Goal Achieved (I Guess)

Well, I seem to have achieved my goal. I've been hoping that some of the grands or my children and their spouses might find an interest in my collection and want it when I am no longer here. But I have to admit, this interchange with Mila was a bit unnerving.

She, Ian, and Lukie were here when a surprise box arrived in the mail from my friend, Liz Cory. (Theoretically we were all "napping" on my bed. Three kids, one dog, and a Grammy... Not a lot of sleep happening.)

Inside was Eire, a BreyerFest model I'd wanted but hadn't been able to snag from the Pop Up/Fling stores despite countless times of refreshing and waiting for the stores to restock. (I'd actually had one in my cart once, but when I went to pay for it, it disappeared. I was so disappointed.)

After I had passed Eire around for everyone to see, Mila asked for it back. And then she caught me by surprise with this question.

"Grammy? Can I have this when you're dead?" 

Oh, my! I certainly wasn't expecting THAT! When I didn't reply right away (I was trying not to laugh), she asked again. All righty, then! I seem to have achieved my goal to have a family member who wants to inherit my collection! (Hey, one piece is a start, right?)

Lukie wants that Eire, too, and ended up holding it while he "napped." Looks like Mila has some competition. 

Thank you, Liz, for surprising me with Eire! It looks like you can rest assured that your gift will be treasured for years to come, one way or another.

A Pony Pal at the Rodeo

Pony Pal Cambria's family moved to Utah in March and are embracing that western culture. Saturday they attended a rodeo and Cambria decided that she would compete.

No sign of a unicorn anywhere; not when she's entered in mutton busting!

Her dad was in the stock pen with her and gave her some last minute mutton bustin' advice.

Jessica filmed the ride from the grandstand. (We Isenbargers know how to cheer, that's for sure.)

Look at that girl ride! She earned a whopping seventy points on her first ever attempt and says she plans to compete in mutton busting again. Titan, her brother, wants to try next year when he will be old enough to participate.

I may have to take a trip out to watch them!

Visiting My Nashville Pony Pal

BreyerFest Saturday was Cole's birthday. His home in Tennessee is just three hours away from Kentucky Horse Park so we left BreyerFest and headed down Saturday morning to spend the weekend with the birthday boy and his family.

Cole works in the music industry in Nashville and puts new talent together with managers. He meets some fascinating people in his line of work and sometimes sends his fan-girl mama a photo or two.

Squee!! Cole with Chubby Checker last September. (I asked Cole why Chubby Checker was working with him and Cole explained that even successful acts sometimes switch managers. Such was the case with Chubby.)

Cole and Emily's daughters, Julie, Kate, and baby Susan, are darlings, and Kate especially is a budding pony pal.

We were delighted to pull up to their home and see Kate and Julie watching for our car. Even better, they were holding something in their hands which they began waving at me as I got out of the car.

Model horses! Just look at those smiles!

After a flurry of hugs and greetings, the girls showed me their horses - three Schleich pieces that Kate carried around with her the entire weekend.

I'd brought a couple of crafts to do with the girls. 

Even then, Pony Pal Kate had her favorite with her. (That was my favorite of the three, too, but then, I am partial to Appaloosas.)

I'd spray painted some wooden chests I'd gotten at Hobby Lobby in the girls' favorite color and brought along a large selection of stickers for them to use to decorate their boxes.

I can't paint a model horse worth a lick, but I sure can wield a can of spray paint!

 After we finished our treasure boxes, can you guess what the first thing was that Kate put into hers?

Her Appaloosa! (She's holding Susie's box - Susie was too young to make her own, so Kate helped make it.) I thought that that was an excellent and very logical choice.

Kate carried Polly around with her the entire weekend and while Julie played with the Scleichs, too, she preferred her stuffed animals over the models.

Seems I have another budding horse lover in the family.

A Name Change?

While we were visiting Jessica and her family in Santaquin, I started wondering if Pony Pal Cambria really should have a different name.

 Perhaps, Unicorn Girl?

 After all, Cambria has a unicorn necklace, bracelet, and earrings that she wears ALL the time.

