Well, They Missed It...

The kids are all spending the night at the cousins, and guess what came while they were gone?

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How many times do you have a cement truck back up your drive way?

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And unload a whole mushy batch of ankle deep cement?

They would have been transfixed watching this. And they would not have believed how lucky these guys were.

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Lucky, lucky, guys.

My kids love to play in the mud.

Now they're going to know you can get paid for it.

What Grandpa Did...

Where is Kiki, and what is she doing?
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Grandpa had a surprise waiting for her when we got to Grandma's House.
Riding lessons.
I don't know why I say we're going to Grandma's House when it's really Grandma and Grandpa's House. "Grandma's House" is shorthand for Grandma and Grandpa's because saying Grandma and Grandpa's House takes too long. Over-the-river-and-through-the-woods-to-Grandmother- and-Grandfather's-House-we-go. It's a universal principal.
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Anyway, Grandpa is very much a part of what makes Grandma's House so special.
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Right, Kiki?
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Lessons included tacking up, leading the horse to the covered arena, and...

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Learning from The Best Teacher I've ever seen: Ms. Heather.

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Kiki got to work on a lunge line.

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Which allows the rider to concentrate on their seat instead of worrying about steering.

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Ms. Heather said Kiki was a natural. Which made me happy because Kiki had been dreaming of this moment for years.

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Her first lesson was learning to steer. There are a lot of things to think about at once, remember what it was like to learn how to drive a car?

Same thing. Without the rear view mirrors.

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Grandpa and I sat in the corner and watched the whole thing. It was one of my favorite moments because I got to see my child succeed in something she's talked about for months on end.

Fruition is what it was. A lesson in patience and trusting in God for His timing.

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On the way to her third and last lesson.

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It was a bit of an unusual situation. Because we were here on vacation, we got a crash course in English riding. What usually takes weeks, Kiki learned in three days. This is a transition from a trot into a canter.

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And what really surprised me is that her teacher was confident enough in her progress to let her try a small jump on her last day.

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It was exceedingly, abundantly above anything we could have asked for. Just like what a good Father (and a good Granddaddy) would do.

The Ball Game

Grandma's house is the perfect place to play ball.

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Look at that technique.

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Such finesse. Do you see the ball far right?

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Perfect catch.

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I tell ya, these boys could be professionals.

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You can see it in the hand-eye coordination.

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Woops.

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Uh-oh.

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To be continued...

Welcome to Grandma's House....

Fall is in the air. The yard looks just a little different than the last time we were here.
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Bright green.
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Bushes are full.
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Leafy.

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I couldn't tell you what these are, but they're pretty.

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Berries are everywhere. OrangeRed ones....

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Cherry Red ones,
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And strange EasterEgg Purple ones.
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Have you ever seen these?

It's the crayon I had high hopes for when I pulled it out of the crayola box.

But on a berry, it's a bit disconcerting.

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Whoa. Looky there.
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I'm glad I saw that before I brushed up against it in a game of hide-n-go-seek.

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This picture here, is where I want to live.

Self-contained, peaceful, simple, with a promise of things to come.

But you don't have to go around the bend if you don't want to. It will always be there waiting for you.

Wouldn't that be nice?

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Life is never as pictured.

Something New at Grandma's House...

The boys got a front row seat. What better way to spend the morning than to watch construction workers scaling a roof?

It's every boy's dream.

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In fact, boys from all over the neighborhood, age 5 to 75 have been stopping by to get the latest on Granddad's garage project. They can't help themselves. Construction is an automatic draw.

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Construction, and tools. Tools in a truck. Can life get any better?

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Tim Allen was right, you could hear his Man Purr echoing off the cinder block walls around here.

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It's a candy store in their own backyard.

I'll Be Waiting For You

When we get to Grandma's House, we usually have to wait a few days to see the cousins.

But not this time.

This time they were coming the day after we arrived. Saturday.

Sawyer found out and went out to wait.

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Never mind that it could have been hours, or minutes.
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He wasn't going to miss it.

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And if it weren't for the paparazzi, everything would have been just fine.
Happily, they arrived about a half hour later.

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He loves his cousins.

I Could Never Do This....

Woolybear caterpillars are everywhere in Grandma's yard this time of year. Sawyer found one that was on a mission.

I could NEVER do this. Put one on my arm, fine. I think it finally hits him at the very end, and that's exactly how I feel about it. It would elicit a primal squeal from me. Could you do it?

