Happy Birthday to ME!!

My birthday was last week. The big 2-9. I realized that the days of me being queen for a day on my birthday are long gone. Luke felt it was important to get me up at 6:30am. No sleeping in for this birthday girl. However, my husband did his best to do plan something special that weekend and he did a great job! My parents watched Luke so that we could go for a Horseback ride! This was no ordinary ride to Chance and my surprise and delight. We went to Skyland Ranch in Goldbar and it was just us and the guide. No other customers. So we saddled up and headed out into the woods. There was a trail that went along the river. The scenery was great, the weather was perfect and we were having a great time. I have always loved horseback rides, but they have always been the same thing: walking slowly in a line of horses.  This is why I was shocked when our guide asked if we wanted to trot for a bit. What?! In fact he said his horse sometimes didn't like to lead when it was trotting so he let me go in front of him! So there I was leading the way, trotting a long! I have always wanted to do that so I was super excited and it was so much fun!  Then later our guide asked if we wanted to "lope" (also known as "canter"). I'm not very up on the equestrian lingo, but it sounded like fun. The guide was in front of us and I watched his horse kick it into gear as my horse immediately did the same! WHOA! I had to hold on for dear life! I'm sure to the experienced rider it wasn't that fast, but to an amateur like myself, it was a wild ride! The trail was not very wide and I could feel the trees buzzing past us! I was thankful the guide never tried to turn around and look at me because I had the hugest smile on my face! I was like a kid on a carnival ride. I'm sure he could hear my screams! I was such a dork! Chance rode behind me, so I didn't get to see what he looked like. He claimed he was a cool cowboy, but I'm not convinced. Anyway, I haven't had that much fun, nor have I engaged in such "risky" behavior in a long time. At times as the forest was flying past me thoughts like "what if this horse got spooked and stopped?" or "you have a son you need to come home to" crept into my head, but I have to say it was just way too much fun to stop! It was such a fun day. After the ride we headed to my parents house were the rest of my family were. My parents treated us to some yummy Alpin food (burger joint in Startup). Thanks to my extraordinary husband who planned my special day and my parents for watching Luke for us!

Here's me with the stupid grin I had on my face for about an hour after the ride was over.