Oil Ranch and Fun Run

Elizabeth is an animal lover. I have said many times that we just need to live on a farm and she would be in heaven. Our playgroup from church went to the Oil Ranch a few weeks ago and she was totally in her element. It is a working ranch with horseriding, a petting zoo, a hay ride to feed the cows in the pasture, a chance to milk a cow, and a train ride to name a few activities. It was the first cool fall day which made it quite enjoyable. When we got there that morning, she knew that we were there to see animals and she was chomping at the bit (pun intended!) to get inside, but we had to wait for the rest of the group. Once we got inside she didn't want to mess with waiting on the strollers or stopping for pictures. She headed straight for the animals.She was extremely excited to find that they had a donkey. It is one of her favorite animals. We pass one everytime we go to gymnastics and she always has her eyes peeled for him.

We went on the hayride back to the pasture to feed the cows. This is one of my favorite parts because all the cows come running because they know we are going to feed them. Elizabeth loved seeing the cows but did not want to feed them directly.

She also didn't want to milk the cow but certainly wanted to pet it. We saw one of the school kids get pooped on while he was milking it which gave us a chuckle but made us glad it wasn't us.

The highlight of the day was horseback riding. When she saw that she could ride a horse she went straight for it and declared, "I want the biggest one!" Sure enough she got the biggest one and loved it. Later in the day when more of the school kids were heading out we got to do it again. She would have stayed there all day if I had let her!

It was a great day and unfortunately I had somewhere to go that afternoon or I would have stayed longer. I left for a retreat and the following day Caleb had a Fun Run for school which Heath took them too. Each grade runs a certain distance around the track and they give ribbons to all the kids and award the top finishers. Caleb did it last year and had a great time and wanted to do it again this year. The second graders ran half a mile and Caleb did great. Heath said in the final sprint for the finish, Caleb passed a lot of kids. It is a great experience for him to do and know it is not about winning. In the picture below Caleb is the third runner from the left.

We are enjoying the fact the weather has finally become somewhat fall-like. The afternoons are warm but the mornings and evenings are definitely chilly. It makes for lots of great time outdoors! But it is also getting me into the holiday spirit and I am looking forward to the months ahead.