Crooks Family, A bakers Dozen :)

Well our time in Kirkland is winding down and while we are still really looking forward to our move to Sandpoint we are are going to miss so much about our life here in Kirkland. First and foremost we will miss living close to our family here (my Dad and Step Mom, Mike's parents and siblings, and of course Lauren and Sean). But, Lauren and Sean are now grown and Sean has moved back east to continue to work with horses there.  Lauren is also headed into a career in horses, but she has not decided where she will head next. We look forward to their visits to Sandpoint. My father is now retired and spends very little time in Kirkland, so we are counting on him visiting us in Sandpoint, and the same goes for Mike's parents and siblings. Of course we will head back this way to visit too. We will also dearly miss our wonderful friends here. Great friends are hard to come by in life, and we have some amazing friends here who we dread saying goodbye too! I hope everyone remembers that we have a guest apartment in Sandpoint that we hope to fill regularly with visiting friends and family. You all will love Sandpoint, so please DO come visit often!!!! As I have learned, long distance friendships can be just as wonderful as closer  proximity friendships so I look forward to the future of these relationships.

I just posted a bunch of pic's from our summer so far. As usual, we are on the go regularly as you'll see below! All the children are doing super well and enjoying their summer holidays. We've spent about 5 weeks at competitions in Canada and been on some great day trips during those shows. We loved the weeks in Calgary with all 9 kids, it was a very special time for Mike and I to have the whole gang together. We don't get to spend as much time as we'd like with Lauren and Sean due to their busy schedule and we cherish the time we have with them. They have both grown into amazing young adults who we are very proud of! We also loved having Granny "O" spend 3 weeks with us in Calgary, she is so much a part of our gang now! And Uncle Jason even popped in for a visit which was really fun. Granny "O" also got her first Grand Prix horse and I am lucky enough to be his rider! His name is S.F. Sadin and he has incredible scope, and a spicy disposition that I adore. Mike and I think he will do great things! I posted a picture of him below. I also posted a picture of a vary talented young mare that I ride owned by a great client. The mare's name is Chablis, and she also has a very bright future in our sport.

Now we're home till Tuesday when we head to Princeton, NJ for a weeks vacation at Granny "O"'s house with family and great friends, we can't wait!!! After the Princeton week we come home for 2 weeks, then are off to competitions again for the first 3 weeks of August, then we come home and move. Time is flying by!!!! I know our time in Kirkland will be over in a snap, and we will miss it very much!