Dustin's Big Ride

For the past 2 years, Dustin has gotten to skip one day of school in the spring to help gather cows for branding. Seeing as they do things very different here then what we're used to, he was a little bummed that he was going to miss out on his little tradition. Although the other day he found out that there was a big ride coming up and he BEGGED me to let him go. (of course, he wouldn't be able to go to school that day!!)

The day of the ride, it was chilly and it rained ALL day. He thought I was nuts when I told him to wear his union suit and coat that morning, But he was glad he listened!

They had to move the cows about 20+ miles and I heard that Tater did great. About 3/4 of the way into the ride, he decided that he was cold and there was a pickup and trailer not too far off, so he said he would wait in the pickup and have it warm for all the cowboys when they got back!! Overall, he put in about 7 hours in the saddle and not one complaint!

When he got back, he informed me that the horse he rode was NOT a kids' horse. Very proud of himself. I'm proud too....just can't believe how fast he's growing up!!

Girl Scout Ceremony

The other night was the Girl Scout Bridging ceremony. Riley Jo was so excited even though she wasn't bridging to the next level. She has one more year of being a Daisy, then next year she will become a Brownie:)

The only thing that her troop had to do was say their name and their favorite part of Girl Scouts!

She did great!

Team work

Officially, the kids are grounded and have been for sometime now, but the weather this past weekend was absolutely gorgeous and Matt and I wanted to head over to the barn. Being the nice mom that I am, I told the kids that they could come with but they had to do chores, no playing. Amazingly enough, they kept themselves busy all afternoon doing all sorts of jobs!!

Needless to say, we all had a great afternoon and we were very grateful to get out of the house and enjoy the nice weather! It has been a long winter!

Prairie Chickens

This morning the kids and I went with a neighbor to see the prairie chickens drumming. It was pretty neat and the kids seemed to like it. There wasn't a whole lot of them out, I guess their mating season is almost over, but we were able to see about a dozen of them or so. The kids really liked the "drumming" sound they made and how big they puffed up their chests.

Random pictures

I have discovered that these white cows don't produce any super cute calves, but I came across this one and thought he was kinda cute. It looks like he has a white belt all the way around him.

I went to work with Matthew the other day and we had to check some fence...it was my bad fortune that the fence ran UP a big hill..(nothing like climbing a monstrous hill to make me realize how out of shape I am), but while resting at the top of the hill, I got to enjoy a pretty nice view. This is Buffalo Bill Reservoir down the South Fork.

Dustin and Matt were wrestling the other night and Dustin somehow came up with the crazy idea of Matt giving him a tattoo with a tag pen...It finally came off about a week later :)

Easter

This year Matt volunteered to work on Easter seeing as how we don't have any family in the area and no particular place to go, so we loaded up the Easter baskets, the cooler and the grill, and headed over the mountain for a fun filled day of egg hunting!

Riley Jo's Play

Riley Jo had her very first school play the other night, and she did awesome! It was more like a music program then a play, although she did have 2 lines to say with another little girl.

At the last minute before Riley and her friend were supposed to say their lines, her friend got severe stage fright and broke down in tears and REFUSED to say her lines. I was a little worried that Riley Jo might freak out because she was all alone....here she is thinking about what she should do....

And here she is saying her lines!! She did AWESOME!!! We are so proud of her:)