We're getting another big auction together right now. Next week we'll be doing the picturing. We have to have it done by Thursday because Mom and I are going to a ladies conference in Indiana on Friday and Saturday. It should be a lot of fun.
Last night Mom took me and my friend Kristina to the sorting at the Orchard in Vassar. We had a really good time and Kristina enjoyed it. We had the vet out to draw blood for coggins tests this morning. After we get those results back, we'll be able to start competing. We might go next Wednesday. I'm gonna ride Smoke and Levi will take Maggie. We might take Charlie and if I don't ride him, we'll just leave him tied to get him used to the sights and smells and commotion. Tuesday night, I decided I was going to ride him again so I took him out to the round pen...I worked him around there for a few minutes, then put the saddle on and decided to run him around alittle since it's been awhile since he's been ridden....good thing I did because he bucked that saddle like crazy! I let him hop it out, then made him run. After he settled down, I tied a blanket to the saddle horn and let him run around with that for a few minutes. He didn't seem to mind that. I'm hoping to be able to sell him at a cowhorse auction in a month as a cow prospect. We'll see how that goes.
I've been so busy with the auctions, I haven't had much time to work on my books. I'm working on my last read through of Rustler & the Texas Trail. After I finish that, I want to start working on a true story I'm writing about Kristina and Nathan. It's going to be their courtship story. They've given me permission to use their picture as the front cover. I haven't decided for sure on a title yet.
Well, I've got to get to work on my read through!
Lauren

Today I went out to my friend Karen's house and rode horses all afternoon. I had a lot of fun. Mostly I rode Spirit, but I also rode Arizona and Buddy. Star isn't broke so I didn't ride her. When Karen and I were riding out in the pasture, Star came running out and started bucking and kicking at Spirit and Arizona. We had a harried ride for a few minutes! I started out riding Spirit in the round pen, he gave me a few little hoppy bucks, but it was actually kind of fun!! Then we got out in the pasture and started cantering...he put his head between his legs and started buckin' again. I lost one stirrups, but managed to stay on and get his head up.
Buddy is an older horse and he was kind of sore by the time we finished. Arizona was full of energy!
Karen and Shawn have three dogs, Bear, Griffon and Maddie. They were soooo friendly! Karen showed me some of their tricks.
Tonight Mom took me and Levi to the cow sorting in Vassar. Just a couple weeks and we'll be competing!
I haven't had any time to work on the book lately. I've been working at the auction hall or doing stuff around the farm.
Enjoy our lovely fall weather!
Lauren

Yesterday was Dad's 49th birthday. We had a hilarious time giving him his gifts. It's always a challenge for us to get him gifts he can't guess what they are! We stumped him on the candy and gun this year!
The boy horses were acting goofy in the pasture. It was lots of fun to see. I got a lot of it on video. I'll try to post that here soon.
The cat was taking a pleasant nap in the window! He's complaining, as best cats do, about the drop in temperature!
Tomorrow I'm off to the auction hall for drop off. I still haven't gotten the book sent in....soon I hope!
Lauren

On Saturday we went to my cousin Rachel's wedding shower. We decided to make it a family event and all the guys were invited too. There was lots of fun, games and food, of course. My aunt Mary and her family did a fabulous job decorating the hall. It was lots of fun and great to catch up with family. We had a contest where each table had to pick one person from that table and dress them up as a bride using tape, toilet paper and paper towels. It was hilariously fun and all the "brides" that were chosen were men! How they ever convinced Dad to be a "bride" I have no idea, but somehow they managed! He won the contest!
We started school on Friday, but didn't get around to taking start of school pictures until today.
I'm excited to start my senior year, though it doesn't feel like a senior year because I'm only taking one class, which is Bible. So, 40 minutes in the morning and I'm finished for the day! The other kids are very jealous!
Grandpa made me a hitching post. I've wanted one for a very long time and now I have one! It's so handy to have!
Today I'm going to be working on reading through my book one last time before it gets sent off. I tried to get it done last week but it just didn't happen.
The boys went to an auction Saturday morning before coming to the shower and bought a new go cart! This one is double seater and they are very excited!
Today is Dad's 49th birthday!
We are going to re-publish the video of me and Smoke soon and get that back up here on the site. Stay posted!
Lauren

Mom gets the credit for all the pictures this time.

