Saddle Up

For Skyla’s 6^th birthday this year we didn’t want to give her toys or clothes or something that is awesome for a second and then tossed to the side for the next moment’s interests.  I have always been a fan of giving someone experiences as gifts like a dinner out to connect, a promise of some time together or the gift of adventure and activity.  So, this year we bought Skyla horseback riding lessons for the summer.  She had been excited to go to a friend’s birthday party last year and ride and also those random fairs and things when you pay an astronomical fee for some poor pony soul to walk around a pole once always seemed to excite her.  She was very happy when she opened the envelope and couldn’t wait for her first one, even though it was a couple of months away.

The day came back in July and we went.  It was the four girls and I and this place was so far and out in the middle of nowhere that it felt like an alternate universe and in many ways it was.  Suburbia to farm country.  We stepped out and went into the facility.  There were horses everywhere and the neigh’s reverberated all around.  Journey was so shocked and excited she could just jump up and down and neigh herself.  Skyla was taken back to start her lesson. 

We went to an air conditioned observation room (thank you air conditioning) and watched.  She walked her horse “Foxy” out and got up there like a trooper.  I didn’t know what to expect…  fright, tears, hesitation???  But, there was none of that.  She got up there and started off on the horse and walked a few laps around the BIG arena by herself.  Part of me wanted to leap through the glass and hold on to her, but the other part realized that she is growing up and these experiences are amazing to her.  The more things she can experience now, at home and away, the more she can take out into the world with her.

I was very proud.  She had now surpassed anything I have ever done on a horse.  You go

girl!

Her sisters were able to spend more time with horses than ever before as well.  Petting, watching, feeding and “riding”. 

They taught her all sorts of things that I will not pretend to fully understand.  She did English and western style, she trotted and posted, she did obstacle courses and a lot of balancing work.  It was fun to watch her go through all of the lessons and see her grow during them over the summer.  So, Thanks Foxy, Marge and Lucky for your time this summer.

 

Do I think she will ever be in a show or do this for a living? No.  But, does she now have more confidence up there and in other areas of her life because she did this?  Probably.  Birthday present well received…

When did this happen?

When did the little baby girl I gave birth to six years ago grow up? 

When did she trade in her mumbles for words and then sentences and now conversation? 

When did her tousled tresses become flowing locks of gold that are pinned back in just the right way?

When did the chubby cheeks I couldn’t stop kissing become the beautiful face of a little woman?

I don’t know where any of the time went, as I sit here after she has left for her first day of FIRST GRADE!

It is a stark reminder of the limited days we have with our children to teach them the ways of life, the best we can, before they venture out into that world on their own for good.  Part of her is already out there.  She has her own little life at school that we are not a part of from 8am-3pm everyday.  I just pray that she has the strength and courage to take chances with people and obstacles, but also the obedience and manners to get through the days graciously.  All we can do as parents is our best.  Give them a good example and in those moments we don’t, to confess that we could have done better and we will do so in the future.  We are all just people, humans, even parents, even our parents.

To my beautiful Skyla I love you more than you know my sunshine and you were the first answer to Daddy and I’s fairytale coming true.  Go out there and learn, be adventurous, make friends, create and have FUN!!!

Happy first day of First Grade!!

Her very Own locker!

A desk with her name on it!  I am sure it will be very organized knowing Skyla.

So excited!

(That's right!  It is all about the purple leopard print this year.  Grandma Kathy will be so proud!)

Our Escape

Months and months of hard work, chaotic schedules, unexpected dramas, over scheduling and under rest creep up on you and you don’t even know how much your body, mind and soul need to escape until you finally do. 

This small island in the southern part of North Carolina is where we call "Our Escape".  Oak Island is a place that isn’t flashy or pretentious, but instead it is elegant in simplicity.  We go there to be reminded of life and the gift we have been given.  We go to witness those mysteries that we are just to delight in and not to understand.  The cadence of the waves lapping the shore and the rhythm of the tide going in and out and in and out put me at ease.  The world goes on, and goes on beautifully, without the lunch calendar being perfect, without the house being spotless, the last email being returned or even the last show being watched on the DVR.  It doesn’t matter there.  The only thing that matters is us.  Our family being together and enjoying all those moments of silliness, smiles, quiet looks and holding on to one another. 

We were headed to this very place this summer in mid June.  We NEEDED it.  With our lives right now we have only been able to go on a vacation about every two years and this was a very busy couple of years with moving, a new baby and a string of other entangled events.

We were driving, of course, because flying this crew of six would require Donald Trump’s backing these days.  An eight hour car ride with four young ones is interesting to say the least, but we did it with a lot of singing, movies (hey, it was mostly veggie tales at least!) and sporadic sleeping.  The mountains were gorgeous and when we stopped in Ashville, NC for the night we were ready for some rest.  We went to dinner at some Mexican place by the hotel, which is never a good idea by the way!  We had a wait and so we sat… again!  After dinner we went back to the hotel where Journey graced the walls with a Monet in red crayon and we had to use some elbow grease from the both of us to get that off.  I am not sure what the people on the other side of the wall thought was happening over there.

The girls had a movie night because when you are sticking six people in one room for the night that have varying sleep needs a movie is a great buffer for everyone.  The next morning the continental breakfast was awesome!  I always stay at Comfort Inn Suites because they have great complimentary breakfasts of waffles, pancakes, cereal, muffins, bagels, bread, yogert and all the drinks you could think of for breakfast.  It is a nice free breakfast for six people!

Anyway, another eight hours of fun later we are THERE!!!!!   As soon as we cross the bridge the windows go down, whatever form of entertainment that is on is turned off and we just take in a deep breath.  Anyone who follows my blog knows what happened next.  We found our vacation house and jumped out without hesitation, almost forgetting to turn the van ignition off.  We ran out to the water as fast as our atrophied legs would take us after two days in a packed car and we cheered, danced and leaped around.  We watched the waves, the pelicans and the birds.  We smelled the salt of the ocean, felt the sun on our faces and just smiled.  It is awesome!

My mother-in-law, Brian’s step dad, my sister-in-law and nephew all joined us with four large Labradors, Bella being one of them.  We stayed in a four bedroom house there on the beach where a small dune in front of our stairs was the only thing holding back the high tide.  During low tide we had football fields of sand to play on and the girls covered all they could.

We spent days playing in the waves, napping and eating.  We renewed our vows there for our ten year anniversary, which you can read about in my previous blog titled “Renewal”. We spent other days going to aquariums, via ferry boat, and Myrtle Beach to visit the more frenzied crowds. 

More than anything we spent time together; Brian and I, us with our girls, the girls with their grandparents, the girls with their Aunt and everyone with my nephew because he is 14 and at that age of solitary confinement when it comes to anyone older than him.  We were able to see him and get to know him and he is an awesome kid filled with all the quirks and insecurities of every teenager out there.  We were all there, we know…  but, they don’t know we know!

I was NOT ready to leave when that next Saturday came.  I could have stayed at the beach all summer and maybe even longer.  The ocean breathes life into me and it always has, but for my whole family it was an escape from the days and chaotic ways of home.  This was an escape that was needed and deserved by all who shared it with us. 

Do you have an escape? A place that you love?  It doesn’t have to be so far away as long as it refreshes you and lifts you so that you can give your all in the best possible way.  I hope you do and I hope you can go there soon!

Happy Travels Friends!