Horse Lessons @ the Knudsons

The Webb family around Mikey, the lovable and gentle horse. 

A big thanks to Jill and Lexin Knudson for the horse riding lessons! After a long day in D.C. it was a great treat to come home to a barbecue and have the opportunity to ride horses. Just as a side note, all three of my very cute sisters have an extreme paranoia to animals of any shape, size, or kind. The Knudson's two poor dogs have been locked in the study for almost three days now because every time Grace, Natalie, or Olivia cathes sight of any animal, particularly dogs, screams of bloody murder quickly follow. Thankfully, the experience with the horses was much less dramatic and much more mellow. The girls warmed up to the medium-sized ponies fairly easily (I personally believe they opened up so much faster with the horses than with other animals because of those stupid "Pretty Pony" toys they love to play with). A beatiful sunset was just slipping behind the horizon as the first rider, Olivia, took to the reins.

Olivia obviously happy after the very first horse ride of her life. 

Next followed Natalie and Grace, who, under the calm and patient direction of Jill, rode around the riding arena twice. Each shrieked with joy after steeping down from the horse. Natalie whispered to my mom after her ride, "Mommy, can I have a pony for christmas?"

Natalie, also excited about her horse riding lesson but still a little tired from the long day.

Christopher and I also took our turns on Mikey, the trusty old pony who was so very kind to give all of us rides. After the riding, everyone gathered to the fire which Brother Knudson had made a few minutes earlier. Of course, no Webb family trip can be complete without roasting marshmallows and making s'mores so we did just that around a roaring fire, surrounded by family and friends in this beautiful eastern country.