Random Good Stuff

No theme to this post. Just have a few cuties worth discussin'.

First up, my little boyfriend Gabriel. The boy looks adorable in ever single picture he's in. (Yes, even pictures with a blown out background.)
Really, Mike? Thank you for feeding the horses this weekend but why do you encourage my dog to climb up on the picnic table? You both know better. Hank rarely jumps up on anyone, but he sees Mike and forgets the rule. Might have something to do with the fact Mike slaps his own legs as a cue. The turd head! Please note how sweet little Miles is loving on Hank. He followed him all around giving him affection.
Ask and ye shall receive! Melissa posted on facebook that we would love aluminum cans. Just look what our friend Raina and crew donated Thursday afternoon--three huge bags of already crushed cans!

Wowsers!! Her children have been collecting cans for some time to earn money. Instead of cashing them in for their own monetary gain, they donated them to our cause. Thanks, T family.

Max's gratitude board. The pictures, the notes. . . we love them!

For your amusement!!! Here Grant is seen sporting one heck of a gigantic helmet!

Go ahead, chuckle away. Our family did the day I pulled that bad boy out of the box. When I ordered it I thought, "Oh how cool--the kids can wear helmets that look like a cowboy hat." What I didn't realize was just how enormous the hat would appear. Yep, I actually PAID for this helmet. And of course I never returned it. Now, it brings pure joy to children while making mamas cringe from its hideousness. Can you imagine the pictures in scrapbooks?

Does anyone want to paint a mural on it? Believe me, there's room! We could proudly list some sponsors, write out our plans for the future, or scribble the Declaration of Independence right on its front. The possibilities are endless.

Steph, you are sweller than swell! Hey Toots, you are such a sweet horse. I'm so glad you came to live at Galloping Grace.

Ginger, I don't know if you still read this blog, but thanks so much for donating your angel to us. Once she got her hormones in check, she has turned out to be a huge asset to the program. She's calm, sweet and so very gentle! We really love her.

This family--gush gush!

Jenn is the mama on the far left. After every time her daughter Grace has a session, she sends the sweetest emails of thanks. She also comes with a baked snack for all the volunteers on her visits. (Jenn, please do not feel obligated to that every time!) The dad--you might remember him as the man who came out to work on a Saturday with their baby on his back. That was actually pretty rude of him. He made me feel guilty for simply taking pictures while he lugged a human around. Who does that?!

It was no surprise to me that Jenn's aunt and uncle were also off-the-charts sweet! Do you ever start to babble and can't stop yourself? That was me with them Thursday morning. I guess the fact that they were in town from Pittsburgh struck a tell them every single detail of how Galloping Grace came to be mood in me. They showed interest and listened. Then they listened. Then they listened again. And again. And then they listened. If all that listening wasn't sweet enough, Sweet Aunt then put a fifty dollar bill in my hand. Now that I think about it, maybe it was payment to shut me up. It worked. I was speechless and so very grateful. Thank you!!!

Jenn, when will they be coming back? I left out a few details. . .

Until next time.

Super Sunday

Good morning to you! I just woke up from another nap on the couch. Compulsive me finds it necessary to post something, no matter how brief. Please find it in your hearts to forgive me. Now for some random snippets from a most successful day pushing pumpkins.


A big thanks to Misha, Trish, Renee, Rebekah, Andrea, Thomas, and Donna for helping out today. Did I leave anyone out? If so, I'm pulling the 1:15 in the morning excuse. Valid, right? Thanks also to Carri, Alex, Gabriel, Jaden, and Amber for taking care of things at Galloping Grace. We just love poop scoopers!


The first customers I saw when I showed up today were the wonderful Ms. Patti and her patient hubby, Jess. Ms. Patti was one of the teachers in Claire's kindergarten class last year. I love the lady! She is so much fun! I think I acted a little goofy when I saw them, but I don't know if Ms. Patti would expect anything less from me. They were just returning from a weekend get a way to San Diego and thought they'd stop by and say hi.

Garrett's teacher Ms. Robinson and her friend also came by. It was busy while she was there so I forgot to snap her picture. Kicking myself now, but I think I'll get over it. Ms. Robinson, thanks for visiting--you made Garrett's day!


Call me crazy...

but I don't think this guy's gonna sell!

In last night's post, I mentioned we received some hail at the stand. If you look closely you can see the hail damage done to this particular pumpkin. Many more experienced a similar fate. I joked with customers all day that we would not charge extra for it.
Max said the had quite a few customers this morning who were digging the added character.
This is Andrea, Terri and Thomas. Andrea and Thomas were regulars at GG this summer. The kids worked all day at the stand. Andrea asked me several times if she could help when she saw me lugging more pumpkins out of the boxes. She also did a heck of a job cashing people out. It turns out Thomas is a natural with the customers. On several occasions I heard him informing them what made a good pumpkin, offering up raffle tickets for a quilt we're auctioning, or helping some child in the Kiddie Corral. Those two are welcome back to help any time!

