Two kinds of jumping today....

Like everybody else I seem to hear, we've been caught up in the Olympics here at our house. Only instead of the muscular swimming god Michael Phelps, (which he is amazing I'll give him that!) it's the equestrian events. Megan and I have been watching them religiously. I remember getting a box of USET horses for Christmas one year, and I was determined to become a famous dressage rider.

Tonight was qualifying for jumping. It brought back so many memories. (Not that I was an Olympic jumper, but in my mind I was.) I spent a lot of time pretending in the arena at Kyrene Stables when I was an early teen. Half rounds, oxers and remembering what it felt like to hold those thick reigns in light hands and collect the horse before the last stride before the jump. I noticed tonight I was holding my breath each time a horse went over a jump. It's like when you watch A Baby Story after having children and you realize you are holding your breath and pushing with the person on TV.

I have absolutely LOVED being able to share this excitement with Megan on the couch next to me.

Second....

I have to blog about it before I forget. The street behind our house has a big dirt hill that was just dumped on it because the lot next to it is getting a new house built. So it has become a magnet for all of the neighborhood kids. Trevor and one of his friends spend hours over on this hill riding their bikes down. So today I took Matthew over because he wanted to see "the hill."

I was afraid of letting him go down on his own. He walked his bike up to the top and started to look like he was going to back out of the deal. Then he started to roll. I don't think he was ready and who knows if he wasn't going to back out - but the bike wasn't. It started to roll FAST down the hill - with Matthew's legs literally airborne behind him and his hands still holding onto the handlebars.

He went down the wrong track, screaming the entire way, until he hit a rock that made the whole bike jump into the air. It was like slow motion while he let go of the bike and started to roll into the air then down into a cloud of dust. I thought for sure he was going to break his neck or come up totally crying. This didn't look like any jump that a helmet could help.

The dust parts.

The bike lands.

Matthew reaches for the sky with both fists in the air.

I'm waiting for a cry.

"THAT was AWESOOOOOOOOOME!"

A few minor scrapes on his legs, and some dirt in his mouth but he picked up that bike and went right back up. It was hysterical, and so NOT the outcome I expected.

I love that kid.