Packing for St. Paul

I'm packing. In the morning I will leave very early and begin a great adventure traveling to St. Paul Minnesota to attend my very first Republican National Convention, not a delegate but as the guest of a delegate.

My dear friend and co-worker Luanne VanWerven was elected a delegate, and since her husband could not join her she invited me to come as her quest. I never dreamed I would ever have the opportunity to do something like this.

I not quite sure what to expect but look forward to the experience. As a guest I receive convention credentials that allow me access to everything except the actual convention floor.

I will admit, McCain is not a presidential candidate I am very jazzed about, but his stunning selection of Sarah Palin has been a most exciting development. My enthusiasm for the Republican ticket has grown substantially in the last 24 hours.

I will be blogging this adventure on my political blog Clearly Conservative if you are interested. For now, I am packed and ready to go. See ya in St. Paul!

Meet Bert!

We have wonderful news! As of today we have a new member of our horse family.

Meet Bert.

Bert is an 8 year old Thoroughbred Appendix who comes with much jumping experience and is ready to take Taryn to the next level of competition.

We are so excited, and you'll be hearing much more about him later....but just had to introduce him.

First Day of School

I can't believe that it really is time for school to start...or that Taryn is really in the 8th grade! How can that be? Before we left she posed for her annual picture outside our front door.

This was the first year I did not accompany her inside the school. She was ready to do that herself as a "senior" in jr. high. While she doesn't have any friends in her homeroom she was thankful to find they do share several classes together.

A huge change this year is her bus schedule. All the LC routes have been streamlined to save gas. Last year she had to be outside at 7:25 AM and wouldn't get home till 4:10. This year she goes out at 8:00 AM and is home by 3:25. That's crazy better and we're thrilled.

I did pick her up at school and took her to Lynden Chocolate for an ice cream cone celebration. This gave me a chance to hear all about her day.

She starts cross-country turn-out on Thursday and is looking forward to that.

Show Jumping Grand Prix

After church today Taryn and I decided, despite heavy rain, to drive up to Thunderbird Show Park to watch the Show Jumping Grand Prix. Armed with rain coats and umbrellas we made our way across the border noting the incredible line coming back into the States. Hmmm....

The event started at 2 pm and we got there with 15 minutes to spare. Normally we would have gone early to check out the horses but with the incredible rain we decided to get there right before it started.

As we parked we saw the Kopes and joined them. We secured a spot to stand right next to the course fence and set up our multiple umbrella's. This was a bit tricky since one umbrella would drip onto another and we were often getting each other wet. Did I tell you yet how hard it was raining!! The course was incredibly sloppy with standing water everywhere.

Courses are designed to incorporate a variety of fences and obstacles. Turns can be tight and riders must carefully plan both their approach and speed.

Some vertical fences are over five feet high, and there are verticals fences that create jumps five feet wide. Thunderbird also has a wide water jump.

Riders walk the course prior to the event counting the number of strides between jumps to formulate a strategy. Judging is based on a combination of jumping faults (knock-downs) and time to determine a winner.

The riders we watched were the best-of-the-best in North America and even included one member of the Canadian Olympic Team, Jonathan Asselin and horse Lolita. He was actually wearing his signature Canadian helmet from the Olympic Games. How cool is that!

First rider Andrea Strain and horse Novalis jumped a clean round despite losing her stirrups right before the final fence. A heavy landing on the previous fence jarred them loose. We all saw it happen, and immediately there was a group gasp as we watched her continue...jump...and perfectly land her final fence. Incredible!

Taryn looked at me and said "and that's why Marg (her trainer) has me practice jumps without my stirrups."

Two of the twenty-three riders completed clean rounds qualifying for a jump off. After the course designer shifted a few fences to give the two riders the best footing possible, Andrea Strain and Gary Brewster competed in the final event.

Strain led off and finished clean with three time faults. Brewster then beat her time and with a clean ride won the $75,000 event prize.

This was an incredible opportunity for Taryn and I to watch Olympic/Rolex caliber riders compete just minutes from our home.

Unfortunately the time we spent at Thunderbird Show Park did not diminish the line of cars at the border. We knew from the radio that it would be brutal so we stopped and got some dinner and magazines to read while we waited…and waited….and waited….nearly two hours. Way worth it!

