kountrybumpkins

Breaking Sunny

2012-01-15T17:48:00.000-08:00

We were riding colts the other night and decided to do a little hog hunting while we were out there. We finally have some good dogs again and they did a great job. We caught two hogs and they were pretty good size. Gavin had so much fun.

I must be loosing my mind because I am breaking another colt. I saw this little guy the other weekend and practically stole him from the guy. He is such a cute little horse, and I mean little. He is learning so fast and he is proving to have a great mind. These were pictures of our first ride which was only about ten minutes after starting to work with him. He's so easy going and easy to ride.

2012-01-09T18:13:00.000-08:00

Christmas

2011-12-29T19:00:00.000-08:00

Exotic animal birthday party

2011-12-18T15:55:00.000-08:00

2011-11-15T17:00:00.001-08:00

Emily participated in a mini Cheer camp. The cheerleaders where able to preform at the homecoming football pep-rally and game. She had a blast cheering!

Emily as a mermaid, and Lauren as a witch for halloween

getting lots of candy

Boating, baseball, and birthdays

2011-10-02T05:55:00.000-07:00

It was 51 degrees at 7:00 when we got out on the lake yesterday morning. The Heaton's oldest son, Josh, is in town and Quinn really wanted some coaching in wakeboarding. We decided to squeeze a small boating trip in between 7 am and Gavin's 11:00 baseball game......brrrrrr!

We also celebrated Gavin's 9th birthday party this week. I have a hard time admitting to myself how old he is getting.

Cade, all bundled up on the boat.

I know I am a little bias, but isn't Gavin so stinking cute?

Gavin was able to pitch the 2nd inning of the game. He did a really good job.

Cader Tater Stinker Pants

psyching himself up for a jump.

We are up to our necks in hogs this year. Gavin gets to go hog hunting almost every night, and he shoots one almost every night. What more could a boy ask for?

shootin

2011-09-20T06:25:00.000-07:00

Texas Angels

School time!

2011-09-01T09:06:00.000-07:00

My cute school kids on their first day of school. Emily is starting Kindergarten and Gavin is starting 3rd grade. We are looking forward to a great school year. It was very difficult for me to let them go, I was one sad mommy :(

We still manage to have fun on the weekends thanks to becky and Evan inviting us to the Horseshoe Bay resort. The bird keeper let the kiddos hold all the birds and the kids LOVED every minute.

This bird's name is Hairy, because he loves to pick through peoples hair. He seemed to really love Emily's yellow hair :)

Fitness Blog

2011-08-21T19:27:00.000-07:00

While we were up in Idaho for 2.5 weeks recently, I was able to hang out with Whitney and Diana. We went for runs, worked out together, went shopping, and just hung out. I haven't had so much fun in a long time. It was so nice to have two really great instant friends. We completely hit it off immediately! There isn't a day that goes by that we don't talk or text with each other. We all could relate to the struggle we have had with weight loss and trying to stay active and healthy while raising children. We loved sharing ideas and I found that their stories motivated me. So we decided to start a blog to document, motivate and inspire each other while we are so far apart. We have been blogging for a couple weeks now and it has definitely done all those things for me. I'm telling you all of this so that if you would like to follow us in our journey, and our ups and downs, we would love to have you along for the ride. The blog is http://romrellfitness.blogspot.com/
ENJOY!

Let's Rodeo!

2011-08-19T06:06:00.001-07:00

Our County fair and rodeo is going on this week and last night was the night of the youth rodeo. Emily participated in the cloverleaf barrels, and the straight-away barrels. She did a great job riding strawberry and finished both patterns perfectly.
This is our new friend Brinn, she came to watch Gavin, Emily, and Cade compete.
Cade was so cute! He rode strawberry in the cloverleaf barrels, the straight-away barrels, and he also rode a sheep. He was the youngest competitor in the rodeo. He makes me a little nervous because he has absolutely no fear and he gets Strawberry going very fast.
Gavin was able to ride Blueberry this year and she did so good, he made great runs on her in the Cloverleaf barrels, the straight-away barrels, and the poles. He placed in every single horse event, and he also rode a calf which made him the all around winner.

We had some really great friends come and support the kiddos. These are our close friends Becky and Evan who we love hanging out with.

Paige and Brinn, beautiful girls!

We have this great new family move in, and they came to help cheer the kids on.
These are a few videos of the kid's runs. In the second video, watch closely at chute number 4, that is the chute Cade will be coming out of.

Family, friends, & fun!

2011-08-08T14:26:00.001-07:00

We were able to drive up to Idaho and visit Quinn's family for the past 2 and 1/2 weeks. It was a very long drive, but worth every minute to get to see all of our friends and family in Idaho. We went up at a great time because there was lots of things going on and all of the family was in town.

We got to spend lots of time with Aunt Tess and Liberty. We even went up to her house in Wyoming, very pretty!
The cutest twins in the world!
Grandpa with Em.

We were able to stay for Quinn's cousin's wedding, I was lucky enough to get to do her bridal pictures. These were some of my favorites.

Grandma and Grandpa Bateman.
Gene and Derek took us riding up Raymond canyon one day. I have never been on a more beautiful ride. We rode up and down some pretty steep mountains, so that was definitely a first for me. Haaaaawwwww!

Thanks so much for taking us up the canyon Gene and Derek!
We went up to the ranch looking for badgers almost everyday. I have never seen a badger before in my life, they are much bigger then what I expected. Deloy and Jake hit these two from pretty far off.
Shooting the AR, woooo whooo!

Diana with sweet, beautiful Brielle or Elle, and Whitney with one of her cutie patootie twins Treydon. I love these girls!!!!
I was able to take some individual pictures of my kiddos, here is one of miss Em.
We Just love Uncle Jake! We didn't get to see a whole lot of him while we were up. He works for the forest service and when he wasn't chasing fires, he was chasing girls.
The day after we arrived in Idaho, Quinn's great grandmother was celebrating turning 100 years old. She is such an amazing woman and we are so glad we got to celebrate her birthday with her. What an accomplishment!
Most of the grandkids. Cade, Emily, Diesel, and Liberty.
Cade had a hay-day with all the new toys to play with. The weather was so nice that we wanted to spend as much time as we could outside.
I took lots and lots of pictures. These were some we took of Mary Lin and DeLoy up at a very old cabin on the old dry farming fields. I think they called it poverty flats because a bunch of potato farmers went bust up there.

Summer activities...so far!

2011-06-22T07:11:00.000-07:00

The end of the school year came and went......Gavin was awarded several awards, one being for having an A average for the entire school year!
We love Mrs. Sultemeier, she is an amazing teacher, and we will miss her tremendously!
More awards!
Gavin Also found out on the last day of school that he was picked for the All-star team! We are so proud of him and just love our little team. This picture was taken at the first All-star tournament in Mason where the boys won all of their games therefore winning first and taking home the Championship medals.
Gus came down from logan and it has been so much fun playing with him. What a cutie!
Our little All-star!
We hosted the second tournament in Johnson City, where the results were exactly the same.....still undefeated and tournament champions!!!
The third tournament was in Fredericksburg, and you guessed it, undefeated tournament champions again!! Our boys are awesome and definitely the team everyone is trying desperately to defeat. I love overhearing some of the conversations from other teams at the tournaments, as our Eagles are something to talk about.
One more tournament to go, then on to other summer fun!

Undefeated

2011-05-17T17:12:00.000-07:00

Our boys, the D-backs, have played 15 games and are yet to be defeated. We have loved every minute of this baseball season. We have great team members and great parents, and we have had so much fun!
I have absolutely fallen in love with all these boys, they are all so cute and have great little personalities.....

