Picture Update

I'm Back!!!

Ok...things have been a bit crazy around here with our family. That's a lot of the reason that I have not posted in a while. My mother-in-law had shoulder surgery, Reiny turned one and is WALKING (ahhhhh!!!!), Jordan landed a huge government job and has made 2 trips back to Nebraska in the last month, and I'm making my best effort at getting our year-end reports together for taxes.

Well, let's update...Reiny is one!!! She started walking on Dec. 2, 2008 by taking 3 steps from my friend Debbie to me at the church Christmas party. We had a party for her on Dec. 6th and my parents and sister's family all came up to help us celebrate. Jordan's parents and sister's family also came which made our little house rather tight, but cozy with company. Reiny's Uncle Chase was in Vegas during the party, but was sure to call and let us know what he got her...her first cowboy boots!!! They're so cute! She loves them and I think they're actually helping her walk better. She'll consistantly 7-10 steps before she falls down. It's so fun to watch her grow and learn new things, but sad to see my little girl changing so much. She now says 6 words: Mom, Dad, Dog, Bob, Tickle, and Duck (at least that's what we think she's saying). She also does the signs for "all done" and "more" which helps out a lot when I'm trying to feed her.

Speaking of feeding...I'm almost done nursing!!! The hope is she'll be weaned by this coming Sunday, Dec. 14, 2008. She loves whole milk and now peanut butter! She's up to 19 lbs 5 oz. and 28" long. That puts her in the 18% for height and 21% for weight. She's such a little girl!

Jordan's been excessively busy with work which is about par for the course. He landed this huge government job in Pashimeroi and is hoping to have most of that wrapped up before the end of the year. Also, he's got some interesting ideas on how to expand our business. We're hoping to have our cement plant set up by next spring and get started on our hydroelectric plant this winter. The ideas just keep on coming. I'm excited for the new year. I'm convinced that my new personal slogan is "I HATE 2008!!!" I don't know if it's just me or what, but things have just been so difficult this year (it might have a little to do with being a 1st time parent). In any case, I'm excited for the possibilities that 2009 presents.

Well, I think I'm done rambling...so here come the onslaught of pictures!

Found the Camera!!!

Well, I found my camera!!! Now I have lots of pictures to add to our blog. Unfortunately, I've found myself super busy these last few weeks and making frequent trips to the in-laws has not been very convenient. In any case...I'll add a lot more once I get the chance! Pray for DSL to come to my home soon!

Long Time No News

Well, some of you might be wondering why I haven't posted in like half a century. The answer is...I can't find my camera!!! I have been searching everywhere...and I mean EVERYWHERE! It's hard to keep track of my days and what I've been up to without photographic evidence to back up my memory. Therefore, when I sit down to post, I can't remember anything I've been up to. Jordan keeps assuring me that the camera will turn up soon, but in the mean time I am absolutely losing my mind over this great loss in my life! So many cute things happen everyday with Reiny and I haven't been able to capture any of them. So...anyways, if any of you have any new suggestions on where I can search for my lost electronics...let me know!

Anything to do with Me?

Well, after much reflection on this little bloggy thingy, I've discovered that I've spent an awful lot of time discussing Reiny and how she's doing and very little do with myself and my days. I supposed that has a great deal to do with the fact that my day starts and ends with "mommy," but nevertheless, there's still more to me than just "Mommy." I thought that I'd take you through my day today. I had originally planned on cleaning my house and attacking the growing pile of laundry that has now seemed to take on a mind of its own and all but grown arms and legs capable of beating me senseless for leaving it unattended this long. However, after a timely phone call from my Father-in-law about the impending threat of a rainstorm, Reiny, Jordan, and I hustled out of the house and out to the ranch to finish bailing a pivot. Jordan (the sweatheart) took Reiny with him on some service calls while I started bailing. Chase finished raking in front of me and then we went to lunch. During lunch the wind picked up and I ate and ran back to my bailer to finish what I could of the field before everything was destoyed by the wind. Jordan took Reiny, again, with him to water down the corrals for preg testing tomorrow (that's where we check to see if the cows are pregnant). I bailed my little heart out until the tractor gave an unfamiliar lurch and started sputtering. I looked down to see the fuel gauge blinking ominously at me and I shut off the engine. Wouldn't you know it...out of fuel and less than half a row left to bail! In any case, we've already hit 550 bails on the one pivot alone which brings us to a grand total somewhere around 5800 bails (give or take a few). Now all we have left (minus the half a row on this pivot and some side hills) is 2nd crop on 2 other pivots. That should be about another 700-900 bails and we're done!!! Yippee!!! So back to my day...after running out of fuel I called Jordan to bring me some more, but he was going to be busy for a little while and Reiny needed a nap so I came back here to put her down, but my work was not over. Just as I started composing this eloquent posting I heard cows mooing ferociously outside and I had to grab my shoes and head off a coo being staged by some runaway cows. Jordan and Chase were trying to get them in the corral for tomorrow's testing, but they wanted little to do with that! In any case, the cows are in the corral, the tractor's still out of fuel, Reiny's asleep, my laundry has probably now gotten up and headed for the hills, and it has yet to rain today! So much for that!

