I can get so wrapped up in my own agenda, I overlook the bigger picture, which is life with family and friends. This week, there was a lot of family time, which took me away from my projects, work to do around the ranch, and jobs I needed to get done here at home. But this was a good thing. Last weekend we had spent time with Cathy and Ralph, and this week started with a weekend of celebrating with Dan and Val and her family. And then it ended with a trip to my twin sister's sheep farm in Indiana.
Saturday 4/16 - Dan and Val were throwing a party in celebration of Ava's 1st birthday. So we were headed to Nashville by 9:30am.
Before hitting the road, Joe ran Maggie to Jean's out at the ranch. Then we picked up Patty on our way out of town.
We had a quick, easy, uneventful drive to Murfreesboro.
Our pets are as much a part of our families, as the humans are. Dan's cat (Fluffy Kitty) had been shaved to remove matted hair and now he looks more like a lion. He and Tango were the first to greet us. Later, Kitty liked watching the festivities from on top of the refrigerator.
When Ava woke from her nap, she was quite serious about taking it all (the decorations and additional guests) in. Look at her cute little Crocs.
It took awhile for Ava to wake up, and then, she was kind of being passed around like a football. Who wouldn't want to get their hands on this cutie?
Mama Val and Ava.
Titi Alexsys and Ava.
Titi Courtney and Ava.
Grande Tía Patty and Ava.
Daddy Dan with Ava. 
Abuelo Ricardo with Ava.
Abuela Yaneth with Ava.
Joe and I never got our hands on Ava. We felt like she was just a bit too overwhelmed and stimulated by it all. 
Fluffy Kitty was held some too,
mostly by Courtney and I. 
Ricardo was the master chef and grilled the pork, chicken, onions, and tortillas for the tacos. 
The day was a little overcast and chilly to begin with, but the sun did come out and warm things up just right.
The party moved outside as food was about to be served.
One of Dan's coworkers, his wife, and son Luca arrived just as we were starting to eat. Luca was born a week before Ava. 
These two were fascinated with each other and played very well together. 
Arie also really enjoys playing with her baby cousin Ava. 
After we all had overstuffed ourselves with tacos, we chatted, played, and rested; until it was time for round two, Birthday cake and ice cream. 
First there were several photos taken with Ava and the cake. 
And then everyone got in on taking pictures and videos during "Happy Birthday To You."
After eating cake and ice cream, it was time to open gifts. Ricardo held Ava while Arie helped her with the unwrapping. 
I am not sure who was having more fun.
Ava was plum tuckered out, and went down for a nap, but Arie was still going strong, wanting us to play. 
She and Courtney had a cake building (out of play dough) contest.
This is the beautiful creation Arie made.
And the very creative 'Cakealikes' design (a fruit bowl) by Courtney.
While Courtney, Arie, and I played, several others also caught some shut eye.
Meanwhile, back in Murfreesboro, they were enjoying somemores cooked over their fire pit. The stray cat (who had come to the taco party) came back for the possibility of more handouts.
I stayed up and chatted with Courtney for a bit, but did not last long, heading to bed at 9:40.
Sunday 4/17 - It was a full moon setting Easter morning as the sun rose. Many would be celebrating the rising of His Son from the grave. I gave thanks to God for that and all my other blessings, especially all my wonderful family.
I tried to get this Blog started, but had distractions, along with difficulty with photo placement, and didn't really have a lot of time. So I soon gave up. I needed to get going to the ranch anyways. 
I loaded up the car with the cooler of food, the dog, and a few other things, and was on my way. Jean had cleaned house and the chicken coop. She had Easter decorations up, and was pretty much ready to go. We added a leaf to the dinner table. Maggie watching Jean take the Jolly ball over to our Paso Finos. 
Courtney and then Joe were not too far behind us. They
helped unload folding chairs and Joe got two drink coolers set up with
ice. I had forgotten the frozen corn, gave Patty a quick call, and
caught her just as she was leaving. Phew.
We were working on hanging Jean's hammock when Patty arrived, and she helped with that. Although the mice had frayed part of the rope work and we deemed it too unsafe. So we hung up our old cloth one.
