Well, quick update...

I have from a reliable source that the owners of this pony definitely feed their animals and take good care of them. I guess that could be left up to interpretation, of course... Educated care vs. uneducated care...

I'm still on the fence with this guy, but rest assured that even if he's not with me, he will be in a better place. I'm looking for a pony for a 3 and 5 year old. Pony, horse, whatever. And I'm not sure this very green, skinny kid is the right one. He hasn't ever been handled by anyone with actual horse experience, and it does concern me to have a horse that unpredictable around the toads. Not that I'm going to be throwing anyone on his back tomorrow (ouch, to both the pony and the kid sitting on him) but he's shown me a few times that he just doesn't know any better. Not sure I'm OK taking that chance with the toads, especially when I know there are bombproof ponies out there.

So, hopefully tomorrow I can play with him some, get a better feel for him. After I feed and water the neighbor's horses, dog, and cats, and after church, and if we decide to go snowmobiling- after that, or we might go to the Big City to visit the outlaws- so maybe after that...

Oh, and can I just say how awesome my parents are... They both came in from the ranch today to get a much needed fire under my ass to get the house clean. My mom scrubbed the kitchen floor, literally. My dad made a trip to the Big City to get storage shelves and containers, which were much needed to contain the excess of toys the toads have. Dad hauled loads of stuff out to the garage (like the totes I store the Christmas decorations in them... like, what, I was just keeping them in the house till I needed to take everything down?) Mom also sorted through the upstairs (the kids' rooms and the bonus room) to whittle down the mountains of toys. Then, we took the kids for a walk downtown and to dinner when Hubby called and said that he lost the keys to the pickup when he was hunting with a buddy so he was driving a POS loaner home and would be later than he thought.

So anyways, Parents, THANK YOU!!!

And to my pal GL... Proud of you girl, it's great to see your story unfold and I love the pictures!!

Complete randomness here. We were camping and some dude said he was working towards being a professional photographer and asked if he could take some shots of the kids. This is one of my favorites. And it really is a hug BT is giving LT, not a half nelson/strangle hold/death grip.