Today our farrier came out...he got here at 9am and left at 3pm! Usually he's not here that long, but today we got Smoke, Bannie, Maggie and Lena shoed all around, all four feet. Charlie just got a trim, but shoes take a long time. Hopefully this will help the horses riding on the road...we're tired of being dragged through the brush 'cause they don't want to be ridden on the rocks! I thought Charlie was going to cause the most problems but actually Lena was the worst. She actually reared a few times. We didn't think we'd be able to get her back shoes on but we turned her out in the pasture and let her settle for a little while, then we brought her back out and got her done. We put special shoes on her for the cow sorting competitions. They will give her more traction and allow her to turn faster. We should be starting competitions any time now.
I found some old pictures that are pretty cute! Also some pictures from Sunday, Levi and Lydia's fish they caught, and a turtle we caught today.
Tomorrow I should finish my final draft of the book and it will be headed to the publishers. If I had my pictures finished, I would be published in about three months...I don't have anyone lined up yet so I've got some leg work to do yet! I'm so excited!
Well, I've got a lot of brain work tomorrow....I need my sleep!
Lauren

We had a fun trip up to Situ and Gidu's (Arabic for grandma and grandpa) place up north on Tuesday. We got up there around one o'clock, Dad went and bought a new trailer first, then joined us about three thirty.
Mom took me to the lake so I could get some pictures for the cover of a short story I'm writing about a friend of mine and her courtship. The story is called: The Story of Eli & Rebekah. That's not their real names, but he proposed at a lake so I'm working that into my story!
We had lots of fun and Mom, Situ, Seth, Levi and Lydia played several games of Uno while we were waiting for Dad to get there.
We left about 7:30 and stopped in a grocery store parking lot to put the van in the new trailer so we could all ride together in the truck....Levi had to go to the bathroom so I took him into the store and we ran into(not literally!) our Aunt Sandy. We talked to her for quite awhile and finally got home about 11:45.
Here comes the exciting part. The goat had to be milked and the horses needed fed so I headed down to the barn. There was an amazing display of stars and although there wasn't any moon, the stars shed quite a lot of light. I get down to the barn and turn on the lights. Maple, our border collie, suddenly takes off down the lane that runs between the goat/horse pen and the cow pasture, barking like crazy. I could hear the cows splashing in the creek, so figuring that's what she had heard, I hollered at her to come back...she growled softly and came running back towards me. At that moment, I realized that a big black something was standing in the middle of the lane. I could only see a dim outline in the light from the barn. Thinking it was a cow, I grabbed Maple and snapped a leash to her collar, thinking, great, it's midnight, a cow is out, I have to walk all the way down to the gate, open it, hope the other two cows don't get out and try to get this thing in. By this time, I had started toward what I thought was a cow. Then I realized, its coming towards me...our cows are not friendly and never come towards us. They're usually runnin' the other direction. Then, as I stand there watching, this "cow" goes over to the horse gate and starts pushing on it....that's when the light bulb went on and I realized it was Bannie! I turn Maple loose and start toward him, then see Charlie standing behind Ban!
Well, I gave Bannie a good verbal bawling out....he just stood there looking at me with those big brown eyes that were plainly saying, "Could ya just open the gate? I'm hungry!" So I open the gate, shoo him and Charlie through, grab a flashlight and head down the fence, feeling pretty sure I know exactly where he got out.
A year ago, he and another mare we had at the time, Mitzie, had gotten out by bending down a panel we used as a gate at the back of the pasture and were a quarter mile down the road. A guy come knocking on our door at 7 o'clock in the morning asking if we were missing some horses. His friends were standing with Bannie and Mitzie when we got there with their belts around the horses' necks!
Then about 2 months ago, Levi goes out for chores, then comes tearing back into the house yelling that Bannie and Charlie were standing in the back yard. I run out and slip a halter on Bannie, then try to catch Charlie who proceeded to run all over the yard. Finally we just led Bannie down to the barn and Charlie followed.
So here I am, midnight, pitch dark, walking the fence line. Sure enough, Ban had bent that same panel down. I propped it up for the night, knowing he wouldn't challenge it before  morning, especially not with a feeder full of hay.
Next morning, I have to head to the auction hall for preview, so I asked that one of the ones staying home put in a T-post in the weak panel. Actually, I probably would have made Levi or Seth do it even if I had been staying home!
Anyway, we get home that night, Dad and Mom lay down for a few minutes so I head out to do chores at about 8:30. Its getting dark and all that you could really see were shadows. As I head down the hill to the barn, I start whistling and calling and I hear Smoke, Maggie and Lena answering...then I see three shadows lined up at the fence....hmmm. I turned on the barn light and double check...nope, still only three now distinct forms. I throw them some hay and start walking the fence again...hoping maybe Bannie and Charlie are somewhere still in the pasture. I circle around, come to the panel and sure enough, that little rascal of a horse just when beside the T-post and bent the panel down again! I scanned the fields hopefully, whistling and calling, but don't see them. I head back up to the house thinking, its getting dark, I can't hardly see a thing, two horses are missing and its impossible to know how long they've been out or where they went.
I woke Mom and Dad up and everyone rushes outside to help look. Dad, me, Levi and Lydia go look in the barnyard where the horses are penned every winter. Nothing. As we head back out to the goat barn, Seth starts hollering for me from back the lane, where I had just been checking fence. "I found them, hurry!" he says.
I started running, then slowed down as I got close. I knew Bannie wouldn't spook, but I wasn't so sure about Charlie. "Be careful." Seth warned as I got close. "Charlie's about to take off." I slowed even more, send Levi over to put a halter on Bannie, then tried to catch Charlie. I talked to him softly and kept my body turned away, but he still kept moving away.
Finally I gave up. Trying to catch him was just making him more jittery, so I grabbed Ban's lead and started toward the barn, hoping Charlie would follow. He did and I instructed the boys to stay far back so they wouldn't spook him.
We started up the land between the two pastures and suddenly Charlie blew past me. Mom was up at the barn and I hollered to her that Charlie was coming. She opened the gate and stood blocking the lane so Charlie couldn't run past. Thankfully he ran right in and then I put Ban back. We decided to move all the horses to a different pasture until we could get the fence fixed permanently.
Yesterday I was riding Smoke after we got home from the auction hall with Lydia on Lena. We were riding on the lane and knowing that Smoke has a problem standing still if another horse is infront of her, I decided to work on that. I asked her to stand quietly, but she kept backing up or going sideways. I worked with her until I got her to stand still for a few seconds, then released her. When I tried to stop her the second time, she reared slightly. I thunked her between the ears and she settled down. As I continued insisting she stand still, she got more and more agitated. At one point, she would not stop backing up...she plowed right through a couple rows of corn. Then she began rearing and bucking. I got off and lunged her for about 10 minutes until she calmed down. Then I got back on...got her to stand another few seconds then continued on. A bit farther down the land, I asked her to stand again. She got even more violent with her protests, then suddenly, completely locked up. I had never had that happen with her. I began flexing her head until her feet began to follow, I then asked her to go forward a few steps, then halt again. This time she really exploded. I yanked her head around, jumped off and lunged her again. Then I walked her up and did a few minutes of additional ground work before putting her away. So I guess I know what the next thing I need to work on is!
I am working on my last revision of the first book before it goes off to the publisher....I'm nervous, excited, and all of the above! I'll keep you all posted on the progress.
We are now entering my favorite season! Today was the first day I noticed the fall smell on the wind. I wore a jacket when I took the kids fishing and thoroughly enjoyed getting chilled! That's my favorite part of fall and winter. I love the cold and usually wear nothing but sweat jacket and jean jacket all winter...and no gloves! I bought some riding gloves...but...I'll have to force myself to wear them. I feel so clumsy in a thick coat and gloves. Yea for fall!
Well, I think this is the longest post ever! Including the pictures, it certainly is the longest!
Lauren

