riding horses

McKell invited Ty to go horse back riding. I tried to get Ty to wear his cowboy gear, but he wouldn't do it. Something's telling me he's entering the "preteen" stage. Ty had a blast, and Bex and I got to come during the end to see the horses and have snacks. The cute couple that took the kids riding made a little fruit plate and lemonade for the kids, and let them play with their animals and in the barn. They have a little potbelly pig that is a house pet. As in it sleeps inside and has a little piggy-door that it can come and go through as it pleases. It was a riot to watch. The kids fed it most of the fruit plate and then they chased it around the yard. It's belly was to die for! The couple that had the kids out were so generous of their time and so sweet to the kids!

goodbye small town

I've lost interest in blah-ging. No reason. But wanted to spit out a little update in our lives... Matthias is being transferred to another town for a job opportunity, a transfer within the firm.  He is to get the office up and running there. It is a good move supposedly and he will be able to focus more on his interests in natural resource law. While we aren't thrilled with the area, we are looking forward to a couple things. Being closer to family, having more than just a WalMart to shop, being closer to a major city, having more opportunities for the boys. Oh, and I have a cousin only a half hour away, yay! 


I think I can officially call this new town a city, though it is not a big one. We went down for a visit and found a cute little place to live. I took Ty in to his new school and he loved it. The city had a nice community feel. I am optimistic, I think. I am going to miss this small town, more than I thought I would. But like B-town, I will have fond memories and look back on this as a growing experience. 


As nervous as I was to do the small town thing, I could totally do it again. My 10 favorite things about a small town. 

1. News travels fast. When we found out we were moving we told 2 people, and by the next day it seemed as if everyone knew.
2. People are very friendly and eager to help. I have boxes coming out of my ears. People are just dropping them off. Is that a hint??
3. Small towns are laid back, something I desperately needed to experience. Sometimes I go about my life a little too intensely. 
4. Sense of community. Activities like the Christmas Stroll.  Closing down Main Street for festivals. Community Christmas dinner. Park movie nights. Community support of local businesses and the YMCA. Food co-op. Branding parties. The whole town attending the High School Football games.
5. Knowing almost everyone. Going to the store takes a lot longer than it used too. I can't get out of the store without having a conversation with at least 2 people. You say hi to everyone and every says hello to you. On the radio yesterday, the host announced the name of the "Local Business Person" of the week. They said that if you saw him, Bob, this week, to say hello and congratulate him. I didn't see him, but wished I had. The newspaper is full of people I know.
6. Getting to know the local restaurants really well. Because there are only 5, the menu becomes very familiar and you can order rather quickly. 
7. Ability to save money. The stores I want to shop at, or the products I need are not here. I have become a very savvy online shopper. My mom and dad call me to find items online for them now.
8. Western wear and rodeoing are not unpopular here. A nice pair of boots is a must.
9. Highest speed limit is 30. I learned that my second day here when I was pulled over for going 36.
10. The men here are very gentlemanly! I've never had so many doors held open for me in my entire life! 

branding

We live in real cowboy country, the West that you read about in books and see in movies. As tradition goes around these parts, neighbors and friends help each other during branding season.  Eager to witness the wildness of the West, we drove out to a nearby ranch to help some friends brand their cattle. Matthias didn't have a cowboy hat, but that didn't matter, he had work boots.

On our way out, it wasn't hard to see that spring was in the air... baby animals close to their mothers, mothers full of milk. The land was green and lush and there were wild flowers. It all seemed idyllic. 

I started dreaming about what it would like to live out on a ranch... until we got closer to the branding sight. The cattle seemed to be in a bit of a frenzy. Some were standing and staring at their young, some were running back and forth.  Then I heard the noise... the awful noise.


Of mothers crying for their babies. Oh, it was unsettling.

The branding was already under way, so Matthias jumped in and began wrestling cows. I watched and took photos to document the process. I was offered a chance to help out. No thank you I said.

This is how it went, Over and over. First you got to round 'em up.


Then you just grab one. Right by the leg. It takes brute force to drag them out. Oh my.

Then you have to get the cattle on their side for the actual branding. These cowboys flipped 'em real quick, and pinned them down. 

And then there was the smell. Of burning flesh. I really disliked the whole process, but this was really the worst. The ranchers assured me that the branding didn't hurt the animals, I however was not convinced. Here are the ranchers' brands. S&L.

On goes the S. Burning skin smells terrible.



On goes the L. Ouch.




And to add salt to their wound, as it seemed to me, they were stuck with a needle in the armpit and given a dose of antibiotics. The ranchers said it was all necessary, but I didn't know that cows got antibiotics this early in the process. I thought cows only received antibiotics once they got to the feed lots, because of the conditions they have to live in. This picture shows one of the helpers, a gal from our church who is actually a nurse, getting ready to give a shot. She told me she was doing it in the least painful way by pinching their skin and sticking the needle in at an angle. Aye yie yie.


And here is Bex observing from a distance.


To sum this little experience up, I hope I don't have to experience it again. On the flip side, a bonus for us it that we have easy access to buying a free range cow, that is if someone wants to go in on a cow with us.

yee haw

As you already know, I love small towns, and I just might like this town. Well I better, because I'm here... as in living here. Ty's school invited children's author, Cowgirl Peg, to come out for the day. She read her books to them at school and then came to autograph her books later that evening during the school's Western Spring Fling. I am still giddy from what a fun night it was. It's this type of event that brings the girlishness out in me.

boys with author, Cowgirl Peg

The boys already had boots, but no cowboy hats. It was a must, as all the kids wore their duds, boots, and hats to school that day. I took them over to the Boot Barn and told them I was only buying a hat if they really loved it. Bex's eyes went immediately to the "Woody" style hat and declared, "I love that one!" Ty was more cautious in his choosing. He tried on 3 hats in front of a wall mirror before he found his love and quietly said, "This one."

A local band, the Craft Brothers, played for the evening. The music was fun and there was lots of dancing. The kids had been practicing different western dances in P.E. The walls were lined with chairs where most of the parents sat, but Hoosier Daddy and I couldn't sit for long. We joined the kids, and both grabbed a miniature partner. I had Ty, and HD had Bex. The only thing that was missing from the evening was a heel clicking dance with my handsome husband. Aw shucks.

snapped one of bex playing chase

Ty showing off his cool dance moves

The funniest part of the evening was when a sweet but demanding 8 yr old girl captured Bex. When I saw him dancing, I snuck up to watch how it would all play out. They danced the whole song, Beckham cool as a cat. When the song ended, and the next one began I heard Beckham say, I need to go see my Mom and Dad. And so he left. The girl followed. She insisted he come dance again. Beckham replied "I'm tired." And that was that. After she left, he was off again running around.

the dance

Ty with his buddies, the twins

the Craft Brothers