Then Patty, Jean, and Courtney hid (the nearly 100) Easter eggs. Maggie was not much help. She kept picking them up and bringing them to us. After a few reprimands, she understood she was not to touch them.
We had some time to kill before our guests were to arrive, so Joe tested out the hammock and I mucked Amiga and Zorro's loafing shed and dry lot.
Our Murfreesboro guests arrived in two cars (including Ricardo, Yaneth, Alexsys, Arie, Dan, Val, Ava, and Tango).
This photo of Dan and Ava was taken later in the day when it had warmed up a little more. Ava, along with the rest of the Cruz's, definitely enjoyed ranch life.
Once they all got unpacked, settled in, and had some snacks, we started the Easter egg hunt. Rain was predicted mid-day so we felt we should get going with the outdoor activities.
After going over a few basic rules, the starting gun went off, and several were off looking for eggs. Arie was off and running on her own, while Ava was getting lots of help.
Alexsys proved to be a strong competitor.
While Joe (who shared a basket with Jean) was opening each egg he found, he ate the candy, or re-hid the egg if he did not like its contents. Jean was having more fun watching the others, while sampling the contents of the few eggs she nabbed from their hiding place.
Once back in the house, Ava and Arie then went through their Easter baskets.
Ava had been a little slow to figure out the egg hunt concept, but she had no problem knowing what to do with her Easter basket.
I was so glad to see Ava likes books, and hear that she likes to be read to.
Next on the agenda was a tour of the ranch, while Patty and I got the horses ready for 'pony' rides. Joe and Yaneth, in the gator and Ricardo and Alexsys, in the golf cart headed down the drive towards the barn yard. Notice the sky, which was threatening rain all afternoon. But we were lucky and only got a few sprinkles after we had gone inside for the day.
I got Amiga tacked and ready and Patty did the same thing
with Zorro. After the 'tour group' looked at the shop and fed catfish,
they came down to the barn. Joe proceeded to shuttle more people down to the barn. 
I hopped on Amiga to see how well she was listening, and thought she was doing pretty well.
So I then put Alexsys on her. 
I was not great at instructing Alexsys, and Amiga was not great at listening, but Alexsys did a great job. 
Alexsys remained calm, which is important when your horse is kind of running away with you. 
Of course when Alexsys stopped and 'parked' Amiga to get off, that's when the horse finally decided to stand still.
A cute cowgirl on a cute horse.
Courtney, not dressed in cowgirl attire, was attending to Zorro while Amiga was in the round pen. Arie was too intimidated by the big beasts and decided she did not want a pony ride. 
So then we put Alexsys on Zorro and Amiga got to hang out in the barn.
And look who came down from the ranch house and got to sit on Amiga.
A different version of side saddle. Bah, ha, ha.
This time Patty instructed Alexsys on Zorro.
The 'crowd' continued to look on, cheer, and take photos.
Alexsys was more relaxed on Zorro, because he does not give the feeling that he is about to run off with you. She did very well and he did great for her.
When Alexsys was finished riding, it did not take any arm twisting to get Courtney to get on her horse. Patty helped with that.
Good thing Courtney had put shorts on under her Easter dress.
I had gone in the barn to un-tack Amiga, and by the time I came back out, look who was on Zorro with Courtney!
Oh My Goodness!
It made both of us Grandma's quite nervous to have our baby granddaughter up on this big horse (video). 
When Ava wasn't smiling and giggling, she was looking quite smug and proud of herself. 
I think Ava thoroughly enjoyed the ride.
Oh boy, does this mean a pony in the future? 
Two cute cowgirls.
Joe had shuttled everyone back up to the house and Courtney followed me (on foot) while I tried ponying Zorro and riding Amiga with just a halter and lead rope. 
Courtney took the photos. Zorro was a little sluggish to begin with, but once we were along the fence line going up the drive, he kept up nicely. 
I was surprised neither of them tried to eat grass. I put on their muzzles and turned them out on the rest of their side pasture once I got back up to the house. 
Meanwhile, the partying was continuing up at the house.
Joe had gotten a fire started in the fire pit, so folks were gathered near it and enjoying the relaxing afternoon, and the fact it hadn't started raining yet. 
