Hmmm...

So I've noticed I have a ton of pictures of Nico on this blog but none of the horses! How could I forget them? So here we are, pictures of each and a description of the other "kids."

Reno: A human stuck in a horse's body. Reno is extremely intelligent and "cunning." He is mischievous and fun. Reno is a tremendous athlete and loves to work hard and perform in front of people. He's a ham. He is the one I took to the horse show in Flagstaff and the one in the picture and video posted on this blog.

Buster: He's the lover of the group. He would love to just stand next to you and cuddle you all day if he could. Buster would love to just crawl into your pocket and go everywhere with you. He is the only one of the three that actually will walk up to you when you go out to catch him to ride. He does anything he can to make you happy. He's such a sweetheart.

Soda Pop: She is the princess of the group. Most of the equipment I have for her is pink and she loves it. Soda is so feminine and pretty. She is probably one of the prettiest horses I've ever seen. She has an attitude though. Soda is very prissy. Like I said, she's a princess. She does enjoy being ridden and she is really good at what she does.

There you go, the other kids. I'll make sure I am better at keeping them in the loop too! I'm a bad mom! (I can't get the spacing right so sorry some words are spaced a little weird. Sorry)

Exciting!

So to add to this "Waiting Game," we have our big vacation to New York City and Boston coming up as well. We leave September 7th and return September 13th. Yes, we will be there for September 11th, but it wasn't planned. We plan to spend a few days in Boston and then taking the train down the coast to NYC. We are going to go to a Boston Red Sox game and a NY Yankee game. It's the last year for Yankee Stadium. Boy does that make ticket prices soar! We are going to go to Ground Zero of course, and Liberty Island, the Empire State building, and Central Park, and a Broadway show, among other places. We are geting very excited! I'll bring home LOTS of pictures!

The Waiting Game

On Tuesday afternoon, Jake and I put an offer on the house. Now we are just waiting to see if the owners accept our offer. The deadline is tomorrow at noon. I'll keep you posted!

Trauma

Today was Nico's second vet appointment. He had to have an ultrasound of his tummy and good news... HE'S NOT PREGNANT!! It also showed that he has no mass hanging around his spleen but his spleen is enlarged... a lot. His pancreas is also very inflammed and irritated. Both of these indicate that he has had "trauma" to the area. This also means that "Mr. Mahookie-Butthead Nico" probably was chasing the horses and was KICKED... again!! Big surprise huh? Well overall, it's good news and bad. He's going to be fine but she also saw in an x-ray that he has an enlarged heart. 75-80% of large dogs get this condition called Cardiomyopathy. Ultimately his heart muscles will become thick and it will be hard for his heart to pump. He isn't showing any signs of it yet, other than the x-ray. It will be awhile for it to really bother him and we know the signs to look for. So pretty much Nico is a healthy boy for now!

We did take the opportunity to take some pictures of him while he was sedated (snoring quite loud mind you) and having the ultrasound. Enjoy!

HEY!!... Did you know you can click on these pictures and they get huge? I didn't! Nico is even funnier HUGE!

Mass

The past few days, Nico has seemed like he was a little sore in his left hip. He would whine as he stood up, or cry as we petted his hips. Fearing hip dysplacia, we took him to the vet. As they were poking around, he just about jumped through the roof as they poked at his belly. We decided to do x-rays of his abdomen and hips. When we picked him up later that day, they showed us the x-rays. They pointed out his liver, spleen, stomach, bladder, colon, kidneys, and a large tennis ball sized mass they couldn't identify. They say it may be cancer, a hematoma, tumor, or even something else, they just don't know. Another view showed that his spleen and colon, which are supposed to run down the center are pushed to either side of his body. Nico will have to go back on Tuesday afternoon for an ultrasound so they can pinpoint what it may be a little more accurately. Now, about his hip x-rays... his hips aren't too bad-- They aren't great, just not too bad. He probably will have hip dysplacia at some point. Also, they think his miniscus in his knee is slightly torn. It's not so bad to need surgery for it but it is kinda torn. Also, he already has arthritis in his knees as well. Poor guy. We'll keep you posted. (I used a lot of big words that I can't spell, so forgive me.)

Decisions, Decisions, Decisions

Well, Jake and I have had a lot of things to think about lately. We found a house that we just LOVE! It is a house that we can grow into and one we can see ourselves in for the next 30 years. It is about 1881 sq feet, 3 bedroom, 2 bath, 2 acres (perfect for the horses), and has a large fenced backyard for Nico too. We just love it. Right now, we are trying to get all of our paperwork together so we can send it to our fincance lady, and good friend, Stacye Whitt. We may make an offer next week or so. I'm so EXCITED!

On with the Show...

Well, it has been about 7 years since I have gone to a horseshow on my own horse to compete. I was a freshman in college. I heard about a show in Flagstaff and decided I wanted to get back to it. I had about a month to prepare. I started riding most days a week nad started to jump my horse Reno again. It was like riding a bike, and it came back very quick, I was surprised. Friday, August 1 Jake and I ventured up to Flagstaff. On the way up, the tire on my dad's truck exploded... major blowout. So we pulled over, unloaded Reno from the trailer, unhooked the trailer, and Jake changed the tire and we were soon back on the road. We got to the show grounds and it was beautiful. Big pine trees everywhere and a cool temperature. Saturday was the first day of the show. My parent's drove up to watch and cheer me on. We showed in 3 classes and Reno was so good in all of them. There was one class that I think I should have won, but the judge placed a girl whose horse refused a fence first! Our round was perfect so I think there was a mix up of numbers. No big deal, I know we did well nad that is all that mattered. Sunday was just as good, even though it rained very hard at the end of the day and they continued the show. Yep, that's right we were riding in the rain. I didn't win any classes but I placed either 3rd or 4th in all of them. Just getting through the classes was my goal so placing was above and beyond. A great weekend! Here's the video (I finally figured it out!)

Jake's Birthday!

Well, Jake turned the big 2-5 this year... whoo hoo car insurance discounts here we come! We all went to dinner at Texas Road House and then had cake at our house as he opened presents. He got lots of tools and an amazing rolling toolbox from his parents. He's starting to get quite a collection. He got a drill with a kabillion piece tool kit with it, he got a Dremel, he got the huge rolling tool box to house it all in, and he got tickets to a John Mayer concert from me. He had been hinting for ever and I just kept pretending I was ignoring it, but I wasn't. He was thrilled since he thought his hints went unnoticed. Only bad thing was that his parent's couldn't make it out to share with us. But overall, a pretty good birthday I'd imagine.