Chase's Win

Here's the video I promised of Chase's big win at the War Bonnett Roundup in Idaho Falls. Chase is the heeler in the back on the white horse, Beverly.

Reiny's Crawling

Reiny started crawling for the first time on August 10, 2008. I finally got her on video when she didn't know I was watching. Since then she has learned to pull herself up on the furniture and she once let go of the coffee table and stood by herself for a second before grabbing on again. I can't believe how fast she's growing up!!! Boy am I in for it!!!

Been a While

It's been a while since I've taken time to post about what's going on here. A few weeks ago we got a break from baling with the arrival of a gorgeous rain storm, so we went to Lava Hot Springs for our anniversary...6 years!!! It's hard to believe it's been that long, but looking back we've had so many exciting adventures that few people ever experience (or would want to for that matter). Well in any case, we left late on Friday night and drove to Lava through some of the craziest rainstorms I've ever seen in the west. I took some gorgeous pictures of the valley as we were leaving that helps remind me of why I choose to stay in this isolated land in which I currently reside.


We got to Lava and stayed in our friend Quin's cabin. It is so nice and isolated in the trees above the town. On Saturday we went swimming and I was the only person brave enough to jump off of the 40' platform. Unfortunately Reiny got tired and needed to nap so we left shortly after that so I could never convince Jordan to give it a go!
We stayed one more night and came home on Sunday. It was a nice break that was greatly needed. Hopefully we'll get to have a few more days like that before life speeds up again!

Hooray for Chase!

Last night Jordan, Reiny, and I went down to Idaho Falls to watch Chase rope in one of his first Pro-Rodeos, The War Bonnett Roundup. Unfortunately, due to a flat tire on the trip down, we missed his roping by about 2 minutes. In any case, Chase WON!!! He and his partner roped the steer in 5.9 seconds to win the round! Jordan's friend Brent got it all on video for us and he said as soon as he gets home to New York he'll send me a copy of the run. Once I get it, I'll post it on the blog for you all to see!

From the Mouth of Babes

Here it is everyone...Reiny's FIRST WORD!!! This is fool-prove evidence of who won the "Ma-Ma" vs "Da-Da" race!

Attempts to Crawl

Here's Reiny's first few attempts at crawling. I think it's just a matter of time before she finally gets it, but here's our evidence that she is at least making an attempt.

Standing For Something

Reiny loves to stand...here's some of the recent photos I captured of her standing tall like a big girl.


This last one caught me by surprise...as you can imagine!

Bubbles, Bubbles, Everywhere

Reiny had her first ever bubble bath the other day. Jordan had fun making a bubble-helmet for her.

Hay Baby...

Reiny has been putting in her hours with the haying this year (just like the rest of us!). She's helped me bail, move the tractor to the other ranch, and stack hay. I thought that the sound of the tractor would put her to sleep, but I was WRONG! She was up until 11 pm the other night in the tractor bailing with me. She seems to really like it and wants to help stear, but doesn't always keep the tractor centered over the row of hay. Here's some pictures from haying...



Here's how one of the trips in the tractor went...
BEGINNING OF THE TRIP

END OF TRIP

Walter the Water Dog

Walter ran most of the way up to the lake and got a bit tired...so Jordan cooled him off!

Dairy Lake

The day after the fourth, we took everyone up to one of our high-mountain lakes called Dairy Lake. Mom, Dave and Anna rode the 4-wheeler. Jordan and Evan rode the motorbike, and Dad, Lauren, Phoebe, Reiny, and I took the 4-wheel Ranger. This is one of my favorite places around here. Jordan and I used to sneek away up here to this lake to skip out on work his Dad had for us after we were married.

Anyway, we roasted hot dogs and walked out on the the little dock to take pictures.

