Memorial Day Weekend at the Ranch....

I waited with anticipation and Friday morning finally arrived...

Aeryn and I was heading down to the ranch to meet Steve and four other of our friends and families to spend the LONG weekend at the Ranch for some much needed RANCH TIME...

We were camping in Hill Country, we were on the end of Hill Country 2 on lot 76, the other four were right down the line. Cindy Morrison was down the Hill from us on the other side and the Nelson's were lucky enough to park right across from us, with the Buckingham's behind them. It was like old home week in a lot of ways.

When Aeryn and I finally arrived at the camper, the kids and the biggest kid of all (that would be Steve) was getting ready to run up to the pool. They were gone for hours, I thought the biggest kid would be burnt to a crisp, but he wasn't.

About 5pm I realized I was missing something, I did not have my four wheeler!!! I now had the job of tracking down Kadye as she was the caretaker of my bike while I was gone. Now to be honest, I was telling people that she stole my bike, but that was all in a good time, I knew she had it!!! I got my bike back and rode down to Fogey to see from friends from Rolla that perch themselves on the hill every chance they get. Later that evening, our fellow campers set down to a wonderful dinner and then sat around a campfire until we couldn't stay awake any longer.

The next day, I woke up early. One of my favorite times is early morning on the ranch. I love taking Aeryn for a walk and then sitting outside of camper with a cup of coffee and watching the Ranch wake up and come alive. But Saturday morning, I had no time to sit, I was meeting Connie up at the Big Top and help her with her table at the T-Top. I had never done this and I am glad I did. I got to see a lot of people that I had not seen since last summer. We chatted a lot and caught up. I always love spending time with Connie and Frank and I was glad that I got up and around and made my way up the hill to the Flea Market because everybody was there finding a bargain.

After the Flea Market, I had to go back to the camper and prepare my donations to the Cake Walk that was being put on by the Fun Addicts Committee. I prepared three pots of DIRT and then I had my mother's homemade Angel Food Cake. I got them up to the Club House right before the Family Bingo began. I also saw the ladies working feverishly in the kitchen on the preparations of the Funnel Cakes. I would of loved to have a Funnel Cake, but my taste buds were not up to par this weekend so I decided to wait until the 4th of July!!!

After delivering the goodies, I stopped by the Forum Tent and talked to some more member/owners. Kadye was ram roding the Forum Tent and as a fund raiser on behalf of the Forum, they were selling T-Shirts that honored the member/owners that served in the military. I bought two shirts for Steve and I. All donations went to the Miniature Golf Course, so I know my money went to a good cause!!! There were several members that stopped at the Forum Tent while I was there. I wish I could of helped more, but I was still pacing myself for the rest of the weekend. Back to the camper, I wanted to relax and then make my dish for dinner that night!!! After dinner, the kids enjoyed making pies on the campfire and we all enjoyed the relaxation of the evening!!

On Sunday, I got up and it was raining off and on. The boys got up and went for a ride after breakfast. I went up to find Stephanie and James Phillips, they were staying up by the stables and their parents. Stephanie and I went up the Big Top to watch over 200 riders take off on the Poker Run. This is always an amazing site, seeing all the four-wheelers and side by sides lined up to take off. It was even more amazing this time because it was pouring down rain!!!

The rain let up and I heard it was a very successful Poker Run. I was back at my camper getting ready for our big dinner that night. Now, that is a pretty funny thing to say, because it seems like every night is a big dinner when we are at the ranch!!! After dinner, the guys went for a night ride. They no more got going and it started pouring rain, but we didn't see them for a good two hours, they came back at midnight and announced that they had a good ride.

The next morning, we woke up to more rain. We knew that we needed to pack up and leave our weekend was over. As we left the ranch at noon, I looked up at the gate and there was Larry Armstrong helping everybody get through the gate as fast and without any problems. You can always count on Larry being there at the end of a holiday weekend. He was there wishing everybody a safe trip home and urging everybody to come back soon!!!

Even though I was sick and injured and I didn't get to enjoy the trails or the mud (yes, I love to play in the mud), I did enjoy my weekend at the ranch. I am looking forward to going back again soon!!!

See you at Cloud 9 Ranch... Stop by and visit or let's go for a ride!!!