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.

Hello, Good Bye.

This morning Max's father did a huge favor for us--he loaded up the two Haflingers and drove them back to their original home in Farmington, NM. Sweet, scared animals that could probably be excellent horses if they had A LOT of work. Since there are much more pressing matters to tend to in GGYR land, they were giving their walking papers and returned to their previous owner. Pop, thanks so much for doing that for us! Mike and Steph, thanks for opening up and helping Jerry out. Dee, thanks for feeding AGAIN! We are surrounded by awesome people!!! Have I mentioned that before??

More awesomeness--a guest post for your reading pleasure! Trish took it upon herself to write a little something in honor of Buff and Shorty leaving. AND, she also took pictures for it!! Trish, you're pretty darn cool.

In Trish's words:

Think of the Beatles song Hello, Good bye. Well go ahead I'll wait…………

Do you have it now?

This had been the relationship with GGYR and these two bundles of joy Buff(aka Hindi) and Shorty from here on out known as the twins

(I asked Buff to turn for pictures)

GGYR says yes, Buff and Shorty say no

GGYR says stop and Twins say go, go, go

Oh no GGYR finally says goodbye and Kaley my daughter says hello hello hello. That is five year crying for don't take my favorite horses that we can't catch or ride away from my ranch.

Sorry my little cowgirl it is time for them to go to a home more suited for them. In all her sobs the only way to calm her down was to promise that we (well Max and Mike) would catch them for a picture to put in her cowgirl room.

Kaley and Shorty

Kaley and Buff

In this picture I think even Mike is having a hard time saying good bye notice the lack of smile.

So my cutie putie but pains in GGYR sides Good Bye Good Bye Good Bye. You will be forever in Kaley's heart and cowgirl room.

Thanks, Trish!

Mud Bath

From the vault of summers past--

One day last summer while hanging out at our family cattle ranch, Max willingly loaded up a group of little rascals and took them out for a swim.

If that wasn't sweet enough, he also took pictures for me! Ahh, true love!
I love that man and his willingness to make sure children have a great time.

I think I'll keep him forever.

Crashed

In honor of Valentine's Day, a sweet image--Grant and Hank bonding while the rest of us watch the Olympics. Please excuse Grant's hair cut. Max specifically asked them NOT to give him bangs. AHHHH. I ADORE the Olympics so very much. Fun times.

In GGYR news, Max spent large chunks of time Friday, Saturday, and Sunday moving around copious amounts of poop. The man was pumped. Not only did he get to drive the tractor, but he also got to plan and think about worms and composting. Mike, thank you so much for the use of your tractor. The horse pen now looks so much better! Also, thanks to Tim for helping Max Saturday morning. Your muscles were most appreciated.

Kaley K., Happy 5th Birthday to you!! It's official--you are now five while Grant is only four. (I don't know how we're going to get by until October when G can claim the same old age.) Enjoy being such a big girl.

Cowgirls Don't Cry

Usually.

Well, the cowgirls we have hanging around our family ranch are pretty immune to the process of branding a baby calf. So they get burned, banded, shot, etc.--what's the big deal? Jessie has been there and one that. Here she is getting her pour-on device ready. Brooke got to do ear tags for the first time. Yea, Brooke! You are definitely growing up. OK, so Claire was caught by Melissa's camera a little horrified watching her brother dehorn for the first time. Was it the horn being dug out of the skull or the technique her brother was using? I'm not sure. She's sound asleep in her bed so I can't ask her. She did have fun working a gate on the chute most of the morning.Cowgirl Kaley is pretty much like her mama. She wants in on the action and loves being a cowgirl. She often says, "Cowgirls don't cry, right mom?" On Sunday she had a field day whacking the calves as they came down the alley.
Bliss. In her element. Loving life. Precious.
Now meet Phoebe. Although she loves horses and riding, Sunday was her first day to witness what happens to a calf out on a ranch. I'm going to go out on a limb and say she wasn't impressed. She bawled and bawled watching the baby cows be worked. She finally started pleading to go home. Her only escape was the back of Max's pickup where Hank did his best to console the only way he knew how--
with doggie kisses to her teary face. Please, no one tell Phoebe how hamburgers are made. I don't think she could handle it right now. It's all so fresh--and burnt!

"Phoebe, thanks for caring about us. Wish the rest of those jokers did!"

The Sign

Linky Poo

For those who haven't already watched every exciting second of the news story that aired last Friday on KRQE, here it is.

Thanks again, Deanna and Chris. We really enjoyed it!

