Merry Christmas

 

   Every year, for the past few years, we have gone somewhere and taken pictures for a family Christmas card. This year was different though, because most years Mama has taken the picture. This time we decided to include everyone in the shot.

 

 The "Goofy Shot"

I think Mama may have been the most excited about this one.

 

    This was the test shot when I was making sure everything would look o.k. During this shot, I was standing about 10 feet away, about a third of the way into the street, with the camera set up on a tripod. Probably what they are looking at was the huge Ford barreling around the corner toward me kneeling in the road by my camera.{notice the protective Daddy glare}

   Unfortunately, the street we picked was also the street the post office is on, which was anything but low traffic. Mostly I was worried about my camera sitting there while I ran around to jump in the picture before the 10 second timer went off. This was one of those times I wish I could have been just passing by and stopped to watch the show. I imagine it would have been quite amusing.

   I'm pretty sure they got the idea for the picture on the right by what Mama was doing behind me during the picture on the left.

Merry Christmas and we wish you all a happy 2011!

-p.s.- Merry Christmas Amanda

Training

  


    This is one of my favorite pictures from the past few months. Looking at it reminds me of so many things and really brings back memories...how not calm Jake and Jane were when Daddy first got them, almost getting run over and killed{I'm sure of it} the first time we hooked them up, and how far they have come since that first time.
   More than that it reminds me of the important lessons Daddy tries to teach to Jake and Jane. To be patient, calm, hardworking. To be sensitive to the pressure of the reins and the sound of his voice. To wait patiently for him to give them the signal to move forward. Because it truly is amazing to see them standing there so calmly compared to where they were only one and a half months ago.

   
   During horse camp while Daddy was teaching the campers, he spoke about control. He told them how in reality less control is really more. The more control you have over a horse, the less pressure it takes for it to do what you ask.
  I think it is interesting how so many of these lessons are perfect pictures of what we as Christians learn through the trials and hard times of our lives. And sometimes, like Jake and Jane, we have to go through the trials and learn the lessons or we will be completely useless.
   Just some thoughts that stemmed from the memories I was having : )

Joseph and Megan : Engaged

   My good friends Joseph and Megan got engaged back in the spring of this year and I was so excited to be able to meet up with them and take some engagement pictures. Just as a warning : this is going to be a really long post. I had a hard time deciding which ones to put : )

 

  It was typical south Louisiana weather...hot and muggy. Because of the heat, I was so appreciative of their willingness to try anything. By the end, they were coming up with just as many ideas as I was! 

   ~ Joseph and Megan...Thanks for braving the heat and really getting into it. You were great. I hope you had as much fun being in these as I did taking them!

*click on a photo to view it larger*

Horse Camp Continuation

     Finally...although my few days turned into quite a few, I finished this post. I hope you enjoy theses few glimpses into life at camp.

   If you ask any camper that has been to JBRC they will almost always tell you that one of their favorite things to do at camp is going to the creek. The horse campers got a chance to go and had a blast!

   

Anti-Snakeware:

   They always have so much fun playing in the mud and giving each other mud baths. Some of the adults say it's much cheaper than the spa and probably the same stuff they use there : )

   One of the other fun horsey things they got to do{definitely the most amusing}was barrel buddy pickup. One person stands on a barrel on one end of the arena and the other person starts on the other end of the arena and rides down to the barrel. The rider is supposed to guide the horse close to the barrel and then the other person jumps on the back of the horse behind the saddle.

    Some of the teams were much more graceful than others. The boys started getting especially brave and had a few wild rides during practice.

   I honestly can't believe he didn't knock his partner completely off the horse. They both made it on and ended their ride in one of the more interesting positions.

   The staff joined in on the fun and had some rides as well.

Happy Monday!!

Horse Camp 2010

   Our last week of summer camp was Horse Camp for fourth, sixth, and seventh graders. Out of all the camps at JBRC Horse Camp is one of my favorites. Because of the limited number of campers {usually around 20} the week is much more personal and intimate. It's a good chance to really get to know some of the campers rather that only seeing them for an hour or two. It's neat to see the same campers come year after year and watch them as they grow.


   On the first day, after everyone gets here, we go to the barn and get some basic safety rules.

   I think he may have been trying a new method of riding double...I think I'll stick to the old way : )


  One of the days, Josh Morris came and gave the campers a farrier demonstration. He taught them about horse's feet and how to keep them healthy.

  
We played some horseback games that taught riding skills at the same time. One of the games was riding blindfolded with a friend guiding you.

There was also a game where the campers had to balance a tennis ball on the racket while maneuvering their horse around an obstacle and back. A couple of the campers even bounced their balls! Now that's talent there.

  

   Next post we'll see going to the creek and some other riding activities that we did. Hope you enjoy a peek into a JBRC Horse Camp!  Happy Tuesday!

Marbled Brownies

  
   I made these brownies last Sunday for the camp staff dinner. They were really good. A nice crisp outside with a soft warm inside. Yum!

   Here's what you will need if you would like to try them yourself:

Brownies:

• 1 cup oil
• 2 cups sugar
• 4 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 2 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup unsweetened baking cocoa

Cream Cheese:

• 1 package cream cheese, softened (8 oz.)
• 5 tablespoons butter, softened (the real thing)
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 tablespoons milk

   If your oven takes forever to pre-heat like ours does you can go ahead and set it to 325. If yours is normal you can wait till a little later.

   First, mix the first four ingredients together in a large bowl. Sift the next four dry ingredients together and add to the egg mixture. This is your brownie mixture.

   If you have a normal oven you can pre-heat it to 325 now.

    Now for the cream cheese layer. Mix together your soft cream cheese and butter. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well.

   Spread half of the brownie mixture into a greased 9 x 13 in. pan. Spread the cream cheese mixture over the top then spread the rest of the brownie batter on top. Gently run a knife around through the layers to create a marbled look.

   Bake for around 50 minutes. Start checking when they have cooked for 40-45 minutes.  They're done when a tooth pick comes out with no brownie batter. 
  
   Pour up a big glass of milk and enjoy!

  
I would love to hear if anyone tries these and how they come out.

  

Freshness

  

Mmmmm......

  A few weeks ago I made some cheesecakes for a banquet dinner. There were three plain cheesecakes and two chocolate cheesecakes. They were both very good and I had a hard time figuring out which one was my favorite. Actually, I never really did come to a decision. Who knows? We might need to have a redo.

   I still have not figured out why cheesecake has such a reputation for being hard to make. It really isn't. It may crack on the top, but you can usually hide that {or cover it with cherries}. They are really quite easy and anyone who loves to bake should try it at some point. Of course, I'm not a connoisseur so maybe it is hard and I just haven't figured it out yet. Either way, nobody has ever complained.

Fun Times

  


   Pictures like this make me just plain happy. It reminds me so much of when I was younger and me and my older brother used to do things like this. Only we got much dirtier. Mamma eventually quit trying to keep us clean.  Personally, I think all that dirt did us good. At the least it gave us many hours of fun and lots of fond memories.