Bird's Eye View

I hope you're enjoying your weekend.

Bonus Visit

A big heartfelt thank you to our wonderful friends, The B family who came all the way from Boston to visit us for a week. We usually only get to see them once a year, during branding in the summer. They have made the trip out for the last five years. For the first time ever, they came out during the winter to experience a new side of the ranch and New Mexico. Fortunately, the weather was very nice during their stay. Let me tell ya, they're wicked fun people!

And I must admit, they're pretty fresh! I cannot figure out why they don't want to pick up and move out here. After all, our children get along famously. I doesn't matter the activity, it's fun!

Steve, Holly, Nicole, Lexi, and Stevos-- We miss you!

We're so glad we had the chance to see you.

About The Ranch

Max posting:

There have been a few of you who are new to this blog that have asked us to give a description of what GGYR is and what we do. No problem.

Galloping Grace Youth Ranch is a non-profit 501c3 organization. Our mission is to bring pure joy to children. This joy is a result of a child's relationship with one of the many horses on the ranch. Participants in our program call or email us to schedule a session. We operate on an all volunteer staff so session times are coordinated based on their availability.

Our program is offered free to participants. The ranch is funded entirely through donations, fundraising and grants. Horses require a significant amount of money to keep them fed and healthy. This typically means that it is also very expensive for someone to experience the horses first hand. Because it is so expensive, many children miss out on this incredible opportunity. We have made it a priority at GGYR to offer our program free so that these children have the chance to be around horses.

Many people call and ask us if we give riding lessons. We are not a formal riding school. Children who participate in our program will experience a level of horsemanship by which they are both comfortable and capable. If a child simply wants to come to pet and feed the horses carrots, then that is what we do.

This is basically the nuts and bolts of our program. Again, our mission is to bring pure joy to children. Our role is to facilitate a safe experience for both the child and the horse. The joy just happens to be a natural by product of the time that these children spend with our horses. If you would like to participate or have more questions, send us an email at gallopinggrace@yahoo.com or maxandmichelle@aol.com.

Necessity--The Mother Of Invention

Yesterday was remove contents of pumpkin stand and Christmas Corral that were thrown in Max and Michelle's garage day. Let me tell ya, it was about time!

Apparently, we burned ourselves out by the time the stands shut down. There were stockings and Santas and pumpkin stamps and waivers and snacks and signs and price tags and baby wipes and saws and Christmas lights and scarecrows and hoof picks and toy tractors and extension cords and staple guns and hammers and music CDs and corn pieces and paper plates and Mr. Pumpkin head pieces and a few other hundred things! When it was all said and done, it was all we could do to thrust the contents of my car and Max's truck into the wasteoid that is our garage. Folks, it wasn't pretty. We knew something had to be done so that we could actually walk around in there without tripping. Thanks to Trish's assistance yesterday, we're not near as disgusting today. Max, Trish, Kaley, Grant, and I loaded up and headed out to Galloping Grace to unload everything in the storage trailer out there. (The storage trailer that Fincham is so kindly allowing us to borrow!)

See the beautiful pile of wood below? This split rail fence is a new addition to the Galloping Grace family. Max picked it up yesterday from D. A. Baker construction company. Doug and gang, thank you so much for your donation! We have great plans of putting it up in our park area. I know it will look beautiful.

Warning--this post is nearing the end of being pleasant. Please prepare yourselves for something a little shocking and rather disgusting. You might want to stop reading really soon. I'm serious!

Not yet. This is still pretty sweet. It's Kaley and Grant enjoying the beautiful 72* day on the edge of the "mountain". (They're little--I'm sure it looks like a mountain to them.)Still sweet. Starting to get a little more disgusting. They tried to wipe off that kiss. Folks, this is where you should close down this post. If you do not want to think less of me and the things I write, I BEG you to call it a day. I am compelled, in the interest of journalistic truth, to show what happened next. You, however, are not compelled to read on. You shouldn't. I'm sure you won't want to see this. Who really wants to read such garbage? And still I push forward.

A little background before I proceed. In an attempt to save costs, Trish called and had the port-a-potty removed from the ranch. It doesn't make much sense to be paying for a service we are not using. When we are up and running again, we'll have it returned.

Do not read any farther.

If you're still hanging in here, please remember that you have been warned repeatedly.

Max and Trish were working on unhitching the trailer from his truck while I was taking pictures. We hear from Kaley's sweet little mouth, "Mom, I have to go poop." Trish responds with, "OK Kaley, we're leaving really soon. Can you wait because we don't have the port-a-potty anymore?"

You would think that the three adults on the premises would have noticed that we didn't get a response. Imagine our surprise when we looked over and saw this! And yes, it was too late to stop the act(s). The deed, if you will, had been done X 2. As parents, we were mighty impressed that they came up with this all on their own!! I mean, how many four and three year olds would think to sit on the edge of a sharp, rusty trough to handle their business? That takes talent and determination and NEED.

