Life has not been extremely interesting for us lately. The weather has gotten cold again and it snowed last Sunday keeping us inside. Well, okay not inside, Sunday we did have a good time. Our friend's Eduardo and Jessica came to town for a whirlwind trip. It was the last time we would see them for the next 2 years. They have committed to go to the Sudan to Preach the Good News and to learn languages and things they would need on the mission field. Eddy gave the message for the service and then friends gathered around them to pray and bless them on their new journey. I couldn't help getting teary eyed. We hugged them many times that day not knowing when would be the last good-bye. We did go for lunch with them and other friends and then headed up the North Fork with them to meet more friends to look at a ranch that is for sale. Our friend Jim Nicholson was the tour guide around the ranch and we crammed 9 people into a Dodge extended quad cab! I don't remember how many times my head hit the ceiling!
This week, my evenings are planned for me. I've committed to help plan a women's one day retreat at church. It's called the Bloomery. A spring themed day filled with crafts, reflection, food and meeting new people. It should be a good day this saturday. There are about 30 people signed up to come which isn't too bad.
I did hit Billings with some friends which was fun. I was kind of in a personal "funk" that day and maybe didn't have the best attitude at times. Sorry girls!
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
50th Anniversary
No, it's not ours but it was Jason's grandparents 50th on Sunday. We were asked to help them at a "reception" they were having. So as a weekend celebration, we all went to Olive Garden for supper Saturday night. I love Olive Garden! I pigged out on bread sticks, spinich artichoke dip with bread and my favorite and only dish I've gotten, Chicken Marsala! My recipe just doesn't compare. I'm feeling the extra pounds I put on though, but it was so worth it.
They had the reception at their church which is actually a converted store in downtown Billings. The people that own it made it really trendy and hip. It would be a great coffee hangout. They have a coffee bar, a stage for concerts that they host and cool retro 50's tables with the sparkly chairs. It was so cool.
We helped set up and get the sandwiches out and my job was to serve the cake. They gave each other their original wedding rings, which over time don't fit anymore and they don't wear them. But the re-commited their vows to each other for the next 25 years. Wendall said he's not doing 100 years, so 75 is the next big goal. He's so funny.
I even broke out a skirt and heels for the occasion and the winter white legs saw light for the first time this year. And they were white! Not a pretty site.
Unfortunately we didn't spend much time outside. It was such a beautiful weekend too. We did do some yard work when we got home sunday and filled the sprinkler lines with water and tested out the sprinklers. We had to figure out how they worked since it's both our first time dealing with sprinklers and the first summer in our house. The neighbors were having some rowdy friends over for a barbecue and there's not a fence between our yards, so we went to our front patio and dined by candlelight by the barbecue. It was too nice to sit inside.
All I can say is, Welcome Spring and goodbye cold weather!
They had the reception at their church which is actually a converted store in downtown Billings. The people that own it made it really trendy and hip. It would be a great coffee hangout. They have a coffee bar, a stage for concerts that they host and cool retro 50's tables with the sparkly chairs. It was so cool.
We helped set up and get the sandwiches out and my job was to serve the cake. They gave each other their original wedding rings, which over time don't fit anymore and they don't wear them. But the re-commited their vows to each other for the next 25 years. Wendall said he's not doing 100 years, so 75 is the next big goal. He's so funny.
I even broke out a skirt and heels for the occasion and the winter white legs saw light for the first time this year. And they were white! Not a pretty site.
Unfortunately we didn't spend much time outside. It was such a beautiful weekend too. We did do some yard work when we got home sunday and filled the sprinkler lines with water and tested out the sprinklers. We had to figure out how they worked since it's both our first time dealing with sprinklers and the first summer in our house. The neighbors were having some rowdy friends over for a barbecue and there's not a fence between our yards, so we went to our front patio and dined by candlelight by the barbecue. It was too nice to sit inside.
All I can say is, Welcome Spring and goodbye cold weather!
Monday, April 7, 2008
Welcome Gracie Anne
Here's a big congratulations to our Manitoba friends Sarah & Myron Wiebe on the birth of their daughter Gracie Anne. She's the first baby for the happy couple.
Here she is. All 6lbs 8oz of her and she has bright orange hair just like mom.
Dad thinks she's pretty great! Thumbs up!
Here she is. All 6lbs 8oz of her and she has bright orange hair just like mom.
Dad thinks she's pretty great! Thumbs up!
The Rodeo novel
It was a cool, and windy day with a storm blowing in over the mountains, when the hubby and I decided that we needed to ride the ponies. Well, my fat "pony" and his borrowed "pony". We've since moved my fat, pregnant looking mare from Cody to Powell to a friend's house who built an arena. Jason has been "borrowing" the cowboy friend's mare to team rope.
I collected my mare from her pen and brushed her out while trying to stay out of the wind. Saddled up and led her into the arena. This would be the pony's second ride of the year. She had done well the first time and I thought, "what could go wrong?" At the same time I was having thoughts of being thrown and dragged with my foot still in the stirrup and my head hitting every post around the perimeter. But I pushed those thoughts aside and straddled the pony.
Let me back up. The first ride had it's nervous moments as well. Not having been around team roping and the noises, the pony was nervous and wide-eyed with every new sound. Sometimes the sound of thundering hooves sparked a sudden urge in the pony to run away but the "skilled handler" simply pulled her in a circle to watch the outcome of the lone steer being pulled apart by the ropers.
