Gloria and Buddy. . .

The opportunity came up for Gloria to go horse back riding on Sunday so we jumped at the chance.  I was just happy to take horse pictures again.  It's been awhile. . .

Update. . .

We just returned from jumping through another hoop called the Full Compass Exam.  This was one of the things that stressed me out yesterday because I didn't know it existed until yesterday and the deadline for the REQUIRED test is this Thursday.  That made me think that maybe, just maybe, I have forgotten or have been unaware of other important, REQUIRED, things.  At any rate, Zach's scores, according to the woman at the testing center, are "Solid".  SOLID!  He even tested right out of English 101 and can receive 3 credits if we turn in the paperwork! 

I'm starting to feel a little better. . .

BSU Blathering. . .

One of the most difficult aspects of home schooling Zach has been the college stuff.  The transcripts, the testing, the financial aid, the endless hoops it feels like I need to jump through.  The fear of failure.  Not on Zach's part.  On mine.  He's done his part.  He studied rigorously for 4 years.  He was disciplined and motivated.  He even enjoyed it most of the time.  I managed to give him a curriculum that was rich in literature and history and offered plenty of opportunities to learn new things.  I'll give myself credit for that much.  But paperwork? Logged hours? Book lists? Report cards? Credits?  Cumulative grade point averages?  I sucked at that.  Thankfully I used a trusted 4 year curriculum that tracked subjects for me in nice, neat 3-ring binders and Zach was great at checking off books as they were read but when it comes right down to the nitty gritty of putting together a high school transcript for college, I've been in procrastination hell.  Seriously.  With a June 30th deadline looming over my head, I finally put everything down on pretty little spreadsheets over the weekend and breathed a little sigh of relief.  I say a "little" sigh of relief because we still have a few hoops to jump through before we find out if BSU will actually accept us (I say US because I'm a little bit vested in all of this!!) and until that moment when the acceptance letter comes, I will be holding my breath and hoping that I haven't made an epic mistake. 

Zach and I took a little field trip to BSU today to turn in his transcript.  I was nervous.  Why?  I'm not sure.  I'm used to strange situations and unknown circumstances.  I live this way.  I've been telling Zach that he'll be fine.  And he will be.  Once he finds his way around campus, he'll do great.  But the fact that he hasn't been in a classroom situation since the first grade has me feeling a little over protective.  I have this picture in my head of Zach's first day at BSU with a little purple back pack over his shoulders and me holding his hand.  WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME??

He's going to be just fine.  I'm going to be a campus stalker, lurking around trees and bushes to make sure he doesn't get lost.  The best he can hope for is that I'm too busy when school starts to hover. . .

We had a good time walking around the campus and it brought back good memories of the three and a half years that I spent there.  I kept wishing that I knew what I wanted to be when I grow up. . .

We went into the book store to see how much texts are these days and it was really pretty hard to believe.  Guess I should start working on the financial aid papers. . .

At least Zach found some humor in the situation:

This post just might be proof that I'm finally losing it. . .

Antsy. . .

Honestly, one of my favorite performers ever is Antsy McClain. We've worked with some interesting people over the years and I've liked most of them.  I've intensely disliked a couple of them and felt neutral about a few of them but Antsy has always stood out among all of the entertainers we've worked with as pretty dang amazing.  The concert on Friday night was the third event we've run sound for Antsy at The Egyptian so now it's like he's an old friend.  Well, that's an exaggeration, but this time around we had a couple of chances to "hang out" with him.  I sound a little star-struck but Antsy is just a regular Joe.  With a whole lot of talent and creativity.  And depth.  His songs are light-hearted and funny but most of them have a message that speaks to people on a totally different level.  He's a great song writer.  I was having a bad day on Friday and once the concert started, I couldn't help but smile.  By the end of the evening, I just felt better.  Seriously.  This is Antsy:

I talked a little bit about Pauly in an earlier post.  We spent quite a bit of time with him since he came to town a couple of weeks before the Egyptian concert.  He's a one-man-band and can easily entertain a crowd all by himself.  He also travels with and plays keyboards for Antsy McClain and the Trailer Park Troubadours.  This is Pauly:

I posted the rest of the concert pictures here on the Committed Events Blog. 

They all left town this afternoon with the promise to be back next year.  I'm already looking forward to it. . .

Here are a few of my favorite videos and links to tide me over. . .
Antsy Unhitched

Pauly Zarb

Antsy's Blog

Antsy's Art

This is a video of one of my favorite songs.  It's 10 minutes long but it's worth watching.  The song starts at the 3 minute mark if you want to skip the banter.  It's a private concert somewhere with just Pauly and Antsy.
Dora's Dark Side

More good videos:
The Bathroom Songwriter

The One About The Silver-Haired Old Lady

The Blah Blah Song

Pauly Zarb Down Under

Good times. . .

My Mini Vacation. . .

So. . .  I really did take the better part of two days off!  Right in the middle of June!  It was weird! It was nice! 

I went on an evening greenbelt walk with some of my favorite people. . .

I went to Nampa and spent time with my daddy for Father's Day . . .

(The only picture I took of our Father's Day outing was obviously not of my daddy, so I have to throw in one of my very favorites. . . )

The three girls went to Roaring Springs for a day of fun. . .

We all went to a youth BBQ at the church (thanks to Kristin!). . .

It's been a long time since I've had company stay at my house and it was SO nice! Poor Katrina, I talked her ear off!!  We did a lot of this:

Thursday morning came too soon and we had to say good-bye.  These six kids have something pretty special in these childhood friendships. . .

It was hard to say good-bye but it was so worth it. . .

I couldn't end this post without one good blast-from-the-past: