Imagination Station - our toy collections

A preface of sorts...

I began this blog post last October (blushing) after several email inquiries into my most beloved and whimsical toy thoughts, those of an older mother. So, apologies for the L-O-N-G delay, finally I have all the photos uploaded to publish it here now.

Our Imagination Station area overhaul as described HERE

If I were to rewind and become a brand new mother over again, I would continue to collect exactly those toys which inspire and whet a child's appetite, those offering to stir up and render awesome imaginative wonder, and those that have stood the test of time already for over 33 years in our home.

Like other mothers of the day in years passed, there were specific gender types of toys surely we didn't need to trip onto and get wrapped in with the accompanying media hype at all time highs, but each of those served a purpose to include their own stories to keep us entertained many years later.

Remember the mid-seventies when we became forever changed when retro toy sensations hit the market, like; "strawberry shortcake", the surge of "cabbage patch kids", and for the boys - "transformers".

Remember all of those very nutty consumers fighting in the aisles over their newly acquired must have items for their children? It was a newsworthy item of the day to hear of folks fist fighting over a toy for their child at Christmas.

We and our own older adult children come from an era where toys like those big Tonka trucks and doll houses/prams used to be made from metal, when lead permeated through our paint and baby furniture even in most of the toys available on the market. And where many consumers became snobs and acquired less appreciation for hand made as opposed to store bought.

Unbeknown to zillions of households, many of these toys were later linked to toxic issues and even dangerous health hazards for our children.

As a younger mother I wasn't really aware of safety issues at first, and then through trial and error I began to choose more wisely (at least I hope I did) when viewing my child's wish lists and what the composition materials were on those specific requested items.

During extra frugal times, we could generally be found crafting, and making almost all of our gifts. We still attempt to do this, or at least - I do try to.


I loved to sew all of our children's doll clothing, sometimes matching the clothing pieces I made for them to wear. Or my mother in law could be found knitting for us (love those hand knit items she made, so precious and well loved). I also found an attraction to begin seeking out and purchasing hand made wooden items from a talented carpenter neighbor down the road, many items from doll cradles to lawn chairs, all which we still own years later.

Over the years, I began to notice I was leaning towards purchasing bulk amounts (when able) of collectible items, ones which could be added to and multiplied over the years for even more building, creating and imagination.

The wonderful world of lego and wooden blocks entered our home, something my husband enjoyed when he was a youngster. He would lay on the floor with the children and begin to create all sorts of wonderful items from only a few building bricks. Our children were delighted and gleeful when he would build things with them, for them and around them. It always whet their appetite to build their own special creations.


I remember long before there was such a thing as eBay, or email sale loops, my bottom lip quivering as the first big box of the lego I bought (just bricks) had a price tag of almost $30.00 back in 1979, the very amount of my entire baby bonus government check! Wow, that stuff was expensive to me! :)

Tinker toys and Lincoln blocks were useful (we still have ours).

Wooden toys ran the gamut from the great brio trains, wooden puzzles, to dollhouses and dollhouse furniture until we also began to stock our home with educational types of wooden toys, ones that could provide hours of logic fun and challenges.

Paper dolls, art materials, musical instruments, outdoor items for sport and fun, these were all on our collectible "wanted" lists.

A kitchen drawer contained wooden puzzle trays because right after lunch every afternoon, when our older children were young, they and I would begin to make every single one of them before nap time arrived. These same puzzles for the most part are still in our toy area for young children to play with; some were gifted onward to those who loved a few of them the most before moving here to the east.

A tea set always sat on a little tray on our kitchen buffet.

Homemade nontoxic playdoh with all our idea books and accessories could be found in a kitchen cupboard. I found using a central location handy, so the kitchen was usually the place for this activity. A girlfriend only allowed this art play in the summer, outside on her picnic table. Not me, I always endured the mess it made because I was generally thrilled to watch their imaginative play and fabulous ideas spring forward.

My home became a child's refuge for they were invited to create and play in allocated "center" areas located within every single room of the home, cozy and inviting little areas which seemed to awaken and kindle their interests aplenty. The grandchildren used to love to come play at our home too, always attracted to our "center" child areas throughout each floor of living space.

In time, we realized we were more "green" back then, way before the term and lifestyle living ever became popular.

