MiSsIng: JUst a liTtLe MIA

Wow... Did you see that?  Months just went by and someone went missing! Here is our life in a nutshell~

• We had a wonderful Thanksgiving with a group of friends in Conrad....  Lots of food and fun games!
• Mike and I went to Charleston, South Carolina and walked on the beach together for the first time!
  
• Hyrum celebrated his 8th Birthday and had a wonderful baptism!!!
  
• The kids did a great job with their School Christmas Program (The Sound of Christmas)
• Christmas was amazing being home and being our little family.
• We took a trip to White Sulphur Springs right before the New Year and enjoyed time with family.
• New Year's Eve was spent with friends in Conrad again.  Fun Times!
• We had a batch of puppies (4) which we kept one and gave 3 away.
• Reed Celebrated his 6th birthday (moment of silence for the sad mom and dad).
• We went skiing on a school trip (which was another first for our family to do together).
• Mike has been knocking out some honey do's and building in the boys room.
• Mike was called into the Bishopric of our ward.
• Calving started!!!
• Mike celebrated a birthday.

Hyrum's Baptism Day

Cowboy on the Beach

KwinLee Christmas Morning

Reed in his Birthday Duds!

KwinLee and Spencer working on their Science Fair Project (1st place ribbons)

Mike still wakes up everyday loving his job, which means the world to us.  Our family (extended and close) have had changes in their life and it has made us take a step back and look at the BIG picture.  It is interesting where life will take you and what challenges are put in your way to help you grow.  I am thankful for such great friends and family who believe in us, give us encouragement, and show us faith by example. 

MaXitO the ReD BanDito

It is with heavy heart I write again about another one of our dogs. What are the odds we would lose 2 dogs in 4 days time?

Max was with us since we lived in Boulder. He was given to us by Mike's brother Bill to use as a cow dog. He was a red-healer mix and full of life. He loved to work cattle. He was aggressive with the fighting ol' witches and gentle with our kids. I grew quite close to Max... But for Mike, he is losing one of his right hand men. I can't even begin to count the hours the two of them have spent together, nor the miles they have gone.

Mike and Max headed to work!

Max and I riding on the sled (crazy dog)

Right before we left Helena, a cow got him down and broke his back leg. We thought this might be the demise of him, but he came back strong and returned to fighting cows. He was the mischief dog as well. He would act like he was taking off after something and get all the dogs riled up, then he would saunter back (grinning I am sure) while they tried to find what he was after.
We would get a kick out of his wily ways.

On Sunday Mike and I watched him walking through the trees by our house. I wish I would have known it was the last time I would see him. For days I have been waiting for his return, hoping that I would see him curled up in the flower planter he took over, or hear him whining, letting us know he wanted to go work cows. But he has not come home. He might still, we can hold onto hope. But he was almost 12 years old, we saw signs of his age, and he to mourned our Payson. So, again, I am writing about another dog...... But again, he was more than just a dog. He earned his keep.

He came home.....  8 days he was gone.... Who knows where.... We had given up hope, us of little faith....  We have had frigid, freezing weather with snow and all that.... Yet, the "terd" (Mikes word for him) came home ALIVE!

~PaYsOn~

**Cheryl (my mom) do not read!**

Just over 13 years ago, Mike and I took a trip to Utah.  While we were on this trip, Mike bought a truck (his dream truck, which he sold later to help pay for a surgery, but that is a story for another day).  While we were getting new tires put on the truck, I happened to be looking through the classifieds and came upon an ad for yellow lab puppies.  Mike had been telling me I could get a dog, so I jumped at the chance.  By that I mean I took advantage of the fact he was getting a new truck, so I should be able to get a new puppy!  Mike said go for it and I headed to Payson, Utah to pick out what would become the best $75.00 ever.  Mike about died when he found out I paid money for a DOG!  But he forgave me and soon fell in love as well.

Payson the winter after we got him!

