Frozen II with Pony Pals

Yesterday Craig and I took Pony Pals Mila, Julie, and Kate to see Frozen II.  Mamas Emily and Vanessa joined us, and Lukas tagged along, too.

 Pony Pal Kate was wearing her favorite tee shirt.  Pony power indeed!

The soundtrack for the preview shows was incredibly loud and Pony Pal Kate was very bothered by it. (So was I.) Emily, Kate, Mila, Julie and Vanessa.

Lukie simply froze at the loudness. (Seriously, no pun intended. That's what he did.) I think he was really scared and just didn't move, staring straight ahead and not saying a word. Boompa distracted him by playing with the buttons on his seat, adjusting it so that Lukie could recline, and that helped  him relax. He ended up enjoying the film (whose soundtrack was much quieter.)

The movie was okay but very confusing in parts. It is not one I would pay to see again. 

 

Hallmark Nokk and Elsa ornament image from Google Images.

I did like the character of Nokk, the spirit of water, and have already added the Hallmark ornament to my Amazon wishlist!

A Morning with Pony Pals at the Barn

"Grammy, can we go to the barn and see your horses?"

Who can resist that query? Certainly not me!

Pony Pal Mila had asked me Sunday night at dinner if she could go see the horses, and bright and early the next morning, she got her wish.

Lukie wanted to have a go on horseback, too.

He had indicated that wish very clearly to his mama as he watched Mila ride.

Vanessa walked beside Diablo as I led both kids around - I knew Mila could hang on pretty well, but Lukie is much smaller and can't grip with his legs like she can - they're too short.

He also enjoyed the horses' carrots.

Abby was waiting patiently at the gate, thinking that that carrot was for her.

"Hey! I'm here! I'm waiting! Give me my carrot!"

Fortunately, Pony Pal Mila had another one that she shared with Abby.

We also had a herd favorite with us - apple spaghetti!  

Everybody lined up for that treat!

After her ride and some treat-time for the horses, Pony Pal Mila asked if we could go into the new barn. She loves to see the wagons and carriages that are stored there.  And, she and Lukas love to play in the the indoor arena.

Lukie was playing with the horse ball and got it stuck on top of a barrel. He was too short to reach it and get it back down.

Mila to the rescue!

When we finished in the new barn, we headed back outside to our cars. While Vanessa pulled out a couple of snacks for the kids, Lukie disappeared. Looking around quickly, I saw that he was down by the paddock again.

He'd spied Trouble who was still standing by the fence and had run down to visit him. (Is this a kid after my own heart or what?)

Trouble had a very long stem of grass hanging from his mouth that perplexed Lukie. You can just barely see it in this photo.

Naturally, if her brother was getting another horsey visit in, then Mila had to join in as well.

They gave Trouble some final pats and then Vanessa bundled them back into the car and headed home.

We've already set next Tuesday for our next visit.

Stuck!

Parked in the big barn at The Farm at Prophetstown were two large hay wagons stacked with recently baled hay.  

 The kids quickly realized that something was underneath those wagons.

 Chickens! (They're hard to see, but look in the upper left hand corner in the shadows.)

Ian and Mila got down on their hands and knees and crawled right under the hay wagon to see if they could look at the chickens a little more closely.

This left Lukas behind. He hesitated a few moments, then crawled under the hay wagon after his siblings.

And promptly got "stuck" - when he realized he could not stand up when he wanted to, he froze in place and began crying.

Boompa to the rescue! Since my knees have been replaced, it is very uncomfortable for me to kneel, so Craig crawled under and helped Lukas out from under the wagon.

No harm done - Lukie's tears dried and he was off again in search of other farm animals.

 Like barn cats...

...and even better, miniature horses!

Pony Pals at Prophetstown

Craig and I took Ian, Mila, and Lukas out to The Farm at Prophetstown this week. It's a working 1920s farm located in Prophetstown State Park which is just a few miles from our home. There are all kinds of livestock at the farm, including things that make Pony Pals (and their Grammy) very happy.

It was no surprise that Pony Pal Mila gravitated right away to the miniature horses. This mare is named Hope.

And this is Bojangles. All the equines on the farm are from Indiana Horse Rescue (which is where Abby is from, too.)

My sister, Leslie, is the director of the farm, and she loves to have Ian, Mila, and Lukie come out. They believe that the farm is her home; I cannot convince them otherwise!

The Gibson Farmhouse, a Sears & Roebuck home, where we go visit "Aunt Leslie's house to see the animals" according to Ian and Mila.

Might I have another budding Pony Pal in Lukas? He had no hesitations in reaching through the bars of the gate to pet Hope.

 Both Hope and Bojangles are excellent animal ambassadors for The Farm.

There are also two Standardbreds.

 Daisy and Ryder, both off the track trotters who have found a new purpose in life.

Like the kids, I was hanging around the gate, too, and watching the horses.

After touring all the animals (chickens, ducks, turkeys, sheep, hogs, and cattle), we cooled off by going into "Aunt Leslie's house." It is decorated with items from the 1920s and you are allowed to touch things, sit on the couches,

and even try out the kids' rocking horse. Lukie loved it!

The kids hope we can go visit Aunt Leslie again soon. So do I.

Thanks, Aunt Leslie!

Stepping Stones and Horseflies

I spent the morning with my daughter-in-love, Vanessa, and my local grandchildren, Ian, Mila, and Lukas. We made concrete stepping stones for the garden - I make one for each grandchild the year they are born with either their handprint or footprint.

Vanessa adds Lukas' name and the date around the perimeter of his tiny footprint.

But when I am making one for a new grandbaby, usually his or her siblings want to make another one just for fun. As a result, I have close to thirty stepping stones now in my front flower bed!

And the grandchildren love to find "their" stones when they visit. (This is Ian from a year ago looking at his baby one.)

 Mila checks out hers in September, 2017.

We even make them for pets (Zeus was our black Lab)

and last year when Kyle's family evacuated Florida ahead of Hurricane Irma's landfall, his kids wanted to make one to commemorate the storm!

After finishing up the two new stepping stones, we all headed out to the barn to feed carrots to Abby.

Grabbing the two child-sized butterfly nets I keep in the garage, Ian informed me that he and Mila would be looking for bugs out at the barn. Especially flies.

 While a pasture full of horses is usually a good place to fly-hunt,

today those flies were in short supply. 

 Abby and Lukas check each other out.

 Ian kept an eagle eye out for flies but no such luck.

He also demonstrated to his mother how to feed Abby a carrot, which helped distract him from the lack of flies.

Spending time with family AND horses? Life does not get much better!