I straddled the pony and off we went, not terribly fast but a brisk trot around and around the arena. The ropers were harrowing the sand/gravel and we followed the scary tractor. Passed the test with a calm horse. Next came the scary red and white barrels being rolled in. These were almost too much but after a couple of circles of said barrels, the pony relaxed, until a rock hit the side. The was almost too much to handle but she hung in there. We circled and went through them and I'm thinking "I could do the pole bending pattern pretty well." Next we tried to enter the roping box with steers in the shoot. We inched closer and closer with many refusals. We entered half-way in and decided that was probably all I was going to get. The guys got in there respective boxes and I went off to the side to watch the "catch and release". Off they went running past us when I felt myself being lifted off the ground! Up down, up down, and a short scream escaped my lips. Turn in a circle. "She must really want to go," said the cowboy. "There was a sound behind us that scared her." Puppy Moses was behind me jumping up on the fence and that's what set off the pony. One rodeo under my belt and I happily rejoiced that I had stayed on.
Off we trotted as if it had never happened, well almost like it never happened. My insides could tell you differently. Around and around, chasing steers down the alley back to their starting point for the cowboys. We parked along side the same fence again but farther down away from Moses. The wind had picked up and little chunks of snow were catching in the pony's long body hair. We turned tail to the wind and sat there through a number of roping runs without any thoughts of the previous rodeo. We followed after the cowboys at a slow trot when I again felt myself being airborne and falling forward and seeing nothing but neck and mane heading straight for my head. A connection was made but I had to right my self to ride out the bronc. In the process, my jacket had hooked over the saddle horn keeping me on the bronc but those nasty pictures of falling off ran through my mind. 3 jumps and we were done but this time the old noggin' had a ring to it. I got off and said I was done. Quickly the hubby and cowboy came to see if I was okay. My lip felt a little bigger and a head ache was coming on. There was a slight redness to my upper lip as I touched it and wiped off the blood. The hubby, not wanting to see me get scared of the pony told me to lope her around, she had excess energy. "You do it." So he got on and rode her around. I did get back on and rode around for a few more minutes before I called it a day. Mine was not the only pony acting a little broncy. The cowboy's horses were all not very cooperative that blustery day. Just as we finished up, the sun started to shine and wind died down a little bit.
Isn't that just the way it goes? Oh well, we'll give it another try this week with hopefully better results. I do have to say that the hubby was proud I had stayed on and I was proud I hadn't let a tear drop over the incident. The presence of another cowboy may have prohibited that. My first battle scar of the year, along with some bruised inner knees got me sympathy, a smile and a hug from the roping hubby. AAAHHHH!!
I collected my mare from her pen and brushed her out while trying to stay out of the wind. Saddled up and led her into the arena. This would be the pony's second ride of the year. She had done well the first time and I thought, "what could go wrong?" At the same time I was having thoughts of being thrown and dragged with my foot still in the stirrup and my head hitting every post around the perimeter. But I pushed those thoughts aside and straddled the pony.
Let me back up. The first ride had it's nervous moments as well. Not having been around team roping and the noises, the pony was nervous and wide-eyed with every new sound. Sometimes the sound of thundering hooves sparked a sudden urge in the pony to run away but the "skilled handler" simply pulled her in a circle to watch the outcome of the lone steer being pulled apart by the ropers.
I straddled the pony and off we went, not terribly fast but a brisk trot around and around the arena. The ropers were harrowing the sand/gravel and we followed the scary tractor. Passed the test with a calm horse. Next came the scary red and white barrels being rolled in. These were almost too much but after a couple of circles of said barrels, the pony relaxed, until a rock hit the side. The was almost too much to handle but she hung in there. We circled and went through them and I'm thinking "I could do the pole bending pattern pretty well." Next we tried to enter the roping box with steers in the shoot. We inched closer and closer with many refusals. We entered half-way in and decided that was probably all I was going to get. The guys got in there respective boxes and I went off to the side to watch the "catch and release". Off they went running past us when I felt myself being lifted off the ground! Up down, up down, and a short scream escaped my lips. Turn in a circle. "She must really want to go," said the cowboy. "There was a sound behind us that scared her." Puppy Moses was behind me jumping up on the fence and that's what set off the pony. One rodeo under my belt and I happily rejoiced that I had stayed on.
Off we trotted as if it had never happened, well almost like it never happened. My insides could tell you differently. Around and around, chasing steers down the alley back to their starting point for the cowboys. We parked along side the same fence again but farther down away from Moses. The wind had picked up and little chunks of snow were catching in the pony's long body hair. We turned tail to the wind and sat there through a number of roping runs without any thoughts of the previous rodeo. We followed after the cowboys at a slow trot when I again felt myself being airborne and falling forward and seeing nothing but neck and mane heading straight for my head. A connection was made but I had to right my self to ride out the bronc. In the process, my jacket had hooked over the saddle horn keeping me on the bronc but those nasty pictures of falling off ran through my mind. 3 jumps and we were done but this time the old noggin' had a ring to it. I got off and said I was done. Quickly the hubby and cowboy came to see if I was okay. My lip felt a little bigger and a head ache was coming on. There was a slight redness to my upper lip as I touched it and wiped off the blood. The hubby, not wanting to see me get scared of the pony told me to lope her around, she had excess energy. "You do it." So he got on and rode her around. I did get back on and rode around for a few more minutes before I called it a day. Mine was not the only pony acting a little broncy. The cowboy's horses were all not very cooperative that blustery day. Just as we finished up, the sun started to shine and wind died down a little bit.
Isn't that just the way it goes? Oh well, we'll give it another try this week with hopefully better results. I do have to say that the hubby was proud I had stayed on and I was proud I hadn't let a tear drop over the incident. The presence of another cowboy may have prohibited that. My first battle scar of the year, along with some bruised inner knees got me sympathy, a smile and a hug from the roping hubby. AAAHHHH!!
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