Pony Pasture

My friend Kelley inspires me to do more with my kids than collapse in exhaustion after running them around.  So today I took them to Richmond to check out Pony Pasture, part of the park system on the James River.  It was a blast.  Having an extra hour of sleep made it possible to do without the standing appointment with the couch for my Sunday afternoon nap.

Fun times.  We took along our buddy Joshua.  Upon hearing our initial plans to go see "nature", he said - with all the politeness he could muster - "Uh, that sounds boring."

But when I told him it was Pony Pasture, he was intrigued.  At one point they were all convinced that we would see ponies there - and if you caught one, you could ride it.  When I began to elaborate on a story of man-eating ponies, I think they stopped believing me.

Regardless, it was a beautiful fall day.  The colors were gorgeous.  Sarah took her camera and captured much of the fun.

Yes, that's a shot of me - your friendly blogger.

I love this girl, and I love how this shot captures her attitude of confidence and self-posession.  She is an amazing, intelligent, creative and beautiful young woman.

And she's still got a lot of kid in her.

As does Syd, who jumped as well.

All of Pony Pasture is littered with rocks.  Reminded me of my own childhood in western PA (yeah, I know - I'm one of those "rednecks" mentioned in the recent political conversation) on French Creek.
Not much better than sisters with true affection for one another.