His and Hers Fun............

My husband got home at four o’clock this morning. He just left again to be out all night. Suppose I should be suspicious, but I am really just glad I get to work on my computer and watch chick flicks without any complaining.

Brandon is actually just being a boy. Riding around with other boys trying to see who can shoot the most stuff. (total opposite of chick flick) I don't mind and to tell the truth I didn't care that much about it, until I found out how much money they had tied up in this little shinanigan. Now I am way more interested, and let’s just say he better tear up some coyotes. Otherwise, I may get a new pair of boots and he can’t say jack. Just kidding…….kind of.

While Brandon was catching up on his zzzz’s, I got to have a little fun of my own this morning. I took some gorgeous pictures of a gorgeous family. You know, some of those people who are just so photogenic it’s crazy. And total troopers. The wind was blowing, we were tromping through grass and old junk, and they were totally cool with all of it. So amazing and fun. Plus they had a cute, sweet baby. And who doesn’t love cute, sweet babies? Pics coming soon :)

Sunsets, just remember the sunsets...........

(this will forever be one of my fave Day Ranch pics)

I had this strange urge to go outside with an umbrella today and just see how far the wind would take me. I then realized that I’m not totally sure I even own an umbrella, and if I do, I am certain it is collecting dust (as everything else in West Texas is doing today).

Rather than getting frustrated with the brown sky and dreading my drive home through 100 miles of blowing cotton fields, I am going to look forward to what always comes with a nice West Texas sand storm…… a beautiful sunset.

They are like God’s way of saying, “Bless your sweet little heart for living out here.”

The sunsets are one of my favorite things about living in West Texas, and they always make the most gorgeous pictures. I kick myself in the tush every time there is a pretty one and I don’t have my camera with me. If I can capture those purple, pink and orange skies through a lens, then maybe I can relay why West Texas has captured my heart.      

So perk up, all my West Texas amigos. I know today is a cruddy one, but look forward to the view to come. 

Gotta Love a Pretty Sunset

(I took this one and the one below while pic-nicking in the pasture for Katie's birthday. Priceless, pic-nicking with her, mom, and the boys, with a few cows and babies, and a gorgeous sunset. Best birthday party ever.)

(These 2 love birds will be getting married next weekend. Woohoo!)

(Took these of my neighbor this past fall. Pretty sure his hands thought I was some kind of crazy)





Sunday, Funday.....

Yesterday was about as good as it gets. Since Brandon and I are still “just us,” we take every opportunity available to do whatever the heck we feel like doing. Yesterday, that was jumping in the truck and heading north to see some of our favorite people.

We shot over to Mom and Dad’s first to feed the bulls, check calves, make sure all the cows in each pasture had water and hay, watered Mom’s flowers, and most importantly stole their Sunday paper (Don’t worry, Brandon is supposed to return it today. We aren’t total thieves).

Anyway, we took our nice little Sunday drive up 829 and ended up at Day Show Cattle. I was greeted by my favorite, running scream of “Yayyyyyyyyyyy, Sam. Momma! Sam’s here!!!” That never gets old.

Unfortunately, my excited greeting woke Riggin up from his nap which resulted in a bust’n for big brother. Recovery was quick (he is getting lots of practice here lately), and after an apology, some goodbye sugars to LuLu (who had to head back to that strange land they call College Station, bless her heart), and we were good to go again.

We spent the afternoon searching for buried treasure, hunting bears, and ended up with a popsicle course (haven’t quiet got that word ‘obstacle’ down yet). Man do I wish I had the energy of a 4-year-old. It is never ending. It is like a DVD stuck on fast forward and re-play all at once. Even Riggs was like “Dude, just chill and eat some animal crackers like me.”

I see a lot of Katie and I in Ryder and Riggin. Ryder is feisty, loud, has a temper, and will cheat if necessary. Riggs is chilled, laid back, doesn’t get too worked up over much, and just watches and takes everything in. I’ll let you guess who is who in this little scenario.

Ryder does say the funniest stuff though. Like the other night when he wanted to get on the couch with our cousin LuLu. She said “come cuddle with me”. Ryder asked what cuddle was and she said it is like snuggle. To which Ryder said “Oh, Momma, cuddle is snuggle in Spanish.” Serious as can be.

