I have a few pictures at the barn after the last family camp horseback class. Amelia stayed around with me to ride for a few minutes, then my mom showed up. Naturally, I put her on a horse. :) I'm not sure how many years it had been since she's ridden, but Teddy is a sweet horse and was a good boy for her. He's really big (he's half Percheron), but has the most comfortable trot. You hardly bounce.
I think she looks nice on a horse.
You go, Grandma!
Amelia on Romeo.
Amelia on Teddy. Her leg only comes halfway down his side. He only outweighs her by about 1200 pounds.
Elizabeth may end up being another horse buddy some day. She loves to ride. Here we are setting a stellar example with no helmets. I don't trust many other horses besides Romeo for riding double with a three year- old. She told me the other day, "I don't like to get off." Neither do I.
Wonder what she's thinking in this one. It might be that in spite of the fact that we're sitting on a pad on Romeo's bare back, he still has quite a pointy back bone!
This one put "a pony of my own" at the top of her Christmas list this year. I've been telling her to pray for God to send one. That's what my parents told me (not at the time knowing that God was actually going to send me a free horse via a friend from church). I don't think we could have searched for and found a more perfect first horse for me. God had her lined up for me at the age of eleven. I told Amelia it might be a few more years before we get serious about her having a horse of her own. (Unless God sends one first!)
The day after family camp ended (Labor Day) we headed to the lake house on Lake Oconee for our end-of-summer vacation with Mom, Dad, Jonathan, Lisa, Jordan, and Reagan. Sadly, we lost my uncle John, one of the owners of the lake house, just a few weeks after our stay there. He battled aggressive cancer for four years, and it was a miracle he was able to fight it as long as he did. I know I have other pictures but I can't find them right now. This one is from December of 2009.
He was positive until the very end, and trusted God entirely. The day before he was admitted to hospice (which he was only in for a few days before passing on), he went to see a lady in the same hospice care facility who was at the end of her journey. He told her to go on and then hold the door open for him to come in. That's pretty much how it happened. It's such a privilege to be a part of a Christian family. We are sure of things to come after this life.
We stayed at the lake for four days, and unfortunately it was rainy and chilly for most of that time. Thankfully the hot tub was nice though, and the pool was bearable as long as you didn't get out!
Kids don't notice cold water.
Shannonball!
Shannon can walk on water. It's cool. This is his fountain impression.
Grandad and Avery getting a cold shower under the waterfall.
Grandad IS actually wearing swim trunks...
The tube took up nearly the whole hot tub, and the kids took up nearly the whole tube.
Yay for warm water!
Man eating pink tube. Mom looks worried.
He walks on water and levitates too. (The wheels aren't on the ground.) Now if I can just get him to telepathy his clothes up off the floor and his Legos back into their containers at home...
There's a great place for riding bikes and scooters all around the front of the house. Elizabeth doesn't like to ride the "baby" tricycles anymore. She'll probably be riding without training wheels by this time next summer.
Kiddos stuffing their faces. We try to do a lot of eating while we're on vacation. It's a goal.
Dad and Jonathan spent some time working as well. They were able to bid on and buy property at an auction without actually going. I wonder when you buy land online if you can use Paypal for that.
Lisa started reading Jordan and Reagan a book, and then all these Himstedt kids started creeping in on them.
Jonathan has a little old boat (literally) that he was able to buy for $50! It was fun to take out and tool around the lake in.
Our last day and half there the sun finally came out. Avery caught a monster fish. If you look really close you can see it.
Grandmom got out face paint at some point during the day.
Mmmm, worms!
Grandad and Reagan.
"I have a cricket!"
"See?"
"Bye, cricket."
The back of the shack, looking up from the lake. What a dump.
Jonathan and Jordan.
It was a fun and enjoyable time, as spending time with family always is. I don't know when we'll get to go back to the lake house. Aunt Angela has kept it rented out for weddings and such. It really is a beautiful place and we always have a good time there.
That concludes our post-summer vacation. It doesn't finish out September, but I WILL GET THERE! Right now I'm off to bed. I have horses to feed in the morning, kids to school, and I hope to get in a run on the treadmill. We have Christmas parties and get-togethers four out of the next five days, and mom is coming up to keep kids so I can finish Christmas shopping on Thursday. I'm already wondering what it will be like to go through a store at a leisurely pace without once saying, "Didn't I say no touching?"
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