Reality Check....

I had a reality check last night. It made realize what is truly important in my life.

The orange glow that filled the sky just west of my house kept getting brighter and brighter as the hours passed. I knew the brave men in our community were doing all they could to control the fire raging around them, but if there is ever anything we cannot control, it is nature.

The wind was howling as it blew out of the west, creating a path through our neighbor’s ranch straight to his headquarters and our own house. Brandon joined the forces of our volunteer firemen trying to save as much ranchland as they could, and most importantly Mr. Knox’s house, family and cattle. I was worried about our house, but knew the fire would reach them before it did us and had main concern for the Knox family.

Brandon called to let me know, in his most easing voice, they were keeping the fire controlled, but to get a few of the most important things gathered and loaded in the car just in case. With winds like we had last night, it doesn’t take long for things to go the wrong way fast. I called Mr. Knox’s house to see if they needed any help. All was alright at that time, and I told Mary to call me as soon as she needed anything, greatly hoping she would not have to call back.

I set water sprinklers all around the perimeter of our fence, knowing it wouldn’t do much good if worse came to worse, but it made me feel better. I grabbed some photos, Brandon’s asthma medicine and breathing machine, important documents and was left to look around at how much still filled our little house.

I realized all that was left are only processions. They can be replaced, and when looking at the big picture, are not important at all. I stood in the middle of our living room, looking around and had my reality check. I didn’t care about the TV, couch, or all the beautiful crystal bowls and silver serving dishes still new from our wedding. All I cared about was Brandon; my great friend since kindergarten, Brian; our neighbor, Dusty; and all the other young men with young families fighting what had to be a hot, scary, horrible fight.

Thankfully these great men saved Mr. Knox’s house, they saved my house, and most importantly they made it back to their own families unharmed. I know others were not as lucky. Some are waking up to the realization that their homes are gone. Where memories have been made for years are mere ashes today. I pray for those families. I can only imagine how hard it must be, but hopefully they have ease of mind that although processions are gone, the people they love are safe and those memories they made in their loving homes will always live on in their hearts and minds.    

Wind? Again?

It is sale day. We started early, watching the sun rise while cleaning up the baby Herefords and their pens. Made a big pot of coffee, sat around the table under the barn with my parents and Pop reading the Sunday paper and drinking coffee out of that big ole’ pot. It was so nice, a little damp, and all you needed was a light jacket.

Right now, the sky is as red as the carpet at the Oscar pre-show I am watching. Wind is blowing at record breaking speeds. The smell of grass fires fill the air and put a heavy worry on everyone’s heart and mind. Once one of those starts on a day like today, it may cross four counties before it slows up. Thanks to all the great firemen who have been at it all day trying to keep the fires under control. A lot of them are volunteer. They put their lives on the line to make sure our families, houses, pastures, cattle and everything else stay safe.

So goes West Texas weather. Beautiful morning and horrendous day and night.  Have you heard that Josh Abbot song, “She’s Like Texas”? There is a line in that songs that says, “her moods change like the weather out in Lubbock.” Every time that song comes on Brandon has to make some smarty-pants comment like, “he ain’t kidding about that”. I assume he is talking about how fast the weather changes in this part of the world and surely not about me and my moods.

The weather was terrible, but at least the sale went good. I've been texting Katie and she said their sale is going great too. Think they are having a shrimp boil there so I figured she’d have a good crowd. Didn’t know how many would be steer buyers and how many would just be shrimp eaters, but sounds like it is going great. I'm so happy for them and my parents. Everyone works so hard this time of year and deserve to have a great time. Sounds like that hard work is paying off, and like I said, they deserve every bit of it.

Maybe there will even be a little shrimp left over for me to snack on tomorrow night. After all, tomorrow is Monday and it is back to Lubbock for me. Going from cleaning steer pens to working at a computer desk. Then it’s chilling with my boys and sis. Catch up talk about the steer sales, hide-and-go-seek, bubble baths, and bed time stories. It is hard to dread Mondays when you’ve got a schedule like that.

Go here. It is Josh Abbott's "She's like Texas". Coming from a green eyed girl that loves her family, (and apparently a little moody) it is fabulous.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tSrzYwedIJ0

Some of those boys we chill with.

The End of an Era...........

I am so glad I went tonight.  Grady vs. Anton, boys playoff basketball.  Grady lost.  It was emotional, the boys had a good season, and had a state runner-up title to defend.  But what made me break down and cry on the way home – and I mean a good, boo-hoo, sobbing cry – was not sympathy for the boys or the draining disappointment of defeat, but the thought of my grandparents driving home, for the very last time, from a grandkid’s game.

