More Summer & A New Puppy

Here are a couple of new pics that I snapped of Trey and of our blue heeler puppy -Oso.



Trey- June 09




Pistol Packin' Kid




Oso

A Good Start to Summer

So as you all have guessed- I'm playing catch up again. As summer is well under way, we have had a pretty good and busy one so far. Since the end of May we have gone to Silver City for the spring branding, have a pretty good start to our garden (neighbors beware- hope you like zuchinni, green beans, & tomatoes), I helped host a camp for work, we started landscaping our yard, and have a new puppy. Wow- that was a mouthful and as the summer progresses I'm sure that we'll have plenty more to add.



Spring Branding 09 at Silver City

The end of May we went up to Silver City to help Ty's folks, Pat & Kathi brand. It was a fast and furious 5 days, but we very much enjoyed our "beginning of summer vacation". Kathi was just just about 10 days out from finishing her radiation treatments (which is all done now) and is riding and going to barrel races again. She has now decided that pink is her new favorite color and that we all need pink shirts. (I'm not much on pink, but got a hot pink shirt just for her.) Pat has been busy keeping up with the new heifers they bought earlier in the spring, which we branded all their calves while we were there, and doing lots of fence work. Carolyn (Ty's grandma) was actually in El Paso at a horse show while we were there, but qualified for the world show later this year. It was good to visit with friends/branding crew while we were there, and are looking forward to the fall works which will be here before we know it.




Ty & Dusty



Trey & Kaitlyn cruising on the 4-wheeler



Sorting the calves off the cows



Getting the irons hot



Sug enjoying all the fun





This was the first calf that went through the chute.



Ty & Pat




Rafter 2S





Trey, Will, & Kaitlyn hanging out at the chutes between calves



Part of the crew: Gary Littleton, Ty, Web Trotter, and George Been
They were all laughing about George's stud trying to be friendly and Web's mare being cranky.




Fresh branded



Trey taking look at everything while we were out feeding



Tuckered out- Trey had so much fun that by the last day he didn't even make the whole feed run before he crashed on us.

Easter 2009

Easter just keeps getting more fun every year that Trey gets older. We colored our eggs and there was a party at pre-school with more eggs and candy, and even school picture day that week too. This year Trey was so excited for the Easter Bunny to come, that it was very hard for him to go to bed the night before so that the Easter Bunny would actually come. That night it rained but the Easter Bunny braved the weather and made it to our house to hide our eggs inside and on the porch so that we didn't get muddy. (Mom was thankful for that.)

Bright and early Trey was up and ready to see if the Easter Bunny came. He was so happy and ready to hunt eggs that we ended up having our Easter egg search in our pj's- which was a lot of fun. Here's some pictures of Trey's fun morning, and of course him all dressed up for picture day at school.

School Picture Day

Easter Morning!

We hope everyone's Easter was as happy and blessed as ours was.

Catching Up....

Most of you by now have probably realized that I have had a terrible failing in keeping our blog updated. To be honest....it's pure laziness on my part. Must be because I spend most of my days at work in front of a computer, and then don't want to look at one when I get home. My goal this weekend is to remedy this problem...or at least get caught up on the last few months and what we've been up to.

It seems to have been a whirlwind since Christmas and time sure has flown- April will be over before we know it!

Here are some pics that I have taken in the last few months:

Making Faces

Trey was having fun one night making faces- so naturally I had to grab the camera.

New-Old Cars

Ty and Trey were out in the garage one Saturday, and while looking for something else Ty stumbled on the box that had all of his old Hot Wheels and such. Needless to say, Trey thought he had died and gone to toy heaven. There is quite a collection as you can see and this is only part of it in the first picture. There are more tractors and trucks that Trey had already "parked" in the living room. His dad reluctantly passed his stuff on to Trey, and now Trey has a whole tub full of his "new-old toys" that he absolutely loves. Thanks, Dad!

Austin

I had to take a trip to Austin for work in March, and of course no trip to Austin is complete without a stop at the Capital. (But I did pass on 6th Street)

Girls Night Out

At the beginning of April, one of my best friends from college, Shannon and I met in Odessa to go to a Cross Canadian Ragweed concert. We had a blast and are already planning our next girls weekend.

Trey's New Hat

Seeing as how it's not summer anymore- we decided that a palm leaf wasn't quite fitting. As part of an early Christmas we got Trey a new felt hat. He's pretty proud of it- even if he didn't want me to take his picture the first day he got.

