Cancer Comfort

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The Wait Is Over

I get this comment this morning from my dear friend Misha--

Meesh said...

Hey, it's been like a week since you ran the big teaser of 'huge day at the ranch!'

just how long you makin' us wait?

:)

Guilty! So guilty. In my defense, I was out of town for a day and a half. Also, the computer I load most of my pictures on (in) was acting crazy all last week. For stories so big, I always feel like I need to include a lot of pictures. Not happening tonight. I will just end the tease and report the cold, hard facts. No frills. No back stories. Just enough to get that pushy Misha off my back.

In one day, we got FOUR new horses! Crazy, we're well aware. Absolutely crazy! One was from Flagstaff and three from a town not far away, San Ysidro. Their names are Joe, Casper, Bones, and Dollar.

The end.

(For now.)

Chew On This

So listen--I'll scratch your back,

If you scratch mine.

Home Alone

Max posting:

As the title of this post so eloquently states, I am "home alone". That is if you don't count my 4 sleeping children. Earlier this week, Michelle's sister Erin, and her husband Christian offered to fly Michelle over to Chicago to take pictures of their new baby daughter. She accepted and, well, that is why I am home alone. Before Michelle left, she quickly tutored me in the art of creating a new blog post and ever so sweetly asked me to create one of my own. So here it goes. Before I start, however, let me warn those of you who are like me-----THERE ARE NO PICTURES!!!! I am sorry, but she did not teach me that advanced blogging technique. I am struggling reading my own writing because of the lack of pictures and captions. Anyway, let's see if we can get through this together.

Here is one of my memorable moments from this week at GGYR.

Hannah, who is a sweet veteran participant despite being only 6 years old, doesn't always handle horse slobber all that well. Almost always, Hannah brings carrots to feed the horses once she is done riding. As eager as she is to give them treats, she can get seriously grossed out by their saliva. This week, after riding Tootsie, Hannah decided to spend some quality time with her horse without feeding her. I am not sure what the conversation was about but Hannah was up close and personal with Tootsie's nose. Well, needless to say, it is allergy season and Tootsie frequently has "sneezing" attacks. As you can imagine, Hannah's face was engulfed in a sea of horse snot when Tootsie let one fly. I couldn't help it. Even though Hannah was expressing herself in a less than calm way, I was doubled over with laughter. It took a while, but Hannah regained her composure, petted Tootsie on the snout, and said, "God bless you Tootsie."

I am blessed to have similar memories every day.

For those of you who love sweet corn from the other side of the mountain, send Trish an email at trishkoester@ggyr.org. The man that supplies us with our pumpkins picked his field of sweet corn this morning and will be in town tomorrow. He has offered to donate a portion of the proceeds to GGYR.

Let's Get Random

Cone heads!Quiz time (and not for the volunteers who are at the ranch all the time)--who is this horse? Junior volunteers (and this isn't all of them)--

Please know how saddened we are with your decision to go back to school. Who do you expect to help all the kiddos scoop people or write gratitude letters?! And how important is and education anyway? Please get your priorities straight! Geez, some people's children!!

Have a great one.

Drip Drip Drip

So I never told you about. . . (remember when I used to do my "So I never told you" posts about lost or forgotten stories in GGYR land and then forgot to keep doing them?!)


Since my husband is absolutely obsessed with the upcoming pumpkin stand, I find myself getting into the spirit. From the archives I found these shots taken last October of a commercial being filmed at our very own little joint.

What was the commercial about, you ask?
Oh, just some water conservation ad. We all chuckled about this because back in the Kiddie Corral one could find a certain activity involving ducks racing in lots of water that was very far from conservation.

Be on the look out for Kaley lighting up the little screen some time this fall. If they're lucky, our son Grant and our little friend Gabriel might be in it as well.

Calf Whisperer

Family cattle ranch alert.

My sweet niece Brynn with a sweet little calf. Pretty precious.

What a great weekend this was. More to come.

Huge day at the ranch! I have new horse stories for you and how!

So, I guess I'll go to bed.

Have a good one.

Matt Squared

Family cattle ranch alert. Family cattle ranch alert.

Can't remember--did I share these joyous shots with all of you last summer? It would be a tragedy if you missed out. If you have seen them, I'm sure you'll thank me for sharing once again.

At branding, I always take a Matt and Matt picture. Both great guys. Both named Matt. The picture is a must.

I present the 2009 Matt & Matt photos. . .
at the barn dance.
Sure they're tough cowboys, but who knew they could dance so well together! It was a pleasure watching them twirl the night away.

Happy almost weekend to you all.

Kaitlin Is The Greatest

I must start out by noting this is the second blog for today. Yep, blogging maniac. Hear me roar!

