Horseback riding lessons?

Okay, so about a year ago I was at the Dentist, and after hearing about all of his ski trips that he likes to go on to Utah, just for the weekend, I saw a picture of his daughter during a horseback riding lesson, and I thought... oh man, what luxury are my fillings going to buy his family this time?  

Skip ahead a year now, to Christmas, and my daughter, age 8, decides that the only thing she really wants is a few horseback riding lessons.  Easy enough.  Nothing to clutter the house, and she'll learn something.  A little pricey, but we'll see how it goes.  

We've now been to 3 lessons, and all I can say is that I love them.  I feel like we're getting so much more than just lessons out of the whole experience.  She's learning to groom and take care of the horse, learn good posture while riding, is not being so timid around animals, and her teacher is very encouraging and helps her know that it takes lots of practice to get good at something.  We're also getting a one on one experience with a beautiful horse.  

My boys absolutely love running around in the dirt, (which is so foreign to our techno based home life).  They have a pig, cats, and a dog that all run around loose.  It's like visiting a farm, that is more than happy to explain all the little things that go on there.  I feel like we've received a class just for my boys for free from all the things they're learning from it.  Today we watched the horses get their shoes replaced, and get haircuts.  Totally cool and educational to watch.  They gave them the worn out shoes to take home, and some of the trimmings that we wanted to look at under a microscope to see what they're all about.  It was such an intimate setting also, which made the learning even more fun.

Also, my kids are so motivated to go.  They bring homework in the car, and are willing to do extra stuff around the help, because of the high of being around horses.  I LOVE IT!

Would I say it is worth it?  Absolutely.  The price up front is a choker... but you get so much more out of it than just lessons.  I think it is something worth sacrificing for.  We'll see how long the "horseback high" lasts...  hopefully long enough to build self confidence, and create a child who's willing to take on hard things and finish them.

So, pretty much, I'm re-thinking all of those judgmental thoughts that I had about my dentist's daughter.  I think I just needed to walk in their shoes a bit to see that it is really a worth while adventure.

A Christmas Eve poem

A Christmas Eve Poem... to keep your kids in bed!

Two little boys lay wide awake,

once on a Christmas Eve.

Though their mother has tucked them safe in bed,

and kissed and covered each curly head.

They only played make believe.

We'll lie awake and watch for Santa Claus,

and we won't make any noise.

And we'll hear him drop from the chimney top,

said those naughty little boys.

Soon the house grew lonely, dark, and deep,

and the fire died in the grate.

The clock on the mantel said,

"Tick-tock, Tick-tock, I know, I know."

The chair in the corner looked like a ghost

with clothes all over it spread.

They wanted to scream but they couldn't speak,

for they heard the stairs go creakity, creak,

like the goblins going to bed.

Soon down the chimney came Santa Claus,

fresh from his snowy sled,

but they thought him a ghost from the goblin crowd

and all together they screamed so loud

that they frightened him away.

And they never got anything for Christmas!

A poem remembered by Joy Smith, shared by her mother, Norma Saunders on a Christmas Eve.  - Author unknown.  Picture by Tate Lehenbauer.

I had to post this Christmas Poem.  My mom has it memorized, and would say it every Christmas Eve to us kids to scare us into not coming out of our rooms on Christmas Eve.  I thought it was time to write some of these traditions down.  Somehow I feel like one of the Grimms brothers, trying to capture all of the songs and poems that my family has cooped up in their heads for generations.  Hope you enjoy it! 

Merry Christmas!

Cool Learning Site

Lynda.com

So, it was so easy to use, that I had to pass it along.

It teaches you anything you want to know about digital photography, photoshop, illustrator, any graphic design program you can think of, and best of all, it's cheap, and you can do it at home. Perfect for a mom of 4 who wants to stay current on learning stuff.  Fun stuff.  

Now, my goal is to do it!  

Bloom Where You're Planted

I just found out about Vinyl Lettering for your walls from a friend of mine, and so I designed my own words to go above Sydney's bed.  I think it turned out great, and took less time to put up than painting it by hand.  It also looks flawless, which I can appreciate.   This stuff could get addicting!   Check out their site:  http://polkadotthoughts.wordpress.com