Ornery get’s a year older!

When I called my mom from college I told her on the phone I had “found a keeper”. Still true to this day. Happy Birthday Lineman! I’ll get your cane for you! Ornery is as ornery does!

Hair today ~ gone tomorrow

Our dog, Koda puts up with a lot. He really does. On top of everything he puts up with the kids, he has been putting up with the summer heat for each of his 5 summers we’ve had him. He has a pretty and long coat. And ohhhh is it ever thick! Lot’s of undercoating on this guy. Well, Lineman told me we should shave him. He looks a little different now… The boys said he “looked as naked as a plucked chicken” But does Koda ever feel better now! He hardly ever pants now, doesn’t shed those clumps of hair, sleeps well and is just plumb crazy with excitement. You can bet he’ll look like a plucked chicken next year too!

Two of a kind

Remember I told you that I got to meet a blogger friend in person, in real life, face to face…  and she didn’t even run away screaming !  That was a relief.  It was really great to get to know her better and meet her family.  She also has three children.  Now she does have two girls in bunch so if I appear to be a bit more insane, loopy (oh let’s not go on here) it’s only because all my children are wild and crazy boys.  

Both of our middle children are pretty close in age, got along from the word go and, get this……  have the same name, Colter!  I asked where they got the name Colter because it is not a common name at all.  Turns out they named him after the same person we did,  the mountain man John Colter. 

So these two are either Double Trouble….    or…..

Twice as Nice!  

Either way it was so fantastic to meet this wonderful family and to have our little mountain men be best buds.  We can’t wait until we get to see them again!

Friday Photo Flashback ~ Stilt Races!

A little more flashback from the time we would spend at my mom’s B&B. Well, like I said last week, when it came the the B&B we had this in mind: work hard, play hard. We always did just that. There were three sets of handmade stilts at her place and we always put them to use.And our favorite thing to do was to have stilt races! Oh I loved stilt races! That’s Lineman there on the left with the red shirt talking to his cousin. I don’t think these two are even thinking about racing. More like talking about me and how crazy I am with all these ideas I have! So we would all line up on the hitching post and get ready. That’s me in the middle, I guess the long red hair gives me away. That’s Hanna from Germany on the left, and Lineman’s cousin, Wade on the right. I painted them colors one day. I guess I ran out of paint or steam because my pair obviously doesn’t match. I might have been known to try to push people over because it looks like I’m trying to knock over Wade there. But really I would never push someone over in a race.Ahhh! Victorious! It probably wasn’t too fair. I did have home field advantage. We also had “Stilt Fights” the winner being the person to stay on the longest. Man we had some great times.

Hey Lineman, next time you come home how about building some stilts!

26 of 52

First off, I can't believe week 26 is here! The half way mark! And for those of you that are on 1 or 2 or 15, keep up the good work. For those thinking about it, just jump in NOW with #1!

This family picture was taken on Sunday. I love looking at the the boys in my life!

And this picture, wow, what a surprise and a treat! I got to meet a fellow blogger, Alison. It was so cool to meet her and her family. My middle boy is almost the same age as her middle son. There is more to that story but I'll keep you waiting until Friday for that.

********************52 Weeks********************
Weeks is a year long challenge for YOU to be in a picture once a week for 52 weeks. We are always the ones behind the camera, this is YOUR chance to get out in front and be in the pictures with our family. We are glad you are joining this challenge. More importantly your family will really enjoy having you in the picture. Thanks for playing along! Oh, you can just jump in now with 1 of 52, you're not getting off that easy! Now go take a picture!**************************************

Teamwork

Early morning at the branding.  I loved the mixture of the smoke and the heat waves rolling off the irons.

Across the dining hall…

I had a wonderful weekend full of many highlights, thoughts, and bread to feed on in the coming days.

One thing I won’t forget was when I was sitting in the dining hall, just beginning lunch when I look up and who should walk in the door but this man…..Sigh… what a sight for sore eyes. They say absence makes the heart grow fonder. I guess our hearts should be plenty fond. I say absence makes a momma of three go crazy, but that’s a whole nother story!

We enjoyed our time together but too soon and it was time to say goodbye, time to go our separate ways. Me to go back home and he to go back on the line….

My thoughts exactly!

Sunday Sunsets

Double Trouble

When these two capable cowboys entered the pen at the same time, it was almost like the race was on. Each was turning their rope at the same time. Looking at a calf at the exact same moment. And each getting a calf at the exact same moment. What are the chances of that?

Friday Photo Flashback

My mom had a Bed & Breakfast in the Bitterroot mountains of Montana for about 15 years. For several years in a row Hanna would come and stay for a month or so working for her room and board. I always made it a point to be at the B&B for a lot of the summer too. Hanna is from Germany and she was a young teenager at the time. This was still before I had kids and I liked to goof off a lot (okay, I still do). We went through those summers on the principle of work hard ~ play hard.
This horses name was Charlie. He was really a pain in the butt! We were working on training him and he did learn to put up with a lot! We would try to mount from the rear, stand on him, running mounts and whatever we were risky enough to try. When Hanna left that summer to return to Germany my mom made her a T-shirt that said "I broke Charlie and Charlie broke me". Those were some fun times I tell you!

25 of 52

Just a simple walk enjoying the outdoors in our soon to be new town. Can't wait till we get moved! It will be outdoor, outdoor, outdoor fun! Oh, and it will be home, sigh...