Can you see where this post is headed now?!
When it came time to wipe them, things really got crazy. A certain little girl fell back--yuck! Not good. I think I'll omit what happened with a certain animal. Even I think that might be a little much with all the gulping and swallowing. I will tell you that Trish and I started laughing hysterically. Then, Trish started to gag and tear up. Good times. I haven't laughed that hard in quite a while.

A word to all you dog lovers out there:
You might not want to let Hank give you kisses any time soon. I'm just saying. And just when we thought we had purchased the perfect dog...
May you always have a place to handle your business--and may that place have smooth sides and be far away from hungry canines. Goodbye forever, repulsed readers.

Making Due

Computer problems continue.

I just sat down to do a post that actually pertained to Galloping Grace when I realized that my PC was having issues. Although I have an external hard drive on that computer with almost all the pictures in that, a warning box is coming up telling me that I am critically low on space in the C drive. WHAT??! Getting all the pictures onto the hard drive should have cleared up space on the C drive, right? Especially when I moved a very large file containing all my email downloads just tonight. I guess I'll be calling someone to assist with this issue tomorrow.

What to post under such harsh conditions--no access to most pictures on two different computers?? I guess I'll randomly attach a few pictures that are hanging out on my desk top.

From the archives--

I loved these pretty cookies my sis-in-law Beth made. She kindly shared them with us and other volunteers at the Christmas Corral.

These were the putting greens for the miniature golf we had in the kiddie area.

The kids used a giant plastic candy canes to putt.

Are you feeling a little cheated I didn't share these with you before today? I apologize.

Now some long over due thanks to all the volunteers who helped sell programs at the rodeo. I don't have pictures of all of them, but I'll share what I do have. Mason, Mikki and Bailey are seen above stuffing programs with day sheets. Every thing they do, they do cheerfully! Guys, thanks so much for your help. Not only did Renee decide to sell programs with us, but she brought along one of her friends/coworkers to help out. Stephanie, it was a pleasure meeting you. Thanks for helping Galloping Grace like you did. I hope you enjoyed the rodeo.

Trish, Carri, and everyone else who showed up back in January to help Galloping Grace sell programs--thank you so much.

Hunting Buddy

I was so distraught over the potential loss of my pictures last night, I didn't do a birthday post for my incredibly adorable nephew, Matthew. So tonight, a huge birthday shout out to one of Garrett's best friends on the entire planet. These two pictures about break my heart every time I look at them. Talk about rotten and rotten-er! Adorable! It was taken over 3 1/2 years ago during a watermelon break at branding. One thing you should all know about Matthew--he has a big, gushy, mushy, heart! This was taken when Matthew came to visit Baby Grant at the hospital. I think they both look precious in this picture. Could I be biased?

Another important thing you should know is that Matthew is all boy, all the time! This picture was taken Valentine's weekend at our family ranch. Stevos, Matthew, and Garrett climbed on the barn roof, explored hills, terrorized feathered creatures, etc. Good times. I get a big kick out of watching them just be.

Matthew, thank you for being such a good hunting buddy to Garrett and a terrific nephew to us. We love you to pieces.
Enjoy being eight years old.

Sigh!

I am pouting and considering crying.

This past July we bought a Mac computer. It's great, mostly. I must admit that I have not made the full transition. I go back and forth from that computer to my PC. While blogging, I upload pictures from Mac and then switch to PC to type out and shuffle the pictures around. My PC's hard drive filled up in the fall. After that time, I started putting ALL the pictures I took in the Mac. From what I've been told, Macs are super reliable and not prone to viruses.

The last two nights the iPhoto program where I manage my photos has not worked properly. I could not get it to open on the desktop. Today I called Mac support to help rectify this situation. Apparently, the problem was too advanced for the first two technicians. The third person seemed to know what he was talking about. He had me move folders and files and such around and then re import (from a file) the pictures into iPhoto. There were over 18,000 images on there. Tim the Tech told me it would take several hours. When we got home after an evening out and about, I discovered a message telling me that the computer could not recognize 999 files and therefore could not import. WHAT?! 999 images? The scary part for me is that it magically cut out at 999. That makes me think that that was the number where it stopped. There is a possibility that none of the pictures imported. Before I break down and wail, I want to talk to Tim tomorrow. I know it sounds silly, but I am scared that ALL THE PICTURES I have taken for the last six months are gone! ALL! I do realize that people have true problems in life, but to me, this is a biggie! No pictures of Max in the hospital?? Christmas gone?? Classroom parties vanished?? No pumpkin stand or Christmas Corral? And no, I do not have any back ups. I will pray for the best. If you wouldn't mind praying over my issue, I would certainly appreciate it.

An update for those interested.

