Long Time Gone

Well, it's been forever since I've posted. Some recent stuff
Showed at the NRHA Futurity last December in Oklahoma City, it was a great time, met and got to know lots of friends in the reining.
In 2007, Boots and I earned two Top Ten World Titles, 4th in the Youth 14-18 and 3rd in the Limited Non-Pro. We were also Youth 14-18 Champions and Limited Non-Pro Reserve Champions in the North Central circuit. Needless to say, from all the showing last year I'm out of the Limited Non-Pro, Rookie Professional, and Boots is out of the Novie Horse, won too much money. Not that I kept any of it, it all went to pay for show fees and gas and such. But it was worth it, what a great year.
Had my New Year's Eve Party, it was lots of fun, especially with the red and black wig ; )
January 14 was a very sad day for all of us, especially the drama monkeys. Our beloved friend and role model, Cheryl L. Tri, passed on because of cancer. She fought a long, hard battle, and never gave up the fight. She was an amazingly strong, smart, witty, and caring individual. She was always there for me, one of my only friends in my sophomore year. Every day I'd stop by her locker and talk to her. She helped me become a better actress, a skilled colorguard captain, and most importantly she made me feel better about myself. She was one of the greatest friends anyone could ask for, and we will miss her dearly. I remember the day they told us, I was brought to the choir room to be with everyone else even though I wasn't in choir. I'm glad they opened up the auditorium for us, it brought us all home together once more.
But now when I look back and think about Cheryl, all I remember are the happy memories and the friendship I have of her. Every time I think of her, I know she's with me somehow, or at least thinking of me too. I look forward to the day when I will see her again and spend eternity with her and everyone else. I love you, Cheryl.
"The love and the laughter will live on long after all of the saddness and the tears, we'll meet again, my old friend..."
Started Spring Semester at RCTC, I'm taking Math at the Heintz Center on M/W/F 9-9:50am, and Sociology at the campus on T/Th 8-9:15am. From there I come back to 2nd block (Advanced Research w/ Baures), 3rd block (Study Hall, Lunch, Studyhall), and 4th block (Computer Science w/ Jobe). Golf starts soon and I'm quite excited for that.
FFA has been awesome this year. My horse judging team is going to State! And being the President has been wonderful, I'm glad I was elected, and we all know that Tim'll step up and take my place next year. I'm looking forward to the FILL Leadership Conference at the end of the month, I think me, Casey, Tim, and Kassie are coming, it'll be fun.
FFA Week was a couple weeks ago, that was lots of fun. Getting out of class for the Quiz on Monday, and for the Seed Guess on Tuesday and Wednesday (and spending studyhall grading quizzes and counting all 2084 kernels of corn), delivering cinnamon rolls on Wednesday in first the big red truck then Tim's white Chevy when the red one... didn't like working in the cold... but that didn't happen... ; ) The Petting Zoo was supposed to be on Thursday but apparently it was too cold for the little kids to walk over, so we'll do that later in the year. Friday was the Bale Toss but I was on the Ski Trip, which was a ton of fun, even went down a couple different black diamond hills.
Can't wait for it to warm up. I'm going to Texas for Spring Break to hang out with my long-lost best friend Laura, it's going to be warm and fun : ) The school year is going by so fast, May'll be here before we know it, and with that comes Prom and Graduation... Still hasn't sunk in that I'll be graduating. At least I don't have to worry about Prom : )
I do believe that's it for now. I'll try to stay more updated, but we'll see what happens. If not, talk to you all soon on facebook!
~Helen

TAL & FFA

Hello, my pretties!

today has been a pretty great day, after RCTC I drove to Ironwood Springs for the TAL (Teens As Leaders for those of you who live under rocks and didn't know what TAL stood for...j/k!) and it was a lot of fun and a great experience. I loved spending most of my day there, Ironwood Springs is a really rad place, and it was so cool to just open up and become better friends with everyone in TAL.

after i followed JB back to Roch from TAL, i went to the first FFA mtg of the year, my first mtg as the President! It was pretty cool, I liked being in charge, and I like having Tim as my VP because he's more aggressive than me in bossing people around, it's a good thing I think. Then we played Redneck Basketball for about an hour, we could have had more people, but it was still very fun.

so, tomorrow I guess I have to go back to reality (school). Meh. But today was rockin awesome, thanks to everyone who added to my great day :)

Yours Truly,
~Helen

Water, Water, Everywhere!

