James goes Horseback Riding with the Scouts

This past Saturday, James went with 6 other Boy Scouts to the Camp Keyauwee, Circle C Ranch to work on their Horsemanship merit badge.

This was his first horseback riding experience and he certainly looked a bit nervous at first.

To his credit, he followed the instructions and after they groomed their horses, it was time to learn how to ride.

James was paired up with Penny. She was the largest horse of the group, but she also appeared to be the most gentle. This made the day go much smoother for James.

He learned how to make Penny walk, stop, and turn where he wanted to go. They got plenty of opportunity to practice, riding around the very nice indoor area on this cold rainy Saturday.

Near the end of the practice they each had to make their horses trot to a designated location, slow down to a walk, turn a complete circle, walk again, then stop and have the horse back up a couple of steps, and then proceed on forward. All of the boys were able to successfully complete the sequence (It helps to have good horses).

The boys then dismounted and removed the saddle and reins and then walked their horses out of the arena and back to the stable area.

They learned quite a bit and had a great time in the process.

Camp Keyauwee is the local Girl Scout camp, but they have an excellent year ruond horse program. We found out that we were the first Boy Scout troop to come there to learn and ride. Once word gets out about the great time that we had, I' quite sure there will be more wanting to visit.

What a Difference a Week Makes

“It’s amazing the difference that a week can make.” That is the thought that went through my head this past Friday night as I was laying in a tent listening to the rain as the temperatures dropped into the 40s.

Let’s go back in time one week and see how this whole story unfolded….

Exactly one week earlier from that reflective moment I was at Disney World in my warm and cozy resort room with a view of Downtown Disney, after having spent the evening with Michelle at Epcot.

Michelle and I had travelled to Disney World earlier that day to spend a quick mini-vacation during her Fall break from college. My mom had come to North Carolina to visit and spend the weekend with the kids while we were gone.

It was a very nice break from work for me and from homework for Michelle, and the kids were spoiled by their Grandmother while we were away.

I left a day by day trip report of our Disney visit on my Disney World Blog, so I won’t rehash it here, but if you are interested just click here: Trip report.

Once Michelle and I returned home on Tuesday, it was time to get our house ready for the twice a year High Point Furniture Market. We scurried about and got the house in order and moved out on Thursday morning. We moved in with Ed and Judy, who graciously allow us to invade their home during this time.

This brings me to Friday October 17th. I had previously signed up for Boy Scout Leadership Outdoor Skills Training and this was the weekend for it. This was a weekend long, camping/training adventure that I shared with 50 other Scout leaders like myself.

I arrived at Camp Cherokee, about an hour’s drive from home, around 6:00 pm and the all day rain continued. I was placed into a Patrol with 6 other leaders that I would be getting to know and working with all weekend. About 8:00 pm we set out in the rain to hike to our campsite and set up our tents. After the tents were set up we went back to the dining hall for team building activities and information about what our weekend would entail. At about 11:00 pm we returned to our tents to get ready for bed.

This brings us back to the beginning of my story. As I laid there in my sleeping bag, I reflected on all that had gone on during my busy week and the extreme difference going from Disney resort to tiny tent in the rainy forest. It was all good. It just represented the varied paths that my life includes. This week had it all: Vacation, Work, Family, & Volunteering. It was a great week and I am very lucky.

Fall Is A Blur As It Rushes By

Hello again!

As everyone in my family has gone back to school and settled into their new routines, I've have decided that Fall is the season of the BLUR months. You know - Septem-blur, Octo-blur, Novem-blur, and Decem-blur.

I call them that because every Fall all of the activities start back up and the Fall just flies by. Here we are in October and I can't believe that the new school year had started back in August.

As I mentioned my family has gone back to school this Fall, the whole family. Michelle is now a full time college student working towards her elementary education degree. The kids are in their new classes and like their new teachers. It's amazing how fast they are growing up!

This Fall both kids are part of the YMCA Dolphins swim team. They practice 3 times a week and have meets about once a month. They are also both in Scouting, James in Boy Scouts and Madison now a Jr. Girl Scout. James' Boy Scout Troop also goes camping every month year round.

I can't forget the dance practice, which now covers ballet, tap, and jazz. There is also the church youth groups that both kids participate in every week.

Since I didn't want to be left out, I have taken some Boy Scout Leader training and have another all weekend training session coming up in October.

You may have noticed that the blogging frequency has slowed down a little, but that isn't quite true. I am actually writing articles pretty much every day now. I started a 2nd blog that is dedicated to all topics concerning Disney World. It has been a lot of fun and it is officially my new hobby.

I will continue to update this site about 1-2 times per week to keep everyone updated on the activities of our family and to keep in touch. I continue to learn about blogging technology and I am playing with new ways to get more pictures available on the sites as well as some video clips of the family.

Feel free to share this site with anyone in our extended family and be all means please tell anyone you know about my Disney World site: www.onlywdworld.com .

It's time to head off to Ohio again for the weekend! There is know such thing as sit down and relax for a weekend. We wouldn't know what to do, we would get bored!