Payson has been on every move with us, which has been quite a few.  He started in Lima, went to Dell, then Rexburg, onto Ovid, back to Lima, to Boulder, Clancy, Helena, and now Dupuyer.  He was a faithful dog right from the beginning.  He kept me company when Mike would work long hours.  When we moved to Rexburg I was 8 months pregnant and it was a hot August.  Payson and I spent hours by and in the river that our yard ran into.  I would park my plastic chair right in the depths of the water, right up to my chin, and he would swim around me fetching sticks.
When we moved to Ovid, I became fairly busy with a 1 year old and a new born, and Payson didn't get as much attention from me.  Mike hated the sad eyes he would get as he and Jiggs would load up to go to work.  It did not take long for him to succumb to those puppy dog eyes that I am sure Payson coined.  Hence, Payson became a cow dog.
When Payson barked, he meant business.  Mike and I can usually pay no mind to our other dogs barking, but the second Payson would give his deep, booming bark, we would jump and go see what the matter was.  It could be a mountain lion he was warning us about, a stranger that was prowling around, or a cow that was not where she was supposed to be.  When he was moving cows and would give that bark, he would almost create a stampede.
He was known to take a 2000lb bull on the fight down to the ground, hold calves down that had run through the fence until Mike could get around to them, and even let our kids ride him like a horse (he was their first pony).  He loved our kids.  He was so good to them, even when they would climb all over him.
He knew how to bask in the sunshine, usually sitting in a regal pose.  We would call him our sphinx the way he would always sit with his front legs crossed.  From the time he was a puppy, whenever I would sit by him, he would have to be touching me.  Usually this meant a paw on my hand, or foot, or leg.  He was never a needy dog, or a jealous dog, but he was a great dog.
13 years is a long time to have a dog in your life.  Especially for us.  In 13 years our lives have changed and grown, and he has been there through it all. He has changed as well.  The once bounding, vivacious puppy changed into a old, crippled, broken down dog.  It is hard to watch them get old.  When we moved here, I remember looking at him and saying, "Payson, this is your last move old man."  And it was....  Buried outside our home today, under a tree, is truly a close friend.  I know he was JUST a dog, but he was my dog....  And he will be missed so much..... Goodbye Old Man, I love you!

He always looked sad, but was truly happy....

At the elk ranch in Ovid, ID

As iF I WilL GeT BeTTer

Another 2 months has passed....  Oh how time flies, seriously, slow down!

August~

In August we went to Silverwood Theme Park as a family.  The kids helped earn the money to go and we were so excited.  At least until the weekend before we were to go.  That is when Mike tore his hamstring muscle off the bone.  Needless to say he was on crutches for the whole experience and in quite a bit of pain.  But he tagged along all day on crutches and was a trooper, just watching us have all the fun.

 We had a lot of fun, and it was great for the kids to see that their hard work this summer paid off.

The Kids also started school at the end of August.  KwinLee is now a 6th grader, Spencer a 5th, Hyrum a 2nd, and Reed is in Kindergarten.  Yep, all 4 kids are in school.  The Dupuyer School has 9 kids total, and 4 of them are ours.  You do the math.   Of course I followed them to school.  I love being where my kids are, I am kind of attached.  I cook breakfast and lunch everyday there and teach music twice a week.  I finally found a way to get paid to cook for my kids, now if I can find a way to be paid to do their laundry I will be doing great. 

This is their first day of school photo.  Do you see the dog at Spencer's feet?  Her name is Emmie and she is attached to Spencer and Reed.  She follows them everywhere. 
September~
Well, this is birthday month for us.  Spencer turned 11, KwinLee turned 12, and I don't talk about my age.  KwinLee has now advanced into Young Women's and is enjoying it.  Plus, she gets to hunt this year.  Spencer can't wait for the day he gets to start hunting, but hunters education is not far off.  KwinLee received her dad's cell phone for her birthday and couldn't be happier (wow!!).  Spencer got his first, very own brand new bike.  And he loves it.  He has been riding it all over.  He has even rode it the 10 miles to school a few times.  We had to put a hold on that while the bears are migrating back.  I received a Blendtec blender and absolutely love it (so does the rest of my family that has been benefiting from it!).

October~
Well, so far this has been just a routine month.  Oh, except I hit a deer and did some damage to my car, KwinLee sprained her ankle and we found out that at some point she chipped a piece of bone off of it, and the kids will be getting a new school teacher within the next few weeks.  So, as life changes, we try to roll with it.
We have also spent our non-school time helping Mike.  We have most the cows gathered in, the calves pre-conditioned, and we are getting ready for shipping day.  And the occasional wild beast is still feasting on our calves, we lost one yesterday to a Sow and cubs.  UGH!  But, so goes the battle of ranching. 

We are also madly writing letters to all the powers that be (congressman, senators, the President, and Postmaster General) trying to convince them to keep our post office open.  It would be such a sad thing to lose, not to mention the hardship.  Round trip for us to another post office is 66 miles (over 30 of that dirt road and not great roads in the winter).  All to save a tenth of a percent of costs because Congress won't deal with the real money saving issues (like no post on Saturdays or paying back the money they mismanaged of the postal service's).  Well, enough of that, I just am sad to think of the hub of a community being tossed to the way side.

Here is to the next 2 months!

AuGuST ~ 2011~

Lets be real.  I stink lately when it comes to blogging.  So, here are some pictures to make up for my slothfulness.

We have had a lot of family visits (which we LOVE).  We have friends come spend time with us (which we LOVE).  We have had our fair share of smores, bug bites, running through the sprinklers, and all that summer time jazz.  We have spent time in the hay field (all of us), running for parts, moving cows, and doing whatever we can to spend time with Mike.
We just experienced our 2nd Dupuyer Grizzly Day.  We loved every minute of it.  The fireman's breakfast, the parade (which the kids were in), the music in the park, swimming in the creek, the duck race, the greased pig contest (Reed caught the pig and the other boys gave it a good effort), their own lemonade/cookie stand, and a impromptu music jam (Mike played his fiddle).
The kids have a couple of weeks before school starts, so...... we are following through with a promise.....  We have purchased tickets, booked the motel, and the kids earned their spending money (thanks to said lemonade stand)..... WE ARE GOING TO SILVERWOOD!  I will blog about it later.

