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!