The Best Two Hours of My Day

When school let out, I picked the kids up and took them to the barn up the road from our house for their horseback riding lessons.  The boys were giddy!  Although Zoe is not a fan of smelly barns and is not taking lessons, she came along anyway because one of her bestest friends, Karlee, is the instructor. 

Look at how impressed she is! 

It is important to note that I took an awesome picture of Zoe displaying her "I am too good for this world" face, and I planned to insert it here, but it has mysteriously gone missing.  I should also point out that Zoe has been censoring ALL photos and ALL blog entries to maintain her squeaky clean, ultra-cool reputation.  I am sorry for what I am about to do, Mini-Me, but my creativity can no longer be stifled beneath your tyrannical regime.  You asked for it!

Zoe may not like to ride horses but she LOVES to dress up like one:

Oh, no you didn't?  I did!!!

Anyhoo, the boys love having Karlee as an instructor because, according to Avery, "she is beautiful", and I love her because she charges very little and allows them to wear bike helmets and regular rainboots. 

She also knows her stuff and is very kind to them.  The boys always ask if they can swap Zoe for Karlee. . . if she keeps up her ol' deleting mama's photos trick, we just may, boys! We just may!

Today was Elliot's first lesson and by the end of it, he was riding Indigo like a pro.  Way to go, Ellie!!

At this point, I am sure that you are wondering what kind of shenanigans the wee-est Webster was up to.

Well, he was jumping into horse poo! Does it really surprise you?

Tee hee!  That kid is awesome!  I would like to say that I was appalled and that it only happened once, but if you look at Michael, the boy in the red shirt, and his various positions in the photos you can tell that this event became quite the competition and occurred many times. 

Now to wash off in the stream:

and have floating stick races . . .

Mr. Level-Headed will be thrilled to learn that while we were at the barn, I met these two cuties:

Their names are Ying and Yang.  They are only one month old!  I was shocked to see how high they could jump:

And who knew that goats and horses are best of buddies?

Oh, and I can't forget these bundles of fluff:

"The Vision" just gets grander and grander everyday . . . tee hee!

Once Elliot was finished, it was Avery's turn.  Avery began lessons last Fall, and he talked about Indigo ALL winter. He loves this pony and was thrilled to be back in the saddle . . . tee hee!  I kill myself!



With Avery busy, it was up to Elliot to find his own shenanigans, and trust me, it did not take him long. 

Start out with 2 mischevious boys armed with water:

Add some unsuspecting, but equally fiesty, girls:

And you have one wild water-gun fight on your hands:

As you can see, we had a blast this afternoon! 

The best part is that we get to do this ALL summer long!  And all for the low cost of $20.  $20! I kid you not! 

Everything is just better when you live a ferry crossing away!

P.S. After riding, Karlee came over to our house so that she and Zoe could "study" for tomorrow's science test.  As I was going through my pictures this evening, I came across this photo:

Karlee beneath Zoe's bed sheets

So, maybe academics suffer a little when you live a ferry crossing away . . . tee hee!