Sidney

Have I mentioned before that Emily loves going to Swiftsure Ranch to ride?  

Getting a boost from Mr. Hugh to complete her grooming job

She really, really does.

This week she got to try an English saddle.  But afterward she told me she likes the old western one because there's a purple pad that matches her helmet!  This week Emily continued to work on turning, but as an extra treat at the end she actually got to trot.

That was a big deal to a 4 year old who tells me every. single. time. after a lesson that she can't wait to run on her horse.  Yep, she's very convinced that Sidney is hers.  And for now, we'll let her believe it.

A Campin' We Will Go

We're cheating at camping this year, but Emily doesn't care.  We took the RV out to a spot and left it there.  Occasionally, we go out there and spend the evening, only to return to comforts of home the next day.

Emily loves it.  She asks every day if it's a night that we get to go camping.  And on those special days we say yes, she spends a fair amount of time in a time out because she gets overly excited...

We play golf.

And blow bubbles.

But Emily's favorite part, the one part that she just can't wait for, is the s'mores!

And during those days we spend back at the house, Emily loves the slip n slide that she got on her birthday.

And from those couple days a week she does go to preschool, the projects she has brought home.

Last but not least, Emily's 4th session with Sid on Tuesday went well!  She was even sent home with some homework, learning how to tie a slip knot!  She was able to get in about 40 minutes of riding in this week, the skills just continued from last week.  

Swim

Let me just say that I believe Emily's instructor for swim has a magic wand.  For two years, I took Emily to the local pool for two weeks of lessons and progress was never made.  In fact, if you remember, the instructors couldn't get near Emily!

This year, with two other little friends, we're paying one of the swim instructors (and daughter of a colleague) to meet us at the hotel pool and do lessons in a more private setting.  Emily, even on the first day, was agreeing to go under the water (a first) and is really trying to kick and move her arms like a swimmer.  And to our surprise, keeps a big smile on her face the entire 30 minute lesson.  She might be a swimmer yet!

And an important life lesson was learned, stay out of the way of a swing in motion.  Check out this dandy of a black eye -

Ride On

Emily was happy to get back to riding after missing last week!  After we arrived, Hugh asked if we'd like to start trying an hour lesson instead of just 30 minutes.  Emily's first job today was to help catch Sid and get the halter and lead rope on him before grooming.  When it was finally time to start riding, another surprise, she got to start using a saddle.  She made several trips around the ring, starting off with the warm up, before working on using the reins to turn Sid in circles.  By the time the hour was up, Emily was riding solo without either Hugh or Cally holding onto her or the horse.

There was also time this week to do some splat painting (an old pair of pantyhose, some rice, a lot of paint, and something to bounce it up and down on) ...

And she's also working on pumping her legs when swinging...

Stay tuned... Emily started swimming lessons this past Monday.  And we even got our RV out to our very own campsite.

Finding Ways to Keep Busy

Preschool was closed all last week, and horseback riding was cancelled this past Tuesday as they prepared for their annual fundraiser... so it has been mostly up to me to keep her entertained!  Wednesday she did have a great time on her preschool's trip to the river, and she wasn't complaining when I picked her up on Thursday about the playtime with her friends.  But this is what we've been up to at home:

We went to visit friends at their campsite, mostly because we've been too lazy to get our RV and camp ourselves.  One of Emily's favorite things this summer is to toss rocks into rivers.

We used the crayola sprayer outdoors, so I didn't have to worry about misdirected spray... It uses air to turn the washable markers into a spray paint, it's just that sometimes she gets distracted and forgets to let go of the trigger as she turns away from the paper.  Another new favorite of hers is to use stencils in her projects.

We made homemade ice cream.

And flubber.

And abcmouse.com keeps her entertained when it's too hot to be outdoors.  

And that outdoor easel turns into a picnic table, the perfect place to make a real mess.  This one is shaving cream.

And last, but not least, Emily has started her gun safety 101 lessons with Dad.  It's part of being a Hughston, I guess, so she might as well learn the right, safe way now.  And she's pretty tickled pink about it.  

Happy Fourth of July!

 We spent the early afternoon watching the parade travel down Main Street.  I'm pretty sure Emily was able to pick up more candy than she was able to gather at Halloween time.  She was excited about every second of it, and spent the entire hour standing and waiting and watching.

Earlier this week, we did a little hike out Greenhorn.  The days have been hot, so we tried to get an early start, but we didn't make it very far.  We sat and watched butterflies and chipmunks, there were still plenty of flowers to look at as well.  She walked some, rode piggyback some, and even charmed a lady to let her sit on her horse for a bit.  Turned out the lady was a volunteer at Swiftsure Ranch and has a soft spot for little kids.

And I can't forget to mention Emily's second riding lesson on Tuesday (it was a HOT one!)  It was very similar to last week's lesson, but this time Emily was learning how to use the reins.  Cally used words like fearless and confident when she described Emily's lesson.