Hello all! It has been brought to my attention that I have not updated my blog for a few weeks. I was so busy and did most of my updating on Facebook in little snippets and notes.

To make a long story short, we are HOME. Hurray. We had a whirlwind two days in Paris, a marathon of sightseeing that left us with SORE feet and aching bodies, but it was worth every minute. Paris is awesome. I love touching history. I have never seen so many statues in all my life. Notre Dame was truly a religious experience. The Eiffel Tower at night with it's thousands of twinkling lights was breathtaking. I can't wait to go back.

We had a wonderful stay at the Grand Traverse Resort when we returned last Wednesday. Jenny met us at the airport and took us there, where she had reserved a room for us with a jacuzzi! She works there and gets a SIZEABLE discount. I have never experienced such luxury. We stayed two nights and the kids came up the first day and we hung out, going out to eat, playing putt putt golf, swimming in the pool....absolutely wonderful.

On Saturday, we went to Hopkins Creek to visit our distance riding friends there. We had a very, very warm welcome. No one can believe how big Mykayla has gotten. I have missed the riding and I have really missed the people. I sure hope I can handle at least part of the Shore to Shore this summer, even if I can only ride 25s each day. Being there motivated us to get started on some training this summer so we can all ride something!! Too many young horses here without an education!! That's going to change!

Now reality has set in as we start moving in to my sister's trailer where we will be staying for the summer. We have to put up some fence so Malik can come and stay with us, plus one other horse who is going to get educated this summer. Nelson needs to RIDE. The water pump isn't working so we have to get that going first of all. My sister, Mary, has been living in the UP with her daughter for a while, so there is a little work to be done first, but with help from the kids, it won't be a big deal. We are so happy to be home.

I have started the antibiotic treatment and discovered immediately that I am going to have to start out at a very small dose, every other day in order to be able to tolerate it. I am so anxious to get it done. But it's not something that can be hurried. So, I am just hopeful that the Herx reactions taper off quickly so I can get to the business of enjoying my grandchildren and horses. I've had the time and energy to only ride once (for a very short time) with Mykayla down the road and back. (This is what my body has dictated to me....in my mind, we're tearing down the trail at top speed!). We also got out Dusty and started his education. Our hope is that Mykayla will be riding him by the end of the summer and that he will accept (and Malik, too) being ponied from Malik. And, we're still a bit jet-lagged, too, I think.

Yesterday we received the news that Nelson's mom fell and broke several bones in her face. She may have also had a heart attack. We aren't sure yet. We're going down today to visit her in the hospital. We'll also stop and see our friends, Larry and Barbara Ward. Larry broke his ankle recently. I sure hope we can stay healthy and injury free this summer!!

We won't have internet service at the trailer, so I won't be checking e-mail daily or writing in my blog a lot, but I'll do my best to update everyone on what is going on!!

Take care and have a safe and happy summer!