Just a Little Behind

Recently we had a beautiful snow and ice storm. (It equalled 4 days out of school! Crazy back roads...) The ice, albeit dangerous, makes things so beautiful! It really is a winter wonderland!!

Look at the tree in my neighbor's yard!

And the pretty icicles hanging on my porch.

And, last but not least, the festive snow covered pumpkins by my front door... haha.

Oh dear, December 17th... I'm just a little behind on the season!

UPDATE: The little girl in my class is doing really well. The family was familiar with seizures in their family, and are all doing well. Thanks for praying for them! :)

Protector

I have never been more scared in my life for a precious child than today... today I experienced a precious child in my room seizure for 25 minutes, going from being in and out of consciousness. turning blue and pale, to glazing over, to shaking...

now she is doing ok, but I can't imagine what the family is going through... almost losing a child, the uncertainty of the effects or what could happen in the future...

Oh dear friends, praise our Lord for protecting her from slipping away and there being huge damage to her body. Praise the Lord for allowing there to be the appropriate support in my room when the situation happened, and that we were able to keep her safe until the paramedics came...

I ask that you please pray for this precious child and her family. I can't imagine how scared they must be...

$50,000 buckaroos

If you were given $50,000 what would you do with it?

Well, my friend Noelle has a wonderful idea... She wouldn't use it on a new car, a down payment on a house, or a big shopping spree.... nah, she's got a better idea. You can go to her website and get lots of info about it - more than I can tell you or explain... http://charlotteincharlotte.wordpress.com but for now, here's the skinny... :)

She has been wanting to start a nonprofit organization for a long time that would help to make people aware of the needs of people in America, and around the world, and then help to organize ways and the means to meet those needs. Starting a nonprofit takes a lot of money. She has an opportunity to get this idea started... her idea has been selected to be in the running for a $50,000 grant. This would allow her to start up the organization to eventually help many people's physical and spiritual needs. The grant is given based on the amount of votes the proposal receives... so... go support a great thing and vote for her idea. :) I know she would appreciate it. :) (By the way, you can vote everyday!) http://www.refresheverything.com/sharethestories

What you would say if....

What would you say to a woodchuck if it could chuck wood?

***Disclaimer - If you have been around me when I Geico commercial has come on, you know that I normally don't like these commercials. But this one... I can't stop laughing. Some reason I think it is really great.

clarification

So I initially said that it was the special holiday reese cups that make the holiday season special - which yes, they do definitely add to the amazingness of the holidays. But confession: It's these people that make holidays great... :) (like you didn't know that, right?)

I love them... I can't wait for Thanksgiving and Christmas!!! EEEK!!!

Holidays Make It Better

Reese Peanut Butter Cups are delicious. They are always one of the top 5 on my rotating list of favorite candy. (Yes, it rotates, doesn't yours???) Anyway. I am that person that eats the chocolate edges first off of a normal round reese cup, saving the creamy peanut butter filling for the end, making that the lasting taste in my mouth. :) Now, around the holidays Reese Cups becomes my FAVORITE candy. All because of the shape you can buy it in. Reese Egg, Reese Christmas Tree, the Reese Heart, and right now the Reese Pumpkin... The chocolate peanut butter combo is amazing as is, but the limited holiday editions, in my opinion, are way better. They use more creamy peanut butter filling... "DOUBLE the peanut butter" as the package proclaims. Yes, one of the many reasons the holidays are so great!

The Reese's Peanut Butter Pumpkin! :)

Anyway, if you have never had one, I encourage you to try one out. (They are 3/1.00 at Kroger this week. :)) Don't wait for the next holiday to try one! :)

A Bridge to Cross the Great Divide

So this weekend, me and a couple of girlfriends went to my favorite place in Kentucky - Red River Gorge. If is a beautiful place with lots of rocks, trees, and beautiful sights. There is one place there called "Natural Bridge." And, well, it is exactly what it says in it's name, a natural bridge. It is huge and high up, and breathtaking. So anyway. It was great. I want everyone to experience it's beauty... so here it is...

The view standing on top of Natural Bridge. God is an amazing artist.

and we are not as close as we look, promise

Fun rocks

From the other side - the Natural Bridge is in the background behind us

Now... one of my friends here has a love for Point of Grace and we sing the songs ALL THE TIME. I love it. And if you know Point of Grace, you know they have a song called "The Great Divide". Yes, we could not stop singing it and laughing at the thought that this is the literal natural bridge to cross a great divide. Yes, we are cheesy. But we couldn't resist doing this interpretive dance (?) with the bridge. :) (Please notice all the Asian people stopping to listen to us in the background... and then start talking again. It's great!)

