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!

They're Finally Here!!

It’s been quite a couple weeks since I’ve given an update on what’s been going on up here.  As I’m sure you can guess by the lack of posting, LOTS has been going on!  Let’s start where I left off.  Wednesday the 15^th was my last day of work before my vacation started!  I was off Thursday & Friday & then the whole next week because my parents came to visit us!

Thursday I spent all day cleaning the house, getting things ready, and preparing for my parents to come that night!  They flew into Billings about midnight, and we were all SO happy to see each other!  It’s so hard to believe it’s been 8 months since we’d seen them last.  After we got all our hugs in we loaded up in the truck & headed for home.  It takes about 2 hours to get from the ranch to Billings, so we got home about 2:30 AM Friday morning.  Friday the 17^th we had to pregnancy check our heifers (a previously scheduled event that we couldn’t get around), so we got up about 7, I fixed breakfast, and we all headed out to help run the heifers thru the chute to be tested.  My Mom & Dad got to really see what our ranch life is like when we’re working cattle & such, and I was glad they did.  Dad helped out with running the heifers up the chute, and Mom helped with the ear tag numbers.  We got done about 11 that day, and Wesley and I trailed the open heifers out one way, and the bred heifers another way.  After a quick (but delicious) lunch at the Davenport’s we headed home to clean up & head to Miles City for the afternoon.  We got to Miles City about 2:30 Friday afternoon, and Mom and I dropped the guys off at the bar to have a few beers & watch whatever sports game was on, and she and I went shopping for a dress for me for our wedding.  We were successful, and I ordered it that day!  After we reunited with the fellas, we headed to a Montana souvenir shop to load the parents up on all kinds of Montana goods!  They got out of there with some t-shirts & a cap to show for their trip to the Big Sky.  We then took them to one of our favorite places to eat in Miles City…Little Caesars.  Just kidding!  We took them to Rib & Chop for a nice steak dinner.   Since we had such a late night the night before with hardly any sleep, all of us turned in earlier Friday night so we could get a good night’s sleep for the weekend.

Saturday (the 18^th) morning we all had a nice breakfast together, then packed up & headed to Deadwood, South Dakota for the day/night!  We got to Deadwood about 1:00 that Saturday afternoon, unpacked our things, then headed to gamble!  None of us had any real luck, so we headed back to the room about 5 to get ready for supper that evening & more gambling (of course!).  We ate a delicious prime rib supper at one of the restaurants in Deadwood, then hit up the casino’s again!  We all had a lot of fun going in & out of the different casinos trying our luck at different games.  And, Mom and Dad really enjoyed the drive to Deadwood.  They got to see some beautiful mountains along the way.  And, they even got pictures at the Wyoming and Montana state lines (South Dakota doesn’t have a state sign – according to Wesley its because they are ashamed of their crap hole state …he’s a character)!  Sunday we ate at Kevin Costner’s restaurant in Deadwood, packed up, and headed to Keystone, SD to see Mount Rushmore.  It was a really neat thing to visit.  OF course we got all the tourist pictures in front of Mount Rushmore, bought t-shirts & souvenirs from there as well, then started the journey back to Montana to the ranch.  It took about 4 ½ hours to get from Mount Rushmore back to the ranch.  Mom & I stopped at a store that was going out of business in Belle Fourche, SD for some groceries, and ended up getting lots more!  It was a fun Mother-Daughter quick trip together. 

Monday we all slept in (a little), sat around & talked a little Monday morning, then packed a cooler, loaded up in the truck, and Wesley and I took them all around the ranch (including the burned part of the ranch).  It took a good 3 hours to go around the ranch with my parents, and after coming in for lunch, we all took a quick nap.  Monday afternoon and evening was spent playing all kinds of games as a family, and in between playing games Wesley and I made a delicious steak dinner for my parents & us to enjoy together.  Tuesday Wesley had to go to the neighbor’s house to help them gather their herd, so my Mom & Dad went down to the Amish community to their country store to get some homemade goodies.  We all loaded up on their homemade egg noodles!  We all love them…they are great in soups & such.  Then we came back and my mom rode our horse Champion.  She wanted nothing more than to get on a horse & ride again, so we did just that!  And, if you can believe this, my DAD even got on Champion for a few quick pictures!  I do have the proof, and I WILL be posting them in the next week.  I’ll be posting lots of pictures from their trip up to the Big Sky.  Tuesday evening David & Moo Moo came over and we all enjoyed a nice steak supper together, and it gave our parents a good chance to talk & get to know one another.  They all laughed & had a great time together.

Wednesday was the day we all dreaded coming, but we knew it was going to come whether we wanted it to or not.  Wednesday was the day they went home.  My Mom had a really difficult time with it.  She cried a lot Wednesday, but we both reassured her that we would be seeing them in less than 4 months!  In fact, its like 16 (or so) weeks from now when we see them again!  So, that made her feel better.  When we got to the airport, we walked with them to check their bags in, and said good-bye at the security checkpoint.  I held it together for my Mom’s sake, but cried on Wesley when they left.  We will NOT be going this long without seeing each other again…it’s TOO long!!

Now that we are all back to work, I think everyone has once again settled into their routines.  We don’t have much planned for this labor day weekend, except for a roping on Saturday here in Forsyth.  We’re hoping to do a little fishing, maybe go on a picnic, and just enjoy the weekend together.  Wesley has a birthday coming up so we have another event to celebrate soon! 

Sorry it took so long for me to update, and I will get the pictures up from my parents trip to Montana soon!!

It's almost time

Last week was sort of a blur because it went by so fast.  I literally couldn’t tell you what we did last week, except for work.  Friday evening we roped at the house after I got off work.  Saturday we woke up to the sweet sound of raindrops on the window.  Although it didn’t last as long as we would have liked it to, it was a nice sight that’s for sure!  Saturday afternoon Wesley & I went to Miles City to get some last minute groceries & such before the arrival of my parents this week!  Sunday we had a round robin roping to go to (Wesley entered, I took pictures) about 50 miles from the house.  Clint & Sarah were there, so while the guys roped Sarah and I got some much needed catch up time between the two of us.  We haven’t gotten to catch up with each other in quite some time, so we really enjoyed swapping stories about recent happenings in all our lives.  Their son Jack will be 1 in October, so we were talking about birthday plans for the little man.  I cannot believe he will be 1 already!  I remember when he was born, and holding him when he was just a couple months old.  Time really does fly. 

This week is the week that Texas comes to Montana in the form of my parents!!  We are so very excited to see them & show them around the ranch!  We’ve got all kinds of things planned for when they are here, and we can’t wait to show them what we do here, for both work & pleasure.  We will be sure to take lots of pictures, and I’ll be sure to share them with everyone.  My mom is the designated picture-taker person, so I know we’ll get lots of pictures!!  I’ve been preparing the house (both inside & out) for their arrival, and besides a few last minute things, we are all geared up & ready to see them.  And, with my parents coming up means I’ll be on vacation!  Hooray for time off!

And last but not least, for those who either haven’t seen the Brenham paper or don’t know, Wesley and I are getting married this November with a reception to be held in Texas in December when we go to visit!!  We are extremely excited about our wedding & can’t wait to celebrate with everyone!