Saturday, July 24, 2010

Horses!

This past week the kids and I went to Oregon to visit family. The kids had a blast on my mom's farm, as always. But this time we did something a little different. We all rode horses! As a kid, I used to ride all the time. I loved it. And now, so many years later, I miss it. There were a few years recently when I couldn't really ride, either because of being pregnant or having very small children who needed my attention all the time. But I realized recently that it would be a wonderful idea to start riding again. My sister still has a few horses which are very well trained. So...even though it's been YEARS since I've been on a horse, I still feel somewhat confident on them. One evening my sister, my niece, and I went out and saddled up the horses (well, actually my niece rode bare-back, which I think is pretty neat). We rode a few times around the field while the kids watched with Grandma. We mostly walked, but we did trot and even gallop for a short time. It was a great time of riding to get back into it. The kids enjoyed watching, but really wanted to get on the horses themselves. So after several times around the field we got off and let the kids ride. They LOVED it! Last summer Ellie tried riding once, but once she got onto the horse's tall back she was frightened and didn't want the horse to move. And Parker had never been on a horse. But they both enjoyed it so much this time. It was already past there bedtime, so the rides were fairly short, but they both wanted to stay on longer. It was such a fun time, and we've decided to make this a tradition whenever we go stay with my mom. Someday I hope to be able to have a horse or two, but for now we're so thankful to my sister for sharing hers with us when we come to visit.

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