Remembering good health begins at home and often becomes overlooked when not thinking outside of the box for what our children's hobby and toy box items are made from. Food for thought...

• Are we good consumers or do we support the toxic and the harmful sales market in our shopping malls?
  

• Do we promote safety in all aspects for our family, right down to knowing what our baby's are drooling over and sucking on?

If one learns from the history of what came before us, would we have been more alarmed by thinking about these health topics when our older children were younger? I think so. All we have to do is remember the recent recalls, the mass amounts of lead in toys from China and the law suits from dolls sold without the name Xavier located on their bums. These type of things do leave a bad taste in our mouths, don't they?

Many years ago I decided to pull away from the typical entertainment toy purchases of the day and go back to a few basics. I wanted to have our free time play to include all of the children, regardless of age or gender.

That meant something like - increasing our supplies and collecting for instance many more of one specific colored lego bricks, and more of doors and windows, so all could sit down together to build and create, but avoid hogging all the pieces, leaving another stuck for completion on their project.

Collecting groups or specifics of desired items unified all of the children, and invited all to the table at the same time. Sometimes they could be found sprawled out on the floor, all working together, in unison for pure enjoyment, not to mention motivation to create for longer periods of time.

In realizing my newly acquired and accidental parental philosophies, I began to find much joy when scouting thrift stores and garage sales with our children in tow, hunting for treasures to add to the lot of greatly desired collectibles for our home.


Just as my own mother in law chose to keep the best and most popular toys from her children's young years, so too did I begin to recognize the value of owning toys that would stand the test of time, those that could be sturdy enough or special enough to pass through more generations to come.

Just as our children have gone to their grandmother's home and were able to browse my own husband's beloved books and have them read to them, I too want my children and grandchildren to appreciate my book collections and invite me to get all cozy round the hearth for a good read together.

I hope all of our grandchildren are continually excited about going to grandmother's house (me), appreciate those treasures I've collected through the years, play with all of the creative toys at Nana's house and have hours of unbridled freedom to soar with imagination aplenty when visiting with us in our home. And, I too wish to lay on the floor surrounded by all of them, admiring their sweet facial expressions as they participate in these activities.

If I had to recommend a practical wish list for a new mother, one who could foresee investing in the imaginations within her children's inner hearts and minds for their entire family's future, then I wouldn't hesitate to give her this list;

For the family (but a few favorite selections);

• assorted sizes and shapes of (real) wooden blocks

• a big wicker basket filled with good quality musical instruments. Harmonicas were introduced to our young babies early, followed later by other items. If one can't handle the noise, grab an ipod and slip away rather than halt great and budding musical talent from forming

• an "art box", something we've always kept well stocked for our budding artists
  

• duplo (not copy cats with toxic plastics) with people and animals for chubby hands

• logic and cognitive skill builder items, use these as incentives for even more creative play

• lego (not copy cats with toxic plastics) for older hands with unlimited imaginative play for years

• kitchen play with plenty of safe food play (wooden rules over plastic, or how about felt creations from Etsy)

• books, books and more books - those that would be classics over time, not fad child's current day must-haves

• Playmobil - historical selections to serve a purpose with imaginative play and exploration of our world's history timeline
  

• Puzzles and more puzzles, plenty of logic play to keep those cogs rolling and learning; things like pentominoes, pattern blocks, board games and for sure - lots of Yahtzee play.

• Your own trickle trunk with oodles of special dress up clothing and accessories, I mean REAL ones, not all plastic. I've written about our "trickle trunk" before, such a great item to be sure.
  

• Craft and painting supplies which are good quality. Forget those cheap art supplies with the paint that doesn't leave any color behind, wax crayons that cluster waxy chunks on a page and eliminate all art items with lead content. Be safe in this area and try not to be a clean freak mother who doesn't allow for explorative play.

A few for girls (suggestions only);

• a special dolly that can lend itself to have a wee one mimic motherhood. We like baby dolls when the girls are young.
  

• skipping ropes with wooden handles

• a child friendly wooden dollhouse

• a sewing box as young as preschooler age with appropriate beginnings to build upon as they age

A few for boys (suggestions only);

• brio wooden train set items

• a tool box with age appropriate tool items to build upon as they age

• castles and knights, even dragons

There is nothing quite like a box of wooden blocks, an abundance of lego or duplo, and even the mounds of historical playmobil we have been lucky enough to collect over the years.

