It didn't look to me like he was even trying to be careful! 
And then he picked up that calf, which I know was over five pounds , and tied it up in a hurry.
Max, what does "take it easy" mean to you?
After his quick wardrobe change, he hopped on another horse--only this time he decided to go bareback! 
My nerves cannot handle his careless ways
and his childish antics!
Just look--he wasn't even sitting on the "saddle" correctly.
I'm thinking Max may be a little sore tomorrow.
I'll have to share with you why Galloping Grace was so well represented at a rodeo held tonight in Rio Rancho. What a blessed group of jokers we are!
This was such a timely gift--Max and I are trying to increase our family fun and bonding--what better way than a read aloud with this classics?!
Jan, thank you so very, very much for sending children you've never met the box full of treasures. We cannot thank you enough for taking the time to reach out to us like that. I hope I have the pleasure of meeting you the next time you are in town. God bless!
In New Mexico, if there is even a little snow on the ground in the morning, the chances are high that school will be cancelled for the day. I suppose this might be to keep drivers like me off the roads. We did a happy dance this snowy morning and then took off (on the perfectly fine roads) to have some winter fun. 
The hood girls were all grins. 
Dalton had fun cruising around on his 4-wheeler. 
Flame thought we were a bunch of wackos. 
Hank made doggy snow angels. 
The boys worked on an igloo. 
The girls had fun building snowmen. 
Brittany and Brooke just enjoyed being together. 
And the two turds on the left enjoyed throwing snowball after snowball at me and MY CAMERA! Some people! 
Steph and Taylor had a blast tubing down. 
I think their smiles tell it all. 
Good times! 
Who says I don't put pictures of myself on the blog?
I know, I know--magazine worthy! 
Thanks, everybody! We had a fantastic time playing and hanging out with all of you. 
Call us the next time there are 20 flakes on the road--maybe we can do it again.
Do not attempt this at home. (This, of course, was pre-surgery. He is much more careful with his lungs as of late!) I would have learned to dance and not take myself so seriously. That doesn't mean I want to start now. That just means I wish child Michelle would have learned--there is a huge difference. I have no rhythm. I can snap on beat for about five times and then lose it. Sad.
2. When Max first told you of his GGYR plans (actual plans, not far off dreams) what were your initial thoughts?
Well, we discussed them together. At the time, he (we) owned a plumbing and heating company. We agonized over whether or not to keep it going, even though he was miserable. Basically our choice was to keep the company going and build our house or close it down and go for the dream of starting a youth ranch. Ultimately, we decided that our happiness as a family and our desire to do what we felt God was leading us to do trumped everything else.
Max used to (and still does) stress to the kids that they have to follow their passion when they get older--don't settle in a career that you don't love. One day one of the kids asked Max if he was following his. He just laughed. He can now honestly say he is following his passion and loving every day. (Well, except days right after surgery.)
3. Which horse is your favorite and why?
Which horse is my favorite? As in Michelle's favorite? Funny. Let's let the person who never rides field that question. I'm very fickle and my love for the horses is very conditional. Act up? They're out. Come greet me at the fence? My new fave. Overall, I feel most at ease when children are on Black. He is old, responsive, and very cooperative. He is the horse that was donated by the ranch manager of our family ranch. He was roped on for years, been on hundreds of cattle drives, and still has enough get up and go to be fun. What I didn't like about him initially was that he was head shy. Since being at Galloping Grace, he seems to be over that. I love it--28 years of shying away and now he lets us pet him. All that being said, we have quite a few horses that are a huge asset to the ranch. But since you asked favorite, that is my most honest answer.
4. What misconceptions, if any, do you feel people who only know you via blogville have about you and/or Max (you know since you've never done a meme)?
I am having a hard time thinking of anything. I don't know how we're perceived. I'll have to think on that further.
5. Rumor has it that years ago when Brooke (your oldest) was close to starting kindergarten you were very seriously considering homeschooling; so much so that you even had your sister in law read certain pro-homeschooling books. That same sister in law (who now homeschools) said you were nuts to even consider it but you (of course) argued. What made you change your mind and decide to send your kids to school instead of homeschooling (your logic back then, not why you continue with school now)?