Sugar

As promised I'm slowly working on getting caught up with posts. Right before Christmas I was driving in to work and saw posting on a vet clinic marquee for a red heeler puppy. For some reason I felt compelled to call and find out about this little dog. What I found out from the lady who was caring for this little dog (after she found her at the elementary school that she teaches at) sounded promising. This was a Friday, and by Sunday I talked Ty into going to take a look at her. Well she's not full heeler; probably more like a heeler/Kelpie cross(we think), but whatever the case, she is absolutely the sweetest dog we've run into. Needless to say, it didn't take long for us to decide to bring her home.

So now in addition to our horses and cat, we have a little dog named Sugar or "Sug".

What a face...




She's a sweetie and pretty smart too




Trey's Constant Companion

Catching up!

Well as you all have probably figured out I post in spurts. I know it's been a long dry spell since I've put anything new up so bear with me. I have lots to add from Christmas so keep checking back as I hope to get it all up in the next few days!

The Horse Stories

Just wanted to take a second to introduce you to the two newest additions to our family here in Texas. Well actually they are not new to us, but all the same, we're tickled to have them here.

Dusty & Peanuts

After not having them with us while we lived in Midland, we are excited to have our ponies. Ty has commented that it really feels like home now that they are here. Despite the fence building and long faces staring over the fence when you get home in the evenings waiting to be fed, we are glad to be adding to our little place in Texas.

First Days of Pre-School and Halloween

Well as I was getting ready to start my new job at Angelo State, Trey was getting ready to embark on a new adventure by beginning pre-school. And cool enough for him Halloween was his second day of school. He got to dress up in his costume and go to the party that his pre-school was having that day. Lucky enough I managed to snap a few pics before we headed out the door.

First day of School



Happy Halloween 2008



Trey was excited that he got to wear his rubber boots to school, but wouldn't wear his "fishing hat" without his trusty CAT cap underneath.

After a little bit of a rough time the first week, Trey is settling into school well and in the midst of all of the hub-bub has about got potty training licked. Ty and I are really proud of him and can't wait to see him blossom in his new adventure.


On a side note- I have started my new job and so far really enjoy it. I work with a great bunch of people and really do like the campus at Angelo State. It's taking me a little time to get used to slacks and heels everyday, but all in good time for this jeans and flip flop mom. ;)

Good Ol' Cow Works

A few weeks ago we got the chance to go on a working vacation. I know that seems like a contradiction in terms, but for two country kids that had been living in the city and just now getting back to country life it was a treat. Ty's folks have recently moved back to Silver City to help Ty's grandma with the ranch and we went up to help them with the fall branding and shipping. Needless to say it was a great trip for all of us and we spent ten days doing what we really enjoy and have missed the most about ranch life.

There was never a lack of stuff to do while we were there, which was right up Trey's alley of course. He got to help feed cows and horses, work on trucks, fix water troughs, and still found time to make two new girlfriends.

Our trip was bitter sweet though, because as we were gathering the decision was made to sell the longhorn herd that Ty's grandpa Pete had put together. He passed away last November, and in the last 10 years or so he had taken up having some registered longhorns as a hobby. Well what started as a few cows turned into a herd of about 50. Luckily enough though, we had a private buyer who was very excited to buy some of the registered cattle and a bull. This man is as passionate about the business as Pete was and loved the pedigrees and history behind the cows he selected. What he didn't take we had another buyer for, so it all worked out good for everyone. We did keep back a few for posterity though- an old momma cow who we turned out with the heifers (she's good at bringing everyone in for a bite to eat), one of the first cows that Pete bought, and an old steer with a great set of horns that's the pet.

Other than that it was just a great trip for all of us and we really enjoyed seeing Ty's mom and dad and other extended family and friends that we hadn't seen in a while. It was also nice to have a little vacation before I started my new job at Angelo State and Trey started pre-school. I took a ton of pictures while we were there, and here are some of my favorites from the ranch.

Trey and Dusty- "Buddies"

Trey riding Dusty

Branding the late summer calves

Ty and Web dehorning

Branding smoke

Ty and Trey just before sun up

Heading out to gather the longhorns one last time

(I got the lucky and warmer job of driving the feed truck. Trey is even better than me at honking cows in.)

A few of the longhorns that were already at the pens

Even for as much of a pain as the longhorns were- we're going to miss them. Happy Trails...

Trey's Antics- Again

Well he's been at it again....

As usual, Trey has been keeping us well entertained. Here are a few pics I've snapped of him in the last few weeks of him "just being himself."

Playing in the post-holes that his dad had just dug

Stretched out.....

And....In he goes (Trey was actually laughing as Ty pulled him out)

Telling me-"No pictures, Mom, No pictures" (despite his peculiar get-up)

Who says bags are just for gifts?

Stay tuned for more antics....