Wow, we had a scare yesterday! Earl, Kalon, Dally, I, and Earl's brother, Joe, were getting Earl's dad's cows out of the Cedar Hill yesterday. We were short a couple of head, so Earl sent me, Dally, and Kalon south with the big herd while he looked for the rest. The cows were pretty stirred up and we had to trot to keep up. As we topped out over the third ponds bank, I heard Dally start screaming. I looked back to see her coming off the side of Cherry as they came down the steep bank. By the time I got back to her, she was on the ground screaming. She was missing her boot and she kept screaming about her foot. Here I was out in the middle of nowhere- ready to panic. I didn't even have anywhere close to tie horses to. I baled off and tried to figure out what was going on and what I could do. Dally said that Cherry had stepped on her foot after she came off of her. Obviously, she didn't have her boot on when it happened because it was clear back up the enbankment. Kalon later told us that he'd seen it fly off as she was coming off the side. I pulled her sock off and her toes and the top of her foot were all scraped up and bruised. I thought that she had major troubles because she was still screaming and was starting to go into shock. She was shaking so badly! Warren was waiting down at the corrals so I called him. He said that he'd meet us at the east fence. I got Dally got back on Cherry and we found Grandpa who took her into town to Grandma Rainy. We finished getting the cows moved and then hurried home to find Dally limping around Grandma's house. She was sore but okay. She had told Lorraine that her foot hurt worse on the back by her heel. When we looked, it was all scraped up and bruised. After getting Kalon's version, Dally's version, and reasoning out the rest, we figured that she had been stepped on by two different hooves. She is still a little sore but doing okay today. It could have turned out so much worse. I know that Heavenly Father was watching out for two of little girls today. (Well, one little and one not so little). We are so blessed!

Cute Kiddies

I took the kids up to the springs yesterday and we got their pictures out of the way. It was so pretty up there and I got to be with some pretty cute kids as well. The hardest part is choosing which pictures of each of them that I like the very best!

Hayes 3rd Grade- Age 9

Kalon 1st Grade- Age 6

Dally Age 5

Chansy Age 2

Yuba

Okay so I am throwing a little something special into this blog entry. It is something that very few people ever-ever see. Somewhat of a rarity, we excitedly sighted.....

EARL NOT WORKING!!!!!

We took a day off on the week of July 24th and went to Yuba with some friends. Our kids have never really been out on boats and it was a new experience for them. Kalon was our water bug. He surprised us all by knee-boarding all over the reservoir. Hayes was a little hesitant to get in the water but finally got on the tube with me after a few hours. Dally was GUNG-HO to get in the water and tube....until it started going and completely buried her face first in the water. She stayed in the boat for the rest of the time . Chansy was Chansy...sweet, content, and CUTE! Earl was amazingly athletic at everything -as always! It was so nice to just spend the day playing. Those days are few and far between!

Kalon knee-boarding for the first time.

Fun, fun, fun!!!


Chansy and her twinkie.

Dally and her cute smile! She can't NOT smile!
(except when she's yelling at somebody)

Hayes!

Grandparents

Our family is so blessed to have so many sets of Grandparents still with us. We love all of you!

Grandpa Louis and Grandma Joan

Earl's Grandma Dorothy and Grandpa Earl

My Grandpa Ross and Grandma Nola

Wales Permit

Last week, we trailed cows up on the Wales permit. Earl and some friends left at 5:30am and started the cows from Chester. I got kids up and ready and lunches and coolers loaded and the kids and I met the herd just as it was starting up the canyon. Dally and Kalon rode as soon as we got there but Hayes and Chansy stayed in the truck and trailer with me. Hayes had torn a gash in his thigh the night before on some barbwire and was out of commission.

Ty

Earl and Jaws and Kalon on Bullseye. It was the real first hard ride that we tried Bullseye on
and he did so well. Kalon has a new favorite horse now. He is actually Junior's old horse (long story how we ended up with him).

Kalon and Dally hiding in the grass.

Earl and Dally trailing down into Rees' Valley.

Riding in the truck. Usually, he doesn't want to ride but his cousin Ty was helping us and he really wanted to ride with him.

Earl and Chansy

Rees' Valley. We stopped for lunch and to let the cows rest.

It rained and threw a little lightening but not bad enough to scare us out of driving back down the canyon.

Dally fell asleep in the truck the last mile of trailing but she rode the whole way besides that. They decided to ride the 8 miles back off to Wales.

Pulling a trailer up Wales canyon is NOT fun. Hairpin turns and drop-offs make for a very unnerving ride. Holding back a trailer full of 7 horses on the way back down Wales Canyon was SO not going to happen, especially after a rain storm. I crawled down with one horse in low gear, 4-wheel drive and still breathed a sigh of relief when I made it down. All in all, it was a beautiful day! Everything was greener than I have EVER seen it. Almost an unbelievable green!

(and we didn't see any rattle snakes this year) YAY!

Cowboy Up!

Sorting off for Wales permit. We had Earl, Shane, Dally, and I to sort off 90 pairs by ourselves. We only ended up getting 64 pairs that day. It was WILD!

