Happy Anniversary To Us

Well, it was my anniversary, but unfortunately before knowing the date, I committed the kids and I to show sheep with our 4H club at the Colorado State Fair. So, 5 girls and Ian loaded up a bunch of sheep in the back of the truck, hauled them to the trailer, loaded them into the trailer and drove down to Pueblo. We then transferred them to their pens at the fair. Boy was that some fun! None of them were halter trained so we man handled them all the way into the fair. We got some weird cross-ways glances the whole way in!

Hauling Hay

Izzy hauling water

Ike & Dixie hauling water

Kelly & Izzy feeding Dudley

Waiting & waiting for the show to start

And waiting

Kelly, Ian, Shelby & Izzy taking Douglas for his winning picture

Kelly & Sundance posing for the winning photo

I finally was able to kiss and hug Mac and tell him Happy Anniversary at about 11:48 PM, with 12 minutes to spare! We learned a lot about showing sheep, finally were able to go to the state fair, and had a good time with our 4H peeps!

Rough Riders Horse Show

Evergreen Father's Day Parade

Our 4H club, the Rough Riders, got together this year and made a western themed float for the Evergreen Parade. We had a blast and handed out gobs and gobs of candy.

Best Concussion Story EVER!

March, 2011

Our 4H club is called Rough Riders. We usually meet at Dixie's house for riding practice. Not only does she have horses, but also laying hens, 15 or so sheep, and a whole herd of dogs! One day while at Dixie's riding, one of her Shetland rams, Douglas, managed to get over into the pen with the ewes. She asked us to help her get him back into his pen. The four of us tried working together to squeeze him into a corner so we could grab him by the horns and then lift him back over the fence. At one point I managed to grab for his horns as he darted by, missed, and just got a handful of wool. Well, Mr. Douglas didn't want any part of that! In a split second he turned around, butted me square between my eyes and knocked me off my feet. The world just about went black. I lay there, face down, with my head in my hands not caring at all that I was reclining in sheep poop. I thought I was going to be sick. The world would not stop spinning. My eyes began to water, as snot and blood poured out of my nose. When the kids asked me if I was okay all I could manage to say was "Ice. I need ice". I didn't know if I was okay. I didn't know if I needed stitches. I didn't even know if I had passed out. I just know I wouldn't be able to stand up for the next 10 minutes. I could see. I could talk. But my head felt like it was splitting open. All I could think about was how badly I wanted ice. It wasn't until I finally managed to drag my dissheveled self up off that manure-covered ground that I knew I would be okay. I called my husband and asked him to meet me at the bottom of the mountain and somehow managed to drive the curvy roads with a bag of ice between my eyes and melting water running down my face. I will never forget what it felt like to be taken down by a ram. They may not be very big, 90 pounds maybe, but they pack a whallop! I had a headache for the next two weeks, but hands down one of the best concussion stories, ever!

Fun Family Time

Ike's just turned 11. He will be starting middle school this month. I realized today how long his legs are. That's where all that food goes! He's been weed-eating around the ranch and trying to make a dent in the jungle. Last month we wanted to help him get ready for his 4H County Shoot in a couple weeks. We haven't been practicing very much because the monks have started coming in to the "monkey village" for their summer retreats and we haven't wanted to disturb their solitude. So, we took off for a much needed family trip back to the spot where we took an extended camping trip last year, deep into the forest. We found a campfire that was still smoldering and a bunch of garbage strewn about. We happened to have a garbage bag handy and a few gallons of water we keep in the back for the dogs and cleaned up and put out the fire. It is unbelievable how people treat our national forests! We also brought along all our guns because Ike wanted to get some practice on his .22 and since he had never shot a shotgun before, and wanted to give it a try.

So, we found a beautiful spot where someone else set up a piece of cabinet grade wood for target shooting so we used it as a backdrop for our own targets. Again, forgive the poor quality pictures. I'm still just using my phone. I'm hoping there is a new camera in my near future, what with our anniversary and my birthday coming up. HINT HINT HINT

The kids tried the .22, .380, .9, and shotgun but were reluctant to try the 30.06. MacGyver "killled" us a couple bullseyes for dinner, though! We were all very proud!

We also did a little exploring via 4 wheel drive and I took a bunch of wildflower pictures. I also took some pictures of the aspens. I had never seen aspen before coming out west. They are one of my favorite trees now. (And the live oaks, cottonwoods and lodgepole pines)!

It was pretty overcast and a good 15 degrees cooler up here.

I love their leaves. They are called Quaking Aspens because of the sound they make when the wind whips through them. Very beautiful!

We stopped in Woodland Park, another small mountain town, on the way home and got some pizza for dinner. This is a shot of the back of Pikes Peak, where Katharine Bates wrote "America the Beautiful". You can see the front side of the Peak from our old house. Every angle of it looks completely different and is snow-capped about 10-11 months out of the year. There is also a cog railway that runs straight up the Peak. It clicks just like the old wooden roller coasters as you go up it. This is so you don't roll backwards. Its pretty cool. It is 14,100 feet, but is not the tallest in Colorado. That title is held by Mt. Elbert at 14,443 feet. We are at a mere 7,000 feet.

We had a fun family day. On the way home, Ike reminded us his birthday was coming up. When I asked what he wanted for his birthday, he surprised us. He wants a new pair of hiking shoes, a compass and a membership to the NRA. Should I be concerned? Maybe he just wants the free hat and sticker. Maybe he just wants access to the members only shooting range at the NRA Whittington Center a few hours away. I'm not sure why, or even how to feel about the last request but I have a feeling his birthday wishes are different than most boys his age. Maybe I should just be thankful he doesn't want a pair of $400 Jordan's or a keg party.

Quilting-Part Uno

I totally would have to buy this cute wooden sign if I had a sewing room:

Izzy and I went to town to run errands today and stopped to look at some material for her 4H quilt project. We had to go to WalMart for a few things and thought we'd start there. They don't even carry fabrics (or at least that one didn't)! So, we looked at their mats and rotary blades instead. I Suwanee! I've made two quilts before but they were both baby quilts and the only thing I had to buy for those was material. Needless to say, I didn't realize that a nice size mat and rotary tool would run close to $50 alone. I was a little underprepared. I must have been wandering around looking a little forlorn and disgruntled because a little birdie whispered in my ear that all the rotary cutting tools and mats were half off at Joann Fabrics AND most of their quilting material was 40% off. Jackpot! Just what I needed! Boy that sweet birdie saved me a bundle! I didn't even stay long enough to get anything on my list and hightailed it over to Joann's. Izzy and I spent over an hour trying to coordinate materials and I think only the daisy pattern fabric was not on sale. Well, what do you know? The sweet lady that cut my fabric signed me up for email coupons and then gave me one for 40% off one regularly priced item. So, I ended up with a huge mat and rotary tool and 6 yards of material for about $50. Woohoo! I'm guessing we saved $40-$50. Yay! Thank you all my sweet birdies! I love bargain shopping!

Here's our cool-o new toy:

Ok, sew (hehe), from the left, we have a cream background with a faded-red stripe, which is also the back;

the second one is the one Izzy picked first and where we pulled all the colors from-

its a yellow-cream background with the same faded-red, green, and brown;

the third is two different shades of green;

the fourth (my favorite) is a brown background and 2 of the same shades of green.

And here is a picture of the canyon as the sun was setting and we were heading home:

I kept wondering if we'd see the bear when we got home. It reminds me of the book I used to read to my kiddos when they were really little...Goodnight Moon, Goodnight Mountains, Goodnight Bear...