A horse? What?

"Mommy, there is a horse in our yard."

"A horse, what? Is there a person on the horse?"

"No. Just a horse. Two horses. They are eating our grass."

(now, I know I live in the country and all, but we do actually live in a neighborhood, so horses wondering free through our yard... not a usual occurrence.)

"Stay away from the horses! I'm putting clothes on! Don't go outside until I come with you!"

I had just gotten out of the shower, and as much as I'm sure the neighbors would have enjoyed watching a woman in a towel trying to catch a horse, I thought it best to get dressed first. Why is it that when you are trying to get dressed quickly, you can never find anything that you need to put on? After a frantic search for underwear... remember, all I know at this point is that my two 4 year olds are outside with two strange horses (no, they didn't listen when I asked them to stay inside. Why would they? There were horses in our yard!) and I couldn't find any stinkin thing to put on! So I manage. Clothes on. A little mismatched, but decent, at least.

Sure enough, there were two horses in our yard. Eating our grass. Fortunately for me, I recognized the horses. (not sure what I would have done if there were two horses in my yard that I didn't know) The horses lived up the hill behind my house and had apparently escaped from their confinement. The grass apparently is greener on the other side of the fence. My grass. I actually considered just letting them eat the grass. It's over an acre. That takes a long time to cut.... but maybe the owners wouldn't appreciate me letting the horses roam free. What if the grass is even greener say, on the other side of the highway? My neighbor came over, having also seen the horses and having already ran up the hill to tell the owners of the horses that the horses were loose. They weren't home. (The neighbor was a little panicky. I think she thought the horses might eat one of my children) So, I used my rusty, but still trustworthy horsey skills to catch one of the horses, hoping the second would follow, and led them home. The second did follow... and I secured them in their pasture. Apparently the rope holding the gate shut had been chewed through and the gate pushed open. Smart horses! So there is my exciting morning for you. Runaway horses, missing underwear, and panicky neighbors. Fun, huh?