.....Quinn and I have also been very impressed with our coaches! They are good leaders, who not only teach the boys great baseball skills, but they also have instilled in the boys great sportsmanship. We are huge fans of Coach Kemp and Coach Lee....awesome job!!!

The UNDEFEATED D-backs!

Baseball, baseball, and more BASEBALL.

2011-05-02T16:10:00.001-07:00

We are smack-dab in the middle of baseball season and having lots of fun! Gavin has turned into quite the baseball player, and we are always practicing baseball, at a baseball game, or traveling to and from baseball. Kinda seems like all we do right now is eat, breath, and live baseball. So far Gavin's team has played eight games and are undefeated.

Easter Weekend

2011-04-25T13:20:00.000-07:00

We had so much fun hunting Easter eggs and hanging out with our cousins...
.....riding Strawberry........
...playing down at the barn on all the trailers...
.....and riding Strawberry some more.
We had a great Easter weekend and we are so grateful for our Savior who died for us, and was resurrected, and this holiday that focuses on the fact that He lives! I love that we can take this time to think of Him and all He has done and continues to do on our behalf. We hope all our friends and family had a happy Easter!

Visitors

2011-04-06T19:00:00.000-07:00

Grampa, Grama, and Jake came down from Idaho and visited us this past week. It was so nice to have them here and to be able to spend some time with all of them. This was our first time to see Jake in over 3 years as he recently returned from serving a 2 year mission for our church. We kept trying to get him to stay here in Texas with us, but I think there is something he would like to get back to in Idaho/Wyoming:)
The kids love Grampa, and Grama!
We did a little touring around the hill country and stopped by Luckenback, TX.
The kiddos also got to do a lot of playing and some much anticipated wrestling with Jake. Cade kept telling us before they got here that he was going to use his karate to cut Uncle Jake's head off, and cut his eye out, and his other eye out. Luckily Jake escaped the ordeal in tact with all his extremities firmly in place. Between Grampa and Jake, Cade had lots of wrestling opportunities and it was so much fun to watch Cade beat up on the guys......it was even nicer that he wasn't trying to wrestle with us for a while.
DeLoy and his little 'mini me', aka Cade, had so much fun playing baseball one evening. The weather was great and we all played ball, the rules got a little blurry, and I am sure there were some illegal plays, but we had tons of fun and laughed even harder.
One evening we all took out in hopes of finding some coons. The moon wasn't out, the wind was blowing hard, so I thought for sure we wouldn't be seeing many coons. But guess what?? We killed 5 coons and stayed up til 2:30 in the morning.....and we still came in earlier than Jake did.

Emily fell in love with uncle Jake,and she would get silly and giggly and she kept making chicken jokes. Every question you would ask her, was answered with "Chicken" and giggles.
The San Antonio Rose Palace, such an awesome arena! The only think that would have made it cooler, is if George himself would have been there.
The temperature was between 60-75 degrees most of the days they were here visiting, but the day we went to sea world it decided to get hot! Our car thermometer read 108 as we were sitting in traffic on our way home. Despite the weather, we had a great time at Sea World and made some wonderful memories. Some of our favorite parts of the park were the shows, so we tried to catch as many as we could. Here we all are waiting for a show to start.
Here Emily and Grama are trying to pet the dolphins at the dolphin exhibit.
We figured out pretty fast if you didn't go buy the $6.00 package of fish, there was no way you would be petting any of the dolphins. Emily loved it!
the killer whale shows were amazing!! Such powerful, smart, and beautiful animals.
There was even a baby killer whale swimming around with his momma, soooo cute!
Grama, Emily, and Shamu
Most of us agreed that the sea lions were probably our favorites, they had a really cute mystery they acted out with the animals.
We had so much fun with our Idaho family, and we hated to see them leave!

San Antonio Zoo

2011-03-19T10:50:00.000-07:00

Over spring break we went to the San Antonio Zoo with Jennifer, Brandon, Heidi, Benson, and all their kiddos. Even though the zoo was extremely crowded, we still managed to have lots of fun.

Braces!!

2011-02-17T07:19:00.000-08:00

Gavin went in this week and got braces!! I can't believe he is old enough to need braces, and they make him look even older.

His teeth are going to be really sore tomorrow.

A little o' this, a little o' that

2011-02-01T14:56:00.000-08:00

Daddy and his little girl

Headed to go gather and doctor cattle at the Pike Davis Ranch

This is a heifer who lost her calf on her first time calving. She is unable to get up, so we are looking after her for a while. She is off one of the ranches my dad takes care of, and since he is out-of-state right now for work, we are tending to the cattle. Unfortunately she was bred by a bull she wasn't supposed to be bred by, and the calf was too big for her to have. Quinn and I had to do a little engineering to get her loaded in the trailer and then unloaded back at the pens so we could keep an eye on her and feed and doctor her better.

Same ole' same ole'

2011-01-03T16:43:00.000-08:00

I know you are probably thinking, not another post of them riding and working calves, but this is kinda what we are always doing, so that is why there are lots of posts of this kind of thing. Besides, there are more cattle and calves to be worked in the next couple of days, so there are more pictures to come.
Emily went along with us and she is such an awesome little cowgirl. She does a really great job staying with us and pushing cattle. For those of you who have ever gone along to gather cattle, you know what kind of hard riding is required. There is lots of brush and lots of running involved, so she has to be able to keep up with us and she makes me proud. It won't be long and Cade will be out there with us too, then we will have the whole family with us when we gather.

New year's activities

2011-01-03T06:30:00.000-08:00

This calf's momma died from complications from calving. We are bottle feeding him for a little while until someone can take care of him.

Emily pushed steers to the catch pen for us while we roped. She loves riding whenever she can.
Will, Jackee, and August came down for the holidays and he is such a cutie, and we enjoy having a little baby around again. Emily loves helping take care of him and keeping him entertained.
Since we have extra help, we have been working lots and lots of cattle. We sprayed cattle for ticks, and worked all the calves.
It was such hard work, we had to stop and take a little nap.
Quinn spraying cattle for ticks.
Gavin, riding Roy. He loves riding Strawberry, but gets excited when he has the opportunity to ride some of the bigger, younger horses.
the bulls got together and started fighting, then we couldn't break them up. Gavin wasn't so sure he wanted to get very close.
We decided now would be a great time to introduce Peaches to dragging calves to the fire. She is scared to death of cattle and watches them very carefully. We find this funny since she has the most amazing cutting horse bloodlines, but I don't think she ever saw a cow before we bought her. Since we have had her she has been surrounded by cattle, but she still acts as though they might try to eat her. We rode her all day gathering cattle, so by the time we were dragging calves we thought she would be nice and tired. Quinn hopped on her and into the herd they went. Quinn would rope a calf, turn and face her to head to the fire, and the rope would brush her butt. Being surrounded by cattle in such tight quarters already had Peaches very nervous, so when the momma cows followed the calves to the fire, Peaches thought they were coming after her. At one point, Quinn and Peaches were up in a corner of the pen and Quinn had calf roped and was trying to get out of the corner. A few cows darted behind Peaches, and she threw her head back hitting Quinn directly in the nose. The next thing we saw was Quinn lying on the ground yelling a string of profanities at my sweet little Peaches. We thought that his nose might have been broken, but it turned out to just be really sore. Quinn was able to get back on and drag more calves that day, and then the two days after. She did better and better each day, and by the third day of dragging calves, she looked like a pro. Quinn is also feeling much better:)
Gavin is our official vaccinator. He did really good the first day we worked calves with just an ordinary syringe. On the third day of working calves we switched him over to a gun syringe, and after working about 40 calves, someone noticed we hadn't had to refill the syringe yet. Gavin wasn't used to the trigger and didn't know it had to be squeezed really hard. Lots of calves only had part of their vaccination this year.
The pups went along with us for some of the working, they are still learning and it was fun wathcing them take in all the new experiences.