My family is incredible.  All of them.   I love my parents,  my sis, my aunts, uncles, & cousins.  But the root of it all, the steadfast anchor that has kept us all filled with gratitude & enthusiasm, and especially love, is Gramma & Pop.

I’m the oldest grandchild of seven on the Yates side.  Since I set foot in the arena at five showing my horse, they’ve not missed anything.  I showed horses, then steers, then got involved in school with sports.  Samantha & my cousins were the same way.  We did it all.  Steer barn, pig barn, basketball court, tennis court.  From one end of the state to the other, January through December.  Know who saw everything?  Gramma & Pop.  I do not know of a single event they missed.

I’m sure they could have built two new houses or owned a small country with the gas money they’ve spent chasing us around.  Throw in the concession stand donations and gate fees and you could add a leer jet. 

Bryley played his last game as a Grady Wildcat tonight.  We were all Wildcats…will always be Wildcats.  Gramma & Pop have bought every t-shirt and owned every pin and sticker and whatever other Booster Club spirit item has come around.  Tonight, they drove home from their last grandkid’s game.   Bryley is a senior, he had a great run.  Gramma & Pop, you had a great run.

18 years of it.  Eighteen solid years of watching, cheering, euphoria and heartache.  Always there when we got out of the locker room or show ring, to give us a hug and tell us they love us, no matter what had just happened.  And tonight, they hugged Bryley, told him they were proud of him, and walked out of the gym for the last time, as grandparents of a Wildcat.

Ryder is 3.  He’ll be busy with stuff before long.  And I know they’ll be there to watch every minute of it for as long as they can.  They’ll be his biggest fan as they were ours. 

Well, I’m crying again.  It’s a good cry, an appreciative one.  I wish everyone had a Gramma & Pop, I’m so lucky I do.

Miss Crooked Nose

This lovely lady is Miss Crooked Nose. She has been a member of our family for about 7 years now and is my mother's pride and joy. It would not suprise me in the least if she has a place in Mom's will. Dad is not such a fan. I know of numerous times when he has tried to sell her, all of which he has decided are not worth risking over 30 years of marriage. Mom is pretty funny about her cows and babies. We all joked last year that the bull they had in their steer sale was going to get his choice of mine or Katie's old rooms. Of course none of us were suprised when they pulled him out to keep for themselves.  

Anyway, back to Mom and her cows. When Brandon and I were still just dating he AIed our Herefords for us. (Yes, Brandon AI's and clips, these were the types of things I took into consideration when saying "I Do") So Brandon was feeling up all of Mom's cows while she petted them on the neck and whispered in their ear. Brandon, being the funny guy he is, started walking up to each and  properly introducing himself before getting frisky with them. He still does this everytime we run a cow in the shoot to AI.

Mom, loving her babies, will have a hard time this Sunday. It is our steer sale and some of them may be leaving her backyard for new pens. No doubt, she'll get teary eyed. Guess it's just another testiment to what a great Mom and GranDee she is, she loves all her babies with all she's got.

Windy, Windy West TX

I woke this morning to a gorgeous day. Went for my morning run where all those people that must think I stay with my parents an awful lot and really need to work on my marriage passed me by, honked and waved. I even had the occasional slow down and comment "Where's the bear? Well why the heck are you running if there's no bear chasing you?"  Hilarious.

Got back to the house, changed shoes and went to blow out babies and clean pens. One of my fabulous friends (not going to name names but she is having a baby in a couple months that I am totally psyched about), anyway, her husband and another guy stopped by to look at the Herfs and then..........it hit. That West TX wind that all of us out here know too well. After deciding the poor babies would only turn into mud balls if we tried washing them, Mom and I let them all back out in the pen.

So I spent the rest of the morning doing my computer geek thing. I got a text from another one of my fabulous friends who just got engaged (woohoo!) and will be needing pictures, save the dates, invites, the whole works. Cannot wait to do those! I also got a lovely lady's save the dates and silver metallic envelopes ordered, as well as worked on invites for a spectacular couple getting married on her family's ranch in Missouri. Pretty cool, cannot wait to see pics of that.

