High Five To Life ....

I am glad to report that I am feeling much better since my last post on Friday. Thank to many, MANY wonderful friends out there who wrote me inspirational messages and encouraged me to get through this very difficult time in my life. Two people that continue to help me everyday get through life in general are my two beautiful daughters ... Krystle and Dani. I was feeling so very low last week that I really didn't want to leave the house and do anything....especially another parade. Dani put it very bluntly that -- "YOU ARE GOING TO THAT PARADE DAMN IT." Cut and dry. No arguing ..... we're going if I have to drag you into that truck and throw you on your horse.... you're going. .....and we went. and I had an absolutely wonderful time and forgot about all my problems, once again. My good friend, Mindy, drove TWO HOURS to Dumont to come help take pictures to commemorate the day. I now have 93 gorgeous pictures to look at for the rest of my life to remind me how beautiful life is and how great good friends and family are. If you'd like to see the pictures Mindy took of us, click on :

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.4271534784479.2176375.1169403749&type=1

...and then the very next day on Sunday we had a big birthday party out here for Riviera Nelson. Last week I was dreading it ..... every day as it drew closer. I was freaking myself out ... convincing myself that I can't do this. Again, Dani told me to basically suck it up and get over it .... she said if I even tried to take my birthday party fliers down anywhere she would follow me and put them right back up. I'm doing this .... whether I want to or not .... I'm doing this.

Yup. ...and that's what I needed. A kick in the shorts. By Saturday I was back to being motivated to put this place together and to give that little girl the best darn birthday party of her life. I got up at 6am and started putting the barn together to get ready for 40 guests to come see an El Gato Dancing/Trick Show .... Pony Rides .... Cake .... Presents .... a Water Fight ..... just a good all around 9 year old birthday party!! I worked my tail off cleaning and hanging posters and getting everything decorated just right. I tried to imagine what I would want when I was 9 years old. I made Riviera a throne to sit on ...... put saddles on racks so kids could sit on saddles if the ponies were busy ..... I put the donkeys in ...... had a couple puppies outside to pet....... and with my girl's help .... I put together a dancing/trick show that didn't turn out too awful bad. It was actually kinda good.

I overheard one little boy say ..."This is the best party ever! They have donkeys .... and ponies .... AND DOGS to pet!!! That made me feel really good. I have no clue how the parents liked it because it was around 98 degrees out and hotter than the devil. I have never sweated so much. I'm sure the parents would have preferred an air conditioned venue of roller skating or bowling or maybe a restaurant or something with less flies, dust, and HEAT. ...but I think the kids really liked it. :o) and that's all that really matters because it was for them.

If you'd like to see more pictures of our very first birthday party here at the farm, click on this link:

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.4272693013434.2176400.1169403749&type=1

All in all it wasn't a bad weekend after all. What started out last week as totally hopeless turned into not so bad. I told the girls as we were setting up the farm to get ready for the dancing/trick show ..... I wonder if this is the first step to building our own Dancing Horse Theatre right here at home? Why not? We built an amazing haunted house that thousands of people all over the state came to visit. Why not put together a Dancing Horse Show with performances three or four times a year...... and invite over special guests. I've seen the guys in Chicago do that all the time. Tickets are $100 each. Hmmmm ...... maybe? People said we were crazy to even try to put together a haunted house? Hmmmmm ...... ya never know.......