A Riding We Will Go

Whew.

Rounded out this jam-packed three-day weekend of outdoor fun with a trip to my parent's house outside of Charlottesville, VA. My Mom has a small horse farm (and by small I mean a measely 30-some-odd horses) that I grew up on and the kids LOVE to visit. Of course, I didn't care one lick about growing up on a horse farm when I lived there, but I do appreciate the lifestyle a lot more now that I'm grown and have become "citified." Now I think of it more as a great place to visit, but still not somewhere that I'd like to live for long. Its a small step, but a good one.

The kids, of course, think the horse farm is a little patch of heaven. They get to be outside practically ALL DAY, between the barn, the playset, the lawn tractor and the expansive deck and pool, its even better than Chuck E. Cheese to them. Yeah, really!

They both got to ride their ponies, and the older one is becoming a pretty decent rider. I sometimes wish we lived closer so he could ride more often, I think he'd really get into it if he could. His trot actually looks quite good, but he's still too scared to canter. I tried running next to him to help out, but only succeeded in scaring him and the pony worse. I think the best way to do it would be to ride double with him so he gets the feel of it. He's such a meek little kid sometimes, I really don't know where he gets that from...

My little one rode his pony "all by myself" and is starting to get the hang of steering. We also trotted for a while with me holding both him and the pony, and my little man just giggle and grinned and didn't want me to stop! Unfortunately, I'm not as 'in shape' as I should be and couldn't keep up that pace for long!

An evening on the deck with food off the grill was the perfect way to end the long weekend. Funny, we have no less than THREE decks at our own house, but something just feels better and right and cozy about the deck at my parent's place. I could sit out there all day and all night. I'll have to put my finger on it someday and bottle up that feeling to sell to the masses. The kids are really lucky to have Grandparents that love the out of doors and practically live outside all day, especially when they get to ride horses any time they want!

I think we spent a total of 15 hours indoors the entire weekend, and most of that was to sleep. The kids and I and their Dad are all fairly exhausted, but also very happy and content. I do wish every weekend could be so filled with fun and fresh air. But right now, its time for a good long sleep!