Trailwest Day Two: Cowboy Day

Monday, we awoke at 4:30 am mountain time. Thankfully, we were scheduled for an early morning ‘Wrangler Breakfast.’ We rode down to a beautiful spot with gorgeous view with 4 other families for a delicious meal cooked over the open flame by cowboys. The menu consisted of sausage, omelettes and ‘flying french toast.’ The cowboy cook was a real toast slinger. He served it up by flinging it 20 ft away where it had to be caught on a syrup, ‘stick'um’’ laden-plate. Overapplication of the syrup was called 'bear bait.'

Needless to say, there was as much toast on the ground as in our tummies, which was a real pity because it was delicious! Of course, being 4 years old, my children’s favorite part was eating Trix and Fruit Loops for the first time.

After breakfast there was a no-horse rodeo, which consisted of several fun family games. (Yes, that is my sweet girl being pulled on a shovel by her Daddy.)

That is me, about to get VERY dizzy from running around that horse 10 times headdown in the name of public humiliation, err, family fun.

That's my little R running as hard as those legs will carry him in a relay race.

We then hit the pool for a bit before a cookout lunch in gorgeous patch of aspen trees with all the other families. After lunch, the children went to Kids Club while Daddy & I took a trail ride on horseback. Then, the children took a much needed 2 hour nap before dinner. Somehow, in the midst of all that I was able to read 30 pages of The Reflective Life by Ken Gire and take 2 showers—an amazing treat for a mother of little ones!

Daddy was able to spend some one on one time with R playing foosball and dominos. Our mission to find a fun-filled, family centered vacation seems to be underway! After dinner, the children want back to Kids Club while the adults ventured 20 minutes over to Frontier Ranch to sit in on a club full of 500 high school students from across the country. It was so surreal to be back there at this place in my life. It was also unbelievable to see surburba, inner city and handicapped high school students gathered in one place and hearing the Gospel. What a beautiful picture!

We returned back to Trailwest at 12:30 Eastern time and I was shocked to find my children all still awake watching Toy Story with the leaders. Thankfully, we had bathed them and sent them to Club in their pjs, so we were able to put them straight to bed while they excitedly chattered about pillow fights and making a marching band all around camp “thwu all da buildin's so loud and noisy 'cuz dere were NO gwown-ups!” It is the little things tht thrill them, isn't it?