Green Valley Ranch – Our Favorite Place on Earth

Luke got to experience the ranch initiation this year. He was a trooper, he handled the amphibian encounter very well.

James and Sam fished a little bit, and totally loved it. Angie and Luke floated around in a fishing tube. Luke was not a fan of the cold lake, he's been spoiled with warm baths and warm pools all his life.

Every morning Sam must have forgotten that the pool is a very warm comfortable temperature, because every morning he would say that he didn't want to go swimming. We left the choice up to him but we did say "ok, just put on your swim suit and come outside with us". And every morning at his own leisure he would find his way into the pool. It sure is hard to resist the offer, when the morning air is chilly and you have a warm pool sitting right in front of you.

Duane's new Rhino worked super great for our little family!

We invited Brent and Andrea to come with us this year. It is always super fun to play games with these guys and they are so easy going too. It was a perfect match! Andrea was really good at matching up her scheduled naps with our little boys and they all liked the same slow speed on the 4-wheelers, so it all worked out great.

A new activity was introduced this year, thanks Ben. Walking a tight rope or "Slack lining". We have seen this activity before but have never tried it. What a fun activity! We totally want to get the gear so that we can continue practicing. James was totally awesome at it, eventually he walked the whole length of the line. Angie walked a good 6 steps too, not quite half way – to shaky.

The favorite new game for the trip was Bananagrams, very similar to the game scrabble. We made some yummy spaghetti for the whole crew, and Brent and Andrea provided a wonderful brownie dessert. Note to self: Rhodes Rolls, no pop, and chocolate covered pretzel balls, um um good!