Guess what time of year it is....

It's shedding season! Though I get covered in hair, shedding is my first indication that spring is coming! Both Lot and Breagha are shedding like crazy, and the way I see it you can either brush it out....

Or run it off!! The second is considerably more fun :)

First trail ride of the season!!

It it still pretty cold around here, but that can't deter Krista and I from getting in the saddle! She invited one of her coworkers and we hit the trail. I was on Breagha and she did very well for her first trail with me. Krista rode Remington, a big paint, and Krista's coworker rode Lot. We kept the ride pretty short, which makes me even more excited for warmer weather and longer days! Hope it gets here soon :)

Happy birthday Jenny

A few weeks ago was Jenny's birthday, we went out to dinner then opened presents and enjoyed delicious French silk pie. yum!! Happy birthday Jenny!

Happy birthday parents!

Last weekend we celebrated mom and dad's birthday by going to the Schnitzel Haus. Then back home for some date nut cake (or chocolate cupcakes for Jenny) and present opening. I won't say what year they both turned so mom doesn't get mad at me, but let's just say they're one year closer to retirement (and a puppy maybe ;) ) 

Happy Birthday Mom and Dad!

Congrats Amber and Brian!

This past weekend Jon and I traveled to Rough and Ready, PA for a wedding of one of his long-time friends. He and his brother, Jason, were groomsmen, so I hung out with Jon's parents and his sister-in-law while Jon and Jason were off getting ready and taking pictures. Here's a pic of the newlyweds:

And a slightly blurry pic of the bridal party. I don't know the names of the bridesmaids, but the other people are Amber (the bride, of course) Brian, the best man Scotty, Todd, and finally Jason and Jon.

And of course, it wouldn't be a country wedding without a tractor ;) I didn't get a picture, but they hung a 'Just Married' banner off the back of the tractor and tied cans on the back!

Santa visits Lot

Lot's been a very good boy this year, so Santa  got him a heated water bucket so his water doesn't freeze this winter. Santa's little helper even installed some plastic piping so Lot can't chew through the electrical cord! Very nice of them. :)

 

Thanksgiving with my favorite nephew!

Erin, Ben, and Sean came on home to Strongsville for Thanksgiving, so that meant spending lots of time playing with stickers and trains. We started out the week going to the rainforest at the zoo, where we saw bats, turtles, porcupines, river otters, and lots of other critters.

Here's most of the gang that went, Jenny's friend Ellen and her son Dylan, Jenny, Erin and Sean, and Ben. 

 And here's Ellen's mom, Vicki, trying to wrangle Sean and Dylan...

  I think the otters were everyone's favorites, they're just so cute!

 We also got to visit Jenny and Alex's new house in Medina! The new addition in this pic is Brittany, one of Jenny's friends from college.

  Then it was time to start cooking for Thanksgiving dinner. Sugar was gracious enough to help us sort through the spices.

We also somehow found the time to do some crafting, which Erin approved of :)

Later we opened presents for Erin, Ben, and Sean. Sean is helping Gump (what Sean calls my dad) open them up.

And finally Ben, Sean, and my dad took advantage of the snow to create not only a snow-toddler, but also a miniature bear and squirrel out of snow. Sean is doing a good job supervising as Ben puts the finishing touches on.

New York state of mind

This past weekend Angie and I finally got some time to see my old roommate, Lidia, in NYC! She bounces back and forth between NYC and England, so it was much easier to see her in the states. It was my first time in the big apple, so Lidia showed me the ropes. Here's the three of us by the Brooklyn Bridge Friday night.

 Then Lidia and I on the Brooklyn Bridge the next day. It was super windy!

Angie had some other friends to meet up with, so Lidia and I wandered around and got lost, but found some cool stuff on the way!

 Lidia's considering a strategic chess move...

 Apparently they stack cars on top of one another because there isn't any space to park in the city!  I would be nervous they would come crashing down!

And then we all met up for dinner at Serendipity 3, an awesome restaurant from the movie! There was an hour and a half wait, so we put our name in and explored some more...

We tried visiting some of the places from the movie, but the sun set too quickly! I could go back and spend a full day wandering around Central Park. We just made it far enough to see the ice skating rink.

 It was cold, but that didn't stop us from getting a frozen hot chocolate that was absolutely delicious!!

Then it was off to Times Square for some more exploring and shopping. We went in the Disney store and found a huge castle! 

 And found the tower that drops the ball on New Years.

 The next morning we were pretty tired from wandering around the big city, I turned around for 5 minutes and they were both napping on Lidia's bed. Don't worry girls, we'll rest up and be back to explore more of the city together!