Warm Springs Ranch

 A few years ago, Budweiser moved their Clydesdale breading facility to Boonville.  At that time, it was kind of neat to say that it was here locally, but other than pure curiosity, we didn't have much of a reason to go.  When it turned out that Avery became super interested in horses and simply loved being in their presence, we knew that we wanted to go.  It just so happened that Jackie's parents, Rick and Julie, were planning a visit to Missouri and wanted to go as well, and they were nice enough to include us in their plans.  We are so grateful to them for including us, and I'm ashamed to admit that I didn't even get a picture of them.  I did, however, get a few shots of Avery.  Here we are (one of the rare family shots) in front of the horse named Avery's stall.

It was so cute to see Avery realize that there was a horse with her name there.  She can recognize letters and knows which ones spell her name, so it was really amazing to see her make the connection that the letters there spelled out her name and that she shared that name with a horse.

A photo-op in front of one of the Clydesdales.  The entire tour was extremely interesting, hearing about the history of the horse team and of the breeding facility and seeing just what it takes to care for all of those animals.

Avery was a little apprehensive of the horses because they were so big...she wouldn't even tough them, and she's usually all about petting horses.

A cute picture of Jackie and Jason.  We are so grateful to have such great friends that included us in their plans.  And my apologies again for not getting any pictures of Rick and Julie.