Shane finally had a pink day! It's all the more amazing since he was red the day before. He said that he did an awesome job answering math questions in class.
Then, he earned his forms stripe at Taekwando! Last time it took us a couple of months!
To celebrate, Shane got to open his last Easter pack of Pokemon cards in the car after school. Then, Carrie went with us to TKD and we all got pizza afterward.
It was a nice coincidence it happened on my birthday.
Teaching is like riding a ramshackle down a hill in a race. This time of year, the finish line is in sight, you're moving at top speed, but the bolts and screws are coming loose and the bicycle is threatening to fall apart underneath you. All you want to do is cross the finish line in one piece and find a grassy patch or pond to crash into.
Monday morning we saddled up.......to go to a barn! Shane stole my pad of paper and wrote a book for the long drive.
We went to see Nibs. You can see the yellow skin where the cut was. It's pulling together well.
The next big concern is companionship. Nibs needs a horse who can teach her how to be a horse. The original plan was for Nibs to become friends with Calypso. They're stall buddies, but Calypso suddenly generated interest from a buyer. There's not much point in trying to bond them further when Calypso only has a few days left at the barn.
First up of the replacements, Gwen and her foal Dozer. Gwen helped another horse, Raindrop, back in the day. However, now she had a foal......a huge foal. Dozer was born the same day as Nibs, but she's already a hand taller.
Carrie and Sonya escorted the pair to the round pen. Then Carrie grabbed Nibs.
I'm told she leads very well for her age.
Getting into the round pen was a different matter. The ladies had to shove her in.
Nibs on the left.
Gwen and Dozer on the right.
Gwen was okay with Nibs' presence, but Nibs and Dozer had trouble. Nibs was visibly anxious (and that's from a non-horse person). She ran all around the arena, jumped, half-bucked, and worked herself into a sweaty mess.
Dozer was initially not super interested, but eventually investigated some. She didn't like it when Nibs tried to sniff her tail once and kicked. It happened again later. Dozer could become a bully, so it was deemed "not a good match."
A gelding, Kuzco, was introduced later. Nibs started running around like crazy again. Kuzco ignored her until she bolted right in front of him.
He reared.
It would've been ugly if Nibs ran under him.
So, no new companion for Nibs. Shane got a chance to say hi. He entertained himself while all of this happened.
He pet cats (and got his first cat scratch)...
...and kept working on his book.
Sonya got out the rabbit after he kept asking.
We spent over three hours at the barn before heading out.
Shane and I stopped by Dylan's that evening. Krista wanted canvases to practice face-painting.
After dinner, the boys enjoyed squirting water at Eli as he looked out through the kitchen door.
It was Sunday. A day of rest. Shane got to watch a lot of TV in the morning, so that we could rest!
Carrie went through old photo albums.
I'm not at liberty to reveal much of what I saw and we talked about, but...
....I had to share a couple.
I hope my wife will forgive me later. She can't deny these are great photos.
We went to church and a diner for lunch in Williamsburg.
We hopped on the ferry for Shane. He's still young enough a ferry is awesome.
(This is what I look like in case anyone forgot).
Not many people took advantage of the observation deck.
I admit, I enjoy this sort of thing, too.
We explored a little on the other side of the James, before we circled back.
We noticed an Osprey chick this time around. Carrie got excited and looked it up online. The chick's a local celebrity.
Carrie wanted to go to Jamestown next. I didn't think Shane was old enough (or the weather good enough) that I'd want to shell out $43 for him to run around and stress Carrie out in a new place.
We compromised by going to the gift store.
Shane should be old enough to start learning about history in school next year. I bet Grandpa and Grandma know ways to get discounts, too.
All this time, Shane was asking to go fishing. He got his wish after a Sunday nap.
The fish were biting. Too bad they were all babies.
He really wanted to help Carrie skin sweet potatoes, too, but that was nixed.
Really, Shane wants to be in the middle of anything. I think Shane is also morally opposed to silence. He keeps up an endless string of noise talking to himself, humming, singing, and/or making noises.
Shane was upset when he realized we forgot his Pokemon cards at Grandma's last week. He was thrilled to be reunited with them.
Signs seem to indicate Shane will like games. He's in the right house for it. He played around with the Codeword cards Carrie and I left out while we ate breakfast.
We returned to the barn at 10:00 PM for a riding lesson.....and dogs.
Lots of dogs!
The big guy made it hard for Shane to put on his boots. I was happy to pet and distract him.
Carrie really wanted Shane to focus on the horses. One horse in particular.
Hello, Kiowa.
Carrie set up a riding lesson for Shane with several goals in mind. She wanted to assess Kiowa, let Shane ride, and not spill the beans.
Kiowa checked out as kid friendly.
And so the lesson began.
I hung out with the dogs.
Part of the time....the two small dogs ran and played all over the arena. Kiowa check out again on staying calm.
Shane got to ride around for a bit.
He wanted to trot, though. The ladies allowed it, but ran alongside.
I played on a barrel.
Carrie hopped on next.
Apparently, Shane noticed my antics from Kiowa's back.
That's the Mike in him.
He discovered a lasso to play around with after we exited the arena.
I showed him how the knot worked. He wasn't much help picking out hooves or brushing down Kiowa, but it was definitely easier this way!
Carrie made homemade mint Oreo ice cream to celebrate.
Shane got to crush Oreos.
Shane and I watched the Adventures of Tintin while Carrie snoozed the afternoon away.
She woke up in time to cook soup for dinner and play a round of Labyrinth.
