Last week we wrapped up a fabulous week long vacation with
my parents that was filled with lots of fun & exciting things! They arrived on Thursday the 15th
early in the morning, and we were non-stop from the time they landed until the
time they took off again a week later.
First things first, we took them to the Montana Fair in Billings. While this fair is smaller than the
Washington County Fair (it's true if you can believe that), we still had a fun time
looking at the animals, enjoying fair food, and watching random shows. We wrapped up our day in Billings with a trip
to the store to stock up on favorite food items for the week, then made the
trip home back to the ranch. As soon as
we arrived I wanted to get Jiggs & Jakey from the ranch so we could
introduce Jakey to my Mom & Dad. So
while Wesley & Dad unloaded our things my Mom & I went to get the
boys. They were SUPER excited to see
their grandparents & even more excited to see that they had brought them
all kinds of good treats & toys to play with! They were in grand-dog heaven! We rounded out the evening Thursday by
throwing some meat on the grill, baking some potatoes, enjoying each other’s
company.
Friday we took a tour around the ranch. We took them all thru the burned portions of
the ranch that they saw when it was just done burning last year. They were amazed at the progress the land has
made. It looks amazing thru there. After that we went to the Amish communities
Country Store to get some of their wonderful homemade goods. We were even able to score some homemade bread
& cinnamon rolls that were still warm & fresh from the oven! It was great.
While that took up our morning, our afternoon was filled with 4-wheeler
rides, sitting on the patio enjoying the view, and Wesley and I smoking some
delicious ribs for supper that evening.
Moo Moo & David joined us that evening for supper & it was
really nice to get to have everyone together that evening before we were off to
enjoy Wyoming & South Dakota for the remainder of our vacation.
Saturday morning we got up early, dropped the boys off at
the ranch, and set out for Sheridan, Wyoming to show them King’s Saddlery and
the quaintness of downtown Sheridan.
Wesley and I love Sheridan, and we knew my parents would feel the same
way. After making a tour thru the
Saddlery, Wesley and Dad headed to a downtown watering hole while my Mom &
I did some shopping just the two of us in Sheridan. We finished off our Sheridan trip with a huge
lunch at Sanford’s, then we were off to South Dakota. We arrived in Deadwood, SD about 6:30 Saturday
evening, and we were all exhausted from the day. We did manage to get a little gambling in
that evening, but for the most part we all turned in early so we were well rested
for the next day.
Sunday morning we ate breakfast together, then we headed out
to see Bear Country which is located outside of Rapid City. It is like a drive thru zoo of sorts, with
lots of interesting animals that are found around this part of the
country. We saw bears (of course!), elk,
deer, buffalo, mountain lions, and artic wolves just to name a few. It was a 2 ½ mile drive thru the park, and
after that we were able to park & go to what they call “Baby Country” where
you can see the little bear cubs play together.
They were adorable! I think we
all stood there for at least 30 minutes watching the cubs interact & play
with each other. If one was running
around, they would all run. If one
climbed a tree, they would all climb the tree!
They were adorable. I got some
good pictures of the cubs along with the other animals from the park that I’ll
be sure to share with you! After we got
back from Bear Country the 4 of us met on a rooftop porch that our hotel offers
to watch the reenactment of an 1880’s gunfight that happened right there on the
streets of Deadwood, and we couldn’t have had a better view. It was wild to think that back then these
very gun fights happened all the time, and pretty cool to watch one reenacted
again for us! That evening we met my
parents for supper at a steakhouse they have in Deadwood that we are quite fond
of, and just as any other time the food didn’t disappoint this time either.
Monday we met my Mom & Dad after breakfast to do a
little gambling before we decided to go play a competitive game of Putt Putt
Golf not too far from our hotel. Wesley
and I actually had a little luck Monday morning gambling and we were pretty
excited to keep it going throughout the day!
That afternoon we all went to play putt putt together, and of course my
Dad & Wesley had to bet on the game.
It turned out that Wesley is the 2 time, undefeated champion in our
family putt putt competitions…go babe! I
came in last, and mom came in 3rd while Dad took 2nd. All in all it was a great time. We rounded out Monday evening by ordering a
delicious, melt in your mouth, brick oven pizza from a local pizza shop in
Deadwood. Those pizzas never disappoint and
we were extremely happy we remembered to get one whiel we were in Deadwood this
time again! Mom and Dad continued their
luck on some machines, as did Wesley & myself, before we all called it a
night.
Tuesday it was time to make our way back to the ranch so my
parents could pack up to fly back to Texas on Wednesday, so we got an earlier
start on Tuesday making the 3 hour trip back to Montana. That afternoon we took my parents to see our
colts that Wesley worked on breaking this past winter, then did some more BBQ’ing
and made a fire pit so we could enjoy our last moments together before they had
to fly back the next day.
Wednesday morning I got up & made breakfast for everyone
& since my parents had a 1:00 flight out of Billings we got going early to
the airport. It is always hard telling
them goodbye, but Wesley and I have our flights booked back to Texas this
winter so we know its only a matter of weeks before we’ll all be back together
again!! They had a safe flight back to
Texas with no delays thank God.
The rest of the week I got to spend with Wesley working
around the ranch. We moved hay all day Thursday,
then Friday he hauled it while I cleaned around the house. Jiggs and Jakey really loved me being home,
and were pretty upset come Monday when they realized they had to spend the
entire day outside in the heat again! Wesley
and I had such a good visit with my parents and we had an equally wonderful
time being able to spend quality time with each other. It was so nice to spend time just me &
him where we could just be with each other & not have any outside
interruptions.
Monday came all too fast this past week & with that it
meant it was back to work for everyone.
We are now looking forward to our trip down to Texas this winter where
we can see everyone! I’m especially excited
to see my little niece Kaegan as she is set to make her debut into the world
pretty soon! We are praying for a safe
& easy delivery for Katy & can’t wait to see pictures of the newest
edition to their family! I love you Katy
& wish I could be there but know I’m there in spirit & prayer & I can’t
wait to hold that sweet baby!
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