Wordless Wednesday Tuckered Out Mini Pony

Gizmo, our mini pony, is tuckered out after a day of eating hay and running around.

Wordless Wednesday Twisted Carrots

Zari found this fun twisted carrot from the large bag of juicing carrots we get for our horses to eat.

Wordless Wednesday Happy Holidays From Our Farm

Merry Christmas From Pony Feathers Farm

Canvas On Demand Premium Thick Wrap Canvas + Coloring Canvas Review #mycanvasondemand

I received this free to facilitate this review.

Canvas On Demand makes it easy to turn your photography or art into something more. They have canvases, prints, and personalized gifts that could make your home one of a kind and unique. The ordering process is so simple too. Canvas On Demand has some wonderful ideas for some fabulous gifts this holiday season!

Their premium wrapped canvases are conveyed to be top quality. These offer a ridged, warp-resistant construction, 1.25"thick wrap, an enclosed back, pre-installed hardware, and an extended 2 year warranty. There are 25 different sizes to choose from too. Learn more here.

What I Thought:
I got to pick out a 16x20 Premium Thick Wrap Canvas and a 16x20 or 16x16 Coloring Canvas. I got to personalize the 16x20 Premium Thick Wrap Canvas with one of my own photography pictures. I picked a picture of my horses grazing in our field with a rainbow overhead that I took in April of last year. I thought that this photo would make a lovely art piece for my wall. I selected the Floral Wolf 16x16 Premium Thick Wrap Canvas with White canvas edge. It is a black and white line art of a wolf made out of leaves, branches, flowers and mushrooms. Here are some FAQ about the Coloring Canvases.

Step 1: Upload Your Image

The ordering process was very straightforward. You click the link that I have below to build a 16x20 Premium Thick Wrap Canvas. Then you click on the Order a 16x20 Premium Canvas button and select your photograph or art to Upload Your Image.

Step 2: Edit Your Item

Then after you select your image and upload it you can Edit Your Item. You can choose different options on this page like: orientation, color effects, edge, size shape. I chose the color blur edge, but there are image, black, and white edges also available.

Step 3 & 4: Choose if you would like a Professional Review or Touch-ups done for extra cost.

After this page you have the option of having a professional review and a retouching & enhancement if needed for extra cost...I did not select these options.

Step 5: Add anything else to your cart you would like, make sure options are correct.

I was also ordering a Coloring Canvas, so I chose out of the many to select and picked out my absolute favorite, the Floral Wolf by Aron Gadd. This suited my love of forest flora and fauna. I love how intricate it is. It will be a fantastic addition to my wall when I am done coloring it. I selected the correct size 16x16, white canvas edge, and I only wanted one. Canvas On Demand recommends BIC Mark-It Permanent Markers in a Fine Point tip which can also be purchased with the Coloring Canvas you choose or separately at an extra cost if you don't have your own set of good markers for coloring on canvas. Then I added that too to my cart.

Step 6: Make sure everything looks good in the Shopping Cart and order.

I looked everything over and made sure that my Shopping Cart looked good then proceeded to Checkout.

You will get an email with your order number, status, and information.

You will put in your shipping and billing information, and email so they can send you an email when they have your order number and tracking information when they ship your package.

With flash you can see the enclosed back of the canvases and the pre-installed hardware.

My package took a little over a week to get to me. The box arrived safely on my doorstep. Both canvases were wrapped really well for the travel to my home.

Look how dark the Canvas On Demand print came out from the original.

When I opened the box up and looked at my photograph that they made into a Premium Thick Wrap Canvas I was surprised and a very disappointed at how dark the colors were. The colors looked washed out, too dark, and the definition is not there with the detail anymore. I wish the colors were brighter and more defined on the canvas. I will have to put a spot light on this to get it to pop like the original does.

Floral Wolf not colored on my wall.