And, thanks to my friend Cristine Holt, a unicorn purse that goes everywhere with her. (Even to bed.)

But, I still see the pony pal in her.

Cambria absolutely could not resist the barrel of stick ponies (not unicorns; PONIES) that she saw while we were visiting a farm together, unicorn purse notwithstanding.

And despite the enormous size of the Percherons, she tried to get as close to them as she could before the handler brought Riggs out for us to visit.

 You can just see the excitement on her face at being in the barn with him.

And Cambria was bold enough to help me give Riggs a good scritch on his chest.

No, I think I will wait and see how things shake out before changing Pony Pal's name to Unicorn Girl!

Saturday Fun at the Barn

Our son, Curt, called Saturday mid morning just as I was preparing to leave for the barn. He asked if he could drop by as he had something he wanted me to have. I'm so glad he caught me!

 Mother's Day flowers! Hand delivered by these cuties.

Since I was headed out to the barn already, I invited them to come with me. Pony Pal Mila reminded me that horses and unicorns were her favorite animals and showed me the unicorn she had with her in the car.

The herd was way out in the far corner of the field, and came thundering up when they heard me whistle.

 That made Lukie, Ian, and Mila feel a little scared and hesitant about handing out the carrots.

Even Mila, who is usually right up at the fence, hung back and needed me to help her feed Abby a carrot.

 Yes, I do kiss horses. 

We stayed and visited with the horses for a while, and then walked over to the new barn to look at Tim's collection of carriages, wagons, and vehicles that are housed in it.

 Ian and Mila were fascinated by the "reindeer" antlers and skulls that Tim has collected and hung on one of the rafters.

"The jail wagon! It's the jail wagon!" This one is always their favorite. They love looking inside at the jail cell.

It is a very unusual vehicle, probably the most unusual one in Tim's collection. (Although the mail delivery wagon is pretty different, too.)

Not only does Tim have a sleigh in his vehicle collection and "reindeer" antlers hanging overhead, Ian discovered some sleigh bells in a carriage. He is now convinced that Santa is storing his sleigh and bells at Tim's until next Christmas. (I didn't ask what he made of the skulls and antlers!)

 Pretending to drive the farm tractor.

Pony Pal Mila thought that the indoor arena was one large sandbox, and she enjoyed playing in it...

 ... while her brother kicked the horse ball around the arena and chased after it for quite some time. (How he could run for so long in that soft footing is beyond me!)

Lukie enjoyed going into the tackroom and getting to sit in Tim's pony saddle. He tried to rock in it like he does his wooden rocking horse!

Not only does Tim collect antique horse drawn vehicles, he buys antique tack, too. Ian tried out a vintage 1930s/1940s western saddle.

We finished up before lunch, and despite the earliness of the day, all three kids needed to be popped into a bathtub. But that's barn life for you, and an extra bath for the day was certainly worth it for the fun that we had.

My Florida Pony Pal

I love having Pony Pal grandchildren who share my passion for horses. It is actually a very bonding experience, and so much fun to pick out presents for them at birthdays and Christmas that reflect our mutual love of anything equine.

Recently Craig and I have been in Florida visiting Kyle, and his family. While there, Pony Pal Adelaide was excited to show me her Christmas tree and her very favorite Christmas ornament.

A Trail of the Painted Ponies Winter Ballet ornament! 

 I love that shade of blue paired with white.

I got it for Addie last year, and it suits her perfectly because not only does she love horses, she is also a very serious ballet student.

Addie is just to the right of the pole. She is dancing at an outdoor festival in St. Augustine.

I give my grandchildren a Christmas ornament every year, a tradition my mother started for my children and has been so successful that when I asked fifteen year old Trinity this year if she was tired of the tradition and that perhaps I should stop, she deadpanned, "Only stop when you're dead, Grammy." And then she continued on in a more serious note, " I like getting ornaments from you every year!"

Well, then! There it is - the tradition will continue (at least for her!)

I may buy Breyer's carousel ornament, "Winter Whimsy," for Addie next year. It, too, is that pretty shade of blue and white, and I think my Florida Pony Pal would really like it.