OK, so I guess I can't take credit for this post. All text and pictures are courtesy of Ms. Trish, our volunteer extraordinaire. (Except for my muffin word which she clearly stole. The nerve of some people.)

Trish, take it away--

Do you see this cute little muffin. Her name is Kaitlin. While she loves the horses, she also has a great fear. What is her fear you ask horses. See she a begged her mom to bring her to Galloping Grace to see the horses but she has not wanted to be on the horses. She a been out two times prior to this great day. One day she was brave enough to pet the horses and the next time she led one of the horses. But never ever actually got on a horse. Well today was the day for this brave little girl to overcome her fear. She sat on Seabiscut. If took a lot of convincing from Steph, Melissa, mom and myself but Kaitlin was brave and accomplished something huge in her little nine year old life, she sat and for that moment in time she was the bravest girl in the world. I am so proud of you Kaitlin. I truly hope you carry that feeling with you for the rest of your life you are great and can accomplish anything you set your mind to. And that my friends in blog land is the greatest thing to be a part of to watch a child do the impossible. Pure Joy at its best!

Kaitlyn, you should be proud of yourself. Way to go!! Trish, you too! Just how many guest posts is that for you now? Thank you so much! Thanks for blogging, for scheduling, etc., etc., etc.! Any night you want to write up another sweet story like this, I am willing to accept.

Copy. Paste. Done.

Why Brooke Probably Won't Be Speaking To Me This Evening

My sister had a baby yesterday morning who was born at almost the exact weight ( 1 oz different) and length as my first born. I hadn't even had a chance to get over the reminiscing Lillian's birth spurred about my own little bundle before she had to go off and start middle school!



We took this picture in the backyard so I didn't embarrass her in front of the kids at the bus stop. Bus stop, by the way, is in our drive way! How handy is that? This is her first year to ride the bus, so having the stop right there makes it a lot easier on Mom and Dad. She has been instructed to refrain from smoking, drugs and boys. Good thing I remembered to tell her all that, don't you think?



We gave her lots of hugs before we sent her out the front door. She said, "Guys, I'm going to middle school--not college." Hmph!



Our little family then spent the next ten minutes spying on her from the office. It was loads of fun--especially when she spotted us. It wasn't too long after that that I realized she was standing with three girls who were in her class last year. That was my green light to open the front door to take their picture. If any kids would know about my picture taking, it would be those that have been in any of my children's classes.



Upon opening the front door I yelled, "BE YOUR BEST SELF!" That really cracked me up. The kids and I have joked about that line from one of the commercials that ran all the time during the Olympics for the show Parenthood. (That was the show, right?) Brooke put her head down and groaned. Then, I insisted on a buddy hug for my picture. She'll thank me later. Much later. The bus arrived and off walked my little Brooke. Sob sob.
This is probably my favorite picture of the morning. We're still hiding in the office--me snapping away and Max thinking he is recording the whole event. (Camera was on pause.) Brooke does one last look back to see if that obnoxious family of hers was still watching. A framer for sure!


In other school related news--

Garrett started fifth grade and Claire started third this morning. My babies are getting so big! I pray for a safe, successful year for all. I bet those two pray I won't do the same thing when they venture off into the scary world of middle school .

What am I going to do next year when the baby starts kindergarten???!

A Miracle

First my brother went off and did it. This morning my baby sister did the same thing--she had a baby! An adorable sweet muffin with a precious name. Erin and Christian, congratulations on the birth of Lillian Marie. Enjoy every squeak and grunt for me.

We love you guys.

A Parting Gift

Seen on the wall at the Silent Auction Dinner, that fun event held back in July.

Our son Garrett calmly told Trish's husband who was leaning against the wall, "Mr. Chase--you might want to move. There is a scorpion on the wall behind you."


I'm sure the scorpion was harmless, but it was still a considerate little warning from Garrett and made the end of the event a little exciting. I know Chase was more than happy to move.

Resting Place

I miss you, my Holly.

The Birthday Girl

One of my mom's dear friends (and ours too!), Ms. Bonnie, celebrated her birthday at GGYR a couple weeks ago. You might remember her from the pumpkin and tree stands where she dressed as a witch and elf respectively. Bonnie can sure light up an arena with her huge personality.
You would never know she was terrified of horses.
And boy does she appreciate the little things in life!
Ms. Bonnie, thanks for making us laugh. We're glad we got to be a part of your happy day.

Erin and Christian, good luck! We love you.

Speaking of Erin--she informed me that the post I did on the removed bull parts was horrifying, disgusting, and just plain wrong. I don't see it. Apologies to the disgusted out there.

