Winch Family - Blog

Snow Nigh in South Carolina!!!!

2010-02-13T22:24:00.002-05:00

Sara was so very excited about the snow heading our way. The weather forecast called for snow after the sun went down. Well, at the barn it snowed like crazy before the sun went down and Sara made the most of it. On the way home, it was coming down sideways and the biggest flakes I had ever seen! When we arrived home, the roads were full of snow and the driveway was quite slippery! This is Sara standing in front of a little plant at the side of our garage. It had been snowing about 30 minutes, so we still had plenty to come!

Winch "snowy" house

2010-02-13T22:22:00.001-05:00

This is what we woke up to this morning! There was enough snow to make several snowmen... although I can't say I was really up to doing that. The roads were clear, but we had a pretty nice white blanket on everything else.

J&B Stables

2010-02-13T22:21:00.001-05:00

This is my favorite! It's a picture of the driveway to the barn! I love the way the trees look when they have no leaves and are full of snow!

Duke

2010-02-13T22:19:00.001-05:00

This is "Duke" Nick and Bob's dog! We let him out this morning and he went crazy with the snow. He loved it. I threw snowballs at him and he would eat them!

Snowy Palm

2010-02-13T21:43:00.001-05:00

First palm tree that I have EVER seen with snow on it! This is in my front yard after about 1 hour of snow.

Bob at it again......

2010-01-27T21:00:00.002-05:00

Here's Bob, I think in his previous life he was a fisherman and just doesn't know it.

He caught this huge fish in a pond on the golf course where we live. I think it's a spotted red fish - (see the dot on his tail)

Anyway, he always catches and releases when fishing in the ponds.

Way to go Bob! Must be the glasses!!!

QUEBEC HERE WE COME......

2010-01-27T20:56:00.002-05:00

Well, it getting very close to Hayden leaving for his trip to Quebec to play in the biggest hockey tournament in the world! So many countries are being represented, including England... I didn't even know they could play ice hockey over there!!!

Anyway, it has been quite exciting getting the dozen e-mails on a daily basis and trying to keep up with them. Then there's the 5 hour drive one way to Raleigh for a 1 hour training session and a 5 hour drive back. Let's just hope the little bugger appreciates this and kicks some butt in Quebec! GOOOOOOOOOOO HURRICANES!!!

SCHOOL

2010-01-27T20:54:00.002-05:00

Sara, Nick and Hayden on their first day of school. They are all staying around the same height of each other pretty darn well. I am now the shortest in the family, which really comes as no surprise!

Sara started her freshman year in High School, Hayden started middle school and Nick is in his last year of middle school.

Since this picture was taken, I think they have each grown several inches more!

IEA Horse Show...

2010-01-27T20:50:00.002-05:00

Here's a picture of Sara riding in her first IEA Horse Show with her new team from Storybook Farms. Sara had a great ride and finished 2nd in the jumping class riding "Henry" who was brought in from Evermore Farms in Ga. Sara also rode in a flat class on another horse from Ga. and finished 4th in that one.

When you compete in these shows, they go down a list and pull a horse out and it's the luck of the draw! Sara has done so well riding so many different horses.

Hockey Camp

2009-11-12T19:32:00.002-05:00

This is the hockey camp Hayden went to. He said it was absolutely amazing!!! Hard work, hard work and more hard work.

Hayden was selected as the number one draft pick out of 33 kids - quite impressive to say the least.

He said he wants to go back next year, but for 2 weeks not one!

MALL OF AMERICA

2009-11-12T19:30:00.002-05:00

On the way up to Minnesota to drop Hayden off at hockey camp, Bob, Nick & Hayden visited the Mall of America. Bob went to find a Starbucks - or the closest thing and the boys rode the rides. They loved it, and could have stayed all day.

Hopefully, we will get to go back there one day and we all can enjoy it.

RED BARN

2009-11-12T19:28:00.002-05:00

This is a picture of our barn - we had been waiting and waiting to have it painted, but every time "the day" was scheduled, the weather did not cooperate.
We finally managed to get it done and it looks absolutely gorgeous!
This wasn't good enough though, it looked so nice that we had to do the inside too! So off to the paint store and we bought a nice light tan - looks like a brand new place.

Winning Show....

2009-09-06T11:47:00.002-04:00

These are the two little girls that Sara trains at our barn - J&B Stables. We recently took them to a show up in Clemson, SC. Sydney (holding the ribbon) won Reserve Champion in her division, which consisted of 6 classes and then Carly went on to place 2nd - 3rd - 4th in each of her classes. This was Sydney's 2nd show and for Carly, it was her first.

They each did an excellent job and came home very happy little girls. We are so proud of the job that Sara has done with the girls.

Sara went on to show the next day, and came home with a bunch of ribbons too! So all in all it was a great weekend!

HAYDEN TURNS 12

2009-09-06T11:41:00.002-04:00

Hayden has finally become a pre-teen and finally turned 12 this past Thursday.

He is now taller than me (not too hard to accomplish, as they all are) and acts as though he is 20!

In other good news, he is still playing hockey but for the Bantam team, which is above where he should be, and he also made the Cario Middle School golf team. This means extra running around for both me and Bob, probably mostly me as Bob is in his season right now.

Speaking of which, Bob opened his season with a 14-0 win and then went on to win his second game 4-2! But then he lost his game yesterday 3-0. Let's hope that the girls pick things up a little bit and get back on the win list.

First day of School - August 2009

2009-09-06T11:31:00.002-04:00

Okay, here they are....... first day of school 2009.

Bob is getting quite handy with his cell phone, and took this picture after I had gone to work.

I can't believe how quickly they have all grown up.

Sara has gone into High School this year, Nick into 8th grade and Hayden has FINALLY left what I call "baby school" and moved on up the ladder to Middle School.

