My clowns  

My hard work for the winter – a full barn

Leavi, GH and I went to our school’s Halloween Party. GH and I visited with neighbors while Leavi played games and entered the costume contest. And won his age group ~

Someday I guess there will be a matching pic of this one… all grown up!

his prize was a school T-shirt

Halloween night Luke went with a friend and his family to trick or treat.  GH had a great (ahem) idea to let Leavi ask some friends to go with us and then to spend the night… all high on sugar! Great night! LOL

Leavi and Luke in full costume… any who knew my dad should recognize the stance LOL – Luke barely knew my dad but is so very much like him! Leavi liked to be “tough” in his costume – all the pics of him where like this one!

We didn’t carve pumpkins this year but I found these trick or treating that I liked on someone’s walkway

Also, on Thursday Luke got a haircut…. it was down to his shoulders. He didn’t want his pic taken – I got MANY of these….

but FINALLY….

I think this is cuter of him but you can hardly see the hair

I hope you all had a FUN and SAFE Halloween!

If you’ve ever felt like you go a little cross-eyed after taking a peek at an optical illusion, then you know they can be a pretty intense phenomenon. What your eyes perceive when looking at one of these images is actually a visual illusion; you see the image as something different than what it is because the different cells and receptors in your eyes distinguish images and colors at dissimilar speeds. The eye can only receive a limited amount of visual stimuli, but as your brain constantly processes the visual information, it gives you the illusion of continuous sight. Whether it’s an optical, physiological or cognitive illusion, the design plays a trick on your eyes (and mind). Check out some of the interesting illusions below—but beware, you may not be able to absorb them all in one sitting.

Flowing Leaves

The brown leaf shapes against a green background make this look as if the entire group is flowing—making waves if you focus on the picture as a whole. Photo from Flickr

Pulsing Vortex

If you stare at this one long enough you’ll notice a fast and pulsing multicolored vortex. Photo from Flickr

Waves

The blue almond-shaped objects look as if they’re all passing over three separate columns. Photo from Flickr

Hypnosis

Although this image is comprised of simple purple and green squares outlined in black, it looks like it is bulging out in the center. Photo from Flickr

Kaleidoscopes

A collection of black, blue, green and white shapes appears to be five different kaleidoscope-type figures—each swirling toward their centers. Photo from Flickr

Wormhole

The black and white circular lines make this illusion seem as if there are various depths in the image, creating different entryways and tunnels. Photo courtesy of Paco Calvino

Bull’s-Eye

If you stare at the center of the image, it looks as if the outer rings are rotating in alternating directions—an effect meant to mesmerize the viewer. Photo courtesy of Todd A. Carpenter

Starbursts

These bright purple and green star-like shapes appear to be moving, which can be a little nauseating if you stare at it for too long. Photo courtesy of Angie Armstrong

I went on my first trail ride, ALONE, yesterday. I have been scared to go alone but I have not found anyone who will ride with me and I can’t wait forever! I used to be invincible – I am too old to really believe that anymore! But my confidence took a great jump yesterday! Biggin and I went down a road with cars and all around a treed field. He was excellent! One small step today…. 

Nirvana will be when I can take my camera out of my pocket and take the same pic of being on Ruskie – without being scared of him taking off out from under me!

So, this is my view from Heaven!

Boys and dog…. rarely parted. But last Thursday right after school, my boys went to Camp Navaho Army Base for Leadership Training and did not come home until Saturday afternoon. Belle went to Dr. Moore on Friday to be spayed and to have a microchip implanted. So she had time to recoup from surgery before they came home.

Remember this 6 pound cutie?

Now, I have this gorgeous 55 pound sweetheart

Now…….. on to The Force of My Future

The boys really really liked the camp… they didn’t want to come home. Most all of the people (boys, girls and adults!) did not want to go home.

