hardcore.

In an effort to be in shape (whatever that means) Chad and I have been spending more time outdoors. (Also, there is an effort to be more tan. Hooray for summer!)

Saturday, on a whim he decided my birthday present was going to be this bad boy:

We took them out (he has one too!) for a good two hours. It was a blast!

Sunday we relaxed, drank beer and ate delicious food. We were supposed to see a movie at 9:30 at night...however, we are not stupid. We know ourselves and eachother. We do not leave the house after 7 unless you're REALLY, REALLY awesome. We went home and watched a movie, and fell asleep on the couch. Typical.

Monday I had to work, but we decided since it was beautiful out, we'd take the mountain bikes out. (That had been my graduation gift. Can you tell my boyfriend is an outdoorsman?)

We got lost on the trails for a bit (luckily it wasn't as bad as we thought!) and got to explore the beautiful town we live in. We even caught up to a gorgeous deer who just stared at us from twenty feet away! She was beautiful. Times you wish you had the camera...

Today I rode Callie with Sue and Dart. Callie was on the bit, consistent, and even did a simple lead change at the canter with only three trot steps. This is the second time we've attempted simple changes. This mare blows my mind with how willing she is. The only buck she threw was in the same corner she always does to catch her balance a bit more as she tends to lean in. More canterwork will fix this, I'm sure. In the heat though I tend not to run her entirely ragged. We did a few smaller circles today and she seems to be holding herself up a bit more. Now that college is over for me, I've been able to ride more and hold her accountable for things we haven't had the time to work on. I feel like in a month she's come along so far. Spending her four first riding years in college certainly set us back a bit but this mare is just so quick to learn and eager to please that every ride feels beautiful. There's very rarely a time where she's done something out of spite or crankiness.

To give you another picture, here's us jumping a bag of shavings next to a wheelbarrow with a pole set over it...(this is HARDCORE, not ghetto.)

And now, I'm sitting at home in my breeches still, two loads of laundry in the wash and a cat box to clean. Life.


At least I'm hardcore everywhere else...