Let's hope for a great year!!!!

Sweetie & Princess Night @ Chick-Fil-A

2009-06-27T10:04:00.003-04:00

Here we have Sara, Hayden and Sweetie. Sweetie is the little miniature we have out at the barn. She is a pistol to say the least. Sara and Hayden rode in the back of the trailer with her to make sure she was okay, which I might add that she did very well for her first "field trip" in a very long time. To the right we have a picture of us all at the "chick" and being of course Sweetie being adored by a couple of the Princess customers! Sara painted her hooves sparkly pink, which the girls just adored! In the photo, we have Sara, me, Linda, Carly, Denise and Sydney in the front. We had a really good time, and hope to do it again.

Sara & Haley @ PSJ

2009-06-27T10:02:00.002-04:00

Sara and Haley decided to both do the PSJ show at the local grounds her in South Carolina. It was a nice change from driving the 4 hour drive to Aiken - showing - and coming back all in the same day!

They both did quite well considering the amount of people who turn out to these shows.

We are very proud of them both.

8th Grade Graduation

2009-06-27T09:58:00.002-04:00

Here they are...... Sara and her Dad! Today is Sara's day. She is graduating from Middle (Junior) School and is moving on up to High School! Doesn't she look lovely? I am sure you all know that she got her fashion sense from her lovely Mother... right!!!

Anyway, sarcasm asisde..... Sara is so excited to be going to High School. Her graduation gift was a new laptop! I think that excites her more!

Sara was only 1 point away from being on the honor roll for a full year, which was an incredible feat for her. We are so very proud of her for all her effort and hard work.

Way to go Sara..... enjoy high school - but work hard!

Graduation

2009-06-27T09:52:00.002-04:00

Hayden FINALLY graduated from Elementary School. I say finally, because it seems like he has been there forever! I suppose when two children have gone through elementary, it seems to drag out and take longer for the last one.

I reminded him today that he is now out of "baby school" and he is moving on to the big leagues. Let's hope that he manages to stay out of the principles office - I knew the principal all too well at this place. Time to grow up and move on!

Good luck Hayden!

Riding Time

2009-06-27T09:37:00.002-04:00

Here's Nicholas at the quarry that we ride to. He had been bugging us to take him on a trail ride. Well, this was one to remember. He rode the nicest of the horses, as we did not want anything to happen to him. Then we arrived at the quarry and he decided to take a little dip! You don't really know what might be lurking in the water, so he jumped in several times and then came back up and out really, really fast.

I don't think he is impressed with riding, as the "jewels" got a little bit smushed due to the horse wanting to trot a little bit.

Getting ready for Michigan

2009-06-27T09:32:00.002-04:00

This is one of Hayden (at the front) running the 1.5 mile training run for his trip to Michigan. We had to drive 5 hours to Raleigh just to train for this trip. They had ice time, then went over to a school to do the run. I think we walked 2 miles to the school, just so they could do the 1.5 mile run!!!

Easter 2009

2009-06-27T09:26:00.003-04:00

I know this is old (Easter) but I wanted to post it anyway and try to catch up on our "goings on" Each year, Bob hides eggs and the kids get to hunt for them. Our back yard is not like the one we had in Florida - we have less places to hide them. I am not sure who likes the hunt more..... Bob or the kids. If Ihad to guess I would say that Bob is not ready to "let go" of his tradition just yet.

Oh yes, Nicholas found the GOLDEN EGG yet again this year. He is the only one thus far who has EVER found the golden egg. Sara is certainly not happy about that!

The Barn

2009-03-27T09:59:00.002-04:00

Well, what do you think???? I think everyone did a great job painting the fence. This is the "AFTER" picture and I am very proud that the girls stuck it out. It was a windy day, and we all had paint on us. Unfortunately, the only thing that got the paint off of us was gasoline! Ughh. We now have a few horses with gray paint on them, as they all had to be "nosey" and see what we were doing.

Our next project is to powerwash the outside of the barn and then paint it red! Hopefully by the end of March it will be done.

More pictures to follow..........

The Barn

2009-03-27T09:57:00.002-04:00

Well, here's a BEFORE picture of the steel girders at the barn. They are so rusted that we decided something needed to be done. Whit powerwashed all of the fence, and we all got together and spent the afternoon painting them gray.

13 Years Young

2009-03-27T09:53:00.002-04:00

WOW!!! I can't believe it - already! Mum always told me that they grow up quickly. She was certainly right - mind you, how do you ever doubt your own Mother???

we got Nicholas an ice cream cake and had a fisherman and a bunch of fish (the blue ones) placed around the oreo cookies. He loved his cake.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU NICK!!

Walking the course.....

2009-03-27T09:48:00.002-04:00

I thought this was a great picture! Sara, Jenn (our trainer) and I went to Aiken, SC. for a big horse show. The courses are very difficult to remember but if you "walk" it ahead of time, it's much easier to remember. Sara had a series of 14 jumps to memerize and complete them within a certain timeframe. Well, she remembered her course (Yeahh - what an accomplishment) but was outside of her time limit. Not a big deal to us, because the accomplishment of just remembering her course was huge for Sara.

In the picture you see Sara (in uniform) - Jenn in Red Hat and a "seasoned" competitor in the white hat. He was a great help. This show was especially great for us, because Badger did not refuse one jump, did not knock one jump down and Sara remembered all of her courses. We came home ribbonless, but for us we won the world because of all 3 accomplishments! Way to go girls!!!

Hello, anyone in there???

2009-03-27T09:45:00.004-04:00

Hello, is anyone home??? This is the little opossum again. He decided to take a peek through the french doors as he heard us fussing and trying to get a good look at him. He does not seem fazed by us at all. He seems to be very young, so we don't really want to scare him off - he's cute now, but I know he will get bigger and end up being a cheeky bugger for sure!

Dinner Time......

2009-03-27T09:42:00.003-04:00

Our friendly backyard friend, opossum comes for a visit looking for food. This particular evening, Bob had put chicken in the cat's food bowl (I keep telling him not to do this, as Sally does not eat the stuff) and the opossum sniffed it out a mile away!

He is enjoying a little feast for sure.

Tampa Finalists....

2009-03-27T09:38:00.002-04:00

Hayden and I visited Tampa, Fla. for a hockey tournament in February. It was a great weekend, and although we did not win we made it to the final and got beat by a very good team... the Florida Everblades. It was a great game to watch and I am sure be a part of. Both teams played excellent, and if I say so myself, the best team won!! Congrat's on 2nd place boys.

In case you do't recognize Hayden, he is to the left - back row - next to the Coach.

50 YEARS & STILL GOING STRONG!!!!

2009-03-05T19:54:00.002-05:00

WOW!!! What can I say??? Mum and Dad will be celebrating their 50th Wedding Anniversary on Saturday, March 7th. What an amazing milestone!
Mum and Dad have gone through so much together, ups, downs, more ups and more downs, but through thick and thin they have stuck together and worked through sooooooo much.
CONGRATULATIONS to both of you, I know you will have many, many more GOOD years ahead of you!
I LOVE YOU VERY MUCH!

Pony Club

2008-11-25T18:59:00.002-05:00

Here's Sara and Badger after they had completed their testing! He was such a good boy, he earned himself a few treats back at the barn. Also, the girls in the picture below are the peers of the girls taking the tests. I think it's wonderful to teach these kids how to administer test, complete them and help the "newbies" feel more comfortable.
Sara will be heading out this coming Sunday for "OPENING DAY" for the foxhunt season. She will not however be wearing a red jacket, as they have to earn those (kind of like earning your stripes in the army)

Certificate Time

2008-11-25T18:54:00.003-05:00

Here's Sara after being awarded her D1 and D2 certificates for the Pony Club Ratings. D1 is the first level when you are a new member. Because that was the first level, they went ahead and completed the second level also. They now want Sara to go and try for her D3 Rating, which is much more involved. This one will take place around December 27. We will have to see if she has managed to soak up the amount of book knowledge that she will need to take it then. We will certainly keep you all posted.

"Catfish Bob"

2008-11-25T18:47:00.002-05:00

As you can see, Bob is having a wonderful time with having a pond behind our house! In his spare time, he throws out a line to see what the catch of the day will bring him. Yesterday, he pulled in several huge Catfish. He looked like a little kid pulling in his first ever fish. Anyway, after taking the bait and hook out of the mouth, he gave all of the Catfish to the Mexican workers who were working on a house next door. They were thrilled with their "fresh catch" for dinner.

New Job

2008-09-13T20:43:00.002-04:00

Well, for those of you who don't know, I started a new job! Yes, I gave up working with the little kids at the pre-school and moved on to bigger and better things. I am now working at the Citadel! I work in the HESS Building (across the road from Bob) ~ I work with the club sports, with one lady, and also with the classes, schedules, fitness tests, etc. with another lady.
For the most part, the day goes by very quickly and I for sure enjoy my job. The ladies thank me everyday for what I do!!! Not used to that up here, but they are all so very nice.
Bob comes home and deals with the kids when they get home from school, so the logistics were pretty easy to take care of.
I know I will be finishing for the Christmas Holidays somewhere between the 10th and 15th of December, so that will allow me a little trip to Florida to see Mum and Dad (hopefully if the gas prices aren't too high) and both of us will get our "fix"
Until then, have a great weekend and stay out of trouble (if that's possible) :0)

HAPPY 11th BIRTHDAY HAYDEN!!

2008-09-06T22:00:00.003-04:00

What a cake! I made Hayden a birthday cake, and he got the privilege to decorate it. He made a face with glasses and then put sprinkles on it! What a great job! Hayden will be having an official birthday party at a place called Velocity Sports Performance! He has invited a few hockey buddies and a few school buddies, along with a couple of kids from the 'hood. They will do a 45 minute work out with a trainer and then go into the gym for a session of 3 on 3 basketball ~ dodgeball and kickball. They should all be ready to eat after that and then (hopefully) be exhausted enough to chill out for the rest of the evening before going back to school on Monday. I will post more pictures after the party!!!!!!

Birthday boy....

2008-09-06T21:59:00.003-04:00

Hayden opening up his birthday cards! He waited all day for this to happen! He is very patient to say the least!

Shorts

2008-09-06T21:57:00.002-04:00

Hayden keeps telling us all that he will be going to Boston College when he turns 18 so that he can play ice hockey for a great team! He has been "wishing" for a pair of Boston college shorts for some time now, so that time finally arrived! He got an "official" pair of Boston college shorts ~ also the correct color for school!

Birthday

2008-09-06T21:52:00.002-04:00

Here is Hayden with his official Under Armor shorts that are the correct color for school! He loves the Under Armor stuff and already has one pair of shorts that he has pretty much worn out in a very short time!

Sliding Rock (very cold)

2008-08-02T13:04:00.002-04:00

Okay, another year visiting Sliding Rock. You can't beat this place for the price. It costs each rider in the car $1. You can stay as long as you want and go down the rock as much as you want ~ assuming that your body can take the freezing cold water!

One person you won't see sliding down this baby is Janet. I cannot stand cold water! The kids had a great time and love it. I will post video of the kids coming down the rock next.

Conquering the Waterfall

2008-08-02T12:58:00.002-04:00

Here's Nick and Hayden climbing up a waterfall at a place called Deep Creek way up in North Carolina. We had gone there to go down the river on inntertubes, but the water level was low and it was way too rocky. Didn't look like too much fun, so after the conquered the falls, we left to a new location which was so much more fun.

