Spring Break Ranch Visit- Day 1

I wasn't sure this was going to happen, a Spring Break visit to my sister's ranch. I was sick last week, the first week of vacation and didn't think I could make the trip. But then I rallied and decided I would rather have the kids in a different environment and with playmates then stuck in the house at home for a week. And I kind of felt like I owed them, being sick and grumpy all last week. Anyway, we left Sunday morning and had a really peaceful trip. The kids were wonderful, Caroline was a super traveler. The ranch is in Jordan Valley, OR. The trip took 7 1/2 hours and we traveled through intermittent snow flurries to arrive at suppertime.

The girls and I accompanied Tami to do the nighttime chores, feeding the milk cows and giving a bottle to a mother-less calf. Caroline was so excited to see the cows and Esther fed the calf a bottle. 

This morning Esther and Grace took off to explore. They have full access to the ranch and are able to roam and run as they please. After breakfast all the kids went down to the creek to play while I helped Tami stretch wire on her fence for her new, huge garden area. The babies played in the dirt under the sunny skies. 

Tami has a milk cow, a new endeavor for her. We started churning some butter in an antique churn. It took longer than we thought, but we all took turns turning the crank. We ended up with about 1 cup of butter and will try it on baked potatoes for supper tonight.

This afternoon, Esther went with Tami, Grace and Reuben to 'work some cows' on horseback. They were gone for over two hours. This was Esther's first substantial ride and I was worried she would get bored and start whining to come home. But Tami said she was a trooper and didn't complain at all. She had a great time. While they were away, Isabel and I made peanut butter cookies, while Colin began preparing potato cakes.

The view out the back is beautiful. The creek runs through the meadow under the  watch of the snow-covered hills. The nights are magical, with the stars shining bright in the clear, icy, inky air. I am glad to be here.