Actually, I wasn't so serious that I had you read the books--YOU were the one who purchased the homeschooling book by Lisa Welchel. I never even read the whole thing.
There are many things that appeal(ed) to me about it, but not enough. I think it boiled down to a gut feeling on what we felt was best for our family. I am a disorganized mess with little discipline. I didn't want to be responsible for ruining my children's education. I used to be a teacher before Max and I got married and for three years after. I loved teaching and my students. Growing up, I loved elementary school and most of what went with it. Every time I thought about my children not getting to experience that, it made me sad. Plus, I want my children to learn from a variety of teachers and experience the great with the not. I know I'm weird, but that's the truth. Now a days, Max seriously considers it more than I do.
I do have days when the guilt of not educating my children creeps in. At Galloping Grace, we get a lot of homeschooling families who participate in our program. I often think, "We are spending so much time with other people's children while we send ours off to school." Then I get over it and move on.
Train Wreck said...
Hmmm I wanna know... How you and Max Met? Have you already answered that??
No Train Wreck, I haven't. My mom and Max's mom, Donna, were trying to set me up with Tom, Max's older brother. I went with my mom to Donna's house one day and Max was there. Honestly, it was love at first sight! I mean that. I left there telling my mom and sister that he was the EXACT look I had always imagined. Max says he felt the same and couldn't stop thinking about me after that first meeting.
Not long after that, our moms were still trying to arrange for Tom and me to meet. Donna called Max up and asked if he would drive us over to Tom's house because she couldn't remember how to get there. Max happily agreed because he wanted to see if anything happened between Tom and me. It's funny looking back--Tom would have never been interested in me. He had just started dating Carla, his former girlfriend from middle school and now his wife, not long before we went over. I'm not sure he even knew what our moms were up to. I was too smitten with Max to have any other ideas of romance. That night Tom, Max, Roy (another brother), Donna, my mom, and I went out to eat. After that, Max drove us back to his mom's house where we talked and flirted and began to fall in love.
On our fourth day of dating, Max told me he loved me for the first time. The very next sentence out of his mouth was that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with me. I know it sounds crazy, but we both could have said "I love you" on our first date. WE KNEW! (I just hope none of our children try to pull the same antics.) He is the very best husband and dad in the entire world! I feel lucky every day that we met and fell in love.
Dan and Betty Cooksey said...
What were you like in high school and are there any pictures?
Dan is trying to mess with my head. He is supposedly one of my friends on Facebook. Are you familiar with Facebook? If someone tags a picture of you, anyone in your friends list gets a copy of it sent to their wall. Dan has seen some pretty tragic pictures of me from high school and has given me a hard time. Mean, mean man! And to think I used to think the world of him...
Andrea said...
Why don't you live on the ranch? Are you ever going to live at GGYR?
We don't live at the ranch because we are trying to pace ourselves. Plus, we're really bad at even thinking about moving. Hard stuff! Like I answered in an earlier question, we decided to get the ranch up and running before building a house. We wanted to use the money we had for what we felt was important. It is a huge priority for us not to be in debt so we're pacing ourselves. Unfortunately, the city doesn't really care about our plans and wishes--they just want us to follow the rules. Fair enough. The code for where our land is says that we cannot have the horses without a house on the property. They are happy if we can just get a set of plans submitted. What they don't realize (nor should they) is that we had to sell 30 tons of pumpkins, 500 Christmas trees, and go through an open heart surgery! AHHH. Soon, Andrea, soon.
And have you gotten water out there yet?
Our wonderful neighbor Mike works for a big plumbing company in Albuquerque. That company's engineers are working on a bid and plan for bringing city water to both of our properties, as well as Marvin's, our other neighbor. It is a long process. And just so all of you know, a well is really not an option out there. Mike and Steph share a well with Marvin. The water is so bad (no flow) that they have to take turns showering--one house can shower and then the next. Sometimes they have no water coming out of their well at all. A year or so ago, Max had a company come out a bid a well for us. We were told that it would cost at least $60,000 to drill as deep as we'd need it there, and there was no guarantee that they could find sufficient water.
