Horse Lessons with Bucky

So... Ella got to have her first official horse riding lesson last weekend.  This was a long awaited gift from Christmas that had yet to be redeemed.  

Of course her horse had to be named Bucky, my least favorite nickname of all time.  good friends know to call me Bucky just to get under my skin, but nonetheless, Bucky the horse was a good sport.

And would you look at the look of joy on my little Elle's face?  She had a great time!

Now we have to wonder... how often can we afford for her to go back?

This is just the beginning of our summer adventure time, and this may be just the beginning of Ella's long love for horses.

Smith Mountain Lake 2013

Since Shaun was working this last weekend, and my parents were already at the lake, I decided it might be more fun to spend the weekend at the lake than at home by ourselves.  We left Friday for our little lake adventure!

 The girls had a really fun time.  They're getting old enough too so that it was a little less stressful for me.  They LOVED the pool, the boat rides, and the "beach" where we spent most of Saturday.

 Wind blown and loving it!

 Ella and Amelia enjoyed rainbow ice cream cones at the bridge.

 Headed back to the condo after a long day of playing

 Papa's two new co-captains were suspiciously young to be steering the boat.

 The next morning, a lazy swing in the hammock before heading back out for the day.

 Headed to the little beach.

 Ella really enjoyed the beach.  As you can see above, what more does a girl need than goggles, chips, and sand in her toes?

 My more cautious Amelia was slightly reserved at first getting in the water, but she eventually loved being in.  She mostly loved being on the shore and playing in the sand though.

 So here's the "beach" from the boat.  You'd think this might quench my thirst for the actual beach, but it had the opposite effect.  I want to go to the beach now more than ever!

And this photo above is my FAVORITE from the whole weekend!  These girls had so much fun.  We were sore and a little sun burned by the time it was time to go home (despite repeatedly putting on sunblock), but what fun memories we have to take home with us!  Hopefully this is only the first of a few visits we take there this summer.  

But for now, farewell Smith Mountain Lake!  We hope to see you soon:)