Horse experience

Yesterday we had nothing planned except for Caitlin going to Guides at 6pm. We were having a relaxing morning - LiAM and Amelie were playing Lego Marvel Superheroes on the Playstation, Caitlin was getting ready to reorganise her room, I was chatting on the phone and folding washing, when Caitlin got a call in response to her ad for unpaid horse experience. This lady had rung a few days before, asking Caitlin to come and help out at her riding school, and at the time they couldn't work out a which day would suit them both. When she rang yesterday, she asked if Caitlin could come straight away - so Caitlin changed into clothes that were more suitable for working with horses, I gave everyone something to bring with them to eat in the car, and we headed up to Castella.

The women we met at the riding school were lovely, friendly and obviously very much into horses. They chatted to Caitlin about homeschooling and asked her about her experience with horses, then I left her there for a few hours to help them out. The other kids and I debated whether to go and do a forest walk while we were up there - LiAM wanted to go back home, Amelie wanted to walk, so we decided we could walk after we picked Caitlin up. Back home the kids continued playing on the PS3, and I pottered around and did some more tidying, a bit of research for our trip and so on.

A few hours later we headed back up the hill to get Caitlin. She was very happy, and so were the women she'd been working with. She'd spent the 3 hours helping them with their every day care of the horses, and they'd let her do everything that they were doing - it is exactly the type of experience she was looking for.

From there we drove around the to the Toolangi Forest Discovery Centre - I've been meaning to go there since I first heard of it, about 8 years ago, and we've never made it. The Discovery Centre was closed 'until further notice' but the bush walks were still available, so we meandered off on the Yea River Walk. It was beautiful - lots of tree ferns and tall gums, and quite cool walking in the forest even though it was a warm day. Amelie was a little frightened of the wolf spider holes in the ground, so she kept close to me except when she was exploring the ferns. The river was small and pretty when we reached it (on 2 occasions). The kids pretended to be horses and jumped over any logs or branches or dips in the path. LiAM made a crown of fern leaves for Amelie and put it in her hair - she happily became 'The Princess of the Jungle'. All the kids were very tired by the time we made it back to the end of the loop - Caitlin was nearly asleep on her feet.

Yea River

Princess of the Jungle

Taken by LiAM

Back home the younger kids kept playing their Superhero game, and Caitlin had a bit of a rest then sorted out her room, moving in some more drawers to store her hair and makeup equipment. It frees up some room in the other kids' room so I can reorganise things in there a bit.

At 6 I took her in to Guides and then came home and finally got to the dishes I'd been planning to wash all day. We had a quiet night - the kids watched some Kung Fu Panda and played a few games and I went to bed as soon as I could, I was quite tired myself after our fun and unexpectedly busy day.

Busy and happy

In the last couple of cays

- Amelie and I played a game where she was a Persian Cat called Purry, who could sometimes turn into a tiger or a person, and sometimes talk even when she was a cat, and I was her owner (and sometimes her mother). She hasn't played games like this quite so frequently lately as she used to, and it was fun.
- LiAM and I have had a couple of late night talks as he's been going to bed (he likes someone to be close by as he settles down to sleep, I've been sitting on a little green chair next to his bed and he's been chatting to me). We've talked about Pokemon and movies and ways that world peace might be achieved and if it's actually possibly, and what would happen if one country took over the whole world, and what civil war means, and Wolverine and Magneto....
- Amelie made little dog treats for an imaginary dog, out of coloured straws
- Caitlin rang up and organised to go back and groom the ponies again, I dropped her off and the owner stayed inside (it was a hot day) and Caitlin did all the work (catching the ponies, grooming them, checking their feet, spraying a cut, feeding them, popping them back in the paddock) by herself - she was thrilled and loved every minute
- we went to the library and read books, played board games, watched youtube videos
- we met friends in the park and played for a couple of hours
- Caitlin found herself some great clothes at the op shop, and I bought a game and a heap of towels iand some DVDs and kitchen stuff
- we went to the bakery and got a yummy snack
- we had friends come and visit for the day, the boys played Minecraft and the Lego Movie video game, Amelie and J played pokemon (cards) and lego and My Little Ponies
- Amelie played a new board game (where you build a wall out of bricks and sit Buzz Lightyear on top, then use aliens to push bricks out and try not to collapse the wall)
- we watched Dragonnest (which reminded me a lot of Lord of the Rings) and Bridge to Terabithia - none of us had ever seen it, and we really loved it
- oh last week we watched an anime movie which is now one of my new favourites - The Wolf Children, it was incredible. People who are half wolf/ half people, motherhood, children growing up and finding their own way, friendship, accepting difference - a whole heap of my favourite topics, and very well mad
- Amelie watched more Pokemon and a Barbie movie (Barbie and Swan Lake)
- everyone has played Disco Zoo, and LiAM is getting more comfortable every day at reading the notifications himself
- Amelie and I played celebrity head, and she wrote some of the labels for my head herself (Zoo, Cat). It's such a fun game to play with her, she asks such interesting questions when guessing her own, and answers my questions in a really fascinating way when I'm guessing
- we practised lots more Auslan - I've been doing some every day and I feel like I'm retaining more of the signs than I was, and then I'm able to use them when talking to the kids and they are picking them up
- Tony came home early enough last night (just after 8) to eat dinner then play for a while with Amelie and her soft toys - she was so happy

