Saturday, October 11, 2008

A Day at the Oil Ranch

Where everyone can take a turn milking Daisy the cow.
Lily preferred just petting her, and Zach said it looked "too squishy to touch", he said he would let me! haha. So I showed them how its done, I think they were impressed. But then Zach wanted me to milk the horses.......ahhh, city kids.
We rode a train,
and peeked in on the barn animals.
They actually started out really brave, "come on Lily, let's go pet them"
Lily...wait a second, they're looking at us!
abort, abort!
We also took a hayride out to the field to feed the cows. WOW. That was an experience. They gave the kids pellets to feed the cows before we left, but as soon as our wagon rolled into the pasture, the cows knew what was up. They stuck their heads into the wagon trying to get to the food (ummm, we were sitting on hay bales). Imagine a wagon full of about 30 kids screaming and chucking pellets to the cows. We got slimed by hungry cow noses, but after a few minutes of panic...the kids realized that cows don't bite and had fun watching them eat our seats. No really, I didn't even have a hay bale to sit on after the cows got to it.


I think Zach and Lily were starting to get the hang of farm life after that, so they decided it was time to ride the ponies. They were pretty proud of themselves!

And of course, we grabbed a pumpkin on our way out.
It was such a great little day with our ward playgroup. My favorite part was probably the drive out to the the ranch. After we got off the highway, the country roads were soothingly familiar to me. One thing I really miss about my old home is how I lived so close to "civilization" with every conceivable store within 5-10 minutes, but I also enjoyed the idyllic scenery of rolling hills and pastures and farms. I didn't realize how much I need both. I rolled down our windows, turned off the air conditioner and turned up the "classic country" station. It felt good.

15 comments:

Mikki said...

What a fun way to spend the day!! I love baby cows, they'll suck your fingers if you let them.
I wish there was something like that around here. ;o)

Holbrook's said...

what an awesome day! All kids need to experience a little "farm" life every now and again!

K2 said...

I just want to tell you how enjoyable it is for me to read your blog. You write in an entertaining way and you write well. Your photos are the bomb and your subjects..I mean kids are so cute. I love being able to read about what you guys are up to. Hard to believe you were the little 12-13 year old I once knew..who is now a mom. I am so proud of the woman you've become. Have a wonderful day!

Christy said...

your pictures turned out so cute! it really was such a fun activity, we loved it.

Lisa said...

This looks like such a fun place to visit! I love the way you tell your stories. It killed me to see your kids in shorts and shortsleeves! Welcome to Houston, huh?

Zach 'n' Jack said...

AWESOME. I am green with envy. That looks so fantastic. I'm with you - country roads/SPACE lets me breath. I can't wait til the day we can move out of the city. I am a farm girl at heart.

Nicole said...

ok i love the way you write. you capture each moment so well with your descriptive word choice... it's like i'm right there with you. that and you're humorous too. i love the abort abort one, what a good big brother looking after his sis like that! :)

dixonfamily said...

What a fun day!! Beautiful scenery, the joys of farm life, animals, dirt, hay...it really doesn't get much better!! It makes me want to go home and smell some cow manure!

Anonymous said...

How fun!! I always love reading your blog. You are a PRO in every way- Great photos, great stories, beautiful characters... luv it! Thanks for always leaving uplifting comments on my blog. You always make me feel good. I feel really lucky to have you as a friend and I think the world of you!

Sean and Janet Eyring said...

Milking the horses! LOL, you do have city kids! We take our kids to Thanksgiving Point farms occasionally, for their farm experience.

Erin S said...

I love how you tell stories with your pictures. Your captions are so funny! What a fun day!

shakenbake said...

Your children are truly blessed to have you as a mother Tara. I too love reading your blog, and seeing your pictures. I think every time I visit here, I end up teary eyed by the end.

Lora said...

Tara I have a confession..I blog stocked you through christys blog and I'm so glad I did! You are so talented Your last post got me all teary and I enjoy all your photos! Thanks

Isaura said...

that oil ranch is a popular place, i've never been but here lots about it. your children are so cute. they look like good buddies. if you're into little side trips, you should take them to brenham. its a straight shot on290. it's a short and sweet little trip. along the way you can treat yourself to the outlets in fairfield ;)

Barbara said...

I took my boys to a petting farm this summer. They also had a cow to milk. I didn't really explain it to my kids. I was still nursing and didn't want to have all the questions. Both boys were a little wierd... Later when looking at pictures with elek I found out why...He thought they were making the cow pee!!!! I blogged it-you'll have to read it:)
Glad you had a fun day!