As for our men above single digit age, they did as they always do. Got to talking about cattle, looking at cattle, fantasizing over cattle, and lost all since of time. I realize in the clipping room you cannot tell if it is day or night, a little like Vegas, but seriously there is a clock in there.

So we stayed until dark, which isn’t any big deal cause as I said it is “just us” and we didn’t have anything major to do at home anyway. Plus it gave me some more quality time with the munchkins and my sistorita. And, yes, it also gave me time to eat some of her fabulous leftovers, which ranks in at the top of my “10 favorite things list”. This such occasion was beef and chicken fajitas with some amazing beans. Amazing.

Today is Monday, which means my night at the Days Inn and I am sure some more pirate stories and such for you all tomorrow (and fabulous leftovers for me tonight!)

Beware of Pirates......

This is Captain Hook (formally known as Ryder.) While he still insists on being in full cowboy attire when riding Blue Moon (wranglers, pearl snap, cowboy hat, boots, and chaps), his latest fascination is with pirates, and like his John Wayne moments, he insists on being in complete costume.

We get to walk the plank, look for buried treasure, and hunt crocodiles when we’re pirates. And although he never seemed to understand he was in grave danger, we actually have saved Riggin from a many of crocodile.  

Rusty and Brandon thought the Pirate costume was pretty cool, until they noticed the earring. I was wondering which would mention it first, and like men do, they didn’t even notice it for at least an hour or two. We were eating supper at the table when Rusty finally said “What the heck is that? That ain’t going to work.”

This made Brandon pry his attention away from his steak and die laughing, asking, “Who the heck came up with that? Get that outta your ear, boy.”

They just don’t get it. Pirates are mean, manly characters, and yes, they wear an earring. Get over it.

After they tried getting him to put the little plastic, gold ring in his nose like a bucking bull, we gave up the pirate get-up and went back to being crazy Ryder.

Before I forget to mention, I would like to take this opportunity to let all of you know those two manly men who got freaked out by a plastic clip-on earring sat and watched The Bachelor for two hours. And do NOT let them tell you Kalli made them do it, because they were way more into it than they’ll ever admit. And of course, they both picked the blonde.

Little house in the sand.....

This is Brandon and my little house. It is pretty great for a starting out place. We rent it from a nice farmer who lets us do pretty much whatever we want with it. So….. I’ve painted the dining room red, office purple, living room light tan with a gold glaze, and guest bedroom two shades of brown. It is a much happier place now.

This weekend was Spring Cleaning time at our little rock house. Trimmed the crazy ivy, cleaned flower beds, scrubbed the bathroom down, and vacuumed the windowsills (actually that is about a twice a week routine here lately). I am in love with our big windows, and so seems to be the sand from every cotton field in the county. I understand for an old farm house sitting in the middle of dryland cotton country I can't expect too much, but oh golly am I getting broke back into good ole' Tarzan, TX.

Anyway, besides sucking up sand, we also used our nifty vacuum sealer and put up Brandon’s Axis meat.

This is one area where Brandon is a lot like my Pop. We always joke about Pop bringing home bushels of pears, apricots or peaches. He gets started making jelly, gets bored, starts watching westerns, and Gramma gets to finish the jelly making AND  clean up the mess.

Thankfully, Brandon’s attention span at least made it through cutting up all the meat, but I suppose he thought the bloody mess would clean up itself, much like those lovely messes he makes when whipping up pancakes. Thankfully I got it all bleached down and scrubbed pretty quick, and I’ll have to say he did wash out his cooler it all was in.

We even had a clean sheet night. Is there anything better than sleeping in clean sheets with the windows open? (other than having to get out of them the next morning)

Mr. Riggin......

Remember this guy? He has been my little man this week. We’ve hung out while Papa and Dee had to work and did pretty much whatever the heck we wanted to.

The week started off pretty rough for Riggin, though. We think he was teething, but the poor guy has nothing to show for his not sleeping, millions of dirty diapers, and horrible diaper rash. Add on top of that a hacking cough and huge crocodile tears running down his face, and it was enough to break the hardest of hearts.

