Massive Posting Overload!! ... Are you tough enough??

I have terribly neglected my blog for oh, the past month or so! So, I worked hard and typed up all our latest adventures. Then I let them sit for a few days until I could find time to put the pictures on to go with them.


I finally made the time to add the pictures and get them all ready for prime time!


So.... IF you think you can handle it... if you believe you have the stamina....if you think your eyes can take it.... or if you are truly just bored... read on!!


There are three new posts below and major picture overload!!


I'll try not to be such a slacker next time and just post one or two here and there!


Until next time...keep your face to the sun and bloom where you're planted! ...

When Did I Get a 30 Year Old Son??

Flashback to April 1980... I was mega pregnant! The doctor told us you were due to be born around the 1st of April, but I guess you enjoyed April Fool's day even then! Since you held out until the LAST day of April to make your grand appearance!

It was before the days of everyone having ultrasounds to find out what they were getting so we didn't know we were getting a son until you showed up! And we were thrilled! It was a long 9 1/2 months! There were many stays in the hospital. Many times we wondered if you would even make it here. Many prayers were offered and blessings received and finally, we had a SON!! Dad couldn't be happier!

You were such a good little boy! You were very mellow and quiet. Little did we know, you were so quiet because you COULDN'T HEAR! When you were 14 months old, you had your tonsils out and the first set of tubes put in your ears. You would go on to have surgery on your ears TEN more times and you were a trooper through all of them!

One surgery experience particularly stands out. You had a surgery where the doctors basically cut off your ear, folded it down and drilled a bunch of infection and gunk out of the bone behind your ear then sewed it back on (called a 'mastoidectomy'). This left a nice scar behind your ear. Well, after your ear had long since healed, my nephew, Bud (who was about 9 or 10 at the time) was at our house and wanted to spend the night (like he always did). His mom told him to do something and he said something smart to her and she pulled his ear. You told him to be careful when his mom pulled his ear because YOUR mom pulled yours completely off one time and you had to have it sewn back on! Then you showed him your scar! Needless to say, Bud NEVER wanted to spend the night with us again after that!



You get your sense of humor from my dad. He died when you were only 3 years old. But what a trickster he was! Your laugh sounds just like his and you look a lot like him (minus the red hair and freckles). This picture really reminds me of my dad and I love it!

You've loved horses from the start and were the cutest little cowboy ever! You had your first horse ride the day you came home from the hospital. You also had your first taste of biscuits and gravy that day! Both must have made a lasting impression because riding horses and eating biscuits and gravy are still your favorite things!

You and your first horse Belle had many adventures over the years!

I can remember you coming home from school and putting on your 'cowboy' clothes and bringing your horse up to the porch steps so you could get on and ride until dinner and bed time.


Time flew by and the next thing we knew, you were headed to college. You were accepted to the equine program at LCCC. This is an elite program and only takes a certain number of students each year and you have to interview and ride before the instructors before you are chosen.

While you told us your degree was in Equine Science, I think you majored in horses and fun! They even had to rewrite the "Barn Rules" book from a small paper handbook to a full-fledged BINDER full of rules! I'm sure they never thought that the day would come that they would have to make the rule that you can't stand up on your horse in class. But then again, they had never met YOU before! At least you had a helmet on....even if it did have a sticker on it that said, "no fat chicks"! And now look, you have been at LCCC since 1998. First as a student, then as a barn worker and now as the Equine Facilities Manager and Adjunct Teacher! We are so proud of you!

You've always been handsome and had girls wanting your attention everywhere you went. That is, until you met Robin! It took you several tries before she would agree to go out with you. ROBIN was the catch of your lifetime and we are so glad she chose you!

Of course we all knew your wedding would include your horse!

Your love of horses goes back several generations in our family and you have passed that love on to your own children.

While Kolby likes to ride horses, his first love is the tractors and equipment you have taught him how to operate! That boy can drive just about anything already! Then our sweet Baylee is your clone! She loves nothing more than to be on the back of a horse with or without her daddy. And finally Taylor, what a cutie she is! She loves to ride and play with her daddy. I know Robin was hoping for a princess she could play primp and pretty with, but they all have too much of their daddy in them! But, if you can't beat 'em, join 'em!

You sure know how to have fun. Sometimes you have a 'little too much' fun. I imagine the Emergency Room at the Cheyenne Hospital knows you by your first name and you probably even have your own room there by now!