What began almost 25 years ago with one set of pirate playmobil including a yellow rowboat, a treasure gift in the children's pirate ship meal from "White Spot Restaurant", soon developed into begging to obtain more of these very cool things. Problem was; no one sold them in North America at that time, at least not yet.


My mother in law used to take yearly trips home to Holland and on her wish list from our family was playmobil, those little figures perfect for any young person's hand, the ones that fit inside of a lego or wooden block house, even a doll's house because they were sold in abundance in Europe.

Fast forward many years later and we have an abundance of playmobil readily available in many assorted themes and specialties.


For the most part we collect historical figures and have way too much invested in this stuff. (wink) It has all become an integral part of our learning though and there is nothing like a child narrating his comprehension review orally using a great selection of co-ordinating manipulatives to detail what was just learned or discovered, no matter even the specific topic.


We've used our playmobil for many schooling subjects, but then, I've written about that before.
As a final note, these are some basics we've come to enjoy through the years. Depending on each child, other hobbies have prevailed, ones like; stamp collecting, hockey card, rock and leaf collections, model making, sporty items, and so forth.

Some of our girls were in love with glass dolls and gifted from grandparents with several over the years.

One daughter loved her barbies and would play with a neighbor for hours and hours during summer.

Some had personal collections they found a lifetime of pleasure in continuing after they left home. Love that.

Some of the biggest and most popular toy/collectible fads over the years hit our home like everyone else's, and slowly we became affected by the thrills of the day.

Might you remember the big thrill of; stickers collections, pogs, Ty beanies, Madame Alexander dolls, current webkinz, yoyos, slinkies, smurfs, new kids on the block, hot wheels, and others?

Where might I ask you though do those later mentioned items end up? In a memory box perhaps is all? And yet, there are times when that "Mr. Potato Head" set comes out again, a renewed interest after "Toy Story" came out in theatres.

We've watched our children pass along their "retro toys" to their own children, beloved toy items that once meant much to them, and fits of giggles might greet them with "what did you play with those for?" type of questions.

Other items, those I made with loving hands when times were toughest, those were the ones open arms reached for. The fabric baby doll in fabric cradle, the Raggedy Ann doll, the blanket and pillow sets in cradles, those type of items.

My best type of advice as an older mother to a younger one; It's becomes food for thought to remember what your own child will still come to appreciate when other siblings also play with the same toys alongside of them.

I feel as though I'm being repetitive, and no doubt I am, but I'll say it again; collections are great because the entire family can hang around on the floor and play together. There is always enough then to go around.

Individual hobbies are excellent also and stretch the mind to grow, especially ones that can take the child into the future for continuing on with the same hobbies from which they enjoyed as a child.

For instance, we have had stamp collecting in our home for many, many years. Our children's grandmother is an avid stamp collector and keeps them well stocked with their "Canadian" stamps and adhesives. This is a great hobby and one they can return to over and over again when they are adults.

Whatever you choose to collect or acquire in your homes for wonderful childhood imaginative play, here are a few links to check out for must-have catalogs in your mailbox, ones you can acquire great ideas and non-toxic materials.

Think on it this way; In twenty years from now, which toys would you want to remain in your home for your grandchildren to play with.

Which toys will still be intact, won't require batteries, are safe and will continue to offer creative play.

Each of these below contains a link, just click on the name to get to their websites.

• Nova Naturals (my very favorite!)
• Hearthsong
• Melissa and Doug
• Natural Pod
• Knotty Toys (Granville Island, VAN)
• Magic Cabin
• Wooden Toys
• Playmobil
• Lego and Duplo

• And best of all, if you have an Ikea local to you, do check out their great items in the children's section of the store.

• Another great source for great hand made items is ETSY, similar to Ebay but a place for crafters to sell their goods. I've shopped here for many wonderful items myself, and prefer it over Ebay.

Whew! So, there is my list.

It's such a very personal topic when a parent begins to think about toy preferences, and my list above is only a sample of my own personal-something to pass along as requested by others.

I'd love to hear what has become dear to your heart over the years in your home.

