On the bench

The last few days have been hard with Cooper, but today was the end of the line.  He is very independent and doesn't like to listen very well.  This evening we are in the car heading to a 4-H  BBQ and he decides to cut some of his hair.  Of course he cuts the very front, not to the scalp, but close enough.  Then at the 4-H meeting, he takes another little boys soda, drinks the last of his pop, and crushes the can, while the boys is telling him to stop it and don't touch his pop.  So at this point, after several days of belligerents on Coops part, I have had it.  There is a wood bench outside the building that I take him to and let him know that he is to stay on the bench until I come and get him.  I remember thinking as i walked away that 6 minutes should be plenty of time.  The meeting is wrapping up and dinner is going to be served soon.  I know that I am in trouble when Weston comes up to me after  the dinner is over wondering if Cooper is still supposed to be sitting on the bench and that he is saying that he is really hungry.  The only thing that comes to mind as a mother is GUILT.  Did i really just leave my child out on the bench for the last 30 minutes at least.  As i sprint out the door, he is still sitting on the bench just like i told him too.  I gave him a big hug and told him I was very sorry that I had forgotten him.  He said that he was really just hungry and that it was no big deal.  Great, now I have scared him for life.  Well I helped him get some food and asked him what he had thought about while he was sitting there.  His comment was that he needed to be nice, not lie (which we have been working hard on) and to never cut his hair again.  Maybe it was time well spent?!?!

Fiddle Time

Erin has been playing the fiddle for over a year now. She does such a great job and really seems to enjoy it. These are a few pictures of her over the last year playing her fiddle in different events. This first picture is at the school Christmas program. She suffers at times from some serious anxiety and at the Christmas program she had a really hard time, but was able to stick it out.

These pictures were from a fiddle contest that she competed in. It was in early spring and she did a great job getting up and playing her pieces that she had worked so hard on. The group in the photo is the Dillon Junior Fiddlers, which she is a part of. The fiddlers had a big performance in Butte this last Saturday (why we were not a Kenna reception) that they have been practicing for all summer. It was great, and I am not smart enough to get my pictures from my phone to my computer, so you will just have to trust me that she was beautiful as ever and played like a pro. She is growing up way to fast!! Love you Erin :)

Triathlon Team Picture

Carolynn, Susie, Me

Before and After

Before-     

After-         

He was so dang excited to be brace free. He had his braces on for 2 years so it was a great moment!! We went school shopping, got home and gave him a hair cut, and took him back to the ranch to work until the day before school starts. He has been working on the ranch for almost the whole summer. As parents we were not ready for this yet, but he has really enjoyed being on his own. He is the only one living at the main house, so he cooks, cleans, does laundry, makes his own lunch and gets him self up on time to be to work. I hope that these are life long habits that will stay with him. I just hope that he can handle being part of the family again when he gets home, and at least remember to wipe off the counter when he is done having toast. We sure miss having him around!!

2011 Trails Part #3

Coop on his first solo horse ride. he is definitly a natural!!

Grandpa Boyd doing trails with Layne.

Boyd and Ena brought Megan and Brittnee up camping with them. Erin was thrilled to have cousins to be with.

Grandpa striking a pose.

We did some target shooting. I did shoot a bow for the
first time and really really liked it. It was a ton of fun!!

Coop needed another ride before we headed home. He is excited to go on his first overnight horse ride with dad next week. What a couple or good looking guys!!

2011 Trails Part #2

Weston was Layne's right hand man this year. Randy is working on the Hansen Ranch up the horse prairie this summer, so Weston was the one to help Layne. He worked hard and loved being with Layne and in the mountains.

They got into about 200 head of elk one day. Layne said that they were running all over the place and that they had gotten pretty close to them. I'm sure that was the highlight of the day!!

When there is snow, we must try to ski. Wes had to give this patch of snow a run for its money. He did fall down, but tried a couple more times and had a blast!!

New Picture

The last picture didn't turn out, lets see if this is any better

2011 Trails Part #1

Layne had only 90 miles this year in trail contracts. Most all of it was right here in the mountain ranges that we can see from our house. We spent last week with him at Reservoir Lake camping while he worked. His folks came up for the week also and one of his brothers and their family. Layne's dad Boyd went for two days with him and I went with Layne on his last day. We were on the Continental Divided trail. It was so awesome!! We could see Salmon, Tendoy,and Wisdom. We could see for miles and miles in all directions.

There was a large metal marker in the ground showing the Idaho and Montana sides, so we put our camera on it for a picture. The Idaho side is behind us. It was beautiful!! So fun to be out exploring together.

This was the highest point of the trail that we were on. It was 9,730 ft. The rock slides were a little scary to climb up and down because they were so steep. Layne and his mule Wilson decided that they needed a picture. As you can see we did get into a little snow. There were 2 small patches that we had snowball fights in. I love to be in the mountains!!!