I know you don't think I understand why you love to do what you do, but I do understand. I just don't like the beating your body takes from your love of what you do. I'm the mom, I worry, I fuss, I nag, I'm supposed to do those things, it's in the handbook. I love you, son! Just remember to slow down and rest sometimes!

MY SON

You are my son, my pride and joy. You are my one and only baby boy. From the time I carried you beneath my heart I knew you. My love for you grew stronger with every heart beat. When I first saw you, my heart was overwhelmed. I want you to know there is nothing more precious than to bring forth a life that has been lent to us from a gracious Heavenly Father and to watch it grow and thrive. It hasn't always been easy, but I cherish the honor of being your mother.
You did not come with an instruction manual. It was strictly learn as you go. I remember the first time you crawled with your army crawl. And when you took your first steps. Holding on to your overall straps for balance. Great Grandma Hart called you her mountain man because she said your name reminded her of a mountain man.

You had a smile that went all the way across and you knew how to have fun! I can remember the middle of the night water fights, the moving vehicles around the school parking lot, all the practical jokes and wise remarks!

You were the middle child with a sister on either side for bookends. You were the perfect brother. You were always there to take care of them, teach them, protect them, and yes, even annoy them! You inherited a wonderful gift of laughter from your Grandpa Cole and have been a delight to everyone since day one! I could never stay mad at you because you would look me in the eye and say something to make me laugh like, "but you love me right?".

As you grew, we tried to teach you the values that you would need to carry you through life. We showered you with love, and comforted you when you were sad. We shared with you all that we knew (which wasn't much since we were so young!) and gave to you all that we had so that you could become the man you are today. You turned the tables on us and became the example of what WE wanted to be! Your faith and testimony are so strong! You were the example that kept us all on the straight and narrow!

We wish you all the joy you have brought to us; all the success you have ever dreamed; all the hope the future can bring, and all the love you will ever need.

We love you for:
The little boy you were
The special man you are now
And the precious son you will always be
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SON. I LOVE YOU!!

Lemme tell you about our adventure.....

So our son turned 30 on the last day of April and his wife was throwing him a huge bash of a party. We saved and planned and made arrangements to go to the celebration. It was a great plan!



A few weeks before the party, hubby and I were looking into getting an older RV so we would have something we could possibly live in if the need arose. We scored a good deal.... a 'fixer-upper' type deal!

It needs some work, but has a good strong engine and will get from point A to point B and that's over half the battle! So we purchased the RV and went to work getting it road ready. Blaine and I took it on a short test run weekend trip to McCall and learned of a few other things that needed work before our trip. While Blaine and Karlo worked on the engine tune up, fixing some electrical issues, working on some water problems, etc. Tama and I set to sewing and making cushions for the benches. We had one week to get it ready! Somehow we managed to have it fairly comfortable for the trip.



The girls were so excited! Tama was happy to be able to lay down and move around a bit on such a long trip, and we were all glad to have a bathroom and no potty stops! We all loaded up and headed for Cheyenne on Thursday evening. After a quick stop for gas and some dinner, we were off! Abbie and Kallie thought it was great fun to eat at the table in the back while we were going down the road. Blaine and Karlo drove ALL NIGHT long while the rest of us, slept, read, chatted, etc. Of course once we got close to Wyoming, the roads turned ugly with snow and ice. Not to worry though, we were in good hands.



We got to Travis and Robin's Friday morning and were happy to have our whole family together again! The grands all picked right up where they left off and had a great time playing and running around wild. Kolby and Karlo played Wii most of the day. The girls and I went to town to get supplies for the party while Amber stayed home to help Karlo with the 5 kids.

While we were in town, Robin got sick....like really sick sick. She even threw up in the aisle at Walmart! We got back home (another snow storm was going on as well) and she went straight to sleep. Little did we know this would start the domino effect!


We all left Robin sleeping and went out to dinner down the road. The kids had a great time riding in the 'motor-BOAT' as Taylor called it! They played and played in there. We finally had to chase them out so we could go to bed. Kolby and Taylor begged for a sleepover with grandma and papa though and who are we to refuse....


Saturday morning Robin was feeling a little better and we set to getting ready for the party. The kids wanted to go in and see the horses and have a ride. So Robin went to set up for the party while we took the kids to town to the barn. We no sooner got there than Abbie got sick. She threw up right in the alleyway of the barn. Poor girl. So we had a look at the horses, no rides were given because the horse was actually sick as well. (Had a little colic) Then we took the kids to the showers to get ready to go to the party. Abbie got progessively worse and couldn't keep anything down. We no sooner got her cleaned up than Baylee started throwing up! It was pandemonium! Poor sick girls!

