Time Keeps on Slippin’…

Dear Blog,

I’m sorry it has been so long. I think about you often. I really do. I always have lots to talk about, but somehow my fingers never get around to telling it. Every day, I look at the faces of the little ones growing up so fast around me, and I hate that I’m not telling every second of it just like it is. But those little ones are keeping me pretty busy. On one hand, I’m mad at me for not writing more. But on the other hand, because life is so fast paced, I figure it’s better to just to enjoy every moment and try to soak it in than to sit in front of a computer and try to actually complete a thought.

But tonight is different. I am in the house alone. This may be historic. And for a short period of time, it was also quiet. That is until “Maaa-aaxx” looked through the back door and saw me sitting here. And now he is maaaa-aaaaaking a noise like maaaa-aaaaaa over and over and over again. He is also standing on his hind legs with his front feet against the door. Kind of hard to ignore.

Meanwhile, the boys are outside, J had her own outing tonight, and I am thinking about the summer and wondering where it went??

I pray I never forget how fun the kids have been this summer. They are at SUCH a fun age and have been such a blessing to just be around.

We have spent a lot of hours in the practice pen and at rodeos lately.

And I think they are enjoying it…

In fact, Jaiden made her debut in the exhibition barrels at a local rodeo and I think she may be hooked.

J: “How often do they have the rodeo?”

M: “Every Saturday.”

J: “So how many days is that?”

M: “Every seven.”

J: “Can we do this every Saturday?”

(Fast forward to the next Saturday)

8am.

J: “What’s today?”

M: “Saturday.”

J: “You said there is a rodeo every Saturday. Can you take me?”

Last night:

As she loped Hot Sauce from one end of the pen to the other over and over again, occasionally taking her hat off and waving it with one hand in the air as she flew by…

She stopped for a breather. Actually just to talk, because it has been more than 60 seconds since she last uttered a word, she leans back a bit in her saddle and in a really loud and excited voice (she takes after me) says,

“I’m riding a big horse, and a good horse—and I’m lopin’ ‘im!”

Jeryn likes sitting behind the chutes with the big boys. He talks like he is about 15 years old. And does so non-stop. One of his favorite words right now is “proud”.

“I’m so proud Will got a rope for his birthday.”

“I’m real proud of my boots, mom.”

“I’m proud I found my red rope (red rope is his favorite rope, however, not red, actually multi-colored, but as necessary as air.)

Yesterday I walked into my bathroom to find him bare in his birthday suit wearing only a black cowboy hat on the commode.

That’s Bubby for ya.

Saturday morning, Mario headed out early while they were still sleeping to doctor a calf and then get some practice in before it got too hot. When Jeryn woke up, he sat in the bed chattering non stop. “Where’s Daddy?” he asked a little bit later.

Not wanting to hurt his feelings by telling him he went to ride, I told him he had gone on to doctor a calf and just left off the part about riding and roping. He raised his little eyebrows up on his head and said, “Or MAYBE he’s riding a horsed named Hummer Dunn.”

These pictures were made in Flippin around the 4th of July. Not enough time in the world to ever get tired of being there. If it weren’t for the rodeos around here every now and then, we would never be able to talk the kids into coming back home with us.

I’m so far behind, I don’t know where to start, but this is my attempt to start catching up on what we’ve been up to these days!