Opening presents

2010-12-26T14:03:00.000-08:00

The kids had so much fun opening presents this year. It was lots of fun to see their faces as they opened their gifts. I think everyone got everything they wanted, including me....Quinn found me a 22 pistol which I have been asking for. The whole family has enjoyed trying out my new gun. Among other things, the kiddos collectively received a new trampoline from Santa. You should have seen Santa trying to haul it in around 3:oo am from the shed.....it was very heavy and the weather was very cold! We love Christmas, and we hope all of our friends and loved ones had a wonderful Christmas also!

Where has 2010 gone?

2010-12-14T07:25:00.000-08:00

I cannot believe 2010 is already almost over! We have had a very eventful year and it has flown by us so fast. I stop and look around and wish I could just slow everything down a little bit. Our family has had a very good year, and we are so grateful for each other and for all that we have been blessed with.

Quinn celebrated 5 years with PEC, and he absolutely loves his job more and more each day. He loves being a lineman and all the experiences and training that comes with it. He and Eric also continued working various fencing jobs on the weekends. Quinn was able to take a trip with some of his buddies from work in early spring to Lake Tawakoni, TX where they caught lots and lots of catfish, yum! Between work, family, and church responsibilities there isn't much spare time, but he is always able to fit in a little roping here and there.

I am still a stay-at-home mom for the most part. I love being able to be home with my children and watch them grow. I wish I could push the pause button sometimes and just soak up this time I have with my kiddos. I also work at Blair's Western Wear part, part time. They call me in when they have exceptionally busy weekends or when they know they will be short handed. I love the people there and the opportunity to work in such a cute store. I also get to help out on the ranch quite a bit, which I love doing. I started my young mare 'Peaches' this year, then came to find out she had EPM(Equine Protozoal Myeloencephalitis), which she obtained while still with her previous owner. So after 45 days of treatment and not riding her, I was able to continue the training. She is actually a pretty nice little horse. I also purchased another yearling blue roan gelding this past summer, and I look forward to starting him this coming spring.

Gavin turned 8 this year and started the 2nd grade. We think he is exceptionally smart and talented:) He has really started getting into sports, and it amazes me how he knows and memorizes all the rosters and stats for various teams. Gavin practices football in one way or another almost everyday. He says he will play on a college team, and I hope he does. I told him I would come and watch every game if he did. Gavin loves helping out on the ranch too. I love that we are able to live out on the ranch and show and teach our children about hard work and responsibilities. He hauls hay, gathers cattle and goats, and helps Baw-poo with lots of chores on the ranch. These experiences also give him the opportunity to earn extra spending money.

Emily turned 5 this year and was able to ride Strawberry in the Rodeo for the first time. She did so good and we were so proud of her. She loves to go riding every opportunity she can. Emily can't wait to start school next year, she practices writing her letters and her numbers. I purchased a couple preschool workbooks so that she can do her "homework" everyday. She also loves to draw, and is constantly drawing very colorful pictures. I have a feeling she might be very artistic.

My baby, Cade, turned 3 this year. I can't believe how fast he is growing!! He is such a fun kiddo, and he keeps us all laughing. He is so fun loving and happy going most of the time. One of Cade's biggest accomplishments(in my eyes) is he is potty trained, yay!! This is the first time in over 8 years that I have not had to change diapers. Cade, like his brother and sister, loves riding horses, helping out on the ranch, playing with the puppies, roping the dummy, and feeding the cows and the goats. He does not like to be left behind just because he is the youngest, and in all honesty he does a pretty good job keeping up.

We feel like we have been given so much, and we are grateful for all we have! I love this time of year when we can focus on The Savior and celebrate His birth. I hope that everyone has a wonderful and Merry Christmas and an even better 2011.

December Fun!

2010-12-13T05:38:00.001-08:00

We caught a coon in the live-trap so we decided to work with the pups and other dogs. The kiddos had a blast shooting guns afterward.
Emily with Hooey and Freckles.

Daddy and his little girl.
Cade saw the others shooting and wanted to shoot also.
Hooey's not so sure about this, so he's approaching with caution just in case it gets up and eats him.
Gavin and Baw-poo shooting.
The three kiddos and the pups.
And I thought I would throw in a picture of our tree. We chose a small fraiser fur this year, and we think it is perfect!

2010-12-09T18:07:00.000-08:00

Cade and Baw-poo, after Cade fell down and got hurt. He had me bandage the 'wound', and he shortly forgot how bad he was hurt. What a sweetheart.....and I was able to capture a tender moment.

Hooey

2010-12-01T10:52:00.000-08:00

Well, we were able to get all the puppies sold. This is the puppy we kept, his name is Hooey, and he is such a cutie. My dad decided to keep one of our females, so we are really looking forward to them being able to work in a couple of months......

......as long as they survive the kiddos.

Cader Tater's Birthday Party

2010-11-16T17:21:00.000-08:00

We celebrated Cader tater stinker pants 3rd birthday this past weekend. He loved finally getting to open his presents and blow out his candles. We had been traveling all weekend, so he didn't get a fancy cake or birthday decorations....... poor little fella:(. He had to watch patiently while Gavin opened his presents in September, and then while Emily opened hers in October. Finally it was his turn to open his own birthday presents. It's hard being so little.

We sure do love our Cader tater!

A night out

2010-11-14T16:45:00.000-08:00

We were able to attend the Child Advocacy benefit auction and dinner with the Blairs and my other fellow employees this past weekend. It was really nice to spend an evening with other grownups. The food was really good, the company was great, and the entertainment was ...........entertaining:)

Brenna and Amber, two girls I work with. So cute and tooo funny.

Sarah and I were being silly with the hats they used on the table centerpieces.

Todd and Casey Blair. Don't worry his face normally looks like that:)

Veterans Day

2010-11-12T04:53:00.000-08:00

Gavin's school had a Veteran's Day parade. It was so nice to be able to honor some of our wonderful service men and women who have sacrificed sooo very much for all of us and for our freedoms and our country. How do you ever begin to repay that?

Puppies, puppies, puppies!

2010-11-03T14:53:00.000-07:00

We just had a litter of puppies 5 weeks ago, and they are really getting cute. We are super excited about them because they are out of two amazing cow/hog dogs and have a lot of potential. They are mostly black mouth cur, but they obviously have a little catahoula leopard in them(hence the blue eye and the spots). This is one we are thinking about keeping, we call him Camo.

This was the picture we put on the fliers.
The kiddos absolutely love them to death, so they are not so excited about selling the rest of them. I have explained that we just can't keep them all.

Halloween '10

2010-10-31T13:16:00.001-07:00

We went to trunk or treat at our church last night, and the kids had so much fun!
Cade as Bob the Builder with his hard hat on backwards.
Austin, was a dark night
Quinn handing out candy
snow white
Our good friends Josh, Lincoln and Lacey. They always have the best costumes. I love that Josh dressed up as one of the rescued Chile miners.

This is the pumpkin cake I made for the party. It turned out pretty good for my first pumpkin.

Roping

2010-09-27T07:39:00.000-07:00

We finanlly got more roping cattle! The last time we had roping steers was back in March, so we have really missed roping at the house.
The weather was perfect and the arena was still damp, just right for roping.

