A weekend at Dixie

This weekend we got a last minute invitation to go to our friend Kristin's ranch north of here. The ranch is an hour and a half north, by Frenchman Lake in the Dixie Valley. It is a beautiful house built on 114 acres in the 1980s, completely off the grid, all solar power, no phones, no cell phones, no tv. The perfect place to take the kids to unplug for the weekend. The ranch is magic for the kids, they have so much fun!

Here they are the first morning going to check for eggs in the chicken house:

Micah, Hayden, Ella and Parker; no eggs this morning, but we did get one on Sunday morning!
Walking down to the pond for a morning adventure:
Playing on the rocks down by the pond:

The amazing Dixie Valley in the morning with the steam coming off the pond:
Looking for critters in the pond:
Parker and Hayden in the tent:
All four of the kids got along so well all weekend. At first they would come to us a lot looking for things to do, but after a while they bounce from one thing to the next and find their own fun. Sometimes they traveled in a group and sometimes they broke it up for some alone time. Lots of time on the swingset and up in the tree house. Then it was back to the bunk room to goof around. It is amazing to watch what kids will come up with when left to themselves to play. Here they are on the front lawn playing with bean bags:

The ranch:
The garden where we picked our lettuces and herbs for our meals:
Getting dirty on the side of the house:
Nothing like sliding in the dirt:
Dirty kids = having fun!

On our first hike to Moon Rocks:
We made it to the first level of Moon Rocks!
Parker and Ella at the top of Moon Rocks:
All the kids at the top of Moons Rocks, with the valley below:
Parker and Ella climbing out to the edge, making us moms very nervous:

Pals Micah and Hayden heading back down without us:
Time for a bath after all that fun:
Goofy faces!
Warm and cozy in their jammies, snuggled up on the couch after the bath. Still making goofy faces:
Making pizza:

Out back there is a firepit, so we had a Saturday night marshmallow roast:
Micah, Parker, Ella and Hayden all ready with their sticks:
Roasting:
The next day we hiked back up to Moon Rocks and took the long way through the meadow back home. With the help of the self timer we got a group picture:

A weekend in a beautiful place with no distractions, and the kids running around as they please, it was the perfect weekend.