The Biggest Pumpkin Ever!

I'm teaching my kids all about pumpkins... I read them The Biggest Pumpkin Ever. It made me think of this picture... and I couldn't resist bringing it in and showing them. It just makes me smile. :)

One Pure and Holy Passion

I used to hate this song with a passion. I'm not entirely sure, but I have a few guesses as to why.

Number 1. The first time I heard this song was in a high school chapel service and the guy leading the song was extremely fake and emotional. So... I tuned out and it turned me off to this song.

Number 2. When the song came out I was totally in the phase of not liking any worship song that had to do with me and did not specifically praise the character of God. (Somewhat legitimate, somewhat silly.)

Anyway. I recently was looking through my guitar songbook and rediscovered this song. Being one of the few songs I can play, I tried it out. As I played it, I realized how honest the song is, and how personal it is. I was wrong about it. It's a simple prayer from the heart. And I realized it is exactly what my heart is crying out to God about. I want my passion, my purpose, my joy to be God. Not my circumstance, not the events in my life... I want God to simply be my desire, and my purpose to love and glorify Him. I truly just want to know Him more. I'm learning more that this is really what Christian life is about. (Cliche? Yes. But there is always so much truth behind a cliche... that is how it became a cliche, right?)

Give me one pure and holy passion
Give me one magnificent obsession
Give me one glorious ambition for my life
To know and follow hard after You

Give me one pure and holy passion
Give me on magnificent obsession
Give me one glorious ambition for my life
To know and follow hard after You

To know and follow hard after you
To grow as your dicsiple in your truth
This world is empty, pale, and poor
Compared to knowing you, my Lord
Lead me on and I will run after you
Lead me on and I will run after you

Give me one pure and holy passion
Give me one magnificent obsession
Give me one glorious ambition for my life
To know and follow hard after you
To know and follow hard after you
To grow as your disciple in the truth
This world is empty, pale, and poor
Compared to knowing you my Lord
Lead me on and I will run after you

Lord to know and follow hard after you
And to grow as your disciple in your truth
This world is empty, pale, and poor
Compared to knowing you my Lord
Lead me on and I will run after you
Lead me on and I will run after you
Lead me on and I will run after you

Big Grizzly Bear

So, this weekend, something crazy happened. A big grizzly bear attacked me. Just came up on it's hind legs and growled and attacked. Barely got away. I ran fast. :)

Ok, not really. Real story is not quite as exciting as I wish it was... oh well.

So, this led to...

this and...

this. Which then took me to...

this. Which then led me to...

this... Which led to...

this flat line... ok just kidding.

But then I got this lovely mess.

Oh... the adventure of meeting a grizzly bear on a Sunday afternoon... :)

.

Things I'm Glad I Have

Paycheck

Prayer

Family

Glade Fresh Cotton Plugins

Homemade Bread

Pajamas

Chris Tomlin

Simply Fresh Orange Juice

Phil 1:6

A Listening God

The Ripple Effect

My dear friend Hannah, (she is so wise) gave me a wonderful analogy to life recently... and I wanted to write about it...

Healing is like a pebble being thrown in a pond. You know... when you throw something into water, like a pebble, it makes all those ripples. The stone might first make a big splash. Water going in the air, slapping back down on the body of water. It effects the water around it, making large waves, with huge intensity, hitting whatever is close with force. It is not only a strong force, but the water is quick, rapidly moving up and down, hitting everything near it over and over.

As the stone begins to sink to the bottom, the splash settles down. But the water ripples have already started. The are bobbing up and down away from the stone splash, effecting the little ducks and sticks and whatever is in the water near it...

The ripples start out pretty strong, but as time goes on, the ripples are less intense and there are fewer of them.

And eventually, the water is calm again. The pebble has sunk to the bottom of the water, and the movement from that stone is gone...

And that, as Hannah said, is like the healing process. A tragic thing hits us hard. Unexpectedly, with a great impact and intensity, rocking our world. As time goes on, the intensity of hurt fades. The memory of the situation, never leaves completely. And, I am glad for that. But thankfully the pain and hurt settles down and lessens. That is where I am at. The intensity of life's heartaches have become less. But, there are the ripples. And I can go a long time without feeling the effects of that big heartache. The ripples are spreading out... but they are there.