Dinner and a Rodeo

Last year Gary and Taryn went to the rodeo with John and Kay. I was not able to go because I was sick, but heard many stories of the amazing time they had. This year we decided to all go together on Saturday nite.

First we had a wonderful dinner on John and Kay's patio - fresh salmon, fresh corn-on-the-cob and fresh red fingerling potatoes.

The guys soaked a plank of apple wood and then cooked the salmon on it in the bbq. I cannot begin to tell you how good it was! It was a perfect summer evening too. After a quick clean up we left for the rodeo.

Gary, Taryn and I all had our genuine Texas cowboy boots on...and then I sawJohn and Kay had theirs on too. I got such a kick out of that!

It was open seating so important to get there early. Kay and I dropped the other three off and made a Starbucks run for some cowboy lattes. (ha ha)

Now, I have never been to a rodeo before and wasn't quite prepared for all the hands-over-my-eyes moments there would be. There's some rough stuff that happens there!

For example, I was not prepared for the very first bucking bronco to actually try to jump the 6 foot metal rail fence. I couldn't believe what I was seeing! He jumped and landed right on top of the fence. And I, in complete and utter shock, covered my face and curled up in a ball in my seat.

The horse eventually pulled himself over the rail with his front feet, cowboy intact and still on his back. Both appeared to be fine...but the metal rail fence and I were not - it was significantly bent, and I was nearly ready to leave. I couldn't watch it as it happening but Kay told me what was going on....and that everyone was alright.

Then lets talk about calf roping. Excuse me, but I saw one calf's head snap at the end of a rope and that was all I could watch. Again I covered my eyes and waited for that event to be over. And no, I can't explain the seeming happy little calf sweetly trotting off to the pen after getting its neck snapped like that.

Steer wrestling was a little less violent - and the victims were thankfully a bit older too. I watched most of that.

Mutton busting is a kick - very young children attempting to ride some big old nasty sheep. No bucking, just a lot of running.

Barrel racing rocks! ...and bull riding wasn't bad either.

The best parts for me were the latte and the visit with Kay...and maybe my cowboy boots. (I don't get to wear them very often, and it was fun for all of us to wear them together)

Back at the Eides we enjoyed fresh blackberry pie and ice cream. Summer fun is almost done. I can't believe school starts on Tuesday. Utterly depressing!

So Much More Than Just Shopping

It really bites when our Internet goes down. I have had no Internet for two days now and it completely throws me. We have made a temporary fix...till son #2 can check into this for us. Sigh!

Taryn and I had a wonderful shopping day on Friday and she really found everything needed for school. I think she's even a bit excited for school now. It was a great time with lots of fun and laughs too. (ask Taryn about her shorts te-he)

We planned it to be near Bothell towards evening so we could hear Kay Arthur from Precept Ministries presentation "America at the Crossroads" at Canyon Hills Community Church.

Side note: I am very impressed with what I see in this church - passion for the Word of God and for the glory of God.

I found out before we left home that Kay would not be speaking due to the sudden death of her daughter-in-law, but her youngest son David would be filling in for her.

It is not an easy job to teach someone else's message with very little notice, but he did a great job taking us thru scripture looking very honestly at the peril of a culture that has no fear of God. Is America at such a crossroads? How should God's people respond?

The answer is personal repentance and corporate prayer on behalf of our nation. God is stirring the hearts of His people to repentance and prayer.

Precept is calling every believer to prayer on Thursdays at noon. They are asking churches and places of business to open for corporate prayer for our nation and the critical election we face in November. http://www.precept.org/site/PageServer?pagename=gen_AmericaAtTheCrossroads

It was a very powerful message: if God does not move in mercy in answer to our prayers, it will be in judgement. Corporate prayer, repentance, and the mercy of God are our only hope.

Side note: I have met David Arthur one time before. When he was only 10 years old I spent two weeks at Precept Ministries in Chattanooga studying the Bible inductively with Kay. This was an incredible opportunity for me as a very young wife and mom.

David sat next to me at a dinner Kay took us to in town as a special weekend treat. It was fun to meet David again and tell him "I knew you when...." He now serves as Vice President of Teaching and Training at Precept Ministries.