Cade was a big help running the chute.

Breaking in new steers was lots of fun!

It was really cool to see Gavin and Grey tracking steers and trying to rope, they did a great job!

Chute help :) I think everyone was a little nervous when Cade had the hot shot. I know I didn't ever turn my back on him.

Blanco County Fair and Rodeo 2010

2010-08-22T15:35:00.000-07:00

Gavin was asked to hold the flag for the National Anthem beginning the youth rodeo.
Gavin and Grey warming their horses up.
Cade watching his brother and sister in the rodeo.

Baw-poo and Cade on Blueberry.
Saturday morning we all rode in the parade, just like we have always done for years and years.
Gavin and Mike
Quinn and Gavin
Cade
Jess and Emily

The boys

2010-08-11T11:11:00.000-07:00

These are two new additions to the ranch. They are both yearlings that will be ready to start this coming spring along with Cocoa, Baw-poo's yearling filly. Looks like we are going to be very busy this next year. We are really excited!

This is Baw-poo's buckskin 'Biscuit'. He is toying with the idea of leaving him a stud. I have to agree that he would make pretty babies.

This is a recent purchase Quinn and I made. He is a blue roan yearling gelding. We are still trying to think of a good name for him.

Family, food, and dancing!

2010-08-04T18:18:00.000-07:00

We were able to attend a wedding reception of an old friend last week, and we had a blast. The food was great, we got to see lots of old friends, and the music and dancing was tons of fun.

Jess and baby Gus
The kids had so much fun dancing, they stayed out on the dance floor the entire night.
Cade showing us some fancy footwork.
We even got to dance a little.

Family get-together

2010-07-29T11:06:00.000-07:00

We had a small gathering at Granny's because my cousin Tanya was in town from Utah. It was really good to see her and her little family. We had lots fun laughing about old times.

Lauren and Emily

The three of us had lots of adventures growing up together, and many many good times.

We walked down to the creek to see one of our favorite old swimming holes.

Granny and Emily.

4th of July

2010-07-05T14:58:00.000-07:00

We had such a fun 4th of July! We went to the parade in Johnson City, and then to the firework show. It was a nice evening and we are so grateful for the opportunity we have to live in this wonderful country. We are proud to be Americans and deeply indebted to all those who sacrificed to make that possible.

Eclipse premier

2010-06-30T08:10:00.000-07:00

For Jenn's birthday, I bought her and I tickets for the premier of Eclipse. I have never camped out hours before a movie started to save seats before, but there I was. I have to admit I felt a little silly, but it was a good movie and we had tons of fun.

Sherry and Lexy were at the same viewing, but a couple theatres down.

We even got to meet the cast members;)

Happy Father's Day!

2010-06-20T12:56:00.000-07:00

I must admit that the Fathers in my life happen to be some of the best men I know. I am so grateful for the example they are and all that they do for us. Happy Father's day to all the dads in our lives, we hope you have a great father's day and hope you know how much you are loved and appreciated! We love you Quinn, Glen, DeLoy, Grandpa Romrell, Grandpa Taylor, and Grandpa Bateman!!!!!!! Thanks for everything.

Summer is here!

2010-06-05T15:13:00.000-07:00

Now that it is officially summer with the kids out of school, I have a feeling we are going to be spending lots and lots of time at the local pools. There just isn't a whole lot else that can be done in the Texas heat. I have learned to pack lots of food, sunscreen, and pool toys to keep every one happy.

Just hanging out

2010-05-24T08:08:00.000-07:00

Emily put her sunglasses on Tiger so that the sun wouldn't be in his eyes. We all thought they looked pretty good on him.

Tiger went for a little swim in the horse trough to cool off.

Emily watching Tiger swim, we couldn't convince her to get in there with him.

Gavin is such a great big brother giving his little sis a ride on the motor bike.

Rusty, just chillin.

Jenn's School

2010-05-12T16:18:00.000-07:00

We went with my dad to take a horse over for a demonstration at Jennifer's school. The kids always have so much fun, some of them have never seen a real horse in person before, they love the opportunity to hear about horses and they even get to pet it.

1st Annual 3G Ranch campout

2010-05-02T15:46:00.001-07:00

This past Friday night, we had our first annual 3G ranch camping trip. I have never slept in a tent (I have slept in stock trailers), so this was a new experience for me and the kids. There were several families: us, Jenn and Brandon and their kids, the Johnsons (from Jenn's Ward), and the Powells (also from Jenn's ward). We had so much fun, but I also came to realize that there is a lot of work to this whole camping thing.

Lauren and Emily playing in the tent, which became strictly forbidden by the end of the first evening because they completely tore up the tent.

Janessa and Jenn just taking it easy. I wonder if Janessa realized I wouldn't let her do much of anything. She was making me really nervous since she is already 2 weeks past her due date. We all thought she was some kind of a super woman for being out there in the first place.

Cooper, Gavin and Lee. 3 boys+1400 acres=lots of trouble.

one longhorn, one aggie, and one not sure what's going on:)

Okay, so Brandon way overdid everything. He brought enough food to feed an army. We could have lasted out there in the wilderness for years.

We also realized we were among serious campers when Eric and Janessa pulled their tent out(the big tent in the middle). We called theirs the Marriot, it had two rooms, tons of windows and an air mattress.

The kiddos were in serious need of a bath at the end.

Addie thought she would clean up the campsite for us. Keep going sweetie, there's lots more.

These two and their cooking towels, crack me up!

Are they sure they know what their doing?

Lee

Cooper with sleepy eyes.

Once again, going a little above and beyond. Brandon cooked 56 eggs, and an entire bag of cheese.

They tasted really good though!

Jenn (the little weasel), didn't sleep in the tents with us, she went back to the house, but came back first thing in the morning.

Emma, Brandon, and Troy and Zoey

the rugrats

I strategically placed the 4-wheeler there so that no one would set their tent close to ours, it was a good idea, until I had to walk all the way out their after Troy told a scary story back by the fire. You know how good I deal with scary. Thanks Troy!

Look at all the HAPPY CAMPERS

A nice day for a ride

2010-04-24T18:45:00.000-07:00

Lauren and Emily on Strawberry

Quinn and Cade on Rusty

I've seen more albino blue bonnets this year than I have ever seen, I thought this one was especially white.

Jess on Peaches.

Spring 2010

2010-04-23T13:53:00.000-07:00

Swimming @ turtle hole

working calves

Peaches

Papa and Nama Romrell in Texas continued

2010-04-06T15:48:00.000-07:00

We took them to look at different parts of the ranch. This is a neat little spot down by one of the creeks. Looks pretty cool with the granite and the cactus.

Glen showed them some good ole fashioned southern hospitality.

We gathered and worked more cattle. Quinn roped and drug calves on Rusty, such a good little horse.

Gavin, Papa(DeLoy), and Bawpoo(Glen)

Glen and DeLoy

We did a lot of waiting on Glen.

What a good looking crew

Papa and Nama in front of Granny's redbud tree

Two peas in a pod! They became good buds, real fast.

More blubonnets

Papa and Nama Romrell in Texas!

2010-04-04T15:18:00.000-07:00

Papa and Nama, aka DeLoy and Mary Lin, came down to see us from Idaho this past week. Quinn was able to take some time off of work and we were able to show them around the hill country and act like tourists.

We had to go to Luckenbach.....
......take pictures in the bluebonnets.....

model our Easter outfits.....

do a little easter egg hunting.....

........with the cousins.

