Our hearts- Our ranch

"To be successful, you have to have your heart in your business, and your business in your heart."

~ Thomas Watson, Sr.

My heart is a part of Scrappin' on the Ranch on a number of levels. Many reviews of the ranch are coming in as of late due to partnering with AirBnB, VRBO, and Minnesota Vacation Rentals. The one that came through today brought instant tears to my eyes,

“I was in need of a place quickly and Jolene responded immediately! I checked in the very next day and it was far better than I expected. I myself live in the country and this was very remote, private, quiet, within 20 minutes from a large city and BEAUTIFUL! If you are looking to get away from the city with friends this is the place. Yet, close enough to go to town with a great nightlife. Jolene is very well respected in the community too, as I quickly learned from the locals. When you are in a small town and people ask who you are and you mention where you are staying they welcomed me immediately when I mentioned Jolene.”

I am not just invested in Scrappin' on the Ranch; I am invested in our community. I love the area in which I live as it affords me with a prime location to raise my two boys - on 40 acres of beauty and acreage to learn, grow, relax, and make memories as a family. We do truly love to share it with others well. At the end of Stone Roller Road (SRR-which I refer to it as a lot) there is an adopt a highway sign which reads, "Native and Transplant Pickwickians" Yes, I am a transplant, but I've never been treated differently by the natives in our valley. We truly have a community, "a Pickwick family" and I am proud to be a part of that.

When I referred to my heart being a part of Scrappin' on the Ranch on a number of levels - I love sharing it with my own two boys and our friends. The past two days we were able to do just that, which does not happen very often.

"It has been said that everlasting friends go long periods of time without speaking and never question the friendship. These friends pick up like they just spoke yesterday, regardless of how long it has been or how far away they live, and they don't hold grudges. They understand that life is busy, and you will always love them." - Unknown

This quote defines my friendship with Amy. I met Amy when I was a sophomore in high school when my dear

mother and father allowed me to play JO volleyball in the Twin Cities (often times driving me up to two hours one way). Amy and I were on the same team and bonded instantly on a teammate level, but more importantly as friends. We have had our share of individual/personal ups and downs in those 20 plus years, but what she means to me has never changed.

One of the neatest things is to watch is our children together. They see each other once a year (just like we have for a majority of our 20 plus years of friendship) and they pick up like they left off. In the past two days those kiddos built numerous forts, went on numerous creek hikes, shot BB guns, played in the lime, fed the cows, played bean bags, fished, sat at the counter and laughed, sat around the bonfire, hiked Garvin Heights, took selfies, had a ranch sleepover and I know I've missed something - what matters is we were together and we all had so much fun.

The ranch will go back to just mom, Riley and Logan tonight....well Scotch, Lucky, Little and Jolleen will be there too, but my heart is still happy & full - we are able to share our ranch with both strangers and friends/family - we are fortunate.

In the past two weeks the ranch has hosted guests from California, Connecticut, Indiana, Wisconsin, Friday guests from Washington arrive and friends -Amy and her children from Lino Lakes, Minnesota - the ranch is in my heart and my heart is in the ranch - strangers, friends and family please don't ever doubt how much you all mean to me/us and how much effort, time, sweat, thought and sometimes tears (there were lots of those today) that we put into "Scrappin on the Ranch" to make it just like "home" for all of you.