PS~ I'm heading out of town for the rest of the weekend so I'm sorry I won't make it to all your blogs right away. I'll check 'em out when I get back =)

********************52 Weeks********************

Weeks is a year long challenge for YOU to be in a picture once a week for 52 weeks. We are always the ones behind the camera, this is YOUR chance to get out in front and be in the pictures with our family. We are glad you are joining this challenge. More importantly your family will really enjoy having you in the picture. Thanks for playing along! Oh, you can just jump in now with 1 of 52, you're not getting off that easy! Now go take a picture!**************************************

Earnin’ their keep

In a hay field ~ The Chronicles of Buck ~ Part Three

Feel free to catch up on part one and part two of Buck’s story.

As we drove away from my mom’s house the dust rolled off the dirt road and the tears rolled down my face. I couldn’t imagine leaving him. Buck just had a way to your heart. All my thoughts were on him and the times that we had already had together.

He was with us from nearly the beginning of our relationship. He went everywhere with Lineman and me and he was such a huge part of our life.

He was always there at feeding time, always riding in the truck. Always ready for play and hugs.

He graciously put up with me dressing him up. I even cut up an old pair of Wranglers, cut a hole for his tail, attached suspenders and, and, and…. and man I feel bad about that now! One last picture of the three of us. It was time to say good bye.

As if he knew, he sat back and waved goodbye to us. I think back to that day we said good bye to him. I wonder if he was sad? I wonder if he had any clue what was about to happen? I wonder if he thought his days of being dressed up were over. I wonder if he thought about his future. The rides. The hikes. The sticks, oh the sticks. The killdeer he would chase. The people he would meet. The eggs he would eat.

So, as I drove down that country road, the tears flowed down my cheek.

But looking back at it now, to see it more clearly, to see how great his future would be, to see how he would add joy to my mom’s life, to see he would have a life not many dogs have, I would have been crying, but it would have been tears of joy.

To be continued…

The best way.....

The best way to start a branding?

Why, with donuts of course!


"Hey, you wanna pass me another donut please?"

Sunday Sunset, Scenery.....

I couldn't decide.... it's not exactly a sunset, so maybe it's scenery, I'm confused.

This was the evening before the branding, I drove out to find where we would be working at.

Bring 'em in boys

We got going as soon as we could this morning. A wonderful lady that Lineman works with invited us to her and her husbands branding. They were just bringing them in as we got there.

Bring 'em in boys!


Burning off a little energy before the pen was full of cows and calves.


There were about 200 pair that came a runnin' in.


Time to sort out the calves and get the show on the road!

Friday Photo Flashback

This picture was taken at our home in about '91. My main loves in high school were FFA, animals and sports. I remember taking these three cuties to school in a pillow case. Not sure why I took them to school but I do remember all the kids flocking to me as soon as they saw these cuties.
Here is my mom with one of the little darlings.

You can see more flashbacks by clicking on the Friday Photo Flashback button at the top of this post.

24 of 52

Sorry I didn't get around to many blogs last week. The reason was I was out of town seeing lots and lots of family!

The first leg of my trip I went to my mom's were we had FOUR generations together. This picture here is at the Billings Zoo. Yes, there is a zoo there. It's more like a large park to walk around with a few animals. It is very nice and relaxing, a nice place to take a picnic and just stroll. You will see a frustrated Grizzly, but that's another story. From there it was off to the in-laws side of the family. I was SO incredibly happy I was able to make it over there! It was for my nieces high school graduation. That's the awesome graduate there in the middle! Way to go!!! When I handed off the camera to someone else I had thought the other parents were going to get in the picture. We are going to have to get them used to "getting in the picture" ! So, I guess I look out of place in this picture with the grandparents, grandchildren, and me. But hey! At least I was in the picture, right?

********************52 Weeks********************
52 Weeks is a year long challenge for YOU to be in a picture once a week for 52 weeks. We are always the ones behind the camera, this is YOUR chance to get out in front and be in the pictures with our family. We are glad you are joining this challenge. More importantly your family will really enjoy having you in the picture. Thanks for playing along! Oh, you can just jump in now with 1 of 52, you're not getting off that easy! Now go take a picture!**************************************

Dr. Pepper Girl

I am finally back from my trip of running all over Montana. It was a wonderful trip. The boys and I got to see lots of family, it was awesome!

How about this Dr. Pepper girl! This is my niece.. Love this shot!

23 of 52

I was playing a little catch with my oldest here at my mom's house. Then I wanted a picture with my middle boy but he was NOT cooperating. What else is a mom to do? I just pick him up and wrestle him and tickle him, that always does the trick!

********************52 Weeks********************

52 Weeks is a year long challenge for YOU to be in a picture once a week for 52 weeks. We are always the ones behind the camera, this is YOUR chance to get out in front and be in the pictures with our family. We are glad you are joining this challenge. More importantly your family will really enjoy having you in the picture. Thanks for playing along! Oh, you can just jump in now with 1 of 52, you're not getting off that easy! Now go take a picture!
**************************************

Traveling around

This is my grandfather, whom we call "Abuelo". I left our home Monday to come to my mom's because he was coming for a visit. Can you believe he is 88 years old! He even picked up my oldest son at the airport. By the way, my son weighs a whopping 75 pounds. Abuelo didn't realize he had picked up his great-grandson until we told him later that night. He said he was just so excited. I guess so!

Sorry for the lack of posts, it's hard to keep up during traveling.