Campfire

2008-08-02T12:54:00.002-04:00

This was the night for singing around the campfire at the top of the mountain. We were out behind the main house on a slanted hill. The lady who was playing the guitar and singing was an old family friend of the people who owned Cataloochee Ranch.

MORE TO FOLLOW SOON.....

2008-07-19T22:55:00.000-04:00

Hockey in Philadelphia

2008-07-19T22:47:00.002-04:00

Hi everyone! Most of you already know that Hayden and I took almost a week long trip to Philadelphia for an ice hockey tournament. Hayden had been selected to play for a team that was to represent North and South Carolina. What a great privilege! We drove 3 1/2 hours one way just to practice and then came home again. Total dedication, but I have to say that I loved it. Then came the big day where it was time to leave. Our trip was 11 hours one way. We stopped over in N. Carolina and picked up the next day and drove straight through. It was a great trip, and we were both amazed at how many states you can drive through in such a short period of time. The tournament was great, playing time was abundant, and the body checks were free flowing from Hayden! I was very proud of him, as most of you know he loves to check, and also seems to keep the bench warm in the penalty box! He ended up with only one 2 minute penalty out of 5 games. Quite an accomplishment ~ on top of that, he played great hockey and even got on the scoring sheet himself on 2 of the games. During downtime, he entered the competition for the most accurate shot. He ended up winning a pair of hockey gloves with 3 out of 5 shots in different holes. Neither of us can wait to go again next year! Out of the 20 kids that went, the coach selected 10 for next year, and Hayden was one of them. Hopefully, we can go to the tournament in Toronto, Canada. That one is on the wish list of the

Game Time

2008-07-19T22:43:00.003-04:00

Here's a picture of Hayden after game number 5. Each game they awarded the top 3 players an award. Hayden received one of those awards! Hayden only received one 2 minute penalty the whole tournament! Now, for those of you who know Hayden, you will say that this cannot possibly be true. Well, it is. He was allowed to check, check and check again ~ my oh my was he in his element! Aside from that, he played really good hockey and scored goals too! I don't think you can ask for more than that! Now I can't wait to go again next year! (you might notice that his shirt says "Florida" and not NC/SC like it should. Well, they did not have enough, and I guess they figured that since he came from Florida he wouldn't mind. How correct, he couldn't care less as long as he was playing hockey!

Duck Ride

2008-07-19T22:36:00.002-04:00

Well, here we are in downtown Philadelphia. The one thing the kids all wanted to do was ride this "bus" thing that went on the road, and then straight into the water! It was fabulous! As you can see, the boys all had these yellow "duck beaks" that when blown made a quacking sound. They had so much fun with the music and songs! To be honest with you, I think the duck ride was the highlight of the whole hockey tourament! Go figure!!!! In case you don't see Hayden, he has on the green striped polo.

Sara & Jessie

2008-06-22T20:11:00.002-04:00

This is a video of Sara riding JESSIE. She belongs to a friend of ours and she has not seen her horse jump this high since she got her. Sara decided to try to jump her and slowly raised the jumps each time she cleared one. We finally decided to stop at 3 feet and 1 inch! As you can see by the video, there is plenty of room between the jump and the pony. Have fun watching, it is a really quick one.

Me...

2008-06-22T20:05:00.002-04:00

Okay, I know some of you ask why there is never a picture of me on the blog. Well, there's a very simple answer to that question - I am ALWAYS the one standing behind the camera taking the pictures. Hayden took this one after I had just showered and put on my nightie for the evening. Enjoy it, because you won't see too many more.

Hello

2008-06-22T19:54:00.003-04:00

Hello Everyone:

Well, I have not blogged in so long. I have been so busy with all of the goings on around here, sports, end of school, getting ready for camp at my place of employment, job interview, etc. I am going to try and find some "up to date" pictures to put on the blog and will try to keep on top of it as much as I can.
Bob and Sara are getting ready for another week of soccer camp starting tomorrow. Sara is a regular employee now that there are so many "little ones" attending camp. She does a really good job with them. Nicholas also tried his hand at it, and did a great job too. Nicholas will be having 6 stitches removed from his finger tomorrow so that he will be able to play in a golf tournament starting on Tuesday. He cut his finger while attempting to slice up a watermelon! The knife slipped and cut deep into the finger... a couple of months ago he had 5 stitches in his foot, and 2 days before Christmas we had to call the paramedics out and take him to the E.R. I think I need stock in the emergency room!!
Hayden and I will be leaving for Philadelphia in the early hours of Wednesday morning. He is playing in an ice hockey tournament with a team based out of North Carolina. Long drives for practice are finally over - only 3 hours and 45 minutes one way! Anyway, we are excited to be heading to Philly and can't wait to see the competition. We don't expect any miracles, but the experience will surely be a great one, and hopefully we can surprise everyone and at least make it to the semi-finals next Sunday. If not, we will head home on Saturday - (10 1/2 hour drive,) arrive home Sunday, pack and leave for a family vacation on Monday (another 5 hour drive.) I think my bum will be ready for a long walk by then!
Okay, I will see what pictures I have. Will post soon.
Love to all.... :0)

Nice one Nick

2008-04-22T20:30:00.002-04:00

Nicholas caught this fish in the pond behind our house. I was in the kitchen and heard him yelling that he "had one" I told him to hang on, that I would be right down there with the camera. Thank goodness I always have that thing handy! When Nick, Hayden or Bob are in the yard fishing, Sally always stand guard of them. The white pole to the right of Nick is where they leave their poles and if they see their bobber go under, they run out and see what's on the line.

