Friday was an epic day for the kids and I. I couldn't chase the thrilled feeling out of my chest and, somehow, earlier in the week when I recalled that Isaac was out of school on the coming Friday, I knew it was going to be good. We began the morning sleeping in till about 7:30 and I let the kids play undisturbed together as long as they wanted...about 8:30. They scarfed down some french toast sticks (you know its going to be a good day when I make anything for breakfast other than yogurt and grape-nuts;) and we headed out the door to the reservoir for bike riding and duck feeding. We went with Soren and my friend Chelsea AND their dog Midget. The weather was perfect and by the end of the day, I concluded that good weather is the key to inner peace! I think we should all move to San Diego! After the reservoir and a shower we headed to McDonalds to meet some friends for a happy-meal. From there we piled into my friend Julies minivan with four other girls (Kennedy and Emma Bahr and Savannah and Katie, the two I was babysitting for the day while their parents moved into a new house). We were heading to the country for the best part of the day, the month, perhaps the year! Today was the kids first day of HORSEBACK RIDING LESSONS at Horseshoe Ranch!! And when we finished I was so absolutely glad that I had followed through with this far fetched idea! It was truly epic! Let me tell/show you a little bit about it:
Meet Flaxy:
He was our perfectly obedient, beautiful, docile chariot that obeyed every tiny command from his little masters. Mrs.Vikky is his ultimate master and she handled the arrival of our surprisingly large brood with great patience.
Vikki started them out giving Flaxy a good brushing. She taught them how and where to brush the mud off of Flaxy's soft, glossy fur. She taught them about horse shoes, bridles and bits. After the short briefing the riding was to begin.
Mrs. Vikky let Georgie lead Flaxy out to the arena by the reigns. As soon as Vikki handed the reigns over Georgie gave them a pull from all the way down into the depth of her tiny little hips. She loves being in charge;)
Isaac was the perfect Gentlemen and let the lady go first. Georgie did great. It was so cute to see her tiny little promptings be obeyed by this big, beautiful animal, to hear her say "Whoa" and kick her little heels into his side. She rode him all around the arena, all by herself, every few moments forgetting that she was the one in charge and letting the horse take back over and stop himself.
She talked Mrs. Vikkis ear off with questions about the horse and facts about herself.
Our beautiful companions watched longingly and cheered her on.
Then it was Isaacs turn! He was so eager to but his cowboy boots to use that he sent Flaxy into a trot almost immediately. Mrs. Vikki announced that we had a natural on our hands. She said he handled the horse extremely confidently for a five year old! At this point I recalled that it was in his genes and I remembered how excited he had been when the rodeo came back into town last month. He was soooo excited to see the cow ropers. Maybe we DO have a natural!
Sheer Joy at the bounce of a horse trot!
Mrs. Vikki gave Georgie another turn and let Isaac lead her around this time.
An experience like this ought to make a little guy feel official! Leading around a big, docile animal with your baby sister on his back probably feels like ruling the world to a five year old.
Georgie liked riding but her attention span was a little short. She almost preferred being off of the horse and brushing him. She made great friends with a girl horse (very important!) named Angel. She kept brushing her, talking to her, and bringing her hay and grass to eat.
She loved Indie as well.
Our little animal lover had to be pulled away, crying, from Horseshoe Ranch. She went around hugging and kissing all the animals in the barn. We can't wait to go back in two weeks! Expect many more posts like this one because I won't be able to stop taking pictures! At the end of the day, we decided to keep Isaac in the lessons along with Emma and Kennedy. Mrs. Vikki says that she has three sweet and obedient horses and can take three kids at the same time. She said that anytime Georgie wants to ride, we'll throw her on but for the time being we'll just let her romp around brushing, feeding and just having fun with the animals until her attentions span increases a little. I think she'll enjoy that just as much. It wasn't a hard decision to keep Isaac in lessons! Seeing that look on his face is worth every penny!