This week, one of those ripples hit me. I don't know where it came from exactly. But it came. And my heart aches again. I relive the pain and cope with the brokenness.

But through all this, I have learned that dealing with brokenness is not a Rebecca thing. It is Rebecca letting God work through my life thing, being willing to let Him teach me and grow me more into His likeness.

"He who began a good work, is faithful to complete it." Phil 1:6

"You will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. Jer 29:21

"I have loved you with an everlasting love, I have drawn you with lovingkindness." Jer 31:3

"When Your words came, I ate them, and they were my joy and my heart's delight." Jer 15:16

Labor Day Thoughts

A few random things I've thought during this Labor Day weekend.

1. There is a place near my house that had hot air balloon rides this weekend. It was actually right behind the school I teach at. It was neat to see them "take off." They really are huge! Riding in a hot air balloon is on my bucket list of things to do. I love adventure things like that... how amazing would it be to just float in the air?! It was cool to see the process it took to fly- from the massive balloon lying on the ground to them floating high up in the sky.

2. Call me crazy... but I like the taste of liquid cold medicine. Yeah, the "cough syrup" kind. I like the way is tastes. Is that strange? Or have they just been able to flavor medicine to taste really good these days? I remember having to eat a saltine cracker after taking a spoonful of cough syrup when I was little. Tears in the corner of my eyes, nose and eyes squinched-up as I took the medicine in one gulp. I hated the taste then. Now... don't mind. :)

3. When washing my hair, I always try to massage my head like my stylist does... it never is the same... Anyone else? My sister, who is wise, says that a haircut is not a good haircut unless the stylist massages your head. I agree. If your stylist does not massage your head, you need to look for a new one.

4. I learned that my new brother in law is an expert at medical diagnosis based on snot. How do these people become so wise?

5. It's amazing how much kids absorb... and what they absorb! :) Teaching kindergarten has opened my eyes this year. It has only been 5 short weeks, but it has been awesome to see how much these kiddos have learned! Most of them have learned how to count, write numbers, sit for short periods of time... Although working in 4th grade was a blast, and rewarding, I really get to see the spark of learning everyday in the eyes of my kiddos. To some of these kids, reading a book is a new experience, holding a pencil is new, being hugged... is new. And it is so wonderful to be part of that.

this is good.

I am elated right now... the Colts schedule looks great...

Living in Kentucky, I've learned that most Kentucky NFL fans (which are few. Most people can't think of anything other than UK Wildcats) around here are Cincinnati fans. And you see, in the past Cincinnati normally play the 1:00 games, as do the Colts. So, the network decides to play the Cincinnati Bengals games, rather than the Colts games. Well, I was checking out the schedule, and as you may already know, the Colts are playing more 4:00 games and Sunday night games... meaning I'll get to actually watch them this year!!! I'm pretty excited.

My Savior

I was driving home from school, feeling a little overwhelmed because I had worked for 5 hours straight on lessons, it was now 10pm, and I was going home to work for another few hours - and hoping to make it to bed by midnight.... this song came on the radio. I love how God works.

My Savior loves,

My Savior lives,

My Savior's always there for me.

My God He was.

My God He is.

My God he's always gonna be.

A needed reminder... :)

What we did...

This is just so cute! :)

(The little boy... NOT my "beach hair." Just to clarify.)

Help Me Understand, Please

I really like accents. I think they are fun to listen to. It's interesting how people that live so close, can talk so differently. Being a Midwestern girl, I don't have a strong accent. (Although my linguistics teacher in college said differently...) Living in the "south" (Is Kentucky really south?) I am around people that have unique accents. Country accents on a 5 year old are adorable! :) And somedays I wish I had more of the southern draw and twang... it's just fun to say words like, "ya'll".

Anyway, what I need help with understanding...

I was in a faculty meeting this week and a sweet southern lady (Title 1 Reading Specialist, may I add) said these two phrases in the same sentence...

"Today ya'll did a great job on the ELAs; on Mundee we are going to start groups."

Do you notice how on the word "today" she used the long a sound at the end of the word... and then she used the long e sound in Monday, in basically the same word?

Can someone explain to me how the same word can be said differently in the same sentence....? For someone who enjoys hearing accents, especially the southern accent, this annoys me... If you have some thoughts to help me... I'd appreciate them. :)

Healthy Obsession

Healthy Obsession

Part 1 - The Dentist

I love the dentist.

