully understand it until you grow a little bit. I visited Paw and my Aunt a lot, I LOVED playing at their houses...but a lot of the time I just couldn't wait to see my new friends, I couldn't wait until I was a teenager and could go super awesome places with all my friends.

And then I was a young teenager and sometimes visiting Paw or my Aunt meant sitting and talking for hours...I just couldn't wait to get up and do something, or go somewhere with all my friends. 

Talking to Paw  made me realize, that over the past few years my circle of friends has dwindled down to those that have been through thick and thin with me, I love them like family, and my family I love even more.

It's no longer about the quantity of friends that I have, but the quality. When I am with the ones I love my heart literally feels like it is about to burst with the deep care I have for them! I am so blessed to know them, and the fact that they are there for me no matter what blows my mind. Life is but a vapor. Cherish it and live it to the fullest! I used to be on a mission to add to my circle, now I simply just want to count my blessings- to count the blessings I already have. 

Don't get me wrong, I still love meeting new people and making new friends, it's just not my "mission" anymore to have as many as possible! Quality. it's about the quality of new people I meet :-)

I am learning, that with growing up comes more perspective.

 ( and sometimes this growing up stuff makes my head hurt a little bit! ha ha.)

Happy birthday Paw, you are a wise man, you are never afraid to show your love for your family and friends, and I miss your ultra tight bear hugs that you give while firmly whispering in my ear" I. love. you." 

A little video

*watching in full scree is advised*

I've been busy working, but I thought I would take to the time to share a short video with you all today.

This is me jumping Delilah ( a.k.a Diva Mare)  my sister's mare that's I've been riding/training for almost 3 years. She has come SO far! ( came to me not knowing much of anything)  After a busy season of being in school and working we are finally starting to really move up in her jumping, which is her absolute FAVORITE thing! I haven't been able to do too much with her because of the intense FL heat and rainy season we are in at the moment, but  I was very pleased with her after this particular ride. It was a small simple course, ( highest jump was around 2ft 9in) but it took every ounce of Delilah's little mare brain to control and contain herself, and realize that yes, we can jump in a controlled manner! This mare loves to fly.

p.s. I know the video lighting isn't the greatest, but check out that gorgeous sunset! I am so blessed to ride at such a lovely place, we have sunsets like that one almost every night. 

-Rach

This past weekend

 Over the weekend I went on a mini vacation with my family to Vero Beach to visit my boyfriend Isaac and his family ( who also happen to be lifelong friends of ours).

The weekend was just what I needed! A fantastic day at the beach,  great food, 

evenings spent laughing and singing, and watching the younger siblings have a blast playing together.

 It's such a blessing to be welcomed into someone else's home like you are part of the family, 

I always feel at home when I visit.

My pup Titus also made the trip with us and was showered 

with love and attention the entire time, he now expects this type of treatment 24/7 ha ha!

Isaac just left for a 10 day Montana camping trip and the very last picture is Isaac's younger brother Harry attempting to carry his very large backpack around....such a crazy kid!

Meet Finn

I thought I would introduce you all to my latest project. As most of you know, I spend the majority of my free time out at the horse farm where I board and train. I don't live incredibly close to the farm, but the 30min drive is always worth it! Just recently I was offered the opportunity to start training one of our fairly new boarders! I absolutely love training, especially the horses that are labeled "challenging". Every horse has potential, and I love finding and bringing out that potential. Finn is a giant of a horse! ( however standing next to my six foot frame it makes him look not so big ha ha). I have yet to measure him but he is close to 18 hands! ( a hand is four inches,  that's how equestrians have been measuring their horses for years!) He is around 7 years old and has not been worked in a very long time. The owner would like to have him put into training because he is starting to develop some bad habits due to boredom. I am really looking forward to discovering what his talents are and what he enjoys doing, he is a smart boy and has a lot of potential!

The "Kiss" Dare

Image Courtesy of : http://favim.com/collection/2579/

The other day a colleague and I were talking about the dares we used to challenge our friends ( or our friends challenged us) when we were kids and it reminded me of a rather funny story.

Ok, so maybe this is just going to be a complete ramble to most of you. In fact, this story might bore you to tears! It's just so funny to me  how clearly I remember this day! (maybe because I would end up being scarred for life? ha ha!) 

I was around 8 or 9 years old. I lived in a fairly large subdivision ( that's what Daddy called it, I thought it was such a cool sounding word for the neighborhood we lived in!) and I knew that place like the back of my hand. I was a headstrong, somewhat wild,  tomboy of a girl.  In fact I really disliked being a girl at the time and if someone were to ask me what I wanted to be I would have said "a boy, they have more fun!"
I spent practically every day riding my bike around the subdivision, exploring the back retention ponds with the boys or catching lizards around my house. The boys in my neighborhood were my top competition. I would wrestle with them, attempt to get more air time than them on our homemade bike ramps, and I was always the fastest one around when it came to tag or races.  


I had two best friends at the time, Kelly-Ann and Chandler. They both live on my street, the one that separated the "Big Block" from the "Little Block" ( my Daddy hardly ever allowed me to  ride my bike around the "Big Block"). Kelly-Ann was a bit of a tomboy like me, and we spent practically every day playing together and helping each other beat the boys at their games. Chandler was my cool boy friend. He was the one that had the coolest bikes and best homemade bike ramps. We spent a lot of time trying out new tricks on our bikes, shaking soda cans up and then watching them explode, and Chandler's mom always had Capri Suns for us to drink. I thought he was rich because in my opinion rich kids always had 3 things: Capri Suns, Lunchables, and awesome bikes. 