One thing we got to do a lot of was work cattle. We were able to gather, sort, and spray several different pastures. Gavin and Nama working cattle at the Althaus place.

Cade and Jess watching the boys spray cattle

Papa and Quinn working the chute.

We had to take a trip down to turtle hole.....

....and do a little swimming and jumping off the rock.

We got cattle up on the ranch.......

....... and Cade counted cows so we could sort out the dry cows.

Papa on Mike, getting cattle up

The crew

We of course had to find some bluebonnets and take pictures in them. This was a nice big patch of them back on the Althaus/Davis road. We really did look like a bunch of tourists, but everyone needs a bluebonnet picture in the spring.

Grandpa and Nama with the grandkids in the flowers.

Feeding the orphan goat kids down at Granny's.

Our crazy pets

2010-03-11T06:47:00.000-08:00

This is my corgi, Stoney. She is such a fluffy ball of sweetness. I tried to sneak up on her when she was laying on her back in the sun with all four legs in the air spread every which way, but she caught me, I don't know how she could hear me coming. I was able to catch a pic later, so I thought I would add it......must have been a great day for sleeping on your back.

The goats are kidding right now, which lets me know that spring is here. The baby goats are so cute and the kiddos can't resist picking them up and holding them. This is Emily and our friend Lincoln holding two goat kids that are scared to death.

Emily and cute kid

Tiger loves jumping on the trampoline with Gavin. They were jumping all around and knocking each other over. I think we have some really strange pets!

August Grote's Blessing

2010-03-01T13:42:00.001-08:00

Will and Jackee blessed their sweet baby, August, this past Sunday. It was so fun to get together with friends and family.

Gus's cousins, Lee, Emily, Lauren, and Cade
Gus and Granny

Snow Day....In Texas???

2010-02-23T13:41:00.000-08:00

Gavin made a snowman, and a snow-woman, just in case he got lonely....isn't she lovely.

It started snowing about 6:30 this morning, and then it continued to snow all day. This is the most snow I have seen here in all my life. The kids have had so much fun playing in the snow and building snowmen. The kids have seen snow before, but only on our trips to Nama and Grandpa Romrell's in Idaho, so we had to call them first thing this morning and let them know we had snow. Thanks for sending it our way!!!!

Pike/Davis Winter '10 Roundup

2010-02-13T17:19:00.000-08:00

Working cattle at the Pike/Davis ranch is always a full day of hard work, but we have so much fun at the same time.......there is never a dull moment. We got all bundled up this morning because it was sooo cold, but it turned out to be a beautiful day! Gavin has been helping us work cattle since he could ride, and I am so glad he came along today, not only did he help out a lot, but I was able to get some cute pictures.

Gavin with Mike and Slim

Spraying cattle for ticks

Gavin was helping uncle Willie push calves up, and I was able to grab the camera and so glad I did, cause this is my favorite of the day!

This was the first picture I took this morning, there was frost all over the ground. No special effects needed, my camera lens was fogged up, I think it turned out to be a pretty cool pic.

Quinn got burned a few too many times today when the iron slipped, whether intentional or not, my dad seemed to think it was pretty funny.

Will, watching out for flying testicles. Dad thinks it is hilarious after castrating, to through testicles at people. Will just happened to be the lucky guy today. Just one of the many prices we pay for Dad being in a good mood.

Team work

Gavin tried out many jobs today, but his favorite was pushing calves up.

Playing in the puddles

2010-02-05T15:19:00.000-08:00

I told Cade not to get in the mud, so Bopoo told him to do just the opposite.......who do you think he listened to?

Cade in his cowboy boots and diaper, stomping through puddles.

Jess on Peaches, she just turned two and she is doing great!

Peaches......day one

2010-01-29T20:19:00.000-08:00

I started my young mare, Peaches, this week and she is coming along very nicely. Will committed to riding with me for a little while, so that we could get her started, and a few miles put on her under the saddle. I have the best brother in the world! Now if the weather would just cooperate. I know some of you are hoping I get to see a little action in the bucking area......I'll let you know what happens.

Christmas morning

2009-12-25T08:34:00.000-08:00

Mom and Cade trying to open presents
Emily and Cade with her castle

Jess and Cade

Emily

Cade on his new horse 'Lucky' that he got from Momoo and Bopoo

Gavin on his motorcycle

Brandon loaded up all the kids and took them for a 4-wheeler ride.

Santa was really good to the kids this year.....he brought Emily her princess castle, Cade a barn with animals, and Gavin a motorcycle. The kids had so much fun opening all of their other presents too, and it looked like a tornado had been through our living room by the time they were done.

Christmas Card 2009

2009-12-23T06:37:00.001-08:00

Dear Friends and Family,

Wow, what a year it has been! It is hard for us to believe that 2009 has come and is almost gone. These are some of the things that we have seen and done this year.

Quinn is now in his fifth year working as a lineman for Pedernales Electric Coop., and he loves the work there and all that he has learned. He had many opportunities to travel and work in other places this year, such as two months in Kyle, a weeklong trip to Junction, and an occasional trip to Marble Falls, among many other places. He loved the opportunity to meet new people and overcome new challenges. He works very hard, and in sometimes extreme weather conditions i.e. 100+ degree temperatures and thunderstorms, but he loves the work and the knowledge he has gained. When Quinn isn't being a lineman and a dad, he and his good friend Eric, have lots of fencing work to do. It isn't unusual for Quinn to work 7 days a week for weeks on end. Sometimes we are not sure how he keeps on going. Somehow he manages to do it all and never complains. Even with all that on his plate, he still manages to squeeze in our weekly roping. He loves his horse 'Rusty', and has got him working really well.

Most of the Time, I am still a stay-at-home mom, with the occasional substitute teaching (once or twice a week). What a blessing it is to be able to stay at home with my children! I can't imagine not being there for all the little milestones. I also decided this year it was time to get rid of that extra pound or two I had gained somwhere between my pregnancy with Emily, and long after Cade was born. Sure, I wanted to lose weight, but I wanted to make sure that it would be a healthy lifestyle change, not just a temporary diet. I also followed my sister and a few other friend's example, and picked up running. I never knew that would be something I would learn to love and crave. I love the new habits I have formed, and hope I can continue this lifestyle. In my spare time, I sold a horse, bought a new one, helped out on the ranch, taught the youth Sunday school class, and managed to squeeze in some great times with good friends. Recently I was able to join the Blair's team and work on weekends. I love the people I work with and they have made me feel like part of the family. Not to mention, I get to work in the cutest store EVER!

Gavin Started 1st grade this year. He loves his teacher, Mrs. Meier, and tells her she is the best teacher he has ever had. This is probably why he makes straight A's, besides being exceptionally smart. We are so proud of him and the example he is to his siblings. He celebrated his 7th birthday this year, and we cannot believe how fast he is growing. He loves riding his horse 'Strawberry' and going as fast as he can. He also loves riding sheep, and won several buckles, ribbons, and trophies this year, along with a few ribbons from competing in the barrels and pole bending. Gavin was able to go to Alaska for a fishing trip and the NFR in Las Vegas with his dad. He has seen many places and done many things for such a young man.

Emily has turned into our little horse riding, tomboy, princess, meltdown having, sweet as an angel, funny quote saying, precious little girl. I've always heard that kids say the darndest things, well she does! She keeps us laughing, whether it is what is coming out of her mouth, or the funny things she is doing. She loves getting dirty down at the barn, but still loves going shopping for toys, clothes, and shoes. I guess she does take after her mom after all.