2 Months... Really?

I can not believe it has been 2 months since I have wrote on our family blog...  Where is time going so fast?  So, I guess to catch up to the here and now I just need to be brief (ok, it is me, and that is never possible).

-Calving season has about wrapped up, barring the few stragglers that we bought late. 
-We were able to brand the big bunch of calves on a beautiful day (which we haven't had a lot of lately).
-The kids finished off the school year (with raving reports)!!
-I have been teaching a fitness class 2 times a week in Conrad.
-I also was hired to work at the school next year (now that all 4 kids will be going, sigh).
-We have been having heck with wolves in our cows.
-We took part in our first Conrad Whoop Up Days (Boys were in the parade, went to the rodeo, and I ran my first 5K in almost 2 years).
-It rained for 15 days straight, gave us a 2 day break and then we had down pouring for another 5 days.
-I got brave and went for a run out on the road and wouldn't you know it, there was a bear and 2 cubs!
-My kids have a job of mowing and taking care of 3 lawns this summer.
-And life is going on....
Our kids took part in an amazing spring program (musical play) and here they are-

Blacksmith Buck

Bronc Buster Bill and Isabelle

Their Biggest Fan

 Whoop Up Days

5K Race

Scout Parade

And that is our life for the last 2 months in a nut shell! 

My OwN PriVatE SpA TreAtmeNt

You might have seen pictures, shows, or even personally experienced those spa treatments that entail ladies all covered in brown/green muck.  They say that it softens the skin, giving it a rejuvenated, refreshed look.  Or you see them in their swimsuits sitting in a tub of mud, soaking up the.... well, I am not sure what they are soaking up.  I have always wondered how glamorous it must feel to have special treatment like that.  After washing off the plaster of gunk, looking in the mirror and seeing a renewed you.  Well, I finally got to try it.  It wasn't all that glamorous.

It was about 4:30 in the morning and I was headed to check the cows.  Why not, I couldn't sleep very good due to a little bit of back trouble.  So, I headed out into the somewhat warm, dark morning.  The moon was nowhere to be seen, and it was darker than a well digger's sit down.  (I am trying to set the mood here).  I grab my big mag-lite flashlight and start slopping through the foot deep muck to see if anything was going on.  It didn't take long for me to find a calf planked out in the wet mud, shivering and a shaking.  I knew I needed to spring into action, so I grabbed the be nice stick, the sled, and kept a tight hold of my flashlight. 
I was able to pull the sled right up to the big ol' calf and gave the not so happy momma a warning tap with my be nice stick to let her know I wasn't wanting her breathing down my backside.  I bent over this helpless lug of a calf and began to try and wrestle the slimy, wet, slick 80 pounds into the sled.  Not wanting to put my influencing stick down, it was quite the sight to see me flop around with this poor calf.  Eventually, I succeeded with minimal amounts of grunting, huffing and slipping.  I grabbed hold of the rope, wrapped it around my shoulder, and gave it the "ol' heave ho"...  Wow, the sled was sinking into the slop, and it was not wanting to budge.  Another big umph, and off we went.  I was making tracks, and the momma was following close behind.  It was going just as I planned, the light from the shed was welcoming me like a beacon, and I was almost to the door.  .....
Of course, it wasn't going to be so easy....  There was a patch of ice under the deep muck and i slipped.  The weight of the sled won out, and the fact my hands were full with flashlight and stick, I went down hard.  IT splatters.  I was covered from head to toe.  It was soaking through my pants, under my shirt, it was on my gloves, in my face, and my hair was not safe either.  Well, there is no stopping here and "wallowing" in pity.  I had to get up fast cause there was a mamma on my tail and she wasn't happy with me stealing her baby.  At least since I smelled like her she wasn't so wary of me.  I got the calf back into the shed, dumped it out in a nice pile of straw, reunited the big black cow with it's baby, and hobbled away, no pride in tact.
As I drove back to the house, feeling the "stuff" saturate through to skin, smelling like crap (literally) I was trying to decide whether I should cry or laugh.  My sleeping husband heard me hobble (did not help my already hurting back, nor my knee) into the bathroom, and needless to say, he might have got a chuckle out of the sight I was. 
I was able to peel my slop soaked clothes off, and then sat and thought, how long do I let this set before it softens my skin, gives it  added nutrients, and renews me.  A shower never felt so good.  I was a new woman after the experience, no denying it.

This is the said sled, not the same momma, and I only wish it would have been snow and not deep shtuff...