Let me see

2008-04-22T20:29:00.001-04:00

Sally wanted to get in on the action too. As soon as Nick brought the fish out of the water, Sally jumped on it and wanted to see it was all about. Not sure that she was really too impressed with it though.

smaaaaaash

2008-04-22T20:17:00.002-04:00

Hayden and I drove 3 1/2 hours up to Charlotte, North Carolina for him to tryout for a team that will be made up of North and South Carolina players. If you made the team, you would need to travel back to Charlotte for 3 weekends for training, then you would have to travel another weekend to Raleigh to play in the SC/NC State games. After this, there would be another training session (2 days) in Charlotte, and then we would travel 10 1/2 hours to Philadelphia to play in a big tournament up there. We would play a scrimmage game on Tuesday night @ 8pm and then the tourny would start on Wednesday and go through Sunday. Hayden wanted so badly to make this team. He made me proud! He went out there very focused, worked hard and did not mess around at all. I think he may have sent home several players with some severe bruising though!

This is Hayden on the "puddle" with a different player from another team. You will see Hayden against the boards wearing white. Yes, he is literally "smashing" a kid against the boards. He is playing in the Squirt league where there is no checking, but because they will be playing kids older than them and they check, this team must also learn to check. No problem with Hayden doing that - he lives for checking! I figured the coach would either pick him for the team because he was tough, or he would tell me to take my child home because he was a bully. Fortunately, he was picked for the team. So, we will now be spending Memorial day weekend and then each weekend through the end of June traveling to train and play hockey! I hope the tires are good on my car!

The Puddle

2008-04-22T20:10:00.002-04:00

This one is Hayden on the "puddle" with his fellow team member from the Charleston Wolverines. They played 2v2 with an additional goaltender each. This is Hayden getting a shot off on goal. The idea of this drill was to be the team to score first.

Look Mom, no hands

2008-04-22T20:00:00.003-04:00

Jenn (our trainer) decided to give Sara's legs and balance a really good work out. She lined up 3 jumps in a row - short, a little higher and then even higher. She asked Sara to jump all 3 in a row with no hands. Badger was great, he did as he was asked and took only 2 strides between each jump. Sara's balance was super. As you can see by the picture she was out of her saddle and balanced superbly! She was so proud of herself. Doing stunts like this, gets the adrenalin flowing and she wants to do more! When Mom is there though, there is a limit!

Relay 4x100

2008-04-22T19:45:00.004-04:00

One of Sara's events was the 4x100 relay race. Sara ran the 3rd leg of the race around the bend of the back of the track! She loved it, kept up a great pace and helped her team to a first place finish! Sara also ran the 100 meter sprint and finished 2nd in her heat and in the final finished 3rd. Not bad for a "gimp" Sara had pulled the quad muscle in her leg the week of the race, and wasn't quite healed yet. Her next event was the softball throw. She did quite well in that one, finishing 3rd in her age group. Not bad for someone who throws like a "girl."

Thank you...

2008-04-22T19:42:00.002-04:00

Sara wanted to see how "gentle" Badger would be if she put a carrot in her mouth and offered it to Badger. Well, I must say that he lived up to our expectations...... he moved over to Sara, sniffed the carrot and took it gently out of her mouth. Now if you ask me, that's trust!

Red Fish

2008-04-03T21:44:00.002-04:00

Here's Bob fishing in the pond behind our house. He was so excited to have a big one on the line. When we saw him outside, he had been trying to reel in the fish for 15 minutes. He had walked around the pond twice trying to find a "good spot" to reel it in. Obviously he did not find one very quickly. Anyway, Nick and I saw him and went to help out - Nick with a net and a Kayak we conveniently saw behind someone's house (yes, rather cheeky to say the least - but we did put it back) and me with my camera in hand trying very hard not to laugh at everyone involved.

Let me help

2008-04-03T21:34:00.002-04:00

Here's Mr. Greg from across the street. He's a fisherman and came out to help. He was all dressed up ready to take the kids out to a birthday treat, but he hopped into the boat and - like any fisherman would, decided that the birthday celebration had to wait! (I hope Brenda doesn't see the blog!) Well, after about 45 minutes of chasing the very smart red fish around the pond, they could NOT net it or reel it in. It gave us one more good splash - just to tease I think - and then proceeded to snap the line. Until next time, the red fish won and it was time for Greg to go and get changed and take the kids to the birthday celebration! Even Nick had to get changed again since he got his brand new shorts mucked up! And just so you all know, they have been fishing in the pond every day since March 28th trying to catch the elusive red fish. I will let you know if he ever loses focus and gets himself caught.

Let's go Dude

2008-04-03T21:28:00.002-04:00

As you can see, one must get around any way one can when one does not have a car, or one is too young to drive a car. Actually, Nick's friend Mac seems to have all the toys a boy would need. They either travel on this go cart, their bicycles or Mac's golf cart. It's amazing how boys seem to be able to just "make do" with what they have. Watch out if you are ever heading into Rivertowne - you don't know what or who you will encounter.

Boring.......

2008-04-03T21:25:00.002-04:00

This is Nick with his friend Mac. They had been down at the pond fishing when they decided it was time to come in as they were being eaten alive by the NO SEE UMS (I am sure I spelled that incorrectly). They are horrible. I gave Mac a hat to wear, as the bugs love the head. If your arms and legs are not covered up, when you come in the house you will look like you have the measles.

MOOSE AWARD....

2008-04-03T21:20:00.003-04:00

Nicholas was the recipient of the MOOSE AWARD for his hockey team two weekends in a row. For some reason Nick decided to save his best games ever for the end of the season. I guess you could say that he wanted to go out with a bang! He played so well, scored several goals, and got several assists in 2 games in a row. I am so proud of how well he played - unfortunately, one of his best games ever was in Atlanta, and wouldn't you know.... neither Bob nor I could be there. What a shame. I am however happy that the parent and friend that we sent him with has always been very good at giving the praise when needed, and a "reminder of how you need to be playing" when not playing up to par.

