Tami Proffitt: Camping at the ranch

The first day we got to the ranch, we packed a picnic lunch and went straight to our favorite place.

We call it our swimming hole! Our complete redneck version of a pool. I didn't exactly plan on having the kids to go swimming and by this time I should know whenever we go there, it's a matter of minutes until the kids are getting undressed to swim in their underwear.

After the big rain we just had, the Greenback creek was flowing and the water was the clear. Every spring, the kids are begging to go and catch the tadpoles. It was even better this year, the kids were able to see the hundreds upon hundreds of frog eggs.

Cash typically is reserved about just getting in. The picture below definitely captures how she is thinking it through, considering all the risks and making sure there isn't anything swimming that would freak her out.

My parents were able to drive up for a couple days to see the property. My dad visited years ago and hasn't seen all that my husband and father in law have done to the property to make it for what we call glorified camping. Seeing how happy they were was priceless and then hearing my mom repeat over and over again that she was in her element.

My dad retired a little over a year ago and finally living the dream of the retired life. Having this picture of him and Easton makes me smile BIG.

My mom grew up on a farm in Washington, in the middle of nowhere. She went to school in a one room school house with the same handful of kids from kindergarten to high school….in one classroom. Seriously mind-blowing the life she lived growing up.

The farm she grew up was definitely the rustic way of life. Her meals were from the animals they hunted, chickens they raised and what nots. She's always been a little more tomboy than girly and still rarely wears a dress. We walked a mile down Greenback creek, which feeds into Roosevelt lake. She shared with the kids about the same little creatures in the creek that she had in the creeks on her farm. Needless to write, the kids were in heaven.

Those string looking things…frog eggs.

Easton's worn through a few pairs of boots, mostly from walking through the creeks in total boy adventure and then having the leather shrink up. During the creek walk, from behind me he asked if those shoes will shrink if they get wet. I told him no and then minutes later I found him traipsing through the creek. Aye aye aye, I had to remind myself that's a boy right there and lives for getting muddy and wet, putting holes in all of his jeans.