Not to be outdone by last year's ponies...

In case you were wondering, Grandma and Papa's house is still the coolest place to visit in the summertime. Remember last year's pony parade in the backyard? Well once again, my sister Sarah and her family are visiting from France for 2 weeks, and once again, my mom is putting on quite a party for the kids. Today, her and my Grams hired the famed Columbus "Turtle Lady" who puts on shows for libraries, schools, and groups of kids all over town, to come over and give a private show for the kids. I don't even know her name because she introduced herself as 'The Turtle Lady', but she was amazing. She brought tons of turtles, snakes, geckos, and frogs for the kids to pet, poke at, and feed. She was animated, funny, and astoundingly kept 7 toddlers, and a slew of older kids captivated in their seats while she taught them about her reptiles. It was so precious to watch the kid's faces as they watched her with the animals. What a special treat today was. Can't wait to see what Grandma plans for next summer :)

The Dog and Pony Show...

and I am so not kidding.

So apparently going to Grandma and Grandpa's house where you can drive any of the 4 power wheels vehicles parked in the garage, share potato chips and licorice with grandpa, stay up late, swim in the pool, and play with a selection of toys that rivals Toys R Us is no longer good enough. Grandma thought she needed to step it up a notch or two, and you know, secure her house as the GREATEST PLACE ON EARTH! So today at 11:30am, a white church van (yes, random) pulled up the driveway with not 1, not 2, but 3 ponies inside! One was for riding and "decorating," one was a little baby for feeding carrots and petting, and one stayed in the van because he was apparently tired and had a full day of birthday parties ahead of him or something like that.For an hour, my parent's backyard turned into a temporary petting zoo and there were 6 kids clamoring for their turn in the saddle. It was surreal and just all around hilarious. And yes Grandma, your ponies were a BIG hit. Eli will never want to hang out with his boring parents and regular old dog again. And now we're going to have to find a way to afford a pony for his 3rd birthday. Maybe I should check craigslist??

Feeding carrots to 1-year-old Daisy, who is just about the same size as our dogEli and Zachary fighting for their place on the stool where the next rider would wait for a turnThis poor pony was stickered and glittered and adorned and brushed, and just stood there perfectly still while 12 hands were all over him Giving Blue a good-bye hug