Cattleman's Convention

We were at another trade show this past weekend. This time it was in Springfield which is about 5 hours from where we live, so it was kind of a trip. We left Friday morning, set up the booth Friday night and the trade show was all day Saturday, then we came home yesterday. The trade show went well and I think we got some new business--so that's good.

Here's our booth:We thought that the convention would be more fun, but there really weren't any people close to our age there--mostly older or kids.

We did get to make a trip to PFI (a western store) while we were in Springfield and did a little shopping. Luke & I each got a new pair of jeans. I talked Luke into getting some Cinch "Dooley" jeans which is a really big deal since he doesn't feel comfortable in anything but good old Wranglers. I had to convince him that they were really HOT! I got a pair of Cruel Girl "Sabrina" jeans and I really love them too!

On the way home we drove through a terrible rain storm and as we got further North it turned to sleet and freezing rain. The wind was blowing really hard and it was really nasty outside. This morning it was -12! I'm sure glad we got home when we did, as the weather is supposed to be getting worse the next 2 days. Oh, and we found a very hungry Papa Kitty locked in the garage when we got home--so that's another reason its good we got home when we did!

More Montana Pictures

Here are some more pictures from our trip to Montana over Thanksgiving:

Matt skipping rocks on Flathead Lake:Look how far Luke can skip a rock:
In Montana, we don't get fake trees or go to tree farms...we go out in the woods and chop down a tree!

Here's Luke chopping down a tree for Lynmarie:

Jethro was supervising:Lynmarie and her tree:

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

And that's not because of all the decorating I've done (because that hasn't happened yet!).

Yesterday we had our first substantial snow with lots of wind, creating drifts everywhere. It's supposed to be cold at least through the weekend, so we may get to keep the snow for a while. It definitely helped me get into the holiday spirit!

The roads were getting pretty bad yesterday afternoon. The wind was blowing so hard that it was making the roads slick and decreasing the visibility. Here's the view from my car as I drove home from work yesterday (I made the only tracks on our gravel road):Here's our wintery looking house:
Poor Tryan (my bottle calf from last May). He always looks so pathetic and the snow definitely doesn't help. He's had a rough life...but he's such a sweetie!
I felt sorry for the bulls, so I fed them a little early. They really enjoyed the hay. With the wind and being covered in snow, I'm sure they were needing a little extra feed. Here's our older bull, Mr. T:

So far, we are enjoying the snow!

Fun at the Ranch

This is where Luke & I got married about 1 1/2 years ago: The brown grass and the perfectly bright blue sky made for some beautiful pictures. The weather was in the 40's and sunny almost every day we were there. (This is not usual for Thanksgiving in Montana!)

We even saw a Golden Eagle flying over the meadow. Even though it was so high in the air, it still looked huge!
Mom, Matt & Margo:
Margo being a silly dog and playing with a stick that would barely fit in her mouth.
Our job was to put up the elk fence around the hay shed. So far, the elk have been keeping their distance and staying out of trouble, but it's just a matter of time until they return. It's been a really warm, late fall so they are still staying in the high country. They use 8-10 foot boards that are wired together to make a "fence" to protect the hay from being eaten by the elk. These fences are pretty heavy, so it's a bit of a job to get them put up. The elk have plenty to eat...it's just easy for them to eat from a hay bale, so they target the haysheds. Then, the cows run out of hay. Since hay is incredibly expensive in Montana, it makes ranchers hate elk!
Later this day was when Grandpa got hurt, so it was kind of a bittersweet day.

Thanksgiving

This is how Mom looked most of the day:


She was not too excited about Thanksgiving.

Bruce finished off the turkey with a torch since it didn't brown...



Matt spiked the punch, so us "kids" were happy:


Here's the fancy cake that Mom made that was delicious:


Grandma Sue:


Grandpa left to go feed cows:


After lunch at my Mom's house, we went to my Aunt Becky's for Thanksgiving with my Dad's side of the family. It was a busy day and we definitely ate well!

This Girl's Getting Married!

Congrats Mariah & Lyle!!

Poor Grandpa!

We got back from Montana at 2:30 AM Tuesday morning and we were so worn out. The last few days we spent in Montana were very stressful. On Sunday, Luke, Matt & Grandpa were outside working on the corral and getting it all ready to bring the cows in. Grandpa was going to ship his calves on Monday. Well, Matt was leading Rachel (Penny's weanling filly) into the barn and she pulled back really quick and knocked Grandpa down and stepped right on his left leg. It was not hard to tell it was broke as his boot wasn't facing the same way as he was. It was a really bad break in a leg that has been broke 4 previous times, had the ankle fused and the knee replaced.

He had surgery that night and they put a plate & screws in to hold it together but didn't feel like it was a very secure fix. Grandpa was in so much pain and just felt awful. It was so hard to see him that way, he is always so strong and tough. I didn't want to even consider leaving on Monday (when our flight was scheduled), but Luke convinced me we had to and that really there was nothing we could do there.

Everything took a turn for the better yesterday. Grandpa had another surgery and everything is going good. The doctors think it's going to heal okay and that he should be able to go home tomorrow. He is feeling so much better and has hope again. I don't usually think of a broken leg as life threatening, but when you get up in age, any trip to the hospital is bad news.

Please keep Grandpa in your thoughts and prayers. I don't know what we would do without him!