In anticipation of the kids and I going to California for two weeks while Daddy stays behind to stalwartly provide for us, we wanted to have a Family Fun Day today.
After Mass, we came home, ate breakfast, changed clothes, and the kids drew chalk while we loaded the car with a picnic.
John fell asleep on the way and Mary tried to poke him awake.
Horses! Just last weekend, Chris had taken the kids out for a drive and discovered the Latta Equestrian Center. They had so much fun that they took me back to visit it today.
John dressed appropriately as a cowboy.
Entrance to the Equestrian Center is free, so all we paid for was a pony ride for the kids: John's second, Mary's first.
John was a pro!
I thought his cowboy boots (hand-me-downs from cousin Ryan) in the stirrups were so endearing.
When we placed Mary on her horse, our normally gung-ho, climb anywhere, do anything girl burst into shrieking tears and couldn't be calmed for several minutes in my arms. Chris and I had a suspicion (knowing our girl), so we suggested that maybe she wanted to ride the pony John had been riding instead. But really what we suspect is that she was very afraid of the
man who was going to be walking her pony and would do better with the young, small teenage girl walking John's pony. Once she was on John's pony with the girl, Mary really enjoyed herself.
The heat and humidity were sweltering, so we walked back to our van through whatever shade we could find while the kids rehydrated.
We drove a mile down the road past Latta Plantation, the Raptor Center, and the Nature Center to the Nature Preserve! We'd never been there before, and we quite enjoyed the taxpayer-paid park and picnic grounds alongside a lake active with boats.
The rest of the day was enjoyably spent napping, watching a family-friendly movie, eating dinner at home, and having dessert of ice cream (kids) and strawberries (parents). Tomorrow begins the work of planning and packing for our trip!
After Mass, we came home, ate breakfast, changed clothes, and the kids drew chalk while we loaded the car with a picnic.
John fell asleep on the way and Mary tried to poke him awake.
Horses! Just last weekend, Chris had taken the kids out for a drive and discovered the Latta Equestrian Center. They had so much fun that they took me back to visit it today.
John dressed appropriately as a cowboy.
Entrance to the Equestrian Center is free, so all we paid for was a pony ride for the kids: John's second, Mary's first.
John was a pro!
I thought his cowboy boots (hand-me-downs from cousin Ryan) in the stirrups were so endearing.
When we placed Mary on her horse, our normally gung-ho, climb anywhere, do anything girl burst into shrieking tears and couldn't be calmed for several minutes in my arms. Chris and I had a suspicion (knowing our girl), so we suggested that maybe she wanted to ride the pony John had been riding instead. But really what we suspect is that she was very afraid of the man who was going to be walking her pony and would do better with the young, small teenage girl walking John's pony. Once she was on John's pony with the girl, Mary really enjoyed herself.
The heat and humidity were sweltering, so we walked back to our van through whatever shade we could find while the kids rehydrated.
We drove a mile down the road past Latta Plantation, the Raptor Center, and the Nature Center to the Nature Preserve! We'd never been there before, and we quite enjoyed the taxpayer-paid park and picnic grounds alongside a lake active with boats.
The rest of the day was enjoyably spent napping, watching a family-friendly movie, eating dinner at home, and having dessert of ice cream (kids) and strawberries (parents). Tomorrow begins the work of planning and packing for our trip!
How fun! I'm so impressed that Mary would ride on a horse. We tried with Theo at about that age, and he would have nothing to do with it. The kids look so cute in their "cowboy/cowgirl" gear!!
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