On the list of my favorite things in life, the things that make me the most happy, the things that have meaning to me and are special to me, the things that I have the most wonderful memories of would be horses and carousels. Most of you know the connection but for those of you who dont, here's an explanation:
My mom LOVED horses. My grandpa (her dad) loved them also. I have heard many stories of the horses that my grandparents owned and that my mom loved. I've seen lots of pictures. I have inherited a lot of horse memorabilia that was my mom's; she had built up quite a collection. I never really got to talk horses with my mom since she passed away when I was 6 years old. But I wish I could have. However, I think that is one of the main reasons why I too love horses. It connects me to her. I love riding horses, I love being around horses, I had a lot of horses toys and books growing up, and I have special sentimental horse figurines and whatnot displayed in my home. I have ALWAYS wanted a horse since I was a little girl. Without fail I would always ask for one for my birthday and for Christmas. A horse, not a pony. Somehow, I knew it wasnt possible but it didnt hurt to ask, right? Well, needless to say, that dream hasnt come to fruition yet but I hope that one day it does. Maybe when my kid(s) have grown up and moved out. Maybe then I can get a horse since it requires a ton of work and care. It can be my hobby then ;) Selfishly (maybe??) I really want Anistynn to love horses. So far I have gotten her horse stuffed animals, horse books, and the like. I dont want to force her into anything ever and I dont want her to like every single thing I did and do (I know she wont anyway) but I would love for her to love horses because it would continue the connection and tradition :) As soon as Anistynn is old enough to take riding lessons (I've seen 4 years old at some places, 7 at others... it varies), I'm going to offer them to her. If she's too scared or doesnt want to, I wont force her but I DO want to offer them to her at least. In the meantime, we'll take the opportunity to be on a horse any chance we get! She's been on two ponies and a mule so far :) Since I dont want to assume we can get horses of our own while Anistynn is growing up, I might offer her to care for a horse at a ranch. That way she'll get to ride, brush, feed, and love the horse without actually owning it. It will give her time with horses and teach responsibility. Horses are so fun and I have always felt right at home while riding a horse. Anistynn looks like she's a natural too. What can I say? It's in the genes ;)
Which leads me to the next important and somewhat related thing that I love - carousels. Yet another thing that is shared between my grandma, my mom, and I. I actually DO have memories of riding on the carousel with my mom at Disneyland (and perhaps somewhere else too). It's one of the few memories I have with her which is why I treasure it so much. Anistynn has been on the carousel a few times now. Her first ride was at Oaks Park when she was 10 1/2 months old. Carousel items are hard to find. Which is why when I see something, I almost always want to snap it up. Especially for Anistynn. And it is why when I thought of it as a theme for her 1st birthday months ago, I committed to it. I was trying to think of themes - I knew I wanted something unique but nothing was coming to mind. All of a sudden, BAM! there it was and it was perfect. How could I not choose it? The first birthday is more for the parents anyway, right? ;) We survived the first year! And soon she'll be wanting to pick her own theme so I might as well go with it while I have the chance. So Operation Carousel Party is a go! I cant wait to get everything together - I already have so much in place and there's lots of little details. I had to special order a lot of stuff because like I said, there's barely anything out there and none of it matches! I cant wait to see how it all comes together though -I know it will be amazing and I can only imagine how my grandma and my mom would react to it. I'm sure they would both be so proud.
* There's a couple photos that I have - one is of my grandma and my mom on a carousel and the other is my mom and I on a carousel. I really wanted to get a picture of Anistynn and I on a carousel. I thought it would be really neat to put all 3 photos in a frame and set it out at her birthday party :)
** And here's another carousel photo of my grandma and my mom (with my dad too!):
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