The Jersey

The boys had so much for Friday’s Homecoming for our town schools. It was red and black day and the kids were excited for wearing their school colors. I couldn’t believe my ears when my oldest said he was going to wear his football jersey to school on Friday.

I mean, wait just a second. Wear a football jersey to school… on a Friday? I’m totally flashing back to when I was in school and all the football players wore their jerseys on Fridays. But my son? Wait just a second.

I feel like I blinked and he is growing up so fast. What’s with that anyway? Sometimes I look at him and I see the little boy he used to be.

Then sometimes I look at him and see the nice young man he is turning into.

I might as well count down the days until I hand him the car keys.

And I’ll enjoy every single one of them!

An early taste of winter

I woke up yesterday morning to a winter wonderland. It was just gorgeous. The stillness, the quietness, the snow on the leaves and branches.

We got about 5-6 inches and it just made my heart sing to see it.

I’m pretty sure I’m safe to take down the hummingbird feeder now.

I loved the look of the bright red crabapples against the white fresh snow. There’s someone else that really likes these crabapples…

This little buck was pretty happy to be digging in the snow for the fallen crabapples.

This doe had other plans. Maybe she was too good for digging in the snow. Maybe she was too smart. Maybe she was out to teach that young buck something. She didn’t once dig her muzzle in the snow.

She repeatedly stood on her two hind legs, reached up and grabbed for the crabapples. Sometimes she would get one, most times she just jerked the branch hard enough the crabapples came tumbling down and gently lay on the snow. That’s one smart doe.

I for one really enjoy winter but I know a lot of people don’t like winter one bit. But when your morning starts out like this one, how can you not enjoy the beauty of it?

Like it or not, winter…. she’s a coming!

Homecoming Parade

The kids got out early on Friday for the homecoming parade downtown. I couldn’t believe my eyes when I drove downtown to get a parking spot. There was actual….. traffic. Seriously! I counted 15 cars in a two block radius.

It was absolutely freezing for the parade. It was in the low 20’s with a biting wind. That is my oldest son’s friend on the left. Sometimes I can close my eyes and picture them as teenagers already!

A friend painted the boys faces as we waited in the bank lobby for the parade to begin. There was quite the gathering in the bank!

It was a great little parade in spite of the biting cold. There was the usual fire engines, tractor, band and class floats. And then there was this…..

It was a bag pipe band. In kilts. Burrrr. They came down from Canada to be in our little parade.

And then an old car came by and I felt like I was transported decades back. It was a great parade. Even greater to get back in the bank and count all that loot.

Candy loot that is!

Friday Photo Flashback ~ College Days

I’ve had fun looking back at the old college pictures lately. I also just convinced my old roommate Willow to get on Facebook so we could keep in touch better. We were assigned roommates and I couldn’t believe my luck, we turned out to be wonderful friends! We always had lots of fun together.

Up at a cabin in the mountains. Lineman taught me how to shoot a bow there. By the way, if you want to shoot a recurve bow, start lifting weights now cause it ain’t easy!

We were VERY good students *chuckle*. Look, we studied so hard we fell asleep while we were studying. I have to laugh because this is in Lineman’s dorm room. I was always with either Lineman or Willow wherever I went!

Willow is an amazing horse woman and it was great to share that love and passion of horses.

We might have goofed off a little bit here and there.

But you knew that about me already, didn’t you.

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I just finished giving the boys each a hair cut. I had been cutting their hair occasionally the last few years, but since moving to this little town I've starting cutting everyone's hair on a regular basis. It's a fun time and I enjoying doing it for them.

They always ask for a 3 and a 5, doesn't get much easier than that. Plus I paid for the clippers the very first day!

********************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!
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Shoot!

The bigger boys headed to the gun range a few weekends ago. Lineman wanted to get the guns sighted in. My oldest? He just wanted to shoot!