The Coloring Canvas was also sloppily wrapped around the frame so the corners stuck out as well. I love the print of the wolf and I can't wait to color it, but I wish that it was wrapped better. These were not museum quality by any means. Maybe though you will have better luck than me.

Sloppy wrapped corners of the Coloring Canvas.

BUY IT
Save 60% off Premium Gallery Wrap Canvases, Coloring Canvases, & more from Canvas On Demand with code USFAM! #mycanvasondemand

DISCLOSURE/DISCLAIMER: I received this product for free to facilitate this review. My thoughts are mine and my family's own opinion and have not been altered by anyone else. I did not receive any other compensation for doing this review.

Wordless Wednesday Orange Sun In A Smoky Sky

The forest fires in the Columbia River Gorge are making our sky an eerie color of orange and smoke haze.

Barnyard Kids: A Family Guide For Raising Animals Book Review

I received this book free to facilitate this review. Affiliate links may be in this posting. Thanks for supporting my blog.

Do you have kids? Are you also considering raising farm animals? Or do you already raise animals with kids? Well, the Barnyard Kids: A Family Guide For Raising Animals book by Dina Rudick might just be for you!

Horse lovers in training :)

We purchased our farm about 2 years ago and at the time we had only one farm animal, a mini pony named Gizmo. We still have Gizmo and now many other animals have joined our farm. In addition to him we also have 3 horses, 2 llamas, one goat, one chicken, bunnies, and ducks....and bees (I count them as farm critters).

Chia the goat likes to follow Delbin everywhere.

Before we became farmers we were pretty much city folk. We didn't have any animals except our doggie best friend, Prince, and the occasional cat before that. Having a farm had always been on our radar though and since we were given Gizmo we thought it was the right time to get back to our rural roots. Since getting a farm we have learned so much about how to care for the animals we have taken in (pretty much all our animals are rescues).

Jaedan with Truffle the Bunny

Barnyard Kids: A Family Guide For Raising Animals by Dina Rudick is a great book for teaching kids the basics of animal husbandry. It is a 160 page guide and resource on a menagerie of barnyard critters clearly organized into chapters by animal. It covers: chickens, pigs, sheep & goats, cows, horses, and rabbits. This book is packed with great facts and tips. Each chapter about the farm animals has sections about: What Makes Them Tick?, What Makes Them Sick?, Where Do They Live?, What Can They Give?, Q+A, and Daily Schedules and routines to care for the animals. Besides all the educational information about these animals this book has all kinds of beautiful photographs, pictures, illustrations, charts, and diagrams to help you visually.

This book is great for 4-H and an Agriculture course in Homeschool. I recommend this book to Parents, Caretakers, and Teachers everywhere that want to teach children to be self-sufficient, hard working, caring, happy, and healthy individuals.

BUY IT


DISCLOSURE/DISCLAIMER: I received this book for free to facilitate this review. My thoughts are mine and my family's own opinion and have not been altered by anyone else. I did not receive any other compensation for doing this review. Affiliate links may be in this posting. Thanks for supporting my blog.

Wordless Wednesday This Is How We Mow The Lawn

Roped off part of the lawn outside the field so the horses can munch it down.

Blueberry (Appaloosa gelding) , Skittles (Cremello filly), and Dreamer (Skittles mother, Palomino mare).

Sad Gizmo, the stallion mini Shetland pony, can't join in the fun.

Wordless Wednesday Field of Rainbows

Gizmo, our mini pony had to be in this shot :)

The Okee Dokee Brothers Through The Woods An Appalachian Adventure Album Review

We received this product free to facilitate this review. Affiliate links may be in this post. Thank you for supporting this blog.

The Okee Dokee Brothers, Justin Lansing and Joe Mailander, are wonderful outdoors men and Americana folk musicians. The duo are at it again with a new album and adventure. This new album is called Through The Woods, An Appalachian Adventure and it is their second Adventure Album. This album, just like the last one, has a DVD along with the CD and field journal that shares footage of their journey in the part of the USA they are trekking in.