After the fun girly stuff, I decided to do some of that job I told you about earlier. You know, the one that pays the bills and provides benefits. I finished up a layout on a corn farmer I visited in Stratford, which is WAY up there in TX. I think the wind blows there too, only its colder. Which means I could not live there. Like being alone, I do not do cold weather. Mr. Corn Farmer was cool as a cucumber. Drove me around all day, introduced me to some of his working guys, and let me snap pictures like a crazy person.

That's a lot of what my real job is. Riding around with farmers shooting the bull and taking pictures. I know, rough, right? I feature one a month in this little thing we call Competing for Profit (http://www.aaec.ttu.edu/acc/CompetingForProfit.php) It isn’t huge, but several past stories are getting published as a book and it gets read by several eyes. My next issue is on Roger, who my ears have a crush on because of his English accent. Super interesting guy. One of those that makes you step back and go, “Wow, my life really isn’t that busy after all.”

I need that every once in a while. A glimpse into someone else’s world who is a go getter and does great things for great people. It makes me try harder and push myself. And who better to do great things for than farmers and ranchers? Without them we wouldn’t have steaks to eat at Salt Grass or clothes to buy at Wild Oats. Pretty sure I would not like that at all.  

 Nothing tells a story better than a farmer's hands.

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Some of the Amazing Love Birds we have got to Picture.



Seriously?

Well, that great night sleep I was counting on didn’t happen. Seems like I traded Katie’s kiddos for a 26-year-old one of my own. I am still kind of new to this marriage thing, but I have realized that sometimes having a husband is about like tending to a big kid. Luckily, I have one that’s a great mechanic, electrician, plumber, lawn keeper, all around handy-man. However, there are a few instances when I have to look at him and say “Seriously?”

This morning was one of those instances. I got in from Lubbock a little after seven last night and asked Brandon if he was packed and ready for his meetings in Memphis this week. He said, “Yah, pretty much. Just need to finish up.” I suppose I took for granted this meant he had his clothes in his bag and only needed to throw in his shaving kit. Well, at 3:00am this morning, when every light in the house was on, I realized this meant, “I have my bag out but there isn’t jack in it ready to go.”

I know I should have been a good little wife and gotten up to help him…..but I didn’t. I did, however, roll over and cover my head up and answer questions like, “Where’s my black shirt, have you seen my other pants, etc.” He did get it all together and on his way to catch his 5:00am flight. Way to go, babe.

Of course I rolled around in bed, not able to go back to sleep, and finally got up and started my day. And what a beautiful one it was! After a morning on the computer and watering our freshly fertilized yard, I came over to help Mom and Dad with the babies and live with them until Friday, because that is just what I do when Brandon is out of town.

I know that the people that don’t know when Brandon is out of town think we must have major problems. We don’t, I just don’t like being alone. It’s genetic. So, anyway, I got to do two of my favorite things today. Hang out with Herefords and take pictures. And chill with my mom, who is pretty much a rock star. She really is. She wears Chooka boots with skulls, crossbones, and love birds on them. Jams out to Pink and Maroon Five. Does P90X when she can, and celebrated her 49^th birthday by running a half marathon. Like I said, rock star.

Today she washed and dried babies and cleaned pens, so excited because everything she tossed out of the pens would be used on her garden and make great fertilizer. She always has a huge garden with tons of veggies and rows and rows of zinnias. So pretty! I love them.

While we were cleaning pens, Gramma and Pop came up to look at the babies, visit, and most importantly get his check from one of the oil companies that the mail lady accidently put in my box rather than his. I still get some mail labeled Yates, so I can understand her slip up. After all, Sammy Yates, Samantha Yates, easy mistake. It took some strong will to do the right thing, but I called Pop and told him I had his check, to which he replied, “Good, I need that. It’s my Hobbs money.”

I hope I get to that point in my life when I don’t receive income solely for groceries and bills, but rather to go blow at a casino in the Land on Enchantment. The thing is, in Pop’s case, he will go up there and double his money. He is the luckiest stinker I have ever met. No lie. He has to file tax forms regularly for winning too much on slot machines. That unfortunately, unlike the inability to be alone, is not genetic.  

 Dee making the kiddos laugh.

 All of us grandkids playing poker with Pop. And losing.

Whaz Up?

 Nosey Roseys

 The Hobbs Casino Income Source.

Mom's side job. She's really good at it.

Ohhhh, Riggs.

So this is Riggin. Yes, he is cute and happy and precious in the daylight. However, at night the ratio between sleep and up crying greatly favors up crying. At least this was the case last night. It was so bad we all took shifts. Ok, so maybe Rusty took a shift and I took a shift and Katie was the only one that took the actual plural "shifts". But still.