Mom caught me and Smoke on video! We are going to get a more planned  video soon, but this shows Smoke off pretty good!
You can watch the video on the  Videos page.
We went up to my grandparents on Tuesday...and had some excitement with the horses, but I'll post more on that later.
Lauren

Later, For those of you who did not get an email, we had to pull the video page down because of a problem with the video. We hope to have it back up soon.

Lydia and I went on a ride today...she was on Lena and I rode Smoke and ponied(led) Charlie. Charlie hasn't been worked in quite awhile....so he was rather stubborn! He nearly pulled my arm off at first because he was hanging back and pulling on the rope. After about a mile, he consented to walk up by my leg where he was supposed to be. When I got used to handling two horses I put Smoke into a trot. Once again, Charlie hung back and nearly pulled me out of the saddle, but I managed to hang on! On the way home, I put Smoke into a trot again...she was trotting so fast Charlie had to lope to catch up. He was getting madder and madder because he was having to move so fast and finally he blew up! He jerked so hard I almost lost the rope then he put his head down and started bucking. I yanked on the lead rope a couple times and at the same time, turned Smoke in the other direction, adding to the force of my yanks. He quickly settled down and stayed beside me the rest of the way home. I think he and I will be going on some long rides together!!! It's better that he learn respect without me on him!!
I tool Lydia down to Storyland Creek yesterday afternoon. We call it Storyland because when we first discovered it when I was little we said it looked like something right out of a story book...thus the name! Lydia was having lots of fun!
Saturday we were giving the neighbor boy, Dakota, a ride on the horses and Bannie was all rigged up in my western gear...I couldn't resist snapping a few pictures!
This is a busy week for us with the auction closing. Wednesday and Thursday are preview days and Friday and Saturday are pick up day. Wednesday I have an orthodontist appointment and tomorrow I think I'll be home....working on the last revision of my first book before its off to the publishers!
Enjoy the pictures and our lovely summer weather!
Lauren