Ranch life--the good, the bad, and the bloody.

Sasquatch In The House

Public Service Announcement for the greater Rio Rancho area--

Big Foot was spotted at Galloping Grace Youth Ranch.
Although he didn't appear aggressive or territorial, we felt it prudent to advise you of his presence. We have no reason to believe he is still on the premises--there have been reports he was seen boarding a plane for Boston. Should he reappear any time this season, we will make sure we let you know.

Have yourselves a safe weekend.

Oops, I Did It Again

Yep, fell asleep on the couch while Max and I were watching a movie. You'd think I was ninety or nine months how I just can't make it some nights. Thanks to my sweet man who tried to help me to bed but realized it wasn't going to happen. Instead, he brought me ice water and covered me up. Have I ever mentioned just how much I love that man? Really, truly the sweetest husband ever. I sure hope my girls find men just as wonderful as their daddy. (Wow, what a sap I am in the wee hours.)

I'll be brief because my eyes are half shut. Today we go see about three "must have" horses a trail riding program is trying to donate to us. Hopefully, I'll remember my camera so I can give (and show) you all the details.

Funny, one night Max and I were talking about how the offer for new horses had dried up a bit. Now, we have the newly acquired Dodge and Serenity. Add to that these three horses that sound like real winners and horse in Flagstaff a lady strongly feels is meant to live with us.

We'd love it if you could say prayers that we make the right decision concerning all these animals.

Off to finish my nighttime slumber.

Duct Tape & The Boys

Scenes from the Wade Ranch--NOT Galloping Grace.

As you can see from John David's Team Tom & Jerry shirt (that my sis-in-law had made for the teams of Tom and Jerry to show their competitive spirit against team Rax--real cute I must say), he got really into flanking this year. JD is such a bruiser, he didn't need to concern himself with proper form. He simply tackled the calves. However, this method caused a little issue with his britches.
Naturally duct tape was the solution to his woes. His dad looked on with pride. Of course that's how it's done.
What good would a needle and thread be to those mutilated jeans anyway?
And now due to majority vote and not because I have the humor of an eighth grader, I present the bull part to one of our newly created steers . . .

and his bovine brethren.
These calves should hold their heads high. Since they were too large to be banded (rubber band around sack until the testicles fall off due to lack of circulation), they had to be cut. That thought alone might get them through the sore days ahead.

Remember that book I'm going to write about why I wouldn't want to be a cow?? Well, this topic might deserve a whole chapter all by itself. Men, may I get an amen to that?

Do you want any photographic evidence of items removed from calves during branding at our family cattle ranch? I was going to post, but I thought I'd put it to a vote first. I'd hate to offend, and I'd hate any of you thinking I was immature in any way. I was just thinking images might be interesting to those with no experience in the matter. Heck, I've seen it every summer for the last eleven years and I'm still intrigued.

Please chime in. Majority shall rule.

Beck And The Shoe

Sorry I'm being such a bad blogger. We have friends in town from Boston, so I'm spending all my free time hanging out with them. I'll be back soon.

Freight Trains

I might have to talk about branding weekend at our family cattle ranch for some time. There. Are. So. Many. Pictures. Exciting stuff, I tell ya. This isn't even all the people who came to help out, but the picture gives you a good idea of our crew. The calves were ginormous and MEAN!

There was one particular cowboy that had it going on! Handsome as they get. Look at all the people on the safety fence. This crop of calves definitely had our respect. As pathetic as it may sound, my forearms were sore from not only lugging my camera around, but because I had to keep pulling myself up on the fences to avoid a trampling.

Instead of running away when someone flapped their arms around, the calves charged!

There was one huge, mean calf in particular that I'd really like to turn into hamburger right about now. Because he was so unruly and dangerous in the arena after being branded, someone decided to let him out. The problem with that was our four year old son was outside the arena to be safe. From the stories I heard, that calf saw Grant standing there and deliberately charged--put his meanie head down and barreled right into poor Grant. I thank God he is OK. He was really shaken up, but we'll take that any old day over what could have happened. By the time I got to him after being told what happened, Max had him and was trying to calm him down.

Later that same morning, I got report that Brooke was also run over by a mean, scary calf. She was walking back to the safety pen after doing her job, when a calf blindsided her and then "tap danced" on her back. Again, I was told it looked horrible!! When it happened, three calves were being held down on the ground by our flankers. No one was available to help stop the accident. I heard several members from Team Tom and Team Pink sprinted over to assist Brooke (thanks, guys!) We also thank God she is alive and well.

Branding of 2010 will long be remembered for the craziest calves ever born on the ranch. . .
And I hope that record stands for a long, long time.