In this album The Okee Dokee Brothers spent a month hiking, camping, backpacking, filming, and making music (This whole CD and DVD!) on location through the Appalachian Trail. They met some neat people along the way that shared their stories and music with them while they took a small breather from exploring the outdoors and creating their own songs. This album is a wonderful compilation of 15 original tracks from The Okee Dokee Brothers with songs that feature guest artists as well as emulating the traditional old-time Appalachian music with their sounds and styles. This album features an array of instruments such as fiddlesticks, pots, pans, auto-harp, bones, clogs, mouth bow, gut-string banjo, washboard, jaw harp, mountain dulcimer, fiddle, hambone, bass harmonica and whistling.

My favorite part of the DVD: The Okee Dokee Brothers with wild ponies :)

See the Trailer for the Through The Woods DVD here...



The Okee Dokee Brother's last album, Can You Canoe?, won a GRAMMY for best children's music album in the 55th GRAMMY Awards! It was well deserved because it is a fantastic album. I also believe Through The Woods is really good and deserves the highest of accolades.

Track Listing on the CD:

1. Through The Woods: The title track to this CD, a great song about going on an adventure with friends through the woods.
2. Big Rock Candy Mountain (with Hubby Jenkins-Carolina Chocolate Drops on bones and mandolin): A fun upbeat banjo/mandolin pickin' song about a made-up place called Candy Mountain.
3. Jamboree: A great dancing song about a jamboree. I love the lyrics to this one...so perfect!
4. Evergreen: I love this song about trees. It has sweet lyrical poetry and sings the beauty of the forest.
5. Walking With Spring (with Cathy Fink, on mountain dulcimer): This song is a perfect song to go hiking with and reminds us to slow down and enjoy the scenery and beauty around us.
6. Out of Tune: This is a fun song about how it is sometimes better to live life a little bit out of tune.
7. Black Bear Mama (with David Holt-Doc Watson/O Brother, Where Art Thou? on gut-string banjo and mouth bow): Great song about a Black Bear Mama and has a fun fast part in the middle.
8. Hillbilly Willy: One of my favorites on this CD about a hillbilly and his silly wife. Fun and upbeat too.
9. Riddle & Rhyme: This is a great rhyming song to slap your knee or clap to.
10. Tiny Little Life: Upbeat fiddle song about a life of simplicity.
11. Ruby Jane: A sweet love song about a farm girl sweetheart.
12. Fiddlestick Joe (with Marcy Marxer on cello banjo): A fun fiddling upbeat dancing song.
13. Lighten Your Load: This song reminds us that it is better to pack light.
14. Echo: A yodeling love song.
15. Baby Mine (with Rosie Newton on fiddle and vocals): This is a sweet lullaby, wonderful to put kids to bed to and a gorgeous end to the CD.

With their beards, flannel shirts, overalls and instruments The Okee Dokee Brothers are sure fun to watch perform on stage as well. You can see when their next show is here. They played at the Mountain Park Recreation Center on May 4th at 7pm in Lake Oswego, Oregon. I was pretty bummed when I couldn't make that performance with my family of 6 this year. Hopefully they'll make it around here again soon.

This album is great to take with you to listen to on a family road trip, around a campfire or even while hiking. It is a wonderful reminder to get outside to experience and explore nature with your family and friends. Through The Woods is wonderful kids music that resonates with adults as well. I love The Okee Dokee Brother's adventure albums because they bring back so many good memories of the great outdoors when I was a child and remembering helps me recreate wonderful memories with my own kids. The messages in all the songs are good and wholesome and The Okee Dokee Brothers feel like Kindred Spirits to me. I can't wait for the next adventure album in this series!

FOLLOW THEM
You can friend them on Facebook or like their page. You can also follow them on Twitter.

BUY IT
Go HERE and you can buy The Okee Dokee Brothers merchandise.



