Montana Traffic Jam

As I was driving home from work Monday afternoon I come across this:



Yes, that is our neighbors.  Yes, those are cattle.  Yes, it is in the middle of the road.  If you haven’t heard of this before, I’ll tell you now; this is a TRUE Montana traffic jam!  So there I sat, in my car, talking to our neighbors as they moved their herd to another pasture.  Only in small town USA would you be able to do this!

This week has progressed as any normal week does.  We still haven’t gotten any rain and are hoping that one day SOON we will be blessed with some.  Wesley and I are busy with finishing up last minute plans for the wedding reception here in Montana.  The Texas reception is complete to a “T” thanks to my Aunt Sandra, Mom, sister, and Katy (thank you, thank you, thank you!).  But, there are a few last minute things I must finish up for the reception here.  The invitations went out today (YAY!) so hopefully we’ll be getting our RSVP’s back in the mail soon. 

Last night Wesley and I were playing a couples 20-question game (it's a legit game...I found it on Pinterest!) with each other and one of the questions was “What was the funniest moment you’ve shared in your relationship so far?”.  Wesley was so prepared with his answer for this one.  You see, for him, this was a hilarious story.  He quickly says “the frying pan falling on your head”!  We both look at each other, stop what we’re doing, and just start laughing uncontrollably.  Let me tell you the story – this happened on our move from Texas to Montana.  The U-Haul we rented was so full that we couldn’t open the back door for fear of everything falling out on us.  Then, we packed the rest of it in the Durango…to the TOP!  We couldn’t open any doors in the Durango, either, except the driver & passenger doors.  There was so much stuff we couldn’t even lean our seats back to recline for a quick rest here & there.  When we wanted to rest…we had to do so sitting straight up (uncomfortable?  Absolutely!).  So, it was soon after we crossed over the Texas state line into Oklahoma.  I told Wesley that I just wanted to rest my eyes for 20 minutes or so because I was just flat exhausted from the drive (which, by the way, was a good 14 hours into our drive).  So, we are petering along in the middle of the night, and I finally let myself rest my eyes. 

That’s when it happened.  We hit a bump, and a frying pan (which we still have) comes flying from the hole in which we stuffed it into (above my head behind my seat on top of all the other crap we put in that vehicle) and WHACKS me square on the top of my head!  Of course I go into cry mode and start crying and Wesley starts comforting me immediately “oh baby I’m so sorry are you ok?  Where the hell did that s**t come from!”.  Then, as I lift my head from crying, we both bust out laughing and continued to laugh about that the entire trip!  We couldn’t even make that story up if we tried.  It was quite an adventure for us, and that was definitely a moment we’ll laugh about for the rest of our lives!

Somehow, the Fair survived the week without us I survived the week of Fair without being there.  I really missed it, but I know Wesley and I will get back there to enjoy it as soon as we can.  I was glad to see the Thursday sale held up quite nicely, but then again y’all are getting lots of rain down there so the livestock market is holding strong there. 

This evening Wesley and I are taking a nice horseback ride thru the calves to make sure none of them are getting sickly (with dust pneumonia or a cough).  'Tis the season to doctor sick calves!  We’ve made it halfway thru this week, and I know we can’t wait for the rest of the work week to be done and the weekend to come!    

Every year in September...

Those of you who live in Washington County, Texas know what time of year it is – Fair time.  To say that I’m upset that we’re not there to celebrate in fine Washington County form with the other eighteen million – ok, that was an exaggeration – people that come out to the Fair every year would be an understatement.  I’M DEPRESSED!!!  No fair food, no friends to congregate with, no great Texas Country Music Concerts, no livestock shows & sales, no VIP room, no introducing Wesley to the great happenings of the WCF and getting to spend every minute of it with the man I’m madly in love with!  No one from Washington County with whom I speak to regularly (so that’s my Mom, sister, and Katy) is to even remotely speak of the word “Fair” to me.  Seriously!

For those who don’t know this about me I’ll give you a little background on me & the Washington County Fair (we go back).  I started showing livestock when I was 9 years old (goats to be exact…Wesley you can stop laughing now [he finds it hilarious that I showed goats.  And yes, we have my grand champion picture hanging in our office]!), ended showing heifers and steers, then came back and volunteered at the Fair as soon as I graduated high school & could no longer show.  So for 17 years the fair has been a part of my life, and I have always taken this week off to enjoy all the festivities the Fair had to offer.  In 2009 I was voted in as Chairwoman of the Junior Livestock Auction (The Thursday market livestock sale at the fair).  I held this position for 2010 and 2011 before moving here to Montana.  My involvement in the fair spiked dramatically with the acceptance of this position, and I loved every minute of it!  To see the youth of Washington county succeed at the sale, and to make the buyers, who come out to our sale and sit for hours on end to purchase the livestock, happy, is something I enjoyed greatly!  There is not another place on earth that has a county fair as Washington County, and I really miss it.  Wesley and I are definitely coming down for the fair in the next year or two, and I am SO excited to show everyone the wonderful angel in my life and have him experience what we, as Washington County natives, know is the best time of the year!!