Last couple months we've been in a bad drought. And now BOOM we've got over 9 inches in the last 36 hours.

our "new pond" beside the driveway this creek is normally only a few inches deep and only a couple feet wide. now look at it

We woke up to the neighbor down the road calling to say that our aunt's horses were running down the road toward Eyota. So we drive down the road looking for them and find them at Severson's farm about a mile and a half from home, I got to ride my cousin's rope horse home, he's a real nice horse, a pretty blue roan.
Anyways, we walked them home and did chores at my aunt's barn and my grandparent's barn, then found out that my grandparent's basement was under 8 inches of water. So they get home and we get 2 pumps and the shop vac and pumped water out of the basement for most of the day, the highlight being when Grandpa emptied his gun case and laid all his shotguns and rifles upstairs (all 20+ of them) and Grandma chewed him out because she had no idea he had that many. :) I told Grandma that if she ever made him get rid of some of them to not forget about me! lol.
And we're supposed to get even more rain, hooray.
Other news... we went to the North Central Reining Futurity, and it was wonderful. I did pretty well in my classes, and watched the Futurity which wasn't the best I've seen but still good. Mandy McCutcheon won the Non-Pro with a 216 (210 denoting an average score) and Tom McCutcheon (Mandy's husband) tied to win the Open with Scott McCutcheon (his brother) with a 221.5. We had supper catered in from Wiederholt Supper Club (BBQ ribs and corn on the cob) BEST ribs EVER! :)
Then Holly and I worked at the gate at the Spring Creek Motocross Nationals, that was kinda neat, we put wristbands on people, heh. But you won't believe the stuff the cops confinscate, like a cellphone flask... then a drunk guy got tazored then passed out and had to leave via ambulance... crazy.
This last week we were on vacation, which was wonderful. The fishing wasn't awesome but it was still tons of fun, and we got to go tubing behind the boat. Then I left a day early and drove up to River Falls to visit Laura (my friend from Texas) who was visiting her grandparents, it was great to hang out and spend time with her, even if it was only for a day, since I haven't seen her since last December.
And... that's all folks!

Fishing and Horses

Showing horses is the best, reining horses. Even if I don't do well I still love it. I got two 2nd's this last weekend in the Youth, but it was fun anyway, great to see everyone again.
Fishing is the second best, we went fishing at this horseshow in a river at the end of the driveway, and it rocked, the fish were big and it was fun :) enjoy the pics!

And... I'm going to MO this weekend, that should be mucho fun. Cy'all!

I Have Returned...

Howdy y'all!

As you probably know I've been gone for about 2 weeks, spending most of that time horseshowing in Illinois, and then at a Farm Bureau Leadership Conference at St Peters MN. It's been fun, but I'm glad to be back home for a while.

Illinois was great, we went to 2 horseshows, one just south of the WI border in Roscoe, Illinois, that was alright, I got 2nd in the Youth behind the guy that's leading the World in that division, so I didn't feel bad at all getting 2nd behind him! Then we stayed at a friend's place in Indiana for a few days, then we went to Springfield Illinois for another reining. We got there early so we went to go see Lincoln's Tomb and the Lincoln Museum, they were both really cool. The show went great, I won the high-point belt buckles in the Youth 14-18 and the Limited Non-Pro, and Boots and I scored our highest ever, a 72!!! It was a great weekend, and it was awesome seeing all our friends again, the people we only get to see at horseshows, so that was cool.

Then when we got back, on Monday Tuesday and Wednesday we went to a Leadership Conference at Gustavus Adolfus College in St Peters, and that was lots of fun, everyone there was your friend, and there was a dance, a campfire with s'mores, sand volleyball, yard games, and a great dining hall with a ton of different food. And we had a little incident with the jello... hee hee, there was white cream stuff by the jello and we THOUGHT it was whipped cream, but I guess it was sour cream... yuck. And we happened to be sitting with some councillers and the speaker, so the speaker just HAD to announce that to the ENTIRE auditorium during a session... yeah but it was hilarious. I was laughing so hard I couldn't breathe. ha ha. Anyways, it was lots of fun, and I signed up to be a counciller next year, so woo hoo!

I went to see Live Free or Die Hard with a bunch of people the other day, and I thought it was a pretty cool movie, I don't often go see those kinds of movies but this one was pretty neat. Also went to Mikes' bonfire last night, that was cool too, great seeing y'all again.

Until next time, Happy Trails y'all

~Helen

wow... i love the sky

this was at my place tonight before it rained. i love the weather. it's cool. and pretty pictures.

Just One of The Boys

"One of the Boys" - Gretchen Wilson

I can do most anything a man can do
I can hold my liqour with the best of you
Even take your money in a game of pool
Yea I'd kick your butt, If I wanted to.

And I dont mind when people cuss infront of me
The truth is I dont blush that much at anything
But I still got this little girl inside of me
That likes to be, treated like a queen.

And I know I dont act much like a lady
But I still need to be somebody's baby
Yea you might find me makin' too much noise,
But I'm more than just one of the boys
Yea I'm more than just one of the boys

God knows I aint never been the clingy type
Lookin' for a man to make it all alright
But I dont mind admitting sometimes late at night
Well I need someone, to hold me tight.

And I know I dont act much like a lady
But I still need to be somebody's baby
Yea you might find me makin' too much noise,
But I'm more than just one of the boys
Yea I'm more than just one of the boys

And I know I dont act much like a lady
But I still need to be somebody's baby
Yea you might find me makin' too much noise
But I'm more than just one of the boys
Yea I'm more than just one of the boys.



heard this on the radio a couple weeks ago, thought it sounded just like me, well, except for the liquor part of course ;)

PUPPY!!!

