Betcha never would have guessed....

This is the car dad said he would like to buy for me us:

This is the car we will drive home on Monday:

9 years after becoming an empty-nester I become a minivan (grand)mom for the first time!

Playing in the water yesterday on horseback was inspiration for a good old water fight in the sprinklers this afternoon. What else are you going to do when the temperature is 105º?!?

 

 This all took place after spending 3 hours at the public pool!

 

Flashback Photos

August 2007 ~ From the beach we drove to a Buddhist monastary built high on a mountain cliff. It is known as the 1,000 Steps Temple because there are at least that many hand-carved stone stairs leading to the top. Beautiful statuary, wood carvings and intricate hand-painted beams under the roofs of the temple gates held their own against the beauty of the landscape. Hyuna made the climb with us, only 1 month after Alex's birth.

We were approached by one of the monks, inviting us to have dinner with them. We ate an austere meal served cafeteria style in an austere room. A few others visitors were there, and some of the monks, but we ate (seated on the floor, of course) by ourselves. It was a unique, once-in-a-lifetime experience.

I chose to walk down the oh-so-steep hill after we left the temple because I was scared to death of being in the car I wanted to take some more pictures.

 

Back in the Saddle Again

Seth and Gabe warm up for today's riding lesson by mowing the front yard.

Then we are off to the stables!

Miss Kimber quickly has them moving through their warm-up paces 

Gabe on Rio and Seth on Mia

and cantering

Rio looks like a llama in this picture

Miss Kimber's garden frog thinks Alex is silly

Best game of the day - running through the sprinklers on horseback!

Anatomy of an almost-5 year old eating an ice cream cone

Yum!

"Wow!

I am really enjoying the 100º + weather we are having."

Said no one at all.*

*Today was 107º. We have hit 100º+ every day for the past 18 days.

Flashback Photos

August 2007 ~ After our stay at the mud house we spent a morning at a beach on the island

Beach Bums

Hyuna and tiny Alex watch from afar

Not happy about the big wave that surprised him