No, the dentist in not my uncle, my brother, or even a distant cousin. No the dentist is not my boyfriend, or a friend. He is just an acquaintance I get to see twice a year. But yes, I love him, simply because he is my dentist. Oh I love dentists; I have for much of my life, really. It's because of this teeth fetish. I've had a thing for teeth for a long time. I was trying to think today when it all started. I'm not sure...

It could have been in kindergarten when Mrs. Bodine made a huge deal each time someone walked in with a hole in their smile that allowed their tongue to peek through. It was an even bigger celebration if the tooth came out during school. A tooth necklace case where you get to keep the tiny, bloody keepsake was placed, like an olympic medal, around your neck, and a badge of honor (sticker) was placed on your chest to announce to the the whole world that you lost a tooth. A major accomplishment for a 5 year old. Each month we made graphs during circle time of the class' lost teeth. I remember waiting in agony to lose my first tooth. I wanted so badly to put my name up on that graph. I was so envious of my best friend Kristen and my good buddy Alex for losing teeth first. One of them lost 2 teeth in one month! I distinctly remember it being January when I finally got the chance to write my name up on the tooth graph. Oh it was a glorious day. I walked with my head held a little bit higher that day...

Maybe the love of the dentist started during those first dental cleaning visits. I remember sitting in the chair waiting for the dental hygienist, admiring the opened treasure chest and all the glorious toys inside. The yellow sticky hand, the pink bouncy ball, the little box of jacks... when it was time, I couldn't choose between the sticky hand and the bouncy ball. The hygienist let me have both because I didn't have any cavities! Something she told me I should be proud of.

Or my tooth fetish could have started when I met the orthodontist for the first time. He gave me a hug - what doctor does that? - and then told me I had nice teeth. He's a cheery guy, that Dr. Nichols.

Anyway. However it happened... I love going to the dentist. Yes, I know, I am crazy. Most people dread it, and hate the experience. I know, I'll admit, I am crazy.

To this day I have never cancelled a dentist appointment. Goodness, I would never do such a thing. I schedule my life around the appointment. When I moved to the area, I definitely got a dentist before a family physician. Priorities people! Needless to say, I look forward to going to the dentist. The experience makes my day... sometimes the week! :)

Most people say... "Oh when they pick at your teeth it is so painful."

My response, "I love it! It means that my teeth are going to be so clean! And I love that feeling!"

Most people say... "It is absolutely annoying when the hygienist tries to talk to you while she is cleaning your teeth."

My response, "Just start to talk back. Her hand will move and you can have a nice chat. I always talk with my hygienist and ask her questions. She is a nice lady, and I learn a lot about my teeth."

Anyway. I guess that is it. I love the dentist. Some might say it is a little bit of an obsession. If that's the case, I'm ok with it. I mean, it's an obsession that is healthy, right?

Blueberries

My parents are avid gardeners. They don't just have green thumbs... I think they have green hands. (Green hands... that's a little strange to think about.) Anyway. I love visiting my parents anytime of the year... but I especially love coming during the summer. I know that I will be able to go outside at anytime and get something fresh to eat - strawberries, corn, peas, beans, you name it, they probably grow it. My personal favorite, by far, are the blueberries. I can literally take-in a quart of them in a day. More if I don't get scolded for eating too many. There must always be enough for some cake or cobbler... cobbler-shmobbler. whatever. (My mom kinda treats them like each quart is equivalent to a lil sack of gold coins. I love her for it. If she didn't, there wouldn't be any when I came home. However, I still feel the same way about the cobbler. Use the grocery store ones.) I seriously eat them like they are chocolate peanut M&Ms. Pop a whole handful in my mouth... Thankfully, they have more nutrients than M&Ms. :) However, do not put it past me to eat a lot of chocolate in one day... I can do that too. I currently have been munching on double chocolate chip cookie dough in my fridge... Ok, I digress...

So, I rent my home, and have a very little yard. I've never thought about having my own garden, especially fruit, because frankly, I do not have enough space. But when I was in Indiana last week, I had a revelation... "Why can't I grow blueberries in a pot?" I said to myself. "People do it with tomatoes and other vegetables, right?" So... in pure spontaneity, my dad and I got in the car and drove to Lowe's to buy the supplies and the plants. (There was no convincing my dad of this idea... he was on board from the get-go... always excited about passing down his gardening skills and knowledge... and simply a good reason to visit Lowe's, his favorite store.) However, he did mention to me later that blueberries are one of the easiest things to grow. All his gardening magazines are talking about it... I guess it is all the rage with the easy maintenance and great nutritional value. (antioxidants anyone?)