It’s really annoying to watch Lineman shoot. He hits his target, reloads, hit’s his target, reloads, etc., etc.. Meanwhile I’d still be lining up the cross hairs. Men. Whatever!

Our oldest has his own Crickett .22 rifle that he loves to shoot. But they were working on the bigger guns this day. That rifle there is still just a .22, not like he is sitting behind the 7mm. Hey, I don’t even like the 7mm. It’s loud. It hurts. It’s loud. Oh, and it hurts! And it’s expensive to shoot nowadays.

First they were shooting at the paper target to sight the rifle in. After that they had a little bit of fun.

These spinning targets are a blast. Ha ha, blast, get it.

Hello? This thing on?

Well, you hit the target, hear a ping and then it goes swinging around and around. The oldest is pretty good at it already. Lineman, he’s annoying, just as I said before. He hits the target and while it’s spinning he reloads and fires before it ever has a chance to stop.

Men.

Boys.

Yikes, I have all boys....

I better go to town and get more ammo.

Pure Joy

Little Man and I went to a park we usually don’t go to. He had so much fun. Watching him play and laugh and giggle….

It was pure joy.

For him…

and me.

Friday Photo Flashback ~ The Truck…

Remember this picture from last week and I told you I had a story or two about this truck?

Oh that truck! Lineman named him Teddy, for Theodore Rosevelt, “rough ridin’ son of a gun” he would say. I remember driving around with Dwight Yoakum blaring on the radio. I think we wore that tape player out! The truck had a 454 in it and boy did it sound good. He remodeled the inside of the cab with cool switches for the radio, CB, lights, you name it. To say he liked that truck would be an understatement.

This is all of course while we were just dating in college in Bozeman. My friend and roommate, Willow and I had to go pick up some horses in Butte. He said, “Just take my truck”. **Gulp** Take his truck. I guess I should have known by that how much he cared for me already. Because he really, really, liked that truck. Willow and I had a blast on that trip, in spite of one of the horses falling down in the trailer coming down Homestake Pass outside of Butte (he was fine). We talked to truckers the whole time on the CB.

Lineman converted the truck to propane a few years earlier. One night during winter we were driving around when he noticed he was low on gas (propane). Apparently I, yes me, had driven it earlier in the day. Not like you can just go to the corner Town Pump and fill up. We headed toward the place he got fuel….. only to run out of gas several miles away. In winter. He ran all the way there while I sat in Teddy. He ran back carrying a small propane tank. To this day I am NOT allowed to get my tank under a half a tank. Ever. Especially in winter. But I do, don’t tell Lineman.

Not long after that Lineman’s aunt passed away. He said he would take my Ford Ranger and leave me Teddy to get better gas mileage. He also said there was a minor problem with a propane valve and gave me instructions on what to do to start the truck.

Well, I went out one evening to start his truck and I had to keep doing the little trick and it wouldn’t work. I tried it one last time and turned the key. I heard a pop. Not good I thought to myself.

Then I saw a little bit of smoke.

Then I saw more smoke.

They I saw a big ball of flame!

Ahhhhhhhh TEDDY WAS ON FIRE!!!!!!!!!!!

I ran into the dorm, called campus police… and they put me on hold. Seriously. About 5-8 minutes later the fire department showed up…. but it was a huge ball of fire.

I talked to Lineman later that night and he could tell something was wrong. I told him about Teddy and he said he was glad I was okay.

The truck was dragged over to the football stadium and this is what he saw when he returned from his aunts funeral…..

The firemen had taken an axe to the dash and there was no way a college student could come up with the cash to fix it. He sold the truck to a buddy for parts…. it had a brand new transmission in it.

I burned Teddy to a crisp and yet Lineman still married me.

But he gave me a concussion and I still married him. But that’s a whole nother story!

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I've been pretty under the weather so I'm using a pic from 2 weeks ago. My mom and I love to golf when we get together. This pic was taken inside the golf cart on a cool bridge. What a blast we had. The leaves were turning, the course was wonderful and the company superb.

********************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!

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