A little spring cleaning

Over the next few days this blog, I'll be shuffling things about on the sidebars, changing the winter scenery and text to this seasonal change of spring currently upon us.

Please be patient as it may appear different every day until all is settled.

Also, a few other changes to note;

• If you subscribe to my blog via an email subscription; it has come to my attention many of my "draft" posts were slipping out to your inboxes, showing up unedited for the most part, and for that I apologize with glowing and red blushing cheeks! Needless to say - I've removed the "Email subscription" box on the right side bar for now.

• I'll be adding page tabs at the top of the blog, under the blog header soon, and they will remain under construction as I continue to shuffle things about before complete.

• Lastly, if you have any suggestions or ideas to send my way on how I can improve my blog, please feel free to email me anytime. I would love to hear from you! :)

Please be patient with me as I continue plugging along with all the changes here. I've been visited by a not-so-fun sinus infection the past week, one that rendered me fairly under the weather. It's been ages since I felt something like this, but happily I'm now on the mend.

If you've emailed to me during this time, I apologize and will be up and running again over the next few days.

For today, I'll leave you with this lovely poem by Robert Frost...

A Prayer in Spring


Oh, give us pleasure in the flowers to-day;
And give us not to think so far away
As the uncertain harvest; keep us here
All simply in the springing of the year.

Oh, give us pleasure in the orchard white,
Like nothing else by day, like ghosts by night;
And make us happy in the happy bees,
The swarm dilating round the perfect trees.

And make us happy in the darting bird
That suddenly above the bees is heard,
The meteor that thrusts in with needle bill,
And off a blossom in mid air stands still.

For this is love and nothing else is love,
The which it is reserved for God above
To sanctify to what far ends He will,
But which it only needs that we fulfill.

Have a glorious day everyone!

Blessings;
Renee

An ordinary day

for ordinary things...

With the days of Lent now behind us, seemingly ordinary days with back to school routines have re-commenced.

As the weather rapidly turns from sun to snow with everything in between here in the east, we were having a "craving" moment this particular day, which somehow became a time of necessity for standing round the kitchen island, while rolling some dough into balls.


Cookie dough that is.

Peanut butter with chocolate chips and walnut bits cookies to be exact.


All were more than gamed to roll out the cookies once the batter was made.

Bonus for me; everyone remains quite fond of my standard cookie recipe from days passed, so why not this day?

We never preplanned this baking event. Rather, it just seemed like a "cookie making day" to me, totally unscheduled, but aren't those the best types of spontaneous kitchen times anyway? Would you also like to try the family favorite recipe shown below for your "ordinary days" ahead?

Here it is;

1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 1/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. soda
1/2 tsp. vanilla

NOTE; I try to cut back on sugars and fats when I can. Some healthy ideas for substitutes I've used successfully are; applesauce for part of the butter, I don't have white sugar in the house at present and I always cut back half on the sugar, use wholewheat for white flour when able or add roughage such as coconut, wheat germ or bran. It's always varied and always yummy though, trust me. None are ever left over and I know the dogs don't get them.

Directions;

• Set oven for 350 degrees.

• Whip the butter by itself until fluffy.

• Add the peanut butter and continue to whip like the dickens.

• Add the rest of the ingredients, beginning with the wet stuff and sugars, chocolate chips to decorate (grin), a few walnut bits for taste (oh yum), and finally alternating the dry ingredients.

• Roll cookie dough into one inch balls and place on cookie sheets.

• The recipe says to butter the cookie sheets, I never do because the grease from the butter and peanut butter never stick to the pan.

• Mash the balls down with one gentle stroke of a fork.

• Bake for 8-10 minutes

Must have a glass of milk with these, delicious! And, a stash of their very own while continuing to work through their schooling day.

Warning; You'll eat a few dozens (if not all) of these freshly baked cookie goods if you don't watch it and select only a few for each person and dash the rest to the freezer under lock and key for another time.... snicker.

Our Easter with Family

Alleluia! He has risen!

Flying west during this family visit offered all a perfect mixture and balance of; Faith, Family and Friends.

Our days included many sacred and rich traditional days during Holy Week, something we were looking forward to partaking in while over there.

We weren't able to attend the Easter Vigil, however on Easter morning, the beauty displayed inside of the church was breathtaking and the Easter morning mass was so very uplifting.