So I came home from Lowes with all the supplies needed and now I water and wait. I just know that these two blueberry bushes (yes two, because they must cross pollinate. And really, I need double the berries!) will produce a bounty of blueberries! (at least in 2 years...) :) I'm so excited to grow my own fruit!!

So here they are!

This plant's name is Chip.

Why, thank you. I'd love to grow my own, and enjoy the harvest!

There they are! Planted and ready!

Tasty, dependable, easy to grow, excellent! What else do you need?

So, I guess, now I'm a gardener. :) Can't wait for my berries!!!

Thanks

Giving thanks today for...

- God's Truth - Be strong, be courageous, do not be afraid or terrified, because the Lord your God will be with you... Josh 1:8; I have plans for you declares the Lord... - Jer 29:11

- Class and its intensity

- Dentist Appointment today

- Blueberries

- Prayer and communication with God

- The love of a stray dog

- Nice weather that I can take a walk in and not die of heat stroke

- My favorite show is on tonight

Free

Recent conversation with my friend Sharon and her husband

S- Becca wants to know if we want to go get free Chick-fil-a tonight. But... we have to dress up like cows.

J- Well, yeah, of course we gotta go! It's free Chick-fil-a!

It's great having like-minded friends. :)

Did anyone else take advantage of the Cow Appreciation Day offer?

Blast from the Past

Could it be??? Sandi Patty and her back-up girls!?

This brought me a LOT of laughs today. I hope it does you too! I know you'll want to crank up your volume for this...

Sandi Patty Music Video - Circa 2004 (ish?)

I hope Sandi and her back-up girls haven't retired... we might need to do another one...! haha! :)

God's Faithfulness

I am sitting on my floor crying... thankful tears. I want to tell you all that the Lord is so faithful and generous. All last summer and fall I prayed and begged God that I could have a conversation with someone, that I would be able to have some closure to a relationship. But I kept hearing from God that it wasn't right or fair to bring up that type of conversation with the person involved. And so I didn't. After a long few months of dealing with being hurt, last fall I finally decided to let it go, forgive the person involved, and resolve to knowing there would be no conversation to provide closure. I was confused and frustrated that God wouldn't allow me to send a letter, or call the person. I had written a lot of letters during that time. And threw them away because I never felt peace about giving them to the person. Finally I decided to write one more letter, and instead of sending it, I burned it. And decided that was it. Move on.

Throughout the last year, and especially since then, the Lord had decided to teach me some important things- like Who He is, despite circumstances or how I feel. He's taught me humility, the importance of being vulnerable and honest with Him, that He has His hand in every aspect of my life, and that trusting in Him... means. everything.

I came to the point last year, that God had chosen to not allow a conversation, the closure because He wanted to teach me another way - move on despite how I felt, or what I deserved to hear or know. And I do believe that if I had the conversation when I wanted it, it would have been shared out of my hurt or my anger - and that for sure would not have been beneficial... but I had come to the conclusion that God was in this, even if He didn't answer me prayers for a conversation... until today.

God didn't have to bring about this conversation. He didn't have to bring healing this way. But He did. And He did it in His timing - so that my heart was not angry. But truly repentant and willing and able to hear the words of another repentant heart. And that brought healing. I am so thankful that God answered my prayers, because he didn't have to. He is such a generous God.

I am overwhelmed by His faithfulness and generosity to me in this. Words that I believed I would never hear, I did hear, and it healed part of my heart today.

Praise be to the Lord, for he has heard my cry for mercy. The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to him in song...

Happenings...

It's been a while... Here is a little about what has happened recently...

Hung out for a while at a local restaurant with a friend while a tornado was in the area... it was nice to be "stuck" and "forced" to hang out longer! :) Refreshing!

Have you been wondering where the moon went? Well, I was very hungry... and I ate it! :)

I put on my shoes after work. Nothing is better than arch supported socks (haven't tried them? A-MA-ZING!) and tennis shoes after a long day of teaching children in heels. So I ran some errands, went to eat, and ended up at my friend's house for LOST... not until I was getting ready to leave and putting my shoes back on did I realize what I had done earlier in the day... OOPS!

