The 5th wheel became the social center for children: five cousins, two neighbors, no fighting. Remarkable.
Adults socialized in the garage. Our grand-niece has completely passed out. She is held by her mother, seated next to her mother, whose 87-year-old mother is at the table, playing Hearts. She saw those cards come out and she was all over them - she loves cards. I could kick myself for not thinking to get a four generations shot!
Last year Audrey rode a mile from her house bareback and this year she is riding with Belle and her brother Rogan is riding the other horse. They do have to cross a paved road but the rest is dirt and Belle's grandmother drove ahead of them to open the gate.
Belle's feet don't even reach the horse's belly. We all just stared as she slid off by herself. We're fenced so they took off the bridles and let the horses run. Then they played with the rest of the kids. Our llamas couldn't have cared less - false reputation that horses and llamas don't tolerate each other.
There were *so* many cousins. The two women are cousins and the three children are cousins - and there are more. They all were invited and now say they want to come next year. More tents!
Ian's oldest son organized the First Annual Sagecreek Horse-shoes Tourna-
ment, complete with brackets, and it went for two days. Fortunately I lost in two hours.
Petie goes to all the Bluegrass festivals but skipped Strawberry this year in order to come be with us. He plays claw hammer banjo and we couldn't get enough of it. He is Ian's friend from community college and gymnastics!
Noah loved the banjo so much that Mommy made one for him too. His form is good but he needs a better instrument.
Jason (nephew-in-law) brought a box of cigars - huge success. Here's John, his dad Paul and Pete.
SIL Michael was smoking one until his tragically exploded. I told him he needed a little cheese with his ham. Note the knitting in the background which makes this a fiber post. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.
These four days were intense on so many levels. This is one of the moments that sticks with me. Alexia has finally warmed up to her big brother and has decided that she loves him. John and his Uncle Matt instantly bonded. That was sweet too.
I leave you with a view of our Red Rock Valley from inside the stables.
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4 comments:
LOL, well of course horses and llamas will tolerate each other, although it can be quite entertaining if say a horse has never seen a llama. Cooper was raised around llamas, Dandy had never seen one until we were riding around a farm that had two. It's amazing how pretty a horse can look when he's prancing & jigging sideways. Planned introductions are always best though...
Great pictures.
This is the last one? Bummer. I wish I had married into your family!
I remember the feeling of sliding waaaay down off a too big horse. Loved that.
Looks very fun....well...if I leave out the 2 day long horseshoe tournament. Sometimes losing early and often is a good thing!
Sue
Your post reminds me of when all my father's family used to get together when we were kids in Texas. They lived on a farm so all 7 cousins got turned loose. We ran ape through the field and the barns. Then at the end of day we had a cook out and made ice cream in the old hand crank ice cream maker. Such fond memories! I am sure everyone had a wonderful time.
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