Dally and Cherry


Twinkie is amazing!

Indianola permit

The last couple of months have been crazy busy at our house. Actually NOT at our house because we haven't been home much. We have paired off, sorted out, trailed, loaded, trailered, branded, doctored and turned out cows EVERYWHERE! It has been exhausting. You can imagine what my house looks like! The kids have been troopers though! Here are a few photos of a few of our days. Earl finally yelled at me one day, "You look like a tourist with that camera around your neck". I guess that I wasn't as much help as he needed so I had to put away the camera and just sneak pictures when I could.

Check out the monster in the middle!

Trimming hooves.

Sorting pairs in the corral. Kalon and Dally helped at the gate.

Earl, Kalon, Dally, and Hayes. Hayes' first time riding Twinkie. They did awsome!

Trying to keep up with dad and the cows.

Kalon and Dally

The kids bringing the herd by themselves. I had to wait in a different field with Chansy and turn the cows.

After a full day in 90 degree heat, the kids just sulled up and wouldn't help. Earl and I had to finish everything up on our own.

It didn't help that Chansy had not had a nap either.

Kalon sacked out on the flatbed!

I am so pround of my kids. They can all cut out a cow by themselves, even Dally. We work hard but I am so glad that they are learning to work even if it isn't always as fun as they think that it should be. They are cowboys!

Boots and Flowers

I know, I know, it's a strange post title but I have to tell you about these boots. When I was in early high school, my aunt passed me down a pair of her old boots. I LOVED those boots! They were as cowboy as they came, down to the riding heel and high tops. Definitely not girly! I wore these boots clear up until a couple of years ago when I started having kids. Children led to my feet growing and thus, I outgrew my favorite boots. A few years ago, I found a pair of similar boots and was so excited that I ordered them. They were too big. I couldn't bear to send them back so I put them under the bed in the then, spare bedroom and forgot about them. Fast forward to branding day of this year. I could not even think about wearing my worn out, too small present cowboy boots in misery for two full days of branding and running around. Then I remembered the "new" boots hiding under Dally's bed. Would they now fit after having two more kids and expanding my feet even more? YEP! Let me tell you, these are the most comfortable boots that I have worn since my hand-me-downs. They may not be the prettiest color or have the embellishments that are all the rage, but I absolutely, with all my heart LOVE them! I have spent a lot of the last two weeks on a horse and helping Earl and am definitely getting the use out of my new boots!

.....Now, on to the flowers. I had to take picture of my flowers this year. They look so pretty with my newly painted red door! The daffodils are spent but my tulips are lasting longer than usual.

Ranch Wife 101 Guidelines

1. Always load your horse last in the trailer so it is the first one unloaded. By the time he's got his horse unloaded, you will have your cinch pulled and be mounted up ready to go- lessening the chance of him riding off without you with your horse trying to follow while you are still trying to get your foot in the stirrup.




2. Never- and I repeat never- ever believe the phrase "We'll be right back," when he has asked you to help him do something out on the ranch. The echoing words, "this will only take a little while" have filtered through generations of ranch wives and still today should invoke sincere distrust in the woman who hears them.




3. Always know there is NO romantic intention when he pleadingly asks you to take a ride in the pickup with him around the ranch while he checks water and looks at cattle. What that sweet request really means is he wants someone to open and close the gates.




4. He will always expect you to quickly be able to find one stray in a four-section, brush-covered pasture, but he will never be able to find the mayonnaise jar in four-square feet of refrigerator.




5. Count every head of everything you see- cattle especially, but sometimes horses, deer, quail or whatever moves. Count it in the gate, out the gate, or on the horizon. The first time you don't count is when he will have expected that you did. That blank eyelash-batting look you give him when he asks, "How many?" will not be acceptable.




6. Know that you will never be able to ride a horse or drive a pickup to suit him. Given the choice of jobs, choose throwing the feed off the back of the pickup. If he is on the back and you are driving, the opportunity for constant criticism of speed, ability and you eyesight will be utilized to the full extent. "How in the *@*# could you NOT see that hole?"




7. Never let yourself be on foot in the alley when he is sorting cattle horseback. When he has shoved 20 head of running, bucking, kicking yearlings at you and then hollers "Hold 'em, hold 'em" at the top of his lungs, don't think that you really can do it without loss of life or limb. Contrary to what he will lead you to believe, walking back to the house is always an option that has been used throughout time.




8. Don't expect him to correctly close the snap-on tops on the plastic refrigerator containers, but know that he will expect you to always close every gate. His reasoning, the cows will get out; the food will not.




9. Always praise him when he helps in the kitchen- the very same way he does when you help with the ranch work -or not.




10. Know that when you step out of the house you move from the "wife" department to "hired hand" status. Although the word "hired" indicates there will be a paycheck that you will never see, rest assured you will have job security. The price is just right. And most of the time you will be "the best help he has" even if it is because you are the ONLY help he has.

I have to say that a lot of these rules or guidelines apply to my life. There are a few that do not (actually one). I won't clarify, I'll just let you to wonder . Ha,ha,ha! I always try to take food and a book with me though. Just in case.

THE END