On another note – meet the new addition to our ever expanding brood!   

(For whatever reason I can't make the picture rotate...sorry!)

  

This is Blaze!  He’s about 4 months old and is as precious as ever!  You can’t see it in this picture, but he has 4 white socks on his feet.  He’s adorable!  I’ve been working with him when I have the chance – walking him and getting him used to things around him so he knows he can be comfortable and relax with both Wesley and myself. 

And, I thought I’d show you what Jiggs has been up to lately…

Yep, that’s him in Wesley’s shorts.  He didn’t find it funny, but we got a laugh and few pictures out of it!  Please excuse my outfit, I didn’t know he was going to feel the need to constantly be near me for his photo ops.

Have a fabulous week!  And do NOT remind me of the Washington County Fair!  :)

Pictures from Recent Happenings

I had time this morning to come update the blog with some pictures from around the ranch recently, and from when my parents were here back in August...hope you enjoy!

On the way to Deadwood - you cross thru Wyoming so of course we got a picture at the Wyoming state line!

About to head out to go gambling in Deadwood!

Mom & Wesley hitting up the slots!

Mount Rushmore in Keystone, South Dakota

Birthday Party Wrap Up

Wesley’s birthday was a success.  I managed to get home with balloons and a birthday banner, and get them set up & the house decorated before he got in from work that afternoon.  The look on his face was priceless and totally melted my heart!  I told him I’d fix whatever he wanted for his birthday supper, and he wanted a good, down home, southern fried meal (my kind of guy!).  I made him chicken fried steak, fried okra, French fries (yes, we like fried food every now & then) and pecan pie for dessert.  His parents came over to help us celebrate that evening so we all enjoyed the southern inspired food together!  He got lots of goodies for his birthday.  I got him 4 new shirts and 2 new pairs of bell boots for his horse.  My Mom & Dad got him a nice pair of splint boots for his horse, and his parents gave him some moo-lah!  We all had a fun evening together and can’t wait to spend all our birthdays together!

Saturday I spent the morning cooking dinner for everyone that was out at the ranch helping us wean our baby calves.  I made pork loin, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, rolls, a salad, and cake for dessert.  After dinner Wesley and I headed in to Miles City to pick up some groceries & purchase a new gun for the upcoming hunting season.  We didn’t spend too long in Miles City because we both were pretty tired, but we got done what needed to get done.

Of course Sunday was spent sighting in the new toy & testing it out.  We spent the majority of Sunday outside on the ranch with each other.  We both agree that we have the best time just the two of us together out in the middle of nowhere.  It was so much fun!  Sunday afternoon we went to the ranch & fed & watered the baby calves we just weaned as well as the baby horses in the corrals (we have 4 baby horses in the corral; all are about 4 months old and just adorable!).  Then we came in the house & watched some good ole Sunday night football. 

I’ve decided that Monday’s come WAY too quickly and we should boycott the day of Monday.  Anyone else on board?  Our weekends seem to go by so fast these days.  Its already the middle of September (well, almost)!  Where does the time go?  Our wedding up here will be in less than 2 months!  YIKES!!!  I need to get on the ball!  (Well, those of you who really know me know that I have mad organizational skills & have everything almost tied up for the wedding.  However, there are a few loose ends that I need to take care of)!

Have a fantastic week!

Happy Birthday Babe!

Today is the love of my life and husband-to-be’s birthday!  So, for those who don’t want to listen to me dedicate a post to him, this might be the appropriate time to take a bathroom break; because this one is dedicated to my Wesley.

Its been a year since Wesley came into my life and what an amazing year its been for us!  I couldn’t imagine my life without him.  Words cannot express the amount of joy he has brought into my life.  We’ve experienced so many new and exciting things together and I can’t wait to continue making memories with him for the rest of our lives. 

Anyone who knows our relationship knows that Wesley and I are constantly laughing with each other, making up quirky inside jokes to tell one another at inappropriate times (which others find rather annoying, but we find it funny), and we always remind each other how much we love one another.  Yes, we are “that” couple, and we are perfectly happy just the way we are.  Wesley makes every day an adventure for us and our relationship, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.  There is never a dull moment in our home, trust me!  He’s my rock, my protector, my biggest fan, my love, and my everything.  He always has a funny joke to tell at the right time to cheer me up, or a soft place for me to land when I've had a hard day.  He listens and gives me the best advice, and will do anything in his power to make sure I'm taken care of.  He works from sun up to sun down to provide for us and make sure we have the best life we possibly can, and I always remind him of how much I appreciate everything he does for us and our future.  He's truly amazing, and an angel...my angel from Heaven. 

I won’t go on & on about how wonderfully amazing the man I'm marrying is because I’m sure no one else wants to read about our love story (except us, of course - :-)).  But just know this, my Wesley David, I love you with everything I have and am a better person because of you.  You’re amazing, and I’m so blessed that God brought you to me so we could spend the rest of our lives laughing just as hard and making memories just as memorable as we do now.  I love you very much and I can’t wait to celebrate your birthday with you this evening!