WE GOT A PUPPY!!!

okay, i went to see Shrek the Third with Kassie and Casey (not an awesome movie, but it was okay), met some of the rest of the gang there, while my mom and dad went to Simon's in Cannon Falls to look at a horse. I come home and Holly comes out carrying a puppy, and I'm like "what's this?"

She's a cross between a heeler (australian cattle dog) and an australian shepherd. They're called Texas Heelers down south i think. But she's reddish brown, has white legs with reddish brown flecks on them, stub tail, and clear blue eyes. And her name is Stormy.

She's so cute!!!

Love y'all
~Helen

Anything Goes, Prom, and allergies

Howdy Y'all!
The play was awesome! Everyone did an excellent job, I loved watching all of you at your best. While I couldn't be up there with you, I was in spirit. The performances rocked, and it's so amazing seeing each and every one of you step it way up on stage. I can't single anyone out, you were all spectacualar.
Prom was a lot of fun too! I went with my friend Jon Anderson, and it was way more fun going with a trusted friend. It was fun, we went to his house for pictures and played some Guitar Hero while we were waiting. :D Then we hung out with the gang all day, we went out to eat at Red Lobster, then waited around forever for Grand March, but then the dance started and that was mostly fun, the music could have been better, it was all the same, just song you'd hear every day on kroc or something. But they did play "Save a Horse, Ride a Cowboy" at my request for country and "Cotten-Eyed Joe" which made me really happy :D For it being Prom they didn't play very many slow songs, that was weird, but the slow songs were fun because me and Jon purposely ran into people that were being all serious and stuff, lol! :b Still a 5 hour dance is a little too long i think, we were all really tired by the end. Then we drove home and changed for Post Prom, which to my happiness was a western theme! it was great, there was a mechanical bull there and I rode it 3 out of my 4 tries, and i think i was the only one who actually rode it the right way, i won $20 for being one of the best bullriders. Then my mom and dad had the roping contest, i won another $20 for having the most catches. Jon won a $50 door prize. There were lots of games, kareoke in the "jail," I even sang "Cowboy Take Me Away" with some other girls, that was fun, i love that song. We were all really tired but we had a ton of fun.
So... now i'm really tired all the time and kinda behind on school work and it's all stressful and everything, but I'll get through it. And the allergies are starting up... the trees are all flowered out and pretty, but they make me sneeze. I'm allergic to pollen and it's everywhere. So i'm gonna look and feel miserable for a while until the trees are done flowering. but yeah my eyes really water and get puffy and my nose runs, so it looks like im crying but i'm really not. anyways, if you know any tips for allergy aid, let me know, i'm gonna need them.
take it easy y'all

We Are the Champions, We Are the Champions...

Carthage, MO "Slide Into Spring" reining horseshow results:

Non-Pro: scores 71, 70 tied to win the first day, split the prizes evenly, won it the second day, also winning the high-point belt buckle! I've been wanting to win a buckle for about 4 years now, so I was pretty happy :)
Youth 14-18: scores 70.5, 69.5 winning both days, and winning the high-point belt buckle (the one Holly is wearing)

I also showed my 4-year-old colt Cabin in the Youth class and was 3rd, he did a great job for my first time showing him this year!

we went to a Tuesday Night horsesale at Simon's in Cannon Falls last night, I love weekday night sales, nothing of real value there but it's so much fun to be there... there was even a llama there that one of the cowboys actually rode into the sale ring, they started it at $100, couldn't get a bid until it was down to $20, then it sold for $45. We were talking how we should have gotten it, it could have been our new mascot, then as JB said we could be the DRAMA LLAMAS! or as Little said Papi could have fresh llama meat for a week... yes we are crazy.

THAT'S ALL FOR NOW, FOLKS!!!!

I got to Kick A Little!

NCRHA EXTRAVAGANZA REINING RESULTS:

well, i kinda kicked tails, lol. day 1 i had scores 71 and 71.5 (pretty dang amazing, 70= average/good performance, anything above a 70 is great) and won both my classes, Youth 14-18 and Limited Non-Pro (against adults).

day 2 i also scored 71.5 and 71, again winning the Youth and was Co-Champion in the Limited. I took home 2 plaques and 2 pewter trophies.



Heck I won every class I entered! What a way to start the year. Yee haw. And where are all the cowboys...??? 15 youth riders and all cowgirls... when are guys going to stop being stupid? anyways...

last weekend it was Topeka KS, this weekend it was Fergus Falls MN, and next weekend it's gonna be Carthage MO. mucho fun, i love Missouri.

my horse is awesome I love him tons : ) way to go Boots aka DB Approved! (pictured w/ me on the right, above the shoutbox)

