cousins from Pittsburgh

Cousin Alec has been in Boston all summer on a scholarship to the Berklee College of Music. He is a jazz pianist and is really getting good. We've seen him here and there as he comes out to our house on weekends to do laundry and grab a Sunday dinner. I can't believe how much he's done on his own in Boston. The kids have loved seeing him this summer. He is so cute to play with them and always tries to do something to help me while he's here. You couldn't say that about too many 16 year old boys. (he'd be darn near perfect if we could teach him how to catch the train on time! :-) )

Clare came to join us last week as she flew in from her summer vacation in Utah. She's wanted to come and do horsey camp with us, and since she's 12 and proved to be a good helper at the barn last winter when she came for a trail ride, she was invited by Rita to be a counselor this summer.

I took the girls (MY Little Women) to Orchard House in Concord on Saturday. I have never actually been inside, so it was very interesting and exciting to finally get to see it. I love that book. Clare had never read it, so I bought her a copy. I hope she reads it!We started horse camp on Monday. Clare has learned so fast! I took her to the barn last Friday to show her what the counselors do, how to tack up horses and clean the barn so that she could do her counselor jobs this week. As of Monday morning, she was doing it all without much help, and by Tuesday, you couldn't tell the difference between her and the other much more seasoned riders we have at the barn who work as counselors. She also progressed in her riding at lightning speed this week. After only 4 lessons, she was riding Duncan 2 on her own at the trot.

I think I've created another horse addict. The Chapman family is going to be none too thrilled with me when all the girl cousins are begging parents to buy ponies and pay for riding lessons! (see, now if you'd all just come and live by me, problem would be solved.)

Brian, Wendy, and Jeremiah drove in last Saturday with their doggies, Argos and Helios, to join their teenagers at our house. We spent a wonderful day with them in Boston on Sunday as we went to see Alec perform and take in a few of the Boston sights. They are always awesome to hang out with. We love eating out with them. (thanks for taking us to dinner twice!)

(short snippet of Alec playing)

(little cousins running around a mine from WWI in the Boston Commons)(finally found the Make Way for Ducklings statue! couldn't find it last time we were in the Public Garden)

Grace and Hattie had a total blast this week. Grace and Jeremiah are fellow gaming buddies and spent lots of time comparing nintendo skills. The girls all had a wonderful time at the barn.

Grace also make giant leaps in her riding skills. After her week in Ponies Rule! she is also riding Tinkerbell at the trot all by herself. Her instructor this week was amazing and was so dedicated to helping Grace improve.

Hattie joined the Ponies Rule! kids when she could, but she was always left behind when they went off for their riding lessons. She didn't like that too much (you really can't enroll a 3 year old at riding camp!) So, we did our best to give her little pony rides here and there and then she got invited yesterday to play a few of the pony games on Peppe with Grace's team. She was so happy! I am also amazed at how self sufficient she is getting at the barn. She grooms, cleans stalls, washes ponies, and gets on and off "all by her own self."

Horse camp this week was mysterious and magical. The theme for the week was mystery week. On Monday, bandits stole the door to Tinkerbell's stall! Then, they stole Rita's stool, hat, and even a camper. They left a note that they would steal Tinkerbell on Friday if we didn't catch them. THANKFULLY, the kids caught the bandits just as they were about to swipe Tink from the field. Hattie was SO worried all week about Tinky's stall door. She was nearly in tears every day about it. I'm so thankful that we did find it on Friday after the bandits were caught!

We also had a Unicorn sighting at the barn. Our woods around the barn do have unicorns in them and you can sometimes spot evidence of a unicorn when you are out on a trail ride. Sally, the Unicorn, left a few notes, some silver hoof prints, and even some silver unicorn poop behind in the pony barn. (I thought unicorns had more mystical names? hmm... Sally it is then.) The kids squealed with delight each time evidence of her showed up. Grace was so caught up in this mystery since she has recently read a book about Unicorns. She proudly told the camp group that a unicorn has not been spotted since 1931. She has all of the facts. She cried on Friday when she couldn't take the unicorn shoe home from the pony barn.

We ended our crazy long week at the barn yesterday. We are completely, totally, and utterly exhausted. We spent about 8 hours a day there every day plus the getting up to pack lunches, lace up boots, gather swimming gear, and coming home to piles of dirty riding clothes, blistered feet, sore legs, and tired kids. It's the kind of happy tired that you are glad to experience once in a while, but you are also a tiny bit glad when it's over and you can get back to normal routines.

Today, we are putting Alec and Clare on a plane back home (parents, brother, and doggies left Thursday.) We'll miss our Pittsburgh family, but we're so glad they got to come and spend some time with us this summer.

(doggie cousins: Velvet, Shadow, Argos, Helios)

Phew, I guess our summer is just about over. School starts in 2 weeks, so I guess I'd better find those supply lists and see if my kids have any shoes that fit for fall! (was I supposed to go to some orientations or parents' meetings? hmmm....)