A horsey day

A few weeks ago Caitlin made up a flyer asking for unpaid experience with horses, offering to help groom, feed, ride, whatever people needed. She designed and wrote it herself, then went in to the post office and asked if she could put it up, and walked over to the feed store and asked to put it up there as well.

On Friday a lady rang in response to her ad, saying that she had 2 Shetland ponies and was getting older and a bit fragile and so not able to handle them as much as she'd like, so would Caitlin like to come and help her. The answer of course was an extremely excited YES, so yesterday afternoon I took Caitlin over to meet the lady and her ponies.

The ponies are gorgeous, all black, and a little skittish from not being handled much lately. The lady brought them out into the garden, and Caitlin asked lots of well thought out questions about the ponies, as she walked them around on a lead rope for a while, and then started grooming them (she'd taken her own grooming kit). She was able to groom two of them to some extent (one wouldn't let her stand on its right side - but being a small pony, Caitlin was able to lean over and brush at least some of that side, while standing on the left). She picked up their feet (and had problems with one not wanting her to do it - then let it smell the hoof pick and then it was happy to oblige). She went out on the road and brought 2 of them back in after they had escaped down the driveway. The 3rd pony wasn't quite ready for someone new to groom her yet, although Caitlin did manage to rub it's coat a little. She worked with the horses for a bit over an hour, then helped to get them back into the barn (after she mucked it out). The owner was thrilled with Caitlin's competence and the fact that she's found someone to help her. Caitlin loved the ponies and could have stayed there all day - she talked about them all afternoon and evening and is keen to go back as soon as she can. She was very professional and confident and handled the horses easily, and when they were uncooperative she backed off and tried something different - I think they will get used to her quickly and it will become even easier.

It was an exciting experience for everyone involved (and she even earnt $10 - while I got a big bag full of tomatoes from the owner's garden - she can't eat them all and was happy that they won't be going to waste) and it looks like it will be an ongoing relationship which will benefit everybody involved. It's so cool too that it was organised almost entirely by Caitlin herself. The lady was very positive about homeschooled kids too, said that she's noticed that homeschoolers are more interested in learning and learn from everything they experience. And the bonus for her is that Caitlin can come at any time, rather than having to fit it in around the school day. As everyone gets more comfortable too I will be able to drop her off and not need to stay the whole time.

In the morning C had a riding lesson at her friend's house, so it was a very horsey day - there was also a swim in her friend's pool, and a shopping trip with her, so Caitlin came home very tired and very satisfied with her Saturday.

LiAM and I watched another X-Men movie while Caitlin was at her friend's house (X-Men Origins: Wolverine, and the afternoon before we'd watched X-Men) which we both enjoyed, and which led to us doing some research on the relationships between everyone in the movies and trying to figure out the timeline (which I know is tricky with the X-Men stories, it doesn't all necessarily follow, but it was fun finding out some of the background information).

Tony had yesterday off work and slept until well into the afternoon - it's great that he has a chance to catch up a little bit after getting so little sleep through the week. He played a bit with the kids when he got up, and then we had Indian takeaway for dinner - butter chicken is everyone's favourite meal. We all sat at the table together to eat - doesn't happen very often and it's quite special when it does. Once we'd eaten we played Chinese Whispers - hilarious as usual.

It was a beautiful evening (had been a gorgeous day, although quite warm standing in the sun with the horses, it had cooled down a lot by dinner time) and we all went outside. Kids played on the trampoline, Tony and I watched, then the kids and I played hide and seek while Tony went to help a friend who had a flat tyre.