~Horsey

Car Accident and Kansas Reining Show

Howdy my brothas and sistas. i think you've all heard about the car crash that Pagel's were in on Thursday night. I heard it from a friend that heard it on the news, and I looked it up online, ends up that my good friends Ron and Tim Pagel were in a car accident that night, they called us back the next day while we were on the road and gave us the report: Tim's perfectly fine, just a little cut up, but Ron's got a broken hip. That's really tough because he's not exactly a little guy and he's got a farm to run. Tim says he's going to have surgury tomorrow then be laid up for three months at least. Owch. Thankfully Tim's got lots of people helping him with chores, including us. We went over tonight and I learned that yes, cows are not as smart as horses, they are also bigger and will try to run you over. So after 45 minutes and the use of a nylon rope that burns your hands, me and Tim got all the cows in their stalls. Then a little later Jake Pearson showed up, Holly and Tim fed calves and Jake showed me how to milk cows. Then we all spent some time in the calf shed chasing mice, then finally getting everything wrapped up by 10:00pm. He even fed us supper! Good times.
Friday morning we left for Topeka, Kansas for our first reining show of the year, and it went pretty dang well. It was a two day show. Youth 13 & Under, Holly won it both days, but there was only one other little girl in it. Youth 14-18 I was 2nd the first day and won it the second day. Dad showed my palomino colt (Cabin) in the Novice Horse, and tied to win it, I was proud of my little guy. Then the second day in the Novice Horse, Dad and I tied with each other to win it, that was neat. And the Non-Pro, the second day I tied to win the Limited, and tied for 2nd in the Intermediate and the Non-Pro. In other words, we took home 6 first-place plaques and 4 second-place ribbons. Great weekend. Good place to get our horses out before the year really gets going. And Kansas rocked. It was warm, grass was green, trees had flowers on them... and the people were awesome, everyone's so nice down there. Reinings are my true home, the only place I can walk around with my hat and belt and boots and am friends with everyone and feel important. Heck one of the young Open riders (Open = trainer/pro) even came up to me after the youth and said I had a good run. These are my kind of people. Sad there's none in this area. Anyway, last weekend Kansas, this weekend Fergus Falls MN, a good long trip north. This one counts for the North Central Circuit, and three or four girls from the 13 & Under group moved up to the 14-18 group in the Youth this year, and they all have "big money" horses and their trainer primes their horse right before they go in and show, whereas I train my own horse (with my Dad's help every once in a while) and do everything myself before I show. So it's going to be tougher this year, but I'm up to it. It's a great feeling when you show against an $87,000 horse who's owner pays thousands each month to keep it in training and beat it with my old gelding that we raised and trained ourselves. Hard work really does pay off.
If you read everything this far, I congrat and thank you. There will be a quiz on Friday. Not really. Can't wait for it to dry up outside and the ground get back to normal so I can take my horses out through the woods. Everything changes over the winter, and it's a great escape for me to just ride away and be by myself. Boots is ready to get out there too I can tell. Can't wait to go loping through the fields, coming up on a group of deer, kicking up a pheasant, crossing creeks, and just riding outside again...
cy'all

Redneck Snowball Fight, Semi-formal Dance, Golf, X-Men, and FFA Officer Elections

Time for an update...
On Friday my "brother" Tim Pagel asked if Holly and I would help with chores that night since his parents weren't home to help, so Holly and I get there and Jeff Pagel was home from college! It was really cool to talk to him again. So we finished up milking cows, then Jeff started throwing snowballs and before you know it we were having an all-out snowball fight that lasted over an hour! Started out with me and Tim back of the barn sneaking up on Jeff and Holly, then they started up the four-wheeler and started driving by chucking snowballs at us, we ended up taking turns ganging up on each other and ended with Jeff knocking me down and Tim dropping a 40 lb snowball on me. It was so much fun, those guys are just like brothers to me, it was great.
Saturday I went with Buck and Little to Menards to get wood for the build day, which was long and tiring but we got a lot done. The drill was even smoking when we decided to quit! Then I went home and did chores and got cleaned up and went to Tommy's house before the semi-formal where everyone was playing Guitar Hero, I tried it and wasn't very good, but it was somewhat fun. The dance was very boring! There were no cool lights, there were student DJ's and the music choice sucked, the only country songs were slow! and the best song of the night was "Save a Horse, Ride a Cowboy." it was really tiring too. but it was cool seeing people all dressed up.
Today after school was the first golf meeting, I'm super excited about starting golf! I love golf, not that good at it, but it's so much fun! 'nuff said.
I've lately been getting into reading X-Men comics and graphic novels, and it's really cool! The movies were awesome too, but the comics rock. I love X-Men.
FFA Officer elections were tonight at the meeting and... I'm excited to say that I am the new President for next year!!!!! VP = Tim Pagel, Secretary = Spencer Franke, Treasurer = Danielle Storm, Reporter = Alisha Ryan, Sentinel = Holly Lauth, and Assistant Officer = Alana Heins. Jeff Pagel and Scott Franke were even able to come to the meeting, that was cool. FFA is the best ever. Looking forward to a great year.
Es it for now. It's St. Patrick's Day this Saturday, woo!

How 'Bout Them Cowgirls?

hey, this song sounds like me!