You can bet, as people began to leave the church afterward, I felt an urge to remain behind, lapping up the peaceful silence while those still about me were offering their final prayers and thanksgivings for the day.

I didn't feel any hurry to depart in haste, and really didn't feel inclined to leave until I was able to lite several candles, one for each item on my promised prayer request list, ensuring I was able to send those spiritual love offerings heavenward.

There is always so much to pray for and so much to be thankful for. In my own heart, Easter Sunday was such a perfect time to spend a few extra moments with my heavenly Father, my God who knows all my mother's heart dreams and aspirations for my children/grandchildren, and all of my hopes for my husband and our future as a couple.

In the quiet of the church, once more I could firmly entrust all my cares to Him.


Easter Sunday

A time for all things incredibly promising, bright and most beautiful.

A time for hope.

A time for peace.

A time for thanksgiving.

A time for family love and gathering round for a full day's visit.


Gather we did, and everything couldn't feel more right with the world than to have all of our family near to us, treasuring the final day we would be all together.

For Jenn :)

We all understood what this day meant for us, at least for the bulk of us it was commonly thought of as a no-brainer. This would be the last family gathering before we were to leave and head back to our home in the east.

Our Easter Sunday gathering would not have been made possible without our son and daughter in law becoming good sports about their dad taking over the kitchen, that's for sure. Imagine being kicked out of your own kitchen! grin... Thanks again you two!

I believe this was one of the first Easter Sunday's in history when I/we weren't officially in charge of the dinner in our home. It felt a bit odd for me to just show up and not be required to roll up my sleeves to work. Our older daughter had hosted Easter brunches for all of us, but usually for the most part, I was in charge of the dinners. Even since our move to the east, we've created our own feasting ourselves.

Our Easter chef came from the east, all prepared with his own apron, his own menu, his own goals to complete the task of serving Easter dinner to our entire family, parents and a few invited friends.

We had the grocery shopping covered in advance, so everything he would need, including his fresh stash of herbs, was ready and awaiting the work of his manly hands.

Our chef from the east came prepared with his own apron

One huge "A-ha" moment came during the week when visiting friends and listening to their frustrations of having a parent with huge physical limitations but extreme pride and stubbornness to pay attention and realize they should refrain from performing certain actions in the future.

My husband interjected and offered his own personal thoughts on the subject which he hoped might aid them in understanding the frustrations they were experiencing.

In his case, as physical limitations arose, he admitted to having the best caretaker (me), and how appreciative he was because I knew his every need and understood his medical journey thus far, but he offered this;

"There is a fear when one gives up and stops doing something just because it becomes difficult. Rather than cease doing it completely, the fear for me personally, is if I don't at least continue to try, however difficult or discouraging it may become, I may never be able to do it again later on,so as stubborn as it sounds, even if only for my own small triumphant and successful attempt at making the initial effort, that is what makes such a difference to me."

Okay. Now it all made sense. All the times when he attempted things he knew were too difficult, all those times when the rest of the family turned into nags and took over or began to reprimand him for trying, now we know - he had to try it even though he shouldn't, just the same.

And so, with Easter dinner, even though he had had an almost emergent start to his week with pulmonary issues, he was not going to sit back and throw in the towel just yet.

Even when I sometimes suggested he rest up a bit by sitting on a bar stool to get off his feet, he refused, because for him, he wasn't sure if he would be able to get up again and keep going once he sat down during in the process of his meal making.

He was focused and remained strong doing what he loved to do - being a chef and cooking!

Protective ... all kept making certain he was okay.

Okay Dad, I'll leave my own kitchen just for you.

(Our son had his front tooth knocked out by a hockey stick, and is awaiting his implant, poor guy)

Many visited and became fiercely protective over the course of the afternoon's kitchen flurry of activity. He often had visitors spending moments with him, surrounding him with love and affection, acknowledging his gracious efforts of single-handedly making dinner for the crowd.


I found myself also visiting my husband, knowing he was at the helm of the dinner, by himself, naturally overdoing it, and then I would spot signs of fatigue showing up in his face BUT he kept assuring me confidence was high. For now, he said he was fine.


