More fun at the ranch. I was pretty convinced that I could talk Scott into moving to Enoch and living on a ranch by the end of the weekend. I was in love with ranch life- mostly with watching the fun and adventures the kids had from sun up to sun down with OUT watching TV.

This little cow kept squeezing out of the fence and we had to chase him back in.

Despite the smell, I loved all the work we got to do with all the animals.

These two little ranch hands were in heaven.

Wide open spaces, that I loved.

A mama goat gave birth 48 hours before we got there, but didn't survive the delivery. We got to bottle feed these sweet baby goats every few hours. They were so tiny and cried out like little babies. We tried to get other mama goats to nurse them, but instinctively, they would butt them away. 

The neighbors dogs had puppies. We all went over to snuggle them.

This little cowgirl was fearless. She wanted to see everything and be a part of everything.

Redneck waterslide... a giant plastic billboard. 

Emma didn't quite get the sliding aspect.

Ryan made fast friends with Allie. She showed him the ropes around the ranch. I found them chasing chickens, letting out the ponies, and jumping off the barn roof (I put a stop to that one.)

Whining Dog Ranch Rodeo

Games included- 

hula hooping, gunny sack racing, chasing cows with dollar bills taped to them (Ryan got $3!) And its a lot scarier than it seems when an animal twice the size of you is stampeding right at you. He was so brave!

There was also supposed to be a Nordstroms gift card that was tied to a bulls tail for the girls to chase. The bull was so big and mean that while they were trying to attach the gift card, the bull jumped up and over the metal fence and busted the top rail off.  None of the girls thought the gift card was worth it at that point. Plus it started pouring. There's always next year :)

 Then there was the mutton busting. Which was awesome to watch. The kids were so brave. Especially Ryan- who had just seen his cousin get tossed off was so brave and hopped right on. He stayed on for 3.7 seconds (we think). Best little mutton buster around.

These were his battle wounds... after the sheep trampled over the top of him. 

Emma made friends too :) These two would go everywhere together, sometimes holding hands.

Baby goat club.

Pony cart rides... I got to drive the cart around the neighborhood a few times. Loved it.

One adventure after another.

I really wanted to get a couple baby goats after this trip. We live in Poway, "a city in the country," perfect right? 

Scott said no way.

Took a few rides with these crazies on the ranger and again on some quads. It was awesome.

Quad trails... beautiful skies.

Ryan was fearless, again, and kept telling Hannah to be more crazy, glad Uncle Erik kept him safe.

I feel like he really came out of his shell on this trip. He was trying all kinds of new things that I would've thought he'd be scared of. I was pleasantly surprised. 

This little rugrat was in heaven.

She was a natural on the pony, and did NOT want to get off.

Thought she was a master ranger driver.

And she really wanted to take this puppy home. We almost did.

I put on some boots and helped corral/chase the huge dirty manure covered cows through sludge into a shoot to help them get medicine. 

Best day of my life!

Such an awesome trip. I think the draw I had to ranch life was how all the family would work outside together to keep things going. You would feel such a sense of accomplishment at the end of the day. And I am a huge believer in the many things that hard work can teach a child. Maybe someday I'll live on a ranch, for now, I'll settle for visits to Whining Dog.