Cattle brandin' with Grandpa!

Cattle branding time is always so very exciting! There's nothing like branding cows to turn boys into men, right?

WARNING! > > > > > There are a LOT of pictures!!! I tried to size them down so they don't take forever to scroll through, but I put my favorites up for everyone in the family to see - so I hope you like the pictures!
I had to get a shot of my flip flops to dedicate to my father-in-law, Steve, because he thinks I always have the most absurd footwear on. Really, it's because I know I won't be asked to do any work with the animals or anything too dirty if all I have are flip flops (also - I just always wear them. Always.). So, Steve - now you know why I wear them!
Jake really enjoys staying in the house eating the oreos!
I have no idea what is in this bucket, and I'm thinking it's probably not drinking water, but I thought it was pretty.


I'm especially in love with the baby of the ranch!
It rained all weekend and I thought the horses looked so great sopping wet.


Grandpa Steve is so sweet to Jake!
Since it was so wet outside, I made the kids pose by the window for me.






Jake was wishing this was a real horsey!
Jackie always cooks the best food!

This is Laurel, my sister-in-law, with her little boy, Hank, who is Jake's age. We love them!

Everything was drenched!

Here's the cowboys in action!
This was so sad! The right side of the picture is of the mommy cows trying to reach their baby cows that were getting roped and branded on the other side of the fence.
My cute husband is so dang tough I just can't stand it!
I know it has to be done, but it's still so sad to see these innocent little babies getting branded. Isn't there a better way? Couldn't we just tie a special colored bow on them or something?





He's so tough , geez!!!!
This sweet little calf was almost begging me to get him out of there, but alas, I only had my flip flops on and I just stayed planted where I was. So sad.



Chloe is so sweet - she tries so hard to fit in with the boys. We REALLY need another little girl cousin soon!!!


Is it a little weird that my kids don't get sick of me and my camera?
Colten roped Chloe. After this, I had to set a few ground rules with the whole roping thing.





Any guesses on what Sam is doing?

Cowboys at heart

We went to "Grandpa's Ranch" last weekend and I shot a bunch of pictures, but since it's always so late when I'm on the computer, and I'm really tired, here's one picture (more to come soon) . . .

Growing up!

Chloe recently attended her first "High-heel" birthday party. I actually think this was the first time she went to a party without me or another family member! Anyway, she was so excited all week long, and getting to wear high-heels was SUCH a big deal! Since all this girly stuff is so new to me every day, I grabbed my camera before running her over to her friend's house.

She wore her Cinderella shoes for the party, but . . . . one fell off on the stairs - just like it was supposed to!
Her friend, Emma, was watching through the window!

They were so cute! I just eat all this "la la" stuff up!

I have a new favorite place to shoot!

Naughty blogger!

I know that I have been a very bad blogger, and I know that there are so many people who are just DYING to know what we've been up to, but it has been nuts around here! So, this is my little effort to keep track of everything we've been doing lately.
Jake is really into animals - farm animals. He likes to set them up looking out the window so that they can look outside at the field and make animal sounds. He doesn't get the right sounds with the right animals all the time, but hey - neither do I.
I've walked down the stairs to this sight (above) a couple of times lately. Chloe is now industrious enough to get her own spoons, and the ice cream from the freezer and everything! It's such a lovely sight, and I can totally understand her.
Sam loves Billy the Kid. We have to listen to "Blaze of Glory" over and over and over and over again. All the time.
This picture has me worried. Should my little girl think she's that hot in her undies and cowgirl boots?
This picture has me excited! I'm thinking that Chloe can be put in charge of all my organizing in the house by the time she's 8!
This is Sam and our little kitty, "Sugar Pie." Don't let the sweet smiles fool you, deep down, they're both aggressive hunters!



We've been working on our yard lately. We figured out a way to get rid of our "weed gardens" - 70 tons of road base!!! It was great fun for the kids for a couple of nights.

This was my sad attempt to photograph my own kids right after church in their Easter clothes. I think church does something to kids that makes them EXTRA hungry and grumpy - not a great time to take pictures I guess.