WAY TO GO NICK!!!

coaxing..

2008-03-25T10:28:00.003-04:00

Okay, we seem to have mastered the food thing. I think he will go on if we leave a trail of food. We hope and pray that works. As you can see, Denise is right behind him so that when he does step all the way on, she can lock in the butt bar and there is no coming back out. GO DENISE!! Badger seems to be quite a smart horse. He would eat the trail of food, and then back out of the trailer. We have to find some way to outsmart the beast. Until then... see ya later........

still trying.....

2008-03-25T10:26:00.001-04:00

Here we are, trying to load Badger the Beast onto our trailer. He just doesn't want to go. We tried everything........ Hmmm let's see if a trail of food will work on him..... gotta go and get some

Finally on....

2008-03-25T10:23:00.002-04:00

As you can see, 2 hours and 15 minutes later we finally got "Badger the Beast" loaded onto the trailer and strapped in! What a flipping chore that was. As you can see, he can't quite understand what the trick was that we played on him. Oh well, as long as we won, we won't tell him. More on the show to follow............ I am sure it will be quite interesting to say the least.

Hello Atlanta...........

2008-03-24T19:27:00.002-04:00

We headed out to Atlanta for a hockey tournament with Hayden's Squirt team. I took Hayden and the 2 boys you see on the left of the polar bear. The other two tagged along on our visit to the Coca Cola Museum. What a crazy visit it was. The boys were non stop and "high" from drinking the free cokes on the tour! They were bouncing off walls for sure. I was very surprised to see them all take such a great picture with the Coca Cola Polar Bear - mind you, they thought it was cool, so that was good. Everyone got to take home a freshly bottled bottle of coke, but the boys I took with me forgot to get them out of our little refrigerator in the room when we left! Of course I didn't complain, because they would have polished the stuff off in the car on the way home, and I really wanted them to sleep! Way to go boys - I was very proud of you all in more ways than one!

Medal..

2008-03-24T19:19:00.003-04:00

Hayden was supposed to be over with the other boys receiving the banner since he is one of the captains. Mind you, I don't know how they expect 3 to do that, so it was just as well that I was taking his picture. I wanted to make sure that I got one with his medal on - back to front or what??? Doesn't really matter, it's the MOMENT that is the most important! What a tourny.... Hayden didn't spend as much time in the penalty box as usual, so that was a big plus. He did get put in there during the final period, and I was a bit upset. I found out later though that his coach had told him that next time the kid "did that to him" he was to knock him on his ass. (sorry, but that's what he said) Those kind of penalty minutes I don't mind I guess. Next season though Hayden will be so excited as he is legally allowed to check players all he wants!

Charleston Wolverines - Squirts

2008-03-24T19:16:00.002-04:00

EXCITEMENT ALL AROUND! A great trip to Atlanta, and what a way to end it all. We will have a banner hanging from the ceiling at the Ice Palace in North Charleston - every player will have their name listed on the banner. What a happy bunch of boys! WELL DONE!

Taking Home the Banner!!!

2008-03-24T19:12:00.002-04:00

Here's the "hardware" that the boys brought home from Atlanta. What a great trip this was. The boys played 5 games and were undefeated in all. They scored a total of 26 goals and allowed only 5 goals. You could really see the difference in our team from the beginning of the season. Kudos to our coaches .... Coach Bunker, Coach Otap and Coach Ellis. What a great way to end the season.

Hi Sara

2008-02-20T21:52:00.002-05:00

This is Denise, a good friend of ours who rides Badger too. As you can see in this picture something or someone has caught the attention of everyone. Well, let me tell you....... Bob just dropped Sara off at the barn (I was already there) and as she got closer, she said "hi guys" and Badger stopped in his tracks, turned his head and was very happy to see his owner - (who by the way gives him way too many treats). That is surely a horse who loves his owner.

Time to work

2008-02-20T21:46:00.002-05:00

This is Sara on her comeback after taking a really bad spill on Badger. She was not able to ride him for a full week because of the injury to her back. I knew she was hurt badly when she didn't complain about not riding or doing P.E. at school for a week. Anyway, as you can see she is back to full strength and going "all out" She is gearing up to take Badger to his first show March 8th. It is just a fun show, no pressure at all. This will be a test to see how he performs in a competition ring. We will keep you all posted.

Nemo

2008-02-20T21:42:00.001-05:00

Badger is on the right and Bodie (his pasture mate) is on the left. They decided that they were going to give Nemo the pig a run for her money. This was the first day that Badger and Bodie spent at their new stables. Nemo wanted to play, but Badger and Bodie had not seen a pig before. I don't think they were too impressed. Nemo was quick on her feet for a pig. She out ran both of them! No wonder Badger wasn't a big winner on the race circuit!

Sara & Badger

2008-02-20T21:39:00.002-05:00

Here he is... "Badger" This is a good picture of Sara and her horse. She is so proud to be a horse owner. She has bought all of her own tack, blankets, etc. She is babysitting to earn extra money to pay her bills. Believe me, they are endless! I have to say though, she has taken on this responsibility and is doing a great job. I am very proud of her.

Bob & Janet

2007-12-30T22:57:00.000-05:00

Thought I would throw this one in the mix since I am always being told that there are no pictures of me! Well, that's because I am the one taking all of the pictures that are posted - Love to all.............

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL...

2007-12-30T20:23:00.000-05:00

Merry Christmas to everyone! Everyone in our house slept in - what a treat! It was a great morning for everyone - Nick was still feeling rough with a 104.2 fever from having been sick, but still managed to muster up enough energy to open up gifts and smile. The wheels fell off later in the day, and he took a long nap, which did help a little. All the kids in the "hood" were out with their new stuff, and the rage seemed to be ripsticks (which Nick and Hayden both received) and also air soft guns (which they both received) Christmas was wonderful for us all, and I wish everyone a very happy, healthy and prosperous New Year!