"How 'Bout Them Cowgirls?" ~George Strait

I felt the rush of the Rio Grande into Yellowstone
And I've seen first-hand Niagra Falls
And the lights of Vegas
I've criss-crossed down to Key Biscayane
And Chi-town via Bangor, Maine
Think I've seen it all
And all I can say is

How 'bout them cowgirls?
Boys ain't they somthin'
Sure are some proud girls
And you can't tell them nothin'
And I tell you right now girls
May just be seven wonders of this big, old round world
But how 'bout them cowgirls?

She's a ridin' colts in Steamboat Springs
Bailing hay outside Abilene
She's trying hard
To fit in some city
But her home is 'neath that big, blue sky
And the Northern Plains and those other wide open spaces
Now-a-days there ain't as many

How 'bout them cowgirls?
Boys ain't they somthin'
Sure are some proud girls
And you can't tell them nothin'
And I tell you right now girls
May just be seven wonders of this big, old round world
But how 'bout them cowgirls?

Boy, she don't need you and she don't need me
She can do just fine on her own two feet
But she wants a man who wants her to be herself
And she'll never change, don't know how to hide
Her stubborn will or her fightin' side
But you treat her right and she'll love you like no on else

Yeah, how 'bout them cowgirls?
Boys ain't they somethin'
Sure some are proud girls
But you can't beat their lovin'
And I'll tell you right now girls
May just be seven wonders of this big, old round world
But how 'bout them cowgirls
How 'bout them, boys?

National FFA Week

It's FFA Week! This week was totally awesome. Tuesday I helped with the FFA Quiz, Wednesday was the bale toss (talk about down-home fun, we had farm kids on the tailgate and guys in overalls, and all of us laughing at how these greenhorns try to throw these haybales!), Thursday was for Cinnemon Rolls and the Petting Zoo Barnyard, and today was Kiss the Pig (congrats Mr Hak) and during lunch Josh, Ashley, and Jessica had a scale machine set up to see how much people could lift with a rope. The story is that if a 53 pound kid was stuck in a grain bin, could you pull them out? I could lift 146 pounds, so I'd save them if they were stuck 3 feet in. Pries won of course, he could lift almost to 400 pounds. Amazing how much it takes to get a kid out of a grain bin, scary really... But Thursday was hands-down the best, I brought in Cabin and Jasmine for the petting zoo, and all the little kids and even the high schoolers thought they were cool and Cabin was beautiful (which he is =) We had a brown swiss cow and calf, goats (the one month old white goat i held most of the day, I named it Goat), piglets, ducks, chickens, a 6 week old sheba pup... all in all a great day to chill with the animals and fellow farm kids. There was even a reporter there from the paper that interviewed all of us. Great fun, look forward to this week all year =) "Country folks will survive..." I love farmers!
~Helen

Snoball 2007

Snoball week was quite fun for me. Tuesday I won PJ day : ) Wednesday was color-war day, which I was completely decked out in blue, that was fun. Thursday I went to the FFA Fish and Wildlife contest in Plainview with Benn Grenz, Taylor Kronebusch, Jake Pearson, and Alex Graham. The identification part was fun, riding in the van with those yahoos was not as much. There was a big written test, multiple choice about wildlife, didn't do all that great on that, I think I maybe got half of them right, more or less. Identification was neat, there were 12 specimens of each group, Fish, Mammals, Birds, and Insects. Most were stuffed, like from a taxidermy, but sometimes they just had a dead mouse on the table to identify. I did pretty well on that. So it was fun for the most part. Then today, Friday, was school spirit day, and the picture of me pretty much explains it all. Everyone gave me funny looks, but it was lots of fun. We had a black light pepfest, that was really cool, even though I had to stand on the side for student council, I still got to participate in a game, hugging and popping the balloons with Robert, Ben, Matty, and Evan. And it was quite fun watching the pepfest. Way better than Homecoming. Tonight I'm going to the Snoball dance after chores and a shower, so that should be fun hanging out with the drama monkeys and pretending to know how to dance. Yayness. Take it easy y'all. ~Helen

Champion!!!

I went to the North Central Reining Horse Association banquet this last weekend, in a town by the cities called Jordan, at a restraunt called The OK Corral, which was the coolest place to eat i've been to since Oklahoma City! So we got all dressed up and went to the banquet (yes I even wore a skirt) and met up with our friends we only get to see at horseshows, and received our prizes. I was 1st in the Youth 14-18 (this is for the entire north central region in the US) for the first time ever winning a brand new custom $3,000 saddle! It's so pretty! The picture is of me and Sally Brown, she owned Boots' sire, Master Cowboy Jac. And I was also 3rd in the Limited Non-Pro (a tougher class against adults that pay big dollars buy a horse and keep it in training, when I just ride my own homebred horse) by only a couple points, so that was good too. They're scared of me showing against them next year which is a good thing ; ) Other news... oh new classes, Math Analysis is going to be brutal, to use Gimp's word, so I'm not looking forward to that class, Heath and American History sound like they'll be funish, and Horticulture is going to be a mess with all the senior dinks in that class... but might be enjoyable anyway. This week is Snoball week, I'll be going all-out on the dress up days cause hey, any chance to be crazy is worth it right? : ) And planning on going to the dance on Friday, anyone else coming?
I guess I'll leave it with that, take it easy y'all.
~Helen