This really was strange for me though, in a good way of course, the not helping and diving in to make the meal happen. One of our sons who had recently made his own batch of wine, brought along a few white and red offerings, so at one point he actually put his arm around me, handed me a glass with the order to go enjoy the day and relax. Still - weird I tell ya!


Traditional turkey and ham were the mainstays for the dinner food fare. Just look at that golden bird and that pineapple marinated ham! Yum!


His dinner turned out to be outstanding, the salad and homemade dressing by our son and daughter in law a crowd pleaser, and a cheese/fruit platter by another daughter in law were just perfect for nibbles. Thanks again to all of you.


All gathered round to say grace before our meal, and what a meal it was!

At long last, many hours after first beginning his chef' endeavors, when my husband sat down with his dinner plate before him, he had us laughing when he finally admitted he might be too tired to eat. True confessions had an entire crowd force him to remain on his chair for the rest of the evening.

I knew he was elated with his accomplishment! He was actually beaming from being able to reach his goal for the day. And I was just so very proud of him. We all were proud, knowing what this meant for him in the end to perform such a grand feat. As a general blessing to the family, we were truly rewarded the fruits of his labors, and a great dinner was had by all.

Plenty of leftovers remained, enough for every additional family to share, and bring home a future meal to enjoy another time. Terrific!


Some of the children had crafted napkin rings for our dinner, crafts were provided beforehand, stories read, Veggie Tale movie about the real story of Easter were watched and enjoyed by even adults, hair was braided by sister/auntie, back massages appreciated, dogs played with, all of them were having a marvelous time!

Clusters of family migrated into every room on the main floor of our son's home. Memories were being made before our eyes, surely everyone who was able to partake of this day would never forget this Easter together. It was noticeable all were "seizing the day".

As in all things traditional in a family, this year the egg hunt saw a change when my husband was too busy in the kitchen. Becoming flexible, the assigned duty was passed to myself and to a few of our adult children. Others also contributed to desserts and goodie bag supplies for the children (little, big, teen and adult ones!) who were so excited about what was to happen when the time was eventually announced.

I realized it's been five years since our family has been together for Easter, too long. Most of the little children were too young to remember the last time we did this, so the little traditional event was extra special for all of them.


Placing little ones and big ones into teams of two, off they went and it took them all quite some time to find all the eggs - some tiny, some rather large. It was sure heartwarming to observe them all scurrying about, and the looks on their faces were priceless whenever one was located.

Best of all, of course we all know the reason for Easter.


After our dinner and before dessert was served, my mother gathered all round and brought out a cake, complete with candles and began to lite them. Grabbing my camera I snapped a few pics, not very good ones however, but heh, I got them...


Insisting this was also a celebration of all our future family birthdays to come over the course of this year, she summoned my husband to represent all of us and blow out the candles on everyone's behalf.

A few confused children became somewhat bewildered, and then we had them giggling.

Happy Unbirthday to us all!

Family gatherings would never be complete without a few surprises unfolding along the way, like the cake and like our boys impromptu display of fun later in the evening.

Only hockey families might understand when four brothers ban together in solidarity for the love of all things hockey with lessons and protective tips quickly offered over how a proper hockey hit should be thrown or received.

Yep, in the photo here, these are our two big adult boys teaching their younger brothers what they need to know for safety on the ice.


Ahhhh, our family was truly able to celebrate the miracle of each moment together over the course of our entire visit in the west. How can one dispute there is a love so grand as time together reuniting as a circle of love.

Miracle of the Moment
chorus;

So breathe it in and breathe it out
Listen to your heartbeat
There’s a wonder in the here and now
It’s right there in front of you
And I don’t want you to miss
The miracle of the moment

by; Steven Curtis Chapman

No matter the miracle of this Easter family moment, with complete thanksgiving, our family was able to gather to make a priority, coming together to celebrate faith, family and friends, three things in life everyone can only to depend.

And this was our family's Easter - 2010

A few more blog posts about our trip await in my draft box, soon to come....

It's a ... "Pony Olympics"

Over the course of both fall and winter, one of our grand-daughters who is completely infatuated with a love of horses became inspired by the upcoming 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics with all its copious amounts of continued advertising near their Vancouver area home.

