Mom And Son Day

July seems to be a CRAZY month for our family. The Prairie Daddy eats, sleeps and breaths getting hay up. I eat, sleep and breath VBS prep. The Prairie Kid, well, he gets a little lost in the action.

This week I could tell it was getting to The Prairie Kid. He needed some good time together. He started to melt down on Wednesday night. I was leaving for Bozeman to pick up kids from camp Thursday and wouldn't be home until Friday. After he started melting down, I started melting down. We needed some uninterrupted, quality one-on-one time. I made him a chart of the week and Saturday was designated "HOME" and I told him I would bring home some fun things to do together from my trip.

We started our day with a breakfast picnic on the deck. Then we got out the first "fun thing" I brought home from Bozeman. Window Art!

He was making a volcano...

I asked him what he wanted to do next. He said, "Cuddle on the couch with you and watch The Cosby Show!" What a treat for me...he rarely wants to cuddle anymore but I knew we both were needing that this morning. : )

And then, we adventured out toward the mountains to Joe Moss head gate where we hunted for driftwood sticks and rocks (which are for VBS...and I needed about 100 of each for craft projects!).




He and the dog enjoyed the creek being slower and lower. They both got in and explored.



When we ransacked as much driftwood as we could there, we decided to head to Meeteetse Creek down by our barn. So we drove back through the ranch where we found The Prairie Daddy swathing hay. I had fun taking pictures of the beautiful day and the hay crop.



The Prairie Daddy's brother was baling in another field. I love how this picture shows the windrows of pre-baled hay next to the bales.


The kids got in the creek again. : )

Rough view, eh?

Next we got out the other "fun thing" that I brought home and we painted a T-rex!

I can tell we're both feeling much better having had our time together. Our kiddo is such a trooper and I am so thankful that he's able to maintain as well as he does with our busy life.

Fun Finding

We got quite a bit of rain here last week. The Prairie Daddy and The Prairie Kid found a fun friend in the yard.



The Prairie Kid wanted to keep him. We let him "keep" him in the yard...and funny, he couldn't find him the next day when he went out to look for him. : )

Thursday Morning On The Ranch

I was disappointed last night when The Prairie Daddy asked me if I wanted to help move cows in the morning. I wasn't up for it because they were starting at 6 in the morning and I have so much going on that I knew I wouldn't be rested enough to keep up with my other stuff.

So, I woke up this morning and realized that they were probably all done moving cows. I was a little depressed but decided to enjoy some "God time" on the deck. As I settled into my chair the phone rang. The Prairie Daddy said that the cows weren't where they were supposed to be and wouldn't gather up and get going easily, and that they had still another hour or so to move them. He invited me to join in! I was thrilled that he even said he could get my horse ready.

So, I put on Wranglers for the first time in a year, pulled on my Fat Baby boots and headed out. I got to the buildings just in time to hop on High Noon and get to helping. It was a GORGEOUS morning to be out. We rode for a few hours and that was enough to make me remember how little I ride, and how badly the cowboys' saddles DON'T fit me.

I love how this picture turned out...

This is High Noon...he looks a little crazier in this picture than he is. : ) He is tall and a little slow but he has great reining training and turned well on the hind quarters.

I love the rows of bales in this picture...

We had two steep draws with water to cross...this picture doesn't do the depth justice.

High Noon doesn't like water and I had to hang on for dear life while he BOLTED over the drainages. Whew!

Quick rest as they got counted out the gate

The Prairie Kid "helping" as dad counts

Little Roper

Wow, the gate man is a hottie! ; )

The only photo of me for the day

Get along lil' doggies

Almost there!

Looking back toward our house...see that little brown speck in the middle-left?

Franc's peak behind our corrals and reservoir

My two amazing guys. I feel so incredibly blessed. And what a blessing to live on this land...

"Staff Meeting"

The Prairie Kid rode back part of the way with Uncle

Sharing the saddle didn't work for Uncle for too long

Another "staff meeting"

Needless to say, it was a treat to get to go help. And to get to sleep in too!

Flag Football

The Prairie Kid is playing Flag Football this month. It is so cute! I do hope he wants to play football through high school. : )

Oh Yeah, We Went On A Trip!

I requested another overnight getaway for my birthday again this year. Last year we stayed in Yellowstone. This year The Prairie Daddy suggested that we go up into Montana and drop down to the North Entrance of Yellowstone. We stayed in a town just outside of the park called Gardiner, MT. Then the next day we drove through Yellowstone before hitting Cody for fireworks. We had a beautiful drive...

At the top of Chief Joseph Highway

Here is The Prairie Kid's photo of the hotel we stayed in

Sunset on the Yellowstone River in Gardiner, Montana

Here are the hot springs at Mammoth in Yellowstone

And while on the hiking trails around Mammoth we say this big bull snake

Petrified Tree

Yellow wildflowers covered strips of the mountains

A mama elk and calf

The brink of the lower falls

There was SO much water!

Here is a shot looking at the falls from another trail

Prairie Kid photography
We were a little silly by mid-afternoon...we were goofing off in the Lake General Store

We had a great trip. We didn't see any super-exciting wildlife, like bears or wolves, but it was a fun time to get away from "life" and spend some time together.