Sorting, party, and rodeo

On Thursday a anFriday I spent most of the day sorting through all our sewing and craft supplies. They were piled up on and under the sewing desk, which is set to become Caitlin's dressing table, and in tubs in the hallway. I got through most of it, and while I didn't get rid of a huge amount, it is now all organised into tubs and boxes, I know what we've got, and Caitlin's room is nearly free of extra stuff, so she can really make it her own.

We'd just borrowed Season 4 of Heartland from the library, so while I sorted we watched that - it's such a compelling show, and a very enjoyable way to spend a couple of days (planning to finish the series today), and it made sorting the sewing seem easy as I was happily entertained while I was doing it. And we were all hanging out together which was really lovely as well.

LiAM's friend V came over on Friday evening for a sleepover. We had pizza for dinner and the boys played Lego Harry Potter, Plants v Zombies Garden Warfare and Minecraft on the Playstation and Xbox, with the occasional trip outside to jump on the trampoline, play on the swing, run down into the paddock to see if they could get closer to the kangaroos (they couldn't - the kangaroos ran as soon as they saw the kids coming). They stayed up pretty late playing and talking, and were up again early in the morning and kept going. They really had a lovely time together.

On Saturday morning I'd heard about a garage sale in Yarra Glen, and Millie had been asking lately to go to a yard sale, so it seemed like a perfect chance to go. LiAM was interested too but decided to stay and play with his friend, and I said I'd buy anything that I thought he'd be interested in. Caitlin came along as well and the 3 of us had fun browsing through all the goods on offer, and came up with a selection of DVDs, bowls, a cool plate and cup for Millie with a strawberry pattern on it, a few stuffed toys (I found a very cool monkey for LiAM, and a penguin for Millie - she'd also been saying recently that everyone else in the family has a toy penguin and she wanted one too), a washing basket and a few other bits and pieces.

The girls put some blankets out on the back lawn and had a tea party with most of their stuffed toys. Millie had also bought a 3 part serving dish, which was perfect to house some tea party food. After the tea party Caitlin and I headed off to a friend's house for a Norwex cleaning products party. I hadn't seen my friend since before christmas and hadn't been to her new house at all (Tony and Caitlin helped them move in, but I hadn't been), so it was great to catch up with her and her husband, see the new place, and catch up with some of her other friends that I know as well. I could have bought a lot of stuff as well - I just grabbed a few things that I'm pretty sure I will use because I don't have anything like them and have been wishing I did.

From there we raced back home to pick up LiAM, and Caitlin's friend S, and the 4 of us went to the 1st Annual Yarra Valley Rodeo. I could not believe the number of people who were there - the biggest crowd I've ever seen in Healesville! We parked a little way up Chum Creek Rd and walked back to the racecourse, and joined the long (but fast moving) ticket line. Because I'd had a rushed afternoon I'd forgotten to get our hats out of the car, and the water bottle, and I didn't have any food with us - which wouldn't have been a problem if the crowd hadn't been so big and all the lines so long! Luckily I had sunscreen so waiting in the sun wasn't as bad as it could have been. Once we got in we found the water station and all had a good drink.

Caitlin confidently led us through the crowd up to the front near the arena and we found a spot where people were sitting on the ground and we squeezed in there (there were no grandstands, it was people sitting in their own chairs around the arena, and people standing behind them, so I had been worried we wouldn't be able to see at all). It was a good view, and Caitlin was pretty excited to be so close to the horses. Once we were settled I left the kids there and went to line up for food and drink. It was one of the densest throngs of people I've been in for a very long time - I'm glad I was able to leave the kids and just get through it myself. Eventually I got to the front of the line and discovered there was a very long wait for hot chips (which the kids wanted) - so I got roast beef sandwiches instead, I didn't want to be away for even longer. I made it back and they were happy and still settled - happier once they had something to eat and drink.

