Thursday, August 21, 2014

Girl + Horse = Bliss

This week we had a big milestone moment...
Abigail had her very first horseback riding lesson!
This was a very long-anticipated moment and she was just glowing...
it was wonderful.
I was a horse-crazy girl back in my day, too, and still remember how the dream --
and the fulfillment of it -- felt, and it was so much fun to watch it happen with my daughter!

Learning how to groom and tack the horse
Up on the horse for the first time!
Learning to find her seat (i.e. balance) instead of just relying on the saddle and stirrups
Hey, Abigail, you're going the wrong way! ;)
Getting brave
Learning to use the reins
Ride, Abigail, ride!!!

Tuesday, August 19, 2014

Back to school ~ 2014-2015

Our first day of school
David - 12 years old, seventh grade
61" tall, 85 lbs, size 10 1/2 shoe
Abigail - 10 years old, fifth grade
54" tall, 57 lbs, size 3 shoe
Our first field trip -- to Zoo Atlanta with Karen & her kids
Feeding the parakeets in the aviary is definitely a highlight of the zoo!
Our second field trip -- to the High Museum of Art
The kids' first time seeing a real Monet!
School is off to a great start!

Our summer in a nutshell ~ 2014

Our summer flew by in a flurry of busyness, but we also managed to fit in some time to enjoy being with each other and our friends.  I am finding yet more obstacles to good blogging...as the kids get older, I am doing more participating with them in activities and less watching, which means fewer pictures.  I have also graduated to a smartphone now, so it's so much easier to just snap a picture and upload it to facebook in a few seconds.  I am trying to find a good balance!

Here are just a few highlights of our summer...
We finished school and the kids were promoted to fifth and seventh grades! (gulp)
We had a wonderful week at summer camp
Abigail was chosen to participate in the silly game show!
 We played at the lake
We led our church's Backyard Bible Club
We had an absolutely wonderful time together on our end-of-school-year family outing; this year we went to Six Flags.
We celebrated the end of summer break by enjoying a day with friends at a local aquatic center...
...and Abigail overcame a major fear to conquer a waterslide all by herself (and loved it)!
Ah, summer break...you were fleeting, but wonderful while you lasted!

Monday, April 07, 2014

Our week ~ March 31

This week started out with Abigail feeling under the weather...thankfully she was back on her feet in time for her sleepover birthday party!  Her theme this year was rainbows and unicorns, so I had a blast planning details accordingly.
For dinner Friday evening, we had rainbow pasta and rainbow bread...
...and for dessert, a simple cake
that had a surprise inside!
For snack on Saturday, we had rainbow sugar cookies.
The girls had lots of fun being girls...there was a lot of happy playing and a great deal of giggling and squealing, too. :)
Pin the star on the unicorn's horn
Abigail's friends helped her release her birthday balloons (the letting go of the birthday balloons and watching them until they disappear is a tradition in our house, started when they were younger and wanted to keep their balloons forever but I was tired of them being in the way...so we made it something exciting to watch them rise into the sky while they still had enough helium to make it!).
Other "regular" moments in our week:
School (this is Felix hard at work on a spatial manipulation project :)
David and I have been working on the landscaping.  These pictures don't show the scope of the work we have done so far...all of the cutting and pulling and hauling and sweating...but they will have to do.  He is my right hand man who provides all of the brawn and grit that I am no longer able to provide...it has been a joy to work alongside him!
A couple of the plants blooming at our house right now (the daffodils, hyacinths, and crocuses are about done; grape hyacinths are still going strong; tulips are still coming on; many others are getting ready for their big show!)
Bleeding heart (from my Grandma Minota's garden)
Vinca vine
I forgot to include this picture last week...a snuggle session with our friends' newborn.  He is absolutely beautiful and it was wonderful to soak him up!