During his message we went inductively thru passages in Exodus and Ezekiel. This was the first time Taryn and I have done any inductive studying together and it was great to watch her marking key words etc.

Before heading home we stopped for dinner at the Macaroni Grill in Lynnwood. What a fun and amazing way to spend a day with a thirteen year old!

I'm Cold!

Never thot I would say that after last week but I am really cold! Weather is a really boring thing to write about but it's crazy how insanely hot it was last week and this week it's so cool and raining constantly.

Gary and Britt came home from fishing on Tuesday. They had a great time despite the water being rough and fish a bit elusive. They did catch a few silver salmon and some nice halibut. Most will be packaged and frozen for us in town, but we did keep some for fresh eating and it was great. Of course there were great fishing stories and a few pics of the adventure.

Brandon and Greta were over for dinner Wed. nite and we cooked the fish and had some fresh corn-on-the-cob. This was their first day back to work after the fair. They are still crunching numbers and organizing data but seem pleased that all went well. Gary and Brandon had a pow-wow so Greta and I went to Grandma's for a bit.

With less than a week till school starts we have a lot to do to get Taryn ready for school. On Friday we will spend the day shopping. Our plan is to shop all the way down the I-5 corridor towards Seattle. In the evening we will be in Bothell to hear Kay Arthur speak. I am so excited.

We are also one step closed to our horse purchase. After a clean vet check the horse will be ours. We don't anticipate any problems. This has been a most interesting process since I have never purchased a horse before. I am so thankful for Gary's wisdom and the assistance of our new trainer.

I will hopefully have a more exciting blog on Saturday.

A Week At The Fair

This was fair week which meant a daily 8 - 4 schedule for me at the Poffertjes booth. Brandon and Greta graciously allow me to work for them managing the morning shift and working grill. I love doing this and put everything else in my life on hold to make this week as smooth and productive as it can possibly be.

We had a great week with a great crew of people to work with. Brandon was quoted in the Tribune, and Greta was interviewed live on KGMI.

All in all there were very few glitches and several huge improvements to our booth and the overall production of product. B & G did an amazing job of running everything start to finish.

The weather was great, but just a bit hot working in the confines of a booth over a hot grill. I'm very thankful to get to be a part of it and that they are willing to let me work with them.

Wednesday night Taryn and I went to the Little Big Town concert which was amazing. I love this group and really enjoy their tight harmony and the show was great. My only regret was that Gary couldn't make it.

Taryn also worked all week at the horse barn for the NW Arabian Horse Association. She wasn't able to have her horse there this but did help with their ten horses. She was rewarded for her work by being able to borrow a horse and ride in part of the performance show on Thursday. She competed in the "discipline rail" and "pairs class" on Dancer. This was a huge highlight for her and I was so proud to watch her after my shift.

Friday morning at 3:30 Gary and Britt left on a fishing trip to Vancouver Island. Somehow I managed to get laundry, packing and cooking done for that.

They did have some drama when their ride showed up a half hour late which put them in a time crunch for the ferry. Then when they got to the border Gary discovered he had grabbed Britt's birth certificate out of the file instead of his own. That didn't go over too well and they were taken inside the border station which made them even later. And, yes, they missed their ferry - a nearly 3 hour delay.

Gary called Saturday nite to check how everything was going here. Unfortunately their fishing trip isn't going very well. No fish, the water is rough, and three of the four on the boat have struggled with motion sickness - Gary included. I'm hoping their last two days will be better.

And Then Came The Rain

Friday morning had to be one of the most beautiful Northwest mornings I've ever seen. The sky had incredible shades of blue swirled with the striking yet soft pinks you only see at dawn, then skillfully accented with wispy white clouds. Spectacular!

The day turned out to be significantly cooler with a breeze, and then today came the rain.

Gary was up quite early for a Saturday and surprised to see it had rained so hard the water had backed up out of the drains on to the driveway. We actually had several drenching rains.

It was set up day at the fairgrounds, so Brandon, Greta and Gary made several trips with trailers to bring the booth and get it all set up. Thankfully they were able to work between the outbursts of rain for the most part.

