More Horsey Stuff

The kids had another great day at riding lessons. Samuel rode by himself the whole time, trotting quite a bit. Alicia was exercising Dunnie, who is huge. We took a picture to show how big he is, but didn't have great success. Elizabeth was rather frightened of him--no wonder--She is a little bigger than his head! Kerri insists that he is very gentle etc., but his gentle nudges can knock her off her feet!

Samuel always wants to help Frank around the barn, so he got to sweep today. There is even a broom the right size for Elizabeth.

The drive in is just so beautiful! Here is a view of the driveway, and of the barn.


When we came out of the barn around 4:30 it was definitely dusk. It's starting to happen already!

Horseback Riding Tidbits

The kids have so enjoyed their horsey experiences! Kerri is great with them--she has plenty of tricks up her sleeve, and is so observant and patient. (Big plug for those in this area.)

The ponies have their winter coats--I had no idea they got so furry!

A few weeks ago when we came up the driveway, we saw a large red fox with a white hare in its mouth. It stood looking at us for a minute, then trotted off into the trees. Neat experience. Yesterday the driveway was like a fairyland with big gobs of snow on all the branches.

The horses stay outside with coats on, but when it gets really cold, lessons are cancelled so they can be brought into the heated arena and exercised. Yesterday Kerri's yearling stallion was inside because he was cold. How can you tell, I asked. They start to stand with their feet closer together to keep their internal organs warmer.

Samuel had his first "camper" yesterday. Skippy wasn't being very cooperative, so Kerri gave Samuel the crop and told him how to use it. He's a pretty bold fellow, and has loved trotting, so he wanted to trot, plied the crop, and got a canter. This was surprising for both him and his mother. . . It scared him at first, but he did it again and again. The first time when he got calmed down, he asked Kerri what Skippy was doing. Cantering. Afterward he was gushing to her about campering. She thought it was cute, so didn't correct him.

Skippy also wasn't listening to Elizabeth. I'm afraid her little boots don't make much of an impression. :o) So she got to ride Shadow, the smallest pony at the farm. Alicia (sweet girl that works for Kerri, her family goes to a good church in town) had been exercising him, so he was right there. Elizabeth wanted to trot so bad, so Shadow and Alicia both got a workout. Shadow wasn't listening to Elizabeth's boots either.

Anyway, they both came home glowing. And cold! It was about -16 on the way home. Cowboy boots have no insulation, and I had shoes on. Elizabeth was in tears by the time we got home, and I had no feeling in parts of my feet. Samuel seems immune to the cold. I should take my camera again so you can see them riding inside.

by Samuel

Elizabeth and I went to horseback riding lessons. Before I got on Mariah I curried her in circles with a rubber brush. Then Miss Kerri helped Mariah sing. She opened her mouth and moved it around. Her teeth had bits of green all over them. It looked yucky. Then I brushed her hair in the direction it grows.

I put on a helmet and Miss Kerri put a leather belt with handles on Mariah. We went outside to the arena.

Miss Kerri helped me up. She put a rope on Mariah's bridle and I went around in circles. First I walked with one hand, then with no hands on the handles. Then I started doing slow trot. I rode around the world fast, which means rode backwards. And then I sat on my knees without moving.

We took off the pads and the belt, then brushed her again. I liked it so well that I wanted to go there every day!

written for English class, revised and proofread with much pain and suffering

A Very Exciting Day

Yesterday was one that the kids have been anticipating for quite a while: the first day of horseback riding lessons! I myself am not a horse person, but I want my kids to like them. Also, our homeschool network pays for the lessons! (Alaska is a super place to homeschool.) Anyway, everything was marvelous: the weather was nice so they rode outside, nothing scary happened and the instructor was patient and very skilled with children. Here they are currying Mariah before the ride.

Here they are vaulting ("gymnastics on horseback" to help them get used to being up there). Samuel on his knees

holding his arms out

Elizabeth riding backwards

holding her arm out

The kids both had such a great time--wanted to do it every day! They both liked trotting, especially Elizabeth. She would say, "Yeehaw!" and giggle. So cute. I felt a little bad for them doing the splits for twenty minutes, but they didn't seem to mind.

Little did I know that my day was just beginning, even though it was 2:00 in the afternoon. {Ominous music begins}

This evening was the first day of Frontline clubs at church. Just as prayer meeting was about to start, Stephanie came and got me. Samuel had been walking along backwards, excitedly telling Caleb about his wonderful horse experience when he tripped over his feet and fell, hitting the back of his head on a folding chair. He was pretty upset and wanted to stay with me. I convinced him that he would regret missing the first day of club, and he went to his class.

