Nothing but Sunshine

This last week, with both bathroom projects wrapped up, house painting completed, and only a few minor odds and ends of projects left to accomplish, it finally got hot.  Really hot. 

For those of you that routinely experience temps in the triple digits, I can only say... I really, REALLY don't envy you! 

I convinced my folks that since home for them was also experiencing unusual highs, and they don't have AC, they should stay a bit longer and enjoy ours.  Mornings being semi-cool were designated pony time

I rode Sunny a couple of times, but since the extra hands were available and Mom was having such a good time riding Sunny, the last few mornings I tacked up Thunder and joined her.

Waiting with my dad while I finished getting Sunny ready.

At first I think the boys were a bit in awe of all the hands brushing and petting and fussing over them.  With three of us working they got lots of attention.  Which they thoroughly enjoyed.

I initially thought that since Thunder's been ponied so many miles beside Sunny, he'd want to just fall in and walk right along with him.  Not so.  He was fine with being solo right from the start. 

 We stayed at a walk, doing lots of bending and circles.

Yesterday morning we laid out some ground poles to walk over for something new to do.  Sunny's been-there-done-that, but Thunder stepped through gingerly at first.

He's still figuring things out - which is pretty clear in most of the pictures.  But he listens and stays focused on me, chomping away at the bit and doing a lot of slobbering, which is good.  I have him in a mid-weight copper-mouth eggbutt snaffle which seems to suit him.

We did have one "interesting" moment when he swatted at a fly on his chest and managed to get one of the running martingale straps in his mouth, but neither of us panicked, he stopped and I got off and readjusted

Sunny was quite pleased to be doing big circuits of the field, and my Mom was thrilled to be back on a horse.

It's been fabulous to have them here, and I'm so glad we got to play a bit at the end of their visit.  They say you can't pick your family, but I couldn't have asked for a better one!