Happy Mother's Day 2009! (Solvang, CA)

A colleague of mine owns miniature horses bred at Quicksilver Ranch near Solvang, and she offered to set us up with a handler one weekend to take us out to see and pet the babies that were recently born. So I thought it would be fun for the whole family to make an outing up to Solvang for Mother's Day.

The whole family together. Happy Mother's Day!

U. is giving the little one a massage. Mama and baby miniature horses.The little ones are the size of a large dog and are super friendly. When they spotted us, they walked right up to us (again like dogs!).These little babies (foals) were born just last month. While the foals are super friendly, they're super curious too and can nip so you have to watch them.How cute is this? They're the perfect size for Astrid.

Astrid now wants a horse. Not just any horse but she tells us she wants one "this small" and shows us with her fingers about an inch tall. Getting a bit carried away with miniatures.U. getting into the petting action as well. Super cute mini-horses.

U. trying to hold the little ones at bay from nipping us.

Enjoying her 1st taste of split pea soup.

After the horse ranch we drove back to Solvang for lunch and ate at the Solvang Restaurant.

Astrid and Mama (me!). Astrid thought that Mother's Day was like a birthday. She kept asking me if I was going to have a cake.

Last Mother's Day was special because it was the first time Astrid could wish me a "Happy Mother's Day" by actually saying it. This year it was special because she can understand the concept of me being her mother and giving birth to her and caring for her and she understands this is a day to celebrate that. And no matter how many times U. tried to tell her my gifts were a secret, she couldn't help herself by telling me. She was excited about the day and woke up exclaiming, "Today is Mother's Day!"After lunch we took the horse drawn cable car tour around Solvang. Here we are in a Danish town in the United States with a Mexican tour guide. Only in America.

Astrid sitting on U.'s lap. Even though it was Mother's Day - Astrid wanted to be close to Papa.

Our tour guide proceeded to tell us about the history of the town, and she lost us when she gave us some trivia about Europe and told us Denmark is so close to Germany and Holland that when you take the train you have to stay awake or you'll miss your stop and they'll unload your luggage. Lots of laughs from clueless tourists, but U. and I gave each other the look. Um...sorry lady but I've been to Europe many times and taken the train and I can assure you it's not THAT close, and NO ONE handles your luggage. Hot and miserable at the Ostrich farm at the entrance to Solvang.

We eat a lot of Ostrich (since it's a red meat substitute and leaner in fat than turkey), so we thought we could buy some and take it back with us. Unfortunately they only have a smaller cooler with frozen Ostrich that's more expensive than the kind we buy from the butcher.Feeding an Ostrich. You have to be brave because these guys WILL bite.Pellets in a bowl glued to a dust pan.Ever seen an Ostrich chew their food?Three in a row with their long necks reaching over the barrier to eat.Gives you some perspective on how tall and big they are.They roam free and it's quite a sight to see them like wild animals out roaming on the playa.Don't even think about eating my food!Since U. didn't want his picture taken, neither did Astrid. But I still got a few.

It was a long day, but I'm glad we were able to make it to Solvang and enjoyed a full day there together on Mother's Day.