This is Mason. He was up first. That boy is like a Mexican jumping bean. He was fearless. He was even cutting back flips. Then it was his sister's turn and she was crazy too. She would jump super high and do back flips too. Again being a slacker photographer I didn't get any pictures of her. Then Big Cowpoke was up.
He was not too sure about this. He got all strapped in and then told the guy, "Don't go too high, I don't want to go too high. That is high enough!!" 
At first he didn't go too high. Then he got a little more comfortable and then started jumping. He never did a flip, but he did end up going a bit higher. 
That is a happy face, I promise. Little Cowpoke was a bit different. 
He listened to the instructions. And held on tight. 
Karen would grab his straps and pull him down and then send him flying higher up into the air. So much fun. 
Little Cowpoke even did some back flips. He is going to be my wild child, I just know it. He will be the bull rider, if any of my kids do it. Which I hope non of them do. After getting the kids' stomachs all jostled around we went to Fricker's. 
This was the kids' table. There is Ally. You wouldn't know that Karen had a daughter. She is very very smart. I am not just saying that either because she is my best friend's daughter. Ally is smart. She reads really well and can do math like a whiz kid. 
And here is Karen and her man. Her man wasn't feeling well. I had the "flu" for about 6 days and the her man got it too. Sorry. He was a good sport and ate at Frickers with us. That was about all we did. It was way too short of a vacation. It was so great to see her. We live so far away and with three kids each we never get time or money to be able to go and visit. We had a great time.
This barn was on the way to the miniatures. I love it when farmers make their shingles say things. I think it's pretty. We passed one that looked like a John Deere tractor but again, I was a slacker. 
Little Cowpoke was really excited to see the miniature horses. I loved them too. I am convinced that I need one. For petting purposes. There were a ton of miniature horses there. Maybe about 14 or so. I am not too sure. 
there was this super sweet gelding. He is really old. He was used in 4 H. He was a show horse. He pulled a buggy. Now he is retired and hangs out in the barn yard. He is ever so sweet. Little Cowpoke loved him. As we were hanging out in the barn yard, my friend, Karen told me to look into the barn. This is what I saw. 
It was scary dark. I used my flash so you all could see Midnight. He is one huge llama. We did manage to get him to venture out and visit with us. 
He was a rescue llama. The owner found him in a slaughter pen and brought him home. He is not too sure about being touched, but he has no problem touching you. 
Here Midnight is being very sneaky sneaky. Karen has no idea that he is creeping up on her. He actually touched his nose to her arm. 
It was pretty funny. He really didn't want anything to do with her once she turned around. He is such a silly llama. I think I need one of those too. 
Midnight is kinda cheeky, don't you think. He is very pleased with himself. I do believe he is smiling. Since the llama cleared out of the barn we got to go inside and see the baby miniature horses. 
Little Cowpoke stood really still in the corner. He really wanted to touch the baby. Then the baby got really curious about why there was such a tiny human in his stall. 
The baby just barely touched Little Cowpoke's hand and then jumped back to his mother's side. Little Cowpoke was in miniature baby heaven. I think that made his day. It was really neat. We then went back outside and this is what we saw. 
Look how he can turn his head all sorts of strange ways. And can you see that belly? Talk about well insulated for the winter time. 
Again, I do believe he is smiling at me. This llama is in llama heaven. There is one trick that Midnight does. I got a video of it. That is Midnight's claim to fame. If you put down a bucket of water in front of him he will kick it over. Every time. That was his second bucket. He has a really large bucket of drinking water that he can not kick over. He is a silly llama. Then Little Cowpoke saw this. 
The red roan is the stallion. He was very protective over his mares. There were some really beautiful tri colored mares. Then before we left the boys had to say bye to the super sweet gelding. 
Big Cowpoke came out of the van just in time to take a rest on the cute paint gelding. I would have taken this pony home in a heart beat. Then last but not least, I had to get a picture in here of Evelyn showing off her teeth. 
She finally smiled for me.
