Blue Water Ranch {Part One}

My friend Lizzy invited us to her family ranch last week. It was our one and only family vacation this summer and I can confidently say it was the best time my "city boys" ever had. They're still reminiscing about every little detail. It really is boy heaven. We drove to Phoenix on Tuesday and stayed with Lizzy at her parents house--even squeezing in a date night at La Grand Orange for the best pizza I've ever had in life. Then we left early Wednesday morning for 4 days at Blue Water Ranch in New Mexico. 

~DAY ONE~

First things first. Cowboy up! 

Lizzy's parents came with us for the first few days, which was wonderful because her parents are the sweetest. "GrandMary" as they call her, let the boys pick out boots, hats and bandannas to wear, then Russell gave us a quad-tour of the ranch. 

 The boys stopped for some bathroom breaks. Naturally. 

 The ranch was even more beautiful than I imagined. I could've spent all day taking pictures of the little colorful flowers peeking out of rocks and cactus. The skies were incredible too. God's beauty was everywhere.

 Zane was totally in his element. That kid. Jumping, running, screaming, playing. He was finally free to be wild! 

 Later we followed the kids as they wandered around exploring. We picked some zucchini and carrots from the garden. Had veggie chili and cornbread for dinner. Relaxed on the porch swings and made grand plans for what we were going to do the rest of the week. 

~DAY TWO~

We woke up Thursday morning to horses snacking on grass by the window. My kids freaked. Indy sat by the window yelling "horseeee, horseeeee!" 

 Sean lead a little work out sesh with me and Lizzy Lou--which was awesome, but I skipped out on his workouts the rest of the week. I figured chasing kids was sufficient for the week. 

 Plus, there's always jumping on the tramp...a surefire way to pee your pants. 

 We loaded up some ginormous zucchini and headed out to a field to make a zucchini tree. Pretty much the coolest target ever. Exploding veggies is the best. 

 Sean gave us all a safety brief and then showed us his skills. I haven't shot his new glock yet but it turns out I'm pretty bad A. 

 Daysen has shot before, but this was Brenner's first time, with Daddy's help of course. Sean finished off the bullets and we headed back to the house. 

 Elizabeth's mom wrote this poem and Lizzy hung it in the kitchen. It's perfect.

 Sean helped Russell with odd jobs around the ranch. I'm pretty sure he loved it. AND I'm pretty sure Sean is hotter that Tim McGraw and the hottest guy I ever did see in a cowboy hat. 

Little boys in cowboy get-ups turns me into mom butter. I need a ranch. 

 Then finally the Smith's arrived and all was well in the world. Indy chased Parker around the rest of the trip. I can't believe how much he loves "Carker." It's so cute I can't stand it!

Sean played the geeeetar and sang us lots and lots of songs on the ranch. It was one of my most favorite things. 

 We spent the evening down in the barn on the swings. The kids played hard and then we fed them, bathed them and put them to bed so we could stay up late playing "would you rather" and laughing until we couldn't breath.