Coach...

2007-12-30T20:20:00.000-05:00

Bob is showing off his new ornament that Grandma B and Grandpa Mel got him. It's a little sweater with a whistle around the neck and it says "coach" All of our lovely new ornaments were added to the tree on Christmas eve, except for Bob's. We waited until Christmas Day!

Best Friends...

2007-12-30T20:16:00.000-05:00

As you can see, Sara's Christmas gift is as friendly as one could imagine. He is huge, although he is "bending down" to be at Sara's level. Sara rides Badger every day, and is so thankful for the boys getting her a halter, lead rope, chain, etc. to help her out. Both sets of Grandparents, and Uncle Chris and Uncle Rick sent the kids money to buy what they want. Sara will be buying a bridle and girth with her money. She is also trying to get more jobs babysitting to help offset the costs of her beautiful horse! Way to go Sara!!!!

Finally a saddle...........

2007-12-30T20:14:00.000-05:00

Once Sara finally woke up, we could get down to some serious business of opening up our gifts. Sara was thrilled when she opened up a nice blue, plastic gift bag with a saddle in it. I had told her that it was damaged in shipping and we could not buy it since it was now "damaged goods" Needlesstosay, she was thrilled to have her own saddle that will fit her for quite a while.

Wakey, Wakey, it's Christmas morning

2007-12-30T20:11:00.000-05:00

Can you believe I had to go and wake Sara up to come and open up her gifts. Hayden woke up first at 7:30 am (only because his alarm went off) then I woke up and Nick and Bob followed. Sara was off in lala land.

Nick & Hayden

2007-12-30T20:08:00.000-05:00

Nick and Hayden had been riding on a small ramp belonging to a boy down the street. They all seemed to have a great time with it, but they (of course) all wanted a bigger one. So, since Santa Clause is so nice you can see what he brought them on Christmas Day. What a ramp, 3 actual ramps and a rail for the skateboard. I just hope they don't break a bone before the end of the hockey season!

WELCOME "BADGER"

2007-12-15T21:26:00.000-05:00

Here is the newest addition to the Winch family. His name is Badger, he is a thoroughbred and stands 17 hands tall! WOW! He used to be a racehorse and won money. He is now retired (at the ripe young age of 7) and is now a jumper. I went to pay a little visit to him Friday afternoon (he had just arrived from Ohio on Friday morning) and I wanted to get aquainted with him before he was presented to Sara for her Christmas/birthday gift combined! He is so friendly, he let everyone pet him and was disappointed when everyone left his stall. He loves the attention. Both Hayden and Nick will be able to ride him since he is so gentle. Mom will just continue to shovel the manure that she is so good at doing.

"Badger"

2007-12-15T21:24:00.000-05:00

This is Sara receiving her "new horse." We had just brought the horse into the barn to surprise her. She was picking up spilled horse food when we brought Badger in. Holly made sure to saddle him up and bring her helmet from the other barn so that Sara could just jump on him and ride into her little fantasy world. WAY TO GO SARA!!

Stall Decorating Contest

2007-12-15T21:22:00.000-05:00

Hi Everyone..... this was "our stall" after we had decorated it for the contest at the barn. It turned out really nice, I made a mantle shelf (just a short one because we needed to make sure the stall door would open) We were thrilled at how well it turned out. We did not win, but had a lot of fun doing it. MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING ....

2007-11-22T21:03:00.000-05:00

This picture was taken on the back patio of the house. In the brown shirt is Nicole, she owns the house and is married to Eddie (picture below), the older lady to the right, Hazel is Nicole's Mother who lives next door. She was a very nice lady indeed. In the red shirt is Nell, Grandma Mary's younger sister, and then of course Sara in the background. I managed to snap this picture while Bob was trying to get a good angle for his picture, and that's who they are all looking at. Dinner was excellent, and because there was so much food left (they had 3 turkey's and 2 big ham hocks) we got to bring home left overs which of course made Bob happy. I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving and you are all now preparing to celebrate my favorite time of the year CHRISTMAS!

The boys

2007-11-22T20:59:00.000-05:00

This is (from left to right) Uncle Kirby, Grandpa John, Bob and Eddie. Eddie is Bob's cousin and Kirby is Bob's Uncle - Eddie's Dad. This picture was taken "under the house" where Eddie was deep frying 2 turkey's for dinner. They were absolutely delicious. I heard the skin was amazing, but I did not touch any because of the "fattening" aspect of it. Unfortunately, when we took this picture Eddie's brother Bo, who was finally home for good from Iraq had not yet arrived.

The 80's are back

2007-11-15T18:12:00.000-05:00

This is Hayden in his 80's outfit - well, part of it anyway. As I said earlier, they ran out of the house fast and I couldn't get a picture of them in their costumes. I had to settle for his wig and glasses, and that was it. I was happy to get that. For those of you who are wondering about Sara, she made an "ELF" costume and went trick or treating with her girlfriend outside the neighborhood and I did not get to see her wear what she had made.

Pumpkin carving

2007-11-15T18:07:00.000-05:00

This was my first ever attempt at carving a pumpkin. I don't think I did too badly. You can see the witch on the broomstick to the left, a spider at the top, and supposedly a jack o lantern face on the bottom right. When it came time to do the face, I had just had enough of the darn thing. Way too much work when your on the last minute.

Front porch

2007-11-15T18:05:00.000-05:00

This is the left side of my front porch (looking out from the front door) Unfortunately, I had to turn the lights on to take this picture, so it doesn't look too scary. It was much better in the dark, with selective halloween strobe lighting. I used pillows for the graves and black bags and a suit bag for the graves also. Next year will be much better as the ideas will flow a little sooner.

Tye Dye mania......