Thank golly, Riggs is feeling better now. He was a trooper through Brandon’s party, stealing all attention away from the birthday boy, and has made several brave attempts at that “first step.”

Today he has helped me and GranDee plant heirloom peppers and tomatoes, some squash, and my favorite…watermelon! Hopefully by the time summer rolls around he’ll have enough pearly whites to chow down on it all with us.

Party Time.........

So I am pretty excited. I get to see my husband tonight AND….now here is the really cool part….tomorrow! I realize I may have to re-introduce myself, but hopefully he will remember me.

 That guy I get to see tonight.

Between him having out of town meetings and me working in Lubbock we have only seen each other in a blur of passing by. I love being busy, but I’ll admit I get grouchy when we are apart for days and days and days. Guess I really do love him.

I’m headed home today, and he is done deserting me for a while, so all those people who’ve seen me at my parents’ house the past couple of weeks and are probably worried about my marriage can sigh in relief. We are, in fact, happily married. For reals.

Another exciting part of my week, we get to help keep Riggs! Yah, Yah!! I’m pretty pumped. Katie left him in Tarzan while they’re in Houston so we are tag teaming him. Mom, Dad, Gramma, Brandon, Me. It’s a team effort.

 The little cutie we get for a week.

Tomorrow is also Brandon’s Birthday! He was very against a birthday party. Too bad. I informed him that was a mandatory part of being in this family. We like our birthday parties. We actually just use the birthday as an excuse to get together, visit, and eat cake. So sorry charley, you’re getting a birthday party, and you’re going to like it.

My Frog cake. Ryder picked it out for me. It's my favorite color!

Papa's birthday! Do you see a trend here of who helps blow out candles?

Paul showing us all what happens when you eat too much cake.

My Lady Lucks

These two young ladies are my great-grandmothers. How cool is that? I still have two great-grandmothers in my life. They are about as different as salt and pepper, but like that combination, they create great flavor to our family.

Granny, my mom’s grandmother, is about as feisty as a 93-year-old can get. Let me give you a mental picture here. About five years ago, about Christmas Eve, she decided she needed her some scotch for her little night cap. She hoped in her town car, drove down the street, and whipped into Pinkies. Now remember, this is a classy lady who still puts on her white satin driving gloves when she grabs the wheel. Well, as she pulled into the liquor store, she was followed by some flashing lights.

Mr. Policeman had no idea what he was getting himself in to. She asked him just what exactly did he think he was doing. He explained that she was not in the turning lane when she turned at the light. Oh man, did she ever set him straight. I believe there was a “listen here, young man” and a “I’ve been driving for more than double the years you have even been alive” several more minutes of lining out and finally a “now if you will excuse me, I am going to get my scotch so that I can make it home in time for my television programs.”

I am sure the young policeman was overwhelmed, and more so thinking “what is a woman your age driving around on Christmas Eve buying scotch?” Despite her argument, she got a ticket.

That, however, is not the end of the story. Granny was so mad at that “little stinker” for giving her a ticket that she took it to court, spent hours at the library researching her case, defended herself…..and won. I was not present in the courtroom when the judge made his decision, but I am guessing it was more of a throwing his arms in the air and “fine lady, good grief, whatever. Just get out of here,” type of ruling.

Granny says all that happened in her eighties, she’s slowed down a tick since then. Yeah, right.

Mamaw Jack is my dad’s grandmother. She has lived in the middle of a cotton field her whole life. Enjoyed raising four beautiful daughters, who went on to have several children of their own, who went on to have several children of their own, who went on to have several children of their own. Mamaw has more great-great-grandchildren than most people even have grandkids. Her family is huge, and she is our rock.

She still lives in the little house she raised her four girls in, and come Christmas time, we hope for good weather because somebody is going to have to stand outside. There is just not enough room. I wish I knew the exact number of grandkids, great-grandkids and great-great-grandkids Mamaw has. It’s awesome.

Every Christmas, she stands up in the middle of us all and announces, “I may not have much money, but my family makes me the richest lady in the world.” Every year. And every year it makes me cry.

Mamaw turned 92 last week. She still sits in Wildcat Gym to watch her great-grandkids play basketball while eating her baked potato. She may not yell as loud as she once did, but nonetheless, she’s still in the stands cheering us on.  

