Top Ten Finalist

I just found out that I picture I entered in the Beef Magazine photo contest made it to the Top 10!! I'm really excited. Of course, the picture includes Kelly Jo--I just know she will be famous one of these days! Please take the time to vote for this picture (#7) if you get a chance to help us win!! Just follow the link below the picture. Thanks!




http://blog.beefmagazine.com/beef_daily/2009/12/15/top-10-finalists-cowboy-christmas-photography-contest/

Winter is Here

After it rained and was just below freezing all day yesterday, it finally turned to snow overnight. The winds picked up and we are now having gusts of 50 mph and it's below zero. We haven't had any weather close to being this cold, so it really feels bitter outside. I didn't have to go to work this morning due to the roads so I got to help Luke do chores instead.

View from the back porch this morning:

The cows looked pretty cold and were all huddled behind the grain bin. Needless to say, they were happy to see some hay this morning.

Kelly loves the snow! While Luke was feeding hay I snuck between the rows of hay bales to try to get out of the wind for a bit. Kelly was very busy running back and forth across the top of the rows of hay bales. This picture was taken as Kelly realized the cows were getting too close to Luke as he was taking the net wrap off the bale. She was gone the next instant--off to help him!

Oh Christmas Tree

We are spending Christmas in Montana this year, so we wanted to make sure to get our Christmas tree up early so we would have some time to enjoy it! The Sunday after Thanksgiving we headed out to our favorite tree farm in the middle of nowhere and picked out a good (and very bushy) tree!

That's the one! Luke came prepared with the chainsaw.

It took me about a week to finally decorate the tree and the rest of the house, but it's now looking very festive around here!

I had to throw this one in there--Luke and his "baby":

Pictures From Last Weekend

On Sunday, I finally started to get some energy & I went outside to get some fresh air. Luke was out hunting, so Kelly & I decided to check on the calves & the progress on the corral. Flash was there to help too: Since Saturday was Halloween, I finally picked the one pumpkin that grew in my garden. I never got around to carving it though:

Work on the corral is going really good. It's going to be so permanent and so sturdy that it will make working cows so much easier.

The calves got weaned this past weekend and got to be the first to use part of the corral. You can see the cows up on the hill and the calves looking longingly out at them:

This bull calf is our pride and joy of this years' calf crop. He's an AI calf out of Yield Grade and an EXT first calf heifer.

Mom is always asking me about the kittens, so here are some updated pictures of the 2 kitten we have that were born in June. Stripes is my favorite:

Here's Cinder. She's kind of elusive:

Well, that's about all for now. It's gorgeous this weekend--70 degrees today. I wish I felt more up to doing stuff outside. I bought a bunch of daffodil & tulip bulbs that I've been meaning to plant--I got 3 planted and gave up. Maybe I'll be up for it tommorrow. Luke is busy working on the last stretch of corral & Kelly is outside enjoying the sunshine & hunting.

Update

Once again, it's been a long time since I updated my blog. I've just been tired so much lately that I haven't done much of anything...especially on here.

First of all, congratulations must go out to Luke's brother Matt & his girlfriend, Emily, who got engaged last week! We are so excited for them and to have a new sister-in-law! Congrats, congrats, congrats!!

Matt & Emily walking back from the Pumpkin Festival a couple weeks ago.

Also last week, Luke turned 28. All he wanted to do for his birthday was to go bowhunting and eat chili. Unfortunately, he had to travel for work all day and wasn't able to go hunting. I wasn't up for making dinner, so he had to settle for pizza...but I did get him an icecream cake! I think he had a good birthday anyways though!

Birthday lovins' from Kelly Jo

This past weekend we stayed home. Luke worked on the corral with help from his friends Kyle & AJ (which turned into a spontaneous "guys night" in the barn) since both of their wives were our of town. The corral is almost done! Kelly hurt her paw though. She sliced one of the pads on her left front foot and its still really sore. We've been wrapping it and trying to keep it clean but she is still limping pretty bad. Poor girl.

Today it rained so much and there was so much flooding that I got to leave work early (to make sure I could actually get home). Then I got a flat tire about 1 mile from our house. Luckily Luke & Steve were here and helped me put the "donut" on so I could get home & out of the rain. I guess we'll see if I make it to work tommorrow or not...

Mariah & Lyle's Wedding

On September 19th, my good friend and college roommate, Mariah got married to Lyle! It was a gorgeous setting and a gorgeous day...even though it was 95 degrees in Billings that day. I left for Billings a week early for all the pre-wedding festivities. It was so much fun to get to spend time with the girls and catch up. Here we are at the salon the morning of the wedding.


The wedding was outdoors at a garden:


Mariah was the prettiest bride I have ever seen!

The whole group! Well, Big Trev, Ken & Kassi were missing, but Joylynn and her husband were there.

I spent the week with the Kaczmareks and had a great time hanging out with them. Tucker turned 1 year old while I was there. He is such a cutie!

Congratulations Mariah & Lyle! I really enjoyed being part of your big day & I wish you two only the best!!

After Numerous Complaints...

I'm finally updating my blog! Since I started my new job I hardly have time for anything...let alone updating my blog, but I do apologize. We've been doing good, just really busy. Hope this makes up for it!

Here are some pictures from my August trip to visit my family in Montana.

Hiking to Birch Lake with Matty:

We saw lots and lots of goats once we got up the lake. They were really tame too and we got really close. The little baby goats were SO cute!

I got to spend several days riding at the ranch. My Grandpa has a new horse named Cricket that I got to try out for him. I really liked her! The cows were everywhere...but where they were supposed to be, so we had our work cut out for us.

We finally found some cows!

Matt & I also hiked to the falls by the ranch. It's always a gorgeous trip:

My good ole' Doc is still hanging in there. Age has been kind of hard on him this last year, but it was so good to see him and know that he is doing well.