2007-11-15T18:02:00.000-05:00

Nick and Hayden both decided to create their own halloween costumes this year. It's nice when they get older, because you save the huge expense of buying the store bought ones. This one was actually Hayden's idea and Nick took to it too. You may be able to see that I did cover the counter top with lots of cling film first. We all managed to ruin our own shirts with the stuff. I had black ink on my hands for 3 days after that. But it sure was a fun experience, and I think they did quite a good job too.

Tye Dye

2007-11-15T17:56:00.000-05:00

This is Hayden's finished product. This shirt is part of Hayden halloween costume. I didn't see him with his outfit on either. I did however, manage to take a picture of him a day or so later with his wig and sunglasses on.

Tye Dye

2007-11-15T17:48:00.000-05:00

This is Nick's finished product. He also had a mask that was the same color as his t-shirt. I don't have any pictures of him dressed for halloween, because they were so excited that they rushed out of the house and I didn't even see what they looked like myself! (Mother of the year award huh?) ha ha

Emily & her pumpkin

2007-10-19T16:58:00.000-04:00

This is Emily. She is in my M/W/F class, and she is the sweetest but biggest handful in that class. I just love to scoop her up and hug on her. She is full of trouble, but it's always the fun kind. I just had to take this picture of her to put in a book I am making for an end of year gift. Emily is 3 years old and just learned to write her first name properly.

Instructions....

2007-10-19T16:55:00.000-04:00

This is the "talking pumpkin," his name is "JACK" and he explains how to go out and pick your very own pumpkin in the many rows of vines. He also tells you how to cook the "brains" of the pumpkin and then you can eat them!

Then you are told to "feel your head, know the size" and "only pick a pumpkin only as big as your head.

Boone Hall Farms

2007-10-19T16:52:00.000-04:00

Just look at this wonderful looking Jack-O-Lantern! This is every kids dream at Halloween. Well, the kids from the school I work at got to jump on this, as well as go for a hayride and pick their very own pumpkin from Boone Hall Plantation.

SOCK HOP

2007-10-19T16:48:00.000-04:00

Look at the state of these boys!!! They were all wound up because they were heading out to the local Sock Hop. It's a 4th & 5th grade dance. The ones in Oviedo that Nick and Sara went to were "very small" compared to these. In Oviedo there were about 100 kids, but here they sell 600 tickets (sell out) in a couple of days! Not too small to say the least! Anyway I took these four "Goonies" to the dance and driving them all their is quite an experience indeed. Coming home is worse - I think they spend their "dinner" money all on candy. Air Heads to be exact. Anyway, the main thing is, they have a brilliant time and can't stop talking about all they do in the 2 1/2 hours they are there! Time to go and get tickets for the next one! Watch out girls!!!

Hockey Tourny

2007-10-19T16:34:00.000-04:00

Here's the CHARLESTON WOLVERINE PEE WEE TEAM. We just hosted the first ever "Face Off" tournament and came in second. It was so much fun. The team played against our old Orlando Stars team (Nick played with them) and we ended up being victorious, although it was back and forth the whole game. I got to be a scorekeeper and loved every minute of it. Being on the same side as the coaches and listening to them, seeing and hearing the hard hits - what a difference than being on the spectators side! WAY TO GO WOLVERINES!!!

Tub time....

2007-09-13T11:52:00.000-04:00

Here's Nick relaxing in the bath tub in my room. I think if I remember correctly, he was in training for American Idol. He was using the shower head (looks like a phone) as his microphone!

I caught him off guard in this one. He was quite surprised!

Sing out loud Nick!!!

Golf stuff

2007-09-13T11:46:00.000-04:00

Dad only got to play golf one day, due to the nasty weather that we had. Evidently, when he played up in the mountains while visiting with Paul, he lost a lot of his golf balls. Well, Hayden had the answer for that one - he told Grandpa that he had lots of them that he found out on the course and he could take as many as he wanted to.
So, here you see Grandpa Mel going through Hayden's stash of balls in his blue bag. Of course he had already taken out the Tiger Woods ball, the Pro V 1 balls, etc. He's smart, nobody get's his good ones!

Mum & Dad

2007-09-13T11:43:00.000-04:00

Mum and Dad came to visit us, and stayed through Sept. 3rd. It was a great opportunity to celebrate Hayden's birthday while they were still here.

This picture was taken out on the patio later in the evening, you can see we had all eaten birthday cake and ice cream, 'cause we are all smiling with full bellies!

HAPPY 10TH BIRTHDAY HAYDEN!!!

Boston College....

2007-09-13T11:40:00.001-04:00

Hayden loves Boston College. Here, he is holding his Boston College "frozen four" tournament t-shirt and a BC college t-shirt. Also you will notice on his head he is wearing a BC cap.

Hayden has a dream of going to Boston College on a hockey scholarship and then playing professional in the NHL.

It's always fun to have those great dreams and desires as a youngster. Never stop dreaming and wishing Hayden!

Hockey Gloves

2007-09-13T11:37:00.000-04:00

Hayden had been asking for hockey gloves for his birthday. He had been wearing Bob's for some time. So, needlesstosay he was thrilled when he opened up a box and found the exact pair he had been admiring online.

Now if you know Hayden, you will know that he is a shopper. Anything he wants he lets you know and you are not allowed to forget - all his "shopping" is done online.

The B.B.Q. Kings......

2007-09-13T11:35:00.000-04:00

Well, we put Bob and Dad in charge of the grilling, and we made a point to tell them to "watch" it carefully. It seems that when Dad cooks, and Bob cooks (not necessarily together) they have a habit of burning (like charcoal) the food they cook.

This was an opportunity for each of them to watch the other and get it done "right." Well, they did a better job but we did have to remind them to go outside and literally "watch" the food cook as they would get carried away doing other stuff.