Where do you order Christmas trees from, was it just hear say, who has the best trees???
Max ordered them from Roth Tree farm in Hubbard, Oregon. He did a lot of research last year on where to purchase trees. They were beautiful and healthy. I think he made a great choice.
Have you lived in NM all your life?
I was born in Mansfield, Ohio. My mom, dad, and I moved to Albuquerque when I was four and a half years old and have lived I have lived in NM ever since. Max was born in NM and has lived here most of his life. He lived in Dallas, TX for six months when he was ten years old and lived in Colorado when he went to the Air Force Academy. Other than that, he was born and raised.
Sam said...
Okay, M, you know I ADORE you...but I find this post disingenuous! Why the heck wouldn't your readers want to know about you personally? What are we, ROCKS? :) And are you just TEASING us by mentioning these questions and then not posting them? HULLO? :)Okay, now you have your questions. ;)smooches!
OUCH! My brilliant Sam is a tough one. I was not trying to be disingenuous--not at all. I honestly worry from time to time about the topics I choose. The title of the blog is Galloping Grace Youth Ranch. Shouldn't I stick to that?! Obviously I don't, but I wonder if I should. Dan, as cruel as you can be, can you back me up on this? Dan used to have a blog titled Our Life With Horses. He stopped this blog and started his new one, Dan and Betty's Place, because he felt he could talk about a broader range of topics. Me? I have Galloping Grace. Do the readers want to hear what I'm cooking for dinner or where we're going for vacation, or do they want to hear about the happenings of the ranch? Maybe I can do both, but I feel guilty about it. Perhaps if the hundred plus people reading this would leave more comments (HINT HINT), I could better gauge my topics.
And Sam, I didn't answer the questions that day because I was waiting to see if there were any others.
Trish can't make me do anything.
Hee hee. That's funny. If you know Trish, you'd know I just told a huge fib. She's a tough cookie. Keri, thanks for the kind thought. We eventually hope to have a website up and running that will have all that information.
Laughing Orca Ranch said...
1)What is your most embarrassing moment (for you and Max)? Max is in bed. He'll have to answer another time.
My life has been one great big embarrassing moment! I have two that immediately pop into mind. The first is being in the spelling bee in seventh grade. Each English class sent their top spellers. Let's just say I didn't represent that day! UGH. The spellers were the last to walk into the gym in front of THE ENTIRE STUDENT BODY! When we were called, we had to walk up to the MICROPHONE (the horror) and spell the word given. I was so mortified. I have a huge fear of public speaking. When I got up there and heard the word--cappelletti, I didn't even try. I spat out a series on nonsensical letters without even thinking just to get it over with. I looked over to the judges to see the pity in their eyes. Back to my seat I went, red faced and humiliated.
Probably the most embarrassing moment was in ninth grade English class. We were assigned a demonstration speech. Since it was October, I thought I'd teach the class how to carve a pumpkin. Funny, I had never done one myself, but that didn't matter. I just wanted something that would take up the required time and involve minimal talking on my part.
My mom strongly encouraged me to draw the face on the pumpkin before I got up there. Nope, not me. I argued that I needed to kill more time in front of the class. Mom also questioned my supplies. In my bag I had a small paring knife which I thought was cute and little. Mom threw in a big butcher knife in case that didn't work out, a spoon for scooping out the guts, and paper towels to clean up. (Mom, I love you!)
Once the speech started, I was so nervous I could barely draw the face. Someone in the class asked me to turn the pumpkin and show what I had carved. I refused out of embarrassment. I stuck the knife in and started to cut when the knife snapped. I looked up and said, "The knife broke!" Kids laughed, the teacher lost it. The poor lady tried to act professional, but just couldn't hold back. She knew I was one of those students who was tortured speaking in front of others, so I think that added to her lack of control. Lucky for me, Mom put the gigantic knife in my bag. To hear everyone tell it later, I reached in that bag and came out with the huge knife holding it like a serial killer would. Roars of laughter. It should be no surprise that I was too far gone to complete the job. Two football players came up to take over for me. My teacher sat in her desk with tears streaming down her face. I was literally saved by a bell--a fire drill. Outside Ms. V. apologized over and over for laughing. Thank goodness I didn't have to go back up once we went inside.
