maddalena’s riding lesson!

last saturday, we saddled up casey man in my very first child’s-sized saddle and maddalena had an official riding lesson!!

now, i’ve said it a million times, and i’ll say it again. she does not have to love horses! horses are my thing, and i sure don’t want to force that on anyone any more than i want it to be taken away from me. but, i have prayed so many prayers that casey would be here for my babies to learn from and love on, and so far i’ve been super, ridiculously lucky! he adores her and she adores him right back.

casey is such a gentleman. and given that he was somewhat of a lazy guy back when i was little, at age 29, he pretty much wants to do even less now, haha! and my sweet girl. she is has always been a natural on horseback!! since she was so tiny she’s had this incredible balance that had me hoping it was maybe destiny that she’d be a horse girl. she’s also a total perfectionist, and i feel like i just need to let her soak it up and enjoy her big boy, because if i stand there and throw too many things at her she will be way too hard on herself. and seriously, he’s a big horse for such a tiny girl! she is amazing on him. they are just about the perfect speed for each other right now. 🙂

oh, also, tiny mr. red and rocco! knock me oooover with that cuteness. goodness gracious. i think i was skipping [more like sweating] with delight all morning. not to mention, when i turned around to that little golf cart scene, my life was basically complete right then and there.

and just for fun!!