Working the rest of the calves

     This year working calves was spread out over a month or so and this post will document the workings that were after the cowpokes post. The boys were really wanting to help but they are still a little young. So we let them be around and always sit on the smallest calf of the bunch. I got brave too and helped out more this year. It was fun, and I made sure to give them a reassuring pat before we let them up.
   

Checking out the cows on the one eyed horse at the Pitzer.

Working calves at the Wignal. Dalton enlisted a friend to help out too. Obviously Tucker was not happy being left out….or maybe it was all the mooing calves.

They like playing in the trailer and pretending to be wild bulls.

We were too loud and got sent away. We snuck back out to the truck later and got to see a little action. 

Sunday morning ride.

 

Helping Popsey at the Pitzer

 Horses aren't just for work. We took a family ride now that Ginger is here. I was a little nervous since she hadn't been ridden in a LONG time, but she did good. 

 

Cowboys…canteen - check, chaps - check, hats - check, horses-check!

 

At the Pettus. Cooper was not too happy with Popsey because he already had the calves penned when they arrived. He was hoping to round up the cattle in the pasture. 

 

Leading the horses around before saddling up for a ride.

Now that we have a 4wheeler, feeding is a lot easier on those muddy days. 

And the boys are always ready to help! 

"I have no need of a bull from your stall or of goats from your pens, for every animal of the forest is mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills." Psalm 50 9-10 

Gardening and Chickens

    This year we were determined to put in a garden and make it a success. Well, we got the garden in but it has taken a while for it to be a success…..in fact we failed with beans and peas. But we're making squash, cucumber, cantaloupe, corn and hopefully some tomatoes. 

     Dalton hasn't been too involved in the garden this year. He said that now his whole place is his garden so he's not focused on our little one. He's put in a patch or two of Kline grass and he's planning what's going into his fields and figuring all of that.
     I've tried hard to keep up the garden. The failures kept me depressed for a while, but finally we figured out it was herbicide damage from too fresh of manure so I didn't feel as bad. Next year we're being extra careful about all of that!

The boys enjoy helping Daddy plow.  

A Happy Meal treat before some gardening chores. We replanted our beans and peas twice but no luck. 

There's always next year.  

Getting uncontaminated soil for the raised bed we eventually put our tomato plants in, the boys played king of the hill. They always like showing off their muscles. 

Even though this is not strictly garden related, it is homemaker related. ; ) I started making bread a few months ago and have kept it up without buying bread, yay! We may not have jumped on the "real food" bandwagon yet but at least we're eating bread with just 5 ingredients instead of 25. 

Our first pick of the season! Too bad the boys aren't too crazy about these veggies. I'm working on it though! Sometimes when we go to the garden the boys wind up in the "tall grass" and hide and run around. As long as they don't find a snake in there I'm happy. 

A friend was going to mail order chicks and asked if we wanted any, so of course I said yes! We picked 2 production reds, 2 red sexlinks, 2 ameracaunas (they lay green eggs) and 2 ? can't remember their name but they are black and white. They've really grown fast and I've taken on the role of "chicken farmer" with pride. Haven't lost a chick and now they're ready to join the big birds. 

 

 The boys were privileged to get to watch and ride in a big row crop tractor that was plowing and planting our fields. Then, when Dalton took them to watch a combine down the road, the owner invited them to ride along in it too. They were so very excited!

"You cause the grass to grow for the livestock and plants for man to cultivate, that he may bring forth food from the earth and wine to gladden the heart of man, oil to make his face shine and bread to strengthen man's heart." Psalm 104:14

Cooper's Preschool Graduation

     Cooper's preschool year started a little rough but he finished well. He loved going and seeing his teachers every week and I had to start working on him early to make sure he didn't get upset when the last week came. Thankfully he was fine and just as excited to start the summer adventure.

Last day of school!

     But before we could start summer fun we had to attend Cooper's little graduation. It was a sweet time and I was proud of my little man. We watched him walk in with his classmates and say the pledge. When it was time to hand out the 'diplomas' the teachers said something about each student as they came up. For Cooper they said "Cooper is extremely loving and respectful." I was bursting with pride and so happy to hear this. My sweetie pie.

     After the ceremony we shared lunch and then he told his friends and teachers goodbye. I'm sure we'll see them again…..and Ace keeps mentioning going to Cooper's school so maybe when he is 4 we can give it a go.

    While Cooper was celebrating his last day of school, Tucker was experiencing a first……haircut! Dalton had told me we couldn't consider baby #4 until Tucker got a haircut so the next day I took him in! He did great. He sat still….because he was playing with my wallet….and looked dashing after his cut. I'm glad that we got it done before summertime. My little baby looks like a big boy even more now.

 

"Train up a child in the way that he should go and when he is old he will not depart from it." Proverbs 22:6

Here Comes the Bride - celebrating my cousin's wedding

     Back in April we attended my cousin, Summer's wedding. It was a great weekend and we all had fun watching them exchange vows and celebrating with them at the reception. 

     Before we could attend the wedding we had to get there. This trip we decided to try a new approach. We left that evening, hoping the kids would sleep a bit on the way. It was stormy ahead, so we stopped for supper in Weatherford before continuing on the trail. We followed the storm the entire way and made pretty good time. About the time the kids woke up and started to get grumpy we pulled into Mom and Dad's in the big rig. We'd brought the trailer so we could take back a horse and a few of Dad's heifers. 

    The next morning Mom and I had to make a quick trip to Waco so she could get her new glasses. While we were gone, the boys had some male bonding time. Dalton even gave Dad a haircut on the porch. 

     That afternoon we all loaded up and headed to Huntsville for the wedding. The boys napped on the way, thankfully, and we arrived, checked in and changed…..ready for the evening. 

Me and my handsome boys!

The other good looking guests we traveled with. 

Waiting for the service to start. It was very hot and muggy so we stayed inside as long as we could.  

 Seats up front! We did our best to stay quiet and still during the ceremony. The boys did pretty well, thanks to the Franks, who sat with us. After the ceremony we headed into the reception hall for the rest of the celebration. The kids were crazy excited and we had trouble keeping track of them. They were buzzing around the food and the dance floor, ready to show off their moves. 

The happy couple during their first dance. Notice the two kiddos in the corner watching intently. 

  

 The highlight of the kids' night was visiting the princess bride and getting to talk to her. Everyone had a great time dancing, Hank particularly liked river-dancing. Finally the music stopped and we sent off the newlyweds with sparklers. By this time 2 out of 3 boys were crashed out on chairs. We pulled the car around, scooped them up and went to the hotel. Thank to a nice cold cup of milk and a soft bed, we had a pretty good night's sleep. The next morning we all ate at IHOP and went back to Mom and Dad's.

Finally time to leave and Papa told us he wanted us to have the 4-wheeler. We were excited and loaded  it up on the trailer. By the time we were ready we had 1 4-wheeler, 1 horse, 5 heifers, 3 kids and 2 tired adults. The ride home was great. The boys slept 3/4 of the way and then we used food to keep them happy the last part. We got home just as another storm began and unloaded the stock in the rain. 

It was good to get home and even better to know we'd gotten to celebrate a new marriage in the family. 

"Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, 

and they shall become one flesh." Genesis 2:24