Thermopolis Trip

A couple of weekends ago, we took a little road trip to the Thermopolis Hot Springs to meet up with some friends. It was a really good time and the kids had a blast with their friends! We will definitely be doing this again:)

There was a big water slide inside and the kids really liked it. Although, the more you weigh, the faster you go, so poor Riley Jo was literally pushing herself down the slide.

We couldn't have asked for a better day weather wise. The sun was shining and it was warm so we even ventured to the outside pool to get some rays of sunshine. There was also a slide out there that the kids liked!

Spending time at Bear Creek

It's calving season here at the Hoodoo Ranch and my son and husband couldn't be happier. They have a really nice calving barn at one of the other ranches about 40 miles from here, so that is where they calve out the heifers. Every weekend, Dustin is up at 5 with Matt ready to head over to Bear Creek. The past couple of weekends Riley & I make up some goodies for the guys and head over the hill to hang out.

This is how Dustin kills time between checks and during slow days....

My son is such a goober :) he insisted that I take a picture of him in his "working mode"....note the seriousness...

This is Rileys' transportation of choice....

Dustin gets to spend a lot of time in the saddle which makes him one happy boy! Here he is riding Barney. They seem to be a nice match for each other:)

Dustin is learning all sorts of things. He knows what to watch for and can tell if a cow is close or not, he can tell what all the different #'s on the ear tags mean and has even tagged a few of the calves, but I think his favorite part is getting to ride. (and shooting his bow in the barn during down time)

I'm so proud of my boy :))))

The highlight of Riley's day was that she got to see a calf being born from start to finish. I was trying to prepare myself for a lot of questions, but she loved it. All she said was "that was cool!" She didn't even think that it was gross or anything! That's my girl :))))

My baby girl

Hard to believe that my kids aren't babies anymore. It feels like just yesterday I was rocking them to sleep in my arms. I don't know where all the time has gone but I'm very grateful for the time that I have got to spend with them.

hmmm...

Sometimes I have to wonder about my son. He collects spent .22 shells and the other night he thought that he needed to clean them. He got a little paintbrush, a few cups of water, and even managed to convince Riley that it was a very important job, and therefore got her to help!

Jello Pond

Riley Jo had to do a 100 day project for the 100th day of school, and she wanted to make Jello ponds with Swedish fish in them. She had to count 100 fish and put them in the pond. We thought that making individual ponds would be easier for the teacher and kids, so that's what we did! They turned out pretty neat, although I recommend eating them fairly soon after they set because the fish get all slimy and funky if left in the jello too long.

Finally....

My mom got the kids a Wii for Christmas, and Matt & I got them some games. She didn't make it up for the Holiday, and I wasn't paying attention when they grabbed the gifts from us, so the kids were totally confused why they were getting the games ;) My mom was able to make it up over the New Year weekend, and with her came the Wii !!

The monster truck game....

Riley Jo likes the sports and she is good at them. No one has beat her at bowling or tennis yet!

She is so funny to watch while she plays. She really gets into the action and does funny poses and jumps!

Quality time with Nana

Of course Riley Jo had to get out her Easy bake oven and her and Nana made an abundance of baked goods....

Dustin even talked her into going outside and trying out his new bow...