Cochise And His Little Lady

Happy Saturday to you!  

Deanna's Day

Exciting stuff at Galloping Grace this morning. Deanna Sauceda, Channel 13 KRQE news anchor, and cameraman Chris spent quite a while filming and reporting on the happenings of our little ranch. We were blessed with beautiful weather, fantastic volunteers, and happy children.

Max started off with his typical safety lesson. Chris filmed a little bit of everything. It will be interesting to see what makes the cut.

Of course the world needs to see three cutie pies learning how to saddle a horse. And children scooping poop? An absolute must! Grant, Cindy's son, was the first person interviewed. I was really impressed with his composure and quality answers to Deanna's questions.

While I'm on the subject of Deanna's questions--man, the lady knows what she's doing! I loved watching her in action. The camera would start rolling and out of her mouth came the most clever statements in quite an impressive delivery! You'd think she did it for a living or something.

I took this picture of Grant for his mother's benefit. She was off doing something else while Grant was making his small screen debut. Kaley then sat in the hot seat. She was quite the cutie. At one point Deanna asked Kaley what she wanted to be when she grew up. Kaley wasted no time in answering, "A barrel racer."

Dan the Man granted one of his rare interviews. For being a little hesitant to the idea of talking in front of the camera, he sure hit it out of the ballpark! Max was the same way. He has the ability to gab away to all of the greater metropolitan area while I huddle in the corner with my camera lens pointed toward the action. Tomorrow I hope to show Deanna modeling courageous behavior while Chris looks on in horror. Good times!

Soon we expect to hear when the piece will run--we'll let you know as soon as we do.

Deanna and Chris, so much fun! Thanks for taking the time to meet us. We're can't wait to see your completed masterpiece.

The Gentleman Cowboy

While reading and viewing this post, please pretend that my shutter speed and ISO had been set correctly. Thank you.

Grant, the youngest of our four children, attends preschool two mornings a week. It is the same preschool that the other three attended long, long ago when they were little. (Now they're already 9, 8, and 7--practically ancient.) I cannot possibly brag enough about the wonderful program and teachers at this little school.

Last night was the end of the year play and awards. The loving teachers think up something special to say about each child. Pictured below with Grant is Mrs. Lindsey. (Yep, same lady who painted the pumpkin tower at the pumpkin patch and the gingerbread house at the tree stand!) She has been the preschool teacher to all four of our children. To know her is to love her! Mrs. Lindsey began her gushing over our little Grant. She explained to everyone that he loved to come to school in his cowboy boots, just like his daddy and how kind and considerate he was the the other students. She then presented him with the award "Gentleman Cowboy." Grant beamed. Mommy beamed. Daddy thumped his chest. It didn't stop there. Mrs. Aragon (remember Cleopatra who organized and cooked all those meals for us after Max's surgery?) piped in some loving words--so loving in fact that she started to cry. She told the story of something my little man did a couple months ago.

During snack time at preschool, the child of the parent helper for that particular day invites his or her mommy to "join me for snack." Apparently, Grant noticed that there was not an open seat for the mommy to join her daughter that day. Grant, without being asked, got up so that Mommy could sit in his spot and join her daughter to eat. Mrs. Aragon was blown away that Grant came up with that on his own. That's our Grant, The Gentleman Cowboy. Hmmm, I wonder if Kaley would agree.

Mrs. Lindsey, Mrs. Aragon, and Mrs. Kissane--thank you for being such loving teachers to my son. We love you right back!

Readers, thanks for pretending this had anything to do with Galloping Grace Youth Ranch.

The end.

Back In The Saddle

Max posting:

Today marked the official opening of the 2009 season! Trish, Steph and I worked with five children and one grown woman who suffers from a traumatic brain injury (Michelle will post about this later). Even though we have already worked with a number of kids in the last few weeks, it was a great feeling knowing that we are actually underway for this year. The smiles and laughter kicked things off with a bang.

To top off a great day, Darren found a bull snake in the tack room. He did not share the same enthusiasm for the reptile as Grant and Kaley. Michelle tried to convince him that if the 3 and 4 year old could hold the snake, surely he could. Not a chance. Darren was very confused why I put the snake back in where he had found it.

We're just hoping he eats any small mice that might be running around.

Yep, another great day at Galloping Grace.

Cochise And The Cuties

Talk about your precious little muffins!

Kelsey and Kaley, happily grooming away as the wind gently blew through their hair.

Then they started peeking at one another...

They about melted me with that. Do you reckon Cochise thought they were near as adorable as I did?

Some things we'll never know.