Not to be forgotten, we had some fun planned with Lucette in mind, too. A horse crazy child, if I ever saw one, she was so giddy she was vibrating on our way to the corral. However, once we arrived, all of the excited energy was channeled into some serious composure and focus.
With back straight and chin up, her posture suggested a very confident air of "
This is where I belong."
With Pops and Peter as her willing companions, Lucette was set. An hour-long trail ride in the foothills of Tempe -- 7 year-old girl bliss.
Naturally, she wishes upon wishes that we could have our own pony, but couple this trail ride with the horse lessons from Christmas? Daydreams of galloping through fields with golden hair flying and the sun on her back ... now a seeming possibility for this electric-eyed child.
And for the forever-younger Jane, cuteness is not enough to qualify for trail rides. Kind of hard when the stirrups can't be shortened another six inches. But not to fear, corral rides and feeding the golden pony named Pal fill up the time nicely.
Mama stayed back with Jane and enjoyed watching her regal composure and approving glances as she circled 'round.
Just when we were fully sun-soaked and horse-happy, trail ridin' Lucette and the menfolk returned with discussions of bbq lunch at the Honey Bear. And the smiles from that day were as wide as the big, blue Arizona sky.