I said my computer had 18,000 images. There are actually 22,000. Some are pictures taken from the PC this summer. When I talked to Tim today, he let me know that things didn't sound good at all. The action he had me perform yesterday did not yield positive results. In the "Master" file, I could see the thumbnails but the pictures wouldn't open. He said this shouldn't be happening because the program that should have opened them wasn't iPhoto. He felt that I had a few corrupt files that might have ruined all the rest. He had me go ahead and move the entire "master" folder to the external hard drive that Max bought this morning. This took about three hours. I cannot talk to Tim again until tomorrow morning.

The minor miracle that occurred? Well, I found the same folder in the external hard drive and was able to get the pictures to open. Tim never even suggested that was a possibility. They still will not load in iPhoto, but they are there in some way. I'm thinking prayers helped save the day and/or the folder just liked its new home. I successfully copied one file of pictures before my computer told me there wasn't enough space to perform that action. I'm taking this as a great sign. I think I have hours of transferring ahead of me, but I will be so very happy if that's all there is to this problem.

I do have an external hard drive for my PC, and I have made copies of different files. I am so silly having not backed up the Mac. I might use the excuse of my crazy fall/beginning of winter. I find myself using that excuse on a whole lot of things! Max is healing well--time for me to get my act in gear. And yes, I will be checking in to Carbonite. I also am making discs to keep at my mom's house in the event that my house burns down.

Thanks so much for all the words of encouragement and prayers! If you haven't backed up your photos, learn from me and get it done.

Have Spoon, Will Sing

Things just sound better in the country, huh? There is something about this song that really gets the love of all things cowboy flowing. I can just see the pride in their faces that they have actually been on a cattle drive.

Cowpokes, thanks for serenading us. Loved it!

Me Me Me Me

I might not live to see another day after posting this one, but I couldn't resist. The squeal from my dear friend (not disclosing name) was priceless, not to mention the grin on Grant.

Shuffling Along

Please note that some are brand new to this dance. Good times!

Joyful

I thought I'd take you into the weekend with a few images that please me.

I was up on the trailer as this little cow was loaded. She and I shared a moment, a moment between two different species. I wish her nothing but the best out in that giant pasture. Maybe we'll meet again. Barbara and Mikki having a moment of their own. I love them both to pieces. Barbara is one of Grant's preschool teachers and was the teacher to Brooke, Garrett, and Claire when they were wee ones. Mikki is her amazingly sweet daughter whom my kids (and everyone else's that know her) adore. Every time they come out to the ranch, they work themselves silly. I hope they know how much we appreciate all they do for us. I think Grant was trying to tell us something. Perhaps it was something along the lines of "put me to bed--I'm little and I play hard while at the ranch. Someone needs to be a good parent and allow for my proper rest." The poor child fell asleep on the bench at our kitchen table. I really loved it when his older sissy Claire covered him up so he'd be warm as he slept. I felt a little bad removing him from the warmth that she created.
Happy weekend to you.

Good Eye

Howdy, readers! Nice of you to stop by. In this post I will continue to discuss the other ranch in our life--the one with all the cows.

In last night's post I showed you pictures of my photo-taking hubby in action. Here's what was on the other side of his lens. Grant is such a little ham bone. He will almost always pose for a picture. Usually. Well, if he's not tired and feeling contrary. Max is a really good artist. I can see that popping through in his photography. He had a lot of fun taking pictures in antique row. When our family first purchased the ranch, there was junk all over by the pens. I can remember an old school bus down there. I kind of wish we had held on to that. I'm sure the kids would have had fun playing in it. A larger part of me is grateful that my father-in-law, Jerry, ordered the majority of the "treasures" loaded up and hauled off. Sometimes less is more.
There are a few oldies that made the cut as acceptable antiques. With Max on working restrictions, he is now my number one assistant with the camera. It was no longer necessary for me to brave the wind and cold in pursuit of the next, greatest story. I had Max on the job. Here he caught our ranch manager filling up the cake wagon with tasty cow treats. When the bovines see that wagon, they come a runnin'! Sadly, the lens was not attached properly so my assistant couldn't take the shot of the herd appearing--the camera would not let him take any. Don't worry though, he has now been trained what to do if that ever happens again.

Here was his artistic side shining through. It took him no time at all to learn how to use the different focusing points. Sharp dude, that Max.
This picture of our Brooke speaks to me. Maybe it's the orange hat, maybe it's her watching her grandfather. I just really like it. I threw this picture in to drive my mother crazy. (Hi Mom!) She is not a fan of our children messing with the cow meds. She can't say much to me on this one. This is my niece and our friend's daughter in action. I am not the boss of them, and either is my mom.
Max saw the picture below and told me he didn't think it was anything special. (From a photography stand point--the girls are mighty special.) I put it in here because I thought it was sweet. That's Claire, our six year old, on the left and Nicole, our friend from Boston, on the right.
Grant is becoming quite the working man closing gates. I just love him in his redneck Lightning McQueen hat. (Misha, what a gift!)
Max, not too shabby for a being the new kid on the block.

Keep up the good work. I just might keep you around.