Grocery Shoppin'

We just got home from Grocery shopping. Now that we live in the sticks, it turns in to a whole day adventure. We actually left yesterday and went in to Kiddo Numero Uno's T-ball game, then stayed the night in town and shopped all day today. BUSY!!!

It's amazing the amount of money we spend on groceries now. We used to go out to eat a couple of times a week when we lived in town, but the nearest restaurant is 15 miles away from our house, so we eat at home now. I also like to make sure the we are totally stocked up. I think we could eat for several months on the meat in the freezer and the canned and boxed foods we have. I would definitely miss fresh produce though!!

Is it just me, or are grocery prices outrageous now??

Fishin'

We took the girls out fishing last week-end in the canals on the ranch. What do you think of my husband fishing with a purple princess fishing pole?

After much negotiating, he finally let kiddo numero uno have a turn...


And they caught one, look at that monster!!


Kiddo Numero uno was paying close attention to what needed to be done. Got to get the hook out. The poor fish swallowed the hook...

She decided she was better at supervising then helping...


Looks like Daddy has it...


That was the only fish caught that day, but stay tuned for more fishing stories in the months to come. My husband loves to fish...

Awards and Appreciation

Thank you to Mud Ranch for the award up above. There is nothing I love more then knowing that there is actually someone out there on the other side of their computer screen reading about my daily drama. I really enjoy posting my pics and telling my story and I'm even more grateful when I know that there is someone actually reading it. So Thank you, Thank you, Thank you for the award.

I would like to pass it on to the following people whom I enjoy reading...Pony Girl this cowgirl posts the greatest pictures and I enjoy reading about her adventures with her boy. Terri Terri is also a great writer and writes about her daily life and her family. And then there's Meg over at Lucchese to Louis Vuitton she's hip and fun very fun to read. And last but definitely not least, there's Beth at Around the Funny Farm she writes about her every day life and makes me smile every day.

Our Story III

To read earlier versions of this post, please click one of the links below...

Our Story
Our Story II

So, the next morning, I woke up, got in the shower and got ready for church. I called one of my friends that I attended church with, and we made plans to meet up at church later. I didn't even think to mention that I might be bringing a boy.

I mean really what were the chances that he would...

1. Remember that he had agreed to go to church with me.
2. Actually call
3. Actually drag his butt out of bed early enough to get dressed and ready for church.

Needless to say, I wasn't counting on it.

You could imagine my surprise then, when shortly after hanging up with my friend, the phone rang again.

IT WAS HIM!!!

My heart raced and I got so nervous. I couldn't believe that he was up and actually calling me this early on a Sunday morning.

"Are you all ready?" he asked me. Are you kidding, I thought to myself. Now, I'm going to have to rethink what I was wearing, change my hair and get it all done and be ready in time for church.

"Oh, sure" I said. "I've been up and ready for quite a while."

"Great, you can come pick me up then, so we can go together."

"Ok, well let me finish up and I'll be right over."

Crud, I flew to the bathroom, plugged my flat iron back in and got to work. I ran back to my bedroom combed through my closet and changed my clothes. Then I ran down the stairs and out to my car.

The whole drive over to his house, my stomach had butterflies, and I was totally freaked out. I couldn't help but wonder if he would still be interested in me now that he was sober and we weren't out at the club. Would I still be pretty to him? Would he notice that zit on my chin? Would I still be interesting and fun without the liquid courage?

I picked him up and we headed to my church that wasn't far from where he lived. We made small talk, actually I made small talk and he sat in my passenger seat and smiled. The dude barely talked............. it was like pulling teeth to get him to talk to me.

"Oh great" I thought. "He's totally bored already and regretting that he's going to church with me."

I wish I could describe the feeling that I got when we walked in to my church together. After all of the nervous talking and butterflies in my stomach, there was a sense of total calmness after we entered the church. I finally felt peaceful and comfortable with this man standing by my side.

Looking back now, this was an omen of how our relationship would be. Me freaking out, and him being the quiet and steady support that I need.

I could tell that he enjoyed the service and when I suggested that we go to breakfast after church, he was all for it.

Again, we went to breakfast and I was my goofy talkative self and he sat quietly on the other side of the booth smiling at me and barely saying a word.

"Oh geez" I thought, "Does this guy ever talk?"

After breakfast I took him back to his house. I was going to go home and take a nap after being up so late the night before. I needed to do laundry and get ready for the work week.