Caught up with another good friend...

Gotta love the Kentucky Derby! Even if my horse I was rooting for didn't win... it was still fun!

And... my sister got hitched!!! YEA!!! So fun! More on all this in my next post...

It's Random

Random Thoughts...

Haven't done a random thoughts post lately... and well, I have some random things going through my mind. So, here we go.

1. Anything is a go at Wal Mart. "Really?" You say? Well, let me explain. Some places you go, there are things that are socially unacceptable. A mullet at the Kentucky Derby, Patriots jersey at Lucas Oil Stadium, rock music at a coffee shop, baby in a bar... just to name a few. However, at Wal Mart, anything goes. Children on leashes, mullets...

I recently had an unfortunately experience at Wal Mart... 45 year old dad, one of my former student's parents... asking me on a date. This is socially unacceptable... even for Wal Mart. Why do people think that is ok?

2. Trail Mix... my new love.

3. Trust, my new thing.

4. My sister is gettin' hitched in 18 days! I think she should ditch the dress she bought and wear this! It is 100% Charmin Toilet Paper. Craaaazy!

5. Free Tip

Do not put your cell phone in your back jeans pocket... no matter if you don't want to carry your purse, just running to the mailbox for a minute... no, don't do it. Why you ask? Well, take it from someone who really knows... you might forget it is in your back pocket. Your back pocket might be a little too tight or shallow... Only bad things can happen... Yes, take it from someone who knows all too well...

This has happened twice in the last 4 months... TWICE!!! What is wrong with me??? I can tell you this, I do not put my phone in my back pocket anymore. One time, it's a fluke. But twice? No... no more.

5. Perfume Scented Dryer Sheets - Isn't this a brilliant idea? No more spritzing body spray before you walk out the door? You put your favorite shirt on right out of the dryer and, VOILA! You smell like your favorite scent! Why has someone not thought of this??? This is perfect for the single person. Families, yes, I get that you don't want your 6 year old smelling like Ralph Lauren's Romance... but me? I'd love it! Clinique Happy dryer sheet? Hellooo?? Am I the only one that thinks this is a good idea?

6. Silly Bandz, have you scene them? Really, how could you not? They are the latest fad. And I am left asking, how? They are rubber bands in shapes. Let me say that again. Rubber bands in shapes. Some of my students wear hundreds of them at a time. Kids trade them, and if you are lucky, you might be given one as a gift. Last week one of my students gave me a dolphin, then I got a girl and a seal. Each one to go with my day's outfit. Yes, if they don't get math, at least they get fashion.

Speaking of fads, remember when pogs were cool? I remember I wanted to collect them. But by the time I got a few, the fad was over...

9. Glee... it's the closest thing to my life as I could imagine. I watched a few episodes on hulu the other day. And I have a confession... I want my life to be a musical. Whenever you feel like breaking into a song, others would be there to be your back up. Or if you wanted to dance around the sales rack, the lady next to you would be there to dosi-do with you! The show Glee is exactly that. Oh, for me, Heaven... might be a living musical! :)

Check this out... I sooo want this to be my life... (pause the music at the bottom of the page to get the full effect! :) ) "That's the most singin-est janitor I've ever seen!"

Horses, Dresses, and Friends

Keeneland Horse Park 2010

Kentucky is known for its beautiful horse parks and horse races. I can't tell you how much I love driving through the country roads and watching the horses graze (especially right now with all the colts keeping close to their mamas) or gallop along the fence line. You add lush green (or "blue") grass and white picket fences... it's absolutely beautiful.

This weekend I spent some time with friends at Keeneland Horse Park. We dressed up, picked out our horses, and cheered on the magnificent creatures.

Horses can run a mile in 1 minutes 30 seconds... That is incredibly fast. I was just in awe Saturday watching them run. I wish they could know how amazing of a creature they are. How. Beautiful.

Crowded day at the track

Every sporting event needs a big screen

Watching one of the races (number 2 was definitely not my pick...boo)

Calm before the race... what a wonderful, sunny day!

Famous jockeys

Friends

Friends... with my new olympian friend, Nancy

So the big, featured race is about to start...

And they are off!

There they go!

Run Bushwacked! Run! (That's my horse... :))

"Go #4!" (Yes, yes. This is staged...)

Bushwacked is in the lead!!!

And the winner is #4, Bushwacked!!!

Here is the winner!

What a fun day with friends!