Gymkhana and Piano Recital

Sparrow in her champion halter that she won in 2008

I've stolen pictures from my sister's camera. It's only fair since she's using my memory card.

Sweet girl. She got stung by a bee on her nose later in the day! :(

Sunday was a busy day. It began early with a gymkhana for Alex and Sparrow. They placed first in two events and second in another (slower by a tenth of a second or something crazy like that). All of this despite Sparrow's advanced arthritis. She certainly has the spirit of a competitor. My mom was in the announcing booth with a horse trainer, and the trainer kept watching Sparrow and saying, in disbelief, "That horse isn't sound?"

Barrels

This might be single stake

That evening was my cousin's senior piano recital, accompanied by a performance by his band Triunity. Given that the recital was an hour's drive away and we had to put the horse, gear, and trailer away before grabbing some kind of dinner and make ourselves look presentable, we were lucky we got there on time. I'm so glad we did, because he played beautifully. He has a lot of talent.

And so does his band!

Psst. You can buy their first album here.

I shouldn't be surprised, but of course, there was drama even while we were sitting there as still as we could, watching him perform. Alex found a tick on her neck (the ranch we were at for the gymkhana had a lot of vegetation) and flung it. She mouthed that she didn't know where it was. The lady in front of us kept giving us the stink eye without looking directly at us every time Alex moved because her chair squeaked loudly. Then I found the tick crawling on my arm and held it up for Alex. Kate, my brother's girlfriend, rummaged through her purse and handed us a receipt. We wadded the tick up in it then didn't know what to do. I was wearing heeled boots so I gestured for Alex to set the tick on the ground so I could crush it, but we were worried it would draw the attention of the Ms. Holier Than Thou in front of us. In the end, Alex darted off in-between pieces and flushed the tick down the toilet. All of this was going on while my cousin was playing a rambunctious piece. It was like being in a silent film.

Afterward, we headed home for the finale of LOST. We even had a LOST cake which we decorated.





The explanation of the cake:

Yes, I did predict the end of the saga on the Island, but that's only because in the second to last episode, Hurley said "I'm just glad it's not me." That was like drawing big red arrows pointing to Hurley, saying "It'll be him!" Plus with the whole Jacob leading Jack to the Lighthouse thing, it was clear that he was manipulating Jack into volunteering.

And we even... dressed up as two of the characters to watch the show. The wig didn't stay, but but this dressing up for finale's thing is Alex's genius idea, and it has happened more than once now.

Sweaty Jack and Sayid stopped by

POwriter -- Thank you, Peter! I'm glad you shared a similarly enjoyable experience, and I agree. I look forward to either watching the series on DVD or catching the odd rerun, because I know it'll only enhance the meaning.

Tracie -- Yes, um... well, Sawyer, shirtless or not, was certainly the main attraction for every season. Especially the boring seasons. I look forward to whatever Josh Holloway chooses to do next!