July 4th, 2008

Well, I'm finally getting time to work on my blog. Here's the update from the 4th. My family came up from Utah (and New Mexico) and joined in the many Leadore festivities. We went to the EMT breakfast at the fire house, saw part of the rodeo in town, and went to the fireworks that evening. The fireworks were the best part! They tipped over the table and ended up shooting some of the fireworks straight at the crowd. Then they caught the sagebrush on fire and started a HUGE brush fire! It was more fun watching the drunk firemen trying to put out the fires than the fireworks themselves!

Reiny at the parade, and Anna riding "Candy Bar" in the parade with Chase, Gracie, and Natalie. The back of Anna's horse had the words "Got Gas" painted on his bum!

These are some pictures of the "fireworks" that Dave (my big bro) took.

Reiny at the rodeo!

WARNING!!! Venting Woman!

Yesturday, Jordan and I went to Idaho Falls together...yes, TOGETHER! Lately I've been feeling like I've lost my husband with as much as he's been working, but that's just life when you own your own business. His schedule lately has been...get up at 5 am, out the door by 6 am after an hour of worrying about how he's going to get everything done. Then he's gone until 9 or 10 pm, unless he's working in Pashimeroi, in which case I usually get a call at 10 pm saying he'll be home in an hour. Last week he left for work at 7 am and then at 3:30 am (the next morning) I called to see when he'd be home. He said, "I've just about finished wiring this pivot and then once I've got it going I'll be home." He got in at 4:20 am then the phone was ringing again at 6:15 am. Is it any wonder this man gets sick as often as he does!?!

I feel so bad for him. I used to be with him on all of these jobs, then when he needed a clone of himself to finish another job, I was his man! I love being a mother, but I really miss being able to work like I used to. Reiny comes with me for a lot of stuff, but she's still too little to just cart to every jobsite. Maybe by next year we can work like we used to, but until then Jordan is left by himself with a laundry list of projects that need finished yesturday! We've gone through so many employees this year. I swear...it doesn't matter how much you pay someone, you can't make them grow a brain! Sounds harsh, but it's true!

Well, I really shouldn't be venting like this, but sometimes things just build up to an explosion point!!! AHHH!

Well, in any case...yesturday Jordan and I went to Idaho Falls together. I had a doctors appointment and needed to grocery shop, and Jordan needed more parts to finish a job. Jordan watched Reiny for me during my appointment, and then she went down for a nap at the house there in I.F. and Jordan stayed with her while I grocery shopped. I almost forgot how much easier it is to shop without an infant!!! Reiny got her nap (and so did Jordan) and we were all very happy! We went to eat and did some window shopping for a new vehicle and just enjoyed our time together as a family for the first time in months!!!

Jordan tells me he's almost done with all of these jobs and then things will get back to normal (whatever normal is for us!). However, I'm sure he'll finish these jobs and then haying season will be rearing its ugly little head again!!!

Happy Fathers' Day

To All The Fathers in My Life:
Happy Father's Day! I hope you know how much you mean to me. I'm grateful for your example, smile, and willingness to withhold your true opinion (although your face may already show what you're thinking) until I'm humble enough to ask for help! I hope Sunday was a great day for you!

Jordan and I went with the rest of the Whittaker family over to Jackson, MT for Father's Day. We met April, Brian, Gracie, and Natalie there for dinner and then went swimming in the hot pools. I got a few pictures of the cousins together...and of course, of my adorable little "fish." Reiny loved the water! She would splash and squeel and try to make me let her go...she was just convinced she could do it on her own (I was not so convinced!). We had a great time visiting with family, and although we did break the Sabbath (sorry Mom and Dad...you taught me better!) we had a great time. Until...4 am, Jordan woke up with the stomach flu and spent the whole next day in bed (or in the bathroom). I thought to myself, "Shouldn't have broke the Sabbath, but so far I haven't caught the bug!)










Reiny and Wyatt in the boat. Uncle Chase with Natalie in her froggy.

Dandelion Treats

This goes along with the last post...Reiny had a dandelion in front of her and just couldn't resist a taste!

New Experiences

I love watching Reiny experience things for the first time. There's something so special about a baby doing and seeing things through new eyes. Well, since our weather has been so foul lately (1" of snow on June 11) I haven't had a chance to take her outside much. Yesturday was absolutely beautiful so we went and sat in the grass...for the first time!!! Here's a video of the experience. And Dad, yes I know my lawn needs mowed!!

