Life is a Beach, and Sometimes a Horse Farm--{p,h,f,r}

I wasn't going to do a Pretty-Happy-Funny-Real post, but then I started reading some of the others posted at Like Mother, Like Daughter and my mind started blogging.  So, I figured if it was already written in my mind, I might as well write it on Blogger.  :)

Pretty

There's something about a proper English riding habit.  Thankfully, this one was borrowed because they also come with a pretty costly price tag.  Saturday was Cowgirl's third riding show.  She had a wonderful time and did a great job.

Happy

Speaking of horses, Buddy had his first official riding lesson last week.  Cowgirl got him started by leading him around for a little while, but then he took off on his own.  I was impressed with how much he could do.  He walked on the rail, backed the horse, walked over ground poles, did a serpentine pattern around orange cones and sat so nice and straight.  All of that in a fifteen minute lesson.  It was a happy time for everyone.  My children are very blessed to have an incredibly generous aunt who also loves horses.  She pays for their lessons and cheers them on every step of the way.  Very, very happy to have her, such a wonderful addition by marriage, to my family.

Funny

  

A view from the covered seating area on Saturday.  The lady on the left in pink is our wonderful aunt.  I don't know if you can tell, but she is taking pictures as always.  She comes to every single one of the kids' events and always takes endless pictures and videos of them.  Without her, I would have much less photographic evidence of their childhoods and probably no pictures of me with them.  Have I mentioned we are blessed?

Anyway, what is funny about this is the two people to her right, my husband and his mother.  Do you see what I see?  For how different they are, his apple is still very close to her tree!

Real

This little guy is having a real good time at the beach, which is really good because we are there EVERY. SINGLE. DAY.  I don't have any pictures of his squeals of delight as he kicks in the water because, well, I am trying hard to hold onto him with both hands even though he thinks he can just dive in and follow the big kids.

Every July, I fall in love, again, with where we live.  The beach, the lake, our great neighbors and summer friends, the raucous spare playroom (aka our backyard and front porch) and the sound of hundreds of song birds each morning have me wondering, why would I ever want to move?  As much as we have been trying to sell our home for nine years now, with no success, every summer we realize how special it is to live where we are.  Of course, the reality is that we have two bedrooms, 700 square feet, no basement, no garage, a school and three children.  Come January, I will be eagerly searching for a way out of this place, but we are greatly blessed and like I keep reminding the kids we need to be thankful for all that we have, which is so much more than so many others.  We always end with the thought that their cousins, the Ingalls, lived in one square room--not one bedroom, one room total!  And yes, my husband and children are cousins of Pa Ingalls!

Hope you are having a wonderful week!