As church was ending Stephanie came and got me again: Samuel had been crying off and on the last ten minutes, and wanted me. He said his head hurt. A little later when I went to pick up Elizabeth, Samuel threw up. Thankfully, Steven saw what was about to happen and took him to the bathroom.

On the way home we stopped at Wal-Mart to get something for him and he threw up while waiting for me in the van. We got him ready for bed, and he threw up again. He zonked out immediately, but all of his vomiting made us more than a little nervous. Steven and I decided that he should go in to the Emergency Room.

So. We woke him up and made him change out of his purple pajama pants (ahem). On the way to the van he vomited again. . . We checked into the ER about 10:15. He sat miserably watching CNN while I knitted on a baby sweater (frustratingly enough, I reached the end of the stockinette section and hadn't brought the pattern, so I had to sit with idle hands!). He heaved one more time, poor thing. He didn't have much ammunition left at this point. We sat there waiting for about an hour. The sign said that ER patients are NOT served on a first-come first-serve basis. Whew!

(Samuel and I have bonded before at the ER.)

It was an interesting gathering. There was the guy slumped next to me: he was there when we came and was sitting there still when we went to the back. A crying two or three year old girl. Later I was blessed to hear her getting stitches. A mom with an asthmatic son and little daughter who had her PJ pants on backwards and inside out. An extremely miserable-looking woman about my age who alternately coughed and groaned. Two very thin male soldiers, one of whom was later modeling the latest in hospital gown fashions. Two other male soldiers, a young woman that was limping terribly, and a young lady with her three or four year old son who used the bathroom about four times and had to be reminded every time to close the door! I'm sure they will remember us as the lady who knitted and the boy who threw up. . .

Anyway, after about an hour, we saw the medic. Young soldier whose manner made me think he was not from my generation. He checked Samuel's vitals, pupils and tracking and thought he was fine, but had to check with the nurse. The nurse said no, that he should probably be seen. He kindly threw away our barf bag and gave us an enormous basin with a disposable pad in its place. (How embarrassing! But not as embarrassing as not having something if the need arose.)

Back to the waiting room. Samuel fell asleep and I was so glad! I watched various persons leaving with crutches, bags of medicine and wrapped up hands. Also, I learned more about Chris Brown than I ever wanted to know. Probably half an hour later the (male) nurse came and took us to a treatment room. I had to carry Samuel (and leave the basin behind) because he is such a sound sleeper that I couldn't rouse him. The farther we had to walk, the more I felt that we should hurry! He's fifty-one pounds! I must have looked distressed because the medic and another young man came rushing out to help me.

He roused Samuel enough to examine him and thought he was probably fine, so he would send the doctor by to say for sure. We were alone now in a fabric room that shared a "wall" with the extremely miserable-looking woman and her husband. He was none too happy that she hadn't been seen yet, and must have been listening to his iPod because I kept hearing those kinds of noises.

Around midnight the lady doctor came in. (She was the only woman that attended us besides the receptionist.) She examined him, and would have sent us home except that he had thrown up five times. She prescribed a CT scan. So Samuel went back to sleep while they woke up the guy that does these things. Another male worker walked us back into the labyrinth to radiology and Samuel unhappily climbed up on the table. It reminded him of getting the x-ray taken last year. But the man assured him that it wouldn't hurt, but that he must hold completely still until he heard the door open. The three adults went into the other room and I must say it was a little wrenching to leave such a little person lying on that table. Part way through the procedure, a little voice asked, "Can I get up now?" The radiologist said no. . .

We walked back to the fabric room, where Samuel dozed. He asked me a couple of times if it was morning yet. He figured it MUST be--we had been there so long. After a while another male worker came with a wheelchair. Evidently Samuel moved during the CT scan, so they needed to do it again. He started crying. Did NOT want to do that again! I really felt bad--here it was the middle of the night and he had to jerk through a gigantic metal donut again. Fortunately he calmed down and was content to have his blanket over his face. They guys put a metal vest on me so I could stay with him. He was still the whole time and things came back clear. Whew!

Pretty soon the doctor came and told us that the scan looked fine--no bruising or bleeding. So she would prepare the paperwork for us to go home. Hooray! A little later the first nurse (same one I talked to on the phone before going in) came with our paperwork. We walked out to the van at about 2:30 and it was chilly! We had almost all green lights and saw very few other cars. It was a relief to get into bed.

We are thankful that Samuel's head is fine. And his stomach too. He's napping now.

We had been planning a trip down to Anchorage, leaving this morning, but of course we're not driving into the wilderness so soon after the incident. Steven has moved our reservations back a day, so we'll leave tomorrow instead.

Never a dull moment!