Catherine's Hat

Aunt Catherine made the most adorable hat for Reiny! Everyone here thinks she looks so cute, so naturally I've had her in this hat for the whole last week. Jordan thinks she looks like a little yodeler from Switzerland. I just think it accentuates her beauty!

Tolerance

Reiny absolutely loves animals (I guess that's good since she's surrounded by livestock all the time). Our poor, sweet dog Walter sure takes a lot from this little girl. Right now, it's not too bad since she can't crawl, but poor Wally is sure in for it once she can chase him! Despite her "grabbiness," Wally does still humor her every now and then. I think he might actually like it when she "massages" his back and neck. Well, anyway...I got some cute pictures of the two of them this week.

Happy Birthday MOM!

Happy Birthday, Mom! I just wanted to take a second to tell you thank you for your listening ear, smiling face, and patient demeanor. I'm sorry that you sometimes become the "dumping ground" for us kids when things aren't going quite how we'd like them to, but that's just what you get for being the compationate and caring person that you are. I know that not all mothers are this way, and I sure hope that I take just a glimmer of that from you. Happy Birthday! We all love you! Susan, Jordan, and Reiny :)

On the Job

Reiny has had to just pick up and adapt to our lifestyle if she wants to survive in this family. When the weather is relatively nice, we take her out on the jobsites with us. A few weeks ago we were in Dillon, MT working on a pivot, and she came to help. She and I ran the loader while Jordan worked on the overhang. Reiny soon got tired and needed a nap, so she slept under the bed of the semi. I took some pictures because I thought it was so cute! The white flat thing above her is the flatbed from the semi.

Teething...or Toothing?

My baby has her first tooth!!! The other day Jordan said "I think I feel something poking up through her gums." I said that weeks ago, but whatever it was seemed to go away. Yesturday, I was rubbing her gums and felt something sharp! I looked in there and the littlest tooth was just starting to poke through the gum line! I can't believe she has a tooth already...she's not even 6 months! Hopefully this teething thing won't be as bad as everyone tells me it is!

Walter in the Water

For some reason Walter really hates getting a bath. As a result, we always have a very stinky and dirty puppy. Just the other day, I found out that although he hates baths, he LOVES the sprinkler...so that has become his new bath! Here's the funny video I took.

"The Astronaut"

Jordan likes to play a game with Reiny called "The Astronaut." He holds her on the floor and then counts down...3...2...1...BLAST OFF!!! Then he throws her in the air. She thinks it is so much fun, so I got a video of it to share.

Little Motorboat!

Reiny has been making this funny face where she scrunches up her nose and snorts a bunch. I tried to tape her doing it, and just missed...but I did get to tape her doing her "motorboat" routine.

Reiny and Cousins

The other day Marijill had to sub in at the school and Paula wasn't available to watch the boys, so Reiny and I offered to help. I learned that Wyatt can crawl now, especially towards his younger and much smaller cousin, Reiny. After that, RJ and I decided she should wear a helmet when she's around Wyatt. Here's what we came up with...

She Thinks the Tractor's Sexy!

Well, although Jordan is thrilled to have a little girl, I think a part of him really hoped for a boy. Whenever he gets to dress Reiny she always comes out wearing John Deere apparel. Here's a few pictures.

Swimming with Daddy

The other day Reiny and I went with Jordan to help him finish a project in Montana. Things didn't go as well as we would hope...so we stayed over night in a hotel. Reiny got to go swimming with daddy. She was having a great time until some other kids showed up and were a little to "splashy." Thought you'd enjoy the pictures!

Reiny's Growing Up!

My baby is now eating solid foods! I can't believe that she is 5 months old already. Here's a video of her first attempt at eating food.

Snow...Snow...and MORE SNOW!

Just thought I'd share some pictures of what my road has looked like for most of this year. These pictures are from April 11, 2008. This last picture is the snow drift over my yard fence.

Branding 2008

Ok...so life on a ranch is always busy, and sometimes quite disgusting. We just finally finished branding our calves this weekend and I thought that I would share with you some of the excitement we call our life. These pictures are from a couple weeks ago when we did 1200 calves in 3 days! WARNING!!! These pictures are not for the weak-stomached folk. I know I'm not in any of these pictures, but trust me...I vaccinated all 1700 of these calves!

This is Jake castrating his first bull calf. This is normally Jordan's job, and yes...I do kiss him after he's done. The calves pictured here just got done being branded...don't they look thrilled!