Tonight was our neighborhood ice cream social and pony ride event. We missed it last year, moving in October, so we were excited to go this year. I am so glad we did! They had 2 small ponies, and 2 horses for kids to ride, and of course - delicious ice cream with lots of fattening toppings...yum!
The kids wanted to go on the horses first thing, Rowan got a pony:
Killian got a beautiful gray horse:
They didn't have enough people to lead the ponies, so since I felt comfortable with it I got to lead Rowan on her ride. Good thing too - she was pretty nervous at first and I had to keep one hand on the horn of her saddle and use the other to try to keep my very hungry and determined pony from stopping to snack every 2 feet. Row loosened up about halfway through the ride and really started to enjoy herself.
We have the perfect neighborhood for this - we have something like 7 acres of green space running between houses, so the kids got to take nice long rides:
They ended up taking 2 rides each, and would have kept going back for more if it wasn't time for the horses to leave. It was the best part of the night! Well, that and getting to twirl around in the grass with friends old and new.
I met a nice mom with a girl Rowans age, a boy going into 1st grade and one going into 3rd grade at the same school as Killian. I hope that they like each other, it would be great for him to have a friend his age in the neighborhood to play with. When they were swinging each other around in the grass they had lots of other kids come up and play with them. I love watching young kids play - they just join right in without a care in the world.
We stayed for over an hour and then headed home to have a drink with the neighbors and some of their family who had joined us at the ice cream social. The kids played till dark and headed in to tired for a bath. Oh well, dirty little feet never killed anyone ;) It was a really fun night and I am so glad we went.
One last exciting thing - we may have found a place for riding lessons for Killian!. Last year when I worked at the barn my boss started giving me free lessons, and offered a couple to Killian too. I was so excited, riding horses has been something I have wanted to do my whole life but never had the chance too. Unfortunately, she wasn't the most patient person and she would get frustrated trying to teach us. I could deal with it, but she was a little to harsh on Killian so we didn't get too far along with our lessons. Lately when I have asked Killian what classes he would like to take or what he is interested in learning about he comes up with riding lessons every time. Is it a coincidence that the people who were there handling the horses tonight have a barn very near us, and also give lessons to kids? Hmmmm....I think not! I got a card and will be looking into the cost of lessons in the next few weeks. I would love to give him the chance to explore his interest in horses, and see where it goes!
The kids wanted to go on the horses first thing, Rowan got a pony:
Killian got a beautiful gray horse:
They didn't have enough people to lead the ponies, so since I felt comfortable with it I got to lead Rowan on her ride. Good thing too - she was pretty nervous at first and I had to keep one hand on the horn of her saddle and use the other to try to keep my very hungry and determined pony from stopping to snack every 2 feet. Row loosened up about halfway through the ride and really started to enjoy herself.
We have the perfect neighborhood for this - we have something like 7 acres of green space running between houses, so the kids got to take nice long rides:
They ended up taking 2 rides each, and would have kept going back for more if it wasn't time for the horses to leave. It was the best part of the night! Well, that and getting to twirl around in the grass with friends old and new.
I met a nice mom with a girl Rowans age, a boy going into 1st grade and one going into 3rd grade at the same school as Killian. I hope that they like each other, it would be great for him to have a friend his age in the neighborhood to play with. When they were swinging each other around in the grass they had lots of other kids come up and play with them. I love watching young kids play - they just join right in without a care in the world.
We stayed for over an hour and then headed home to have a drink with the neighbors and some of their family who had joined us at the ice cream social. The kids played till dark and headed in to tired for a bath. Oh well, dirty little feet never killed anyone ;) It was a really fun night and I am so glad we went.
One last exciting thing - we may have found a place for riding lessons for Killian!. Last year when I worked at the barn my boss started giving me free lessons, and offered a couple to Killian too. I was so excited, riding horses has been something I have wanted to do my whole life but never had the chance too. Unfortunately, she wasn't the most patient person and she would get frustrated trying to teach us. I could deal with it, but she was a little to harsh on Killian so we didn't get too far along with our lessons. Lately when I have asked Killian what classes he would like to take or what he is interested in learning about he comes up with riding lessons every time. Is it a coincidence that the people who were there handling the horses tonight have a barn very near us, and also give lessons to kids? Hmmmm....I think not! I got a card and will be looking into the cost of lessons in the next few weeks. I would love to give him the chance to explore his interest in horses, and see where it goes!