Our surpise for Eve's birthday was a horseback ride at
Roosevelt Stables. We had a blast. The stables are located in Pine Mountain, Georgia. We had 2 guides ride with our family. Eve had her own horse, named Moose. Moose was the largest horse and Eve looked like a tiny, pink, princess on top. We saw them bring the horses from the stables and there was this cute, small horse that we thought would be Eve's, but they had Noah ride that one. Bandit was the name of the horse and Noah would laugh every time Bandit took off. Michael had the only female horse, Wishes. I had Ranger. He was the slowest and would go off on tangents...Michael said our personalities were perfectly matched. Rachel had a handsome horse named Dallas. Aaron's horse was Scout. I think Noah's horse and mine were the only ones to go off the trial a couple of times. I had to push a few branches out of the way, but we made it just fine. The weather was perfect in the shade of the trees along the "Creek Trail". We saw some really cool mushrooms that found a fertile home among the horse manure.
The children were all so proud of riding their own mounts. Noah one the prize for non-stop talking on the trail, which was being quiet on the ride into Warm Springs. We made a cursory stop at The Little White House of F.D.R.'s, but we didn't go in because we had to drive back to meet Granny Alice and Hayley at Pine Mountain.
Back in Pine Mountain the kids were excited to see Alice and Hayley. Granny paid for our lunch at the sub shop and Kentucky Fried Chicken. She also paid for the 3 birthday kids ride at the stables. After a filling lunch we drove to a huge property that a friend of my dad and Alice's own. They let us ride their 4 wheelers and "Mule" (a rugged golf cart type vehicle). Rachel and Hayley showed Aaron how to drive the "Mule" and later Michael showed him how to drive the 4 wheeler. Their was about 160 acres of land to drive around. My sister, Katherine, gave Eve Pony-opoly and she played it right away with her cousin, Tyler. Tyler gave her money for her birthday, so she could go find something she would like.
My sisters and I went looking for an old cemetery near the property, but with all our traipsing around we only found several orb weavers and a bunch of hitchhiking chiggers. My sisters looked so funny swinging around big sticks as we went up the different paths trying to avoid the huge spiders' webs. We laughed out how crazy we must look. We could never find the cemetery, so we will have to go back when my dad gets back from his mission trip to Georgia...(the one having the war).
::::::::::::::Sunday...Eve's Official Birthday::::::
After church we went to Granny Sue and Grampa Jim's house for some sandwiches and cookie cake. Eve was so excited to open more presents. She got a little webkinz, but her favorite gift and the one most coveted by the other kids was a Sonic Screwdriver like on Dr. Who. The kids kept writing notes on the Psychic Paper and then using the Sonic Screwdriver to read the message. My mom also found the Dr. Who figures from the Manhattan episode and it included a...DALEK! Oh, Eve was so happy!
::::::::::::::::Book Review:::::::::
The Penderwicks were a charming family with a funny dog named Hound. Poor Hound also had a weak stomach, poor thing! The adventures the girls have as they meet Jeffrey Tifton. The character of Jane reminds me of Rachel. Eve is a mixture of Rosalind and Batty. We listened to this book on c.d. The actress who they used for the reading was not my favorite, but the story was done well. I look forward to the next book Penderwick book,
The Penderwicks on Gardam Street.
Here is the book we started reading for family reading time:
I love the dark humor. This book is about 4 children who have living parents. The children want parents like in classic books, or to be orphans like their favorite stories. They mention such favorites as
The Secret Garden,
Pollyanna, and
Anne of Green Gables. The parents find their children annoying and want to get rid of them, so they hire a nanny and leave without telling the children good-bye. It is so twisted and funny. I look forward to the zany antics for tonight.
I have photos on Michael's laptop that I hope to access soon!
Take care!
They also decorated some hard boiled eggs:
Rachel and Haley hanging out:
Me coloring some fondant:
Rachel and Haley cut fondant to make decorative spheres:
Here are some fondant flowers drying:
Here is the strawberry and devil's food cake frosted with chocolate:
Here is Tracy's birthday cake:
Michael snuggles up to my dad:
Dad, you aren't uncomfortable...are you?
Aaron gets whacked with a confetti egg:
