Hawaii Day

Riley wanted to wear her Hawaiian dress one day, so we made it the official Beach Party day at the Israelsen house. We made leis (sp?), watched Disney Beach Party, did the hula, and ate Hawaiian haystacks for dinner. 

Even Kelsey & I got in on the action!

 And a few days later, it looked like this:

 Corgi-high!

Sadly, the next day, the snow was melted. We are glad that we enjoyed it while it lasted!

Wrestle, wrestle, Hy doesn't twist like a pretzel....

How to Wrestle

by

Hyrum

1. Practice with your dad. Sisters can wrestle by themselves.

 2. Make wrestling...marks(?)/lines/whatever on Mom's kitchen floor with electrical tape. And have Dad do it, so then I won't get in trouble :)

 3. Practice somersaults....

 ....off the couch.

 4. Practice wrestling with your buddies on the mat! (Trevor Bankhead)

5.Wait your turn at the wrestling match with Park Valley/Snowville.





6. And even if you get pinned...a lot....you get a medal for your hard work.

 7. Go Hyrum!!

(*Mom's note: Hyrum did so good this year!! He started the season discouraged because he couldn't do a somersault. He put his mind to it, practiced, and now he does somersaults all over the place! He taught his sisters how to do them as well. He went to his first match in Declo. The first kid he wrestled was GOOD. Hyrum was crying hard and didn't realize how HARD it was. But he did a little better the next round. And the last round he was doing great. The next week, the match was against Snowville/Park Valley.  He tried his little heart out, but was pinned all 4 times. He didn't cry once, though and tried the next time. He stayed excited, even after losing and is ready to do wrestling again next year. He was sad it was over! What a kid!!)

Jasper aka "Bapper" RIP

Our favorite pony died this weekend. (Our only pony for that matter). We're not sure how old he was. Maybe 26?

 

 He was probably the best deal ever found on KSL.

 When we first got him, he was a little frisky and would actually "buck" but Ev said it felt more like a rocking horse. The one time Ev was galloping him, Jasper stumbled and rolled as did Ev. Luckily, it wasn't too bad and they were up and going again.

Hyrum learned to ride on him.







\

And Riley.

He appeared in photo shoots...

although whenever the flash went off it made him jump.

 He gave many people a ride...both big and little. And because he was so short, he wasn't so intimidating. Especially to the older people.



 

I hadn't loped a horse in ages and I was scared to do it again. Last winter, I decided to try it again....on ol' Jasper. It was exhilarating, even on a Welsh/Quarter Horse midget!





Hyrum started to rope on Jasper. Jasper would just stand there as Hyrum would whap! himself and whap! Jasper right in the head.

We brought him to Nevada, then to Enterprise and finally to Malta. He was the one horse Ev wouldn't sale. Right after Evan had hurt his back, he was willing to hop on Jasper because he wouldn't do anything and he wasn't quite as hard to get on. Of course, Riley was mad because Daddy was riding her horse!

 

 

Lindsay had a few rides on Jasper. She was riding on the saddle by herself with someone leading, but Ev or I still were standing by her. She LOVES the horses and runs to go riding!

He was the horse that the kids could wander out in the pasture and go pet him and it wasn't a big deal (even in her nightgown...)

This last picture wasn't their last ride, but one of the last a few weeks ago. Riley would ride Jasper all by herself, Hyrum had "graduated" to a big horse. We ALMOST put Kelsey on that day, but didn't because we didn't have enough arms. We missed out on that, but that's ok.

 

 On Wednesday, Evan noticed that Jasper wasn't doing well. We actually thought he'd die at one point when we were in Enterprise, but he had pulled through to teach Riley how to ride by herself and give Lindsay her first ride. He was old; he had no teeth; he was getting slower.

 

Friday night, Ev was afraid that he'd have to put Jasper down because he was suffering, but when he went to check on him, Jasper had already died. I was grateful for that, as was Evan.

 

Saturday morning, we told the kids. We all cried. (Of course, Lindsay was just doing a sympathy cry...she has no idea what is going on). Riley is heartbroken because she's a little intimidated by the big horses. Hyrum shocked us how heartbroken he was. He cried and asked a lot of questions and wondered if it was because of Obamacare? WHAT??? (Apparently he listens more than we think!)

 

We went to the spot where Jasper is buried. Hy & Ev smoothed it out and we decided to put Jeb's rocks on his grave. Hyrum offered a prayer. He started, "Heavenly Father" and then just started crying. He then prayed that Jasper would have fun in heaven,

that the tractor wouldn't run over his grave,

he prayed for the farm,

and that we could have a good day.

 

Riley put her handprint on the dirt and traced it with her finger.

"Look Mom. I put my hand on Jasper so that he knows I love him."

 

They say you only own one great horse in your life time....we've owned two: Hippy and Jasper.