I could tell that he was reluctant to get out of my car, but finally he said Good-bye and I left to go home. We hadn't made plans to see each other again, so I wasn't sure where we were leaving things.

I again assumed that, that was that, and we would see what happened.....

Last Branding

Today was the last branding of the season. There will probably be a few stray late calves that may need to be branded, but this was the last official BIG branding.

These are the hardest worker's on the ranch...


Best looking, too....


These poor suckers were just waiting their turn. Don't they look excited!!


This guy was actually really excited and decided that he didn't want to have a turn. He got really excited an chased off everyone who was in the pen with him. But the cowboys were more persistent and he still had to have his turn. He did make the day exciting for everyone in the pen though...


And how was your day?

Moving cows

The Ranch Foreman was at our house last week-end moving cows. He stopped by to say "Hi" and thank us for having him over the night before for our Big BBQ (read about it here). He was using Ace the horse my husband normally rides when they work cattle.


He decided that kiddo numero uno might like to have a ride on Ace, her favorite boy...


She wasn't quite sure about riding with Randy at first, and so Daddy decided that he would take her for a little ride around the field in front of our house.


Notice the fantastic riding clothes she has on. A summer dress with Nike's..........very stylish...


Ladies, there is nothing sweeter then watching your husband ride with your little girl safely tucked away in his arms. She was in heaven!!


She finally decided that it might be OK to ride with Randy. As long as she got to go for another ride she was willing to get over the shyness bug...


This is Ace. He's getting over his camera shyness too. Isn't he handsome!!


So Randy decided that kiddo numero uno should go with him to move the cows in the pasture beside our house. She was all for it. They set off across the field to gather the cows.


Here they are getting farther away. I was terribly afraid that she would freak out half way out there and need to come back, but she loved it and didn't have any problem leaving us to work cows with Randy.


They came back about an hour later. Randy was incredibly patient with her and only had to trot a couple of times to keep the group of cows together. He said that she was a little anxious about that, but didn't mind too much.


Notice she did change her clothes before they left to move cows in to something a little more appropriate.


Kiddo numero uno now thinks that Randy walks on water and is always looking for him, hoping that he will let her go with him again. It was the perfect day for her!!

I have to admit that my heart burst with pride and joy watching my daughter find her new love. I have always had a love for horses and now my girl has the "bug" too.

SLACKER

Ok ~ I Know............

I'm a total slacker!!!

I have been so busy lately, that blogging has just not been an option. Let me tell you what's been going down....

Last week, we planned a HUGE celebration for my husband and kiddo numero dos's birthdays. We had guests arriving Friday afternoon and staying through the week-end. The Big BBQ was Saturday afternoon and we had probably close to 40 people including kids.

Needless to say, I spent the week before the party cleaning house, and then this past week trying to clean house again. Parties are soooooooooooooo much work!!

We had a fantastic time though, the kids played all day. They jumped on the tramp, ran through the sprinkler, had a water fight, played in the tree house.....................they played HARD!!! It was a lot of fun!!

This is what you call Red Neck horse shoe's. Notice there isn't a really nice pit and that all these guys are standing in the middle of the pasture behind our house....


This was also somewhat of a house warming party as well. We just combined every reason that we could think of to have a party and turned it in to a REALLY, REALLY Big get together.

Originally, we were hoping that it would be a nice week-end for our friends from our old town to come out and camp out, but unfortunately none of them were able to make it. But my husband's Dad, girlfriend and her son came and my husband's friend and his wife from his home town came. Some of my husband's old co-workers and new co-workers and lots of new friends from our new town. It really turned out to be a great party!!!

This is Kiddo Numero Uno and her Papa...


This is my husband's Dad and kiddo numero dos, I mean Cinderella.......


Unfortunatelty, Kiddo numero uno ended up with the stomach flu Saturday night and puked every hour through the night. We changed the sheets on our bed at least four times and had to give her a bath in the middle of the night. Poor thing!! Then we woke up early to send off my husband's family.

Monday afternoon, I ended up with the same flu. BUMMER!! I was down and out for a couple of days and then had to head in to town for work.

So you see, totally busy!! I'll try to be better!!

Stay tuned, tomorrow I will be posting lots of pics of kiddo numero uno and her first time moving cows....

Rodeo Time

It's that time of year again. Time to dust off your boots (or clean the cow poop off in my husband's case), pull out your cowboy hats, find your fancy duds and head out to your local rodeo. Or not so local, if you're a true rodeo fan. There's just nothing like being out on a hot summery (is this a word) day, breathing dust from the arena and watching the cowboys and cowgirls perform their favorite events.