Ricardo with the mountain view in the background.
And Alexsys now in the hammock, enjoying the same view.
The dogs were enjoying down time while most of the humans were outside.
A tour of the chicken coop occurred, with some guests holding the chicks, and then dinner was ready.
I had lots of help with meal prep, everybody pitched in and brought something. Spiral ham, sweet potato casserole, potato salad, rice, corn, roasted vegetables, applesauce, fruit salad, veggies and dip, and rolls.
Courtney took this great selfie, which got almost all of us in it, except for Jean and Arie who were also at the smaller table in the sun room.
One might wonder if Joe is lacking table manners... 
...but I assure you, he was just clowning around. There is always someone to mess up a nice photo.
And now there is no need to wonder where Daniel, and recently Ava sometimes, get their goofy-face photo posing tenancies.
Jean presented this hat to Ava, and then serenaded us with the fun song 'Senor Don Gato.'
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This really blurry photo was taken from the video Alexsys recorded, but it gives you the idea.
Jean did a great job and we all really enjoyed the song. We talked of memories when Jean used to sing this song to Dan, Britney, and Courtney.
What a silly dad and daughter. 
Games were played, puzzles worked, and time with family enjoyed.
Once we had a little more room in our full bellies, it was time for birthday cake.
Joe was directing the singing and didn't even realize the
cake had his name on it and we were singing to him. He was turning 70
the following day. 
As they say, all good things must come to an end. Actually, I was pretty tired and ready to call it a day. Once the Murfreesboro guests packed up and left (about 7pm); Patty, Joe, I, and then Courtney, were soon to follow.
I had chores at home and then about the time I was climbing into bed, I got word that all had made it safely back to Nashville.
We had had some bad storms and heavy rainfall overnight, but were just getting a gentle rain when I got up at 4am. Maggie still wasn't sure it was safe to come out of hiding.
I had lots to do on this blog with all the weekend photos and festivities to write about. So I plugged away at it much of the morning.
The temperature had dropped quite a bit, so I had the space heater on in the sun room, since there was no sun to heat the space. Babe was snuggling with Maggie, who likes to sit right in front of the heater.
I had planned to go to the gym, the only physical activity for the day, but never made it there. I actually stayed in my PJs all day. It was just a lazy day of rest to recover from the weekend.
Jean sent this photo of Zorro, commenting that he had had too much partying yesterday. I was thinking it was just a rough night for him with all the thunder storms.
Poker Joe enjoyed his birthday at the card table while I had a quiet evening at home computerizing most of the time. I did get out of my PJs for about 30 minutes, when I took a shower. LOL
Tuesday 4/19 - I made it to the gym earlier than usual and hit Food City on the way home. Eating lunch at 11am, I was on my way to the ranch by 11:30.
When I arrived, I looked for our horses (above photo) and saw (close up) that they were laying in the sun by the loafing shed (one on each side). Enjoying a rest.
Joe soon arrived to do some odd jobs.
When Jean and I were tacking up Amiga and Zorro down at the barn, Amiga was alerted to something outside, and took a look. 
It was not a monster that might eat her, just Joe, in the golf cart, screwing up a board. 
Jean and I had a very nice ride, going down each cul-de-sac along Beachwood from the power line to Chestnut Hill. Our horses did great, and Zorro was more energetic than Amiga for a change. During our 75 minute ride we went three miles. It was perfect riding weather with the cool temperature and warm sun. Even though the breeze was a little cold, it kept any flies there might be, off our horses.
Once back and un-tacked, as a reward, we let the horses graze down by the barn. Maggie, who had gone with us, hopped up on the table for a rest in the sun.
And then of course, Wanda needed to join us for some loving. We (video) were all enjoying the sunshine and peaceful, easy feeling of rest time at the ranch.
Once we walked our horses back up to their pasture, Jean painted hoof protector on Zorro's front feet because his one crack was getting a little worse. We decided the two Pasos had had enough grass and it was near feeding time, so we just left them (un-muzzled) in their dry lot. 
Patty arrived to do chores and enjoyed a little frozen custard with us. She always has a good story to tell (in photo) while Maggie was begging for a belly rub and Parm was working on getting her attention.