DISCLOSURE/DISCLAIMER: Thanks to Beth Blenz-Cluc​as of Sugar Mountain PR for sending me a free The Okee Dokee Brothers - Through The Woods An Appalachian Adventure Album CD/DVD to listen to and review. My thoughts are mine and my family's own opinion and have not been altered by anyone else. I did not receive any other compensation for doing this review.

Birthday Express My Little Pony Friendship is Magic Party Review

We received this product free from Birthday/Celebrate Express to facilitate this review. 

April 15th was my daughter, Teela's, 6th birthday and I scheduled her party to be on the 26th. She wanted it to be My Little Pony Themed and so I arranged for Birthday Express to supply the party pack. We invited guests via Facebook events and homemade invitations that my daughter colored and drew herself.

Birthday Express My Little Pony Friendship is Magic Deluxe Party Pack and Favors for 16

We received the My Little Pony Friendship is Magic Deluxe Party Pack and Favors for 16 on the 23rd which was well before the date of the party. That was absolutely perfect because we had ample amount of time to plan where things were going to be placed before the big day.

This is what the My Little Pony Friendship is Magic Deluxe Party Pack and Favors for 16 included:

• 16 Dinner & Dessert Plates
• 16 Cups, Forks & Spoons
• 32 Lunch Napkins
• 2 Tablecovers, Foil Balloons & Centerpieces
• 18 Balloons (3 colors)
• 3 Curling Ribbon Rolls (3 colors)
• 6 Crepe Paper (3 colors)
• 16 Cake Candles
• 16 Thank You Notes
• 16 Paper Tiaras
• 16 Favor Boxes with Favors
• 1 Standard Size Personalized Banner (18" x 61")
• This is an officially licensed My Little Pony product.

Birthday Express My Little Pony Friendship is Magic Party Decorations

We set up everything the day of and it was perfect because I had arranged for the party to start at 3pm. I had the whole front half of the day to prepare and organize everything. The party table and decorations looked absolutely amazing! I didn't have helium, so I stuck the foil balloons on the sliding glass door with clear tape. We twisted three colors of crepe paper together for a tricolor effect and attached a different color balloon to each end and the middle. I hung the banner which was made of heavy vinyl above the window. I got to pick exactly what it would read and Birthday Express personalized it for me before it arrived. My son, Delbin, also made a small sign featuring the mane six's cutie marks to be placed over the switch for the fan so it wouldn't be a distraction for the kids at the party and he made a paper chain. I loved the cute centerpieces for the table and table cloth the most.

Decorated Birthday Express My Little Pony Friendship is Magic Party Table.

Birthday Express My Little Pony Friendship is Magic Party Favors

I loaded the guest's polka-dotted favor boxes with goodies that were supplied. The favors were awesome! I placed in each box a pink heart mirror, a pink brush, a rainbow ring, a rainbow star headband, candy necklaces, and a MLP blowout. I was very happy that the blowouts weren't noise makers. Then I decorated the boxes with the curling ribbon.

Delbin with a hat we had from a previous party: Unicorn Ring Toss

Teela's oldest brother Delbin was such a great sport and played along. He helped with the Unicorn Ring Toss game and pretended he was the unicorn with a pointed party hat we had left over from a previous party. I had these hoops that we used to try to loop over his "horn" :) The girls thought this was so much fun and lots of giggling was heard throughout.

Duck Duck Goose adaptation...Pony Pony Pegasus

The next game we played was a Duck Duck Goose adaptation we called Pony Pony Pegasus. We had the kids sit on the floor in a circle to play. The person who was "it" and the person they chose would run around the circle and try to take their seat. The person that got there first didn't have to be "it" the next time around. It held their attention for a while and then it was time for food.

Party Food

We had carrot cake squares with cream cheese frosting, strawberry shortcake, deviled eggs, finger sandwiches cut into heart shapes and a veggie/fruit platter with dip. We also had some apple juice for drinking. I know some of this isn't the most pony friendly food, but I did my best to cater to the masses ;)

Teela blowing out her candles.

