Cowboy Livin'

My dad has always been a cowboy at heart. Ever since he was a kid, he had a love of horses and the whole cowboy lifestyle. As soon as he and my mom had the money, he bought a farm in Wisconsin so he could finally have horses. We spent just about every weekend up there, and we loved it. As my best friend Meghan always reminded me, "How many kids in Chicago could say that they actually had a pony?!" We DID have a pony! And we loved Tony the Pony. The farm was such a significant part of our childhood. We LOVED riding horses and running free in the open air, discovering nature and getting dirty.
Eventually, it was time to say goodbye to that phase of life, and my parents sold it when I was 12 or 13. We will never ever forget it. I'm so grateful that they gave us that experience. So, now you have a little background on the cowboy blood that runs in the Wilcox family...On to present-day...
My mom wanted to do something special for my dad for his 65th birthday, and she hit the jackpot:

The DOUBLE JJ RANCH is in Rothsbury, Michigan. It has been around since the 50's. Actually, my MOM used to go there as a teenager with her friends!  Back then it was a much smaller ranch for teens and young adults. It was NOT a family resort. I googled an image and found this:

How fun does THAT look?!  (I'm kinda jealous, Mom!)

 Today, it is a family resort on a ton of land with a million options of things to do. They have an Old West town, horse back riding, rodeo, petting zoo, golf, indoor and outdoor water park, and camping, to name a few. I can't describe how wonderful of a place it was for our family of 19 (My dad's brother and his wife came too).

Let's start off with the accommodations: 

There is a hotel and lofts, I believe, but we stayed in the area that had campsites and log cabins. Our families each had a cabin to stay in, and we shared a common yard area with a firepit and picnic tables. It was all ours, which everyone loved. We could spend as much time together as we wanted, but if we needed a little break, we had our cabins to retreat to.  

Jammin' by the campfire

The kids turned into cowboys immediately upon arriving here. In fact, Jack was pretty much a cowboy for the entire weekend. From the moment he woke up, he'd put on his hat, grab his gun--the first time I let him play with toy guns...for some reason it just seemed less violent being a cowboy! -- and step onto our front porch to see who was awake and ready to play.  

It was so cute to watch them, especially since that was what my dad said he always played as a kid. 

Aren't these kids adorable in cowboy hats?! They should come back in fashion!

Even the girls joined in on the cowboy fun

 Next, the Old West Town, aka The Back Forty Ranch. This was right by our cabin, and it had so many things going on each day.

There was a craft barn, a pool and waterslide (outdoor), a general store, a restaurant, an ice cream shop, and great activities for everyone. The staff was INCREDIBLE. They are a very well trained, personable group, and they were not overbearing.

One of the things at the Back Forty was the petting zoo. OMG, some of the cutest animals were in this place. The kids (and I) could have spent hours there. It wasn't like a petting zoo you see at a fall fest. These animals are clean, happy and they have a lot of space.

"Don't mind if I DO eat your hat, Ryan!" 

Check out these baby Llamas! They looked like stuffed animals.  I wanted to take one home.

So did Alice...

She pretty much wanted to take every animal home.

And, as if the Back Forty wasn't enough, the resort also had an indoor water park to spend our time in.

It was not over crowded, it had plenty for the kids to do, and it was overall a great waterpark.

Next, the horseback riding. It was awesome getting back on a horse, and we got to bring Maddy and Hannah for their first trail ride!

It was so relaxing walking through trees that went as far as the eye could see. As my mom put it, they were so tall, they were "cathedral-like." The entire trail ride was relaxing and peaceful (we chose the walking trail...some of the others did a running trail, so their experience would not be described as calm and peaceful, I imagine). Whether we were walking or running, it didn't matter-We were all back in the saddle,

and our number one cowboy got to ride again...

Last, but not least, was the Pig Roast and Rodeo. We took a hayride to the event, which was an added bonus to the experience. The kids thought it was the coolest thing.

It was chilly, but still so fun and so memorable.

The cowboy play continued, of course

Everyone could participate if they wanted to. My brother and the older kids tried to get a ribbon off of baby bulls, Shane rode on a sheep (for like 2 seconds), and the younger kids got to try to catch a duck.

 It was a great evening. The cowboys even temporarily became bulls and bull riders after experiencing their first rodeo.

To sum it all up:

Believe it or not, we were only there for two nights. We would definitely stay longer next time, and there will be a next time. I'm sure of it. This was just too perfect of a place for us. I don't know if all families would enjoy it the way we did, but I can't imagine anyone NOT having fun here.
I will treasure the memories from the weekend, and I KNOW that the kids will never forget those unique experiences and the wonderful quality time spent with FAMILY.