As I was leaving for home, I noticed Joe's new solar cover for the pool had not stayed on.
We watched two more episodes of Inventing Anna and have two left, to finish the series.
Wednesday 4/20 - I met Mary at Wildwood Stables at 10:15. While Jack and Joe were golfing together, we were going to go for a ride. We took our time tacking up, chatting with staff and other boarders. And then hit the trail just after high noon.
I rode Billy and Mary was on Chipolte.
We headed out the back of the barn, planning to do the long trail ride backwards. Just before the power lines, we had to 'pull over' to let a guided trail ride go by, as they headed to the barn.
We checked out the top of the Holly trail, which turned out to be pretty rough because of some downed trees/big branches.
Then we turned back and headed towards Pond Branch creek and the trail to Daddy's Creek. Pond Branch was running very full, so it was a long way to cross it in this one spot, as you can see in this photo. Billy and Chipolte needed a little coaxing, but did very well.
The woods are beautiful, and although the trail is fairly tricky in places, it is worth the effort to get to Daddy's Creek. The woods are going to be spectacular here when the wild rhododendron start blooming.
Daddy's creek was quite full, and really should be called a river in our opinion. It was a pretty day, on beautiful horses, with a wonderful friend. Our ride had gone well, with only a few difficulties.
When riding through the culvert under Westchester, Billy
had caught his leg between two rocks. He had stumbled, but didn't
fall. However, he ended up cutting the back of his heel. 
So we decided to take the winter pasture back to Wildwood. The Standing Tall horses (in the field across the road we had to pass through) were quite interested in our two horses, and it was a little scary because they were moving in too close on us.
It was 2:30 when I left Wildwood, headed in the direction of our ranch. 
The mandatory address change we have to make because of the second house going in next door, has been nothing but a confusing mess and a pain in the butt. We keep getting deliveries up at the ranch house because our neighbor put signs on the drive that actually were more confusing than helpful. So Joe put up our own sign to try to make it clear to the delivery drivers that going straight back on the drive takes you to our ranch not to our neighbors house.
I had a handful of little odd jobs I wanted to get done. I finally washed out the chick brooder box and Wanda's litter box which she hadn't used all winter.
Once dry, I filled the black tub with clean shavings and took them up to the chicken coop to be used when needed. 
Finally, I had gotten this old pallet to use as a wall for our compost heap. Jean helped me maneuver it into place. We basically wedged it between the front wall of the yard and the back wall of the chicken coop. We finished by putting partially composted leaves, used shavings from the coop, plus Jean's over flowing compost tub in this new space.
I got home just after 6pm. The dog and cats were ready to eat. I also enjoyed a big dinner of leftovers. Poker Joe got home after I was long asleep for the night.
Thursday 4/21 - I woke at 1:45, tossed and turned after taking my thyroid pill, and finally started my day at 3am. I got almost an hour nap between 5 and 6am. I started laundry and then left for the gym at 8am. I ended up having a good workout, but it was slow going at first, just too early to be using so much energy.
I put laundry in the dryer, had an early lunch, and then took another one hour nap. I hate it when I feel so sleep deprived.
Once out at the ranch, I helped Joe and Jean remove all of the moldy part of the round bale of hay. It had been bad to start with, which we were not happy about. What a waste. The round bale hay man never returned the several calls Joe has made to him, so he has been crossed off our supplier list. We will go primarily with square bales from now on.
Patty arrived and took Zorro down to the barn to go for a little ride. She reported that he was a little nervous, but all in all did very well out on the trail by himself. Amiga and Zorro only hollered for each other a few times.
I did a few more little chores and then we loaded up all the things from Mom and Grandma to go to Carol and Chris.
Joe left and we sisters sat and chatted for a bit. Yes, we do have down time at the ranch, it is not all work.
It is important to stop racing around and take time for family and friends. However, once home I had packing and other tasks to do before leaving for a four day weekend with sister Carol. We have been so busy, on the go this spring, that I was really wanting to be a homebody for a change. I look forward to the visit, but am also glad this will be it (in terms of travel and family visits) for awhile.
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