One day Kelly-Ann and I were walking down the sidewalk towards her house and she started talking about Chandler.  "I like Chandler,"  whoa, what did she just say?! We were TOMBOYS. We were not supposed to like boys. It was not in the tomboy code. Boys were our competition not something we liked! That kinda stuff was for the silly girly girls who had pink everywhere and all over them, squealed over bugs and  lizards, played with Barbies and screamed all. the. time. They wore lace fringed socks and watched Powder Puff Girls. THOSE were the ones that "liked" boys. This was not normal for my friend Kelly-Ann. " and Chandler said he likes me too, I bet he likes me more than you!" Oh no she didn't. I get it now, she is just making up a competition, that must be what's going.....she couldn't be turning into a girly girl. I knew I could beat her at this. " I like Chandlier too, " I blurted out. "I bet he likes ME more, he plays with me more ya know," Kelly-Ann's eye narrowed at me while the wheels in her head started turning. " Fine, there is only one way to find out. Chandlier has to kiss both of us, and that's how we will know who he likes more, I dare you!"  I gulped. This was the worst dare I had EVER been challenged. I would eat the roley poley bugs that  Johnny  who lived down the street was always daring me to eat before I would ever think of kissing a boy. On the mouth. That was totally against the tomboy code, not to mention ultra gross. But I, always the competitive one, HAD to beat Kelly-Ann at this. " Fine," I said. Kelly-Ann's eyes widened, she knew I despised the thought of kissing boys.  Without saying another word we both marched to Chandler's house.

Poor unsuspecting Chandler.....he was outside trying to put air in one of his bike tires but his hands were not strong enough to unscrew the air cap. "Hey Chandler!" Kelly-Ann said in her most girly voice ever. I practically gagged. Chandler looks up at us, " HEY! As soon as I fix my tire lets go to the pond!" sweeeet. I would much rather do that, but Kelly-Ann crossed her arms. "Chandler, Rachel and I need to know who you like more. So you have to kiss us, behind the bush fort, one at a time, and then tell us who you like the most".  Poor curly headed Chandler, he had the most confused look on his face. "Uhh, I like you both you're my friends!" At this point I just wanted to get the dare over with and go bike riding, ( us kids have short attention spans ya know) so I cleared my throat and said " Come on Chandler, lets just do it, and then we can go bike riding and explore the bridge!"  Chandler and I LOVED exploring the plank bridge next to the pond. His face lit up. "Ok!"  With that said Kelly-Ann grabbed Chandler by the arm and drug him into the bush fort we had made next to his house. I waited by the garage and started to panic, I didn't even know HOW to kiss a boy, what was Kelly-Ann doing??? A few minutes later Kelly-Ann came marching out with a triumphant look on her face. "We KISSED! He likes me more!!!!" Chandler stood behind her rolling his eyes. "Now it's your turn Rachel!" with that she shoved me into the bush fort with Chandler stumbling in behind me. I turned around to face Chandler. I did NOT want to kiss him. I just wanted to ride bikes with him and explore plank bridge. Chandler stared back at me, probably thinking the same thing. I finally cleared my throat and said " I don't want to kiss you. In fact I NEVER want to kiss you... but I have to beat Kelly-Ann, so lets just pull our lips in, ya know like when we pretend like we have no teeth so we can look like your grandpa, and then it'll look like we kissed, " Chandler let out a huge sigh of relief. "I don't want to kiss you, or any girl it's soooooo gross!!!! Kelly-Ann freaked me out, but I want you to win!" I always knew Chandler was my best boy friend, and not just because he is a rich kid with the best bikes.  "Ok" I said "On the count of three we'll do it. ONE. TWO.....THREE!" we both scrunched up our faces, closed our eyes, stepped towards each other, sucked in our lips, and touched our jaws together. Then we both backed  up so quickly that we both fell over. "ew,"  I muttered  wiping my mouth with my shirt. I could not believe I had put my face so close to a boy's. Even though we hadn't really kissed it was still super mega gross. Chandler stood up furiously wiping his jaw with his hands and said, "ok you win! Lets go ride bikes!" we both ran out of the bush fort  and Chandler announced to Kelly-Ann that I had won. She was so mad that she huffed, blew out her cheeks, and stormed off to her house. I knew by tomorrow she would be my best girl friend again. 

With that being done, I hopped on my bike and rode off to the pond with Chandler.


The End.

Life Lately

Life lately according to my iPhone photos :-)

What a blessed summer this has been so far! 

summer fruit, baking, frozen yogurt,  adventures, carefree style, 

plenty of horse and barn time,work, caring for furry friends at the clinic, 

summer storms, my pup Titus, and weddings.

-Rach

Summer Vibe

I believe I just found my new favorite band , and this song is on repeat!

 I love everything about this video.
( and the girl's boho hippy style? adore.)

Sweetly Resting

Image Courtesy: http://modernhepburn.tumblr.com/page/2

1. 1. In the rifted rock I’m resting,
      Safely sheltered I abide;
      There no foes nor storms molest me,
      While within the cleft I hide.
      • Chorus:
        Now I’m resting, sweetly resting,
        In the cleft once made for me;
        Jesus, blessed Rock of Ages,
        I will hide myself in Thee.
   2. Long pursued by sin and Satan,
      Weary, sad, I longed for rest;
      Then I found this heav’nly shelter
      Opened in my Savior’s breast.
      Chorus:
      
      
      Peace which passeth understanding,
      Joy the world can never give,
      Now in Jesus I am finding,
      In His smiles of love I live.
   3. Chorus:
   4. In the rifted rock I’ll hide me,
      Till the storms of life are past;
      All secure in this blest refuge,
      Heeding not the fiercest blast.
      Chorus:
      
      
      
      
      We sung this lovely hymn at church this morning, 
      and the lyrics are still playing through my mind.
       Beautiful!