Cade turned two this year, and I have to say that he is the best two-year old I've had. We have lots of nick names for him, like plar bear, gentle giant, tator, schnoocklfritz, booger, among others. He is stout, but he has a heart as big as he is. He already blind sides Emily and takes her to the ground. He can also be found with a rope in his hand most of the day. We can't get over how good he is at swinging a rope. We have never seen someone so small, love roping so much. I even have to take the rope into the grocery store with us. We have convinced him not to take it to church though. He also loves hanging out at the barn and riding the horses, going and feeding the cows, standing out on the porch watching them graze, watching Tech the tractor, and playing with his woo woos (trains).

We have so much to be grateful for, and most importantly we are so thankful for the Gospel in our lives and the blessings it brings us. We love the opportunity we have to celebrate the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ. We hope that this finds all of you happy and well. We wish you a Merry Christmas and a happy and safe holiday season.

Love,

Quinn, Jessica, Gavin, Emily, and Cade

I love this time of year!

2009-12-09T14:21:00.000-08:00

This is one of my favorite times of the year. I love to sing Christmas songs, bake and decorate cookies, and shop for gifts, but most importantly, I love celebrating the birth of our Savior and Redeemer, Jesus Christ. Merry Christmas!

We went and watched Gavin sing in his Christmas program. He did such a good job and we were so proud of him.

During the Holidays there are lots of family around, so with the extra help, we usually end up working cattle. Quinn and Cade riding......what cute cowboys!

Thanksgiving

2009-11-27T13:05:00.000-08:00

For Thanksgiving most families get together and eat lots of turkey and dressing, and watch football.....but not us! We get together and work cattle. Yes, we eat lots of turkey too, but the majority of the day is spent horseback, and we love it! We couldn't imagine spending the holiday with our families any other way, and while we were out riding all day, it gave us lots of time to think of all we are thankful for. Quinn and I realize we both come from wonderful families who are so supportive, and we are so grateful for the family we have created. We have three healthy children, and we could not ask for anything more. We came to understand this year that what we have to truly be thankful for, are things that you can't buy with money! We love and enjoy the friendships we have had through the years that have become stronger, and also the new friendships that were created this year. We hope that all our family and friends had a great Thanksgiving also.

This momma cow really didn't like what we were doing to her baby, I was a little nervous about what she might do to me.

Quinn roped and drug calves on his horse "Rusty"

Quinn went fishing and caught two!

Dragging calves to the fork.

This is Quinn of his horse Rusty, roping calves to drag to the fire.

The kids loved watching, but stayed in the back of the truck where it was safe.

This is a cow that Bopoo(my dad) gave to the grandkids. He thought she would be easy to recognize.

This cow is super friendly, she knows we have good treats for her.

Lee, feeding the cow

The ground crew

Riding with the cousins

2009-11-20T09:04:00.001-08:00

Emily
Lee and Lauren riding Strawberry

Lauren

Bopoo leading Cade

Emily couldn't figure out why Beauty wouldn't go. Emily, she's going potty!

Cade's Birthday

2009-11-15T13:24:00.000-08:00

Wow, Cade is two! He had a fun birthday and got lots of cool gifts. Quinn and I got him a gator, and even though he doesn't drive very well, he gets better and better each time. All the kids had so much fun riding it around at the party.

He also got a bat and ball, but he insisted on using the wrong end to hit with.

Emily and Lauren driving Cade's Gator

Cade was pretty excited about the cake and blowing out the candles. He loves woo woos(trains), and couldn't believe there was one on his cake! After Emily blew out the candles for him, we had to relight them and try again.

Just a little bit of riding and roping

2009-11-09T15:49:00.000-08:00

We usually try to rope once a week, and the kids are always in the arena and in the middle of it all. They love being in the arena and getting dirty and riding the horses.

Emily
Cade on Roy

Bringing up our fine roping cattle, yes that is a jersey bull, and the others are heifer calves with strapped on horns. Not exactly the best roping stock, but we make it work. They have actually turned out to be pretty fun to rope.

Cade and his Momma, he never misses an opportunity to ride, and now that the weather is finally starting to cool off a little, it is so much nicer to be down in the arena.
Thanks Jackee for the pictures.

Happy Halloween!

2009-11-02T14:26:00.000-08:00

The kids had so much fun trick-or-treating this year....Emily was a fairy princess, Lee was a storm trooper, Lauren was a fairy, I was Dorothy, and Cade was a munchkin from munchkin land. We went to our church trunk-or-treat and halloween party where we had good food and lots of fun.

Bonfire

2009-10-26T17:16:00.000-07:00

I absolutely love this time of year, when the leaves start to change and the weather gets cool. We decided to have a bonfire and we could not have picked a better night......clear skies, and cool temperatures. We invited over a few of our friends for chili, hot chocolate and smores. We ended up sitting around the fires while the kids played and talked about scary movies, yikes! Thanks for coming everyone, we had so much fun!
Some of our good friends, Josh and Lacey.

Lincoln, trying not to touch the grass with his hands.

The boys, and tiger.

Quinn and Jess

Emily was so much help in her cheerleading costume.....thanks Lexy, she loves it!

Tiger has grown to become a really big dog. He likes to run past the kids from behind and knock them down.

I think he's turned out to be a pretty dog with a very fitting name.

The kiddos helping dad with the fire. Gavin thought this was Rowel's best side.

Finally got the fire started despite the 4 inches of rain in the past couple of days.

Helping Dad.

2009-10-19T14:44:00.000-07:00

Gavin and Jessica

A Princess birthday party

2009-10-12T15:24:00.000-07:00

My cute little boy???

We celebrated Emily's birthday with a party fit for a princess. Emily was suprised to find a beautiful princess gown when she awoke this morning to wear to her party, and all of her guests were asked to also wear their finest princess costumes. The girls had so much fun getting to be princesses for a day.

It only took Emily one try to blow out all her candles, hope she wished for her ittle pink pooter (little pink computer)!

My sweet little Emily

2009-10-01T17:03:00.000-07:00

Fun filled weekend

2009-09-28T08:08:00.001-07:00

So Sweet!
Emily and Beauty

Gavin and Cade

Picking burrs

Gavin's birthday party

2009-09-28T07:41:00.000-07:00

Lauren

Putting together bionicles

Cade, using the slinky as a rope.

Emily checking out the goody bag

Gavin and Kody

Grandparents Tea

2009-09-21T13:44:00.000-07:00

Every year the LBJ elementary school hosts a "Grandparents tea" for all the elementary student's grandparents. Gavin is always so excited to have his Bopoo come up and eat treats with him. I think Bopoo kinda likes it too!

This is Gavin's teacher this year, he really likes her and tells me she is the best teacher ever!

The Bee Cave water feature

2009-09-21T13:36:00.000-07:00

Tuesday, Tracy and I took the kids over to Bee Cave and let them play in the "water feature" fully clothed. They had a blast and we had so much fun watching them try to keep their pants up and their feet under them.

Cade running under one of the water sprouts.

Emily really had a hard time keeping her shorts up, we were literally "cracking up"!

This is Emily and Ashley......they have become really good friends since she moved here a couple months ago.

Navasota Rodeo

2009-09-09T15:14:00.000-07:00

This was just after Gavin rode his sheep....he rode for 8 seconds, but his sheep just ran and so he didn't score very high. He was really disappointed because this was his last time to ride sheep.

Cade had fun watching all the bucking horses, but he still managed to find a rope to swing.

When we first got the rodeo, we saw Gavin riding this mechanical bull....it was amazing how good he could ride it.

He looks like a pro!

