Back to the Ranch

What a great weekend! 

Sometimes it seems like the weekend is filled with one activity after another.  This one was blissfully relaxing.

Saturday we returned to beautiful Calicinto Ranch, one of our favorite places on earth. 

 

We went there with our church family from Convergence and we had a blast, in spite of the tarantulas.  Right, Dina?

What I really loved about the day, beside the horses, the great food, the beautiful blue skies, the wonderful Pirelli family, the hay rides

 and all the other fun, was the opportunity to spend extra time with family, our church family. 

Sundays are great.  We get together,  chat over a cup of coffee, worship and learn together, but it's a brief period of time and then we're gone - off doing our own thing, busy with our lives.

Spending this time together, creating shared memories, was a great opportunity to draw our family closer together. 

Thanks Pastor Norb, aka Sheriff Norb, for providing us with this opportunity to be together.  It was a much-needed break.

The petting zoo was a huge hit. 

For these suburban kids, it took a while to figure out which end of the chicken they should grab!

This is me with my cowgirl Rachel and my mom.  There is no place on earth that Rachel would rather be than at Calicinto Ranch, riding a horse.  She has adopted the Pirelli's as her second family.

I have to give a special shout-out to Erick and Mariesa.  Thanks Erick for providing many of these pictures.  Erick and Mariesa are my personal heroes. 

These three boys are the reason why.  Take a good long look at these boys.  They are Sam, Harrison and Zack.  They are twelve years old.  Erick and Mariesa are the fearless junior high leaders at our church.

Pray for Erick and Mariesa.

It was a great weekend.  God is good.

Right Steve?   Steve...

Yeehaw!

We recently spent a family day with our favorite ranch hands - the Pirelli Family of beautiful Calicinto Ranch in the foothills of the San Jacinto mountains. The weather was perfect and we enjoyed a full day of eating, horseback riding, BB guns, basketball, eating some more and just relaxing (after all that eating!).

If you are ever looking for a retreat destination for a group, give the Pirelli's a call. They will treat you like family, feed you well and make sure you have a lot of fun!

They also operate Angel Tree Camp every summer, ministering to the children of prison inmates. There are opportunities to be a mentor to these incredible kids. Our daughter RA did last year and can't wait to go back again. You can find out more at www.calicintoranch.com.

I have listed a couple of horse-themed items in my etsy store. Click on the picture above for a direct link. I have also listed some beautiful vintage tablecloths that you will want to take a peek at.