The Bluegrass Festival....

WHAT A BLAST!!!!! We had a wonderful time at the BG Festival! It was a portrait of wonderful music, amazing people, cold beer, and great conversation. Leigh and I had to go back and forth from camp and the house, but we had a splendid time. Wednesday night we got out there around 8:00 and got to meet AnnaMaries bestfriend, Carrie. What an amazing woman! We all immediately clicked and talked most of the evening. We also got to see the WONDERFUL Ms. Dottie!! My goodness, is there a more genuine soul than Ms. Dottie? I would have to say NO! She is a breath of fresh air and it was a great feeling to know we get to see her for another week! Timothy was also at camp, he had flown in from Chicago and even though we met him briefly last year, it was nice to know we were actually going to get hang out with him this year. Leigh and I didnt camp that night, but we did stay until around 12:00.

Thursday we got to camp around 8:30 and we decided to stay that night, which was such a nice feeling, to know that when we got tired we just got to crawl in tents and fall asleep, all the while listening to the odd conversations still taking place at camp. Thursday night was much more low key than Wednesday night, I would say, the word hangover would definitely come to mind, but we still had a great time.

Friday was WET, but fun! It rained and stormed until around midnight, but we all weathered through. We sat in the wonderful kitchen that hung in there through the storm. It had only one mishap, but everyone sprung to action and fixed it and we were right back under it, eating BOILED PEANUTS!!! Yep, you read that right, Ms. Dottie made boiled peanuts and they were PERFECT!!! After the weather finally broke, Josh, made a great fire (thanks honey), and we all sat around and recounted on the evening.

Saturday was the final night of festival and we had an eventful time! We got to camp, each grabbed a beer and AnnaMarie got out her guitar and it was so soothing and relaxing. It was as if everything at camp was so perfect. I must say the best song the group did was "Asshole"!! When Bret launched into the solo, it couldnt have been more perfect!! We actually got to hear it twice,and I could have heard it 20 times more, it was a hilarious song for the group. Most of us ventured up to the main stage and sat out on a blanket, with our drinks and listed to the world known "Seldom Scene" close out the night! They were so good, and it was a perfect ending to a wonderful 4 days. We all returned to camp and enjoyed our last night of great friendship around the campfire.

I want to give a quick thanks to Roy and Anna for including us in this family tradition! It is an experience I will always hold dear to my heart and will look back on with great fondness.

Masterson Station Park, Sushi and SATC….

Leigh and I had an exciting weekend. We got up early Saturday morning to beat the heat and loaded up all three of the horses and went to Masterson Station Park and had a wonderful time. The horses did so good, and it was so nice to get them off the farm and ride in an open area. Rebo, our seasoned man, was perfect as usual, and Dually and Drifter did very well. They seem to really enjoy being in a new place. It was a wonderful morning!

That evening, Leigh, Paul, Josh and I, met Robbie and Sarah at Tomo for sushi. I could eat sushi everyday and it was a great treat, then the girls all ordered a cosmo because we were going to see Sex and The City! The movie was great and I have to give Josh credit, he isn’t a fan, but sat through it anyway (I am pretty sure I have to see Indiana Jones as a trade off). I think we all enjoyed it.

This week Leigh and I have lots going on and I couldn’t be more excited! The Bluegrass Festival starts on Wednesday night and we are going to have such a wonderful time with everyone. Everyone already set up their tents, and Leigh and I will be going out tomorrow night to hang out, but we cant stay, since we have to work. But we will be out there on Friday and Saturday night, with quick trips back to the house to check on the dogs. We are lucky that we live so close to the Horse Park. There is nothing better than spending time with wonderful friends, beautiful music and a campfire! Bring on the festival!!

Where I am from.....

I am from hand sewn country quilts, sun tea making on the front porch and willow trees swaying in the backyard.

I am from a southern style plantation house, hardwood floor country store and a little farmhouse on Craintown Rd.

I am from honeysuckle and roses and the blackberry bushes on a narrow path

I am from long conversations and stubborn opinions, from tough cowboys and amazingly strong women.

I am from laughter and warmth.

I am from a wood burning stove and a box fan.

I am from strong Presbyterians and Methodists that believed in the good of people.

I'm from the horse capital of the world, tobacco patches and rolls of bailed hay, cheese grits and spoon bread.

I am from a grandfather that smoked a pipe and a humanitarian grandmother, a cowboy father and hardworking beautiful mother.

I am from a place that little girls dream of. A place where horses and little girls could run free together.

It is finally done.....

Driveway is finished, truck and trailer are home! We are ready to ROLL!!

Checking in...