Summersalting Cade

2009-08-28T15:12:00.000-07:00

Cade learned how to summersalt and was doing some really crazy ones on the living room floor....then we turned on the camera and he wouldn't do them for us. We finally talked him into doing one for us, so watch closely or you'll miss it!

Back to school

2009-08-28T15:04:00.000-07:00

Monday was Gavin's first day back to school. He was so excited to be in the first grade. He absolutely loves his classmates and his new teacher.

Emily saw Gavin getting all dressed up for school and took the opportunity to get dressed up too, she loves taking pictures!

Blanco County Fair and Rodeo 2009

2009-08-17T08:38:00.000-07:00

Every year we ride in the parade as a family....it's kinda tradition.

waiting for the parade to start

Jenn and lauren

Emily and Lee

Lexy and the boys came to support and cheer Gavin on, thanks so much!

Gavin competed in the cloverleaf barrels and won 2nd, the poles and won 3rd, and the mutton bustin and won 1st.

Gavin and Willow warming up their horses.

Gavin and Bopoo

Emily was hamming it up for the camera

Gavin and his ribbons

These are some of the videos we took of Gavin competing in the rodeo

Gavin running the cloveleaf barrels

Gavin running the poles Gavin in the mutton bustin

My big epiphany!

2009-08-12T06:02:00.000-07:00

As I was sitting on the side of the bed in Quinn's old room in Pegram, ID, lacing up my running shoes, I realized that I had truly evolved. I had packed my running shoes excited about getting the opportunity to run in the cool mountain air. Normally I would have never even thought about running while on vacation, but there I was looking forward to it. I realized that I had made some serious life changes, and they felt good. I have been working really hard at becoming a healthier me, I realized sitting there that I had come full circle. I had so much fun working out and seeing the scenery from that perspective. I even got to go for a 15 mile bike ride through the mountains(and when I say through the mountains, I really mean a nice little paved road along the base of them), but the experience was amazing! When I returned home I was even more committed to my goal.

Our Trip

2009-08-10T07:38:00.000-07:00

We had so much fun on our trip to Utah and Idaho. It was so nice to get away from the heat and see family and friends. Other than a short detour to Chicago on our way to Salt Lake City, everything went pretty smooth.

Jessica, in front of the Salt Lake Temple
Braden and Ashlee Walker, Brandon and Jennifer, Tanya, Janelle, and Quinn and Jessica in the back at the museum of church history on Temple square.

The kids had a really good time on Temple square, it was so pretty and they loved all the water fountains.

The flowers were so pretty on Temple square.

Cade, with his monkey harness

After a fun day at Temple square, the kids were pooped, and we headed north for my Aunt and Uncle's house.

The next day we had a small reunion/bbq, and it was really nice to see everyone and visit. Thanks Arla and Arlin for letting us crash there and putting up with the crazy kids.

Mary Lin and DeLoy picked us up from Midway and we headed up to Pegram, ID, where we got see Tess, Tim and Diesel.

Grandma and Grandpa only live a block away from the church, so we had fun walking.

Monday was Grandma's day to plan, so we went to the lake! I am not sure how cold the water was, but I think it was probably in the 60s.....it was cold! The kids didn't seem to mind the temperature though, and they jumped right in.

Gavin was really glad that Kayden came too!

The sand Castle that Kayden, Gavin, and Quinn built.

Emily helping Grandpa drive up to the ranch, we got to see lots of mule deer, elk, antelope and rabbits.

Granpda and Gavin going for a motorcycle ride. I think Tuesday was Quinn's day to plan and we hauled 4 wheelers up and went and saw the ice caves and Bloomington lake. We ended up going over 41 miles on 4 wheelers that day and it was so fun exploring all the trails and roads.

The mouth of the ice caves

Going down into the cave. Imagine starting out around 80 degrees at the mouth of the cave, and as you walk down into the cave the temperature drops down below 32 degrees....drastic!
Some crazies rock climbing....no thanks.

Gavin wasn't real sure about being down in the dark, cold cave.

I think this was called the German Dugway? It was really pretty and you could see down into two different valleys...... beautiful!

This spring comes right out of the mountain, it provides the water for the city of Paris. If you notice, we have jackets on in most of these pictures, this is because it gets really cold in some places.

Wednesday was Jessica's day to plan, and we went to Afton, WY, and saw the intermittent springs and did a little shopping in Afton.

It was a long hike up to the springs

Once we got there it was amazing!

Grandma and Emily At the end of the day, we ended up riding 4 wheelers up to an arch that is near grandma and grandpa's house. The ride was pretty steep and really scary, but the view was worth it.

This is where Grandma and Grampa live, thanks for letting us come, we had so much fun! Can't wait to see y'all in December!

Roping

2009-07-22T08:44:00.000-07:00

The kids were riding and roping these horses while they were watching dad ride and rope.

Quinn has been roping a lot off of his 4 year old gelding 'Rusty', and he is coming along really good.

ridem' cowboy!

Emily riding a horse of her own

Wedding fun!

2009-07-13T08:09:00.000-07:00

Brandon's sister, Caroline, got married this past weekend and the kids had so much fun dancing and eating cake at the reception.....Emily can definatley shake her booty!

The sweetest dog ever!

2009-07-02T14:05:00.002-07:00

Kip, my eleven year old austrailian shepard, died this past week. I can honestly say that she was the sweetest dog I have ever known. I got her when I was a junior in high school and she has been through alot with me. She was so good with my kids too, she would let them bounce on her back and pull on her ears. Any time we went anywhere on the horses, she was there every step of the way, and she loved to go feed cows. She was a great companion for many years and her death hit me harder than I ever imagined.....I'm so sad about this loss:(

She was always babysitting the kids

Kip going for a ride in Gavin's wagon trailer.

NFR, here I come!

2009-06-30T17:54:00.000-07:00

Cade has decided to follow in his dad's and mom's footsteps and has taken a liking to roping. He always has a rope in his hand and is always trying to rope everything in sight...most of the time that something is Emily. Quinn and I set up this little roping dummy the other night, and he knew just what to do....I just couldn't resist capturing the moment on camera....it was so cute, and what's even more amazing is how good he swings a rope, he already looks like a pro!

The hottest coolest time in Texas!!

2009-06-25T08:32:00.000-07:00

We went to schlitterbahn yesterday and the kids had so much fun, it really is the hottest coolest time in Texas! Jennifer and her kids met us there and we also met up with my cousin Amy and all her family. We picked a really good day to go because it got up over 100 degrees.

Emily sliding

splash!!

Captain Cade

racing up to the slide

Lauren and Emily

Cade and Lauren

This is Cade's camera smile!

Thanks Quinn!!!

This is what Emily's backside looked like all day.

The boot slide

The kids like this play area the best, with the boot and the pirate ship

Cade was a little aprehensive about going down the slide

He loved playing in the water though

Emily must have slid a hundred times

Emily was so tired, she couldn't even walk to the car

It didn't take long before they all crashed. I was a long day of fun in the sun. We had a really good time, but it was a lot of work too.

Happy Father's Day!!

2009-06-22T08:41:00.000-07:00

Happy Father's day to all the dad's in our lives....we love you and are so grateful for all that you do for us, especially Quinn who is such a wonderful father to our children!! Happy father's day Quinn, Glen, DeLoy, Grandpa Taylor, Grandpa Romrell, and Grandpa Bateman! We love you so much and hope that you had a great Father's day!!!

Junebugs

2009-06-22T06:41:00.000-07:00

Since there are so many June birthdays, my really good friend Sherry decided to have us all get together and have one big birthday party for all the Junebugs.....it was alot of fun!!!! We cooked out on the grill, and went swimming, and ate lots and lots of food. Happy birthday to all the June babies like us!!!