We had Teela blow out her candles on her requested Strawberry Shortcake and sang her Happy Birthday Pinkie Pie style :) The food turned out to be a hit and was so yummy!

Teela's brothers having fun with the blowouts :)

Some of Teela's Gifts

After the food was cleaned up and the left over put away, it was time for Teela to open her presents. She received some awesome stuff! We got her the Twilight Sparkle hooded towel. The dress she is wearing is from her Nonnie. She also got some really fun MLP, Disney Princess, Barbie, and LEGO stuff. I love the Butterfly hair clips too! Of course it isn't about the gifts...it is about friendships. This is why Friendship Is Magic!!

Teela and her Party Guests.

The guests had a lot of fun at the party and wanted to come back again. They loved the decorations, party food, and games. I was so glad they could join us and I want to thank them for making Teela's day so special.

DISCLOSURE/DISCLAIMER: I received this product for free to facilitate my review. My thoughts are mine and my family's own opinion and have not been altered by anyone else. I did not receive any other compensation for doing this review. 

Our Farm Home

Our Farm Home.

We recently purchased a farm property with 2 houses, a barn, a chicken coop/shed, and a lean-to. These were built in the 1920's and have a cute cottage look to them. There is also a tiny building that houses the well on the side of our property. They sit on 5 and a half acres and are nestled in between a gorgeous canopy of trees.

The pasture, large barn, mailbox, chicken coop/shed, well house, and wagon wheel gate.

My favorite structure on the property is the barn. It is a large barn that was used previously for cows and loose hay. I also love the gorgeous wagon wheel gate to the larger pasture and the large mailbox.

The many flora of the farm.

Along with the shade of many trees (walnut, apple, pear, cedar, pine, mock orange, lilac, magnolia, smoke, tulip popular, etc.) there are other flora as well. There are rhododendrons, azaleas, roses, columbine, clover, dandelion, lilacs, daffodils, peonies, violets, ferns, yucca, wildflowers, etc. There is also a lovely grape vine loaded with it green grape leaves right now. We made grape juice from the harvest last year as well as dried pears and apples from the fruit we picked. My daughters planted a petunia in the front flower bed and I have since planted a fuchsia there also. We are planning on growing more fruit trees and having a large edible garden too. We want to keep the property park like.

The mini pony, horses, wild deer, bunnies, and a frog Jaedan is holding.

We would love to own chickens, quail, a goat, and maybe a llama or alpaca someday very soon. We also keep two bunnies and some bees. Right now we rent pasture to three amazing horses. They are so sweet! The large spotted Appaloosa gelding is named Blueberry and he loves me. He comes up to me and nuzzles up against me. He was in my picture for my Renaissance Fair costume review. Then there is a gorgeous Cremello filly named Skittles that looks so much like a unicorn it is otherworldly. Last but not least is a Palomino mare named Dreamer. She is a bit shy, and loves to stand out in the rain. Our mini Shetland pony, Gizmo, is there as well, but since he is a stallion he is in his own separate paddock. We occasionally see other wildlife: deer, owls, bats, cranes, osprey, hawks, eagles, squirrels, birds, skunk, raccoon, lizards, snakes, frogs, etc.

Our plan is to become more sustainable and live in harmony with our surroundings. This is the first time we've owned a farm. We are learning as we go about being farm folk. I am planning on doing a lot more posts about our critters and farm life. Stay tuned and I'll try and keep you posted.

Everfree Northwest: My Little Pony Convention - My Experience

My 2002 collection of My Little Ponies, plus some other items.

I have always been a fan of My Little Pony (MLP). When I was very little I received my very first MLP toy and I remember watching the episodes and movies on TV with my sisters. Later when I married my husband he let me collect some of the ponies off of eBay. I had quite the collection while I lived in Ohio, but had to sell some of them because money was getting tight so I opted to keep all of the ones with sea or ocean related cutie marks. I still have those and two I purchased that were made custom for me with dolphins on them. I also have a few cute plushies I couldn't part with.

