U-Vault Competition

U-Vault Competition - Kamas Utah July 6,7

Grandma and Grandpa Smith came to support me and Starboy at the first Utah Competition

As you can see, He did very well with 5 first place ribbons and 1 second place

Many people came to support and I wish I had taken pictures of everyone. Thank you to Grandma and Grandpa J. To my sisters and nieces who helped with the snow cone booth and all the Aunts and cousins that came to support. It meant so much. I was Opals Horse Wrangler (that is the horse Starboy and the Fire team use), so I had to make sure she was tacked up and where she needed to be all the time. I also got to lunge 4 of the walk goes. It was a fun learning experience for me, and a HUGE success for Starboy! 

This is Starboys click he is swinging himself  backwards and up. It is a compulsory move.

This is called a hang and is part of his Freestyle

                                                               This is a stall also part of freestyle

Flag - a compulsory move

Starboys main vaulting coach. WE LOVE HER!!

Starboys other vaulting coaches (they also competed in the upper level canter divisions)

Prince - Freestyle Move

The Fire Team

There are 6 squad members and 2 alternates. There can be up to

3 vaulter's on the horse at one time.

Star boy is the one upside down!

Double Flag

Stayboy and K. do amazing doubles together!

The first move of their Narnia Team Routine is Starboys amazing Stall!

Their team took 1st place for both compulsaries, freestyle, and overall Trot Team Champions!  

Vaulting in Vegas

We just got back from Starboys first Equestrian Vaulting Competition. This is a video of his Freestyle Routine. He was the Region 1 Preliminary Trot Male Champion. took 1st in Freestyle with a score of 5.85 and 1st in Compulsories with a score of 4.97 total score being 5.414. He was so excited. It took place down in Las Vegas. Luckily Aunt C. went with us, and we got to Stay with Starboys Grandma and Grandpa J. We left Friday morning, He competed on Saturday and we drove back on Sunday. Princess stayed home with her Daddy and stayed with cousins on Friday.

Even though we were in Vegas it was freezing cold!!  This is before the competition began on Saturday with Cambry the Head Coach and a few of the Vaulters.  29 Vaulters participated from The Technique Club

This is the Technique Preliminary Trot Group

Starboy with his 3 First Place Ribbons and Region Champion Medal

Starboy has great form on the horse. with pointed toes, and firm straight lines. And most importantly a smile the judges can't help but love!

Miss Fire Opal  is the horse Starboy uses for both practice and competition.  Opal is a beautiful blonde Halflinger. She is 10 years old and stands 14 hands high. Our vet has nicknamed her "Paris Hilton". Opal carries our youngest vaulters at walk and trot, and participated in the last two national championships. She is the sweetheart of our club and just about the prettiest little horse you'll ever see.

Starboy goes from this form into his shoulder stand which is an awesome move, but I didn't get a picture of it. Still he is very gifted at this sport. He just began in July and he is already on level 4 -Preliminary Trot- Skipping 2 walk levels and one trot level.

Kim Kaylor is the Lungeur guiding the horse in the center. I am currently training to be a Lungeur. This will help us continue to have Starboy participate in classes and competitions. I am also very excited to get the opportunity to be involved and work with these wonderful horses and kids.

Grandma J. was so happy to get to be there for both the competition and the awards ceremony. It was fun to stay with her and Grandpa.

They have a beautiful 2 bedroom condo in the suburbs of  Las Vegas, about 30 minutes from Horsemans Park. They made us so comfortable and were the perfect hosts.

Aunt C. was such a huge help on the trip, from driving, to keeping me healthy and sane. She was a trooper.
It was cold for Vegas, and we were not quite prepared for the rain and cold, but we made the best of it.

We all arrived early in the morning to get the participants hair done, horses fed, and get everyone stretched out and warmed up. It was a great  experience. Technique is becoming more than just a club for us, It is more like a second family. Technique ended up with 10 regional champions. 8 boys and 2 girls. Besides 10 other vaulters getting 1-5 place ribbons for their performances.  It was a success for everyone.

14 Clubs participated in the event from various states including Utah, Nevada, Arizona, California, Washington, and Colorado. Starboy has been invited to be on the Trot Team for 2012 and will compete both in Team Events (2-6 people on horse at once) as well as individual events. 2012 will be a fun year! 

Spring and Summer Where has the time gone?

Well, winter ended, spring came and went and now summer is half way over and I am just getting time at 5 a.m. in July to write on my blog. BUSY! BUSY! BUSY! Sadly I just lost over 100 pictures and 20 videos that were on my phone and I was trying to transfer to my computer, but they somehow got erased in the process. All well, hopefully I will learn how to use it better in the future. Luckily I still have the pics from the digital camera. I will give you a few highlights of our spring and summer so far. We will go from most current to January since it is easier to put the pictures in that way.

Most importantly, Coach graduated with his Master's of Education in Administration in May and can now officially become a school Administrator (Assistant Principle, or Principle) now we just need some jobs to open up! He is enjoying the summer break playing with Princess, reading books, biking huge distances (up to 50 miles in a day), Playing at seven peaks, taking starboy on burger boy outings, and holding down the fort while I am volunteering at the care center (I need 500 Rec Therapy hrs by December to recertify) and going to school. (I am taking a class at Salt Lake Community College also for recertification).

