The Annual Easter Event!

Every year my dad brands his calves on or around Easter, he usually ends up making it a 2 weekend event. This year while we were in Utah we had the fun opportunity of “helping” (more like supervising)! It is always a fun time…this year there were a lot more of us around to help/watch. The girls always enjoy helping papa and being down on the farm. It was a bit cold and breezy but the kids didn’t seem to mind. Branding calves is something we all look forward to every year…hard work and the best sand burgers ever!

My talented brother Jake had been working for weeks on end to finish the “new” corrals, he did an amazing job! I am sure the boss was pleased with the end result!

Everyone was hard at work with their very own assigned job…this year with a new hydraulic chute it made things a bit easier and freed up an arm or two for Jake! He still has the worst job…branding the calves, luckily the wind was blowing so the stench didn’t seem to linger.

My cousin Brady, he loves to come and help; he does a great job of keeping the calves a coming!

Here Jeslyn is supervising, keeping the boys on task!

Then we have Judd; what a great guy he is; he makes working fun!

I asked Jauncee what she was doing in this picture and she said “just watchin them in there!” So cute!

The kids had so much fun playing in the big dirt pile Uncle Jake brought in. It was a big hit and entertained most of them for quite some time.

Little Max, he makes such a cute little cowboy!

The Boss!

The best part always saved for last…lunch!

Thanks Dad, Mom and Jake for letting us be a part of the excitement. We really enjoy the time spent and look forward to next year!

**EASTER**

This post is a little late, but better late than never! We spent Easter/Spring Break in Utah with family, what a great time we all had. It was the first time in a long time that my parents had their whole family home (minus 2 – Dirk and Oakley)! We arrived in Holden 8ish Wednesday night, after a long day of spring shopping! It was a much anticipated visit…for one we were anxious to see Aunt Gigi and her cute little family and two we hadn’t seen everyone else since the first weekend in February. My parents and brothers have been a huge part of my life…and since we moved we don’t get the opportunity to hang out and visit, I miss them, but love our new life! The time spent was relaxing and fun…just not long enough! (Although, I am not sure I could have stayed much longer without my hubby.)

COLORING EASTER EGGS, always some fun! This was 10:00 at night after all the little ones were in bed! I think we only spilled 2 colors, maybe 3.

We even made Jake get in on the fun!

The following pictures are from Sunday, Easter morning. Of course the Easter Bunny had come and left baskets full of fun and eggs all over the house! Brooks had the most fun finding eggs…it was fun to watch him!

From the picture it looks like she is already struggling with having to head home! Jeslyn hates goodbyes!

Cute little Max...he could have cared less about finding eggs, it could have been a little too early!

Sisterly love and the best of friends!

Cute little Sammy...love this little guy, he is so cute and had so much fun dumping out his basket!

Wish I could give him kisses! Jeslyn was such great help with both the boys...kinda makes me excited.


These last few pictures are at my parents house a little before we left. Everyone was meeting up for the annual outing of the sand hills, my girls were pouting because I am the mean mom who thought hitting the road and getting home before dark was more important, besides, it was way too cold!

All of my Grandma Bonnie's Great Grandchildren! How cute and precious!

And all of these cute kiddos are all of my parents grandchildren. (Minus Oakley)

My beautiful cousin Whitney and Jauncee!

More pictures of fun from Utah to come...stay tuned!

A Quick Trip

We took a quick trip to Emmett for the weekend to look at some cattle to purchase. We left Friday evening and stopped in Pocatello for the night. One of our favorite places to stay is the Hampton Inn; luckily we got there in time to enjoy the pool! The next morning we ventured out early after a great breakfast. We arrived in Emmett around 3ish. While Dirk went with the owner to look at the cattle we took a tour…the first right brought us to hundreds of sheep! We have never been around too many sheep so it was amusing to observe their mannerisms.

The girls were more entertained with me taking their picture and them posing than they were with the sheep…well honey at least that is one less animal they will want at the ranch!

We left the sheep and came upon their yearling cattle they were feeding in the feedlot. The cows were very interested the girls…and finally after enough sweet talking they had them eating grass out of their hands…it was cute and kept them entertained while we waited.

It was definitely one quick trip, but so worth the time spent with the ones we love!

LIFE AS WE KNOW IT!

Life as we know it!

Remembering to slow down and really appreciate what we have—not just the 300 mph times but the quiet times as well, the lulls, when you are able to think and relax and breathe. Being happy regardless!

I am truly blessed and am so grateful for the opportunities that we all get to enjoy each and every day. My girls have grown in ways that I never thought possible all the while developing relationships along the way and learning about responsibility and hard work.

Meet CuPcAkE!

The girls’ first official chore…and they love it! Cupcakes mother is a first time heifer named Super Baldy…well according to Jeslyn, she isn’t so super…she has been a terrible mother and refuses to have anything to do with cupcake…so the girls have taken on the task of being her mother and bottle feeding her, it has been fun to watch their mothering skills blossom.

How about those ear muffs! My dad cuts a portion of his calves ears off aka ear marking…we on the other hand in our market can’t afford to lose an ear. The revenue on a calf without an ear is on average $500-$1000 less. It really wasn’t that cold for that blanket and ear muffs, but the girls seemed worried so Dirk being the great dad he is humored them for a day and a night!

I wonder why they make them hot pink and green? Do you think maybe so you don’t forget to take them off? Not sure!

*SILLY GIRLS*

My girls are always up to something creative! Every once in awhile they complain about being bored, but it usually doesn’t take long for them to come up with something fun! Not long ago (shortly after moving) we were in this dreaded slump or at least I was, maybe it was a pregnancy thing, but my kids were watching way too much TV! I vowed to be better to make a difference and to challenge my girls to use their imaginations and I am proud to say in over a month they haven’t watched 1 full hour of television! WAHOO! I rarely remember watching TV when I was young; we were too busy having fun. It amazes me how much a center point the TV can become and how easy it is to fall into that bad habit of television! Life is too short to let it pass you by!

Our dog "JUKE" it was raining and Jauncee felt bad for him so she let him in for a spell, she was so entertained...he even let her dress him up!

Having some play dough fun!

The stache machine at the grocery store...this time they remembered their quarters! Poor little Jauncee bought some as well and put them on first thing and then tried to get then off...it was traumatic...my 5 year old experienced her first eyebrow wax!

Enjoying some playroom fun!

My 2 little gypsies!

I love my 2 girls, they are the best and I love them both so much! I can’t imagine life without them!

On a side note, I have soo much to post and can't believe how far behind one can get! I guess you could say we have had way too much fun! I have been in debate about how to post...one really long post or short but sweet individual posts. I guess I am going to opt for the later, but try to keep them in order of happenings!