The Fun Starts Now!

Woohoo! The girls have early dismissal today so I am picking them up at noon and heading out to the boonies to the tack shop. Cailin needs some new half- chaps for riding, and the purple ones she picked out are too small. She has decided that the khahki jodphurs are just not her style now, and she wants to wear western attire. Since the only thing I "get" about horses is the clothing, I am happy to humor her by expanding her riding wardrobe. Now that her sister has also been bitten by the riding bug, I guess we will go ahead and let her try on riding helmets... might be good to know what she likes since her birthday is 3 weeks away!

After we have had our fill of tack room shopping we get to head back to town (I am not kidding!) and have a girls lunch out. I am debating if I should let them choose the restaurant again (and I use the term "restaurant" loosely!). Last time they chose the Long John Silver's / A&W combo and I still have heartburn! Maybe I can get them to go a little more upscale and go to Chick-Fil-A? No matter what we choose, it is always a treat for me to have my girls with me for lunch and just hang out with them like the good old days before school!

Our next stop is shoe shopping. The girls "must have flats", I have been told. Actually they really do need them, since I only bought new tennies for back to school and they have outgrown any other decent school shoes they had. This year I decided to wait for awhile after school started to buy much new, so they could see what is fun for fall and not just buy a ton of stuff that never gets worn. Plus it has been so hot this fall they have been wearing shorts and skirts with their plaid slip ons from the Tar-jay summer collection every day. I will be paying the extra overnight shipping from Land's End this weekend, however, now that the temps have dropped and shorts on Monday would be considered child abuse! The little plaid shoes are adorable but have gone beyond shabby chic to simply shabby, so flats shopping, here we come. Shoe shopping is just another thing that delights me about having girls. Rusty just laughs at the conversations we already have about "what is SO in" right now, and is even so sweet as to occassionally accompany us on one of our missions! (I love that he is such a great dad to girls- he enjoys their femininity, and doesn't ever make them feel they need to be something other than what they are!)

I am sure at this point in the afternoon I will be ready to drop, so I am grateful that riding lessons are cancelled due to rain and I can come home and crash for a nap, before taking Cailin to play rehearsal. While she is practicing and Rusty is at the football game I get to have special alone time with Cassidy, which is always a treat. Maybe we can snuggle up by the fireplace with popcorn, hot apple cider and a couple of good books. Sounds like the perfect ending to a fun, fall, Friday!