I personally like the rough stock events!!

We have decided to head back to my home town for the local Livestock show. It has a PRCA rodeo and horse races at the same time. I love this Rodeo!!!

It's a great opportunity to meet up with old friends and to meet new friends. Everyone usually has a fantastic time at the Rodeo. We like to get a beer and nothing beats a stock show burger on a hot afternoon.

This will be the first year we're taking the kiddos along too. I think they'll have a great time. There is a large carnival, with lots of games, greasy foods and carnival rides. Sounds like fun right??

Are you a fan of the rodeo season? Do you go as a family, or find a sitter for the kids? Let me know about your favorite summer activity.

Oh yeah, I did mention a couple of times that I'm a fan of the cowboys too!! There's nothing like a nice pair of Wrangler's!!!

P.S. This isn't my husband, but he has a nice pair of Wrangler's too. I'll try to get a picture and post it soon!!

P.P.S. My husband is hoping to start roping soon too, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that we can add this to one of my favorite events. He is very athletic, so I'm betting he could be very good at this sport and I wouldn't mind going to watch at all.

Advice

Just some advice for all of you. I learned this lesson the hard way, which seems to be how I learn all of my lessons.

If you're going to give your daughter a dark blue Cookie Monster cake........

You should expect dark blue and then green poop for at least a week.

And a stained bottom.

For anyone who eats the cake...

Just a little humor...

LETTER FROM A FARM KID,

Dear Ma and Pa,

I am well. Hope you are.

Tell Brother Walt and Brother Elmer the Marine Corps beats working for old man Minch by a mile. Tell them to join up quick before all of the places are filled. I was restless at first because you got to stay in bed till nearly 6 AM. but I am getting so I like to sleep late. Tell Walt and Elmer all you do before breakfast is smooth your cot, and shine some things. No hogs to slop, feed to pitch, mash to mix, wood to split, fire to lay. Practically nothing.

Men got to shave but it is not so bad,there's warm water. Breakfast is strong on trimmings like fruit juice, cereal, eggs, bacon, etc., but kind of weak on chops, potatoes, ham, steak, fried eggplant, pie and other regular food, But tell Walt and Elmer you can always sit by the two city boys that live on coffee. Their food plus yours holds you till noon when you get fed again.

It's no wonder these city boys can't walk much. We go on "route marches," which the platoon sergeant says are long walks to harden us. If he thinks so, it's not my place to tell him different.
A "route march" is about as far as to our mailbox at home. Then the city guys get sore feet and we all ride back in trucks.

This will kill Walt and Elmer with laughing. I keep getting medals for shooting.I don't know why.
The bulls-eye is near as big as a chipmunk head and don't move, and it ain't shooting at you like the Higgett boys at home. All you got to do is lie there all comfortable and hit it.You don't even load your own cartridges.They come in boxes. Ten we have what they call hand-to-hand combat training. You get to wrestle with them city boys. I have to be real careful though, they break real easy. It ain't like fighting with that ole bull at home

I'm about the best they got in this except for that Tug Jordan from over in Silver Lake. I only beat him once. He joined up the same time as me, but I'm only 5'6" and 130 pounds and he's 6'8" and near 300 pounds dry.

Be sure to tell Walt and Elmer to hurry and join before other fellers get onto this setup and come stampeding in.

Your loving daughter,
Carol

Happy Mother's Day!!!

To all of you beautiful women out there...

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!!

If only we had known what we were getting in to. How unselfish our love could actually be and how love at first sight truely feels. Looking back, I feel sorry for how many times I must have ripped my Mom's heart out, and how she just loved me any way.

It's a true lesson in life the first time you hear your babies heart beat, the first time you feel them move inside of you, the first time you see them and hear their first cry, the first smile, the sickness, the long nights with little sleep, the moment your heart drops when you first see them injured or hurt, or when their feelings get hurt for the first time. And it amazes and humbles me how each and every day my love for my babies gets stronger and how I never realized how my Mom must have felt this same way about me.

So, I LOVE YOU MOM!!!! And I wish each and every mother out there a wonderful Mother's Day!! Hugs to all of you!!!

We go a walkin'

Yesterday, the girls and I decided we wanted to go for a walk down to see the horses that are turned out down by our barn.

