Horse Camp 2017
With summer moving along so quickly this year, we felt like we had to get our reservations in at Horse Camp before it was too late. We headed up to Minot the week before the Rally this year, and after seven hours in their carseats, Ellie and Jackson were surprisingly ready to help with the chores and get back into the saddle for an evening ride.
Auntie Darcy had riding lessons each morning and since her new corral and arena were across the cooly, that meant that Ellie had to be up early to help load horses. After patiently watching the lessons and helping scoop droppings or holding a horse when she could, she was able to get some time in the saddle.
With Ellie off doing horse stuff, that left Jackson to help Uncle Mark with the fencing duties that come with building a new horse ranch. He was more than happy to put his boots in the dirt and drive the tractor with Mom along the fence line as Uncle Mark tried his best to cover the posts with PVC pipes.
And when it got too hot we took to looking at other things like old tractors and rocks to go along with their new house plans. Even with my design and color background, I’m not certain we helped make any decisions as I forgot how difficult it can be to choose colors for a new house. It seems so permanent and sometimes hard to envision. Best of luck Uncle Mark!
We were able to send out some fancy dinner invitations one night during the week and were fortunate enough to see both of my grandmother Myrna’s sisters, Great Auntie Pat, along with Uncle Gayland and her daughter Lori and Great Auntie Irene who recently moved back to North Dakota from Oregon so she could be closer to Auntie Pat. It is always a wonderful treat to hear them share stories and memories with Ellie and Jackson.
It just so happened that the other side of the family had made reservations to stay a night. Colin and Annette were riding their motorcycle on their way through to Sturgis for the rally. It was fun to share our Campfire Picnic at Horse Camp tradition with them.
Horse Camp seemed to go way too fast this year and by the end of the week we had realized that I haven’t ever taken the chance to get in the saddle myself. So while around the campfire picnic, it was determined that Steph and I would get up early and go for a ride. It was such a relaxing time but my inexperience showed up a few days later and I needed a chiropractor when we got home. Guess I’m not cut out for bumping in a saddle.
Off to Camp Run-A-Muck
Of course we couldn’t go all the way up to North Dakota and not swing in and see Uncle Terry and Auntie Dorian. They have built such a beautiful cabin in a lake side community and they make the best pizzas on the grill. Usually it is nice and sunny at Lake Sakakawea, but we used up all of the hot weather putting fence posts up and went to the lake in the rain.
Even though it was pretty wet, we were able to get the golf cart out a few times. We took the dogs down to chase balls into the lake and then spent some time making memories down at the little park. Jackson and Ellie loved how high Uncle Terry could push them in the swings.
We had such a fun time in North Dakota this year and I am so glad that we take the time to go up and visit all of our family up there. Ellie and Jackson are already asking when we can go back and it was mentioned a few times that we could reserve our spot for two weeks next time. A huge thank you to Aunt Darcy and Uncle Mark, as well as Aunt Dorian and Uncle Terry for making us feel like we’ve come back home.
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