Good old Brodi dog. He looks less than thrilled to be the navigator. Back in the day, Brodi would take car rides on my lap. Now he is just too big for that and he has to sit in the seat next to me. He only tried once to get on my lap. 
Cowpokette was all set in her new forward facing car seat. She was so excited to be able to see what was going on. 
Then there are the Cowpokes. They were as wild and crazy as ever. They were both excited about going to a hotel. For some strange reason they think that hotels are so much fun. As we drove North, I began to notice great things. 
Corn! I miss corn. It was very green still. Which means that fall is a bit farther off. 
Cowpokette tried to watch the DVD player. The kids watched 8 movies on our entire trip. Let me tell you the DVD player was a life saver. We made it to our hotel at 9:45 pm. Just in time for the Cowpokes to get rowdy. I was 
Oh the Mid West! I love it. The rolling hills and green trees. I miss it a lot. 
I was very excited to start seeing rocky passes. If that is what they are called. Little Cowpoke had never been this far north before. He was very excited. I was able to drive for about three hours and then the Cowpokes got hungry. With Brodi being with us we could not go into a restaurant. The car was way too hot for my dog. So, we would pull through the drive through and then we would find a shady spot for a picnic. 
This spot was nice, if you didn't mind the large red ants that kept trying to attack us. But what is a picnic with out ants? Brodi enjoyed the time out of the car. Then it was back on the road. I saw some fun things. 
I love the farms up north. The big white farm houses and the red barns. It's so pretty up against the green and blue. Then there are sites like this. 
That has to be the largest cross I have ever seen! Big Cowpoke said, "Look Mom!! That is where Jesus died!" Kids, they say the darnedest things. I then traveled on down the road and made it to Indiana. 
Hooray! I love Ohio. I know I am strange. But I have some great memories from living in Ohio. I love the farm life there. I arrived at my friend's house at about 9 or 10 pm. Her three kidos were waiting up for us. And I am such a dorky friend. I didn't take one picture of all six of our children together. Well a good one at least. It was so great to see my friend Karen. I got to see her new beautiful baby girl Evelyn. 
She is such a chunk. He is six months old and the same size as Cowpokette. They were so cute together. 
I just want to kiss those checks. She is such a wonderful baby. She is very easy going and laid back. You don't hear much out of her. That evening the boys hit the tub together. 
Karen put Mohawks in their hair. Very nice, boys!! The kids all played really well together. Well, until favorite dirt bikes and trucks were being confiscated by Little Cowpoke. Little Cowpoke was a little stinker. He is going through the terrible 3's. It's crazy how crazy he can be. 
She has the most beautiful eyes. They are so blue with a really dark blue line around them. 
Here she is with her momma. Karen is a really good mom. She works really hard and takes great care of her three kidos. She is one tuff cookie. She does it all by herself. It makes me feel bad for ever complaining. 
Evelyn wouldn't smile for me. She was giving me a hard time. She would smile for her Dad. She would smile for her Mom. But she was not going to even think about smiling for the strange girl behind the camera. 
We did a lot of catching up and hanging out the first day. Then we went to her sister in law's house. She trains Morgans. Then we went to see the mini horses. That was so fun. I will tell you all about that tomorrow.
Mr. Cowboy got out some "treasures" that have been kept in a storage shed for over two years. We had a whole slew of boards to use. 
Mr. William came to help out with the board cutting. He is such a great helper. 
Little Cowpoke thought it was so cool to be cutting up some wood. 
Then came the second go round of cutting. This board must have been a bit harder or something. The hand saw was really loud. 
What is it with boys and power tools. I know they never out grow it. Boys just love power tools. 
Mr. Cowboy then put four clips on the wood and then pushed the wood up into the windows. 
And the wood stays tight in place. Pretty cool huh? I am so blessed to have such a handy husband. I would have cried if some one handed me some clips and power tools and told me to go and get the wood to fit into the window frames. Mr. Cowboy was so good too. He took down the boards the day after the storm. Good thing he marked which boards go on which windows, because he is going to be putting those boards back up this weekend. Few, this year's hurricane season is a bit on the wild side. I prefer not to live on the wild side. 