Kiddo Numero Dos was really excited to go. She just loves the horses!!

She hasn't quite figured out how to wear a skirt with shorts underneath. She's such a tomboy that she would much rather wear the shorts and ditch the skirt, so she just hikes the skirt up and pretends she just has shorts on... Poor thing, her Mom just lets her run around like that.

Kiddo numero uno was happy to go too. She brought along her bucket, just in case she found something out there that she couldn't live without. There are a lot of arrowheads out here, so you never know what you might find!!!

Remi decided that she would like to go too. She always gets stuck at the ditch though, she is convinced there's something in there that she might need to attack. Yep, that's Remi. She's grown a lot!! You might remember her from when we first got her (Remi: Love at First Sight)

She was a little bit smaller before.... Remember her???

We finally made it out to see the boys. They weren't quite as excited to see us as we were to see them. They were too busy eating their supper. This is Joey and Buck. Bet you can't guess which is which....Ha Ha!!

Buck decided to cooperate and give us a few poses, but he demanded payment in apples. I still owe him a few. And Joey, just wasn't interested in posing for us. He said that most models don't like to pose while they are eating. It makes him feel fat. Poor dude!! But he did say he wouldn't mind if I snuck him an apple or two either.

Joey is very jealous of Buck. He says that guy can eat anything and doesn't gain a pound. He doesn't take a bad photo either. HRMPH!!! Go Away, he says, so he can finish his dinner in peace.

Good Bye Boys!! Enjoy your dinner!!!

Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday to you!!!

Happy Birthday to you!!!

Happy birthday Dear kiddo numero dos!!

Happy Birthday to you!!!

I embarrassed to show you these since we are totally redneck and had to use strike anywhere matches for candles. That's what happens when the store in your TINY town closes early, and the next town is 50 miles away. Plus, I drove home from the town 90 miles away and wasn't going to go anywhere (hence the crazy hair on my girls).....we got home late that's my defense!!! And I'm stickin' to it!!!



Okay, I'm warning you....If you get grossed out easy, you may want to turn back now. This is really disgusting. I mean seriously, if you might get light headed and pass out, this is really something you don't want to see...........

Kiddo numero uno was pretty excited about the birthday cake too...




Hey, I warned you!!!

Guess Who's 2???

Kiddo Numero Dos

These photos are from last year's birthday. I will post later tonight with new pics from this year's birthday since I'm in town right now.... What a difference a year makes!!!!

Rock Stars

We went to kiddo numero uno's best friend's 4th birthday party this past week-end. The girls had a blast!!

They rocked out to all of their favorite music: Hannah Montana, Taylor Swift, Rascal Flatts, you get the picture.

Check out these future rock stars....

I just love this girl. I think I'll take her home to live with me. Actually, kiddo numero uno keeps telling me she would much rather live with her best friend then with her Mom and Dad. ***sigh***

These girls can really sing too, they know almost all of the songs from their favorite musicians. It was a lot of fun to watch!!

They also played outside for quite a while too... Please don't look at kiddo numero uno on the swing... nobody is teaching that poor girl to be a lady. We've lost all manners out on the ranch!!

These girls have been best friends since kiddo numero uno was 9 months old and made her best friend have her first belly laugh at 3 months old. I just love them!!

Pampered Chef

One of my new friends is a Pampered Chef representative.


I love Pampered Chef!!


I haven't bought Pampered Chef for years because I haven't been to any parties and didn't know anyone who sold their products.


So I put in an order with her just recently. It was a Mystery Hostess party where people placed orders and my friend drew a name out of the hat to be the Hostess. Guess What...???

I Won!!!!

YES!!!!!

I was able to order a few new products for free since I was the hostess and also received 15% off of my order. YAY!! There's nothing like throwing a party where you don't have to clean before, during or after the show and you still get all of the benefits!!

Here's what I got...


The Apple Wedger: I hear this is a necessity when you have small children........I'll let you know.

The Batter Bowl: I'm planning on doing some baking with all of this free time I have now. I'll let you know how that goes too.

The Adjustable Measuring Cup: Just because this looks fun!!

This is kiddo numero uno and my friends oldest kiddo. They were instant friends, just like their Mom's. It was GREAT!!!

Her kids are just as goofy as mine. We all get along great!!

They have been the most welcoming family and have introduced us to so many people out here in our new community. Again, just more blessings to count!!

Another Tag...

I've been tagged by Jamie at Bumps in the Road!