We all absolutely love the new series Friendship is Magic (FIM). The writing is incredible and the show has great moral endings. The writers even tuck in easter eggs into the shows that only fans like myself would get: like similar A-Team themed music or references to Doctor Who and Terminator...even Discord, one of the bad guys in MLP FIM, is modeled after Q in Star Trek: The Next Generation (John de Lancie is both the voice actor for Discord and the actor of Q).

The fans span generations: from little kids to grown adults. We call ourselves Bronies or Pegasisters. The fan base is amazing and so supporting. It has given many charitable contributions over the years spanning the fandom. There are also tons of us that do MLP themed artwork and music. It is astounding how much great stuff comes out of the fans.

My whole family just went to Everfree Northwest in Seattle, Washington on Friday. Everfree NW is a My Little Pony Convention for fans of MLP. As with most TV/Movie/Comic based conventions, people can and do dress up as their favorite character(s).

I love to dress up, cosplay (costume play), and roleplay. I threw together a makeshift costume at the last minute because I didn't have the money to buy anything for it. My costume was representing one of my favorite characters, Fluttershy. Fluttershy is a Pegasus pony that is yellow with pink mane and tail and has three pink and blue butterflies on her flank as her cutie mark. I had a splash of pink hair attached to a barrette to go in my hair with a pink flower clip. My mother had given me a yellow t-shirt that had a butterfly in sequins on the front for my birthday and I thought that it was a great Fluttershy butterfly shirt. I dawned some white fairy wings too. I also had some jeans that had three white embroidered butterflies down the side so I chose those to wear. While at Everfree NW I decided I also wanted to make a pair of ears. There was an arts and crafts room that was set up to make your own ears, horns and wings plus you could color pages out of a coloring book of ponies or make your own art out of felt, construction paper, string and cardboard. I made some pony ears out of the cardboard and construction paper supplied.

We listened to fan made MLP themed music while drove to Seattle. When we arrived we parked in the Hilton Hotel Parking garage. We saw some Bronies there that had taped their car so that it could be drawn on with sharpies with pony themed artwork and then found our way to registration. The lines were really long, but apparently if you have kids you get to go straight to the front of all lines (foals: fillies and colts, are treated really well because hey, the show wouldn't be here without them). So we got first priority and that was really nice. Everypony that was anypony was there.

After registration we headed to the vendor room. On our way there we picked up free Derpy trading cards from the Enterplay table. The vendor room was so packed we were having trouble seeing everything and there were Brony traffic jams everywhere. We wove our way around the tables trying to take it all in. There was a lot to see. We showed off our newest item from Pony Feathers to some of the venders that were there...wooden wing shaped headphone cups. I loved ChaoticBrony's jewelry, Equestria Rags' Celestia, Luna, and Cadence Plushies, Firefly's Farm and her awesome Princess Luna/Nightmare Moon and Princess Celestia leather corset she had up for sale. I ended up buying three Patchwerk mini prints: Princesses of Night and Day and Call Upon the Sea Ponies. There were so many other things that I saw too that I loved. Maybe next year we can have more money to purchase some other things. The kids received free MLP stickers, fake tattoos from different vendor tables and apples from the Sweet Apple Acres table (Zari got a small gift bag full of apple candies and an Angel Bunny eraser instead of a free apple). They also got their pictures taken with different plushies that they were selling.

Next we went to the Opening Ceremonies. Opening the ceremonies was the Convention Chairman (Royal Coat), DustyKatt, and Mic the Microphone. They crowned Royal Coat this year as prince and he received a sash and a crown. They also announced "Dear Princess", where you could write letters to any of the princesses, not just Celestia and I guess they would be reading them off later. They had some of the features guests come on stage as well to say a few words. They also did a skit where the Mane 6 and Spike found 3 kids (foals) to become members of "The Royal Court" and be changed into Alicorns (Princess/Prince ponies with both a horn and wings). These foals had already been chosen previously by receiving a special invitation from Princess Twilight Sparkle in their registration bags to join her to learn the magic of friendship themselves. We also sang Winter Wrap Up and Smile at the opening ceremonies.