3rd place

3rd place at Subsections.
we all went to subsections with high hopes, after our win last weekend at conference. we performed well, real well. then we watched the other plays. St Charles was great, I expected good marks for them. then when they announced it, 3rd place, the Swimmer, we weren't ready for that. so we get a big fat nothing, and now we're done. no more Swimmer. we practiced so hard. and I'd accept that, if we deserved 3rd, but the 2nd place play really shouldn't have been better than ours. it was Wabasha (the home school, doesn't that tell you something) and their play was about a game show where if the guy got the question wrong then someone else's life would get messed up and people would die, and the acting was terrible, and one girl dropped a line so one person didn't even get stage time. and one of the judges didn't understand our play. he thought there really was water, but it's really just in the swimmer's head, and everyone got that except the one dinky judge. so there goes everything. sections, state... we really thought we could make it this year, our play was certainly of that caliber. Anyways, just a few thoughts I had on our play and actors:
Jack, the swimmer - Jack you were awesome! You were totally in character the entire time, focused (unless you were making out with Hayley, gross!) your facial expressions were the best, and I don't think you ever complained. It was great fun watching you perfect this character, and making you wear your costume during the school day :)
Jena, angry woman - Jena you are the crabbiest old woman I every knowed! I especially liked the part when you beat Tommy with your purse, that was great. And that ugly old dress was cool too. Great job!
Tommy, policeman - Way to eat doughnuts and talk at the same time. :) You portrayed the cop very well, cudos. musta been fun wearing that costume at school all day! nice job.
Hayley, old woman - Love your granny dress! Ha ha, especially when we wore our costumes in school. ;) It was fun watching you get old before shows. You did a good job on stage too. (oh, and old ladies making out with swimmers is NOT fun to watch! ;)
Brandon, old man - Lovin the way you used the cane so naturally... and the "dang it woman, i don't need no suppositories" then how people at school asked if you were really needed the cane when we wore our costumes all day. Awesome job.
Kassie, the kid and AD - ha ha, sounds like western outlaw, WANTED: Kassie the Kid, reward :) way to ride that little teeny bike and sing the Barney theme song, it was very enjoyable. Like the pigtails :) i'm glad you got to act with us, nice job, you're a great Assisant Director.
Rob, the drunk - someone from another school asked if you were really drunk during the play, lol. you were a good drunk, good job on your role.
Manda, the young southern girl - Manda you did an amazing job acting in this play, we could all sense your energy and committment to this play and it made us want to be awesome, and in my opinion we were. Awesome job :)
Mike, the odd young man - I'd definately have to say your speech was my favorite in this play. During performances you had us all cracking up backstage, it was great fun. Especically the "oh! he just got hit by a bus!" you had awesome energy and excitement, and it was good finally seeing you with your pants above your waste and not falling down. great job, Shaggy ;)
JB, the dancer - I loved your dance routines, and so did every audience! practices were fun, especially when you tried the first costume and you put on those brown pants and held out the waste at arms length when you tried them on :D It was awesome how you took it up 2 or 3 notches at performance and gave it your all, it really motivated the rest of us. Awesome acting, great job.
myself, the business woman - self critique, it was really fun playing my part, I got to be important and throw quarters at people! and i finally wore a skirt and got a good makeup and hair job (thanks so much Jessie!) and had 34 bobby pins in my hair at subsections. I think I went through 3 or 4 pairs of nylons... the shoes were very uncomfortable... but I had great fun! thanks to everyone!
Techies: Buck, Tristin, Nikki, Courtney, Alisha, Jessi, Jeff - thanks for making this work for us, we could never have done it without you! I'll be joining you as a techie for the next play, cause I'll be out playing golf...
Little, the director - Our fearless leader! Little you worked wonders for us in this play, really made it into something worth working hard for. You made us great, thanks so much! I'm glad you came with us to subsections even though you were sicker than a dawg. Thanks for everything.
If I forgot anyone, I'm truely sorry, cause everyone heloped to make this play work. Great job everybody, love y'all, and congrats cause we really were the best! thanks for being the greatest friends I could get. :) drama monkeys will always be family
your fellow faithful drama monkey,
~Helen

CONFERENCE CHAMPS!!!