The meme is called Crazy Eights, so here we go!Here are the rules:

1. Each player starts with 8 random facts/habits about themselves.
2. People who are tagged, write a blog post about their own 8 random things, and post these rules.
3. At the end of your post you need to tag 8 people and include their names.
4. Don’t forget to leave them a comment on their blog and tell them they’ve been tagged, and to come back and read your blog for the whole story.

Here are my "Crazy Eights"

1. I graduated from high school when I was 17
2. I don't like "fake" people and try to stay away from them and any drama that they may cause.
3. My favorite drink is a creamcicle martini
4. I love to be tan, but don't have access to a tanning salon anymore, or the time to go with two little hooligans
5. I love to go camping with friends and family
6. I'm so anxious to start planting flowers here that it's driving me crazy. Cross your fingers for good weather for us!!
7. I once rode a mechanical bull (yes, I had a few drinks first)
8. I try to be sophisticated, but I'm a redneck at heart. Oh my!!

I'm not going to Tag anyone, because I think everyone I read is probably already doing this one.

Moving Cows

Good Morning...... The boys shipped cattle up to one of the BLM allotments yesterday and then drove them in to one of the higher pastures. Over all I think they rode for over 3 hours. This wasn't one of the longest rides, but a harder one.

This is my husband's horse Ace. I think he must be shy, because every time I try to get a picture of his sweet face, he turns his head (or we cut it off.......oops). Stay tuned, I'm determined to show all of you this dude's mug. He's special...........and I mean that in a good way!!

He's his trusty companion and the horses on this ranch work just as hard as the men. We have been waiting for some nice weather and free time to get the girls on a horse.

Kiddo Numero Uno is so anxious to start riding that she jumps up and runs out the door whenever Dad brings Ace in...

She already has the "bug"

We sure do love our new lifestyle and life in the country!! What an amazing set of new opportunities it has brought us. We have found new friends and the kids are already involved in activities in the community.

We feel so blessed!!

Toots

Toots, farts, passing gas, breaking wind, cuttin' the cheese, flatulent, flutter the sheets, heiny burp, let one rip. make a stink, poot, rip one, backfire, you get the idea....

Why is it that we are all so amused by the sound of tooting (this is what my girls call it). I can hardly type this without giggling. We all do it, and if you don't then you've probably had an upset stomach most of your life from holding it in.

I have sooooooooooooooo many embarrassing stories on this topic. I'll share a few with you today....

As I mentioned above, my girls call it tooting. So imagine my surprise as we are walking down the aisle in Target last night looking for a birthday present for kiddo numero uno's best friends birthday party, and my youngest daughter shouts

"TOOTIE"

"Mommy, I TOOTIE"

How do you explain to them that this isn't really something to share with everyone at Target. My face must have turned four different shades of pink then red. We quickly finished finding our birthday present and exited the premises.

That is not my most embarrassing moment though.

One of my most embarrassing moments was when just after marrying my husband, I fell ill. I had just found out I was pregnant and he had already moved to a different state to start a new job. I was supposed to be packing our home and he would come back on the following week-end and we would move the rest of our stuff and I would join him.

I called his Mom after being up all night in excruciating pain..................I was soooo sure I was losing our baby and didn't know what to do. She rushed my to our local emergency room and after several tests we found out that I actually had pancreatitis caused by a gall stone getting stuck in my pancreas.

Because I was pregnant, they couldn't do emergency surgery, so I was admitted to the hospital for what was to be a pretty long visit. Of course, after hearing just how ill I was, my husband hurried home to be with me in the hospital.

Six days later, the rest of my family had arrived. They were supposed to help us move the rest of our stuff to the neighboring state if I could only get out of the hospital. So as they are all standing in my hospital room trying to decide what to do if I'm not released in time, the nurse walks in and says "As soon as you pass gas, we can probably let you go ahead and go. Have you passed gas today?"

No, of course not, how in the world am I supposed to pass gas with an entire room full of people, along with my new husband who I had never farted in front of. Are you kidding me?

I never was able to pass gas. At least not while I was awake.................I was probably tooting like crazy while I was sleeping. Anyway, they did finally let me go and I didn't have to pack anything in our apartment, so it all worked out in the end.

Do you have any funny gassy stories? Do you and your family think farting is as funny as I still do? How immature of me!!!

P.S. I did have to have my gallbladder removed when I was thirteen weeks pregnant, but that's a different story for a different day.