But what troopers they were. They didn't want to miss the party. So we went to the party and they were both so sick and couldn't keep them out of the bathroom so Amber took them home before the party started and got them in jamas and under blankets and took care of them while we all stayed at the party. Taylor and Kallie danced the night away....

The party was great! Our nephews have a band called Five Lane Highway and they play mostly rock, but...just for this gig, they learned a variety of country songs and did an awesome job!

There was dinner, dancing, laughing, visiting, presents, and of course, cake and ice cream! Our niece has a little cake baking business (Sweet Ace Cakes) and made the best cake ever! Her talents are amazing!

As the night drew to a close, Kolby declared that he didn't feel well and fell asleep. Thank goodness he didn't throw up! We were cleaning up and loading up and just as Karlo was buckling Kallie into her car seat, she projectiled! Oh no....it was a fast moving epidemic! We got her changed and cleaned up and tried to make it home before any more eruptions took place. We didn't quite make it though. Poor thing was so sick!

We got home and Abbie and Baylee were on the couch, each on one end, each with a blanket and each with a bowl.... Poor girlies were so sick. As soon as one would throw up, and get cleaned up, the other one would start. Then poor Kallie got in on the gig. It was a long night, but Karlo stayed up all night with the girls and took care of all of them. What a good dad!



Sunday morning came around way too soon and with it, Kolby got sick! Poor guy... he was so worried that he threw up in Amber's bag, but he had missed it thankfully! So we hung out as long as we could to give them all time to heal a little bit. We made all the beds down in the RV, stocked up on pedialyte and crackers, and headed for home! Abbie and Kallie slept most of the way and started to feel a little better as the day wore on. Tama and Amber however, did not fare so well. Tama was sick all the way home. Throwing up and miserable. (Keep in mind she is 81/2 months pregnant) and poor Amber spent most of the ride in the bathroom. (Again....Thank goodness we had a bathroom!)



The closer we got to home, the worse Karlo felt. So I told him to leave Tama and the girls at our house so he could go home and get a good nights sleep before he had to go to work on Monday. I could take care of the girls for him. So he left them and went home. Well, Monday came around and guess what!?! I was no use to anyone! I was sick!! By this time, Abbie and Kallie were feeling better so they ended up doing the care taking most of the day. I'm so thankful Abbie knows how to get her own breakfast and operate the DVD player! She was a great help.


It took most of the week for us all to get over the vicious bug. Tama ended up going to the hospital Monday night because she was so dehydrated and started having contractions. So they gave her a couple of bags of fluid through an IV and got her back on her feet. It hit Travis on Monday as well and Taylor had just a little touch of it but not as bad as the rest. The only one in our family to remain unscathed from the bug was Blaine. I don't know how he managed to not catch it, but I'm glad he didn't!


We were glad we got to go celebrate our son turning 30, we were happy to see all the grands, we were thankful we had a motorhome to make the trip easier, and we were all very glad to get back home!

What a ride!!!

Where has the time gone?

This month is whizzing by!! We had our trip to Cheyenne that was a wild adventure!



We celebrated Travis turning 30. (do I really have a 30 year old son?!)

We've gone to soccer games to watch Abbie play

Baylee got a wonderful award at school! She wrote a story about her dad shooting a bear on a pack trip she went on with him! (it didn't really happen, but it made a great story!)

Kolby took the girls for a ride on the Kabota.

Taylor and Kallie had a great time dancing the night away.

Our newest grandson continued to make his mommy miserable.... he's growing nicely and will be here before we know it!

Tama's good friends threw her a fun little baby shower. Lots of cute boy stuff!



We celebrated Mother's Day with a good BBQ catered by Karlo and Papa. Flowers compilments of Travis and Robin.


All in all, it's been a good month (minus the nasty flu bug that took over our family for awhile) and it's not over yet!



We still have a couple more soccer games, a vet check-up for Gypsy, a camping/rafting trip for Karlo, oh.... and our 31st Anniversary!! We probably won't be taking a trip very far from home this year with the baby so close to arriving, but you never know.... We DO have that stylin' RV to travel in now.... haha!


Lots to look forward to in June!! We will be meeting our second grandson!! Our grands from Wyoming will be coming for a visit! and who knows what other adventures await us!!


Until then....keep your face to the sun and bloom where you're planted!