An Unsolicited Review

Howdy Bloggy Friends! We returned from our trip yesterday afternoon even though we weren't really ready to leave yet! I had hoped to blog from there a bit more than I did, and to post some videos and pics of all the fun stuff we were doing, but I was a bit too busy "doing" to be able to be "filming"! I got a little bit, but I haven't even checked to see how it came out. Whenever I was trying to video the kids doing stuff, Dave wanted me to take him back down the slide, and Ben wanted to do other stuff, so he couldn't watch Dave for me while I filmed. I'll load the video here in a minute and see if there is anything worth posting. I did manage to "Twitter" a bit, so if you follow me on Twitter, you knew pretty much what we were up to for most of the weekend.

You may or not remember that last year I had kidney surgery the day before we left on this trip. My mom and dad kept David, and I spent most of my time in the room while the kids participated in all the activities, and Ben played golf. But I have to say that even then, we loved the place! They were in the process of adding a new waterpark the last time we were there, but since it wasn't completed, they allowed the kids to participate in all the activities for free...it's usually $25/day. They dug for arrowheads, made necklaces out of the ones they found, had a shooting contest, rode ponies, and tons of other stuff. And in the evenings, they had different types of entertainment. One night it was singing and making s'mores by the campfire, and the next it was a roping demonstration. I managed to pull myself off the couch for the roping, and it was a fabulous show!

This year, the waterpark was all finished, and we spent literally all.day.long. in that water. Ben, Benji, and Maddie went golfing one morning while Jon, Dave and I went to the water park. Then, when they golfers returned, we had lunch and then I took Dave back for his nap while Ben kept the rest of them at the waterpark. I think the waterslide was the biggest hit all around, but I really enjoyed the "floating river" section. It was relaxing and fun all at the same time.

We were there for a "company trip" with Ben's office. They take everyone on a trip like this every summer. We've been to lots of different places over the years, but I think we've all agreed that we like The Flying L Guest Ranch the best. After our day in the waterpark, we had a big dinner in a private dining room and we had a contest to see who could come up with the best company song, and the winner would receive $100. (There is a long-standing joke about making the "new guy" sing the Company Song...but we never actually had one.) Anyway, Benji and I found a karaoke version of "Crazy Train" and we wrote new words and we all sang it at the dinner. Even Ben sang with us, and Maddie and Dave danced and played air-guitar. (Jon opted to sit in the audience and try not to be too embarrassed.) There were three other entries in the contest and they were all hysterical. In the end, they just couldn't pick one winner, so they gave $100 each to two of the entries and $50 each to the other two. I'm constantly amazed at how creative people can be. Those songs were hysterical! We were one of the $100 winners with our song. :)

After dinner, I took Dave back to the room to go to bed, and Ben took the rest of the kids back to the pool for some water-volleyball. After the volleyball was finished, they all headed to the on-sight Saloon for some karaoke time. I totally missed it, but both Benji and Maddie sang. Benji sang with some of the guys from the company, but Maddie sang all by herself. I wish I'd have sent the video camera with them, but we didn't know they were going to do anything but play volleyball. (They drank smoothies by the way...in case you were concerned, lol!)

On our final day, Benji, Maddie and I all went horseback riding after breakfast. They've never been before, but it was a lot of fun, and they both want to do it again next year. Jon is still nervous around horses, so he stayed behind with Ben and Dave. Maybe he'll join us next year. Unfortunately, we won't all be able to go together for a few more years, because the minimum age is 6, so someone always has to stay behind with Dave.

The only thing I would say in warning to anyone who is planning to go to The Flying L themselves, is to be sure and ask for one of the newer rooms. Ours last year was an old cinder-block duplex with only a small dorm-fridge, tiny microwave, TV, and a window unit A/C. The kids liked it just fine, but it wasn't all that comfortable for me recovering from my surgery, and if you have allergies, that window A/C will make them go crazy. This year we were in a newer duplex and it was 1,000 times better. We had a full kitchen, central A/C, and even a back patio. It was really nice and extremely comfortable, and even though we didn't spend a whole lot of time there (since I wasn't confined to the couch this time) when we were all there watching movies, or whatever, we loved it. In fact, we loved it better than our real house. :) All the kids wanted to move there, or at least bring that house back with us and live in it! There were also have some more "hotel-type" rooms, but we've never stayed in those, so I don't know what they are like, although I've heard they are nice.

So, we're back now, and it's time to unpack and catch up with the laundry and all that yucky stuff! I did manage to get a little bit of good video of Dave and Ben in the wave pool and on the waterslide, and a little bit of Benji on the "Frogger Path", so I'll let you see that now....while I'm off doing housework...ugh! Please note that the music on the video is just what they were playing there at the waterpark and it gets louder and softer depending on how close I was standing to a speaker at the time. :)