Of course we had to visit our favorite place in Vegas, the Horses4Heroes Ranch at Tule Springs. This is where the kids spent a year learning to ride before we left on our big adventure. They were excited to ride again.
They've acquired many new horses and animals in the petting zoo,
including another alpaca and two burros, which I personally love.
Journey looks so big next to Roger now. She was just two, and shorter than him when she first started walking him!
Even Momma got to ride!
After riding, Sydney took us to feed the ducks and geese and then for a hike.
We met her new baby bunnies.
As we were leaving we spotted a family of peacocks with tiny little babies. We jumped out of the car so the kids could see them and ended up playing with some bunnies that run loose there. I always love seeing all the peacocks that live here, and I was shocked how many bunnies live here now too. They especially like to come out at night and sleep near the horses.
Later that night we returned for the community campfire, joined by some of our friends.
We hope to attend quite a few of these events when we return for the winter.
Asher with his friends, Zack and Kiera.
Our truck was still in the shop when it came time to leave, so we ended up delayed in Vegas a few days. This gave us an excellent opportunity for the kids to have their first summer camp experience! I didn't even know that you could attend just one day or one week of camp, but the camp at Horses4Heroes is very flexible. The kids attended two full days (8-5:30pm) and LOVED it! They are still talking about it weeks later. We're so grateful that Sydney invited them to camp!
Jett and Ava attended with them!
They spent time with the horses and even learned vaulting! They rode a horse while standing on their knees! I wish I had seen that! They played games, went on hikes, played with water balloons, learned more about horses, groomed the farm animals, and did "all kinds a stuff" as Asher told me. They really loved their camp counselors too. What a fantastic experience for them!
I have to admit, Daddy and I were a little confused on what we should do given a full day without children to care for. The first day we kind of ran all over doing errands, but the second, we spent the full day playing tourist at Red Rock Casino. After the breakfast buffet we read by the pool and swam without two 4yr olds hanging onto us. I'll admit it was very relaxing!
The next day we brought the kids and our friend Robyn back to swim before heading out of town.
Asher thought the 100+ degree weather was a bit chilly after swimming. Ha!
Afterwards we dined at Lucille's with Richmond and Robyn, our hosts for our
Vegas visit. All of us enjoyed spending time with them and seeing Bella again.