Jess, Lacey, and Ralph, blowing out the candles.
Jess and Sherry

These two are closer than I thought, I might need to keep my eye one them.

Quinn??? Hope everybody brought their sunglasses!!

The whole gang! Thanks Sherry and Ralph for letting us come and party, and for being such awesome friends....we love you!

Stonewall Rodeo and Parade

2009-06-20T11:23:00.000-07:00

We went to the Peach jamboree Rodeo last night, we had lots of fun watching the kids watch the rodeo....they loved the bucking horses and the bulls......they weren't so sure about the clown though, especially when the clown wanted Cade to give him a high 5.

This morning was the peach jamboree parade, Emily got to ride by herself this year. She has already got the parade wave down....kinda scary!

The whole gang, getting ready for the parade to start. Cade loved waving at all the people as we rode by......it's hard to see in the picture, but there is a third place ribbon hanging on the saddle Cade won from the parade board of judges for being so dang cute!

Hot Hot Hot

2009-06-16T11:57:00.000-07:00

26!!!!!!

2009-06-08T07:21:00.001-07:00

This past weekend we celebrated Quinn's 26th birthday....it was so much fun!!! Saturday, we went swimming, and then we went to our elder's quorum social in the evening. On Sunday we went to church in Fredericksburg and saw lots of old friends and familiar faces, and then we went on from there to the Grote family reunion. Quinn has been into making halters and lead ropes, so for his birthday we got him some books on knot tying and braiding. He has already made a couple lead ropes and they turned out really nice. We just hope he had a great birthday, we love him so much.....he is such an amazing husband and father!!! I'm so grateful to be married to such a wonderful man, and he's pretty dang cute too!!!!!!!

Our new orphan calf

2009-06-04T11:28:00.000-07:00

When we were getting cattle up the other day, Adam came across a cow that looked like maybe she had been struck by lightening. Adam also found her baby calf nearby who was nearly starving. Dad gave the calf to Quinn and me and the kids, so now we have a little orphan calf to feed. Emily really likes feeding him a bottle, she thinks that is so cool. Anybody who wants to come out and help us feed him is more than welcome....especially if you have little kids, they love it.

Working Cattle summer 2009

2009-06-03T08:08:00.000-07:00

Last night we helped my Dad start working cattle. We got up Westfall flat pasture and vaccinated, ear tagged, spot on, and worked calves that needed to be worked. Just getting a start on the summer working. We had a lot of fun and there was quite a bit of goofing around going on. I know that sometimes it is hard living so close to the family, and I am sure that we get on everyones nerves sometimes, but we love helping out and doing things with them. Thanks Dad, for letting us keep horses here and for being such a great Bopoo. I also want to take this opportunity, now that school is officially out, to thank my Mom. For those of you who don't know, my Mom babysat Jennifer's kids full time this school year so that she would not have to put them in day care. Halfway through the school year, I decided to do some part-time substitute teaching......and guess who offered to watch the kids. There were lots of days that my Mom was watching 4 young kiddos, and then turned around on some weekends and evenings and watched mine so that I could ride or help work cattle. I don't know many grandmas out there who would be willing to make that kind of commitment/sacrifice for their children and grandchildren. Thanks so much for being such an awesome Mom. Maybe someday, we will be able to repay you(not that you'll let us).

Two cute cowboys
Quinn's concentrating

Posing..nice buns!

Quinn pulling calves

The spectators

Cade loves his Aunt Jackee, we love her too, she is a really awesome sister-in-law!!

Zane(Adam and Gwen's boy) and Cade

Get it good Quinn, we don't want their horns to grow back.

Adam

Rusty

Adam and Quinn

Adam on his favorite horse

Quinn, what a handsome cowboy!!!

Field Day Fun

2009-05-30T04:55:00.000-07:00

Gavin had field day yesterday, which also happend to be his last day of school and kindergarten. I also had to take Gavin yesterday and drop him off with his dad for his summer visit. That means Gavin will be gone from us for a long time. I always dread this time of year, I hate not having him here with us. We will miss him, and look forward to getting him back!

This is Gavin's entire kindergarten class, and his wonderful teacher Mrs. Wood. We will always have a special place for her, she was a great teacher!!!!!!

Pike/Davis Ranch Roundup

2009-05-26T19:32:00.000-07:00

Will, Gavin, and Dad(Glen)
Quinn, and Jessica

Quinn, Jessica, Jackee and Baby, Will, Gavin, Dad, and Adam

Most people bar-b-que on memorial day, but not us.......we worked cattle. My Dad takes care of a ranch down the road, and twice a year we gather all the cattle, work calves, vaccinate, brand, spot-on, fly tag, and sell any culls. The cattle there are really hard to gather.....they usually see us coming and they run for the hills(in this case lots of brush and rocks and more brush). To say the least, things usually get a little hairy. Gavin wanted to help gather, just like times before, and he made quite a hand. He sure is good at pushing cattle. We can put him in the back, and he keeps them pushed up. He likes to ride old Strawberry, and he likes to go fast. We kept asking him if he wanted to go back to the pens, but he just stayed right with us. We sure are proud of him and the little cowboy he is.
Even though it was really hot and we had to do some really hard riding, we had so much fun! We love being able to help! The funnest part of the day was when we were bringing in the last of the strays in the evening, and one little calf made a run for it. Quinn, my Dad, and Adam fell right in behind it with ropes in hand. He was an extremely fast little booger, and they were in open country....one of them would fall in behind at a dead run, throw their loop, he would run right through it before they could pull their slack, and then the next one was right there to try again. It was all happening so fast, I kept thinking man I wish I had my camera, it was definatley a kodak moment. It would have made for some great pictures. Before long they caught the calf and took him back to the pens. We can't wait for the winter roundup, because even though we don't know what to expect, one thing is for certain......we know it will be an adventure!

Swimming

2009-05-24T05:34:00.000-07:00

Jennifer and I took the kids swimming yesterday in Marble Falls, they got some much needed relief from the heat.

Lee, Emily, and Lauren chillin in the kiddy pool.

Emily hanging out in her ring.

This is Cade posing for a picture

Meet the new members of our family!

2009-05-22T14:07:00.000-07:00

When we drove up to Stephenville to sell my blue mare, we also purchased a new horse. She is a sweet little yearling filly, and I think she will make a really great horse for me. I am excited, but I will have to wait a year before we can start her.

Her and Scar(Quinns's Hairpin Cavvy gelding), hit things off really well.....they are practically inseperable.

Tiger, our new cow/hog dog is all tuckered out. My dad's dog had puppies and he was kind enough to give us one. Just what we needed, another dog.

A Busy Day!!!

2009-05-21T15:24:00.000-07:00

We went up to Stephenville yesterday to sell my horse......there she goes!

We were able to meet up with Tim, Tess, and Diesel, who were down visiting Tim's family in Dallas. It was so good to see them.....I'm glad they were able to make the extra trip to meet up with us. We stopped by Clinton Anderson's new place and took pictures in front of this amazing rig.

All the kids......so tired from all the traveling, but hanging in there. This one's for you Mary Lin....all the grandkids:)

Smile

2009-05-17T12:37:00.000-07:00

Last Monday, Emily went in to the hospital to have some routine dental work done. She came out with one tooth missing. When they gave her the pink juice, they told me she might act as if she were drunk. She crawled around the bed barking like a dog and panting. At least we know now that she is a happy drunk.....and what a cute smile.