The officers kept everyone so busy. They would have leadership, drug free, esteem building and many other classes between playing games and campfires. They got to “work” a fire engine, marched, played volleyball, dodgeball, dressed up the sgt as a woman, raised the flag and many more fun things. They, also, got to sleep in REAL barracks! This was way too cool for both of the boys, since they are big military fans… Luke of the Marines and Leavi likes the Army. The kids were given nicknames – Luke was the “Godfather” because he won the game of Mafia Wars and Leavi was “Indie” because he was indecisive! Perfect names for both of them! LOL

The officers had a slide show Saturday for the parents… the kids enjoyed seeing themselves, too … of all of the activities over the session. At the end, the kids were called up one by one and given a certificate of graduation. My two standing at attention and yelling YES SIR! My eyes watered up… I don’t see how much they are growing physically, emotionally or mentally since I am too close to them. But this is one of those moments when the reality of their growth slaps me in the heart! I am so over joyed to watch them learn and grow but it is very bittersweet for me to have to leave their youth behind – them and ME!

Pic that the camp took of them with their unit. (Those are the San Francisco Peaks behind them)

I give you…

The Hitmen

For Adam’s new CD and for this movie!

Adam Lambert-Time for Miracles

Last Saturday was our school’s last soccer game. Leavi played a pretty good game! But to get there – Seligman – we had to drive on I-40 through Williams. The Twin Fire was at its height. Clear to the interstate. 64 homes, schools and some businesses had been evacuated. All is good now. Businesses are open, school is in session and people were allowed back into their homes.

The game…

break time…

And the Twin Fire…

GH has been out with the Britney Spears Circus Tour – which ended last Sunday in Las Vegas. It was a two night venue. I went to the Saturday night show…. to see the Delightful Jordin Sparks who was one of Britney’s opening acts. I thoroughly enjoyed watching her on American Idol and even more so live. She is a sassy and energetic performer – without any strobs, massive bass or tacky costumes. Just Jordin. I LOVED IT!! And I almost got to shake her hand at the end of her show. She was coming down the ramp to leave, was about 3 ft from me when some REALLY cute guys on the other side caught her eye They got pics with her. She is so sweet! She is at MySpace and she Twitters. She is at home now after a long long summer of touring and with many jaunts all over the USA between nights with Britney and The Jonas Brothers. She was such a trooper even when she didn’t feel good, she still put on her smile and gave her best performance at every venue.I apologize for the pics… a point and shoot with too many back lights going on.I am sure there must be a setting on my camera for this type of pic but I was too busy enjoying the show to change the setting for almost every pic… hey, I am certainly no pro!

I wondered if these were the buses for Britney, Jordin and the other performers – maybe they were staying at the Mandalay where they performed…..

Yes, I DID get this CLOSE! It was great! When I went to see Britney last April in Las Vegas at the MGM, it was VERY crowded, hot and loud. This time, the seats were filled but where I was – at “ringside” – there was enough room to walk around. I walked all over taking pics while weaving through a few people here and there to get closer to the stage.

I did stay to see a few acts from the Circus and a few songs of Britney’s songs

And my souvenirs

I just started to follow Mommy Knows and she is giving away a basket of Kraft goodies!

quote~~

There are a couple pounds of Nabob Traditions coffee, two jars of Kraft Peanut Butter, some Kraft PURE Strawberry Jam, a box of Peek Freans LifeStyle Coconut Lime cookies, several packages of the fabulous Back to Nature Nuts (if you can keep from eating the Back to Nature – Cranberries, Chocolate Covered Almonds and Vanilla Almonds mix in one sitting, I’ll give you a prize (not really)), a bottle of Kraft Olive Oil salad dressing, and …

there is also a package of Oreo Sippers (I’ll try to keep Georgia from ripping your box open (like the one above) before the contest ends), several packages of Christie’s Snak Paks, a box of Ritz Premier Collection Buttercrisp crackers and last (I think … maybe there’s more), but of course never the least … Toblerone Chocolates.

unquote

So, click HERE and enter – it is very easy to do

Thank you, TommyUSA, for making this video. Susan Boyles absolutely ROCKS! This is such a beautiful version of Mick Jagger’s story!

Susan Boyle ~ ”Wild Horses” by TommyUSA