Lost Valley Ranch Summer 2009

What a way to end the summer! Lost Valley Ranch has become such a special place for our family. The best way to describe it to anyone who has not been there is that it is just good "old fashioned" fun. From sunrise to sunset the boys are outside riding, fishing, digging, laughing, exploring in the creek and getting really dirty all at the same time!

Looking back on our trip, I think the best part was giving our family a chance to "slow down" -- time to reflect on how blessed we truly are. I could not ask for anything more than to see the boys having so much fun....and to top it off I think my husband has turned into quite the cowboy. In the past, Clint and I would often ride separately because he was not comfortable doing the more advanced rides. Clint said "something clicked" this trip and we rode together every ride. So nice to be able to share the beautiful mountain views with him--certainly takes your breath away!

A typical day at Lost Valley starts off with a HUGE breakfast of your choice, then off to the corral. This year we changed up our horses a bit. Jax stuck with Cash, but Gavin rode Doc, Clint rode Calvin and I was swayed from Sundance to try Cisco. All in all it was a good change. Cisco certainly has a lot of spunk...

We usually rode in the morning, came back for a hearty lunch (sometimes the kids ate with their groups) and then it was off for another ride full of adventure in the afternoon. We would all hook up late afternoon, visit the Fountain for some ice cream and either fish or go swimming.

After a busy day, we would get cleaned up, and eat again! The meals were delicious and the desserts were just heavenly...we are still working off the weight we gained :-) Then it was off to the evening program which was always a blast.

Here is a video of some of our memories....I will also attach some of my favorite photos.