We then found lunch at 7Eleven and brought it back to eat at tables in the hotel foyer. In the hall of the hotel they had a small concessions stand that sold refreshments including..".mmmmmm muffins!" and I bet the lady that worked there heard that phrase every time a brony passed.  Later we went back to the vendor room to have another look at stuff and I had to scout out a new badge for Zari with registration because she lost her first one. We headed to the Art Display and that was disappointing. We thought we would see tons of artwork on display for attendants to look at, but there was hardly any. We were used to seeing a lot because we had previously been to AnthroCon and they have a fabulous display there. Jaedan decided to enter his picture he drew of his pony character, Wolf. Across the hall was the arts and crafts room, so we headed over there and the boys made themselves ears, tails, horns and wings. The girls colored pictures from coloring books. Somepony had made an Art Castle out of boxes, cardboard, and artwork and Jaedan posed with his drawing and handmade ears.

I took a bunch of pictures of people dressed up. I got Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Apple Jack, Twilight Sparkle, Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, Nightmare Moon, Princess Cadence and Shining Armor, Cider Brothers (Flim and Flam), Vinyl Scratch/DJ Pon-3, Photo Finish and the Cutie Mark Crusaders. I saw all kinds of great costumes! I wanted to get more, but I didn't have time to. There were some pictures of cosplay I didn't get the chance to take. I saw some great costumes of Rarity, Spike, Rainbow Dash, Discord, Zecora, Derpy, Doctor Hooves, Granny Smith, Big McIntosh (Big Mac), Cheerilee, Trixie, Queen Chrysalis, Spitfire, The Wonderbolts, Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom, Snowflake, etc. that I wanted to, but never got pictures of.

Last we went to Ponystock and they had some great musicians presenting. Among them were: Michelle Creber (she does both Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle singing voice), Living Tombstone, Odyssey, Alex S., Mic the Microphone, AcousticBrony, etc. I sat outside in the hall with the girls because it was really loud and also because we had a slight mishap. Teela had ingested a penny she had found and got a stomach ache from it. She said she put it in her mouth because she didn't have any pockets and then ended up swallowing it after she had eaten her dinner. From what I heard of the concerts Ponystock was awesome! Michelle Creber took center stage and rocked the house most the night. On Saturday I also watched Ponystock from home on the the live feed Everfree NW had and all the musicians were awesome! Saturday's performances went on longer than Friday's and I ended up staying up well past 3am to watch them all.

Before we left on Friday for home we doodled on the car that the Bronies had taped and then exited the parking garage with pony music blasting. We wished we could have stayed for all three days, but we needed to get home to our dog, Prince. I did get the chance to see the Costume Contest, Meet the Voice Actors, Whose Line is it Anypony?, Charity Auction, and Ponystock on Saturday...along with a little bit of Guys of MLP with Peter New (Big Mac) and Andrew Francis (Shining Armor) on Sunday at home from the Live Feed. I will enjoy watching more of the panels once Everfree Radio uploads them to YouTube later. I also believe that they really need a larger venue next year or at least larger rooms to host things in. All in all it was a very good experience and we are definitely going to try and make it again next year.

DISCLOSURE/DISCLAIMER: No compensation was received for this post. This post is a personal post written by me.

Nordic Naturals What's Essential Rescue Pet Photo Contest

Tatiana playing ball with Prince.

This is a sponsored post and I will be getting free product for posting. This post is in partnership with Nordic Naturals. All information about the contest was provided by Nordic Naturals. All other thoughts are mine and my family's own opinion and have not been altered by anyone else. I did not receive any other compensation for doing this post.

