Los Rios Ranch

The week of Thanksgiving my sister-in-law Elizabeth and her family came over to Grandma's house to spend the entire week here. We were able to meet them for one of their adventures. My little nephew Conrad is working on his Cub Scouts Book and one of his check offs was to plan a hike from top to bottom. He chose the place, the time, and even made snacks for every body!

The doggies tend to get very excited when the little ones are with us, so I went early and walked them around for about an hour before every one else got there. It was well worth it, those little fur balls were very well behaved the entire hike.

My pride and joy :)

 Every where you turned was just so beautiful! Mike and I love the outdoors but since we've been so busy lately, we haven't really taken the dogs out on hikes. Maybe we should sneak in a hike or two before we both start school again.

My furry child and I waiting for the rest of the family to arrive (Gus didn't want to pose for the picture, oh well)

They did such a great job building this trail! We all kept commenting about just how beautiful every thing was. This place was  built to preserve the wild life and the animals that live in the mountains. One of the prettiest trails I've been on. And it was kid friendly too. Double whammy!

 

Next year we are coming to Oak Glen and take our Christmas pictures at Los Rios Ranch!

 

I'm so sad I forgot my camera, my lousy phone pictures don't do this place justice.

 Conrad was our leader and chose which paths we would go on, he did such a good job :)

 

Katie, Odin and Ridge got to hang out with us also. So glad they were able to make it, I love those  boys

 

The kids had a fun time taking turns walking the dogs. In the background there are some girls modeling shoes for their boutique. We also passed a couple taking engagement pictures. Such a beautiful place for pictures!

So glad every one had a great time and there were no meltdowns, even when we walked for almost 2 hours! When we were done walking we went over to the shops and sat down for lunch. Conrad had packed lunches for us to eat. Elizabeth got us some apple cider since Oak Glen is known for its many apple trees. The apple cider was delicious and fresh. After lunch, the kids weren't quite ready to go home so we headed down another trail, much harder trail. We got to go through the many apple trees and walked down a very steep path. I thought for a second the kiddos wouldn't be able to make it back and would want to be carried (I know I did) but we made it all the way and back up again. I was so exhausted. I need the energy of a 3 year old! 

 

The next day we celebrated Thanksgiving (Friday) 

My sister in law Jill was in town from Texas, Ann was in town from Roseville, Matt was in town from Idaho, we almost had every body!

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We all divided up the food  so Marcia wouldn't have to cook everything. Everything on my plate was soo good! My sister-in-laws sure can cook and Papa did a perfect job frying that turkey.

 

After dinner we celebrated Evan's Birthday with cake, ice cream, and presents

 

As another year has gone by, I am reminded of how fortunate I am. I'm so thankful for my *husband*, my family, my little home, my running car, friends, the gospel, my dogs, living in the US, always having a job,  always having food to eat, for my super comfortable bed, for security, for my freedom, and so many other things that I tend to take for granted.

"Count your many blessings name them one by one, and it will surprise you what the Lord has done"

Happy Thanksgiving 2013!