T and Gaige

We are lucky to live close to so many family members. T enjoys playing with all of them and hates when we pull into our own driveway to come home. We were lucky to have Gaige stay the night while my mom went to soccer camp this summer. Gaige is great to play with T as though T is his own age. I have never seen a seven year old be so inclusive of younger kids as Gaige is with his nephews. T and Gaige both love being outside so they had lots of fun simply playing in the yard. They also both love animals and oddly enough, Tri has warmed right up to both of them. Both boys sure know how to play hard. I honestly think that T considers Gaige his best friend and we are lucky that Gaige is good to treat T like his!

The Fourth of July

The Fourth of July is a fun time when we get to spend time with our Trickey family. Every year we watch the parade in Round Valley and then head to Grandma Trickey's for lunch. This year was no exception and even though it was hot we had a good time. We were also lucky this year to have a barbecue with our Platt family and then load up to watch the fireworks. I didn't get too many pictures, but these at least show some of the people we had fun with. T is definitely not lacking in family that he loves to be with.

Irrigation

I used to love playing in Grandma Ruth's irrigation, especially since we did not get it at our house. I am pretty sure every kid loves the dirt and grime that come with playing in the ditch water and T is no exception. It seems like a lot of our irrigation times are in the early morning or in the middle of the night, so T has not actually played in the water a ton. However, when he does, he enjoys every minute of it. On this particular day Trey could not get away from work, so I irrigated. T ran and splashed the entire water turn. In spite of a good nap, he slept so soundly that night that he when we checked on him, he was halfway off the bed and not the least bit disturbed by it!

Branding

Spring and summer are usually pretty busy times in the year for the cattle industry. I like these times because as a family we get to be involved a little more than usual with the work and in this particular case, the branding (not that I actually helped at all since I was/am pregnant). We usually invite family and friends to come and help depending on the number of calves that need branded and then eat lunch together after. Trey and Spence are always good to include their kids and wives as well as their siblings and their kids and even on occasion my little brother Gaige. I think we all enjoy being included no matter how useless we are or how much our kids get in the way. T definitely loves the animals and wants to be with his dad the entire time, which is not always easy for Trey. These are a few pictures I have from two different brandings. The second branding happened to be the windiest day of the spring even though the weekly forecast called for calm weather. Everyone was filthy, but those who actually did the work (as you can see on Trey) were literally covered with dirt.

This is definitely a last ditch effort to update my blog once and for all.

T loves going to work with his dad and Trey is great to take him when he is doing anything that can be done with a two year old. One particular day in May, Trey brought T home for lunch, his face covered with scratches and his nose bloodied. T apparently does not slow down even on the ranch and while running fell and skidded through the rocks. He is a tough little kid so needless to say he wanted to go back to work with dad after eating. Unfortunately for him, he fell asleep playing!