A great addition to this years set up is having a refrigerated trailer on site. There are several advantages:

• Brandon can make all his mix before the fair begins and now store it on site, so there will be no more early morning mixing sessions at the end of already way too long day.
• restocking can happen all day and be done by our runners which will also make evenings end much earlier.
• we will no longer be inconveniencing Dutch Mothers by taking up their refrigerator space.
• we can also stock other important product like our butter, small cartons of milk....and my Diet Coke.

Have I mentioned that we're not able to carry Coke products this year. How dreadful is that??

We decided to do church tonite. Our new youth pastor Brian co-taught with Pastor Grant. Their message was from Matthew where Jesus calls His disciples - 12 ordinary, unqualified men who, after following Christ, were never the same again. God calls us out of our past and into a transformed future radically changed by Christ.

They both shared a great burden for the youth in our community - fourteen thousand middle and high school students, many desperately aching for Christ. Satan is throwing everything he has at them, while many believers sit on the sidelines disengaged. Their challenge - it's time to engage in this mission of Christ.

Brandon, Greta, Dan and Courtney were at church as well. This was Courtney's first time at this CTK and it was fun for me to hear his reaction. I think he'll be back.

Brandon gave us a lock for the cooler at the fairgrounds, and we also stopped at the office to grab a tarp for the roof which doesn't appear to be waterproof. The ground there is now saturated and getting torn up by vehicles moving in to set up. This is going to be a mess if it doesn't dry out a bit before Monday.

It rained so hard that by the time we got to the booth the canopy was hanging full of water. Gary had to carefully push all the water up and out of the pockets that had developed. Not sure it would have made it thru the nite if there was much more rain. We were barely home when it poured again. So glad we went there.

Taryn and I are both posting on our blogs and listening to a James MacDonald triple header - a great three part series called Bending My Knee. So good! I keep jotting notes as I post.

I'm thinkin' a little 24 tonite! Season 3 "The following takes place between 6 pm and 7 pm".....

It's all about the title

I realized as I began this post that titles are an issue with me. I enjoy coming up with interesting, pithy titles. On my three other blogs the title job seems to work out, but coming up with other-than-average titles for the mere everyday, I can tell, is going to be a bit more difficult. Don't be to hard on me.

This was Taryn's first day home after spending three days on the raspberry picker. She is a bit stressed about her farmers tan.

Another beautiful day, but a bit cooler - low 80's.

Taryn had a riding lesson this morning with a substitute trainer. We do not know them all yet and were a bit anxious to see just how good this trainer would be. I was so thankful that Hannah turned out to be a delightful and most capable fill-in for her trainer Marg.

We enjoyed some worship music on 106.5 as we drove out to Fox Bay, and I was so blessed that the young girls working in the barn were also listening to 106.5! I am impressed with the healthy environment I see here. I continually see God's gracious hand in bringing us to the right place at the right time. It is confirmed over and over.

Taryn is still getting to know Bert - the new horse we are currently negotiating to buy. It is a process of them getting to know each other and learing to work together. I really enjoy watching her lessons. Hannah had a very encouraging report for me at the end of the lesson. She see's them connecting in a very positive way. Another confirmation.

After a lunch stop at Grandma's Taryn went to Eide Farms to work with Emma while I went home to tackle three Washington Eagle Forum writing projects that simply must get done this week.

At one point I heard the neighbor horses talking, and there was Taryn and Emma in our driveway. She had walked her over from the farm since Emma can't be ridden right now.

Grandma brot Sam, Max and Jack here around 6 pm to wait for Traci to pick them up after her Seattle school shopping trip. I decided to have them build a fire and roast hot dogs for a quick but fun dinner. I have lots of food left from Britt's birthday bbq last nite so it worked out perfect.

Gary came home just in time and it was actually Ryan who came for the boys. We all enjoyed a nice casual dinner on the patio embracing every minute of this incredible NW summer weather.

I was able to bump out one of my three WEF projects, and a new News to Note will go out tomorrow. Yeah! Now on to project #2.

Brandon and Greta are making mix at Dutch Mothers tonite - a huge job that must all be done after hours. Their goal is to get all the mix made for the entire week. They just stopped by (near midnite) on their way home.