Oh Canada...

Jesson and I traveled to Canada earlier this month from the 5th to the 14th to visit his family. What a trip! We went to the Calgary Stampede, floated on tubes down a river, watched chuck wagon races, got family pictures taken, saw world class Show Jumping at Spruce Meadows, went to the temple as a family, took a day trip to Banff, and saw the new Harry Potter movie! We fit everything we could into that week! Below are some pictures from our travels:

Jesson got bored on the plane on the way there.

Jesson is 6'3" so you can see how tall these fences are.

Capone showing good form over the oxer jump.

Me with the winner of the Chrysler Cup, "Black Ice".

This is the Three Sisters range in Western Alberta. You can see it on the drive to Banff. It is my favorite range and I'm glad we got such a clear shot of it on Wednesday.

I made friends with a moose in Banff.

Jesson and Harrison enjoying the Round-Up Center on the Stampede gounds.

A buffalo we met at Stampede.

Jesson thought about joining the Mounties (he just wanted to wear their cool uniform!)

The chuck wagon races, the wildest part of Stampede and our favorite! 32 horses, 16 Outriders, 8 drivers, and 4 wagons all racing on one track at the same time!!

It's Show Time!

This weekend I competed in my first show with Reno! He was great! It was at Canterbury Equestrian Showplace here in Gainesville, Fl. We placed 2nd in our jumping class and 3rd and 4th in our dressage classes. I am most proud of my dressage placings because I just started training in dressage two months ago and I've never competed in it before! Jesson, my Mom and Dad, my boss Allie, her daughter Emaly, and my co-worker Karen were all there cheering me on! It was an awesome weekend and I'm looking forward to many more like it with Reno! Below are a few pictures we took at the show.

Reno braided and ready to compete.

Jesson and Nano wishing us luck.

Working on our dressage before we go in the ring.

Showing off our winnings!

Nano being a good show dog!

Griffon cooling off in a bucket.

Everyone in our group unanimously voted Jesson the "Hero of the Horse Show". He grilled burgers for us on Saturday and fixed the flat tire on the trailer on Sunday. He carried water and video taped everyone. He was the only one in our barn to receive a 1st place blue ribbon! Do I have the best husband or what!

I Do....

May 30th Jesson flew to Calgary, Alberta to celebrate the wedding of his brother, Nate, and Rory (who we love dearly!) Little did Jesson know that I would follow him the next day! I was supposed to be at home the whole weekend, but after being away from Jesson for 12 hours decided that wasn't a good plan! With the help of my amazing mother-in-law I was soon on my way to Canada! I arrived shortly after the sealing, but just in time for all the parties! And Batemans know how to party! The couple was picture perfect and Jesson and I are both so happy to have Rory as a member of our family! Below are a few pictures of the FUN weekend!

Nate and Rory, the beautiful couple!

From left to right, Nate, Jesson, and Harrison.

Jesson and I with Nate and Rory.

Pet Videos

Pictures might be worth a thousand words, but a video is way better! Jesson and I thought we would post a video of each of our pets. The videos actually represent their personalities pretty well. Enjoy!

This video was taken when Reno was having his pre-purchase vet exam done. If you watch until the end, he gets bored and decides to turn the lunging time into a moving buffet. I bought a very talented horse!



This video is Nano eating a corn cob. Jesson ate it and put it in his trash can but as soon as we turned around Nano had stolen it and taken it into his bed to eat. We thought we would reenact the crime and catch it on tape.



This final video is Griffon swimming and playing with a volleyball at my parent's house. I use the term swimming very loosely because Griffon is a terrible swimmer (hence the lifevest you will see him wearing!)

The Family that Shoots Together Stays Together!

What better way to spend Mother's Day than at the Shooting Range! Jesson and I went down to Tampa this weekend to visit with Mom and Dad for the holiday and took the opportunity to take a group trip to the shooting range. The whole family participated. We also brought Jordan Glancy and Miranda Shurtleff, neither of whom had used a handgun before but proved to have a natural proficiency! Sunday we went over to the east coast of Florida to Fort Pierce to visit Grandma and Grandpa Novak and to have a cook out at Uncle Mark's house on the Indian River. We took the opportunity to take a family picture.

Just a couple girls at a shooting range...

Jesson and Jordan watching from the viewing area.

What a cute couple! Is that true love or what!

Jesson firing away while Dad helps Buddy.

Jesson on Uncle Mark and Aunt Laurie's beach.

Our family picture. Way to go Ryan and Buddy on the color coordinating!

Griffon kept a vigilant watch the whole drive home!

Ski Trip in Whitefish

Jesson and I went to Whitefish, MT to visit my Uncle Wes and Aunt Marie in March of this year. We had a great time and took some fun pictures. The town is adorable and the restaurants are amazing! Some of our favorites were the Pollo Grill, Montana Coffee Traders, McKenzie River Pizza, and Wasabi Sushi. We would recommend a vacation there to anyone! Jesson and I on the slopes at Big Mountain.

I guess you could say Jesson and I "Found Religion" on the Mountain!

The sign says it all.....

New Addition to the Family!

Once again the mother's hearts are breaking because we have made yet another addition to our family and it is still not a grandchild! This past Friday, May 4th, we purchased a horse (yes, another one!) His name is Reno and he is fabulous!

Jesson and Reno even made friends when Jesson shared a cookie with Reno:

For those of you who know and care about this sort of thing, Reno is a 7 year old, 16.3 hand, bay Thoroughbred gelding. I will be using him to compete in the Jumpers and 3 Day Eventing. Keep an eye on the blog for our future competition pictures!