A Day at the Stables

Since we had a couple of hours to spare before the girls church activities, we decided to head out to the stables to relax, and ride our friend's horse Simmy. Sierra and Lexie have had a lot on their plate lately with violin and piano lessons, and other extracurricular activities. They needed a break of relaxation and loved every minute of it...and they all deserved it! They are even going to start taking horseback riding lessons as well. This will be a relaxing thing for them to do every week.

Sierra looked like a natural riding Simmy. Playing piano for ten years and taking dance for three really helps in developing good posture. You need good posture to ride a horse. 

Lexie rode like a pro. This is something she has always wanted to do since we lived in North Carolina. She even said she wouldn't mind moving back!

I was so impressed with Noah how he immediatley bonded with Simmy. He wasn't afraid of him at all!!

Chelsea was fearless in riding. Sierra had to walk with Simmy to make sure she wasn't kicking him too much in order for him to trot.

Sometimes you need to do things that make you relax. I was relaxed just by seeing them ride. When we lived in rural North Carolina we were surrounded by equestrian areas. I didn't give it too much thought to put them in horseback riding lessons. I regret that, but timing is everything. I believe that the Lord puts people in our path for a reason, and it's amazing how Janice came into our life at the right time. 

When life becomes stressful especially when it hits home to one of my children God witnesses that and today he allowed something beautiful to happen. That 'something beautiful' turned out to be a beautiful horse. My neighbor's daughter Janice was kind enough to allow us to go the stables to ride her horse, and welcomed us to ride him anytime. She is even going to put the girls in horse shows that will take place on Saturdays. Look out for my girls because slowly but surely...they are going to start riding. This a huge blessing! 

*Ever been horseback riding?

*Is there anything you enjoy doing that relaxes you?

Harry Potter Day

Happiness can be found, even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light.

~Prisoner of Azkaban, 2004. Spoken by character Albus Dumbledore

My girls are huge Harry Potter fans. My husband read the books way before the movies came out, and it's all his fault. Sierra was about 10 when she began to read the series. I have to say she has probably reread those books at least five times in her lifetime...she'll be 16 in two weeks!!! Alexandra has followed in her footsteps and also loves the books. She is 11 and just recently read the series twice...in a matter of a month!! Chelsea doesn't know too much about Harry...only that he has a lightening bolt on his forehead. She still wanted her sisters to make her a shirt though!

They decided to make T-Shirts in honor of Valdemort's death. We went to Michael's craft store and bought black t-shirts, red and gold puffy paint, stencils, & paint brushes. They made them before we left for Boston last week, and wore them yesterday. They were so diligent in making them and really took their time in designing them.

Team Gryffindor-Members of Dumbledore's Army

Don't they look great? I think so. 

They look forward for the final movie in the series. I think they'll be a little sad when it ends. At least we have the books and movies where they can see and read them over again...and pass them on to Chelsea and Noah as they get older. 

*Are you a big Harry Potter fan?

*Have you read the whole series of the books?

Downtown Boston & the Temple

On the last day of our spring break we made sure we put time in to attend the temple in Boston. We are a family that likes to have fun, but if there is a temple close by we make sure we make equal time for the Lord. My husband and I went on Friday evening and Sierra and her dad went on Saturday morning.

After Sierra and her dad attended the temple I asked her how it was. They combined together with a youth group from Vermont. Apparently the youth up here attend the temple regularly. Sierra had mentioned sitting next to a 13 year old girl and asked her how often they come. She said ONCE A MONTH. Sierra was impressed with the youth and the fact that they drive three hours to come once a month. Wow! 

No matter our circumstances, I know that Heavenly Father will allow us to get to the temple no matter what. We attend the Washington D.C. temple which is about two and a half hours away and the youth in our area don't attend as much as I would like, hence taking our family to the temple on our own when it is feasible. I know that it is important, especially in these days of living in a world where there is a lot for the youth to fight against. Attending the temple is our shield and strength to overcome all adversity and to be better. We attend the temple as much as we can, and as a family we leave feeling closer than ever before!

And the feeling to know that we have done service to those who have passed on...is worth driving any distance to any temple in the world!

Like I said before we are a family that likes to have fun.

On our last day of the break we also went downtown to Boston Commons where there is a lot of history and the freedom trail. We didn't get to walk the freedom trail because it was under construction, and blocked off. It seems as if they are building a monument or something. Hopefully it'll be complete next time we visit so that we can walk the trail. 

We had the kids ride on the carousel and they had fun.

Noah was a little nervous as the carousel began to move, and when the animal started moving up and down he began to freak out a bit. After a few seconds he was calm and began to enjoy the ride. Phew! 

Before the six hour drive home we had the kids run amok around the park. 

It was a perfect weekend with beautiful weather. We love visiting New England. Until next time.

*Ever been to Boston?

*What things do you like to do as a family during Spring Break?

Fordham University & Old Sturbridge Village.

When you only have five days of Spring break...you want to try to take advantage of all that you can fit into your schedule. Things that are important to both you and your children. It doesn't help when you don't spend it all in one town either, or in our case...STATE.  Luckily all the states here on the east coast are close together.

One of the most important trips we did during our spring break was taking Sierra on a campus tour to Fordham University in New York. They have two campuses: one in Manhattan near the Lincoln center, and one in Rose Hill near the Bronx. This is one of the universities Sierra is seriously considering. She continues to receive mail from various universities. She has her heart set on Fordham, but that can always change.

                         Rose Hill in the Bronx                               Lincoln Center in Manhattan

walking through the campus.

one of three gymnasiums at Fordham-this one belongs to Varsity only

Sierra had a great time at the tour. I was really impressed with Holly who was our tour guide. She is a sophomore at Fordham, and she did a great job in answering all our questions and explaining to us all the facts that we need to know about entering college. It's times like this where I wish I would have had opportunities of exploring campuses while I was in high school. I'm glad I was able to do this with my daughter and that she wanted to go on her own motive. We are both excited as to where she'll go, and what she'll become.

Sierra and Holly the tour guide. 

*****

Second stop...Sturbridge, Massachusetts

Old Sturbridge Village is a "must see" New England destination. This was our first time visiting Sturbridge and we enjoyed every minute. Everyone is dressed in historian costumes and it actually did make our visit believable. I truly felt as if we were living back in the 1800's. 

We saw a printer, potter, blacksmith and a lot of farmers at work.

We even learned how to make old remedies from sage, dandelions and horehound.

There were a lot of village animals such as sheep, chickens and famous oxen. Noah liked petting the sheep.

We noticed this rooster meandering around, and so I snapped a photo of him...I love his colors.

They had these wooden stilts and so all the girls tried walking in them. They all pretty much succeeded except Chelsea... 

She needed a little help from Dad.

They also have an area where you can do hands-on activities. 

Here is Lexie weaving a bookmark out of yarn.

They have a fabulous gift shop with a lot of beautiful fabric. Lexie is my little homemaker and crafts person in the family and loves to sew. Here she is admiring the fabric. They had a lot of pioneer dresses already made that cost up to $90!!! Luckily they have a grandmother in Utah that is a pro at making those pioneer skirts, aprons, and bonnets for pioneer days!!

 There was a small house where they had an old rocking horse. I wish I could have taken it home with me...Noah loved it. 

and an old town home with this very old piano, silver and china inside

We really enjoyed learning about life in the 1800's. It also really made us appreciate how the pioneers lived then. This is another place on the top of our list to visit while in New England.  I really enjoyed the peaceful environment.  Especially while going on a walk through the woods.