Starboy has had a fun summer with COUSINS!! He went to his Jensen Family Reunion in Wyoming and got to spend more than a week with his Jensen cousins, He got to go to Family Camp with Smith Cousins, and Baseball Games, Hiking and Seven Peaks with Hunter Cousins.


Princess has enjoyed spending lots of time with Daddy this summer. This Jeep stroller was Coach's Father's Day Gift. They have done a 5k together in the running stroller and ran up Provo Canyon. Princess has also ridden in the bike seat over 20 miles with her Dad. Princess misses Mom when she's gone, but is happy to enjoy so many ways of getting around with her Dad.

I got a new mountain bike also so that I too could join my family on their biking excursions. I am up to 15 miles in one day (part up and part down hill) Besides working at the care center, and doing my class, I have also been crazy enough to sign up for a Tri-atholon in Sept. with my sister. So I should technically be in training. I ran a 5k a couple weekends ago to prepare.

I just and hope that the 5k, 12 mile Bike ride, and 350m Swim will not be the end of me!! My goal is that my sister and I can be SMILING at the end, no matter how long it takes us to finish.

Starboy started Karate in March. Princess and I actually won a contest for building the best snowman (it was a princess snowman) and the prize was a free month of Karate at the facility just down the street. He did Karate til June 30th when the studio closed because of high rent. He earned his yellow belt.

We got a Thanksgiving Point pass this year making it so we can enjoy the Dinosaur Museum, the Farm and the Garden's as much as we want. This is the erosion table at the Dinosaur Museum
Starboy and Princess can spend hours building dinosaur islands and playing with the sand and the water.

My parents invited Starboy and I to join them for April Conference. It was a very special experience. The first time Starboy got to see the prophet speak in person.

Princess turned 2 in February and received a princess kitchen which she loves dearly. She had two birthday parties and a lot of fun. She loves to talk, sing, and dance!

Princess is still allergic to wheat, but that didn't stop me from making her a great birthday cake!

In February Starboy's school had a Luau with a dress up contest. Our team won. This is his friend from school that we dressed up and took with us. It as a fun night! Starboy even won a pair of shoes from it!

And that brings us back to January. The other notable things that occurred, since my pictures got erased...

Starboy

He played Jr. Jazz Basketball this year and loved it. He finished 3rd Grade and had a great end of school year!! This last Saturday he had his first Equestrian Vaulting Class (Gymnastics on Horses) and he was a natural... was doing a head stand on the horse while moving on the first day.. (wish that video hadn't gotten erased) Don't worry, there will be more on that in the future.

Nutrition Momma
I have begun writing songs on my guitar and on the piano. They are not amazing, but they are a great stress reliever for me, and the care center residents and my family are great audiences. I miss being with my family all the time, and can't wait till Aug 5.. when my class is over and I stop full days at the care center.

Princess

Princess can count to 13 and she loves to say big words like "frustrated" and phrases like "I want to stay here forever, it's beautiful" She paints, jumps on the tramp, loves to wear dresses, and HATES having her hair brushed.

Coach

He has been a lifesaver this summer and unlike me, wishes that it could last a while longer before he has to return to the halls of junior high.

That the catch hope, hopefully next time it won't be so long!

Winter Fun

Christmas was full of fun this year thanks to Aunt C. who let us help her with her loom buisness to make extra Christmas Cash

Princess and Starboy both got Bikes from the big SC.

Christmas EVE Pajamas! A Family Tradition

Stuffed Stockings

Grandma S. and Princess On Christmas Eve!

This was the Family Picture Coach's friend Uncle D. took for us in December. We used it for out Christmas Cards. I thought it turned out sweet.

New Years Day we took Cousin K. to see one of her friends from Logan which happens to also be Starboys Cousin. We met at Carls Jr. for Burgers, Fries and PLAYING!
Princess loves to get dressed up. This was an especially fun winter dress up session.
This is our snow princess. We made. We entered her in the snow scuplture contest for the HOA.
This is Frosty. We made this one over Christmas break. This was Princess' first snowman. Starboy and I did most the work while she walked around singing "Frosty the Snowman"

Fall Catch Up

So we had a lot of other fun things happen this fall like soccer, and halloween Which I did not blog about. So here are a few pictures of the our family over the last few months having fun and enjoying fall!

Coach and Princess spent hours riding together in this great ibert bike seat. They even rode 25 miles in from our house to Coach's mom's a couple times. Princess loves the bike and is comfortable enough she can even take a nap in the seat.

Halloween was a fun time. Princess was of course a Princess for Halloween, and Starboy was a SPY! He really wants to be a CIA agent when he grows up. We will see what happens.


This is him arressting one of his fellow students during the school halloween parade.

Starboy's 3rd grade did a Patriotic Program from Veterens Day. My Dad is a veteren from the Korean war, so he attended. Starboy even had a speaking part and sang in a quartet.

This was Starboy's soccer team this year. They had a lot of fun. It was a big team, but they play on the whole fielf now. Starboy's favorite position is Midfielder!

It was a great Autumn time