It was very dusty and LiAM was a bit worried about his asthma, but we managed to keep it under control with some telfast and rescue remedy. I'd seen a friend of the girls when I was heading out for food, so she sat with us as well. After we'd eaten the kids needed the toilet, so we made our way out and did that, then wandered over to the dodgem cars and all 4 kids had a go - they loved it. We also ran into some other friends of the girls and it was a fun place to be. We made our way back to our spot and squeezed in to a slightly smaller space to watch the rest of the rodeo. So cool seeing all these events for real, especially after watching them in Heartland quite a lot this week. I loved the team roping and the bareback. Caitlin was hanging out for the Barrel Racing, which was the 2nd last event, and was very exciting when it finally happened. Those girls are fast, and so in control of their horses. I was surprised how much I loved the bull riding - and I'd planned to leave before the open bull riding so we could beat the crowd - but the 2nd division bull riding was so great, we decided to stay and watch at least a few of the top level guys, and I'm glad we did, it was spectacular. We left after 3 bulls, and saw another one on our way out of the crowd. Another toilet stop, then the last bull ride happened as we were heading for the gate, so we weren't completely ahead of the crowd but were in front of most of it. Getting out wasn't too hard, the kids were pretty pumped so the walk to the car not difficult (although they were disappointed that I went back a different way which meant we didn't have to jump/climb across a big ditch in the dark (we'd come through the ditch on the way in and they all enjoyed it)). We took S home then back to our place where we watched the end of the cricket and crashed pretty quickly into bed.

LiAM on dodgem cars

Caitlin in front of the ring at the rodeo

Bull riding

Caitlin's 11th birthday

Yesterday was Caitlin's 11th birthday!

She woke early (the sun is rising before 6 at the moment so it's easy for everyone to wake up by 6.30) and we all had a big birthday cuddle in our bed before getting up to do presents. LiAM and I quickly wrapped everything (we'd gotten home late and very tired the night before, from party food shopping, and had put off the wrapping until the morning). Caitlin was thrilled with her presents - from LiAM, a Minions Mega Blocks hot dog stand, from Millie, a Lego Friends dressing room, and from Tony and I - a horse calendar, a Billie B Brown diary for next year, a note book on a clipboard, and tickets to see Taylor Swift in December!

The kids got stuck into making all the lego and then playing with it. We had bacon for breakfast and a very relaxing morning.

At 11.30 Caitlin and I went into Yarra Glen to get some little prizes for games for her party, then we picked up her friend S and went up to Ponyland for the girls to go on a Trail Ride. They were joined by another friend from Caitlin's acting class. It was a magnificent spring day, perfect for a trail ride. Caitlin rode Charisma, her very favourite horse, and the other girls rode on Charlie and Happy. Caitlin was allowed to do some cantering, and Charisma started then dropped back into a trot - but she loved the ride and the experience and 3 very happy girls came back after an hour on the trail.

We went back to our place and they had lunch, then made friendship bracelets and played on the trampoline. We set up the camper trailer in the backyard, and then 3 other friends arrived for the sleepover. It was an amazing evening. They danced, played on the trampoline and swings, chased each other with the water gun Caitlin got as a present,  told jokes, played lots of games (storytelling and making people laugh etc) and put on a talent show. Those who didn't want to participate were the judges (along with LiAM) - Caitlin and Millie acted out a play created by Caitlin, one girl did gymnastics, one sang and one drew a picture - they were all quite impressive. We had pizza for dinner, and after Caitlin's cake we roasted marshmallows on the fire. It was warm enough for everyone to be outside, even for the meal, which made it all a bit exciting as well. We set up everyone's beds in the trailer - the 6 girls all managed to fit on the floor, and they played more games in there - once I made sure everyone was comfortable and would let me know if they needed anything, I left them to it and obviously they all fell asleep at some stage. It was one of the most fun parties I've been involved in, very relaxed and very enjoyable, and everyone seemed to be having a great time.

Caitlin at 11 is so much fun to be around. She's funny and generous and talkative and really loves people. She makes friends easily and loves to socialise, although is also becoming more comfortable being by herself or just with her family. She thinks deeply about things and asks a lot of questions, particularly about relationships and social and cultural norms. She loves performing and is doing 2 drama classes a week which lead to a big production each semester. She really really loves horses, and is working on ways to afford her own horse as soon as she can. She is creative and learns very quickly so picks up new skills seemingly effortlessly. She has big dreams and actively works towards making them all come true, I love her enthusiasm and her commitment to what she wants, it is quite inspiring. She's also not swayed by convention or fashion or and very much makes her own decisions about what is important to her. She has a great sense of style and always seems very comfortable in herself. This year she has learnt to crochet and made beanies and flowers and lots of other things, and continued to create loom band products and even had a couple of commissions to make things. She has helped Tony out a few times at baseball functions and is really confident and competent at whatever job she is given.

I am so looking forward to hanging out with her more and more as she grows into a young woman.