Man Vs. Wild...

Sawyer and the grasshopper. It was an inevitable encounter.

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I don't know who found him first, but Tristan came tearing into Grandma's house yelling, "Mom! Come see!"

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I had to go see. It's what moms do.

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I really wish this picture were clear because we might be able to tell how the grasshopper feels about all this.

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Maybe we could guess: Surrounded, overcome, analyzed, on the spot, unsure, panicked, and without a prayer?

Grasshoppers and little boys, it's a complicated relationship.

What to do With Bubble Wrap...

I remember being little and getting as excited about things like this as I would about an all-expense paid vacation today.
Yesterday I was moaning about what I did not have,
but watching them made me happy for what I've got.

The Big Sister Voice

Ever heard of Yigael Yadin?
All of the kids do the same History, but it can get to be over Tristan's head with questions like this:
Yigael Yadin, a famous (archaeologist, mathematician), uncovered evidence that proved Bar-Kokhba was more than a legend.
So, I read it out loud and let him do it orally.
Yesterday I was reading this question out loud for a Pretest:
In the First Jewish Revolt, the (Temple, Eiffel Tower) was destroyed by the Romans.
When Tristan tentatively offered "The Eiffel Tower?"
Kiki hopped in with her best Big Sister Voice and said, "Tristan! The Eiffel Tower is in NEW YORK."
The room fell silent for a moment, in homage to this profound knowledge their sister was privy to.
"No, it's in Paris", I corrected.
"Oh. I was thinking of the Empire State Tower, uh, Building."
Hearty laughter all around.

My favorite part of home schooling is the laughter.

Fulfilled

I've had "work with horses" on my prayer list for about 15 years now. And it's been about 10 years since I've been around them extensively. Can't find a good barn to save my life. But at this retreat we went on, God did an unexpected thing.
I'd emailed ahead and requested working with the horses but was told "they are all out to pasture for the season". I told Kiki that there would be no horses available on this trip.

Then we got there.


Even though we couldn't "work" with them, we could BE with them. And being with them meant pressing our faces into their sides and taking deep satisfying breathes of their delicious coats, and stroking their velvet noses, and feeling the warm air blow out of their delicate nostrils. It was desire fulfilled.


The herd has acres and acres to roam in, unhaltered, unfettered, and they were the most content horses I've ever been around.
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You'd think they'd wander all over their acreage, but mostly they were happy to stay in the first few acres, close to where the people were. When they weren't grazing, they were resting in the shade under one of the shelters.
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The youngest was Winchester. Fourteen months old.
He was the typical youth and the older horses put up with his playful shenanigans. But when they'd had enough they'd nip him away with a "stop it!". I was reminded of the car ride here.
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They liked us. These weren't overworked trail horses at a kids camp. These were a cared for and specially selected herd that liked people.
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Except for Sawyer. For some reason, one of the mares of the herd identified Sawyer as a pesky youth, similar to the yearling, Winchester. Even though Sawyer was just calmly stroking her as she grazed, she suddenly stretched her neck out full length with her mouth open and snapped at him. His eyes got as big as saucers and he started running away, his little arms pumping like pistons and his knees high-stepping. Of course I couldn't capture it on film, but every third stride he'd peek over his shoulder and see something like this after him...

Have you ever seen a mad goose chase a child? It reminded me of that. We all froze for a second because we couldn't believe it and then my mother's instinct took over. I stepped in front of the mare and yelled, "HO!" with my arms raised. She quickly backed off.

Sawyer stayed outside of the fence after that. Needless to say, he was a little wary. Here is his account of the story....


To interpret: "She was chasing me! You! You little stinker!"

Even though this story sounds horrifying, it didn't ruin our time with the horses because I could attribute it to the normal signals horses give each other when they are annoyed. If it were my horse I would have taken additional steps. But we were content to let it go, and enjoy the rest of the day.
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The herd had a dust hole they loved to wallow in.
He's saying, "That looks good. I need to do that."
And he promptly did.
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If you've never seen a horse roll, it's worth it. It almost makes you wish you could do it too.
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He's done with his roll, and on the way up. I like this shot because it captures how powerful his muscles are. You seldom get a chance to see this power unless they are at a run, and then it's too fast to get details. These are big beasts that command respect.
It was fun to teach Kiki some basic horsemanship about how to stay safe around them.
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She loved it. We're hoping it'll happen again soon. Somehow, somewhere. God is full of surprises.