My East Coast BFF (hi Priscella!) sent me a Groupon for horseback riding lessons so we have spent our Spring Break staycation going horse riding every day:

It’s been idyllic! They’ve been giving Ella little teensy-assed ponies to ride, and she is offended that she has to ride around on a dinky little baby pony while Fiona gets to ride on a real horse.

This is Rolo:

Doesn’t he look like a little toy pony? A teddy bear? Don’t you want to squeeze him?

Seeing Ella trot around on this dinky little pony – who has a truly feisty attitude – made me laugh almost non-stop throughout the week. Especially today when she and rolo set off on a trail ride beside a retired race horse:

It just looked…wrong. So, so wrong.

I couldn’t stop giggling. Especially because Rolo has the exact same temperament that Ella has – they are twins: cute and little, but feisty. Like: watch out. One minute you’ll be feeding Rolo a peppermint and the next he’ll be nipping at your track suit bottoms, biting you. One minute you’ll be thinking how cute Ella’s dimples are, and the next she’ll say something horrible to you like she said to that poor woman in line at Safeway – the one who made the grievous mistake of showing Ella her driver’s license photo:

“That’s a very pretty picture. It doesn’t look a thing like you.”

Or what she said to the well-dressed woman in the parking lot:

“That’s a beautiful dress! But those shoes don’t match…what were you thinking?”

With ponies like Rolo, and adorables like Ella, there’s always a risk of getting a one-two. With Rolo it’s a nip or a stomp. With Ella, a verbal sucker punch. So you have to watch out when you meet dimple-faced seven-year-olds or ponies that look like teddy bears. Stay awake, keep on your guard! – Do not get suckered in by the cute factor, or the dimples.