Leigh and Amy

A three day weekend is coming up and Anne and I couldn't BE more excited!! This has been a busy week so far. We started excavating at the farm. We are building a truck and trailer drive, it will be a full circle driveway around the barn. We can't wait till it is done! This way when we come in from rodeo's and barrel races at 2:00 in the morning in the pouring down rain there will be no worries that the truck or trailer will get stuck. The rig will have its very own driveway and very own parking spot. Also this week my horse Dually came up with a small hole in his sole (not an abscess) and I have been packing his foot. This has been a major pain and I have called my farrier to see how long this is going to have to go on. He is not lame on it so I am not overly concerned but it is still something that needs to be monitored. This weekend is going to rock!! We are headed to Bowling Green to spend Friday night with some of our best friends Amy and Chuck! We can't freaking wait to see them. They are the most wonderful people and we always have lots of fun catching up. Amy, Anne and I met in college and have been very close ever since. Lots of good memories are tied up in that friendship. Then the rest of the weekend Anne and I will mow and ride our ponies. Hopefully if the driveway is done this weekend we will be at Masterson Station riding the horses early Monday morning. We hope everybody has a great Memorial Day weekend!

What we have been up to....

Anne and I have been so busy lately that we haven't had a chance to update our blog. With the nice weather and some rain free days we have been mowing, mowing, planting flowers, riding horses and of course more mowing. Keeping the farm looking pretty and manageable takes a lot of time, but we aren't complaining. It is work that we both really enjoy doing. Is there times that I wish I was riding my horse instead of the John Deere? Of course! But mowing takes priority when there may only be one day of the week that is pretty and the rest rainy. Unfortunately that means riding gets pushed back and that does aggravate me but mowing comes first.

This past week Anne and I worked on our deck. I ordered a new canopy for our big umbrella, we bought a lot of flowers to plant, and spent most of the week planting them. This weekend was great! My mom has been promising to come and help us work on the farm some. She got to the house Saturday morning and we had a great lunch and then we got to work. I mowed the entire front yard (that takes about an hour and a half) and Anne and Mom worked in flower beds and trimmed some trees. The place looks so much better. It was just a fantastic day!! Yesterday Bob came to get her and they left to go have breakfast and Anne and enjoyed being home all day. It was miserable outside so we did laundry and cooked all day.

Later that evening we went down to the barn to get the boys and bring them in. They were shaking because of the chill of the rain. Hmm, I think they are all little drama kings, but whatever. Anne and I got them all fed and tucked in their stalls. They were very happy to be in. Then we had dinner, worked on some new exciting things TwinBay Farm is pursing and got ready for the work week! I hope everybody had a great Mothers Day weekend!!

Barrel Clinic, Family Meals, and horses, horses, horses!

Charlie and Twin Bluff

Well I cant begin to describe how much fun we had in CO! It was the vacation of a lifetime. There is nothing better than spending quality time, with wonderful friends, adorable twins, and beautiful horses. We arrived on Wednesday after a great flight, and headed to Yuma. When we got to their place, after a couple of stops, it was early afternoon. We took a tour of the house, and then immediately went out to the barn. Colleen and Mark have a very nice group of horses. We also got to see Peggy the very pregnant mare, who had decided to wait until the "twins" got there to foal!! She was about to pop and I kept telling Colleen "I hope it is a colt and has lots of chrome on it (Chrome is white, for those that don't know)." The chances of her having a foal with a lot of chrome are pretty slim, but that is the type of horse I like and have always wanted. As you can see from the pic, I got exactly what I wanted. Maybe he will come and live with me, when he turns 2!! I think Colleen and Mark are going to try to name him Twin Bluff, which I just adore.

That evening Chase and Caitlyn, Marks twins came out, they are 12 and just amazing. We had a wonderful time getting to know them. They stayed at the farm with us every night, and it was just an absolute pleasure getting to be around them. In a day and age, when kids are rowdy and have no respect for adults, these kids showed that it is still possible for children to be well behaved and respectful. They help with all the horses chores, and help clean the house, and are both so sweet.

The next day, Mark and Colleen let us sleep in for a bit! We finally made it out to the barn, and got everyone saddled and headed out to their arena. We took 5 horses out there and just had a wonderful time. We worked on the barrel pattern. Colleen is a great teacher and she had just been to a Brandi Halls clinic, so it was nice to go over those exercises. We were so lucky because Mark, who NEVER takes off work, took off while we were there, so we got to hang out with him as well. After riding all morning, we retired to the house for lunch. Then we went over to the ranch that Colleen and Mark look over. It is 4000 acres and very nice. We went through the feedlot and looked at all the ranch geldings. That evening we went in to town (30 miles) to watch the twins play in a band concert at the school. They both did a great job.

The next day, we went to an indoor arena and worked the horses. We worked the horses on the barrel pattern, then the owners of the arena came up, Craig and Katy, and they roped with Mark and Chase. It was a great day!

Saturday, we got up with all intentions of riding and it was SNOWING! That is CO for you, it was in the 70's on Thursday and snowing on Saturday, so we had a lazy day inside. We watched barrel training videos all day and really enjoyed it.

That night, we had a wonderful meal with great conversation. It was a great ending to our trip. Mark, Colleen, Chase and Caitlyn made us feel right at home, and we can't wait to go back soon!


The flight home, was not near as enjoyable as the flight out. It was HORRIBLE turbulence the entire 2 hours, so that was shitty, but we had such a wonderful trip, it was worth it, that is for sure.


Leigh and I have been catching up on stuff since we got home, we got the place mowed last night and I cleaned the entire barn and tack room. It is nice to be back home where the grass is green and the weather is good, but we cant wait to go back out west!