Anyway, what Riggs does not comprehend is that this is not the best time to be depriving his mother and father of their already shortened sleep. After coming in from the barn right at dark and then working on websites and returning phone calls for hours, they weren't really in the mood to stay up all night with him fuss'n. But that's what happened and it seemed like we all blinked and it was time to wake up and start this amazing Tuesday.

I'll hand it to Riggin. He has us figured out. All he had to do was wake up in that cute and happy grinning mood of his this morning. Laughing and playing and making all of us melt for him again, and wah-la! We are wrapped around his finger again. Well, I can't really speak for his Momma. Although she did smile and give him some sugars, I'm pretty sure she would have sent him to work with me this morning if I would have offered. I didn't. 

One great thing about being an aunt is that I get to help out giving the boys baths, fixing supper, getting them in their jammers and in bed. But then.....ahhh, Tuesday night. Tuesday night is only me, Brandon, our DVR and silence while sleeping (for now anyway).

 

And Let the Bidding Begin!

So here we are again. Our busiest time of the year. For some people it is Christmas, for us.....it is sale/show season. It is, with absolutely no exaggeration, pull-your-hair-out-hectic around here. However, since Katie and I both spend a great deal more on our cuts and highlights than our husbands find necessary, we have decided to instead throw it all up in a ponytail and just go with it.

Unfortuneately, my sister has it worse this year than ever. While we were at the Fort Worth Stock Show watching somewhere around class 8 on Friday, she got the wonderful news that her pipes, which run through her ceiling, had busted and half her house was flooded. Joy. So she now has her entire house shoved into about half of the total space. Somewhat crowded, but if you look on the bright side it is great for multi-tasking. Afterall, she can work on her computer, grab some stuff out of the freezer or the refrigerator, and put it in any bowl of her choice that she wishes to choose from the stacks that once filled her hutch. So you see, it is only a bad situation if you wish to look at it that way.

I suppose it seemed a little more crowded this weekend since there were eleven people trying to eat lunch at once. There is always a large crew helping out sale week which get fed a good lunch in hopes that it will somehow bribe them into washing fifteen more babies after lunch and, with a little added luck, maybe even show up the following morning to wash whatever calves they had cleaned up, turned out, got dirty, and needed washing again.

So while the usual is for everyone to sit around the table in the dining room, which as I mentioned earlier is now occupied by a standup freezer, fridge, computer, desk, several chairs and numerous serving dishes, this weekend was more of a 'fix your plate and find an open spot' type of deal. Not that anybody cared, as long as there is good food and good company it don't make any difference to our crew.

After whipping up some mashed potatoes, mac and cheese, throwing together a salad and gettting out the meatloaf Katie had prepared earlier, I got the first wave of people in with their plates fixed and had the second crew coming in right on their heels. Katie and Rusty went through the baby pictures (of the sale calves, I don't think they actually sit there and ooh and awe over there own kids pictures like that) and after careful examination they decided what was web site worthy. She then slapped on a jump drive a couple of the files needed to design several Showbox Magazine ads that were due by last night, and Brandon and I were on our way back to Tarzan.

A couple hours on the couch with my laptop and my husband (paying little attention to the later, sorry babe), in bed a little after ten, back up a little before five, good kick-boxing workout, and here I was in my Lubbock office by 8:00am doing the job that pays the bills and supplies benefits. After some more barn and picture time, Katie got her kiddos tended to, both the three-year-old and 8 month old, as well as Bradley who never can make up his mind on his ad. She got Ryder and Riggin fed and to bed. Got them back up, fed, loaded in the car, and to tumbling, before heading to the grocery store to pick up her supplies to feed what would be the equivelant to a family of fifteen for the next week. Tonight's my night to stay with her, so it will be bubble baths with the boys, probably a little work on some website updates and another day in the Lubbock office for me tomorrow before heading back to Tarzan and becoming a morning computer geek and afternoon washrack hand. Dad's Hereford sale and Day's steer sale are both this weekend so we are all wearing a variety of hats, and loving every bit of it. Afterall, the way I see it is, if we're all going to have to wear these crazy hats, we might as well bedazzle those babies out and make it a party.

This is part of Day Ranch Wash Rack Crew

(heaven help us)

Mom with all her favorite babies.

Ryder helping out.

Our extremely attractive fitting crew.