Granny & Mamaw at my wedding. So special.

Granny's 92nd Birthday. Still loving her sweets.

Ryder loves his sugars, too.

Mamaw at my bridal shower.

Mamaw's hands say it all. 

The Good Times

I spoke earlier of a great man who put little thought into monetary things. He found value in sunrises, pretty days, and simply being with his family. Luckily, I was raised with this same sort of thinking. We may not have had much money growing up, but Katie and I were clueless of that. To us, we had everything a kid would want and more.

Our childhood memories may not include family vacations on cruise ships or pictures standing by Mickey and Goofy. No, nothing fancy like that. Our childhood memories blow all that stuff out of the water. I remember going fishing at Raymond’s Bluff in the back pasture after a long day of gathering cows. I remember Mom making us treasure maps, packing some snacks in a paper bag, and letting us go on our “adventures” for hours, just like Indiana Jones.

I remember saving our Halloween candy so we could eat it while sitting in the deer blind with Dad. And Deer Camp, oh Deer Camp. No other cooler place in the world. We’d get up early, hunt (and snack on some candy), get back to camp, and then explore the ranch finding all kinds of treasures (a.k.a. junk).

Mom was great to make a big deal over our 'treasures.' I'm sure in the back of her mind she was thinking, "What in the world am I going to do with all this crap?" At least I know that is sometimes what we think when Ryder brings up pieces of wire, old nuts and bolts, or the occasional reflector off the highway (actually those are kinda cool). Pop would always make up some story about how the Indians used whatever it was we found to cook with, use in battle, or whatever else he could think of to make us ooh, ahhh, and get excited over.

Come evening, we’d hunt again,roast hot dogs and marshmallows for as long as they’d let us, and throw dried broom weed in the campfire, listening to it pop like a fire cracker (Katie discovered that one. So cool).

I also remember playing Slap Jack with Papaw, baking cookies with Gramma, and getting to turn on the siren in the feed truck then watch as the cows came running our way.  I remember Katie getting mad and running away on her horse or bike to Gramma’s house (the entire half mile). She'd have a glass of milk and a cookie or two from Pop, forget about being mad, and return home in an hour or so. Mom and Dad never got too worked up over her "I'm just going to run away" threats.

We played kickball using trees as bases, made forts out of hay bales, and swam in cow tanks. It might not have been fancy-shmancy, but it was fun. We loved every minute of it, and hopefully we are making and will continue to make our kids' memories as adventurous and wonderful as ours. Money or no money.

Some of our Favorite Things to do.

A water hose, sturdy bag, and good rain on the wheat field beats any water park.

 A water trough and some tadpoles can keep you busy for a while.

Sometimes the catfish bite. Sometimes they don't.

Take two good rocks.

 One strong boy.

And get a great BIG spash.

Where the Cowboy Rides Away.......

Mom broke it to me this morning the world is now short one more great cowboy.

I’m not talking about the weekend ropers with their fancy trailers and fancier boots. I’m talking about the cowboys that wake up before the sun. They drink their coffee and saddle their horse before most of us have even left our bed, and ride off into a dew covered field to check the herd. Their hands and faces are as worn as the ole’ boots on their feet, and their hats have seen more rain and snow than boxes or brushes.

Rex George was one of these great cowboys. He taught me to trot, lope, open a gate without getting off my horse, rope a mohair goat, and then ride it with all I got. My feet may have barely reached the stirrups, but he made me feel like I filled my saddle out as well as anybody.

Rex was a great cowboy, and a greater man. No matter how early the morning, late the night, bad the weather, or ornery the cow, he was smiling and patient. He knew all his horses as well as the back of his hand, and amazed me each day I watched him, and especially Old Yella, move in perfect synchronization as they worked cattle or goats.

The world could use more great cowboys like Rex. They may not be soft on the outside, but their hearts are as warm and soft as it gets. They respect their families, land, and God like all men should, but few men do, and find wealth in things that don’t cost a dime.

This may be where the cowboy Rex George rides away, but he will remain in my heart and memories forever. Thanks, Rex, it was a great ride.  -Sam

Some of the Great Cowboys & Horses We've got to Photograph: