H-O-R-S-E

If you know Isabelle, then you know she loves horses. She always has. She was a cowgirl for her 3rd Halloween and carried a mini stuffed horse around named Spur for years. She never missed a trip to the San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo and has seen more country music concerts than most adults. So naturally, Isabelle has always admired Grandpa Elmo and likewise he has always had a soft-spot for Belle.



So you can imagine her surprise when Grandpa bought a horse! A REAL HORSE! She is a ten year old Grey mare and is gentle, trained and perfect for a little girl to learn to ride. Grandpa had it all arranged and even bought a horse trailer to pick up our new family member in. Both girls were beyond excited when Grandpa headed out in his truck with promises of a horse upon return.

The next couple of days were magical for little Jelly. She instantly bonded with her new best friend and told me that she was gonna have to pee outside in the trees for the next little while since she would not be able to take time to come inside. She quickly became comfortable on top of LiviBell and was soon riding her around the corral alone guiding her with a soft nudge or kick of her shoe. Belle desperately wished that I had brought her hat and boots from home, but sadly they just didn't fit in our suitcase so she had to be a cowgirl in her Converse sneakers and hairbow.


Grandpa taught the girls all about LiviBell and helped them brush her and ride her. Olivia was thrilled with the new pet as well and mostly loved feeding her grass, listening to her neigh and petting her. Isn't getting a pony every little girls dream???

Sadly knowing sweet Isabelle, I began worrying the day LiviBell arrived about the day we would have to say goodbye to her for this trip. When I told Isabelle that we were going to have to take her new best friend to the Dude Ranch where she would stay until we could return again, she melted. She cried and cried and begged her dad to find a home in Whitefish and relocate permenantly. She sobbed that she couldn't bare to say goodbye and told us that she loved her and already missed her too much. It was painful and I actually ached for little Isabelle and Olivia and wished that somehow we could have a horse in our backyard to eat our grass and jump on our trampoline.

Thankfully when the time came, Isabelle gathered her compsure and was able to say goodbye to her dream come true and felt good when she saw just where LiviBell would be spending her days while we are away. We may never be able to fully thank Grandpa for this experience for our little girls and we now feel an added pressure to return to Montana ASAP!