Over the next few months, she assigned several speeches in class. I, however, was the only member in the whole class who got to turn my speeches in hand written!
2)How many shoes do you own, and what are they?
Not a lot, and they aren't cute. My feet are large and my fashion sense is lacking. I do own two pairs of cowboy boots that I wear when I'm at the ranch.
3)Have you ever swam naked (for you and Max)?
NO, no, no!! I don't even swim in a bathing suit! Well rarely. I will swim at my sister-in-law's house when there is no one else around. Again, I need to get over myself.
4)Have you ever fallen off a horse? (talk about it)
I have not. In fact, I really haven't ridden that much. From time to time yes, but not a lot. I used to say, "I'm always pregnant or nursing someone. How can I ride?' but that excuse is drying up--my baby is now three.
One time I went on a small cattle drive with Max's dad and step mom, Steff, on a horse that knew far more than I. A calf took off from his mama and good ol' Bob wasn't having it. He took off like a bat out of heck. We were on a full gallop over hills, around bushes, up and down and all around. Steff said is was one of the most hilarious things she's ever seen. I was hollering and screaming, holding on for dear life as my pony tail flopped up and down. Somehow, by the grace of God, I did not fall off that horse...but I probably should have.
5)What 5 things are on your Bucket List (for you and Max)?There ya go. You asked :)
This one is super hard for me. I have always, always wanted to write a children's book. I don't know if that will happen--I'm a deadline girl. I would write my essays in college the night before they were due--every single one of them. One time I started a twenty page paper at 11PM the night before it was due! I was up the entire night and worked right up until class started, but I got it done and received either an A- or a B+. Without a deadline and the ever important publisher, I just don't know...Maybe I'll go see The Wizard and ask him for some confidence and creativity.
I also want to learn to become a photographer. I have figured out taking pictures is a huge passion of mine. I have some great friends who are so very patiently walking me through the basics. (Thanks Cindy, Alex and Tammy--Bethany, too!) Some day soon I plan on getting Photoshop and figuring out how to use it. Soon. Making money as a photographer is definitely not the priority, but learning how to take great pictures is. I think I can, I think I can.
There are quite a few other things, little things, but I think my soul is done baring itself now. Must sleep. Thanks for all the questions everybody.
Cleopatra was a fascinating, dangerous queen. I don't know how much you all might know about her. Here are a few facts to refresh your memories:From reading the article from which I plagiarized the above, I got a sense that Cleopatra was a very tough woman--one capable of seduction and murder and everything in between.
Here are a few facts you might not know about her.
I know history can be harsh on individuals. 
But I really hope this time it kindly and accurately tells the story of this amazing person who does so much for others!
Cleopatra Linda Aragon and family, thank you from the bottom of our grateful hearts! 
Oh, and our happy and overly content bellies. We love you!!
Thanks, also, to her servants who cooked meal after meal after meal. You guys are the best!
I already wished my mother-in-law, Donna, a Happy Birthday. She celebrated being a year older on the 12th.
Nancy has been a family friend since I was very young. She is a very loved member of our family. She helped my mom with the kids while Max was in the hospital and always seems to be there when we need her. Nancy, I don't think I have told you how much he loves the blanket you made him and the neck pillow you left for him. He uses them every night as he sleeps in his recliner. Thank you and happy late birthday.
This is Christian, my super cool brother-in-law. He is an absolute rock star with my children. They all adore Uncle Chendo. He is funny, kind, and ever so patient. His only flaw? He and my sister live in Chicago. That is not good for family bonding. Does anyone have a job they can offer him in Albuquerque? Oh yeah, it needs to be as an actuary. From what I've been told, there are not many actuarial jobs to be found outside of big cities. Sob. Christian, we love you to pieces and wish you could visit every month. 
