Chasin' Barrels

Saydee and I started barrel racing this year. It has been both fun and exciting. We have only been a couple of times because we have also had softball on the same night, but now softball is over so watch out......there is a new sheriff in town! Saydee has done really good she started out trotting the barrels and now she trots the first two and turns the 3rd and lopes home. But I did hear her say she wanted to start loping all three! What a cowgirl!
Saydee trotting from the 1st to 2nd barrel (doesn't she seem so small on that big horse).

Here is Saydee turning the 1st barrel.


Mike and Mason are taking it all in. Mike is so good to tote us around to all of our activities.

Lagoon.......It's what fun is!

We just got back from a fun trip to Lagoon. We went with The Meyer's, The Boll's and Grandpa and Grandma. It was a fun filled day of amusement park rides and swimming at Lagoon-a-beach. Everyone had so much fun. The weather was so hot, so we really liked the swimming break in the middle of the day. Saydee really surprised me and would ride anything and everything she was tall enough to ride! Mason on the other hand, screamed on the Merry-Go-Round but, he did have fun riding the train. We were there from the time the park opened until it closed and we filled every minute with FUN!
The kids had fun and cooled off in the fountain.

Saydee and Mason in front of the water fountain - after Saydee ran through and got all wet.
Sophee, Camille, and Kasidee on the wild animal train.

Abi, Calvin, Wyatt and Kara on the wild animal train.

Saydee, Me and Mason riding the wild animal train.

Grandpa and Grandma riding the pirate ship ride.

Turning 2

Mason turned two this month. Saydee had a horse show on his birthday, so we decided to kill two birds with one stone - and hey, everyone would be there anyway - so we had a birthday BBQ at the horseshow. It was perfect! Mason had a ton of fun. He got new toys, played in the dirt and ate cake - all of his favorite things!
Here is my 2nd cake masterpiece....Mason thought it was the coolest - he kept saying brrrm brrrrm and wanted to play with it.

Saydee got Mason this little dump truck for his birthday. He had so much fun playing in the dirt with it. Mason would use his spoon to fill it and then would dump the dirt.

Mason had so much fun opening his presents. I'm not sure he new exactly what was going on but he new he was getting new toys and he couldn't wait to open them all and play with them.

Dog Days of Summer!

We have been having such a great summer! This is my favorite picture - it's the iconic picture of summer. Summer is.... swimming and ice cream cones, running through the sprinkler on a sunny day, slides and parks and never ending fun!!

Mason loved playing on the hills at the park while Saydee was in swimming lessons!
Saydee has such perfect form on her back-windmills for swimming lessons.

Saydee and Mason taking a trip down the slide. We were in Salt Lake City with the Meyer's for the 4th of July.

Saydee's first year of softball - she is my future superstar!

A little backyard fun in the sun!

Saydee's 6th Birthday!

Saydee recently turned 6 and got to have her 1st party with friends from school. She was so excited she could hardly stand it! Her party theme was horses (of course!) and the colors she picked were pink (imagine that!). She had so much fun with all of her friends. I don't know that I have ever heard so many squeals and giggles in my entire life. But, get 8 girls in the same room and there is bound to be a little drama. Nothing to serious, but at one point I did hear some accusations that one of the girls was being too bossy. It was 3 hours of birthday packed fun! They made horse charm bracelets, broke a horse pinata, ate horse cupcakes with ice cream and played outside. It was all too much fun - I loved every second of it and so did Saydee!

We enjoyed an entire day of birthday fun! She had the party with her friends in the afternoon then, after dinner we had a family part too!

No horse party is complete with out a horse themed cake. This was Saydee's cake that I so proudly baked and decorated! Any openings for "Ace of Cakes"?

Pinata Time! I wish I could have gotten this on video, it was hilarious. All the girls had so much fun swinging at this pinata.

Saydee was such a gracious host, she read all her cards before opening her gifts! She got some really great gifts from her friends and thanked them all for getting them for her. She got a new bike from us for her birthday and is so excited to ride it!

Meet Mr. Mason

What can I say about Mason...... a.k.a. May-May (when he sees himself in a picture that's what he calls himself). He is the typical boy loves cars, playing outside, and anything that gets his hands dirty - I think he might actually have a magnet for dirt hidden somewhere inside. He idolizes his big sister and tries to copy her everymove, which is great for somethings - somethings not so much. He loves to eat and rarely misses a meal. He would hang out with dad all day if he could, I think cause he just likes to do guy stuff. Everyone always comments on how suprised they are by his deep voice. But, don't let this rough exterior fool you. He still has plenty of cuddles, hugs and kisses to go round and I occasionally catch him putting on Saydee's lipgloss! But what can I say..... a boys gotta look good too, right?!

Sweet, Sweet Saydee

This is our sweet little Saydee (she doesn't normally have pink highlights, but we put some in for the last day of school). If I had to describe her in one sentence, I would say she is a girly girl with a side of tough! She loves all things girl: favorite color: pink, loves to sing and dance, would wear a dress everyday- if I would let her, loves bows in her hair, makeup and fingernail polish - what can I say.... 100% girl. But, she also has a tough side. She loves anything and everything to do with horses. She loves to hang with dad and ride her (pink - of all colors!) 4-wheeler. She has muttin' busted and just about won and has been bucked off her horse and amazingly enough got back on and showed it who was boss. She loves adventure and is always willing to try what ever new thing I've decided to sign her up for. This summer she has done softball, gymnastics, swimming lessons, the summer reading program at the library, art classes, horseback riding lessons, paint horse shows and runs barrels with a local barrel racing association. This fall we will be adding dance lessons and basketball to her repertory. Oh, and did I mention she takes the best care of her little brother. She was meant to be a big sister! She never ceases to amaze me and she makes me smile everyday! She is our sweet, sweet Saydee.

Let me introduce ourselves.....

What can I say.....as far as families go, they don't get much cuter than this! This picture was taken Easter Sunday before we went to our semi-annual church attendance (the other time we attend is Christmas). We live in a wonderful house on 5 acres where we enjoy country livin' at it's finest! We love outdoor activities especially when horses are involved and also love spending time with friends and family! What can I say..... as far as life goes it doesn't get much better than this!

Well, it's official... the Arave family has a blog! I finally broke down and decided to give it a try. So far.. so good! I can't wait to share all the great stuff our family is involved in! I will do my best to keep the postings up to date. Happy Blogging!