Eventually an idea was born and she began to ponder the reality of possibly playing host of a first ever - "Pony Olympics" with her friends, cousins and our youngest daughter, when we would be visiting in town.

She had illusions of grandeur, her imagination was soaring with plans formulating for possible events or activities in her mind. Sharing with her Auntie, the two brainstormed on about a million telephone calls in between (smile), about the very likely possibility of being able to carry out such a day's worth of activity.

Her enthusiasm and imaginative play had already captured the interest of all their neighbor children, all subsequently acquiring their very own hobby horses to join her pleasurable riding sessions outdoors. In fact, I couldn't help but crack a huge smile when I noticed the children in the neighborhood out galloping about on their hobby horses the first time we arrived for a visit after landing at the airport.

Capturing a few of the children early in the day

The only minor drawback in her mind would be some of the attending pony riders wouldn't have hobby horses of their own to ride. Problem solved though because - Surprise! A birthday gift was awaiting our daughter - guess what it was? Others were happy to share and share they did.

I have to confess that the adults did wonder if the older children might feel silly or prefer not to become good sports with the little ones, but all was quickly squashed when the children became excited and began to compete with the others during each event of the day.

I thought this a first in our family; Hockey nets were missing the usual hockey sticks set, rather I found this scene below instead; hockey sticks replaced by hobby horses. Ever cute!

Not too sure on the "exact" agenda for the day, all we knew in advance was our daughter was selected by her niece to provide the "Pony Olympic Winning Gold Medals" for all participants. It was an item found suddenly on our errand list, scrambling not to disappoint the day before we left town.

In fact, our daughter in law wasn't even entirely sure how it would all end up, she just knew there were many children involved and made plans to have some lunch prepared, just in case. A friend of hers volunteered her talents and created a special double layered and amazing pony cake to celebrate the festivities.


At the start of the day, our organizer and host Grand-girl in charge of this fine sporty day made a sentimental comment to her mother;

"that her long time dream was actually going to be fulfilled, becoming one of those things one could only hope for once in a lifetime".

She had been busy making signs for everyone to wear on their backs, with names of places or cities they would be representing.


Events were organized and the sport categories were about to begin. Event categories included; jumping, racing, barrel racing, dressage and a few other minor games.

There was a threat of rain and it did drizzle for a bit later in the morning, so when the children became famished after the first few events and were beginning to get rather damp, all headed indoors to eat, warm up, and rest until the weather cleared.

Warm homemade soup and fresh from the oven buns awaited all, plus a big slice of the great cake made by a talented friend whose children were also present this day.


Older children drifted off for a time kicking and passing a soccer ball to one another, as several events ran just a few participants at a time during the beginning of the day, but for the most part, all twelve children present began to get into the action, have a blast, and very likely competed in events and activities they've never experienced before.

Rain or no rain, this was a fun little competition, with food, and prizes and personal satisfaction for they all were participants in the first ever "Pony Olympics".

Try as I did, here are my four outtakes while snapping photos of six of the grandchildren present outdoors. Can you guess which child wasn't having anything to do with it?

After their little bellies were full and all were rested, we did manage to get this photo below with all of our grandchildren which was still a challenge for a successful photo attempt by guess who (wink).

So many hearty and happy giggles filled the air while trying to take this, and how fun it was! We love how it brought to life all of their sweet personalities, oh yes we do.


As spectators during all the events (our laundry was rolling during the visit and we lent a hand wherever we could), we really admired the way our daughter in law and her friend judged the events, and easily complimented all the fun with good cheer and happy spirits, the children following suit with their lead, all most delighted with the entire day.

What a GREAT memory for all these children! I know I will never look upon a hobby horse the same way myself ever again. Big smiles come to mind when I still think of this day. So adorable.

And how great it was for our Grand-girl to realize her dearest and fondest dream for hosting the very first ever "Pony Olympics".

Did you even know there was such a thing? Well, you do now...

Gold medals for everyone!

Just look at them racing on the left of this photo!

Oh, and about that hobby horse - we had no clue how we were going to get it home on the airplane with us, but a wonderful woman at the luggage check-in counter assisted our daughter by wrapping it up inside of a clear plastic bag and assigning it to the "special delivery" area, free of charge.

The orange priority tag assured it was well handled and happily for all, it arrived to our destination safely.