WE WON AT FESTIVAL!!!!
The One-Act Play that I'm in, The Swimmer, had our first performance Friday night at the school, that went well and everyone loved it. Then Saturday we attended the One-Act Play Festival at Wabasha, and despite the competition from St Charles and the smaller stage,
WE WON AT FESTIVAL!!!!
St Charles was a close second to us, we had 4 points and they had 5, but third place was an 11! (3=best, 15=worst) But I will say that St Charles had some great acting, but their play was totally bogus, just these Brititsh people talking at each other, a coo-coo clock and a giant ear walking across stage, and a flirtatious fire chief with a fire jacket and no shirt under it... ick. but the point is,
WE WON AT FESTIVAL!!!!
Now we have one more performance at the school Thursday night, free of charge, at about 9:30pm after the game. Then Saturday, it's off to Subsections back at Wabasha, we go first, good luck everyone! Let's go ROCK YOU and git-r-done!
~Helen, the Business woman

Murphy's Law

1. Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.
2. Change is inevitable, except from a vending machine.
3. Those who live by the sword get shot by those who don't.
4. Nothing is foolproof to a sufficiently talented fool.
5. The 50-50-90 rule: Any time you have a 50-50 chance of getting something right, there's a 90% likelihood you'll get it wrong.
6. If you lined up all the cars in the world end to end, someone would be stupid enough to try to pass them, five or six at a time, on a hill, at night, in the fog.
7. The things that come to those who wait will be the scraggly junk left by those who got there first.
8. The shin bone is a device for finding furniture in a dark room.
9. A fine is a tax for doing wrong. A tax is a fine for doing well.
10. When you go into court, you put yourself in the hands of 12 people who weren't smart enough to get out of jury duty.

Happy New Year!

Hey all! Had a pretty sweet New Year's, hope you did too. Play performances are coming up sooner than I thought, seems like it anyway. Getting my Advanced Honors Biology project done on Archimedes, be glad when that's over. And at the end of the month I get my new saddle! Finished reading a book by Louie L'Amour (yes another western) called To Tame A Land, highly recomend it to anyone who likes action and mystery and especially westerns. And... that's pretty much it. Take it easy y'all. ~Helen

Memo from Santa Claus

Memo from Santa Claus:
I regret to inform you that effective immediately, I will no longer be able to service the Southern United States on Christmas Eve. Due to the overwhelming current population of the earth, I now serve only the northern United States. However, I'm certain that your children will be in good hands with your local replacement who happens to be my brother in law, Bubba Claus. His side of the family is from the South pole. He shares my goal of delivering toys to all the good boys and girls; however, there are a few differences between us.
Differences such as:
1. There is no danger of a Grinch stealing your presents from Bubba Claus. He has a gun rack on his sleigh and a bumper sticker that reads: "Gun Control is a Steady Hand."
2. Instead of milk and cookies, Bubba Claus prefers that children leave a RC Cola and peanut patty (or a moon pie) on the fireplace. And Bubba doesn't smoke a pipe. He dips a little snuff though, so please have an empty spit can handy.
3. Bubba Claus' sleigh is pulled by floppy-eared, flyin' coon dogs instead of reindeer. I made the mistake of loaning him a couple of my reindeer one time, and Blitzen's head now overlooks Bubba's fireplace. like this: http://www.jingleshells.com/flash_content/flash_content.html
4. You won't hear "On Comet, on Cupid, on Donner and Blitzen..." when Bubba Claus arrives. Instead you'll hear, "On Earnhardt, on Wallace, on Martin and LaBonte. On Rudd, on Jarrett, on Elliot and Petty."
5. "Ho, ho, ho!" has been replaced by "Yee Haw!" And you also are likely to hear Bubba's elves reply, "I her'd dat!"
6. Bubba's sleigh also has a bumper sticker that reads "My Other Car is a John Deere" .
7. The interior of Bubba's sleigh is the envy of the south. It boasts the latest in 8 track technology, a top o' the line fuzzbuster, an oversized chrome foot shaped gas pedal, fully carpeted dash, and Yosemite Sam floormats.
8. Bubba Claus doesn't wear a belt. If I were you, I'd make sure you, the wife, and the kids turn the other way when he bends over to put presents under the tree.
9. Bubba Claus refuses to wear the standard issue Santa cap because he says it makes him look like a girly-boy. He has been granted permission to wear a white Stetson with a red band and black cowboy boots instead.
Sincerely Yours,
Santa Claus

NRHA Futurity

Hey y'all!
Just got back from the NRHA Futurity in Oklahoma City. For those who don't know how big a deal this was, this is the World Finals in Reining. We left on Tuesday night, got there around noon on Wednesday.
Thursday was the Youth Party, that was tons of fun, with a Hawaiian theme. We played cards with new friends, then started selling raffle tickets during the Non-Pro freestyle class. Freestyle is when the rider chooses a theme and makes up a routine to a song of their choice. Like one was "Brand New Girlfriend" song by Steve Holy, with a guy running around on his horse with a blow-up 'girlfriend.' Highly entertaining class to watch.
Friday we went shopping at the Trade Show and vendors around the coliseum and to the Stockyards of Oklahoma City. If you're ever there, check out the Factory Outlet, they have lots of good cheap stuff there, like $70 boots! We ate at Cattleman's Cafe (great steak!) and went back to the coliseum to watch the Open Freestyle, that was great. I also met up with my long-lost friend from Texas, Laura Brainard, and her mom Jill and her brother John. That was really cool! I haven't seen John in a year, and Laura and Jill I haven't seen since early this summer.
Saturday I hung out with Laura most of the morning, then we went to the Youth Meeting where we ate sandwiches, talked to more kids and met new cool friends, and we also voted for the new officers for next year. I'm thinking about running for delegate next year, this looks like fun! Then my family and I met up with Lori Soma, who moved to California a couple years ago to go to Shepler's western store and eat at Shorty Smalls (which is the best restraunt in the world, I highly reccomend going to eat there if you are ever in Oklahoma City, Little Rock AK, or Wichita KS!) Then we came back to watch the Open Futurity Finals, the one we've all been waiting for, it was great! We saw so many talented horses and riders. Brian Bell had it won on his sorrel mare with a 226.5, then at the end Randy Paul caught up with his buckskin stallion with a 227! And the average score is a 210 for those who don't know, and my highest score ever has been a 214.5, and that was a great ride! Then I said goodbye to the Brainards, and the other youth kids we'd met there.
Sunday we travelled home. It was a long ride. We need more audio tapes to listen to in the car, the Louie L'Amour westerns that Dad and I listen to are a little overplayed. We have like like 30 of the short stories, and Dad and I have them all memorized. Anyway...
great to be home! I missed y'all!

