Our Ranching Adventure!

Mommy holding Leo's snail, Mickey

Leo and his giant marshmallow

Wil's pea face

Leo on his John Deere Tractor - what a nice little touch available at the ranch!

Look at Wil, starting to go...

Beautiful view of Granite Mountain

Leo carefully collecting eggs

Leo watching the chicks

Boys chillin on the blanket

Leo "Master of the Horseshoes" This was the name he dubbed himself! Where does he come up with this stuff?

This birthday trip takes the cake! We had planned to go camping this weekend with the boys, but there was a chance of rain. That combined with our last camping trip that started/ended with a 104 temp. and a trip to the hospital, I was not game....so Alex stumbled upon a ranch house for rent in a place called Skull Valley, AZ. All he could tell me is that someone referred the ranch that he had called from the internet, but the ranch we were going to had no website and the road it was on was NOT on the map. I took a deep breath and said, "O........k....." It has been a long time since there was an Alex and Katie adventure - although they used to happen a lot, now there are 2 kids in tow (how did that happen by the way?) We loaded into the car - packed to the brim for one night (two kids requires a lot of junk!) and ended up in the middle of nowhere.......I mean nowhere. Alex's directions included this

Go past the cemetery and start looking for a road. When you find it, take it 4 miles. That 4 miles is going to seem like a lot longer. You will see houses and not the ranch. Then, you'll think you went too far - that means keep going. You'll see it, just keep going!

I said "O............k" a little slower this time! I was joking that "The Hills have Eyes" and that we were going to be m-u-r-d-e-r-e-d the whole way there (Hope Leo can't spell that one yet!) Then, on the never ending 4 mile dirt road into the mountains, I became sure of it! Instead, we were greeted by hippie Leslie and her quaint cattle ranch! It was great!

Backstory: Leo and I have been playing a game on Facebook togethere called Farmville. You have to grow your own veggies, harvest them, take care of your animals by collecting eggs, etc. He loves it.

So what is the first thing Leslie takes us to do? Harvest veggies! Leo was loving it! He picked tomatoes, corn, squash, and even a carrot! He was walking around with a shovel saying he was a farmer! Later, it was off to feed the Steer, Irving, cookies and the horses hay and grain, the cats, sweep the barn, feed the ducks and on and on. He was such a little trooper - he just followed Leslie around doing whatever task was next and loving every minute. Wil, Daddy and I followed along - Wil smiling the entire way! The coolest chore Leo got to do was collect eggs from the hens. He was so cute carefully placing the eggs into the basket! He did everything with such determination!

Leo loved the horse names Slick! He had to dump his cereal onto a paper towel and eat "Like Slick" at breakfast! Sigh!

After chores were done, Leo explored! He found snails - "luckily" we brought his bug catcher so he could bring one home! He watched beetles crawl everywhere, saw a frog in the pond, collected rocks, and rode on the golfcart with the dog Shorty and the cat Olive Oil. He was filthy from head to toe!

We cooked our veggies and some dinner - then made a campfire. Leo roasted a hot dog, popcorn and the giant marshmallows grandma bought him for his birthday. We also had cupcakes for mommy's birthday and I opened up my presents - a family picture frame, some flip flops, and a Tori Amos CD. Then, we headed in to read some old classic children's books that were in the old farmhouse - Freight Train, Green Eggs and Ham, and Ann Can Fly. Leo finally drifted off to sleep about 10:30! His eyes popped open at 6 am, "Let's go play and get eggs!"Another sigh!

In the morning, we ate the eggs that Leo had collected and Leo rode the little John Deere Tractor all over the yard!

The whole time, our little Wil just chilled out! He was too cute - smiling the whole time! He even went to bed and slept all night! He spent most of his time on a blanket in the yard smiling at the birds and pulling up grass. Mommy and daddy spent a lot of time making sure he didn't eat the grass! The most exciting thing is that Wil is now up on his hands and knees rocking back and forth. He is bound and determined to follow that brother. That is pretty much the only thing that makes him cry these days - he gets so frustrated that he can't go! And it gets worse when he tries and goes backward instead!

Our camera ran out of batteries, so we have a very limited amount of pictures. But it was so fun and we have great memories! If ever in or having a desire to go to Skull Valley, AZ - check out L Bell Ranch. It's fun!