I believe pets are important part of human happiness. Their integrated existence with us on this planet has its major benefits. Pets have helped mankind for centuries. There is documentation where having a pet around people, especially the: elderly, special needs, disabled or handicapped has lowered stress and increased happiness.

Before she passed away, we were planning on getting a mini pony or hypoallergenic breed of dog for my daughter, Tatiana, who was blind and had cerebral palsy to aid her in her various needs. We did get Prince, a rescued shelter dog, slightly before she passed away and they absolutely adored each other. Prince would be so excited when Tati would come home from school on the bus. He would wait by the door when it was time and when I wheeled her into the house in her wheelchair he would come up to her and put his head in her lap and lick her hand with his doggie kisses. Prince wasn't really trained as a service dog, but he was still very affectionate and loving with her.

Nordic Naturals is putting together a great Photo Contest that supports and gives back to Paws for Veterans and Animal Shelter Dogs. This is a great cause! This helps dogs receive good loving homes and injured military veterans get the care they need.

About Paws for Veterans
Paws for Veterans, Inc. is a community-based organization that provides service dogs, training, supplies, and therapeutic group sessions to Veteran and Active Duty men and women struggling with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Traumatic Brain Injury, and Physical Disabilities. As a 501 C 3 non profit, this organization rescues, rehabilitates, trains, and re-homes dogs as service dogs for injured Veterans.

About Nordic Naturals
Based in Watsonville, CA, Nordic Naturals is committed to delivering the world’s safest, most effective omega oils to help provide the essentials of an extraordinary life. Distributing to more than 35 countries, Nordic Naturals offers more than 150 products in a variety of flavors and formulations, all in line with leading standards for safety, efficacy and sustainability. By providing omega oil supplements for adults, kids, athletes and pets, Nordic Naturals helps everyone do more of what they love. Further information is available at www.nordicnaturals.com. Nordic Naturals is on Facebook at www.facebook.com/nordicnaturals and people can follow the company on Twitter at @NordicNaturals.

The Contest
Nordic Naturals® wants to see adorable photos of rescued shelter pets on their Facebook page and support a good cause in the process! Pet owners can enter Nordic Naturals What’s Essential Rescue Pet Photo Contest by uploading their special photo on the company’s Facebook page between June 28 and July 18. www.facebook.com/nordicnaturals Two grand prize winners will be chosen on August 1st and will receive a prize pack that includes:

• A 3-month supply of Nordic Naturals Omega-3 pet products and human products – you choose from a list of qualifying Nordic Naturals’ products
• Dog and cat goodies including collapsible water bowl, chew toy, doggie bags and a plush fish toy
• The Dog Bible: Everything Your Dog Wants You to Know and The Cat Bible: Everything Your Cat Expects You to Know books by Tracie Hotchner
• A custom canvas painting of your pet by beccavision.com
• Mr. or Ms. Omega-3 Pet Award Certificate
• Profile featured on the Facebook app 

BUT, that’s not all!! The contest supports the non profit Paws for Veterans, Inc. and voting for your favorite pet photo on Facebook earns dollars for this important organization. This is a win-win for everybody -- rescue dogs are given a purpose in a loving, forever home, service members experience the healing power of their new canine partners, and Facebook Fans enjoy the satisfaction of knowing their vote in the contest sends $1 to Paws for Veterans (up to $5000).

To enter on Facebook:

• Go to the Nordic Naturals Facebook fan page between 6/28 and 7/18
• Upload your pet’s photo
• Vote for one of the finalists from 7/19 to 7/31 then see the winners on 8/1

DISCLOSURE/DISCLAIMER: This is a sponsored post. This post is in partnership with Nordic Naturals. I will be receiving products for free for posting this post. All information about the contest was provided by Nordic Naturals. All other thoughts are mine and my family's own opinion and have not been altered by anyone else. I did not receive any other compensation for doing this post.