Fun, Games, and Toys

Saturday was show day. The granddaughters entered a small horses show, hoping to do some fancy timed competitions, but it turned out to a a fun day without the tough competition that their mother feared. Instead it was a day of games that helped the girls improve their riding skills. 

First, the girls had to get their horses and themselves ready for the first event, the Hallow e'en contest. Ellie chose a patriotic theme of red, white, and blue and got Hank all gussied up.

Lucy prepares Mairah for her home made concoction of flour and salt and paint to paint the mustang like an Indian pony--with fair results.

Mom made the Indian maiden costume. Pretty cute.

Hank sort of tolerated his mane in braids.

Lucy entered the next game, riding with an egg on a spoon. She lost the egg when they were asked to to turn at a trot.

In this game, the riders must hold on to the ribbon. Easy enough. Yeah right. 

Team work that won't last long.

This was good one: apple under the chin. Try getting a horse to comply when you have to concentrate keeping an apple under your chin.

The games were all fun and really good exercises for the girls and their horses as they were asked to do things that they don't normally do.  They had to concentrate on something other than the horse. It was a good day.

Sunday was a totally different experience: The Rocky Mountain Hobby Expo. If you like trains, plane, cars, and other toys, this was the place to be. My favorite dollhouse builder and supplier was there, so I made the solo trip to Denver and met the other daughter and her son there.

Legos! They are amazing. This is a Christmas village  with two working trains.

A weak smile from Nathan. He was tired, he said. Not his usually perky self.

There were several train displays, but this one was the most amazing. I took hurried photos, but it is a diorama of the Colorado front range. The detail was amazing. This is sight that one might see traveling through Eastern Colorado through the wheat farms with the tall grain silos with rail cars waiting to be loaded.

Love this sign. Cow tipping is the country is a thing--I think. 

A farm along the railroad. A mom hangs clothes on the clothes line. Familiar?

Travel through the front range and you pass trailer parks much like this one.

Just around the bend, the mountains appear. Looks like fall is on the way. We were trying to figure out which tunnel this one was. I should have asked.

And here comes the train, Union Pacific's California Zephyr. I rode the Zephyr as a small child. Momma took us back to Iowa to her home on the train. I always wanted to ride in the Vista Dome.

Around another bend and we are nearly back to the beginning. The detail of the display was wonderful and realistic. No. I don't want to start train display, but I think Heather does. She has a train set and would love set it up.  

Finally back home we confront reality of keeping livestock. On a happier day, our rooster Chanticleer lorded over his hens. Sadly, we lost the rooster last week. Old age. He began crowing long before dawn, around 4:30 and continued all day long letting his hens and us know who was boss. I always wondered what the neighbors thought of our early riser announcing the beginning of the day. Now I wonder if they miss him, too. Fortunately we never had any of the neighbors complain about his early morning noise. Most municipalities have regulations against roosters, but while we do live in the city limits we are zoned agricultural, so we can have a rooster. And now we don't. He was a pretty boy. 

I'm going Maggie at Life in Normandy for her last Mosaic Monday. It's been fun, Maggie. You have given me structure and discipline to make the deadline. Sometimes it was a really tight squeeze, like today as I hurry before the the link closes. Thank you for hosting. 

And thank you all for stopping by. If you have moment check out the dollhouse blog: Ann's Dollhouse Dreams.