Happy Birthday Caitlin!

Mid year break

We've just had 2 weeks of school holidays, and while we don't take a holiday from our learning, the holidays do give us a break from a lot of our regular routine, and also give us a chance to catch up with some of the kids' schooled friends.

Caitlin went on a 5 night horse camp at Ponyland in the first week of the break. She's been a couple of times before on a 2 night/3 day camp, and had been keen to try out the longer format. She had a wonderful time and was so glad she'd been able to stay for the full camp, rather than leaving halfway through like last time. She rode lots of different horses, trotted and cantered and walked and learned how to jump and rode bareback, and groomed the horses, mucked out stables, did lots of theory about horses, helped feed them, and played lots of games with the other girls. We rang her each night and she appreciated that contact from home, but wasn't homesick while she was there.

While she was gone the rest of us had a fairly quiet week. We played with friends a couple of days, including Millie and me taking a trip to Alexandra to play with one of Millie's friends who has recently moved up there (LiAM went to another friend's house for the afternoon). Millie and I had a great time, and the other mum and I were really able to have a great chat while the girls played.

At the end of the week we picked Caitlin up and went to Healesville to see a play - The Very Cranky Bear, based on one of Millie's favourite books. She and Caitlin sat down on the floor in the very front row which they both loved. LiAM preferred to be less involved in the production and the crowd, so he and I sat up in the back row and he was able to enjoy the play safely from there.

We had several days hanging out quietly at home, watching movies, crocheting - I made Millie some mittens!!! - playing on the iPad, playing on the trampoline, looking after the dog and cat and chickens etc. Everyone has had a big surge in their reading interest and ability over the past couple of weeks too - LiAM now regularly reads words in ads on the tv, and Millie is asking more and more questions about words and letters. Caitlin is easily reading a chapter or more each night of her book in bed.

We went to Ivanhoe Pool with another homeschooling family - being school holidays they had a bit inflatable bouncy cushion up in the pool, which all the kids went on over and over. I tried it once - it was fun, but made me dizzy (bouncing and floating was a bit much for my head) so didn't go back - glad I did have one go though. Millie is now swimming small distances underwater without any help, she's improving quickly and calmly and naturally and it's very exciting to watch.

We played an epic game of Monopoly which is still not quite finished. LiAM took the strategy of only buying Park Lane and Mayfair and quickly getting hotels on them - worked pretty well although I managed to get hotels on a couple of other sets so we became fairly evenly matched. It was great watching the kids work on their mathematical concepts while they dealt with the money.

I had a minor medical procedure done on Thursday which will hopefully help with the gynaecological problems I've been having. The kids stayed overnight at a friend's place the night before, and Tony took Friday off work, and I've been looked after quite nicely while I've recovered. It's been lovely being able to sit and read or play games or use the computer and just get my strength back - I've been very very tired, I think being able to stop has given me the chance to really stop and rest and catch up after being exhausted for most of the year.

A quick trip away and a fun week

Last week the kids and I went to Ballarat for 3 nights, staying in our camper trailer. It was a very fun trip - great to actually get away during Vintage like I always plan to do but never quite seem to make it. I've blogged about half of it at travellingandexploringourworld.blogspot.com.au and will get to the rest in the next couple of days I hope.

Since we've been back we've had a couple of quiet days at home, Caitlin has been to acting and the rest of us to the library, we've been to the toy library, a friend's 8th birthday party, Caitlin has had a sleepover at S's house, S and V have come here for a play, I've taken Caitlin and S shopping so that Caitlin could get some jodphurs, Caitlin has been on a 3 day horse camp and is filled with happiness and horsey knowledge and memories, Millie has been to Grandma's for 2 nights, LiAM has had a sleepover at V's, he and I have watched The Hobbit - Battle of the Five Armies (first time for me to see it, 2nd for LiAM, and he was fantastic at NOT telling me what was going to happen even though he finds that really difficult - he's so pleased I've seen it now so we can discuss it), he's had a new friend come to visit, and we've watched other movies, playing Minecraft, Terraria, Village Life, and lots of other iPad and computer games. I think we're all feeling recharged after our time away - and Tony had a day off on Sunday so we all got some time with him which is great. He and I went out for breakfast on Tuesday morning when all the kids were at their various sleepovers/camps - exciting that we managed to squeeze in a bit of time alone together during Vintage.

Looking forward to Easter now and hopefully Tony will have a couple of days off work.