Riding on the Horse!

After the horse was grazed and taken care of, it was time to ride!

Anthony was first.  No fear!

There he goes, holding the reins himself!

He was thrilled.

Anne's dream come true.

She was able to guide the horse herself.

Dominic.

Fun ride.

Catherine knew how to "steer" the horse as well.  The girls said they knew how from reading books.

Anne and Anthony together.

Yep, that's me. 

Dan took a turn.

Joseph finally agreed to try.

He liked it!

On Sunday, my brother Eric came over with his family.

Cousins raiding the blackberry bushes.

Catherine picked some for Prince Anthony.

Little cousin Isaac.

Anne gave Elizabeth and Isaac a ride.

Grandparents, Cousins, and a Horse

In the middle of July, we visited my parents for the weekend.

Early birthday present for Anne.

And for Dominic.

Lined up to look in the hanging plant...

...where there was a nest of baby birds.

Anthony played with a toy I played with when I was a kid.

My sister and her family came over on Saturday afternoon.  And brought my sister's horse, Chris!  Our kids, especially the girls, were very excited.

Chris was let out to stretch his legs and do a little grazing.

Anne on the horse with her cousin Clara.

Look at that happy face!

Now Anthony and Anne on the grazing horse.

Before they could actually ride, the kids all helped to brush the horse.

Chris is a very good, gentle horse.

Dominic got a turn.

Time to clean out his horseshoes.

Anthony was not scared of the horse at all.

Aunt Beth taught the kids just how to do it.

Catherine's turn.

Anthony wanted to ride!

To be continued!

Early July

Who's hard at work under there?

Mr. Fix-It-Man Anthony!

We had fun at our friends' pool.

Cool fun on a hot day.

The first big picking of green beans.

Ready for the freezer.

One of the first of MANY cucumbers.

Catherine hard at work cracking eggs.

Anthony learned how to peel carrots from our garden.

Fourth of July Fun

Anne with the flag.

Everyone but Anthony got to shoot off firecrackers this year.

Making surprise packets.

Roasted on the grill, we have carrots, beets, onions, turnips, potatoes, and green beans from the garden.

Yummy!

Dominic riding like a clown in the circus:

Dom and Joseph shooting firecrackers.

Daddy was ready to shoot off a parachute.

Anthony got one!

Anne taking a break.

The 5 minute smoke bomb!