Some unique things down south...

• everyone is so much more friendly and polite! I'm talking handshakes, yes sir, yes ma'am, saying hello and starting conversations with anyone that walks by, treating everyone like your friend - it was great!
• it's not SODA or POP, no matter what flavor it's all COKE.
• it's Y'ALL, not YOU GUYS, say YOU GUYS and you get funny looks
• they get an inch of snow and schools are closed and the whole city starts to shut down
• there are 7 snowplows in the entire Oklahoma City! 7! is that not a little ironic, or stupid? lol
• no one knows how to drive on a little bit of ice down there! truck fishtailing, we're passing people, people from Quebec are passing us... you get the picture
• the dirt is red. really red, it's pretty cool!
• one thing though - I like it better there than I do here, sorry to say, but I love Oklahoma!

Some pictures from the show!
more coming soon, i am having technical difficulties with blogger.... grr

Youth Party
(l-r) Ian Barnard, Ashley Fuchs, Cash Bridges, Meghan Burns, & "Slider" our mascot

Youth Party 2
(l-r) me, Holly, Jena Daggett, Alexis Daggett, Alie Leonhart

Holly & I

The Guys
(l-r) Brandon Boyle, "Slider", Cash Bridges, Ian Barnard

Holly - ?
(l-r) me, Holly doing I don't know what, Jena Daggett

Youth Meeting
(center) me, and Laura Brainard

2006 NRHA Youth Officers
(l-r) Kailey King (sentinal), Cash Bridges (treasurer), Tara (secretary), Sarah Locker (vice president), Ashley Fuchs (president), Mandy Kennedy (advisor)

2007 NRHA Youth Officers
(l-r) Kailey King (secretary), Cash Bridges (treasurer), Meghan Burns (sentinal), Brandon Boyle (president), Ian Barnard (vice president)

enjoy!

stuff to think about

you know how stuff rarely seems to work out the right way? seems that way right now. it seems that i want something, but like that something doesnt want me to have it, or i cant have that something. then there's other things that i could easily have and possibly enjoy, but i don't want to settle for what those things can offer. i know what i want, but it's so hard for me to get it. i want X, and i don't really want Y or Z, but i can have Y or Z, and i can't have X, no matter how much i want X and try to get X. and before i was so upset that someone less qualified than i got to have X, but i didn't. i wanted X so badly and i was the best person to have X, then someone like that took that away. then there's other things i would really really like to have, A, B, C, D... only half of them have already been taken by someone else, and the others it seems like i can't get any of the things i want no matter how much i try. but now i'm realizing that maybe these things shouldn't mean so much, maybe i'm making too big a deal. so i'm trying something, and it seems to be working, a little. i'm sitting back and seeing if an opportunity for me to get one of the things i want will come by. but it's so agravating and annoying and saddening when the other people who have gotten things like the things i want flaunt them in front of me, when i'm still just me without the things they got. i wish they'd stop... but someday i'm gonna get me one of these things i desire so much, then i'll feel more complete and happy. someday... very soon i hope :(

My "New" Truck!

Hey Everybody! I have just brought home my "new" truck from my great uncle Lonnie's place - it's an '88 Chevy Silverado 1500, new tires, minimal rust, with a topper! Now I have to pass my road test this week... wish me luck! Here's a picture of Old Blue:

"I will remember you..."

On Sunday, September 17, 2006, in the afternoon, in Carthage, MO, I sold my horse. QT Boy Blue, my first reining horse, and one of my favorite horses of all time. He brought a fair price, but more importantly he is going to a great home in Kansas City. The lady that bought him tried him out a week before the sale, and we know he will be treated like royalty, so I am glad for that. And yes, I did cry when he left, wouldn't you? But I'm not worried about him, he'll be real happy at his new home, and the lady just loves him, like I did. "So, here's to you and whoever holds my baby Blue tonight..."

Western Skies

I went fishing in the dark...

my really big fish! as opposed to my sister's really little fish!
i love chester woods!