The National Christmas Tree Comes to Cody...

This year the National Christmas Tree that is put up on the White House lawn, came from Wyoming. The tree and the convoy that was with it, came through Cody on Sunday. Of course, being a small town, it was a BIG deal.....

I have come to the conclusion that no matter what is going on in town, there is ALWAYS a mounted posse. Seriously...what do horses and cowboys have to do with a tree?!?

The banner on the side of the trailer is signed by hundreds of people! I'm thinking that the tree is going to every town in the state!

I thought it was funny that the tree had "secret service guys"! Not really...but there was about 6 U.S. Forest guys with ear pieces and sunglasses. Don't know why I found that so comical, but I did! There was one very serious looking guy that took his job very serious, that I wanted to get a picture of, but I was afraid that he might confiscate my camera!! haha

We didn't get to see the whole tree because it was inside a trailer, but there was a small window at the back where you could see a few branches. They already had a few lights on the part that we could see!

The kids thought that this was a pretty neat experience. In school they made ornaments that will be put on the tree once it gets to the White House. They also signed the banner that was on the side of the trailer...

Halloween 2010

This year I had a beautiful princess and a respectable soldier! We did the downtown thing with some friends on Friday, then went to a small neighborhood on Sunday.

For some reason, Dustin's pumpkin didn't light up very well, so we had to put a flashlight inside to try to get a decent picture.His pumpkin has 3 different faces carved out. It's kinda hard to see in the picture.

Riley Jo did a bear....a very angry looking bear. It turned out really neat.

Our new tradition....

I think that Dustin looks forward to AFTER Halloween more than Halloween itself. He loves to destroy his pumpkin. This year we had a contest, Dustin and I were aiming for one pumpkin, and Matt for the other one. We each had our .22's, and the first one with the totally destroyed pumpkin was the winner! Needless to say, Matt won!

The finished product...

We definitely get our money's worth when it comes to pumpkins! Next year Dustin doesn't even want to carve his pumpkin. Instead he wants to keep it intact and shoot it with one of Matt's bigger guns so it REALLY explodes!

Riley didn't want to shoot any, but she had fun too. She just waited patiently until we were done, then went around and picked up all of the empty shells. What is it with little kids and .22 shells?!?

Hectic....

"Hectic" seems to be a good word to describe my life right now. Just when I think things are starting to slow down, something new pops up. I don't have too many new pictures. I could kick myself....Dustin tried out soccer this year and found that he really enjoyed it. I did not get 1 single picture of him playing. I kept saying..."next game"....well, that never happened. He missed a couple of his games because he was sick, then he missed the very last game because he wanted to help wean. So...I guess there's always next year!

We have had a beautiful fall. Nice and warm. These pictures are from the last group of cows that they weaned and it was on a Saturday, so Dustin got to help. Of course, he had a great time. He got to spend most of the day in the saddle.

This year I took on the cooking job during weaning and preg checking. 1 month of feeding a crew of hungry guys kept me on my toes. Although since we had the warmer weather this year, I was wishing to be outside helping them more often instead of being in the kitchen! Oh well!

It has just hit me lately how much he has grown. He isn't really a little kid anymore. He can now reach the top of the horse's head and he is able to get into the saddle without a lift anymore!

About a month ago, Dustin caught a nasty bug and was home with a fever for a week. Since then he hasn't been able to kick the sinus yuck. The other day he went to a birthday party and picked up a stomach bug. Poor kid has had a rough year so far. He stayed home from school on Monday and when I checked on him in the afternoon, he was delusional and hallucinating. He did not know where he was or who I was. LITTLE bit of panic took over.....ok... I freaked! 30 minutes later we were at the ER where after a few tests and x-rays, it was discovered that he has phenomena. His little immune system just couldn't handle the last bug he caught. 8 hours, 2 bags of saline drip and 2 bags of antibiotics later, we were home. I'm glad that we found it and he is on his way to recovery. He's already looking and feeling much better! Hopefully he'll be up and running in time for Halloween!

My Sunday...

I had such a good day yesterday. First thing in the morning, I headed up in the airplane to buzz some cows!! The weather was incredible so we decided to do some sight seeing. We headed over the Greybull River and over Cater and Ferguson Mountain. It was so beautiful. The colors were so bright and vibrant! What a GREAT way to start my day!

The Greybull River

The foothills of Ferguson Mountain..

We really didn't see a whole lot of wildlife...only saw 2 bull elk fighting but I wasn't able to get a picture of them.

The edge of Carter Mountain...

After we landed I went to pick up the kids then Matt called and said he got his elk. So a neighbor took a 4 wheeler up to help pack it out and we went and got the pickup and met them at the bottom. Again, we got to see lots of bold color up there during our drive!!

Matt got his elk!! I'm happy to report that the bears didn't get Matt...although he said that he saw a paw print right next to one of his footprints and it was bigger then his!! So I'm glad that he got his tag filled and will not be going up there any more!

When we got home, the kids and I went to pick some carrots and beets (that's all that is left!) from the garden and Riley wanted to go feed the horses some carrots so she headed over to the barn with Matt. I showed up a few minutes after them, and much to my surprise, I see her sitting on Barney!! Yay Riley Jo!!

Heading home after one great day......

Pink Camo & Princesses...

My baby just turned 7!!! Holy cow...where did the time go?!? This year for her birthday she requested a pink camouflage cake with toys on top. The challenge was finding girly toys that go with pink camo. After hopelessly searching, I finally just decided to put a tiera on top. Doesn't really match, but it's a her cake.

Instead of a big birthday bash, she wanted to have a couple of her friends over for a slumber party. While that option maybe be easier on the checkbook, it's not that easy on mom and dad. I think I would much rather do a party somewhere and after a few hours, everyone goes home!!!

Her 2 favorite gifts were a hula-hoop and a pillow pet. A PIG pillow pet, of course.

Hard to Believe

It's hard for me to believe that I am the mom of a 1st and 3rd grader. Dustin is halfway to middle school! Time has gone by so fast.

Dustin is turning into such a young man. Which most of the time is a good thing, although at times I wish he would just relax and be a little boy. He is enjoying school so far this year and is going to give soccer a try this fall. Of course he is still going to do archery thru 4H again and is really looking forward to it starting.

I've really noticed a physical change in Riley Jo this year. It seems like she is losing her baby looks and becoming quite a lovely young lady. She has become very girlie which is a new concept for me. She always wants to paint her nails and have tea parties. This year for her birthday she is having a slumber party during which we have manicures and pedicures planned as well as jewelery making...wish me luck! As for school, she likes it. She is such a social bug.

I got the following picture and I think it shows a little bit of her baby face. It's the only one. In all of the others, she looks more her age. I'm thinking that this may be the last picture of her looking like a little kid rather then a young lady.