Wood River

We finally made it up the Wood River road last weekend. On the way up there, there is a buffalo ranch so we got to see all of the buffalo!

Here's one of the chutes that the run off water has made...

We found these trees that had a thin cable tied to them, and it must of been there for awhile, because the tree has grown over the cable. Kinda neat.

At the end of the road, there is an old miming town, Kirwin. It was a booming little place in the late 1800's, early 1900's. Some of the buildings are still standing and they are currently restoring the town/area. This was the old mine entrance.

Look at all those dead trees:(

Dusty's 10th Birthday

I'm finding out that the older Dustin gets, the more creative I have to get for his parties. This year we did a big game hunt at the house. He invited a few friends and they brought out their bb guns, and Matt had hung pictures of big animals in the trees and bushes down by the river, so they went hunting! I think they all had a really good time!

This is Dustin's best buddy and his birthday is 2 days after Dusty's, so the party was a combined birthday for the boys!

I lucked out this year, Dusty said he wanted a "better then anything" cake and not a fancy, super decorated, time consuming cake!

I think this picture below really shows how much he is growing...no more baby face! He is becoming a young man.

State Shoot

In July we headed to Douglas for the state shoot. This year my mom and Ryan and Robin were able to come and cheer him on. Dustin did great...he placed 4th in the state! He was a little bummed because he missed getting a trophy by 10 points (or something close to that!). I'm really proud of him. Overall this year, he placed 2nd in postal, which is an online state wide competition, 1st in county and 4th in state!!

Our Visitor

We've had a problem with raccoons lately and the other night Colt was going nuts so Matt went out to see in hopes of getting a coon. He looked down the hill right next to the house and about 50 yards away was a black bear. He hung around down in the meadow for about 45 minutes...not really in a hurry to go anywhere. The kids thought it was pretty cool to get to see him in his own environment. He was just wondering around, turning over rocks and tree limbs, looking for food. Every once in awhile, he would look up to see what we were doing, then go about his business.

Only once did he think about coming up the hill, but Colt was quick and put the bear up a tree, then he came down and just kept wondering along.

Helping the neighbors

The other day we headed up the hill to go help the neighbors brand. I didn't get a whole lot of pictures, but did manage to get these...

I like this picture because Matt and Dustin are making the exact same face!!!!

School Play

The kid's put on a very cute music program for the parents this year. I can not express how happy we are that the kids are now a part of this school! It has been so great for them!

Dustin and his classmates performed a recorder concert. He was pretty nervous but he did good!

Memorial Day

The whole week before Memorial Day...it snowed :( Which wouldn't have been a big deal except we had planned a big BBQ and had about 50 people coming over. Luckily, the weather broke and it didn't snow or rain!!! The boys couldn't resist playing in the mud with their dirtbikes...

The men hanging out around the cooker...

Overall, it was a really good day! Matt did a great job on the briskets, we got to visit with friends, and it didn't snow!! These 2 little boys were so funny...I had to share this picture!

Letting Go

With our recent move, there is a lot more opportunity for Dustin to go to work with Matt. Dustin is loving this! Me on the other hand, am having an extremely hard time letting go of my baby. He is growing up so fast and if it wasn't obvious before, it is now. He's been helping with the cows, running the tractor (by himself) and spending alot of time in the saddle.

Here is Dustin and his new horse, J.R. J.R. is not necessarily a kids' horse...he has some get up to him. The other day he wanted to go ride in the meadows by the house, to look for horns. It was his 1st solo ride. (I could see him from the house, but he was out there alone).
I don't know why I am having such a hard time letting go. It seems like all of the 'what ifs' have consumed me. Needless to say, I am discovering why everyone says that raising boys could be the death of you!!

J.R. and Dustin do get along pretty good. He stands still and lets Dustin get on without moving around, which is a good thing when you see how Dustin gets on...he puts his knee in the stirrup then pulls himself up and hangs there until he can get his foot in the stirrup to swing his other leg over!!

Yet another stress causing thing...the dirtbike. Which he informed me the other day that he has outgrown this one and is ready for a bigger one! UGH!!! He wanted me to put this picture in...he was 'hill climbing' in the pens on the hills of crap! LOL. At least it was a soft landing!!

So if anyone has any advice for me as far as trying to relax and let him grow up...I'm all ears!

My new project

There is a bunkhouse over here at our new place which is nice...I will have room for company to stay!!! Although, it is in pretty rough shape...to put it nicely. So I have taken it upon myself to fix it up!

This is the main room...

The kitchen...

I figured that I would tackle the floors first. I have almost all of the ugly laminate ripped up...now I need Matt to help with the next step. I need to unhook the gas and plumbing and get all of the appliances moved out!

The sub floor is wood planks and so far they all look pretty good, so my plan is to sand and seal them! There is some water damage in the bathroom so I may have to replace that floor!

I can safely say that I am at the point of just looking at it and wondering what in the world was I thinking?!?! I figured that the floor was going to be the hardest...WRONG! It's been time consuming and hard work, but now I am really dreading the walls and the bathroom!! Oh well! It will be so worth it when I'm done!

I'm back...sorta

I took my computer in and got some bugs worked out, so now I am completely capable of blogging again!! Although, I am out of habit plus I haven't been really good at taking many pictures lately:( So...I now have a personal goal of getting family and friends up to date with us!! Stay tuned....