Since I've shown you Terri, I feel the need to brag on her for a minute. She is a hard working, single mom who does such a great job with her children! The three of them showed up the day we arrived with the pumpkins ready and willing to unload. Terri called Max a couple days after that asking if we open to see if we needed any help selling that day. Max informed her that we weren't open quite yet, but that we were unloading another trailer if she'd like to participate. After working a couple hours helping us move the orange beauties, she let me know she had already run 3 miles that morning, had an HOUR LONG massage, and taken a shower. What a good sport ruining the benefits of a massage to lend a hand! Terri, thanks so much! If any of you thing she looks familiar, she's also the one who set up and helped teach the CPR class Trish, Max, Erin and I took a couple months ago.

Finally, Carri and Alex's son Gabriel. I LOVE him! He usually loves me back but today he was in need of a nap. That will happen when you miss yours because your parents are volunteering at some crazy ranch! After they left there, they stopped by the pumpkin patch for a bit. Gabriel sure was happy up on Seabiscuit. Seabiscuit was one of the two horses last donated to GG. He is proving to be a great addition to the herd! He gave pony rides all day and did a wonderful job. I could tell he wasn't used to having the paparazzi all up in his grill because he flinched a couple times when the flash went off in his face. It was nothing more that a moment's hesitation, but he was a little leery. You would think the other horses would have warned him by now.

Now that I'm wide awake, I'll end this. If you are sick and tired of hearing about all things pumpkin, take comfort in the fact we're nearing the half way mark. Also, be happy for us that we made $900 today!! Not too shabby, I'd say. Much plaudits to all our volunteers!

My lovely Lisa, I forgot to thank you for the yummy cupcakes and cookies you dropped by the stand yesterday. Thanks so much!

In looking back, I have discovered that this post isn't so brief after all. Have yourself a terrific week!

The Party I Never Saw

Anyone remember when my refrigerator decided it was through living? The day our new one was delivered was a day Carri (Taz) had her son Gabriel's birthday party at GG. I thought I was going to be able to make it in time to enjoy a little of the party and get a few pictures. Wasn't meant to be. Not fifteen minutes after the delivery men left, I got a phone call saying the man who would be installing our new blinds wanted to come over right then. It was probably a blessing it worked out that way. You see, Carri's husband is a real life, professional photographer. Why torture myself and take pictures the same time he is? I couldn't just blame the bright sun or the cloudy morning. Alex knows how to correct those problems. Alex knows how to use his camera. Alex took the following:

Cochise was looking pretty awesome this time. Sam, more horse painting for you. Don't try and understand it--just go with it. The practice might be a little spoony, but the kids sure seem to love it. What a show off! So what if Alex's pictures are clear and void of squiggly lines and dots?! Big whoop if the lighting is perfect?!I'd like to see Alex take one of these winners with my dirty lens.

Actually, I'd like to thank Carri and Alex for providing me with beautiful pictures showing a really nice day. Thanks, guys! We hope you enjoyed.

Jury update (because you all care)--This morning I sat in a room for 2 1/2 hours with my fellow jurors. At 11 AM, the door opened and a lady told us we were free to go for the day. I do not have to report for Tuesday. We'll see what Wednesday brings. I'd like to point out what a great use the state of NM gets out of our tax dollars. There must have been 70 people doing absolutely nothing, being paid to do it, for 2 1/2 hours. Oh, and don't forget the reimbursements for gas. I know there is a reason for things in our judicial system, but really?? Garrett, from my descriptions, has helped me rename jury duty-- boring duty. Pretty cute. On the plus side, I enjoyed my Reader's Digest this morning.

Have a good one.

Shady Business

At Galloping Grace we believe in each individual getting to do what they think is fun. For some, it's riding horses. For others, it's catching lizards. Chris and Keith like to hold large pieces of lumber over their heads for extended periods of time. It's fun for them, and it makes them feel manly. And I might add that their form is impeccable. Chase loves using a wrench. Look at that concentration. Max is all about power tools and cutting stuff.
Oh look, Chris also likes wrenches. Maybe it's because he saw his twin brother using one. Boys can be so silly. We have found another spectator sport at Galloping Grace--Shade Building Watching. (Say that five times fast.) It's hard for me to read Trish and Renee here. I would say they look a little bored, but maybe I just caught them during a break in the excitement. Who knows--they might have just finished cheering a sawed board or a screwed screw and here they're resting up for the next big move. The guys did a superb job on the shade structure! Thanks so much dear friends for giving up your Saturday so that we can be cool in the shade! I hope your weekend is as productive and happy as ours.

And look, another adorable poop scooper! Just so you know, it's not mandatory that kids have to be stinkin' cute to come out, but it's just working out that way.