Thanksgiving Ride

I just realized that this diary is turning into a "Watch my daughter ride horses on the beach" tale of epic epicness that excludes our sons.

Deal with it.

Ahem.

It's just that this weekend is kind of a horsey extravaganza.

So, when last we spoke with our little girlies, they had kissed and made up (although I still need to debrief Kelly about this, because it sounds like, from Alice's mom, that there were forces afoot that I was unaware of, which paints Kelly in a less-than-good light, and doesn't unearth the underlying awkwardness where Kelly confided in me that she had caught Alice in some bad behaviour of her own. Which, when all is said and done, could be 'this is how a 10 year old perceives things that are really completely innocent'. Of course, when I chatted with Alice's mom while Alice was getting her overnight bag together on Wednesday evening, I was a complete chicken-liver, and didn't mention the bits where Kelly was crying that Alice was lying about stuff at school. We will deal with that later, when I'm certain that I have all the facts. But for now, they are all buddy-buddy, and I will be keeping an eye on two OTHER of Kelly's friends, who have told Alice (to her face, says the mother) that they don't like her, and they don't want her to be around Kelly. Eek! The drama. It's like a soap opera without the paste jewelry and constant stream of weddings)

The girls had a very successful sleep-over, and were up at the crack of dawn, raring to go. That's when I stole a few minutes to write the little entry with photos from their Wednesday afternoon ride.

Thursday morning?

Hello, single-digit (OK, it was single digits in Celcius. But that's still stinkin' cold) temperatures.

Fortunately, we were well-stocked with scarves and gloves (with little half-fingers, so the reins could be held)

And I couldn't believe it, but Kelly and Alice were the ONLY people at the ranch! I mean, people! What's up? You've got the DAY OFF! Surely not ALL of you are slaving over a hot stove all morning, on such a glorious morning, nursing the turkey into golden oblivion.

But I was happy that we had rushed out to get there early. The girls got their choice of horses.

And you already saw the wonderful moon that was parked in the nearly cloudless sky.

I do love me a good beach-photography morning.

I love this shot of Alice on her horse.

But this one is my fave...

OK, *this* one is my favourite:

Or maybe this one...

Although there's something fun about catching them just as they come back to the ranch, full of stories to tell...

Mom! You wouldn't believe what a BUTT Eddie was on the beach! but I still love him.

Mom!

OH mom. Eddie's being a butt again! Can you help me?

Oh wait. It's ok. I've got it. He's fine...

And this all happened before I even STARTED putting Thanksgiving dinner in the oven.

Imagine what I could do on Black Friday...