Stupid car repairs

So...out of the blue our Suburban started to lurch. It happened just before I needed to drive 45 min to the ped. endocrinologist for Andrew's tests. I had to take it because our other car would never get there. On the way back I stopped at the dealership thinking that it was a transmission problem and still under warranty. We got a call a few hours later from the service dept. The guy was trying not to laugh as he told us that insulation was missing and several wires had been chewed up by something. The dead giveaway was the collection of nuts throughout the engine. We forked out $385 for squirrel damage! Apparently the abnormally cold FL winter had driven it/them into our car for shelter. Sorry Grandpa Hansen, I don't like your squirrels anymore!!

Pick a Spot

Today was Andrew's evaluation for his horse-riding program. It was easy to get him up the ramp, but not so easy to coax him onto this little pony. His name was "Pick a Spot". Andrew spoke to no one during the process and would follow no directions he was given. In short, it was just what I expected.

Part of his diagnosis is a defensiveness against new people and/or situations. He defends himself against the unknown by hiding. Here he is with his head down refusing to even look up.

He started to warm up just a little bit during the 15 minute evaluation. Look at these awesome volunteers!

After he was done he would not even talk about it. But, after a tour of the barn with all the other horses and some petting, he told me that he wanted to take "Pick a Spot" home with us. At home he told our PT Sophia and friend Marti about riding the horses, so I think he really liked it--even if he told me he never wanted to do it again. His actual classes will start in March. What is great is that our twins will start there in a year or 2 as well. I plan on training to be a volunteer.