I also missed Carri C.'s birthday. She is a very dedicated volunteer of Galloping Grace. She works her rear off every time she comes out. Carri made a delish pot of smoked turkey soup, homemade bread, and fantastic cookies for us after Max got home from the hospital. Carri, thanks for that. I got a kick out of the fact she brought it all by on HER birthday! Carri, thanks for all you do. We're so glad we've gotten to know you over the last few months! 
This is Coulter. He is way older than he appears in this picture. That was taken when he was only four--now he is already the big FIVE! Isn't he getting old? Coulter, we love you and hope you can come ride horses when we get them back to the ranch. Our horses really like it when big boys like you ride them. Thanks for being such a good buddy to Grant and a fun person to be around. 
This is Pat and Ann, Coulter's grandparents. I have known and loved them since I was a little girl. Pat celebrated his birthday on the 19Th. Pat, Happy late Birthday! Thanks for including me in your family when I was a wee one. I will always remember sitting on your lap and driving your car on the trip to Pueblo. Way cool!!! Tell me, did we have a seat belt on? Never mind. It ended well with an amazing memory. :) 
The handsome young man on the right is Carlos. Carlos is an exceptional person and friend. He started a new school this year where he is doing an outstanding job. It's hard for us--we used to see him every Wednesday afternoon where he and Garrett would play for hours. He had to go and grow up on us and start middle school. Carlos, Happy late Birthday! We miss you!
That lady sitting next to him is his mama and my precious friend Misha I have known her since I was four years old! Misha is one of those people that would be there no matter what I needed, no questions asked. Max calls her "calm, quiet logic." That about sums her up. Almost any childhood memory I have involves her in some way. We controlled the wind with a wave of our blankets, proudly wore our Jordache jeans in twin style, and caught grasshoppers in the mesa for our pet lizards. Friends don't get any better. Misha, I love you! Happy birthday tomorrow (today--23rd).
My mommy, Julie, turns not-very-old on the 24th. What could I possibly sum up about the most giving, loving mom on the planet? She is the biggest self-sacrificer I know! She helps Max and me all the time for so many different reasons. While Max was in the hospital, she not only watched my children for days on end, but she deep cleaned my house (with Trish) and bought a ton of groceries and supplies. Do you think she'd even consider letting me pay her back?? Not for a second. Mom, thank you for supporting us no matter what crazy idea we/I have (starting a youth ranch, wearing leg warmers, etc.) I love you! 
Renee's birthday is the 25th! Renee is my sister-in-law Regina's sister, but she lets my kids call her Auntie Nee. I don't know what it is about us knowing the most giving people, but we do! Renee was the hugest help during pumpkin and tree stand time. She must have walked a thousand circles letting happy child after happy child ride a horse in that small pen. Talk about being a natural with kids! Every ride she gave she had a big smile on her face! When it came time to tear the stand down, Renee took on the leadership of that project. Renee worked two jobs for several months. She finally quit her job at Target in early October to get a little rest. What did she do her first weekend off? Why work at the pumpkin stand the entire weekend, of course! Who was one of the people working the tree stand every night when Max was put on restrictions from lifting anything over 10 pounds? Renee of course! Renee, I don't know if we tell you enough how grateful we are for you! We love you. (Photo by Alex Carothers)
I'm a little miffed at Roy. He had to go and mess things up by having a birthday on the 27th. We had 22nd, 23rd, 24th, 25th, and then he has to skip a day and be on the 27th! It's a good thing he's wonderful other wise. Roy is one of Max's big brothers. Roy (and Beth), we can never thank you enough for being there for Max and me in every way over the last couple months. Pumpkins were in danger of freezing, cue Roy and Beth to show up and help tarp for an hour. We needed a man to be Max's muscles building the entry barn, Roy to the rescue. Christmas trees to be carried to customer's cars? Roy at your service. Four kids missing their parents and in need of some entertainment? Roy and Beth and a trip to the zoo. Your love for your little brother is obvious. Thanks for being there and for loving us. We love you back! 
It's late. I'm using that as my excuse in case I missed your January birthday. I know someone told me their birthday was on the 26th, but I cannot remember it at all. Cindy?? Steph? Was it you, Deanell? Who else am I forgetting?
